K-9s Raise Alarm While Looking For Signs Of Missing Arizona Girl

FBI K-9 dogs hit on items around the southern Arizona home of a missing 6-year-old girl on Monday, prompting authorities to take over the house, a police chief said.

Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villasenor said Monday night that the "specialized K-9s (were) flown in" to help in the case of young Isabel Mercedes Celis, who was reported missing on Saturday morning. The dogs "did alert on some things that caused us to go back" to the house, said the chief.

While they've described her disappearance as suspicious, local authorities have not identified any suspects in Isabel's case nor have they indicated what they believe may have happened to her.

They have launched an extensive search in a 3-mile radius of the girl's home, where she lives with her parents and two older brothers, as well as contacted all registered sex offenders living nearby.

Villasenor said on Monday morning that authorities had combed through the area "at least three times now," with neighbor Cynthia Mort vouching that they'd "searched inside and outside every home in the neighborhood."

The girl's small stature -- at 3 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 44 pounds -- makes it critical to leave no stone unturned, given that she may be in any number of places.

"We ... are checking every corner, every nook and cranny that could possibly hold a child," Tucson police Sgt. Maria Hawke said.

Isabel was last seen by family members when she went to bed at 11 p.m. Friday. When her father went to wake her at 8 a.m. Saturday -- a half-hour after her mother had gone to work -- he said the girl was nowhere to be found, according to police.

A screen was found removed from one of the house's windows. Hawke said the missing screen "could be suspicious" and indicate someone broke through the window to get into the residence or get out, though she stressed "there's nothing conclusive at this point."

Villasenor did not specify what the FBI K-9 dogs hit on, or the possible significance. He did say that, because of their reaction, authorities sought and obtained a search warrant to occupy the house.

He said they asked for a warrant "just to make sure everything is done correctly," not because the family at the center of the case isn't cooperating. Hawke said the family left voluntarily.

"We have asked the family if they would be willing to leave so that we can avoid any potential evidence contamination, ... (and) they have agreed to do so," the police sergeant said.

One street away from one of Tucson's busiest thoroughfares, the Celis' home is in a neighborhood of largely middle-class, single-family residences. A fence and wall surround the yard of the house.

Mort described Isabel's family as "wonderful, caring people."

"They are always helping, you always see them together," said Mort, who has lived next door to Isabel's grandparents for the past 25 years. "They are very, very loving. I couldn't imagine anyone in this family doing anything to anyone."

She added that Isabel's disappearance has rocked the community, leaving "everybody ... totally distraught."

"We're just afraid to let our children out," Mort said. "We're terrorized."

Source: CNN News   

Read More

Deion Sanders Accuses Estranged Wife Of Assault, To Press Charges

The estranged wife of former football star Deion Sanders was arrested on domestic violence-related charges Monday night, hours after Sanders sent a series of bizarre tweets saying she assaulted him.

In one of the messages posted on his verified Twitter account, Sanders even posted a picture of what he said were his children filling out complaints to give to police in Texas.

"Pray for me and my kids now! They just witnessed their mother and a friend jump me in my room," the first tweet posted at 6:15 p.m. read. "She's going to jail n I'm pressing charges!"

Two minutes later, Sanders tweeted again.

"I'm sad my boys witnessed this mess but I warned the police department here that she was gone try n harm me and my boys. This is on my mama!" it said.

Shortly after that, Sanders tweeted a picture that showed him and his two boys, ages 10 and 12, filling out paperwork.

"filling out police reports now! Thank God for this platform to issue the Truth," the caption read.

Pilar Sanders was booked into jail Monday night on suspicion of assault family violence, a misdemeanor, according to booking records at the Collin County Jail.

Bond was set at $264.

Sanders played for several NFL teams including the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame and currently works as an analyst for the NFL Network.

The NFL Network as well as Sanders' business manager Constance Schwartz declined to comment about the incident.

But a clearly emotional Sanders spoke to Dallas television station KXAS Monday night, and appealed for help.

"My kids, they are scared for their life," Sanders told the station. "They just saw two women jump their dad in his own house, in his room, in my room. It's sad."

