New Samsung Galaxy S5, Gear 2 and Fit Gear

Review: New Samsung Galaxy S5, Gear 2 and Fit Gear hands-on test - should you join wearable tech craze? 

Samsung will launch their own assault on your lifestyle with the release of three new devices designed to dominate your every waking moment

 

For several years now Apple have snared unsuspecting tech flies into their web by creating an ecosystem of interconnected products that incrementally take control of different elements of your daily existence until you can’t remember how you ever functioned without them.

This week the Cupertino giant’s great rivals Samsung will launch their own assault on your lifestyle with the release of three new devices designed to dominate your every waking moment: the Galaxy S5 smartphone, the Gear 2 smartwatch and the Gear Fit smartstrap.
I’ve been playing around with all three products ahead of their worldwide release on Friday April 11th and while I haven’t had the opportunity to put them through their paces literally, initial impressions are that this could be the start of a magical menage a trois.
The least impressive member of the team - at least in terms of pure wow factor - is the Galaxy S5. Despite boasting an almost imperceptibly larger 5.1” screen (compared to the S4’s 5.0”), a new ergonomically designed back, and - of course! - a fingerprint scanner, it doesn’t look or feel all that different to its predecessor.
The FHD SuperAMOLED display is still eye-popping impressive but the handset comes a distant third in the style stakes to both the HTC One M8 and the iPhone 5S. There are plenty of improvements beneath the plasticky shell, though, including a meatier 2.5GHz quad core processor and a 16MP camera embellished with some neat new focusing functions.
As if to emphasise the S5’s powerhouse credentials, a new Download Booster mode allows you to combine wifi and 4G technology to suck stupid amounts of data down from the internet at once. Parents worried about incurring charges might be more taken with the new Kids Mode, which essentially implements a pre-defined lockdown so that your offspring can’t access anything you don’t want them to.
Samsung are making a big play for the increasingly important health and fitness market, and the S5 comes pre-loaded with their proprietary app, S Health 3.0. An all encompassing lifestyle manager, it combines a pedometer with an exercise planner and food diary. It can even record your heart rate thanks to a new biometric scanner slipped under the handset’s rear camera.
If the S5 feels more about evolution than revolution then the real magic happens when you pair the phone - literally, via Bluetooth - with its wondrous new wearable accessories. The Gear 2 is a genuine thing of beauty, a simple but sleek timepiece that improves upon its lumpen proof-of-concept predecessor in almost every way.

Gear 2 smartwatch

When linked to the S5 (or 16 or so other compatible Samsung products) it can answer and reject calls, show SMS, email and calendar alerts, receive news updates and generally act like an auxiliary screen.
The watch is pretty smart on its own two. It boasts biometric sensors that can record heartbeat and exercise data to sync with your S Health app at a later date and a face-mounted 2MP camera that also shoots 720p video.
You can also connect Bluetooth headphones or speakers to offer a standalone music solution, control your TV via the inbuilt IR blast and, oh yes, tell the time. Best of all, it makes you feel like a cross between James Bond and Buck Rodgers when using it.
If the Gear 2 is a little too retro for your tastes - and for all its elegance there is an unmistakable whiff of the 1980s calculator watch about it - then the Gear Fit is future tech at its finest. The world’s first curved superAMOLED device, it’s almost too beautiful to be confined to fitness freaks.

Gear Fit smartstrap 

As before, a battery of biometric sensors send data back to S Health 3.0 on your phone, allowing you to monitor your daily activities in real time and tailor exercise programmes accordingly. The Gear Fit also offers rudimentary access to a range of message and call alerts and allows you to control media playback from a paired device remotely. Perfect, then, for both the very active out on a run and also the very lazy whose phone or tablet is annoyingly out of reach.
Sure both the Gear 2 and the Gear Fit feel gimmicky but wearable tech is where it’s at right now and there’s also enough functionality here to appeal to more than just early adopters. And while Apple are expected to announce their own move into the fitness market during the San Francisco WWDC event in June, Samsung have more than seized the opportunity to set the early pace.

Kate Middleton and Prince William meet

Kate Middleton and Prince William meet airmen and race yachts in New Zealand

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be meeting the servicemen and women at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base Whenuapai, near Auckland

 

If you've missed any of Kate and Wills' activity here's some early morning reading for you:

• Prince William says they are regularly being offered partners for baby George.
• The royal couple took to the waves in Auckland for an afternoon of racing. But who won?
• Our Royal reporter Victoria Murphy runs down everything we learned from day five here.

8:40 am

Victoria Murphy

We knew they were competitive but whatever happened to being gracious in defeat?
William hollered: "We were sabotaged!" As he disembarked his yacht.
An observer said the Duchess was looking pleased and he replied "I bet she is! Selfless husband! I wanted a quiet night."
Boo. I think that's Kate's cue to start bragging...

