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The right to fight: women at war
Label: WorldUS man kills bus driver, kidnaps child
Label: Technology
WASHINGTON: A gunman boarded a school bus in the US state of Alabama, shot dead the driver and kidnapped a six-year-old, whom he is now holding in an underground bunker, local media reported Wednesday.
WSFA television said the man boarded the bus at around 3:40 pm Tuesday, shot the bus driver and took one of the children to an underground shelter, where police are currently communicating with him through a PVC pipe.
Police could not immediately be reached for comment, but Sergeant Rachel David of the Dothan Police Department confirmed to WSFA that an adult male had been shot during the incident and that the suspect was "not in custody".
"We are at the very beginning of this investigation," she said.
WSFA, a CNN affiliate, said area roads had been closed and three local school systems had cancelled classes on Wednesday over the hostage situation.
- AFP/al
LG logs a loss on EU fine, but sees smartphone strength
Label: Lifestyle
The LG Motion 4G.
(Credit:
Sarah Tew/CNET)
LG Electronics has posted losses within its fourth-quarter 2012 results due to a heavy fine imposed by the European Union over price-fixing allegations.
The world's second-largest television set maker by revenue posted its Q4 2012 financial report today, detailing its first loss-making quarter in a year. Net losses accounted for 468 billion won ($429 million) in the fourth quarter of 2012, in comparison to a loss of 112 billion won in 2011.
Consolidated revenues currently stand at 13.50 trillion won ($12.4 billion).
LG also posted an operating profit of 107 billion won ($98.84 million) in the quarter, which is up 25 percent year over year, based on record smartphone sales of 8.6 million in comparison to third-quarter sales of 7 million. Overall handset sales -- including both feature phones and smartphones -- rose 7 percent to 15.4 million units.
The electronics firm's mobile business achieved overall revenue of 2.81 trillion won ($2.58 billion), up 15 percent quarter over quarter. LG also says that its customer base for "premium 4G devices" -- such as the Optimus G -- grew in the fourth quarter, and the company intends to capitalize on the expanding 4G market in Europe and in emerging markets this year.
However, profit margins in the television industry continue to slide. LG reported another quarter of losses within its television sector; 5.7 percent in the second quarter, 0.8 percent in the third quarter, and 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter. The firm says that it is not only strong competition from local rivals that has almost flatlined the television sector, but a weak yen has also contributed, despite "aggressive marketing efforts." LG plans to try and reinvigorate its decaying business by tapping into the premium television market and offer OLED and Ultra HD television sets in 2013, along with the sales of 3D and Smart TVs.
In December, LG was fined 492 million euros ($664 million) by the European Commission as part of one of the largest antitrust fines in history. Philips, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Toshiba, Samsung SDI and Technicolor were all fined individually for an overall penalty of over 1 billion euros, after the EU decided that the companies had all been involved in a scheme to rig the prices of cathode ray tubes, used in both computer monitors and television screens. Panasonic plans to appeal the ruling.
This story originally appeared at ZDNet's Between the Lines under the headline "LG Electronics posts loss through EU price fixing fine."
Timbuktu’s vulnerable manuscripts are city’s "gold"
Label: HealthFrench and Malian troops surrounded Timbuktu on Monday and began combing the labyrinthine city for Islamist fighters. Witnesses, however, said the Islamists, who claim an affiliation to al Qaeda and had imposed a Taliban-style rule in the northern Malian city over the last ten months, slipped into the desert a few days earlier.
But before fleeing, the militants reportedly set fire to several buildings and many rare manuscripts. There are conflicting reports as to how many manuscripts were actually destroyed. (Video: Roots of the Mali Crisis.)
On Monday, Sky News posted an interview with a man identifying himself as an employee of the Ahmed Baba Institute, a government-run repository for rare books and manuscripts, the oldest of which date back to the city's founding in the 12th century. The man said some 3,000 of the institute's 20,000 manuscripts had been destroyed or looted by the Islamists.
Video showed what appeared to be a large pile of charred manuscripts and the special boxes made to preserve them in front of one of the institute's buildings.
However, a member of the University of Cape Town Timbuktu Manuscript Project told eNews Channel Africa on Tuesday that he had spoken with the director of the Ahmed Baba Institute, Mahmoud Zouber, who said that nearly all of its manuscripts had been removed from the buildings and taken to secure locations months earlier. (Read "The Telltale Scribes of Timbuktu" in National Geographic magazine.)
A Written Legacy
The written word is deeply rooted in Timbuktu's rich history. The city emerged as a wealthy center of trade, Islam, and learning during the 13th century, attracting a number of Sufi religious scholars. They in turn took on students, forming schools affiliated with's Timbuktu's three main mosques.