"I got locks on my doors right now," he added. "Is somebody going to have to die? Is it going to be me before the court does something and get this woman out of my house? It's absurd."

The couple has three children together. Sanders also has two other children from an earlier relationship.

The couple married in 1999 and starred in a reality show, "Deion & Pilar Prime Time Love," that aired on the Oxygen network.

The marriage, however, soured, and the two are in the midst of a very public, bitter divorce.

In February, Pilar Sanders filed a suit against her husband and his aunt, Laura Jones. She said the aunt attacked her in their 10-bedroom, 29,000-square foot home in Prosper, Texas, while Deion Sanders watched.

At the time, the football star tweeted that his wife was the aggressor and the aunt was in the home merely to fix his phone.

Pilar Sanders also filed a separate suit against her husband and his daughter, Deiondra, after she called her stepmother a "gold-digging (expletive)" and "the number one gold digger of the year" in Twitter posts.

In the second suit, Pilar Sanders demanded $200 million in damages for libelous and slanderous comments. She claims that her husband "endorsed Deiondra's false statements" and himself tweeted he was "tired of all (Pilar's) lies and foolishness."

Source: CNN News  

Read More

Facebook Buys AOL Patents From Microsoft

Facebook is paying Microsoft $550m (£341m) for some of the patents it recently bought from AOL.

Microsoft paid more than $1bn for most of AOL's patents, beating rivals reported to have included Facebook.

A Facebook lawyer described the deal as: "Another significant step in our ongoing process of building an intellectual property portfolio to protect Facebook's interests."

Facebook was sued by Yahoo for patent infringement earlier this year.

"Today's agreement with Facebook enables us to recoup over half of our costs while achieving our goals from the AOL auction," said Microsoft's general counsel Brad Smith.

Microsoft bought 925 patents and patent applications from AOL. It is now selling 650 of those patents to Facebook as well as licences to the other 275.

There has been a series of recent patent deals between technology companies as they try to defend themselves in lawsuits.

If a company successfully sues another it can demand a sales ban of its competitor's products, or force the loser to pay expensive licence fees.

Since the start of the year, Intel, Google and Facebook are among those to have bought significant numbers of patents from other tech companies.

Facebook bought a number of patents from IBM last month.

Source: BBC News   

Related Stories

• Facebook Buys Instagram For $1bn 

Read More

Dutch Government Falls In Budget Crisis

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has tendered his government's resignation to Queen Beatrix, paving the way for early elections.

His cabinet was plunged into crisis when Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) quit talks aimed at slicing 16bn euros (£13.1bn) from the budget.

Mr Wilders refused to accept austerity demands to bring the budget deficit in line with EU rules.

His party was not part of the coalition but supported the minority government.

Dutch broadcaster Nos said Mr Rutte spent almost two hours on Monday afternoon at the queen's palace in The Hague where he made the cabinet's resignation official.

After he left, a government statement said that the queen had asked "all ministers and deputy ministers to continue to do everything that is necessary" in the Netherlands' interests.

Mr Rutte's government lasted just 558 days. Only three other Dutch administrations since World War II have been in office for shorter periods, Dutch news agency ANP says.

He will address the Dutch parliament on Tuesday afternoon, which will be followed by a parliamentary debate on the political crisis. A key question facing the political parties is whether to hold general elections before or after the summer recess. Many of the major parties want a vote in late June.

The Dutch economy, Europe's fifth largest, has survived the eurozone crisis relatively well with a national debt of around 65% of economic output but its projected budget deficit falls foul of new EU rules requiring eurozone governments to keep below 3% of GDP.

A recent forecast from the Netherlands' Central Planning Bureau estimated that the country's public deficit would rise to 4.7% of GDP.

The Netherlands has been asked to submit its budget measures to the European Commission by 30 April, although it is not clear how firm that deadline is. Since 5 March, the two coalition parties along with the Freedom Party have been trying to reach agreement on budget cuts before the deadline.