Flight MH370 black box 'found' live

Australian PM Tony Abbott 'very confident' search teams have located missing device

He told reporters in China: "We have very much narrowed down the search area and we are very confident the signals are from the black box."

The search zone is a lot smaller at just 232 sq miles, about the size of Chicago, and is located about 1038 miles northwest of Perth.

 

 

After 35 days of speculation and searching the net is closing in on the elusive flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.

"We are confident that we know the position of the black box flight recorder to within some kilometres," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.

"Still, confidence in the approximate position of the black box is not the same as recovering wreckage from almost four and a half kilometres beneath the sea or finally determining all that happened on the flight."

9:46 am

Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Chief General Tan Sri Rodzail Daud has called for maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) for search and rescue operations.
He said the fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate in long range and extended dutie would be helpful should a search for a missing plane in the deep ocean happen again, the New Strait Times reported.
At a press conference at Kepala Batas Air Force College, Daud said: "We hope that the government could provide us with the maritime patrol aircraft in the future.
"I believe our pilots will have no problem to operate the aircraft and equipment."

9:33 am

Anish Patel, President of black box pinger manufacturer Dukane Seacom, has told CNN the black boxes will continue to be emitted for 40 days.
It's Day 35 - so time is really running out for the search crews hunting MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean about 1,038 miles northwest of Perth.
Mr Patel said: "We built them with a design margin of about ten per cent so we think they're going to go a few days longer than thirty.
"After that it's bonus time and the batteries are going to start to degrade.
"We're in that period right now so it could be a matter of days.
"We can get a very faint signal [in the lab] at 40 days but you have to be right on top of the unit to hear it at 40 days."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/flight-mh370-black-box-found-3398513#ixzz2yZGmg07o
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Peaches Geldof dead

The 25-year-old daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates was tragically found dead at her home in Kent on Monday. A post-mortem examination proved inconclusive pending the result of toxicology analysis.

ths later.
She married S.C.U.M frontman Thomas Cohen in 2012, five months after giving birth to her first child, Astala Dylan Willow. She welcomed her second child Phaedra Bloom Forever in 2012.

6:25 pm

The last photo Peaches posted to her Instagram account was a throwback of her and her mum.
"Me and my mum" she captioned the snap, posted on Sunday.
Already, distraught fans have commented on it.
"RIP. So sad," wrote one fan.
"ip ...this is shocking x" said another.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/live-peaches-geldof-dead---3385691#ixzz2yZFUmeAP
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7 Wonderful Foods That Will Give You Great Skin

There are many tasty foods that can give you great skin, and including some of them in your eating plan is essential. When you have a healthy skin, you look much younger and fresher, no matter how old you are. The foods you consume every day play a significant role in the health of your skin as well as your overall health. Nowadays it’s hard to choose foods that are tasty and healthy at the same time. Hopefully, this list of 7 foods to eat to have a gorgeous skin will help you keep your skin healthy and young.

1. Flax seeds

Flax seeds are rich in omega-3’s that play a critical role in controlling the appearance of age spots and fine lines. A study shows that consuming flax seeds every day helps relieve skin redness and irritation and helps make skin look fresh and soft. Add some flax seeds to your oatmeal, smoothies or your favorite muffin recipe.

2. Purple and blue fruits

Purple and blue fruits are among the best foods to eat for a great skin. Blueberries, blackberries and plums are all rich in antioxidants, which combat free radical damage. If you don’t know, free radicals come from a poor diet or chemicals in the environment. Purple and blue fruits can also help keep your skin looking younger longer.

3. Sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds are high in vitamin E, an important nutrient that helps protect your skin from the daily sun damage. Sunflower seeds make a perfect, portable snack to eat on the go. You can also use these wonderful seeds in your oatmeal, salads, cereal, or trail mix. Just make sure you don’t add too much salt to your salads, salt isn’t good for your skin.

4. Chocolate

The great news for all chocolate lovers, chocolate is good for your skin, despite all the myths that it causes acne. I love dark chocolate and eat it almost daily (of course, in moderation), and from personal experience I can say that chocolate doesn’t cause acne. Chocolate actually increases flavonol intake that translates to gorgeous skin. Since chocolate has some calories, make sure you it eat in moderation

5. Sweet potatoes

I was really happy to learn that sweet potatoes are good for skin. They are high in vitamins A and C, which are both essential for glowing and healthy skin. The thing is, vitamin C increases collagen production that keeps your skin supple and smooth, and vitamin A is a potent antioxidant that fights free radical damage and prevents skin cancer. I think it’s a great reason to add sweet potatoes to your eating plan.

6. Tomatoes

When I did my research, I was surprised to find out that tomatoes are good for skin. Many people say that eating tomatoes can cause acne. But tomatoes are an excellent source of antioxidants, namely lycopene, which helps improve skin health as well as protects pigmentation. Add tomatoes to your salads or put some on a sandwich. When you cook tomatoes, you increase their lycopene content, so feel free to eat pizza sauce and marinara too.

