Stock futures supported by Italy, economic data hopes

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures rose on Monday, buoyed by the formation of a broad coalition government in Italy which ended two months of political uncertainty and boosted an appetite for risky assets, as investors braced for major economic news this week.

Wall Street was boosted by European shares, which edged up on Monday after Italy finally formed a government, although analysts saw the gains petering out in the near term. <.eu/>

Feeding risk into markets, the U.S. dollar fell against a major basket of currencies, while commodities like spot gold <.xau> rose.

"The market is moving up as the Italian political situation is finally unlocked and that's offering some hope. You can see that boosting risk trade here," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

In macroeconomic news, personal income and outlays, due at 8:30 a.m. EDT will be in focus after last week's disappointing first quarter gross domestic product numbers. Economists polled by Reuters forecast personal spending growth was flat last month, after rising 0.7 percent in February.

Pending home sales data is due at 10:00 a.m. EDT and Dallas Federal Manufacturing Survey index is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. EDT.

The all-important nonfarm payrolls report is due on Friday.

"We have key economic data, especially the employment report later in the week, and we are also going to hear from the ECB and the Fed later, so earnings takes a back seat this week," Cardillo said.

S&P 500 futures rose 5.4 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration of the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 50 points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 11.5 points.

Wall Street was poised to start the last week of April higher. So far, the S&P 500 is up 0.8 percent this month.

Weak U.S. growth data has raised expectations the Federal Reserve will keep its pace of bond buying at $85 billion a month during the FOMC meeting announcement on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to announce an interest rate cut when it meets on Thursday.

On Monday, hotel, energy and financial services conglomerate Loews Corp reported a 34 percent drop in first-quarter profit due to higher impairment charges and a sharp fall in investment income. The stock was unchanged in premarket trade.

Shares of online retailer Amazon.com Inc posted the largest daily drop in 15 months after the company reported results Thursday and was Friday's biggest drag on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes. The stock was off 0.2 percent in premarket trading Monday.

U.S. stocks dipped in thin volume on Friday, though the market had a strong week overall.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-higher-ahead-data-corporate-results-115148731.html

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Mapping of cancer cell fuel pumps paves the way for new drugs

Apr. 28, 2013 ? For the first time, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have managed to obtain detailed images of the way in which the transport protein GLUT transports sugars into cells. Since tumours are highly dependent on the transportation of nutrients in order to be able to grow rapidly, the researchers are hoping that the study published in the scientific magazine Nature Structural & Molecular Biology will form the basis for new strategies to fight cancer cells.

In order to be able to fuel their rapid growth, cancer tumours depend on transporter proteins to work at high speed to introduce sugars and other nutrients that are required for the cell's metabolism. One possible treatment strategy would therefore be to block some of the transporters in the cell membrane which operate as fuel pumps, thus starving out and killing the cancer cells.

One important group of membrane transporters is the GLUT family, which introduces glucose and other sugars into the cell. Glucose is one of the most important energy sources for cancer cells and GLUT transporters have been shown to play a key role in tumour growth in many different types of cancer.

In the current study, researchers from Karolinska Institutet have performed a detailed study of the way in which suger transport is executed by the protein XylE, from the Escherichia colibacterium, whose function and structure is very similar to GLUT transporters in humans. For the first time, the researchers have described the way in which the protein's structure changes between two different conformations when it binds and transports a sugar molecule.

"In showing details of the molecular structure of the region that bind the sugar, our study opens up the opportunities to more efficiently develop new substances that may inhibit GLUT transporters," says P?r Nordlund at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, one of the researchers behind the study. "Information on the structure of the transport protein facilitates the development of better drugs in a shorter time. Such GLUT inhibitors could potentially be used to treat cancer in the future."

The study may be of significance not just to cancer research but also in the field of diabetes. GLUT plays a key role in diabetes since insulin works by activating the uptake of glucose from the blood by means of GLUT transporters in the cell membrane.

GLUT and the studied XylE transporter belong to the very large group of metabolite transporters called the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS), which is important in many diseases and for the uptake of medicines in cells.

"Many aspects concerning molecular mechanisms for the function of GLUT transporters are probably common to many members of the MFS family, which are involved in a broad spectrum of diseases in addition to cancer and diabetes," says P?r Nordlund.

As well as membrane transporters, which have undergone in-depth analysis in the current study, many different membrane proteins pass through the surface membrane of the cells. Their significance to the cell function and the development of drugs has been noted before, not least through the Nobel Prizes that were awarded to researchers who used mechanistic and structural studies to map the function of two other major membrane protein families, G-protein-coupled receptors and ion channels.

The current study has been financed by grants from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Cancer Society, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and The Danish Council for Independent Research.

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Journal Reference:

1. Esben M Quistgaard, Christian L?w, Per Moberg, Lionel Tr?saugues, P?r Nordlund. Structural basis for substrate transport in the GLUT-homology family of monosaccharide transporters. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2569

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/YpfcBJy_z0w/130428144853.htm

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Maverick operator Digicel takes on the big boys in Myanmar

By Jeremy Wagstaff

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Cellular operator Digicel Group Ltd jumped into Myanmar early and big, hiring staff, funding local sports, negotiating land deals for thousands of cell tower sites and signing up hundreds of partners for retail outlets.

The strategy helped propel it onto the shortlist for a mobile license in one of the world's last mobile frontiers, putting an operator that ranks 65th globally in terms of customers up against giants such as Vodafone Group Plc.

Whether its strategy pays off or not, industry insiders say, Digicel, largely unknown outside the Caribbean and some Pacific islands, has shaken up a usually conservative industry.

"They have been a disruptive force," said Roger Barlow, a Hong Kong-based telecommunications consultant who has worked in Asia for more than 25 years. "Some of the big guys tend to look down their noses at them but they shouldn't because they're becoming a credible player."

Myanmar this month short-listed 12 consortia for two licenses it plans to grant foreign operators in late June. The government wants to expand mobile penetration from less than 4 percent to up to 80 percent by 2015-16.

While Digicel is up against behemoths such as Vodafone, China Mobile Ltd and Telenor ASA, several other big players failed to make the list - among them South Korea's SK Telecom Co Ltd and Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding SAE.

