Chinese company develops therapeutic apparatus to treat depression

A therapeutic apparatus to treat depression has been developed in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, government sources said Saturday.The apparatus, which claims to be the world's first instrument to treat clinical depression, combines transcranial magnetic stimulation and music therapy. An evaluation report by the provincial committee of industry and information technology called it a worldwide breakthrough.The report, released on Thursday, confirmed that the apparatus is applicable to patients suffering from mild and moderate clinical depression.Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive method that causes depolarization in the brains' neurons so as to restore the functions of brain nerves.The apparatus consists of three parts, a transcranial magnetic stimulator, an audio...

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Poverty alleviation in Philippines still main goal of Millennium Development Challenge

The poverty-alleviation program of the government of President Benigno Aquino III will get its needed boost now that the 434-million-U.S.-dollar grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) of the United States is being implemented.Three major projects under the MCC grant would demonstrate the joint commitment of the United States and Philippines in fighting poverty in the country, Philippine Finance Secretary and Millennium Challenge Account-Philippines (MCA-P) Vice Chairman Cesar V. Purisima and MCA-P Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ma. Victoria E. Anonuevo said in a press statement released on Thursday.Purisima and MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes signed the Compact, which contains the U.S. grant, on Sept. 23, 2010 in New York. President Aquino III who was on a state visit...

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PBOC issues e-payment licenses

China's central bank has finally issued long-awaited electronic payment licenses to 27 qualified third-party payment platforms.The first batch of 27 non-financial institutions include Alipay and Tencent's Tenpay. The companies are now authorized to continue receiving Internet and mobile payments and issuing prepaid credit cards. For companies who fail to obtain a license before September 1st this year, the deadline announced by the central bank, they'll have to discontinue their e-commerce transactions.Mr. Liu is the manager of an Internet company. Since his company is planning to expand to the group purchase business, he has been focussing on which e-payment company to choose for his company.Liu Zhenqi, Manager of Internet Company said "A third-party payment institution has to be involved...

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Alipay tops e-payment market

Despite frictions between online retailers and third party payment firms, it's still a popular and convenient way for consumers to do their online shopping.According to data released by Analysys International, e-payment sales in the first quarter of this year totaled nearly 400 billion yuan, or about 62 billion US dollars. Alipay tops the market, with a share of 45 percent. It's followed by Tenpay, which holds 20 percent of the market, and then Unionpay, which has about 10 percent.Industry insiders say the central bank's issuance of e-payment licenses allows firms to handle foreign exchange transactions, Internet payments, mobile payments and debit card servic...

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Chinese airliners raise fuel surcharge

 Major Chinese airliners have increased their fuel surcharges for domestic routes for the third time this year. The latest hike aims to help offset cost pressures amid surging oil prices. Fuel surcharges for routes fewer than 800 kilometers increased a third from 60 to 80 yuan. Rates for longer routes climbed just over a quarter from 110 to 140 yuan.At a ticket office in Beijing, Ms. Guan bought her brother a return flight from Shanghai to Beijing. The ticket cost 520 yuan, but she had to pay an additional 140 yuan for the fuel surcharge.Ms. Guan, Ticket Buyer, said, "I came to buy a plane ticket several days ago when the fuel surcharge was 110 yuan. The higher surcharge has obviously raised the cost of our trip, but I will still choose to fly over long distances because it is faster...

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China NHA Group buys 20% of Spain's NH Hotels with $610 mln

China's booming hospitality sector is expanding at a rapid pace. It received 60 million international arrivals in 2010, a 10% increase over the previous year. To cater to the increased number of tourists, China's HNA Group, the parent of Hainan Airlines, is teaming up with the Spanish hotel chain NH to build top-notch hotels across China.The Spanish tourism industry is receiving a boost this summer as the unrest in the Arab world means visitors are choosing Spain rather than other Mediterranean destinations, which might be problematic.However China replaced Spain last year as the world's third most visited country behind France and the United States. To cater to this booming market China’s HNA Group is buying 20 per cent of Spain’s NH Hotels for 610 million dollars. A strategic move for the...