7. Yogurt

One of the best snacks that most of us like is yogurt. Did you know that it’s great for your skin? Yogurt contains protein that keeps your skin firm and that helps fight the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Stay away from fruity versions since they are packed with sugar. Opt instead for plain yogurt and add some fresh fruits to it to make it more delicious.

Health workers in Guinea's capital to hunt for Ebola cases

A scientist separates blood cells from plasma cells to isolate any Ebola RNA in order to test for the virus at the European Mobile Laboratory in Gueckedou April 3, 2014

Health workers will fan out in Guinea's capital of Conakry to try to identify people who may have been exposed to the deadly Ebola virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.

Tracing people in a city of around 2 million who may have had physical contact with infected people is harder than in the epicenter of the outbreak, Guinea Forestiere some 900 km from the capital, the United Nations agency says.

Seventy people have begun intensive training on contact tracing in Conakry, the WHO said in a statement. "They will go into the communities to follow up on specific persons who had close contacts with patients with a confirmed Ebola infection."

Infection control measures in Donka national hospital and health facilities are also being stepped up to halt spread of the disease, which can kill up to 9 out of 10 patients, it said. The virus can be transmitted by touching victims or their vomit or body fluids.

To date, 157 possible cases of Ebola have been identified in Guinea, 66 of whom have been confirmed as having the virus, the WHO said. They include 101 deaths.

Liberia has 21 suspected and confirmed cases including 10 deaths, but experts fear the virus could spread to other countries in the West Africa region. Samples tested in Mali, Ghana and Sierra Leone have been negative so far.

The WHO said on Tuesday it could take two to four months to contain the "challenging" outbreak, the first in the region.

Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director-general, told reporters the virus tends to transmit more easily in cities, which is complicating control measures.

"Once you get into populations which are dense and people are interacting with each other in a close way in a way that you do in cities, it can it make easier for the infection to transmit," he said.

"It can also make it more difficult to actually identify contacts. Because everyone you have contact with is not necessarily people that you are going to know.

"So these things tend to be a little bit easier when we are in a rural setting and we have a less dense population."

Greeks strike against austerity before Merkel visit

Protesters from the Communist-affiliated trade union PAME shout slogans as they march towards the parliament during a general labour strike in Athens April 9, 2014.

Thousands of striking Greeks marched to parliament on Wednesday to protest against job cuts and austerity measures imposed by the country's foreign creditors, including Germany, whose leader will visit Athens this week.

Schools and pharmacies were shut, ships remained docked at ports, hospitals operated on emergency staff, and transport in Athens was disrupted due to the 24-hour strike called by private sector union GSEE and its public sector counterpart ADEDY.

More than 20,000 workers, pensioners, students and the unemployed marched peacefully through the streets of the Greek capital chanting "EU, IMF take the bailout and get out of here!"

Unions said their anti-austerity message was also aimed at German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is due to meet Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens on Friday. Germany has insisted on painful spending cuts and tax hikes in return for international loans.

"It's time to save people not banks," said 59-year old economist Eleni Prokou. "Merkel and the troika should stop sticking their nose in our business."

Turnout at Wednesday's march, which ended within two hours, was similar to protests held during the last nationwide strike in November.

Unions have staged dozens of strikes since Greece's first bailout in 2010, with turnout at some rallies topping 100,000 and testing the government's will to implement reforms demanded by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Protesters say the crisis, which many Greeks blame on a corrupt political elite, has only hit the poor.

"They are servants of Merkel," said protester Aggelos Mikronis, a 60-year old mechanic, of Greece's politicians as he stood opposite the parliament building. "I'm earning half of what I used to get."

DISRUPTION AT SEA

Wednesday's disruption was most keenly felt in maritime transport such as the ferry services to and between the Greek islands and on the railways. Seamen, port and train workers walked out in protest at the planned privatisation of Greece's largest ports and railway.

Greeks have lost about a third of their disposable income since the debt crisis started and unemployment has soared, leaving more than one in four without a job.

Samaras' coalition government has been basking in the glow of its latest deal with inspectors from the troika of the EU, ECB and IMF, clinched after nearly seven months of wrangling over issues such as deregulating the milk sector and pharmacies.

The government qualified for further rescue loans after it passed a reform law required by the lenders last month, but it saw its parliamentary majority reduced to just two seats after it had to expel one lawmaker who failed to support it.

Days later, a scandal over the prosecution of far-right politicians helped the leftist opposition halt a rise in support for the government, a poll showed.

Athens said on Wednesday it would return "imminently" to international bond markets for the first time since 2010 by selling a five-year bond to investors.

Big Sean, Naya Rivera Call Off Engagement

Rapper confirms the couple made 'difficult decision' on Wednesday (April 9)

"You had your fun, now it's done," Naya Rivera sings on "Sorry," featuringBig Sean, in a line seemingly directed at his ex. But now, the fun is done for the couple, too.