It's a vindication of sorts for Digicel's long-term approach. Business development director Frank O'Carroll led the charge into Myanmar in 2009. In early 2012 he persuaded the company to commit funds to build a local brand and prepare the ground so that if it did get the go-ahead it could roll out a service in a matter of months.

That entailed deploying hundreds of workers across the country to negotiate thousands of leases for base station sites, months before the government had even begun the tender process.

"There's not one square inch of the country we haven't been in," O'Carroll said in an interview in Singapore.

Its sponsorship of the national football federation has built brand awareness - of sorts. Lots of locals have heard of Digicel, O'Carroll said, though at least initially they were as likely to think it's a brand of battery as a cellphone operator.

It's a strategy, he said, that Digicel has been pursuing in much smaller markets for more than a decade.

"What we are doing in Myanmar is not unique to Myanmar," said O'Carroll. "The first country that Digicel as a company looked to get a license was Trinidad and Tobago. We did very the same thing. We were there, we leased the land, we rented local offices, we started a local team, sponsored big sports."

SMALL AND NIMBLE

Digicel has since set up shop in 31 markets, gaining 13 million customers. While none boasts a population above 10 million people, the company has taken on some major rivals, including America Movil SAB, Vodafone, Telefonica and Cable & Wireless.

"I don't think there's any fantastic science to it, but I do think it's our ability to move fast because we're small, we don't have this complex machinery that takes months and months to make decisions," said Vanessa Slowey, Singapore-based CEO of Digicel Asia Pacific, in an interview.

Making those decisions is Digicel owner Denis O'Brien, an Irish billionaire who first focused on small markets in the Caribbean after noticing that spectrum was being auctioned off in Jamaica. Eventually the Pacific beckoned.

Telecoms executive David Borrill recalls meeting O'Brien in his office after three years working for the incumbent operator in Samoa. "He went straight over to his library and opened the biggest atlas he had, turned to the Pacific and said, 'Tell me about this, where would you put an office here?'"

A few weeks later Borrill was back in Samoa, this time working for Digicel. The company bought out Telecom New Zealand's stake in the incumbent operator in 2006, and within six months had more than doubled its customer base.

Last financial year the company reported revenue of $2.5 billion, year-on-year growth of 14 percent and EBITDA of $1.08 billion, up 13 percent. It has 87 percent market share in Haiti, at least 75 percent in Jamaica and 92 percent of Papua New Guinea, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

"Digicel is very astute in selecting the markets it enters," said John Hibbard, an Australia-based telecoms consultant. "It has to be convinced it will win a reasonable market share."

When it isn't, it's prepared to abort. In East Timor, for example, Digicel went so far as building cell towers, and assured the government that if granted a license it could cover more than 90 percent of the population within four months.

But, Digicel said, the government dragged its feet and ignored advice to issue only one license. So when it did eventually win one of the two on offer last year, Digicel turned it down. "Why would we invest $50 million to compete with two other operators, for the 40 percent that is left? It's crazy. So we handed our license back," said O'Carroll.

Digicel sold its assets to the other licensee Telin, a unit of Indonesia's PT Telkom. The company broke even on its Timor investment, said Digicel's Slowey, without giving details.

Such an approach is at odds with the industry's more conservative approach, where investment decisions must be highly rational and based on certain outcomes.

"Digicel doesn't have the institutional memory of other telcos," said Rob Bratby, a Singapore-based telecoms lawyer with Olswang LLP. "It's an example of a company with a different mental framework."

SOROS PARTNERSHIP

Digicel, however, has not had a free ride in Myanmar. The government turned down its proposal in 2012 to set up a joint venture with the incumbent operator, Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications, in favor of an open tender.

That has meant facing the diplomatic and financial muscle of some of the world's biggest and best-connected operators, prompting Digicel to take on its own partners: Yoma Strategic Holdings, owned by Serge Pun, a powerful businessman who, unlike many tycoons in Myanmar, isn't entangled in Western sanctions. The other member of the consortium: Quantum Strategic Partners, owned by financier George Soros.

The Soros-funded Open Society Foundations have long worked with exiles, refugees and dissidents, according to its website. Last year Soros said he would set up an office in Yangon.

Digicel shrugs off criticism that it lacks the experience of working in big markets like Myanmar, arguing that it's harder to work in lots of countries, whatever their size. Among the shortlistees, only France Telecom SA matches Digicel in the number of markets covered.

"Whether it's the smallest country in the world you deploy in or the largest, it's still the same building blocks, still the same issues that you must go through," said O'Carroll. "A lot of those same things, whether it's Nauru's 9,000 people or Myanmar's 60 million, we think are going to be identical."

(Additional reporting by Jason Szep in Bangkok; Editing by Emily Kaiser)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/maverick-operator-digicel-takes-big-boys-myanmar-210540502.html

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Mississippi man suspected in ricin case has been arrested, FBI says (Washington Post)

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Israel fears end to 40-year peace on Syrian front