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Toyota to push social networking, the owner becomes friends with the car

Toyota Motor Corporation (7203.T) and cloud computing company Salesforce.com (CRM.N) will jointly build social networking services, so a car owner, "friends" and user-friendly access to car maintenance, like a reminder microblogging . Toyota is again within two months with a software company. Toyota last month with Microsoft (MSFT.O) announced its intention on a global scale to provide network connectivity for Toyota service. Toyoda, Toyota Motor president and Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff in in Tokyo, said at a joint press conference: "Social networking services are interaction and communication between people change the mode." "This car needs to keep up with the pace of change," Toyoda said. In the new private social network, "Toyota Friend" service, with the Toyota car owner can "chat",...

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Opera: released new iPhone and iPad browser

Opera Software (OPERA.OL) on Tuesday introduced for Apple (AAPL.O) iPhone and iPad's new mobile browser. StatCounter data, according to Web analytics company, Opera is the world's most widely used mobile browser, ahead of Google (GOOG.O) in Android, Apple, and Nokia (NOK1V.HE) browser market share so far this month, to 21.6% . Android, Apple and Nokia browser market share are between 16-17%. Opera said the new version of the browsers share the key, the user can take this on Facebook, vKontakte with the My Opera publish and share informati...

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Libyan gov't doubts Russia's turnaround stance over conflict

The Libyan government doubts Russia will change its stance on Libya's situation and side with NATO, Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said Friday.Earlier in the day, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at a Group of Eight (G8) summit in Deauville, France, that Russia could act as a mediator to solve Libya's domestic crisis, but Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has no right to lead the country any longer.The two-day summit ended with a unanimously-adopted declaration which said "Gaddafi and the Libyan government have failed to fulfill their responsibility to protect the Libyan population and have lost all legitimacy.""He (Gaddafi) must go," it stressed.Disturbed by Russia's change of position, Kaim told a press conference in Tripoli that the Libyan government is in contact with the...

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2 killed, 7 injured in market blast in NW Pakistan

 At least two people were killed and seven others injured in a blast that took place Saturday morning at a market place in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Bajaur Agency, reported local Urdu TV channel G...

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China to crack down on safety threats to Beijing-Shanghai high speed train

China will launch a two-month crackdown on illegal activities that may pose a threat to operational safety of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail that will commence service soon, the State Administration of Work Safety said.The campaign, which will be conducted in June and July, aims to eliminate safety risks to prevent traffic accidents for the high-speed line due to begin commercial service soon, the administration said in a circular on its website.The crackdown targets the production, processing, storage and sale of hazardous products in areas within 200 meters from the tracks and rail stations.Mining and quarry businesses and blasting operations will also be eliminated in areas within 1,000 meters of the rail.China has decided to slow the speed of high-speed trains to 300 kilometers per...

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Nokia will launch the end of the first Window Mobile

According to Taiwan's Commercial Times reported, Nokia (NOK1V.HE) is expected to launch by the end of the first wave equipped with Microsoft (MSFT.O) Windows Phone 7 smartphone. report did not indicate the source. Reports saying that Taiwan OEM manufacturers Compal (8078.TW) Window of Nokia mobile phones exclusive orders will begin shipping the fourth quarter. Window Nokia plans to launch two new mobile phone, a touch for the whole, another for the touch screen with slide-out keyboard. Nokia announced in February to switch all of its Microsoft Windows Mobile smart phone system, and that volume production shipments in 20...

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Mango Mobile HTC is developing

Taiwan smartphone maker HTC (HTC) (2498.TW) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said on Wednesday that Peter Chou, HTC plans to launch based on Microsoft (MSFT.O) Windows Mango new smart phone operating system. Microsoft on Tuesday released Mango systems.  Microsoft hopes new features will be a series of Mango to help them narrow the leader in smart phone system, Google (GOOG.O) and Apple (AAPL.O:) gap.  Chou an Internet conference in Paris, said on the sidelines: "We are developing Windows Mango phone. HTC is very committed to the production of mobile phones based on Windows systems." The Internet conference hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy held.  However, Chou declined to give the first batch of Mango HTC phone may be the time to market. The CEO often unsatisfactory...