The two have called off their engagement.

"After careful thought and much consideration, Sean has made the difficult decision to call the wedding off," a rep for the rapper told Us on Wednesday, following rumors of a split. "The recent rumors and accusations reported by so called or fake sources are simply untrue. Sean wishes Naya nothing but the best and it is still his hope that they can continue to work through their issues privately. We will not be commenting again on this matter."

The two young stars first made their relationship public in early 2013, when they appeared together at the premiere of the movie "42" last April. By October, they were officially engaged.

"Me and Naya is a great thing," Sean told MTV News in June. "That's my homey, more than anything. That's my girl."

Naya similarly sang Sean's praises when she spoke with MTV News in August. "He's been doing this a lot longer than I have professionally, so his advice is priceless," she said of their musical working relationship. "I'll play him stuff and he'll give me little tweaks."

In addition to his work with her on "Sorry," Sean shouted out his lady on Drake's summer hit "All Me." "My new girl is on 'Glee' and sh--/ Probably makin' more money than me and sh--," he rapped.

Naya has yet to publicly comment on the news.

India’s economic growth expected to recover from 4.4% to 5. 4% this year

Slightly stringer global growth accompanied by an improvement in domestic economy will likely push India's economic growth to 5. 4 per cent this year, according to the latest edition of the World Economic Outlook report the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In the recently released report, the IMF said that India's improving exports, implementation of approved massive investment projects accompanied by stronger global economic growth would help the Asian economy attain a higher growth.

The IMF's World Economic Outlook report said, "India's growth is expected to recover from 4.4 per cent in 2013 to 5. 4 per cent in 2014, supported by slightly stronger global growth, improving export competitiveness and implementation of recently approved investment projects."
An improvement in exports and decline in gold imports has contributed to dragging down India's current account deficit (CAD) significantly. On the other hand, bold policy measures bolstered capital flows into the country.
China will likely see its economic growth remaining broadly unchanged at around 7.5 per cent in 2014-15; but some of the leading emerging economies like Brazil, Turkey and South Africa are expected to suffer downturns in their growth rates.
Israel's economic growth is expected to jump slightly from 3.2 per cent this year to 3.4 per cent in 2015. The IMF underlined that threat from the Ukraine crisis and the slowdown in some leading emerging economies could hurt the global economic growth.

»

Honey Singh bags song with Miss India Koyal Rana

Mumbai, April 9 : Rapper-composer Yo Yo Honey Singh, who is currently exploring the West for musical opportunities, will be composing and recording a song for Femina Miss India 2014 Koyal Rana.

The "Blue Eyes" hitmaker has been roped in to shoot a music video with Koyal.

"That is a commitment I made before my current paschim-yatra (westside journey) started.  I was a judge at the Miss India pageant and after the winner was selected I'm doing a song and music video with her," he said.
Honey Singh's song for Miss India would be his only original track in recent times.
"Even the song that I did for Sanjay Leeela Bhansali's 'Gabbar' is an old number.  But working with Bhansali was a dream come true," he said.
Honey Singh has written a rap number about his new association with Bhansali.
"When I was a child, I saw the Ram Leela performed on stage.  Now, there is the film 'Ram Leela' ('Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela') and its maker actually wanted me to do a song for Akshay Kumar in 'Gabbar'.  Akshay was one of the first Bollywood A-listers to believe in me.  We gelled before we jammed together," he said.
For now, there is only the song with Koyal.
Apparently, the number that he plans with her would be completely cleaned out.  It would not have any hint of naughtiness, not even one suggestive word.(IANS)

»

David Jones shares rise 20% following takeover reports

The shares of department store David Jones have risen by as much as 20 per cent after reports indicated that the company might be acquired by South African retail chain Woolworths Holdings.

Woolworths has said that it is planning to acquire David Jones in a deal that will value the company's share at $4 cash per unit. The price will represent a 25 per cent premium on the yesterday's closing price for David Jones and a 39 per cent premium to the closing price on January 30. David Jones chairman Gordon Cairns said the Woolworths has offered an attractive proposal with significant premium on the share price. Mr Cairns also pointed out that offer was earlier priced below $4 per share.

"While we believe in the strategic merits of our proposal and the potential value accretion for both sets of shareholders, we have always maintained a disciplined approach to valuation, and as a consequence we will advise David Jones today of the withdrawal of our proposed merger of equals," Myer said in a statement.

David Jones shares rose 72.5c to $3.915c and even touched a high of $4 this afternoon

India's Mars Orbiter crosses half-way mark

Chennai, April 9 : India's Mars Orbiter has travelled over 340 million km and crossed the half-way mark Wednesday morning on its long journey towards the Red planet, the Indian space agency said.