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 24, 2013, Gal Hirsch, a reserve Israeli General, stands at an army outpost overlooking Syria and Jordan in the Golan Heights. Against a breathtaking vista of green fields and a snowcapped mountain range, all is silent but for a strong gust of wind whipping across the landscape. The tranquility is suddenly interrupted by a burst of gunfire from beyond a newly built fortified fence: Jihadi rebels are battling with Bashar Assad's battered troops in a nearby Syrian village. Watching it all unfold are Israeli soldiers atop tanks - a sight unseen here in a generation - and the sounds of explosions from a large-scale Israeli drill are distinctly heard in the background. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 24, 2013, Gal Hirsch, a reserve Israeli General, stands at an army outpost overlooking Syria and Jordan in the Golan Heights. Against a breathtaking vista of green fields and a snowcapped mountain range, all is silent but for a strong gust of wind whipping across the landscape. The tranquility is suddenly interrupted by a burst of gunfire from beyond a newly built fortified fence: Jihadi rebels are battling with Bashar Assad's battered troops in a nearby Syrian village. Watching it all unfold are Israeli soldiers atop tanks - a sight unseen here in a generation - and the sounds of explosions from a large-scale Israeli drill are distinctly heard in the background. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 24, 2013, a worker builds a security fence along the border between Israel and Syrian on the Golan Heights. Against a breathtaking vista of green fields and a snowcapped mountain range, all is silent but for a strong gust of wind whipping across the landscape. The tranquility is suddenly interrupted by a burst of gunfire from beyond a newly built fortified fence: Jihadi rebels are battling with Bashar Assad's battered troops in a nearby Syrian village. Watching it all unfold are Israeli soldiers atop tanks - a sight unseen here in a generation - and the sounds of explosions from a large-scale Israeli drill are distinctly heard in the background. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 24, 2013, an Israeli soldier looks through binoculars at a Syrian village from an army post on the border between Israel and Syrian on the Golan Heights. Against a breathtaking vista of green fields and a snowcapped mountain range, all is silent but for a strong gust of wind whipping across the landscape. The tranquility is suddenly interrupted by a burst of gunfire from beyond a newly built fortified fence: Jihadi rebels are battling with Bashar Assad's battered troops in a nearby Syrian village. Watching it all unfold are Israeli soldiers atop tanks - a sight unseen here in a generation - and the sounds of explosions from a large-scale Israeli drill are distinctly heard in the background. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 24, 2013, Israeli soldiers stand next to a metal placard in the shape of an Israeli soldier, at an observation point on Mt. Bental in the Golan Heights, Against a breathtaking vista of green fields and a snowcapped mountain range, all is silent but for a strong gust of wind whipping across the landscape. The tranquility is suddenly interrupted by a burst of gunfire from beyond a newly built fortified fence: Jihadi rebels are battling with Bashar Assad's battered troops in a nearby Syrian village. Watching it all unfold are Israeli soldiers atop tanks - a sight unseen here in a generation - and the sounds of explosions from a large-scale Israeli drill are distinctly heard in the background. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

ALONEI HABASHAN, Golan Heights (AP) ? Against a vista of green fields and snowcapped mountains, all is silent but for a gusting wind. Then comes a burst of gunfire from the Syrian civil war raging next door, where jihadist rebels are battling Bashar Assad's troops in a village.

Watching it all unfold from a few kilometers (miles) away are Israeli soldiers atop tanks behind a newly fortified fence, while a large-scale Israeli drill sends off its own explosions in the background.

This is the new reality on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, for 40 years the quietest of Israel's front lines, a place of hiking trails, bird-watching, skiing and winery tour. The military predicts all that will soon change as it prepares for the worst ? a power vacuum in Syria in which rogue groups could get their hands of the country's large stockpile of chemical weapons.

In many ways, a new era has already begun. The Syrian villages along the border change hands between military and rebel strongholds in daily battles. Their mortar shells and bullets frequently land on the Israeli side, including in some cases narrowly missing soldiers and civilians. A Syrian army tank shell landed in the border community of Alonei Habashan in February.

Though Israel believes these have mostly been cases of errant fire, it has responded with firepower of its own on several occasions in the first round of hostilities since a long-term armistice took hold after the 1973 Mideast war.

"This area became a huge ungoverned area and inside an ungoverned area many, many players want to be inside and want to play their own role and to work for their own interests," said Gal Hirsch, a reserve Israeli brigadier general who is involved in the military's strategic planning and operations. "Syria became a place that we see as a big threat to Israel and that is why we started to work in the last two years on a strong obstacle, on our infrastructure, in order to make sure that we will be ready for the future. And the future is here already."

Officials say the military's present deployment on the plateau is its most robust since 1973, and its most obvious manifestation is the brand new border fence, 6 meters (20 feet) tall, topped with barbed wire and bristling with sophisticated anti-infiltration devices. The previous rundown fence was largely untested until it was trampled over last year by Syrians protesting on behalf of Palestinians.

The military would not detail other measures it is taking, but stressed it was actively defining the new border arrangement now, before it could be too late.

On the other side of the frontier, the village of Bir Ajam is in rebel hands and Israeli troops report watching them successfully deflect Syrian military pre-dawn raids almost daily. In a village nearby, Syrian intelligence and commando forces are based in concrete, windowless structures.

At the triangle where the borders of Israel, Syria and Jordan meet along the Yarmouk River, a lone jeep is seen crossing uninterrupted from Jordan into Syria. In March, rebels kidnapped 21 Filipino U.N peacekeepers nearby. Thousands of refugees have used the route to flee the carnage into Jordan.

A few injured refugees have trickled into the Golan, and the military runs a field clinic to treat them. But there's no guarantee the trickle won't become a flood if Jordan in the south or Turkey in the north become unreachable.

"Syria right now is a kind of self-evolving system," Hirsch said. "No one can control or predict everything."

Israel, which borders southwestern Syria, has thus far been careful to stay on the sidelines of a civil war that has already claimed the lives of more than 70,000.

Assad is a bitter enemy, an ally of Iran and a major backer of Lebanese Hezbollah guerilla attacks against Israel. But like his father whom he succeeded as president, he has faithfully observed U.S.-brokered accords that ended the 1973 war. Israel worries that whoever comes out on top in the civil war will be a much more dangerous adversary.

Chief among Israeli concerns is that Assad's advanced weaponry could reach the hands of either his ally, the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, or Islamic extremist groups among the rebels trying to oust him.

"Syria is not a regular place ... it is the biggest warehouse for weapons on earth," Hirsch warned.

In an interview with BBC TV last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the rebel groups among "the worst Islamist radicals in the world."

"So obviously we are concerned that weapons that are ground-breaking, that can change the balance of power in the Middle East, would fall into the hands of these terrorists," he said.

This week, a senior Israeli military intelligence official said Assad used chemical weapons last month. After initial denials, American and British officials confirmed the assessment of Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, the head of research and analysis in Israeli military intelligence, that the lethal nerve agent sarin was probably used. U.S. President Barack Obama has warned that the introduction of chemical weapons by Assad would be a "game changer" that could usher in greater foreign intervention in the civil war.

For Israel, the specter of peace with Syria disintegrating adds to a growing sense of siege. It saw the Gaza Strip fall to the militant Hamas movement in an election in 2006. And Egypt, the most populous Arab country and the first to make peace with Israel, is now ruled by the fiercely anti-Israeli Muslim Brotherhood. All this against the backdrop of the Iranian nuclear program and its threats to destroy the Jewish state.