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New vulnerabilities found in IE: "cookie hijacking "

A computer security researchers found a Microsoft (MSFT.O) is very popular IE browser, a vulnerability that hackers could exploit the vulnerability information is used for identity theft registry sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Who live in Italy, independent researchers Waluo Ta (Rosario Valotta) to such hacking technique called "cookie hijacking." He spoke of the use of the technology, said: "Any website, any Cookie files. Fully than you can imagine." Wa Luota explained via e-mail, hackers can use IE on this vulnerability, visit the store in the browser's cookie data file, the file on the website are kept by the account user name and password. Hackers Once you've mastered this cookie file, you can use it to access the same site, so Wa Luota called "cookie hijacking" technology. The...

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ZTE hope to double sales next year, cloud computing products

China's second largest telecom equipment maker - ZTE (0763.HK) (000063.SZ), a senior, said the company goal of cloud computing products for next year's sales doubled to more than 40 billion U.S. dollars. The high level of anonymity, said Wednesday the company's corporate customers of cloud computing products is currently focused on rail transportation, energy and other large enterprises, while those from China and overseas market revenue of about half and half. "Our goal is to develop within the cloud computing business growth in the next few years more than 100%." ​​He said. ZTE said in a press release issued yesterday, is expected this year, sales of enterprise cloud computing products will exceed 20 billion U.S. dollars. These products include data communications equipment, enterprise...

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Lenovo Group, said demand Tablet PC Ipad

The world's fourth largest personal computer (PC) maker - Lenovo Group Ltd. (0992.HK) said Thursday its Tablet PC Lepad currently in short supply in the market, and hope that the tablet PC products to market in China accounts for 20% or more share. Lenovo CEO Yang at a press conference after the results release, said that since Lepad released a month or two has been in short supply in the market. But declined to disclose specific sales figures. Lenovo Chairman Liu called "very confident in the Tablet PC market share in China for more than 20% for as long as the supply was on." Lenovo and said, I hope the smart phone Lephone double sales this year, but did not specify that the volume or sales doubled. Yang said that Lenovo in the emerging markets are more concerned about the short term...

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Microsoft: Nokia mobile phone system with Microsoft will play an exemplary role

Microsoft (MSFT.O) that Nokia (NOK1V.HE) using Microsoft's mobile operating system, will encourage greater use of Microsoft's other mobile phone manufacturers system. Watson, head of Microsoft's mobile business (Brandon Watson) said: "Nokia Windows Phone system for recognition is wonderful, which is conducive to Samsung, LG and Fujitsu, as well as all our other hardware partners." Windows Phone Mobile operating system to promote significant progress in February, the highest worldwide mobile phone sales Nokia said it would gradually replace its Windows Phone System Symbian (Symbian) system. Watson said that Nokia's first mobile phone powered by Microsoft System available later this year. Microsoft and Nokia's strategic cooperation platform for the Windows Phone attracted a large number of software...

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Google will launch mobile payment services in the United States

Google has introduced new services such as software, U.S. consumers will soon be able to use the phone in the checkout payment. Google said Thursday, Google, MasterCard, Citigroup, Sprint, and transaction processing companies - the United States, First Data (First Data) will join forces this summer in New York and San Francisco launch of the service. The service will work with Visa and other large U.S. banks and mobile phone company plans to compete in the Asian part of consumers have used payment system similar to the smart phone. Every time consumers use credit or debit card payment, the merchant must pay a fee to the bank, but Google said the new mobile payment system will not be charged such fees. Google's payment system will be installed in the Andrew (Android) an operating system,...