In a statement, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the Mars Orbiter had crossed the half-way mark along the designated helio-centric trajectory.

According to an ISRO official, the Mars Orbiter has to travel 680 million km.

Launched on Nov 5, 2013, a Trans Mars Injection steering was carried out to set the spacecraft towards the planet, followed by a Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM) Dec 11, 2013 after it had crossed the Earth's sphere of influence.
As the Mars Orbiter is on its track, the TCM planned for April was not been done and if needed, the trajectory would be corrected in June.
According to ISRO, the five scientific instruments on board the Mars Orbiter are in fine condition and tests are done periodically.
The radio (straight line) distance between the Earth and the Orbiter is now 39 million km and a signal from here to the spacecraft and back takes around 4 minutes and 15 seconds, ISRO said.
Soon, the High Gain Antenna of the spacecraft will be put in service for handling communications with the ground stations.
Meanwhile, ISRO Wednesday morning raised the orbit of its second navigation satellite - IRNSS-1B - by firing the on-board motors for 2.24 minutes.  The satellite's perigee (nearest point to earth) is 35,328 km and the apogee (farthest point from earth) is 35,931 km.(IANS)

Toronto to spend $215m on roads to prepare for Pan Am Games

The city authorities in Toronto have announced a plan to invest about $215 million to repair streets across the city in order to prepare for the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Coun. DenzilMinnan-Wong has announced a host of construction projects at a news conference on Monday. He urged Toronto residents to cooperate and be patient as the workers restore several major roads and bridges across the city starting from April. Among the major biggest projects scheduled for this summer is the maintenance of the Gardiner Expressway. The workers will replace the deck on the elevated portion from CNE to Grand Magazine Street.

The authorities are also planning to demolish the Garrison Road bridge east of Strachan Avenue. The workers will close each direction of the Gardiner and construction will go on till December 2016. Others works will include bridge upgrades in the Humber River and Park Lawn Avenue area and the replacement of a median west of Dufferin Street.

Minnan-Wong pointed out that the authorities will work to complete the work as soon as possible and also ensure cause minimal disruption to motorists and residents.

He said, "We sympathize with motorists as they travel across the city but we have to do the work. We're hopeful that we can have some remedies that can make traffic a little bit smoother."

Wealleans Groundspread fined over fatal accident

Wealleans Groundspread Limited, a Waikato fertiliser spreading company, has been fined and is ordered to pay reparation after a company died in a truck accident in June 2013

Wealleans Groundspread Limited has admitted that it failed to take all steps to ensure the safety of Tyler Old, who was just 18 years old. The company has been fined $33750 and ordered to pay reparation of $70,000 in Morrinsville District Court. Worksafe New Zealand has said there was no witness of the accident but it is believed the workers climbed into the hopper on the back of the truck and then was trapped in the chain conveyor.

WorkSafe's chief investigator Keith Stewart  said, "The footholds and handholds on the side of the truck were inadequate to allow Mr Old to safely lean over the side wall of the hopper and push any fertiliser that was stuck down on to the chain conveyor."

The company's health and safety handbook said that employees should never climb into the hopper when the chain is operational however, there were no noted sings on the truck for the instruction.

SA central bank not likely to intervene in currency market

The South African central bank has indicated that it is not looking to intervene to control the weakness in the national currency after the Rand remained low in the currency market.

Governor Gill Marcus of the Central bank of South Africa said that he expects the currency is expected to remain volatile but pointed out that the central bank is not likely to intervene. The country has a reserve of only $50 billion, which restricts the ability to boost its local currency.

Kim Kardashian slams rumours of six-hour spa treatments

Los Angeles, April 9 : Socialite Kim Kardashian has denied indulging in six-hour spa treatments on a daily basis and said she'd rather use that much time to be with her daughter North.

"I see the hotel I stayed at gave quotes that I had six-hour spa treatments daily.  The hotel was gorgeous and had amazing service, but not once did I get a massage...

"Never once did I get a manicure or any other spa treatment.  Not one! So, I really don't appreciate false information making me out to be a diva," mirror. co. uk quoted Kardashian, who recently visited Thailand, as saying.

Vote for Congress, save India: Sonia

Kolar (Karnataka), April 9 : Cautioning against divisive forces attempting to polarise the country, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Wednesday urged the people to vote for her party in the April 17 Lok Sabha election in the state.

"You have a great responsibility in this election to save the nation by voting for the Congress in majority and defeating those forces attempting to divide the country on religious and caste basis," Gandhi said at a public meeting here, about 100 km from Bangalore.

INS Vikrant sold to ship-breaker for Rs 63.2 crore

The INS Vikrant, India's first aircraft carrier that played a key role in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, has been sold to a ship-breaking company named IB Commercial Private Limited.

The private-sector ship-breaker bought the aircraft carrier, which was commissioned in 1961 and decommissioned in 1997, for Rs 63.2 crore.  The auction took place last week.