The scholars imported parchment and vellum manuscripts via the caravan system that connected northern Africa with the Mediterranean and Arabia. Wealthy families had the documents copied and illuminated by local scribes, building extensive libraries containing works of religion, art, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, history, geography, and culture.
"The manuscripts are the city's real gold," said Mohammed Aghali, a tour guide from Timbuktu. "The manuscripts, our mosques, and our history—these are our treasures. Without them, what is Timbuktu?"
This isn't the first time that an occupying army has threatened Timbuktu's cultural heritage. The Moroccan army invaded the city in 1591 to take control of the gold trade. In the process of securing the city, they killed or deported most of Timbuktu's scholars, including the city's most famous teacher, Ahmed Baba al Massufi, who was held in exile in Marrakesh for many years and forced to teach in a pasha's court. He finally returned to Timbuktu in 1611, and it is for him that the Ahmed Baba Institute was named.
Hiding the Texts
In addition to the Ahmed Baba Institute, Timbuktu is home to more than 60 private libraries, some with collections containing several thousand manuscripts and others with only a precious handful. (Read about the fall of Timbuktu.)
Sidi Ahmed, a reporter based in Timbuktu who recently fled to the Malian capital Bamako, said Monday that nearly all the libraries, including the world-renowned Mamma Haidara and the Fondo Kati libraries, had secreted their collections before the Islamist forces had taken the city.
"The people here have long memories," he said. "They are used to hiding their manuscripts. They go into the desert and bury them until it is safe."
Though it appears most of the manuscripts are safe, the Islamists' occupation took a heavy toll on Timbuktu.
Women were flogged for not covering their hair or wearing bright colors. Girls were forbidden from attending school, and boys were recruited into the fighters' ranks.
Music was banned. Local imams who dared speak out against the occupiers were barred from speaking in their mosques. In a move reminiscent of the Taliban's destruction of Afghanistan's famous Bamiyan Buddha sculptures, Islamist fighters bulldozed 14 ancient mud-brick mausoleums and cemeteries that held the remains of revered Sufi saints.
A spokesman for the Islamists said it was "un-Islamic" for locals to "worship idols."
Gunman Kills Bus Driver, Takes Child as Hostage
Label: Business
A gunman shot and killed a school bus driver in Midland City, Ala., Tuesday afternoon and escaped the scene with a 6-year-old passenger, which has prompted a hostage situation that is still going on this morning.
The suspected gunman is identified as Jimmy Lee Dykes, a 60-something military veteran, a police source told ABC News. Dykes and the child are in an underground bunker behind his home.
Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said Tuesday night that the police had information that the little boy "is OK right now." The boy was delivered some needed medication, police told ABC News.
The police have not identified the child or the dead bus driver.
"Extremely sensitive situation. ... Our agents are working very hard with the locals for the best possible outcome to this situation," a federal law enforcement source told ABC News this morning.
Danny Tindell/Dothan Eagle
Some people in the area were evacuated Tuesday evening, and everyone in the immediate area was notified of the situation, according to Olson.
"Stay at home and pray," Olson told homeowners living in the area.
Olson said multiple agencies have responded to the hostage situation. The FBI has assumed the lead in the investigation, and SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams were surrounding the bunker as of Tuesday night.
The incident began a little after 3:30 p.m. local time Tuesday. An unidentified girl, who was on the bus, told ABC News Radio the bus driver had stopped to drop off some children. The alleged gunman boarded the bus and handed the driver a note, she said.
"And then I don't know what happened after that but he started telling them he needed a kid because of the law coming after him," she said.
Dykes got on the bus and originally demanded that he get two children as hostages. All the children on the bus managed to escape except the 6-year-old boy, a police source told ABC News affiliate WDNH.
"He shot the bus driver, and the driver's foot was on the gas and we went backwards. And everybody started screaming. And then the bus driver was still there and we all got off the bus and went to a neighbor's house," the girl said.
Dykes was scheduled to be in court today for a trial related to charges of menacing, according to court records obtained by WDNH.
Midnight sun: How to get 24-hour solar power
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Football: Beckham is training at Arsenal, Wenger reveals
Label: Technology
LONDON: Former England midfielder David Beckham has been training with Arsenal, the club's manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed, but rejected reports that he could sign.
"He called me. He has asked to come here and to work on his fitness. He has not done anything for a long, long time," Wenger said of Beckham, who is without a club after leaving Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of last Major League Soccer season.
"It's purely for fitness. There's no speculation about signing or anything."
Where Beckham, who made his name with Manchester United and has also played for Real Madrid and AC Milan, continues his career has still to be decided.
The 37-year-old, who won 115 England caps, was a key figure in the successful bid to bring the Olympics and Paralympics to London last year.
And if his football career is now over, he could yet find himself with plenty of offers of promotional work.
Beckham also played a prominent role in the delegation sent to Singapore which helped to secure the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for London and if he does not continue his football career, there are many avenues for the future.