Mr Wilders, who was said to have stormed out of talks at the last minute, said the coalition's proposals would harm economic growth and affect many people's spending power. Socialist Party leader Emile Roemer said he too was not prepared to support the attempt to bring the budget deficit below 3% by 2013.

But there are fears that the failure of the budget talks could harm the Netherlands' prized AAA credit rating status and the low yield on government bonds.

Many are now asking if the Netherlands cannot balance its books without the government collapsing, then which government can; and where it leaves the EU fiscal compact, aimed at enforcing budget discipline.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting on Monday morning involving Mr Rutte's liberal VVD and the Christian Democrats (CDA), Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager said they would "show the financial market and Dutch people that we can also put forward a solid financial policy".

Economic Affairs Minister and CDA leader Maxime Verhagen said on his Twitter feed earlier on Monday that the main concern was "how, on the way to elections, we can keep the economy and finances on the rails".

Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad reported that confidence in the Netherlands had already fallen on the financial markets on Monday, with the gap widening between Dutch and German government bonds.

Source: BBC News  

Read More

Brazil Actor Playing Judas Dies From Accidental Hanging

A Brazilian actor has died after accidentally hanging himself while playing Judas in an Easter Passion play.

Tiago Klimeck, 27, was enacting the suicide of Judas during the performance on Good Friday in the city of Itarare.

The actor was hanging for four minutes before fellow performers realised something was wrong.

Klimeck was taken to hospital suffering from cerebral hypoxia but died on Sunday.

The Passion play was being performed in Itarare, 345km (214 miles) west of Sao Paulo.

Klimeck was re-enacting the scene in which Judas commits suicide in repentance for his betrayal of Jesus Christ.

Police are investigating the apparatus that was meant to support Klimeck. It appears the knot may have been erroneously tied.

When the actors realised something was wrong, Klimeck was taken down and found to be unconscious.

The Santa Casa de Itapeva hospital has confirmed the death and an autopsy will take place on Monday.

Read More

Dick Clark's Remains Cremated

Dick Clark, the music impresario and host of "American Bandstand" who died this week, has been cremated, his representative said Friday.

"He has been cremated, but no other plans have been finalized," Clark publicist Paul Shefrin said.

Clark, 82, suffered a heart attack Wednesday while at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, for an outpatient procedure, Shefrin said. Attempts to resuscitate Clark were unsuccessful, he said.

As the host of the popular "American Bandstand," Clark shaped American tastes in music trends, and with a fresh-scrubbed, boy-next-door persona, he introduced the world to likes of Buddy Holly and James Brown.

In December 2004, Clark suffered what was then described as "a mild stroke," just months after announcing he had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

That stroke forced Clark to cut back on his on-camera work, including giving up the hosting duties for the "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" specials. He appeared briefly as a co-host with Ryan Seacrest on December 31, 2005.

Born Richard Wagstaff Clark in Mount Vernon, New York, on November 30, 1929, he began his broadcast career working at a radio station managed by his father.

Clark's "American Bandstand" began as a local TV show in Philadelphia in 1956. The show was picked up by ABC and broadcast nationally a year later.

By 1958, it was the show to watch, with 40 million viewers tuning in to learn about the latest in music.

"If you didn't go on 'American Bandstand,' you hadn't made it yet," singer Aretha Franklin told CNN's "AC360."

The savvy entrepreneur was a pioneer in introducing African-American groups and other performers to millions of young TV viewers.

His audiences were among the first integrated on television.

In 1960, the Ku Klux Klan sent death threats to Clark when he brought his short-lived "American Bandstand" spinoff "The Dick Clark Show" to Atlanta. The National Guard was called in to protect the show and its integrated audience -- black and white teens.

Source: CNN News   

Read More

Gunmen Kill 15 In Mexican Bar

A group of masked gunmen stormed a popular bar in the Mexican city of Chihuahua late Friday, killing 15 people, including two journalists, state prosecutors said Saturday.

At least 10 suspects entered the Colorado Bar wearing what looked like police uniforms and opened fire on the crowd inside the bar, according to Carlos Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state attorney general's office. Eleven people died at the scene, and the other four died en route to the hospital.