Earlier, there were plans of converting the huge ship into a museum, but the project was abandoned as the ship's condition was very bad.  It had got rusted and sustained notable structural damage.

FIFA releases official World Cup song

Rio De Janeiro, April 9 : Cuban-American rapper Pitbull joins Jennifer Lopez and Brazil's Claudia Leitte in the official World Cup football song released by FIFA.

The track, "We Are One (Ole, Ola)", featuring an acoustic guitar and an upbeat rhythm with lyrics promoting peace and unity, was released Tuesday reports Xinhua.  A video-clip filmed in Florida is expected to debut later this month.
Pitbull, Lopez and Leitte will perform the song before the opening World Cup match between Brazil and Croatia in Sao Paulo June 12.
The official World Cup album, One Love, One Rhythm, also features tracks from Ricky Martin, Santana, Shakira and Bebel Gilberto.  It will be released May 12, a month before the tournament begins. (IANS)

Google Chromecast’s home screen getting more personalized makeover: report

Google Chromecast's home screen is reportedly receiving a more personalized makeover, with the addition of some more bespoke options.

A Reddit user, asjmcguire, has claimed that he noticed javascript codes for a few new options when he was poking around the source code for the Chromecast's home screen.

Chronic smoking can disturb postural stability

New York, April 9 : Another statutory warning for smokers.  A study on the effects of chronic cigarette smoking on postural stability has found that chronic cigarette use continues to impact the brain regulating postural stability even during abstinence.

Chronic cigarette smoking has a high co-occurrence with alcohol use disorders, and roughly 60 to 90 percent of alcohol dependent (AD) individuals seeking treatment are chronic smokers.

Postural instability is also common among AD individuals, because of damage to the brain systems that maintain postural stability.

Shikar Dhawan named Wisden's Leading Cricketer

London, April 9 : India's dashing opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan along with England women's captain Charlotte Edwards, Australians Ryan Harris and Chris Rogers, Englisman Joe Root and South African speedster Dale Steyn have been named Wisden's Leading Cricketer in the World for 2013.

The five Cricketers of the Year are chosen by the editor of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack based on their "excellence in, or performance on, the previous English summer".

The Leading Cricketer of the World award, which has no such limit, recognises the strongest international performance of the previous year.

Saina ousted from Singapore Open

Singapore, April 9 : Failing yet again to perform to expected standards, India's top women's singles shuttler Saina Nehwal suffered a first round loss at the $300,000 Singapore Open Super Series here Wednesday.


Old nemesis Eriko Hirose of Japan got past the Indian seventh seed 16-21, 21-15, 21-11 in a marathon match which lasted an hour and two minutes at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.  The World No. 15 drubbed Saina the fourth time out of seven meetings in her career.

Farhan Akhtar is face of Yepme.com

Mumbai, April 9 : Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar has been chosen to endorse online shopping portal Yepme. com.

When Farhan was chosen as the brand ambassador of portal, the creative team was keen to discuss and share the storyboard with him for his inputs, said a statement.

he team will be using the song "Tension kyun lete ho", composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy as the jingle, as suggested by the actor.
The lyrics of the song are written by Farhan himself.
"Farhan has come on board as the brand ambassador for Yepme. com.  He will be shooting for the video soon," said the spokesperson of the "Rock On!!" star. (IANS)

»

Devyani Khobragade in Adarsh scam

CBI may file charge sheet against Devyani Khobragade in Adarsh scam

Controversial diplomat Devyani was arrested by the United States authorities in December last year over alleged visa fraud. (PTI)

CBI is likely to file charge sheet against diplomat Devyani Khobragade and her father Uttam Khobragade in the Adarsh Housing scam for allegedly acquiring a flat on the basis of false affidavit.

Sources said the agency has got evidence which show that the flat was allegedly purchased by her using false declaration and by hiding information about the flat alloted to her under government quota and the land possessed by them.

Her father Uttam Khobragade, a Maharashtra cadre IAS officer, is a former CEO of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).

As part of its investigation, CBI is probing alleged illegal beneficiaries and benami property holders in the housing scam.

Controversial diplomat Devyani, India’s then deputy consul general in New York, was arrested by the United States authorities in December last year over alleged visa fraud which triggered a diplomatic row between the two countries.

She was transferred back and is now posted in India.

Under the CBI scanner are nearly 25 alleged illegal beneficiaries who were allotted flats in the Adarsh Housing Society which was said to be constructed in violation of norms.

Retired High Court Judge J A Patil’s report on the alleged scam has opened a can of worms bringing out alleged irregularities in the allotment.

The agency sources said they have got documents showing that Devyani had allegedly been allotted a flat in another government housing society in Oshiwara in 2005.

The sources said according to the rules of Defence Estate, members cannot get flats in two housing societies which get land on concessional rates.

Patil report had termed 25 out of 102 members of the housing society as ineligible.