With Wenger playing down the possibility of Beckham signing on a permanent basis he was asked what benefit there is for Arsenal.
He said: "Nothing. To help somebody.
"We are open for people who behave well when they come here."
Despite his United connection, this is not the first time Beckham has trained with Arsenal, having spent some time training with the London club in January 2008 during a break from the MLS season.
He also trained with Arsenal in late 2010, before he trained with Tottenham in January 2011, while this year his sons have been training with Chelsea.
Former Gunners Thierry Henry and Sol Campbell have also returned to Arsenal for training stints.
- AFP/al
BlackBerry 10 launch: What we know, what we expect
Label: Lifestyle
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins at a BlackBerry event last year.
(Credit:
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)
Yes, it's true. After several frustrating delays, Research In Motion is ready to formally pull back the curtain on its next-generation BlackBerry 10 operating system and its first wholly new BlackBerry in a year and a half.
Whether RIM has enough up its sleeves to really wow the public remains to be seen. But there's no question that the company has everything riding on the success of BlackBerry 10. A hit would inject life into RIM and offer proof that it has a place in an industry that it once dominated -- while failure could accelerate a breakup or sale of the business.
There's no doubt that the interest level surrounding RIM has picked up considerably, with industry watchers drawn in by either the potential comeback story or the prospect of a train wreck. Investors seem willing to bet on the company -- its shares have more than doubled in the past six months (although they fell 7.8 percent to $16.24 yesterday). Juxtapose that with Apple, whose stock has lost a quarter of its value in the same time period.
The optimism is a stark contrast from the long stretch RIM endured over the past few years as its market share eroded and executives had more excuses than results. After acquiring QNX in April 2010, then co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie bungled and delayed the transition to the next-generation platform. Even current CEO Thorsten Heins had to push back the debut from the end of last year to early this year because of the complexities of the move.
Despite the swing in sentiment, there remains skeptics. Ovum analyst Jan Dawson doesn't believe BlackBerry 10 will save RIM.
"RIM continues to face the twin demons of consumer-driven buying power and a chronic inability to appeal to mature market consumers," Dawson said. "There is nothing in what we've seen so far of BB10 that suggests it will conquer the second of these demons, and the first is utterly out of RIM's control."
Shares were down yesterday on fears RIM may not actually be able to pull a comeback off.
Even so, the launch date is finally here. CNET breaks down what we know, what we expect, and what we hope for.
What we know:
Thanks to an early look at the BlackBerry 10 operating system at prior conferences and through pre-release trial devices, there's already a good picture of what it will look like.
A demo unit using BlackBerry 10.
(Credit:
Lynn La/CNET)
There are a few key features RIM executives will likely focus on. One is BlackBerry Hub, or a central location for e-mail, messages, and social and status updates. Another is "Flow," which enables easier navigation and multi-tasking between apps. Another is BlackBerry Balance, which RIM hopes will win over corporate IT managers. Balance allows the device to carry two personalities, a secure one for work, and a personal one for family and friends.
Another focal point will be its improved virtual keyboard. Gone are the days of the click-screen debacle of the BlackBerry Storm. The virtual keyboard promises to be smarter than rival versions, and includes a second heat-map layer that remembers how you press the individual keys, and whether you tend to be right or left of the actual key itself. The phone is also supposed to remember and suggest commonly used words and words already used in the document.
The keyboard was a highlight at a past conference, but RIM will have to show off more than that.
"RIM really needs to wow the audience," said RBC Capital analyst Mark Sue.
RIM will unveil two BlackBerry devices at the event, a full touchscreen device and a second full-keyboard version. The phones, which CNET spent limited time with a few months ago, will stack up nicely with the specifications of rival smartphones, including display resolution, pixel density, memory, and a 4G LTE connection.
On the app front, BlackBerry 10 will launch with 70,000 apps, the most applications available during launch, the company boasts. Still, that library pales in comparison to the available iOS and
Android apps in the market.
What we expect (and hope for):
With all the buzz about carrier excitement and support, we expect some details on launch partners, availability, and perhaps even pricing.
The two BlackBerrys are rumored to carry the names Z10 (for the touchscreen version) and X10 (for the keyboard version). The Z10 is expected to launch first, with the X10 following shortly. The first phone is reportedly going to hit the market in February.
Nokia's launch of the
Lumia 920 and 820 was mired a bit by the lack of details over availability, and we expect (and hope) that RIM will do better. But, given the carrier's preference to be involved with product announcements, the availability info may be limited.
The wireless carriers aren't expected to play a big role in the event -- it'll be all RIM's show. As a result, perhaps the announcement of carrier partners might be a little wishful thinking.