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Myanmar to take part in 26 sports at SEA Games

 Myanmar athletes will take part in 26 sports at the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia this year, local media reported Saturday.Myanmar plans to enter the following sports: swimming, archery, track and field, billiards, snooker, boxing, canoe, chess, cycling, men's soccer, golf, judo, karate, taekwondo, western boat racing, yachting, shooting, table tennis, tennis, traditional boat racing, men's volleyball, weightlifting, wushu, badminton and basketball, the New Light of Myanmar said.Athletes are now busy in training to strive for good results, said the pap...

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Unasur defense ministers call for resources protection, new defense policy

Defense ministers of the South American Union of Nations (Unasur) agreed on Friday to enforce "strategic policies to defend and preserve natural resources" in the region and to work on its own agenda.They did that at a two-day meeting of the Unasur Center for Strategic Defense Studies.Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said the region has to protect its assets whose strategic importance is growing, referring to 25 percent of the world's water resources and 123 billion barrels of proved oil reserves.Many ministers criticized the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Pact or TIAR), signed in 1947 by many countries of the Americas. The treaty, whose central principle holds that an attack on one is to be considered an attack on all, has not been invoked since 1960."It is time...

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G8 extends plan to prevent WMDs spread despite bin Laden's death: U.S. official

Despite the death of terrorist kingpin Osama bin Laden, the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction remains a threat, a U.S. State Department official told Xinhua on Friday."Al-Qaida remains a threat, but it is not our only threat," Bonnie D. Jenkins, coordinator for threat reduction programs at the U.S. State Department, told Xinhua in a phone interview."We still need to secure our borders. Weak borders are weak borders. The threat of bad actors exists and therefore bio-pathogens, nuclear material and radiological sources still need to be secured," she said.That is why the Group of 8 (G8), in the summit that ended Friday, agreed to extend the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, an agreement comprising 23 partner nations. The initiative...

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Chinese military delegation leaves for visits to UK, Germany

 A Chinese military delegation left Beijing Saturday morning for visits to the United Kingdom and Germany.The delegation, headed by Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Deputy Chief of the General Staff Zhang Qinsheng, are making the official visits at the invitation of British and German armed forc...

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Chile requests Bolivia not to bring maritime demand to OAS

 A Chilean official on Friday urged Bolivia not to present its maritime demand to the Organization of America States (OAS).Eugenio Tuma, president of the Foreign Affairs Commission of Chile's Senate, said Bolivian President Evo Morales "was wrong to say that the OAS must intervene" in the century-long maritime dispute between the two countries.Landlocked Bolivia has been demanding neighboring Chile restore an exit to the sea taken from Bolivia in the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific, after which Bolivia was cut off from the ocean.On Thursday, Morales demanded Chile present a formal negotiation proposal for Bolivia to recover its exit to the sea during the upcoming 41th OAS General Assembly slated for June 5-7 in El Salvador."The solution to Bolivia's enclosure is an exit to the sea by the...

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Rolling Stones released the Year Award, won first prize Singles Harvest

在最佳专辑的评选中，滚石杂志毫不犹豫的将维斯特这张被他们评为五星的专辑列在了第一位。除了滚石杂志之外，美国各大媒体在这张《My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy》面世之后都给予了非常高的评价。而就在一年之前，坎耶-维斯特还是美国各大媒体口诛笔伐的对象。因为在2009年MTV音乐录影带奖颁奖礼上一时冲动上台抢了乡村红人泰勒-斯威夫特(Taylor Swift)的话筒，坎耶-维斯特在过去的一年当中遭到了各方的指责。然而，对于一位音乐人来说，处在负面消息的漩涡当中，最有力量的回击莫过于自己能够做出好的音乐，坎耶-维斯特在这张《My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy》中就做到了这一点。 在坎耶-维斯特之后，位居最佳专辑榜单三甲的另外两张唱片分别是The Black Keys的《Brothers》以及埃尔顿-约翰与里昂-拉塞尔(Leon Russell)合作的《The Union》。 而在年度最佳单曲的评选当中：坎耶-维斯特这首九分钟的《Runaway》也是滚石杂志评委们眼中今年的最佳单曲，排在第二位的歌曲奇-洛-格林(Cee Lo Green)的《Fxxk You》，紧随其后，近十年来发行首张专辑的莎黛(Sade)的同名单曲《Soldier of Love》名列季军位置。凯蒂-佩里(Katy Perry)的《Teenage Dream》和加拿大独立摇滚名团拱廊之火(Arcade Fire)的《We Used To Wait》分列第四和第五位。 最佳专辑前十： 1.  Kanye West 《My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy》   弦乐片段，埃尔顿-约翰钢琴，声码器做出的迷幻效果，Bon Iver的客串，克里姆森国王(King Crimson)和里克-詹姆斯(Rick...

