Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/314676975?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, June 23, 2013
Congo defends Chinese mining companies
GOMA, Congo (AP) ? Congo's information minister described a recently published Amnesty International report on working conditions in the country's mines as "unfairly targeting" Chinese companies.
In a media briefing Saturday, Minister Lambert Mende said the government had taken note of the serious accusations in the report and was concerned about conditions for miners, but he questioned why Chinese firms had been singled out for criticism.
He said: "Mining companies in Katanga (the Congo's copper belt province) are of 30 different nationalities, and none of them offer their employees and clients different conditions to the Chinese companies."
The Amnesty report details three case studies including two directly involving Chinese companies. The latter cases involved the forced eviction of 300 families and a confrontation with police in which a protestor was shot dead.
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Saturday, June 22, 2013
Palace explains communications office phone bills - Rappler
Posted on 06/22/2013 8:07 PM ?|?Updated 06/22/2013 9:42 PM
MANILA, Philippines ? Malaca?ang explained on Saturday, June 22, the P1.36 million in mobile phone expenses incurred last year by the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO), which were criticized by some quarters after it was mentioned in an audit report.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over radio station dzRB that the amount was for 24 mobile phone subscriptions for a whole year, which means an average of P4,500 per phone per month. It's within the average monthly bill of many post-paid subscribers.
"If you notice, what we're talking about here is 24 mobile phone subscriptions in an office of roughly around 75 people. So if you divide the amount, the result will be P4,500 per month, or expenses that will come out per person," she said.
Valte added the communications office was "intended to be heavy" on its use of mobile phones and the Internet, both locally and internationally, as a result of foreign trips.
PCDSPO is under Secretary Ricky Carandang.
More importantly, Valte pointed out, the Commission on Audit (COA) report did not find the spending irregular, and in fact acknowledged that the PCDSPO was able to submit supporting documents.
"Let us please look at the COA observation ? which, by the way, was also included in the report that the office ? that the PCDSPO has sufficiently addressed [the questions]," Valte said.
According to Valte, the COA report said the PCDSPO submitted the necessary documents on internal policies for mobile phones, answering policy questions on their assignment and use.
"I think in this particular issue, what is worthy to note is that there is no notice of disallowance. It's stated in the report... We know that if COA issues notice of disallowance, it?s either the spending is irregular," she said.
Records showed that what's allocated for PCDSPO was P85,424 monthly for 34 postpaid mobile phone subscriptions issued to various officials and personnel. There were also 8 prepaid cards having a total monthly allocation of P3,200 for several drivers.
The COA said Internet downloads, "pasa" or credit sharing with other mobile phone users, and other expenses caused the PCDSPO to go over its postpaid and prepaid mobile phone service allocations by more than P200,000.
The audit noted that the PCDSPO did not have policies in place for issuing and using the postpaid and prepaid mobile phone card allowances in 2012, which could indicate lapses on the internal controls for mobile phone uses, thus leading to unnecessary expenses.
State auditors, Citing COA Circular No. 2012-003 dated Oct. 29, 2012, defined unnecessary expenditures as spending that was ?not essential or that which could be dispensed with without loss or damage to property.?
The auditors also said the PCDSPO management submitted guidelines for provisioning its communications services last February. This was to comply with the audit team?s recommendation to have policy guidelines regarding the release, use, and limitations of postpaid and prepaid mobile phone card allowances in order to keep future expenditures within budget. ? Rappler.com
Source: http://www.rappler.com/nation/31933-malacanang-pcdspo-phone-spending
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Prosecutors can say 'profiled' at Zimmerman trial
Judge Debra Nelson addresses concerns from the state and defense that need to be settled before opening arguments in George Zimmerman's trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., Friday, June 21, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Gary W. Green, Pool)
Judge Debra Nelson addresses concerns from the state and defense that need to be settled before opening arguments in George Zimmerman's trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., Friday, June 21, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Gary W. Green, Pool)
Defense attorneys Don West, left, and Mark O'Mara raise concerns with judge Debra Nelson before opening arguments during George Zimmerman's trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., Friday, June 21, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Gary W. Green, Pool)
Assistant state attorney Bernie de la Rionda, left, and lead defense attorney Mark O'Mara leave the courtroom after addressing a series of pre-trial issues with Judge Debra Nelson during George Zimmerman's trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., Friday, June 21, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Gary W. Green, Pool)
George Zimmerman's family members, including his father, Robert Zimmerman Sr., center, mother Gladys Zimmerman, second from right, and wife Shellie Zimmerman, right, stand as the selected jurors enter the courtroom during the George Zimmerman trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., Thursday, June 20, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.(AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Gary Green, Pool)
Tracy Martin, second from left, and Sybrina Fulton, left, parents of Trayvon Martin, and their attorney Benjamin Crump, center, stand as the selected jury enters the courtroom during the George Zimmerman trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., Thursday, June 20, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.(AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Gary Green, Pool)
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? Prosecutors in Florida can argue in opening statements that George Zimmerman profiled Trayvon Martin based on factors such as age or clothing before he shot the unarmed black teenager, but they cannot say he was profiled based on race, a judge ruled Friday.
Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson made the ruling ahead of Monday's expected opening statements in Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial.
Defense attorneys had asked the judge to prohibit prosecutors from using a series of words in opening statements that they deemed inflammatory. Those words included "profiled," ''vigilante," ''wannabe cop," and that Zimmerman had confronted Martin. Zimmerman identifies as Hispanic.
The judge said all of those statements may be used, provided that race is not discussed if the issue of profiling is brought up.
Prosecutor John Guy had argued that there were a number of ways someone could be profiled other than race.
"That is not a racially charged term unless it's made so, and we don't intend to make it a racially charged term," Guy said. "There are a number of avenues someone can be profiled in any one way or combination. We don't intend to say he was solely profiled because of race."
Defense attorney Mark O'Mara said he was concerned using the word "profiled" would "infect" the jury with a racial component that shouldn't be there.
"I want to be very, very cautious," O'Mara said.
Six female jurors were chosen Thursday for the second-degree murder trial of Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer who says he fired on Martin in self-defense last year in a gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman is pleading not guilty.
The judge has yet to rule on whether a prosecution expert can testify that screams for help captured on a 911 call came from Martin. Defense attorneys don't want the expert to testify, claiming his analysis is flawed.
Prosecutors have said Zimmerman, 29, profiled the 17-year-old Martin as he walked back through the central Florida community from a convenience store on a rainy night in February 2012 wearing a dark hooded shirt.
Race and ethnicity have played a prominent role in the case and even clouded jury selection. While the court did not release the racial makeup of the jury, the panel appeared to reporters covering the selection process to be made up of five white women and a sixth who may be Hispanic.
On Feb. 26, 2012, Zimmerman spotted Martin, whom he did not recognize, walking in the gated townhome community in Sanford where Zimmerman lived and the fiancee of Martin's father also resided. There had been a rash of recent break-ins at the Retreat, and Zimmerman was wary of strangers walking through the complex.
The two eventually got into a struggle and Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest with his 9mm handgun. He was charged 44 days after the shooting, only after a special prosecutor was appointed to review the case and after protests.
Martin's shooting death and the initial decision not to charge Zimmerman led to public outrage and demonstrations around the nation, with civil rights leaders and others accusing Sanford police of failing to thoroughly investigate the shooting.
The six jurors were culled from a pool of 40 candidates who made it into a second round of jury questioning. Two men and two women also were picked as alternate jurors.
___
Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KHightower
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP
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Stocks extend slide as China adds to worries
NEW YORK (AP) ? There was no let-up in the flight from stocks and bonds Thursday, and the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 300 points.
A day after the Federal Reserve roiled U.S financial markets when it said it could step back from its aggressive economic stimulus program later this year, financial markets continued to slide. A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing added to Wall Street's worries.
The breadth of the sell-off was seen across global financial markets, from sharply lower stock markets in Asia to falling government bond prices in Europe and the U.S.
The Dow fell as much as 362 points in the afternoon, its biggest drop in more than seven months. The Standard & Poor's 500 was on track for its worst performance in more than two months. Small-company stocks fell even more than the rest of the market, a sign that investors are aggressively reducing risk.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year note rose to its highest level since August 2011.
A Fed policy statement and comments from Chairman Ben Bernanke started the selling in stocks and bonds Wednesday.
Bernanke said the Fed expects to scale back its massive bond-buying program later this year and end it entirely by mid-2014 if the economy continues to improve.
The bank has been buying $85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage bonds, a program that has kept borrowing costs near historic lows for consumers and business. It has also helped boost the stock market.
Alec Young, a global equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ, said investors weren't expecting Bernanke to say the program could end so quickly, and are adjusting their portfolios in anticipation of higher U.S. interest rates.
"What we're seeing is a pretty significant sea-change in investor strategy," Young said.
As financial markets dropped, investors likely put the proceeds of their sales in cash as they waited for the dust to settle, said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial.
Investors "are raising cash right now, for fear the deterioration will continue," said Krosby.
The S&P 500 extended Wednesday's slide, losing 34 points, or 2.1 percent, to 1,595 at 2:47 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
The Dow was down 338 points, or 1.9 percent, to 14,875. The Nasdaq composite fell 72 points, or 2.1 percent, to 3,369.