Israel has all but admitted that its warplanes destroyed a shipment of anti-aircraft missiles believed to be headed from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon in January, and on Thursday it shot down a drone which it said it suspects was operated by Hezbollah. Hezbollah denied launching it.

Hirsch, who commanded an Israeli division in a monthlong war with Hezbollah in 2006, said war regional roles have since then been reversed. While once Syria used Hezbollah in Lebanon as a proxy against Israel, Hezbollah is now deterred from acting on Lebanese soil for fear of Israeli retribution and is preparing to use the instability in Syria as its future staging ground.

"The fighting in Syria gives them an opportunity to open a new front against Israel," said Hirsch. "We must be ready for turbulence. We must be ready for the Iranian involvement inside Syria. We must be ready to be able to fight against radical fundamentalist activities that will come from Syria, and that is what we are doing here."

___

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Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-26-Israel-On%20Syria's%20Doorstep/id-cdaa5de61c694d4a960e6cafe8b54aba

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Xing puts a Wii U at the heart of its costly karaoke machine

Sure, we've seen game consoles modified for use beyond their original purpose, but this apparatus turns things up a notch. Pictured above is the Joysound Festa, a mobile entertainment system powered by the Wii U's hardware and software. Built by Japanese karaoke machine maker Xing, this beastly console mod is controlled from the system's Gamepad and includes the gracelessly named Nintendo x Joysound Wii Karaoke U. Pre-loaded with 90,000 songs, this party starter also ships with a set of dance, exercise, yoga and brain training videos. Already reaching for your wallet? You should know that this unique setup is Japan-only, and headed to hotels and nursing homes at a hefty price of 1,580,000 yen (around $15,884). At that price, it may take around 25 years until we see one of these bad boys up for grabs on eBay.

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Via: Kotaku

Source: Joysound Festa (translated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/25/xing-wii-u-karaoke-machine/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Ray J Teases "I Hit It First" Music Video, Takes Shot at Kanye West

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/ray-j-teases-i-hit-it-first-music-video-take-shot-at-kanye-west/

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Mysterious hot spots observed in cool red supergiant

Apr. 24, 2013 ? Astronomers have released a new image of the outer atmosphere of Betelgeuse -- one of the nearest red supergiants to Earth -- revealing the detailed structure of the matter being thrown off the star.

The new image, taken by the e-MERLIN radio telescope array operated from the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, also shows regions of surprisingly hot gas in the star's outer atmosphere and a cooler arc of gas weighing almost as much as the Earth.

Betelgeuse is easily visible to the unaided eye as the bright, red star on the shoulder of Orion the Hunter. The star itself is huge -- 1,000 times larger than our Sun -- but at a distance of about 650 light years it still appears as a tiny dot in the sky, so special techniques combining telescopes in arrays are required to see details of the star and the region around it.

The new e-MERLIN image of Betelgeuse -- published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, shows its atmosphere extends out to five times the size of the visual surface of the star. It reveals two hot spots within the outer atmosphere and a faint arc of cool gas even farther out beyond the radio surface of the star.

The hot spots are separated by roughly half the visual diameter of the star and have a temperature of about 4,000-5,000 Kelvin, much higher than the average temperature of the radio surface of the star (about 1,200 Kelvin) and even higher than the visual surface (3,600 Kelvin). The arc of cool gas lies almost 7.4 billion kilometres away from the star -- about the same distance as the farthest Pluto gets from the Sun. It is estimated to have a mass almost two thirds that of the Earth and a temperature of about 150 Kelvin.

Lead author Dr Anita Richards, from The University of Manchester, said that it was not yet clear why the hot spots are so hot. She said: "One possibility is that shock waves, caused either by the star pulsating or by convection in its outer layers, are compressing and heating the gas. Another is that the outer atmosphere is patchy and we are seeing through to hotter regions within. The arc of cool gas is thought to be the result of a period of increased mass loss from the star at some point in the last century but its relationship to structures like the hot spots, which lie much closer in, within the star's outer atmosphere, is unknown."

The mechanism by which supergiant stars like Betelgeuse lose matter into space is not well understood despite its key role in the lifecycle of matter, enriching the interstellar material from which future stars and planets will form. Detailed high-resolution studies of the regions around massive stars like the ones presented here are essential to improving our understanding.

Dr Richards, who is based in Manchester's School of Physics and Astronomy, added: "Betelgeuse produces a wind equivalent to losing the mass of the Earth every three years, enriched with the chemicals that will go into the next generation of star and planet formation. The full detail of how these cool, evolved stars launch their winds is one of the remaining big questions in stellar astronomy.

"This is the first direct image showing hot spots so far from the centre of the star. We are continuing radio and microwave observations to help decide which mechanisms are most important in driving the stellar wind and producing these hot spots. This won't just tell us how the elements that form the building blocks of life are being returned to space, it will also help determine how long it is before Betelgeuse explodes as a supernova."

Future observations planned with e-MERLIN and other arrays, including ALMA and VLA, will test whether the hotspots vary in concert due to pulsation, or show more complex variability due to convection. If it is possible to measure a rotation speed this will identify in which layer of the star they originate.

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Journal Reference:

1. Anita Richards et al. e-MERLIN resolves Betelgeuse at wavelength 5 cm: hotspots at 5R. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2013

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/fD3_AjYgtT4/130424222432.htm

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After Raising $6.7M For Startups And Winning SEC Approval, AngelList Opens Up Investment Platform To More Companies

In December, AngelList, a service that matches early stage startups with investors, debuted the ability to allow accredited investors to actually invest in startups on the platform with as little as $1,000. AngelList also partnered with SecondMarket to create an investment vehicle for these investments. Since December, the company is announcing that it has seen 1,100 investment commitments completely online, totaling over $6 million in funding for startups raising via AngelList. And today, AngelList is opening the platform up to all startups with top-tier investors.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/i5OXA8avxcE/

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Apple confirms WWDC 2013 will take place June 10th to 14th, tickets go on sale tomorrow

This is one Apple event that's fairly constant, but the company has confirmed today that the 2013 edition of its Worldwide Developers Conference -- otherwise known as WWDC -- will take place from June 10th to 14th at Moscone West in San Francisco. In a statement, Apple's Phil Schiller says that its "developers have had the most prolific and profitable year ever, and we're excited to show them the latest advances in software technologies and developer tools to help them create innovative new apps," adding, "we can't wait to get new versions of iOS and OS X into their hands at WWDC." Not exactly a huge surprise there, but you can rest assured we'll be there to cover that and anything else the company might have up its sleeve. Tickets are set to go on sale tomorrow.