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Posted in: Rolling Stones released the Year Award,won first prize Singles Harvest

Yemen denies military base ` seizure by militants

A spokesman of the Yemeni Defense Ministry on Friday denied reports that anti-government armed tribesmen took control over military bases and shot down military planes outside the capital, official Saba news agency reported."What have been reported by media about that tribe militants seized military bases and shot down fighter jets were baseless," Saba quoted the spokesman as saying."What happened was that an armed group belonging to the opposition Muslim Brotherhoods Islah party and their allies of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMPs) raided a military check point stationed in Farada area in Nehm, some 40 km northeast of Sanaa," the spokesman said.The government troops fired back at those outlaw militants, inflicted big casualties among the attackers as the clashes also led the commander of the...

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Heinze confirms he will leave Marseille

Argentinian veteran Gabriel Heinze confirmed Friday that he would be leaving Marseille at the end of the season.The 33-year-old defender, who moved to the French Ligue 1 club in the summer of 2010 from Real Madrid, emphasized that he's not leaving for financial concerns but for ambition."I think in a completely different way than the club owners," he said. "It's not a question of money, which is not everything in life. It's a question of the project.Heinze earns 400,000 euro a month from Marseille, and the salary makes him one of the club's highest paid players. "I feel I'm doing the club a favor by leaving," he said.Marseille have set about renovating their Velodrome stadium, which will see a 20-million euro shortfall for them in the next three seasons.Heinze, who previously played for Manchester...

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air france 447 black box of information released, the aircraft stall crash

Investigation of the French Civil Aviation Safety Authority released a 27 brief flight data shows that Air France flight AF447 A330-203 aircraft on the evening of 31 May 2009 from Brazil to the French capital Paris, 3 and a half in the take-off hours after the turbulence encounter, then climb the stall and for a time a few minutes later the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Investigation of the French Civil Aviation Safety Authority aircraft in the interpretation of accident "black box" data records, said the plane hit turbulence, the aircraft instrument displays the speed and the speed of backup equipment records are inconsistent, then close the aircraft autopilot. Rest in the cabin when the captain (pilot flying can be a long rest rotation), aircraft controlled by two co-pilot. Since...

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U.S. rig count rises to 1,847

 The number of operating oil and natural gas rigs in the United States rose by 17 to 1,847 this week, according to a weekly report released here on Friday.A total of 958 rigs were exploring for oil and 881 for natural gas, with another eight rigs listed as miscellaneous, according to the report released by Houston-based oil service company Baker Hughes Inc.The rig count stood at 1,535 a year ago.Of the major U.S. oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained 16 rigs, New Mexico and Arkansas added two each and Oklahoma added one. Louisiana lost the most rigs, decreasing by four, while California, Wyoming and North Dakota each lost one rig.The Baker Hughes rig counts, first issued in 1944, act as an important business barometer for drilling firms and their suppliers to gauge the overall business...

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Posted in: 847,U.S. rig count rises to 1

Latin America Needs To Double GDP By 2025 To Address Poverty - IDB

It is possible for Latin America and the Caribbean to reduce poverty to less than 10 percent by 2025, President of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) Luis Alberto Moreno said here Friday.During the launch of his book "The decade of Latin America and the Caribbean: a real opportunity" in Argentina, Moreno said if the region keeps its current growth rate, its gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita income would be doubled in 14 years.In such a scenario, poverty in the region could be reduced from 32 percent to just under 10 percent of the population, Moreno said.The number of upper middle class would then reach 500 million, almost 75 percent of the population, Moreno said."This would allow us to close, finally, the terrible gap of income that still exists in our society," he said.Moreno...