The victims ranged in age between 25 and 72. Among them was Hector Javier Aguirre Salinas, the owner of a news website and a respected journalist. A second journalist, Francisco Javier Moya -- who in years past had served as the news director for a radio station in Ciudad Juarez -- also was killed.

"The crime of our partners and the rest of those killed in the attack, cannot go unpunished," Roberto Delgado, president of the Association of Journalists in Juarez, said in a statement on the killings.

Prosecutors said they collected at least 30 shell casings from a variety of weapons, including several bullet casings from an AK-47.

Northern Mexico has been ravaged by battles among rival drug cartels, police and government troops for the past several years. More than 47,000 people have been killed since the Mexican government launched a crackdown on drug traffickers in December 2006, according to government statistics.

Source: CNN News  

Read More

Mystery Surrounds Deaths Of 877 Dolphins Washed Ashore In Peru

Environmental authorities are investigating the deaths of more than 800 dolphins that have washed up on the northern coast of Peru this year.

The dolphins may have died from an outbreak of Morbillivirus or Brucella bacteria, said Peruvian Deputy Environment Minister Gabriel Quijandria, according to Peru's state-run Andina news agency. He said he expects test results to be ready within the week.

"Right now, the most probable hypothesis is that it's a virus outbreak," he said.

Quijandria said Thursday that 877 dolphins have washed up in a 220-kilometer (137-mile) area from Punta Aguja to Lambayeque, in the north of the country.

More than 80% of those dolphins were found in an advanced state of decomposition, making it difficult to study their deaths, according to Andina.

Earlier last week, the Peruvian government put together a panel from different ministries to analyze a report by the Peruvian Sea Institute (IMARPE). Officials have been able to conclude that the dolphins' deaths were not due to lack of food, interaction with fisheries, poisoning with pesticides, biotoxin poisoning or contamination by heavy metals.

"When you have something this large, my gut would tell me that there's something traumatic that happened," Sue Rocca, a marine biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said. She floated a number of number of possibilities as to what could have killed the animals, including acoustic trauma, but concluded that investigators just don't know yet.

"More investigation needs to be done," she said.

The dolphin deaths in Peru are mark the third set of high-profile strandings in about two months.

In February, 179 dolphins --108 of which were dead -- washed ashore in Cape Cod, in eastern United States, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Marine biologists are still trying to determine the cause of those deaths.

In early March, amateur video taken from a beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, showed more than 30 dolphins on shore. In that instance, all dolphins were safely returned to the sea.

Source: CNN News  

Read More

George Zimmerman Released On Bond

George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with murder in the February death of Trayvon Martin, has been released on bail from a Florida jail.

Zimmerman walked out of the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford, Florida, around midnight Sunday, wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans and carrying a brown paper bag in his arms.

He got into the back of a white BMW and did not speak to reporters.

It was not immediately known where he was headed. Family members and Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, have stressed the need for secrecy regarding Zimmerman's destination. Both he and his family have received threats, they said.

Seminole County Sheriff's Office said Zimmerman had been fitted with a GPS monitoring device allowing authorities to track his location.

The release came as something of a surprise. Over the weekend, his lawyer had said Zimmerman might remain behind bars until the middle of this week as his team worked to secure funds to meet the $150,000 bond set Friday.

With the 10% cash payment customarily made to secure bond, Zimmerman's family needed $15,000 for him to make bail.

Prosecutors had asked that Zimmerman's bond be set at no less than $1 million, citing a 2005 scrape with a police officer and a domestic violence injunction against Zimmerman.

Martin's family wasn't pleased by news of Zimmerman's release, said one of their attorneys, Daryl Parks.

"It's tough for them to see their son's killer walk free again," he said.

Zimmerman is accused of shooting Martin, 17, after calling authorities to report a suspicious person walking around his Sanford, Florida, neighborhood.

Zimmerman claims the unarmed teen attacked him. Martin's supporters say Zimmerman targeted Martin because he was black.

The case has has riveted the nation and sparked intense discussions about race and gun control.