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Farea Al-Muslimi Says Drone Strike On Yemen Village 'Tore My Heart' (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- A Yemeni man named Farea al-Muslimi told a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that a U.S. drone strike on his small town of Wessab "tore my heart," much as the Boston Marathon bombings upset Americans.

"Most of the world has never heard of Wessab. But just six days ago, my village was struck by a drone, in an attack that terrified thousands of simple, poor farmers," Muslimi said in prepared testimony. "The drone strike and its impact tore my heart, much as the tragic bombings in Boston last week tore your hearts and also mine."

Muslimi testified that he was with an American colleague in the town of Abyan last year when the local residents suddenly became worried.

"They were moving erratically and frantically pointing toward the sky. Based on their past experiences with drone strikes, they told us that the thing hovering above us -? out of sight and making a strange humming noise -? was an American drone. My heart sank. I was helpless. It was the first time that I had earnestly feared for my life, or for an American friend?s life in Yemen. I was standing there at the mercy of a drone. I also couldn?t help but think that the operator of this drone just might be my American friend with whom I had the warmest and deepest friendship in America," Muslimi said.

"My mind was racing and my heart was torn," Muslimi continued in his statement. "I was torn between the great country that I know and love and the drone above my head that could not differentiate between me and some AQAP militant. It was one of the most divisive and difficult feelings I have ever encountered. That feeling, multiplied by the highest number mathematicians have, gripped me when my village was droned just days ago. It is the worst feeling I have ever had. I was devastated for days because I knew that the bombing in my village by the United States would empower militants."

Read Muslimi's full testimony here.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/23/farea-al-muslimi-drone-strike_n_3142322.html

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The Science Behind Why We Procrastinate

Some research says the best way to spark creativity is to walk away and that the best ideas come from those least-expected ?aha!? moments. So maybe procrastination isn?t such a bad thing after all. Or is time spent on those cat memes taking its toll? Can procrastinating ever be a source of productivity? Here's what the research has to say.

This is a guest post by Anna Codrea-Rado via Quartz.

Here?s the complete guide to procrastinating at work:

Clever People Procrastinate Smartly

The Creativity Research Journal studied the working habits of a particularly intelligent group of people, winners of the Intel Science Talent competition. They found the group procrastinated productively. Some used procrastination as a trigger for a helpful amount of stress needed to ignite positive action. Others saw it as a ?thought incubator." They put off making a decision because they wanted to fully process it before finding a solution.

The same study also found that the tasks the science competition winners were doing while avoiding work were helping in other areas of their life. They were procrastinating efficiently and taking care of other responsibilities. So don?t feel too guilty the next time you pause from that spreadsheet to pay your gas bill online.

Procrastination Isn?t Just Bad Time Management

Professor Joseph R. Ferrari of DePaul University writes extensively on procrastination and has found that procrastinators aren?t simply managing their time poorly. It?s a tactic deployed by those with vulnerable self-esteem and has a lot to do with perceived notions of time.

There are two types of procrastinators out there: those who delay making decisions, and those who delay taking action. Ferrari found that the decision-avoiders are dependent on others, relying on them to make their minds up for them. They?re more submissive and prefer to pass the buck to someone else whom they can blame them if it all goes wrong.

The task-avoiders, on the other hand, are generally characterized by low self-esteem; they make a decision but don?t follow up on it. Of course a lot of people fall into both categories, but the findings go some way in explaining the different ways people procrastinate.

Nature Versus Nurture

Though procrastination might seem merely a personality quirk, scientific opinion is divided as to whether it can be put down to nature, or is the product of a person?s environment.

According to Ferrari and further research from Oklahoma State University, factors like ?time perspective? affect someone?s likelihood to procrastinate. Time perspective is how people understand and interpret their past, present and future. For example, someone who focuses on the bad things in his past is more prone to bitterness and resentment. Although it?s possible to modify your time perspective, it?s thought to be rooted in personality and linked to procrastination.

Other research, though, has found that environment is also a contributing factor in procrastination. The American Psychological Association, for example, found that procrastination often starts at school, where a lack of rigor in curricula and not being punished for missed deadlines can breed time-wasting habits.

Procrastinators Hate Procrastinators

In one of his many studies into the behavioral habits of procrastinators, Ferrari found that they are hyper-critical of their fellow procrastinators. This is especially true of women. When asked to the evaluate the poor performance of a co-worker who has the same procrastinating tendencies and habits as themselves, workers were harsher on them than their non-procrastinating co-workers.

The Real Problem is "Flow"

That trance you can go into when finding yourself scrolling through cat memes or chatting an afternoon away has a name. It?s called ?flow." The concept was coined by psychologist Mih?ly Cs?kszentmih?lyi and was originally considered a good thing because it?s a state of deep engagement and absorption, as he abstractly explains in a Wired interview.

Andrew Thatcher and his colleagues at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa wanted to understand more about flow in relation to two other online behaviors: procrastination and problematic internet use. They were trying figure out to what extent too much time online was psychologically and socially harmful.

Unsurprisingly, they found a strong link between procrastination and problematic internet use, as they wrote in the Journal of Computers in Human Behavior. But they also found that when someone was in a state of flow while engaged in a non-work related activity, she was more likely to end up with problematic internet use.

In a way, then, this frames procrastination not as a time-wasting phenomenon, but more as a disconnect between intent and action. Flow is a desirable state to be in when you?re working, but you misdirect it at something else, like avoiding a boring task or the pressure of an assessment, you fall down a rabbit hole.

How To Spot a Procrastinator

A study by Ritu Gupta and colleagues in the journal Current Psychology suggests a way for employers to screen applicants for their procrastination tendencies. People who believe in some form of fate or pre-destination?in a hopeless, ?it?s out of my hands? kind of way?are more prone to procrastination, because such people tend to be more neurotic and anxious.