Meanwhile, Uttam Khobragade refuted CBI’s charge saying Devyani was not responsible for making the declaration and it was done by him.

“I had made the declaration and not Devyani. She was not even aware of what I said in the declaration. So how can Devyani be responsible for any wrongdoing?” he said.

“The declaration where I have said that Devyani is not an owner of any flat in Mumbai is dated July 29, 2004 and at that time Devyani did not own any flat in Mumbai. So, there was no falsehood in the declaration,” Khobragade said, adding the possession of a flat in Meera Co-operative Housing Society
was given to them only in May 2005.

He said when Devyani had applied for a flat in Adarsh,the Society was told categorically that she was just a member of Meera Housing Society and not a flat-owner and that she would resign from the Society when allotted a flat in Adarsh.

Khobragade said the flat in Meera Society was sold as soon as Adarsh accepted Devyani’s membership and the proceeds were used to pay for the apartment in Adarsh.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/cbi-may-file-chargesheet-against-devyani-khobragade-in-adarsh-scam/

Steve Jobs's Secret Plans

This Email Reveals Steve Jobs's Secret Plans

In October 2010, Steve Jobs sent an email to Phil Schiller with the subject line "Top 100 - A."

It's contents: an itinerary for a top secret meeting - called the Top 100 - to be held early the next year, in 2011.

The Top 100 is a big deal at Apple.

In 2011, Fortune's Adam Lashinsky described what the Top 100 is, and how the meeting works:

There is a small group at Apple that most certainly has met Steve Jobs. It's called the Top 100, and every year or so Jobs gathers these select few for an intense three-day strategy session at a proverbially secure, undisclosed location. Everything about this Top 100 meeting is shrouded in secrecy, starting with its very existence. Those tapped to attend are encouraged not to put the meeting on their calendars. Discussing their participation is a no-no, even internally. Attendees aren't allowed to drive themselves to the gathering. Instead they ride buses that depart from Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters to places like the sumptuous Chaminade Resort & Spa in Santa Cruz, Calif., which satisfies two Jobs requirements: good food and no golf course. Apple goes so far as to have the meeting rooms swept for electronic bugs to stymie snooping competitors.

The Top 100 meeting is an important managerial tool for Jobs. He and his chief lieutenants use it to inform a supremely influential group about where Apple is headed. The elaborately staged event also gives Jobs an opportunity to share his grand vision with Apple's next generation of leaders. The Top 100 meeting is part strategic offsite, part legacy-building exercise.

Jobs generally kicks things off personally. Each session is as well crafted as the public product debuts for which the CEO is so famous. For presenters the career stakes are high, and the pressure is nerve-racking. "The Top 100 was a horrifying experience for 10 or so people," recalls one former vice president, who took the stage some years ago. "For the other 90 it's the best few days of their life." Jobs sometimes uses the occasion to unveil important initiatives. "I was at a Top 100 when Steve showed us the iPod," says Mike Janes, who worked at Apple from 1998 to 2003 and remains close to Apple executives. "Apart from a tiny group, no one knew anything about it."

To be selected for the Top 100 is to be anointed by Jobs, an honor not necessarily based on rank. Jobs referred to the group, but not the conclave, in an interview several years ago withFortune. "My job is to work with sort of the Top 100 people," he said. "That doesn't mean they're all vice presidents. Some of them are just key individual contributors. So when a good idea comes ... part of my job is to move it around [and] ... get ideas moving among that group of 100 people." Privately Jobs has spoken even more strongly about the Top 100's importance. "If he had to recreate the company, these are the 100 people he'd bring along" is how one former Apple executive describes Jobs' characterization.

Though its name isn't to be uttered, the blessed nature of the gathering creates a caste system at Apple. Inclusion is by no means permanent. According to Jobs' whims, attendees can be bumped from one year to the next, and being kicked out of this exclusive club is humiliating. For those left behind in Cupertino, chattering begins as soon the chosen few have departed. "We'd tongue-and-cheek have a Bottom 100 lunch after we were done preparing the people who'd left," recalls one nonparticipant. Says another: "We weren't supposed to know where they were. But we all knew."

The email is now public due to an on-going lawsuit between Apple and Samsung.

Given how secretive these meetings were and that 2011 was Steve Jobs's last year at Apple, the email is a fascinating historical document.

So we've embedded it and annotated it below, using News Genius. Click on any of the highlighted portions to see a note featuring a text or video annotation.