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Cuba to drill five oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico

Cuba expects to soon start drilling exploratory wells in the Gulf of Mexico and produce four million tons of oil and gas in 2011, a Cuban oil industry official said Friday."This year the oil production is surpassing the plan," said engineer Rafael Tenreyro Perez, exploration manager at the state-run company Cubapetroleo (CUPET).He said the island nation is extending its cooperation programs with foreign partners in the Gulf of Mexico and also on land.Right now, domestic oil production can only meet half of the country's energy demands, with the rest coming from its political ally Venezuela.According to official data, Cuba produced about four million tons of oil and drilled 25 wells last ye...

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Wall Street rallies ahead of Memorial Day weekend

U.S. stocks expanded gains on Friday ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend as surging commodity prices overcame disappointing economic data.European Central Bank Governing Council member George Provopoulos said that Greece might deal with its debt problem if it sticks to the aid program. That comment, which was considered as bullish by investors, drove the U.S. dollar weaker and led commodity prices surge on Friday.The stock market was driven by higher commodities prices, with thin trading volume ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, despite somewhat disappointing economic data on Friday.The Commerce Department said that both personal income and spending rose 0.4 percent in April, in line with market estimates. However, the rise in spending was the smallest in three months, suggesting the consumption...

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Five huge explosions heard in ceasefire area in Yemen's capital

Five huge explosions were heard late on Friday in the ceasefire area in downtown Sanaa, which were followed by heavy gunshots, a Xinhua correspondent at the scene said.The five huge blasts and shootings came just few hours after the opposition tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar, who led the five-day pitched street battles against government forces in Sanaa, said that a tribe-mediated ceasefire was reached on Friday.Casualties of the explosions are still unknown as tension soared between the government forces and the fighters of al-Ahmar, who stood by with anti-government protesters to seek to overthrow President Ali Abdullah Saleh.At least 127 people were killed during the five-day gun battles.Blackout hit almost all the capital just minutes after the explosions, as more huge bombings along with...

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Posted in: Five huge explosions heard in ceasefire area in Yemen's capital

Death toll rises to 132 after Joplin , Mo., tornado

The authorities of Joplin city in the U.S. state of Missouri on Friday updated the death toll to 132 from the deadliest single tornado that battered the city in the evening of May 22.Meanwhile, the number of missing people totaled 156, down from 232 a day earlier.An official of Missouri Public Safety said that at least 90 people on the original missing list have been found alive, but some new names have been added to the list.Meanwhile, medical records and fingerprints are being used to identify victims.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said that as of Friday morning, more than 2,500 Missourians affected by Sunday's tornadoes had applied for federal assistance to help with home repairs and cover other personal losses.The agency reported that more than 2.8 million U.S. dollars...

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Posted in: Death toll rises to 132 after Joplin,Mo.,tornado

Denmark return to Sudirman Cup semis

Denmark returned to the top four of Sudirman Cup after six years' absence by beating Chinese Taipei 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the world mixed team badminton championship here on Friday.Denmark stayed among the top four for nine editions since the Sudirman Cup was launched in 1989, but was knocked out in the last two editions.World No. 3 Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Christinna Pedersen put Denmark ahead by sailing past Wen Hsing Cheng/Hung Ling Chen 21-17, 21-13 in the opening mixed doubles. It seemed that Denmark would easily get a semifinal berth when Peter Gade made it 2-0 by overcoming Hsuan Yi Hsueh 20-22, 21-15, 21-10.However, the tenacious Chinese Taipei didn't give up and began their fightback in men's doubles under thunderous cheer from the crowds.Facing world No. 1 Carsten Mogensen/Mathias...