But more surprising, perhaps, is that the other main characteristic of the typical procrastinator is a relatively healthy life outlook. According to the study, people who have a glowing, nostalgic view of their past have a high tendency towards procrastination. This new finding (the study was conducted in 2012) runs opposite to previous research in the field, and scientists don?t yet have a concrete explanation for what seems rather counter-intutive.

Right, back to those cat memes.

The Complete Guide to Procrastinating at Work | Qz.com

---

Andrea Codrea-Rado covers management and design for Quartz. She is Columbia University's Tow Center digital media fellow. Follow her on Twitter @annacod.

Image via Getty/Maciej Laska.

Want to see your work on Lifehacker? Email Tessa.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/2Iifu8G7tfI/the-complete-guide-to-procrastinating-at-work-477166257

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When religion overrides parental duty - West

?You?re gay? Then we?re giving you up for adoption.? A married couple from South Carolina have caused public outrage in the US when they announced they would be giving their teenage daughter up for adoption ? just because of her sexual orientation.

The news sounds far-fetched. Abandoning one?s child for economic reasons is common, when the means to raise a human being in dignity are lacking, or for psychological reasons if the parent doesn?t feel ready to support and guide a child. However, this is the first noted case in which a parent gives a child up for adoption because the child is homosexual.

The case is even more striking because the child in question is not a baby, but a 16-year-old adolescent. To be abandoned at an age when you are fully aware of circumstances must be worse than being given up for adoption as a baby. However, the state of South Carolina has declared that the girl is legally adoptable and she is currently a ward of the state.

The girl, April Chadwell, must have thought deeply before announcing her sexuality to her family and, particularly because of her young age, she may have been anxious about doing so. But when it came to telling her parents, perhaps hoping for understanding and support from them, instead she was met with an unimaginable response.

Mrs. Chadwell explained to the press that the choice had been painful for her and her husband but that they were not able to deal with a situation they didn?t agree with ? and which they found incomprehensible and intolerable. They therefore turned to their local church, which they attended faithfully, and preferred to pray for April, who would be better off living with a family that knows how to treat her with love and tolerance.

Is it ever too late to take a step backwards, because of one?s own limitations and the awareness that one?s own behaviour might be more harmful to a child than giving that child up? Or, on the other hand, might the child suffer more, being aware that he or she is alone in the world just because their parents had strong views that their parental feelings were not able to overcome?

Source: http://www.west-info.eu/when-religion-overrides-parental-duty/

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Kings Bowl Orlando scores big with flavorful food, clever drinks, and ...

Boston-based Kings Bowl opens its first Florida location today on International Drive, adding more up-scale dining, bowling and quality entertainment to one of Orlando?s busiest areas.

The first establishment to open as part of the ?I-Drive Live? project, Kings Bowl Orlando includes 22 full-size, colorfully-lit bowling lanes in a fun and upbeat environment separated into multiple rooms that also include pool tables, shuffleboard, and bocce ball. ?Adding to the energy are countless TVs and projection screens, weekend DJs, dancing, and plenty of seating for chowing down on the establishment?s excellent cuisine.

When I visited during a media preview last week, the venue was just in the process hanging its new sign out front. ?But inside, all was complete, ready to be shown off after months of construction.

Kings Bowl Orlando isn?t your average bowling alley, feeling more like a nightclub and bar. ?But it?s not a concept entirely new to Orlando.

Just earlier this year, Walt Disney World added Splitsville Luxury Lanes?to its Downtown Disney lineup, providing an array of late night hang out opportunities wrapped in a bowling atmosphere, remaining family friendly across all hours. ?But where Splitsville misses in its merely average food and somewhat cramped lanes, Kings Bowl Orlando picks up the spare by offering an entirely enjoyable experience that?s at times aimed at adults.

The bowling is fun and easily accessible, with friendly staff helping assign lanes, shoes, and get games rolling. ?A variety of colorful balls are available in different weights and finger hole sizes and lanes are prepared for the most expert of bowlers, waxed and ready for all to play.

During daytime hours, Kings Bowl Orlando is open to all, encouraging parents to bring their kids for a great time bowling, snacking, and having family fun. ?But after 6pm, Kings is open only to ages 21 and up, providing Orlando locals and visitors alike a chance to escape and party as late as 2am.

Chefs have created an excellent menu of bold flavors. ?It?s not five-star dining, but it sure beats the average food served at an ordinary bowling alley. ?And for that matter, it?s far better than anything Splitsville serves. ?From pizza to southwest egg rolls to sliders to wings to particularly delicious fried mac and cheese bites, every recipe is carefully crafted to offer some extra zing. ?And that?s just the appetizers.

Adults will also discover plenty of inventive alcoholic drinks created for Kings. ?The?Orange Creamsicle is a winner for its creamy sweetness with a kick while the Fizzy Lifting Drink stands out for its creativity, borrowing a familiar name from ?Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? and served bubbling over with dry ice. ?The whole drink menu is worth exploring.

And those looking for refills all night might want to park themselves at one of Kings? booths with serve-yourself beer taps.

Though it may not look like much on the outside, located in a strip mall tucked away between International Drive and Universal Boulevard, Kings Bowl Orlando will surprise everyone who steps inside with its attention to quality and style.

In the coming years as the I-Drive Live project grows up, Kings Bowl Orlando will have many new neighbors including?Madame Tussauds wax museum and the Orlando Eye giant Ferris wheel. ?But for now, Kings is the new hot spot of the area.

Kings Bowl Orlando is located at 8255 International Drive, between Ripley?s Believe it or Not and Charley?s Steakhouse, next to the large I-Drive Live construction site. ?Full food and drink menus along with more information can be found on the Kings Bowl Orlando web site.

More photos from Kings Bowl Orlando:

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Source: http://www.insidethemagic.net/2013/04/kings-bowl-orlando-scores-big-with-flavorful-food-clever-drinks-and-all-around-fun-in-newly-opened-i-drive-live-location/

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Asia stocks sink on global growth worries

BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets were mostly lower Tuesday as weak economic data, falling commodity prices and big losses on Wall Street shook investors. A deadly bombing in the U.S. also rattled confidence.

The sell-off in markets was triggered by the Chinese government's report Monday that growth in the world's second-largest economy slowed to 7.7 percent in the first quarter from 7.9 percent in the final quarter of last year. Growth was expected to accelerate slightly to 8 percent.