POWERED BY GENIUS

From: Steve Jobs
Date: October 24, 2010 6:12:41 PM PDT
To: ET
Subject: Top 100 - A

Here's my current cut. Steve

1. 2011 Strategy - SJ
- who are we?
- headcount, average age, ...
- VP count, senior promotions in last year
- percent new membership at this meeting
- what do we do?
- pie chart of units/product line and revenues/product line
- same charts with tablets + phones merged together
- Post PC era
- Apple is the first company to get here
- Post PC products now 66% of our revenues
- iPad outsold Mac within 6 months
- Post PC era = more mobile (smaller, thinner, lighter) + communications + apps + cloud services
- 2011: Holy War with Google
- all the ways we will compete with them
- primary reason for this Top 100 meeting - you will hear about what we're doing in each presentation
- 2011: Year of the Cloud
- we invented Digital Hub concept
- PC as hub for all your digital assets - contacts, calendars, bookmarks, photos, music, videos - digital hub (center of our universe) is moving from PC to cloud
- PC now just another client alongside iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, ...
- Apple is in danger of hanging on to old paradigm too long (innovator's dilemma)
- Google and Microsoft are further along on the technology, but haven't quite figured it out yet - tie all of our products together, so we further lock customers into our ecosystem
- 2015: new campus

2. State of the Company - Peter & Tim
- FY2010 recap
- FY2011 plan
- where is our business - geo analysis (NA, Euro, Japan, Asia, possibly break out china) (present on map)
- key milestones, trends & future goals
- comparisons with Google, Samsung, HTC, Motorola & RIM

3. iPhone - Joz & Bob
- 2011 Strategy:
- "plus" iPhone 4 with better antenna, processor, camera & software to stay ahead of competitors until mid 2012
- have LTE version in mid-2012
- create low cost iPhone model based on iPod touch to replace 3GS
- Business & competitive update
- show Droid and RIM ads
- Verizon iPhone
- schedule, marketing, ...
- iPhone 5 hardware
- H4 performance
- new antenna design, etc
- new camera
- schedule
- CONFIDENTIAL
- cost goal
- show model (and/or renderings) - Jony

4. iPad - Bob, Jony, Dan Riccio, Michael Tchao ,Randy Ubillos, Xander Soren, Roger Rosner - 2011 Strategy: ship iPad 2 with amazing hardware and software before our competitors even catch up with our current model
- Business & competitive update - Michael
- Apps, corporate adoption, ...
- show Samsung, HP(?) anf iPad ads
- 2011 Product Roadmap - Bob, Dan & Jony
- iPad 2
- new ID, H4, UMTS + Verizon in one model, cameras, ... - EVT units & cases
- HDMI dongle (use for projection of demos below?)
- iPad 3
- display, H4T
- DEMOS:
- PhotoBooth (Michael?)
- iMovie (Randy)
- GarageBand (Xander)
- text book authoring system (Roger)
- working display for iPad 3 (during break)

----------

5. iOS - Scott, Joz
- Strategy: catch up to Android where we are behind (notifications, tethering, speech, ...) and leapfrog them (Siri, ...)
- Timeline of iOS releases from first until Telluride, including Verizon
- Jasper tent poles
- Durango tent poles (without MobileMe)
- Telluride tent poles (with "catch up" and "leapfrog" notations on each one)
- DEMOS:
- Jasper: AirPlay to AppleTV - video from iPad, photos from iPhone, ??
- Durango: ?? (without MobileMe features)
- Telluride: Siri, ?

6. MobileMe - Cue, SJ, Roger Rosner
- Strategy: catch up to Google cloud services and leapfrog them (Photo Stream, cloud storage) - Android
- deeply integrates Google cloud services
- way ahead of Apple in cloud services for contacts, calendars, mail
- 2011
- Apple's year of the cloud
- tie all of our products together
- make Apple ecosystem even more sticky
- Free MobileMe for iPhone 4, iPad and new iPod touch
- Jasper
- Sign up with Apple ID, Find My iPhone
- Durango
- Find My Friends, Calendar, Contacts, Bookmarks, Photo Stream
- April
- iWork cloud storage
- Telluride
- cloud storage for third party apps
- iOS backup
- new iDisk for Mac
- Growth
- projected growth, cost/user
- plan to scale to 100 million users
- transition plan for paid members
- what about email?
- DEMOS:
- Find My Friends
- Calendar
- Photo Stream
- iWork cloud storage (Roger Rosner)

7. Mac - David Moody, Bob, Craig Federigi, Randy Ubilos & ? - Hardware roadmap
- Lion plan
- Mac App Store
- Final Cut Pro DEMO (Randy & ?)

8. Apple TV 2 - David Moody, Jeff Robbin
- Strategy: stay in the living room game and make a great "must have" accessory for iOS devices
- sales so far, projections for this holiday season
- add content:
- NBC, CBS, Viacom, HBO, ...
- TV subscription?
- where do we go from here?
- apps, browser, magic wand?

----------

9. Stores Update - Eddy, Patrice
- Music
- Strategy: Leap even further ahead of Google in music
- Beatles
- iTunes in the cloud
- App Store
- Strategy: Leap even further ahead of Google in discovering great new iOS apps

10. iAds Update - Andy Miller

11. Retail Update - Ron Johnson