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Posted in: Denmark return to Sudirman Cup semis

USADA suspends Nguyen for doping violation

American taekwondo athlete Jonathan Nguyen has been handed a six-month doping suspension, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Friday.Nguyen tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine after a urine sample was taken at the U.S. Open International competition on February 20.The ban began on March 29 when he accepted a provisional ban. The 25-year-old from Arizona was disqualified from all results from the date of the positive test.A reduced sanction can result since the substance is a specified substance under World Anti-Doping Agency rul...

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Posted in: USADA suspends Nguyen for doping violation

Ban cellphone use while driving - NZ

Almost 12,000 New Zealand motorists have been fined since the country banned the use of hand- held cell phones while driving 18 months ago.On average 650 tickets per month had been issued since the ban came into force in 2009, Radio New Zealand reported Saturday.But the average was higher, at more than 700 per month, over the last 12 months, said the report.The Automobile Association of New Zealand told Radio New Zealand the number of infringement notices issued was disappointing.AA motoring affairs general manager Mike Noon said it showed awareness of the law was dropping and motorists were becoming complacent.He said people had to realize that using hand-held cell phones while driving was dangerous.Police agreed that motorists might be getting complacent about the ban, said the report.Drivers...

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Oil edges up on weak dollar in volatile trade

Crude prices edged up on Friday as the U.S. dollar weakened against a basket of currencies, but gains were limited by soft U.S. house data.The euro rose after Greek central bank chief George Provopoulus said Greece will repay its debts in full without restructuring if it sticks to an austerity plan. French President Nicolas Sarkozy also said France opposed a Greek debt restructuring and would defend the euro. A stronger euro meant often a weakening dollar. The dollar index dipped about 0.80 percent.Besides, the U.S. markets will be closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. Crude prices tend to rise before a long weekend as investors hold long positions.But the gains were pared as U.S. pending home sales came in missing estimates. The National Association of Realtors said the Pending Home...

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Google Starts Adding Flight Schedules And Airline Routes In Search

Google on Friday started integrating flight schedules and airline routes into its search results.According to Google's official blog, when users search for a destination on Google, they will see airlines serving that specific route and flight schedules.For example, if users search for "flights from San Francisco to New York," they will see a selection of non-stop flights and the airlines that offer them. A full timetable will be seen after clicking on "schedule of non-stop flights."Users can also see all the destinations with non-stop flights from a particular airport. If "flights from San Francisco" is searched, Google will show a number of routes from the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and airlines flying from the airport. Similar to the schedule feature, users can also click...

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Analysts attributed:Gold bounces off as dollar retreats

Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended sharply higher on Friday, as the U.S. dollar extended losses and Europe's debt crisis increased investor demand for the precious metal as a safe-haven.The most active gold contract for August delivery jumped 13.6 dollars, or 0.9 percent, to 1,537.3 dollars per ounce.Analysts attributed most of gold's strength to the sagging greenback, which continued to lose ground on Friday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, dropped from 75.598 late Thursday to 74.904 during the session.Precious metals, like other dollar-denominated commodities, benefited from the weakening U.S. dollar, as it made the futures cheaper for market participants holding other currencies.Meanwhile, the Eurozone...

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Posted in: Analysts attributed:Gold bounces off as dollar retreats

UN Chief Condemns Attack On Peacekeepers In Southern Lebanon

UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon on Friday condemned the attack on a UN convoy in Lebanon, in which reportedly two Italian peacekeepers and two Lebanese civilians were killed, and extended his sincere sympathies to the peacekeepers, their families, and the people and government of Italy.With Friday's observance of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, the attack is "all the more deplorable," Ban said in a statement issued here by his spokesman.The explosion targeted a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle in the south Lebanon port city of Sidon.The UN is currently working closely with the Lebanese authorities to "fully and swiftly" investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice, Ban said."Peacekeeping is dangerous and difficult," the UN chief noted and paid tribute...

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Posted in: UN chief condemns bomb attack on UN convoy in Lebanon