The Russell 2000 index, which contains small-company stocks, slumped 21 points, or 2.1 percent, to 965. The index closed at a record high of 999.99 points Tuesday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.43 percent, from 2.35 percent Wednesday.
The yield, which rises as the price of the note falls, surged 0.25 percentage point Wednesday after the Fed's comments. It's up sharply since May 3, when it hit a year low of 1.63 percent.
Government bonds are used as benchmarks for mortgage rates. The sharp increase in yields prompted investors to sell the stocks of homebuilders, whose business could be hurt if the pace of home buying slows down. Even an encouraging report on home sales Thursday failed to arrest the slide.
PulteGroup plunged $2.34, or 11 percent, to $18.43. D.R. Horton fell $2.23, or 9.6 percent, to $21.20.
Markets were also unnerved after manufacturing in China slowed at a faster pace this month as demand weakened. That added to concerns about growth in the world's second-largest economy. A monthly purchasing managers index from HSBC fell to a nine-month low of 48.3 in June. Numbers below 50 indicate a contraction.
Japan's Nikkei index lost 1.7 percent. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares fell 3 percent while Germany's DAX dropped 3.3 percent.
In currency trading, the dollar rose against the euro and the Japanese yen.
In commodities trading, Gold plunged $91.70, or 6.6 percent, to $1,281 an ounce. The precious metal is down 24 percent this year.
Gold's attraction as an alternative investment has faded as the dollar and bond yields have risen. Higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the metal which has no return. Investors also bought gold as an insurance against inflation as the Fed pumped money into the economy. Inflation has remained tame and the central bank now appears to be nearing the end of its stimulus program.
The rising dollar pushed oil prices lower. A stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. The price of crude oil fell $3.12, or 3.1 percent, to $95.35 a barrel in New York.
Some investors said the sell-off in stocks may be overdone. The Fed is considering easing back on its stimulus because the economy is improving. The central bank Wednesday upgraded its outlook for unemployment and economic growth.
"People are overreacting a little bit," said Gene Goldman, head of research at Cetera Financial Group. "It goes back to the fundamentals, the economy is improving."
The central bank's assessment of the economy was backed by a survey Thursday that showed manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded at the fastest pace in two years. The Philadelphia Fed's monthly index of manufacturing conditions rose to 12.5 in May, the highest reading since April 2011.
Among other stocks making big moves:
? GameStop, a video game store chain that sells new and used games, rose $2.59, or 6.7 percent, to $41.12 after Microsoft backpedaled and said that there will be no limitations on sharing games on its upcoming Xbox One gaming console.
? Rite Aid fell 21 cents, or 7.1 percent, to $2.90 after the nation's third-largest drugstore chain lowered its forecast for 2014 earnings.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-extend-slide-china-adds-worries-171626899.html
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Friday, June 21, 2013
Hands-On With Samsung's Galaxy S4 Zoom, The Smartphone With A 10x Optical Zoom Lens
Samsung?s Galaxy S4 Zoom steers its Galaxy brand into slightly new territory, by creating a hybrid smartphone-cum-pocket-camera. Unlike pretty much every other cameraphone around, the Zoom has a 10x optical zoom lens protruding from its rear.? In short, it?s a phone with two faces: one pure Galaxy smartphone, the second resembling a classic point-and-shoot camera. It?s an curious move that's likely to grab consumers? attention, but there's a bigger question here -- what's it like using it?Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/GoRGH73rt0o/
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Julie Mehretu Paints Chaos With Chaos ? From Tahrir Square To Zuccotti Park
The Guardian:
Buildings, streets, and entire cities crash into one another. Countless urban details ? housing block windows, city maps ? overwhelm your field of vision. Black squiggles race across the surface surrounded by flashes of colour: a beam of yellow, a red parallelogram.
The world Julie Mehretu paints is bogglingly chaotic. Yet when I meet the American artist in her light-soaked workspace overlooking New York?s Hudson River (Martha Stewart has her office a few storeys below), the mood in the studio is the exact opposite: calm, collected, in total control. She is preparing for not one but two major solo exhibitions ? one in New York, one in London ? and a pair of assistants quietly help her apply the final painstaking touches to her latest paintings. Bird?s-eye views of cities in the Middle East are taped to the walls. The bookshelves groan with volumes on everything from French genre painting to Ethiopian history; her studio is as much a think tank as a laboratory. And Mehretu?s wife, the artist Jessica Rankin, has stopped by ? they?re preparing to leave town, and they have two sons? schedules to get in order.
Read the whole story at The Guardian
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