RIM will likely show off a taste of its marketing campaign, which will play a crucial role in convincing smartphone owners that BlackBerrys are worth buying again. The company said it can sell into its current base of just under 80 million users, but the truth is it will need to attract new consumers to thrive. RIM will need to be able to quickly communicate any benefits or advantages it has over the competition, and it needs its carrier partners to be on the same page.
The company is already poised to air a commercial during the Super Bowl, so it appears ready to go big with its campaign. The burning question: Will it be able to get that cool factor again?
Meet the man who would make BlackBerry apps cool
RIM has been talking up the ease with which developers can write or port over apps to the BlackBerry 10 platform, so the company will need to prove that it has the top-tier apps people want in a mobile operating system.
Will heavy-hitters such as Rovio and Electronic Arts show up? Hopefully, we'll get quick answers in the presentation.
Heins could pull a rabbit out of his hat and tease a
tablet successor to the PlayBook. The statement touting the upcoming Super Bowl ad did state smartphones and tablets, so you never know.
Lastly, we are also hoping for BlackBerrys to take home. Nothing convinces a skeptical horde of tech journalists that a company is ready for prime time like having demo units ready to take home.
Space Pictures This Week: Martian Gas, Cloud Trails
Label: HealthImage courtesy SDO/NASA
The sun is more than meets the eye, and researchers should know. They've equipped telescopes on Earth and in space with instruments that view the sun in at least ten different wavelengths of light, some of which are represented in this collage compiled by NASA and released January 22. (See more pictures of the sun.)
By viewing the different wavelengths of light given off by the sun, researchers can monitor its surface and atmosphere, picking up on activity that can create space weather.
If directed towards Earth, that weather can disrupt satellite communications and electronics—and result in spectacular auroras. (Read an article on solar storms in National Geographic magazine.)
The surface of the sun contains material at about 10,000°F (5,700°C), which gives off yellow-green light. Atoms at 11 million°F (6.3 million°C) gives off ultraviolet light, which scientists use to observe solar flares in the sun's corona. There are even instruments that image wavelengths of light highlighting the sun's magnetic field lines.
—Jane J. Lee
Published January 28, 2013
5 Years Later, What's New on Immigration Reform?
Label: Business
The announcement of a proposal for immigration reform inspired renewed excitement for some involved in the fight Monday, but other players in the debate felt a sense of déjà vu.
Monday afternoon, senators introduced a framework of changes previewed over the weekend, with President Obama and a secret group from the House of Representatives expected soon to follow suit.
The press conference was held by Senators Chuck Schumer, John McCain, Dick Durbin, Lindsey Graham, Bob Menendez, Marco Rubio, Michael Bennet and Jeff Flake. Menendez called it "meaningful and comprehensive" immigration reform.
But former Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who worked on this same issue under President George W. Bush in 2007, said this proposal "is a lot like what we did five years ago -- remarkably so."
Martinez said it puts "a little more emphasis" on dealing with legal immigrants who overstay their visas, shifts from framing the policies as reuniting families to rewarding skilled laborers, and the phrase "guest worker" -- which was a point of contention then -- is now absent.
But in terms of things like creating a path to citizenship and requiring an electronic verification system for employers to determine an applicant's legal status, "All of these things are exactly what we did before," Martinez said.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo| Susan Walsh/AP Photo
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To Martinez, this replay is a good thing. He said a "political evolution" and a new appreciation for Hispanic voters created a positive climate for reforms this time around.
But Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform said he is not impressed.
"It's essentially the same legislation that was offered and rejected in 2007," Mehlman told ABC News."It includes nothing for the primary constituency -- namely the American public. It's all based on what the immigrants and particularly the illegal immigrants want and what employers want."
The two plans focused on achieving bipartisan support, molding immigration law to meet the needs of the economy, and the condition that reform would only happen simultaneously with the strengthening of border security.
The difference, according to immigration lawyer Cori Alonso-Yoder of immigrant-focused non-profit Ayuda, is the messaging in this proposal.
"The message is very helpful to people who are used to hearing a not-welcoming tone towards immigrants," Alonso-Yoder said Monday. "I think that's sort of what distinguishes this from efforts that we saw in 2006, 2007 things that I think were more harsh on immigrants."
This time around the plan alludes to racial profiling and human trafficking, two issues Alonso-Yoder said her clients "confront on a daily basis and are dealing with on a daily basis."
Related: 'Dreamers' React to the New Immigration Reform Framework
She said she believes the intent in this legislation is good and that it will have some success -- at least outside of the House of Representatives.
"My concern is just seeing how this will all sort of play out in a system that is already filled with patchwork fixes, and how deep this reform will go, how broad it will sweep," Alonso-Yoder said.
The collapse of President George W. Bush's 2007 immigration bill may be a bad sign for Obama -- who is expected to announce his own plan today -- and others hoping to change the immigration system.
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