For his part, Zimmerman, 28, remains "very worried" about his situation, O'Mara said Saturday, before his client's release.

During his bond hearing Friday, Zimmerman apologized to Martin's family.

"I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son," he said in an unusual appeal directly to Martin's family before he testified in the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford. "I thought he was a little bit younger than I was, and I did not know if he was armed or not."

O'Mara said after the hearing that his client was responding to an interview in which Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said she wanted to hear from the man who shot her son.

"He didn't want to defend himself, he didn't want to discuss the facts of the case. He heard the request of the family, and he wanted to respond to it," O'Mara said, adding that an attempt to apologize to the family in private was rebuffed.

Lawyers for Martin's family, however, called the apology a self-serving act by a man facing a life sentence in prison if convicted.

"This was the most disingenuous, insulting thing I've ever seen," said Martin family attorney Natalie Jackson.

Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda had argued for a higher bond total. Prior run-ins with a police officer and a woman who named him in a domestic violence injunction show that Zimmerman is violent and a threat to the community, de la Rionda said.

Lester, however, described the incidents as "run of the mill" and "somewhat mild" in approving O'Mara's request for bond.

Although details of the shooting remain murky, what is known is that Martin ventured out on February 26 from the home of his father's fiancée in Sanford and went to a nearby convenience store, where he bought a bag of Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea.

On his way back, he had a confrontation with Zimmerman, who shot him.

Zimmerman had called 911 to complain about a suspicious person in the neighborhood.

In the call, Zimmerman said he was following Martin after the teen started to run, prompting the dispatcher to tell him, "We don't need you to do that."

Zimmerman told authorities that he first briefly lost track of Martin, then the teenager approached him and the two exchanged words. Zimmerman said he reached for his cell phone, then Martin punched him in the nose. Zimmerman said Martin pinned him down and began slamming his head onto the sidewalk, leading to the shooting.

A police report indicated Zimmerman was bleeding from the nose and the back of his head.

Zimmerman's father testified Friday that when he saw his son the day after Martin's shooting, he was wearing a protective cover over his nose, his face was swollen, and he had two vertical gashes on his head. He also reportedly suffered a broken nose.

Martin's family and the special prosecutor appointed to investigate the case have rejected Zimmerman's self-defense claim, saying they believe Zimmerman disobeyed the instructions of a police dispatcher to stop following Martin, racially profiled him and unjustly killed him.

Police have said Zimmerman was not immediately charged because there was no evidence to disprove his account that he had acted in self-defense.

O'Mara said Saturday that he expects the prosecution was holding back some evidence that is key to its case during Friday's court hearing.

"I'm sure the state has a lot more information," the lawyer said, describing what was presented Friday as "snippets of the evidence." "I'm just looking forward to getting it."

Source: CNN News   

Related Stories

• Zimmerman May Remain In Jail Until Middle Of Next Week
• George Zimmerman To Be Charged

Read More

Xandem's Security Sensors Can See Through Walls

Imagine a real-life version of Harry Potter's magical Marauder's Map, which showed the location of everyone prowling throughout Hogwarts castle.
 That's what startup Xandem is building: a new kind of all-seeing motion-detection system that's poised to shake up the security market.

There are many different ways to track motion, but most commercial systems rely on optical beams that require uninterrupted sight lines. Heat-sensing infrared systems don't have that weakness, but they're prone to false alarms and can be blocked by anything that insulates body heat.

Xandem's secret sauce is its use of radio waves, which can go through things like trees and walls. That means motion sensors using those waves can be completely hidden -- a breakthrough that's drawing notice from both scientists and security industry professionals.
The Salt Lake City-based company was hatched four years ago at the University of Utah, when electrical engineering doctoral student Joey Wilson spied some cutting-edge radio wave research from his advisor, Neal Patwari. Wilson, who has a background in wireless communications and signal processing, offered to team up with Patwari.