The report stoked worries about the strength of China's economy at a time when U.S. economic data has disappointed and Europe remains embroiled in its government debt crisis. It also pummeled oil and commodity prices.

A bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon that appeared timed for maximum casualties further fanned anxiety. Three people were killed and more than 140 injured. No one has claimed responsibility.

"China GDP data spooked investors into thinking that the world's second largest economy is slowing at a faster rate than anticipated," said Evan Lucas of IG Markets in Melbourne. "All these gyrations on commodity and currency markets were compounded further by the dreadful events in Boston."

Lucas said the markets were probably overreacting to the China growth news, but it creates a disquieting picture when coupled with last week's trade data showing some weakness in the country's exports.

Japan's Nikkei was down 0.1 percent at 13,265.01, recovering from sharp losses in the morning when the yen rose against the dollar.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.6 percent to 21,648.15. South Korea's Kospi opened lower but flattened out by midday at 1,920.55. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3 percent to 4,953.30. Benchmarks in mainland China, New Zealand and the Philippines also fell. Indonesia, India, Singapore and Taiwan rose.

On top of the disappointing data from China were figures on Monday showing a drop in U.S. homebuilder confidence. A separate report showed weak manufacturing in the Northeast. On Friday, the Commerce Department said retail sales fell 0.4 percent in March from the previous month, reinforcing views that the U.S. recovery is losing some steam.

The negative news pummeled Wall Street on Monday, its worst day of the year. The Dow Jones industrial average down 1.8 percent to close at 14,599.20. The S&P 500 index fell 2.3 percent to 1,552.36. The Nasdaq composite dropped 2.4 percent to 3,216.49.

Concerns that Cyprus and other troubled European countries may sell gold to raise cash have also weighed on prices for precious metals. On Tuesday, gold continued its descent, dropping more than $21 early in Asia to $1,339.50 an ounce. Gold has fallen sharply over recent trading sessions. It stood at $1,689 at the beginning of the year.

Gold-linked shares across the region fell. Hong Kong-listed Zijin Mining Group, China's biggest gold miner, fell 3 percent. In Australia, Kingsgate Consolidated tumbled 5.1 percent and Newcrest Mining fell 5.4 percent. Mining and resource shares were also hard hit. Hong Kong-listed Jiangxi Copper Co. slid 4.6 percent. PetroChina, China's largest oil and gas producer, shed 1.8 percent.

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's flagship carrier, sank 6.1 percent. Enthusiasm for airline shares has been damped by threatening rhetoric from North Korea in recent days.

The sharp decline in gold and fears about global growth reverberated throughout commodity markets. Benchmark oil for May delivery dived $1.39 to $87.32 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped $2.58, or 2.8 percent, to finish at $88.71 a barrel on Monday.

In currencies, the euro rose slightly to $1.3038 from $1.3036 late Monday in New York. The dollar rose to 97.55 yen from 97.18 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-16-World%20Markets/id-c1090936836f4314962819a4f17690a9

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Mt. Holly Springs man charged with home improvement fraud; Home ...

Barry Miller

A Cumberland County man is charged with home improvement fraud after he stole $4,600 from a North Middleton Township resident, police said.

Barry A. Miller, 46,? of Mt. Holly Springs, is accused of taking the client?s money to repair a roof along Rellum Street and then never began work on it. Police say he refused to return the victim?s money after cashing the check.

Miller was charged Wednesday with theft, theft by deception and home improvement fraud.

He was taken to Cumberland County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail.

A preliminary hearing is set for April 15.

Source: http://fox43.com/2013/04/13/mt-holly-springs-man-charged-with-home-improvement-fraud/

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US, China pledge efforts for nuclear-free NKorea

BEIJING (AP) ? The United States and China committed Saturday to a process aimed at ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons, with the Obama administration gaining at least the rhetorical support of the only government that can exert significant influence over the reclusive North.

The question now is whether Beijing will make good on its pledge to uphold "peace and stability" and work with Washington on achieving the goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

The declarations from both nations' foreign policy chiefs came as North Korea appears to be readying a missile test that has caused grave concern for the U.S. and its two close Asian allies, South Korea and Japan.

"We are able ? the United States and China ? to underscore our joint commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Beijing before having dinner with State Councilor Yang Jiechi.

Kerry and Yang said they'd seek a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear standoff, which has only grown worse in recent months under its young leader Kim Jong Un.

Since testing an atomic device in February, the North has threatened new tests of its missile capacity and even talked about launching nuclear strikes against the United States, while expanding its U.N.-outlawed uranium and plutonium enrichment program.

"We agreed that this is of critical importance for the stability of the region and indeed for the world and indeed for all of our nonproliferation efforts," Kerry said. "This is the goal of the United States, of China" and of other countries that hope to resume nuclear talks one day with North Korea.

"From this moment forward we are committed to taking actions in order to make good on that goal," he added. "And we are determined to make that goal a reality. China and the United States must together take steps in order to achieve the goal of a denuclearized Korean peninsula. And today we agreed that further discussions to bear down very quickly with great specificity on exactly how we will accomplish this goal."

Kerry said U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and representatives from U.S. intelligence agencies would travel to Beijing later this month. Kerry also is sending his deputy at the State Department, William Burns, as part of the effort to "make sure that this is not rhetoric but that it is real policy that is being implemented."

Yang said his government's position was clear.

"China is firmly committed to upholding peace and stability and advancing the denuclearization process on the Korean peninsula," he said through an interpreter.

"We maintain that the issue should be handled and resolved peacefully through dialogue," Yang said, adding that China would work with the United States and other nations to resume six-party talks with North Korea that fell apart for good four years ago.

Amid almost daily North Korean threats, the U.S. has been counting on China to force its unruly neighbor to stand down. It's a strategy that has produced uneven results over decades of American diplomacy, during which the North has developed and tested nuclear weapons and repeatedly imperiled peace on the Korean peninsula.

But with only the counter-threat of overwhelming force to offer the North Koreans, the U.S. has little other option.

In their statements delivered side by side, neither Kerry nor Yang specifically addressed the immediate crisis: a North Korean test of a missile with a range of up to 2,500 miles that the U.S. believes could happen any day. Later, Kerry said at a news conference that Washington and Beijing "both call on North Korea to refrain from any provocative steps and that obviously refers to any future missile shoot."

Kerry and Yang focused primarily on the long-term problem, which is a nuclear program that may soon, if not already, include the capability to deliver a warhead on a missile.

The question of North Korea's capacity has been subject to great debate in Washington this past week after a U.S. intelligence assessment suggested North Korea had the capacity to put a nuclear warhead on a missile, even if any such weapon would have low reliability.

China has the greatest leverage over North Korea, a country that like few in the world actually cherishes its isolation.

The Chinese dramatically have boosted trade ties with their neighbors and maintain close military relations some six decades after they fought side by side in the Korean War. They provide North Korea with most of its fuel and much of its food aid.

And China has a history of quickly reversing course after talking tougher with North Korea. In late 2010, as American officials were praising Beijing for constructive efforts after the North shelled a South Korean island, a Chinese company agreed to invest $2 billion in a North Korean industrial zone.

"There is no question in my mind that China is very serious ? very serious ? about denuclearizing," Kerry told reporters after his day of talks with top Chinese officials including new President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. He said no options were taken off the table in their discussions, without going into specifics.

Beijing, which values stability in its region above all else, clearly has different priorities than Washington.

China's greatest fear is the implosion of North Korea's impoverished state and the resulting chaos that could cause, including possibly millions of refugees fleeing across the border into China.

For that reason, China has in many ways looked past North Korea's bellicose rhetoric and activity, prioritizing the security of Kim's government, like his father's and grandfather's, over nuclear proliferation concerns.

China also remains deeply wary of any American military buildup in its backyard. Chinese officials are suspicious that the containment effort toward North Korea may be part of the long-term U.S. strategy to expand its influence in the region and even ring in fast-growing China with countries closer to Washington.

U.S. officials say they've gone to great lengths to explain to China that the American objective in North Korea, at least in the short term, is not to change governments.

The U.S. abhors the North's human rights record, its regular provocations and military links with other international pariahs such as Iran. But the U.S. has stressed over years of conversations with Beijing that pushing for North Korean denuclearization could reinforce stability.

In Seoul on Friday, Kerry said President Barack Obama had canceled a number of military exercises planned with South Korea. The message that the U.S. wasn't seeking a military confrontation was directed as much to the North as to Beijing.

The Obama administration believes it may now have greater scope for diplomatic progress.

It has pointed to Xi's recent criticism of the North as illustrative of a subtle shift in China's outlook. Beijing also has backed U.N. penalties in response to North Korea's tests of a nuclear device and intercontinental ballistic missile technology over the past four months.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-china-pledge-efforts-nuclear-free-nkorea-134527072--politics.html

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Telus reportedly in talks to buy Mobilicity, spectrum likely to be the prize

Canadians have been enjoying a minor renaissance in wireless competition since its AWS auction allowed a slew of smaller carriers to join the fray. Unfortunately, that diversity might be shrinking soon. The Globe and Mail reportedly has documents showing that Telus has been in active talks to buy Mobilicity through a share buyout deal. While the apparent leak doesn't mention the exact motivations, it's thought to be a spectrum grab when LTE on major Canadian carriers primarily leans on the very AWS frequencies that Mobilicity also uses for its 3G service. Neither Telus nor Mobilicity is commenting, although we'd note that there may be a few roadblocks (however temporary) if the scoop is accurate. Rules meant to preserve competition will prevent Telus from buying any newcomers' spectrum until early 2014, and Mobilicity left the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association just this week while accusing the industry group of being a puppet for bigger networks like Telus. If negotiations are real and still in progress, there could be some very awkward meetings ahead.

[Image credit: Andrew Currie, Flickr]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: The Globe and Mail

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/13/telus-reportedly-in-talks-to-buy-mobilicity/

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Biden Lunches With 'Veep' Star

Biden Lunches With Veep Star

Vice President Joe Biden had lunch at the White House today with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who plays Vice President Selina Meyer in HBO's "Veep," an aide told ABC News.

While meeting with the vice president, Louis-Dreyfus recorded an episode of the vice president's "Being Biden" audio series as she described a photograph of the two of them laughing at Biden's desk.

"This is hilarious. I can't believe, alright - I'm Julia Louis-Dreyfus, let me tell you about this picture. This is a picture of two vice presidents hard at work in the vice president's office in the West Wing," Louis-Dreyfus said in the episode titled "Two Vice Presidents." "I came to have lunch with Vice President Joe Biden and I surprise him by sitting at his desk so he thought he'd just ask my advice on some various briefs he had to deal with and I was happy to give him my advice which he paid no attention to whatsoever which is why he's such a wise vice president.

"We had a lovely lunch and it's a day I'll never forget. So there you go," she added.

Louis-Dreyfus attended Thursday night's premiere of the second season of "Veep" held at the Washington, DC office of the Motion Picture Association of America. Also attending last night were Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., former senator Chris Dodd, who is now the chairman and CEO of the MPAA, and HBO President Richard Plepler, a former Dodd staffer.

Louis-Dreyfus told Politico earlier this month that Vice President Biden reached out to her to congratulate her for her performance in the hit HBO show which won her an Emmy.

He "was in touch with me to congratulate me on winning the Emmy for this part, and he was very funny about it, which led me to believe that he may have seen a couple of episodes," Louis-Dreyfus told Politico.

ABC News' Michael Falcone contributed to this report. This post has been updated.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/biden-lunches-veep-star-164229009--abc-news-politics.html

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AllThingsD: Twitter's music app launches April 12th

Hungry for the fruits of Twitter's latest acquisition? According to AllThingsD, you won't have to wait long. The usual unnamed sources have told the outlet that Twitter's new music app is due out this Friday, April 12th. True to We Are Hunted's roots, it's said the app will focus on music discovery, suggesting tunes and artists based on various factors, including who you follow on a certain social network. Soundcloud, iTunes and Vevo will apparently do the heavy lifting when it comes to music and video playback, though -- the app won't be a digital music store. Twitter itself is mum on details at this point, but we'll let you know if a little bird tells us anything.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Source: AlllThingsD

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/11/allthingsd-twitters-music-app-launches-april-12th/

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