"I thought, 'If I don't jump on this now, I'm going to miss a great opportunity,'" Wilson recalls.
The pair envisioned a system that would make it possible to see through walls and detect people wherever they were in a building. Within a few months, they had a working prototype of a node, which works in tandem with other nodes to create a field of radio waves. Disturbing those waves triggers the sensors' detectors.

Wilson and Patwari won the University of Utah's 2010 business plan competition, then raised $110,000 from friends and family to start Xandem. They also picked up a Utah Innovation Award and a $40,000 grant from a state technology development fund. But by last fall, Wilson and Patwari were largely out of money -- until Ryan Smith, an angel investor in Salt Lake City, swooped in with a $250,000 investment in the company. A few weeks later, the company, which now has a staff of six, scored a $150,000 SBIR grant from the National Science Foundation.

Xandem's first product, which went on sale in April 2011 to early test customers, is a wireless motion detection system employing 1x 3-inch rectangular nodes that resemble iPod Nanos, only thicker. The tiny nodes, which run off battery power or wall outlets, can be completely hidden; would-be criminals can't disable what they can't find. A mass-market version of the system is slated for release this summer, with prices ranging from $600-$2,200, depending on the size of the deployment.

"Our target is the commercial security market -- and that's worth billions," says Wilson. But being able to see where people are located in a building will be valuable to other markets too, like firefighters, police, border agents and SWAT teams.

The Brahma Group, a construction firm in Salt Lake City, recently began using the Xandem system to protect one of its equipment storage warehouses, after two pricey orbital welders were stolen 18 months ago. The Xandem system, linked to the warehouse's alarm system, is well hidden, with some of the nodes embedded in objects like steel beams or located behind pieces of equipment.

"As long as the movement is within the network of nodes, it'll pick it up. It's not dependent on a direct line of sight," says Tony Archibald, Brahma's operations manager. "We're considering deploying it in our other warehouses too."

Carey Rappaport, associate director of the Bernard M. Gordon Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems and a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University, sees Xandem's line-of-sight flexibility as one of its key advantages.

"You can plug a node into an outlet behind your couch and still know if someone comes into the room," he says.
Xandem's systems are also starting to pop up in high-end homes, like the oceanfront penthouse entrepreneur Philip Charles Gamett is having designed in Dubai. There, it's being used for ambiance, not security: Plugged into a home automation system, the sensors can trigger responses to cues.

"It could be the music, lighting, air conditioning, even how the blinds are adjusted," says Nathan Williams of Redwood Technical Services, the firm that is handling the installation. "Our client wanted to be able to detect if someone was in a room, but without having that person do anything, like press a button. Xandem was the only system I could find that was completely invisible."

Source: CNN News  

Read More

Next iPhone May Be Housed In Liquidmetal

After releasing two generations of iPhones with exactly the same form factor, Apple is expected to show off a new chassis design -- and possibly new materials -- in its sixth-generation smartphone.

And a little-known alloy that Apple has quietly been using for the past two years could be just the ticket to make consumers swoon.

Korea IT News reported Wednesday that the iPhone 5 is likely to be housed in Liquidmetal, the commercial name for an alloy of titanium, zirconium, nickel, copper and other metals. It would make the outer surface of the phone "smooth like liquid," according to the report.

"The next iPhone needs to truly stand out from the crowd," Canalys analyst Chris Jones told Wired via email. 

"A change in materials is a likely way to differentiate its form factor."

Liquidmetal was discovered at the California Institute of Technology in 1992. It's a class of patented amorphous metal alloys (basically metallic glass) with unique properties including high strength, high wear resistance against scratching and denting, and a good strength-to-weight ratio. Apple was granted rights to use it in August of 2010.

"Liquidmetal allows precision parts to be fabricated similar to plastic injection molding, but with similar properties to metal," IHS senior principal analyst Kevin Keller said.

In today's metal-based gadgets, you either need to bend a piece of sheet metal, or die-cast with an inferior alloy like aluminum or magnesium. In die-casting, the alloys tend to be brittle and have poor wear resistance.

Liquidmetal's injection molding process is still a relatively new technology, and it's fairly expensive -- but that's not necessarily anything that Apple would shy away from.

Liquidmetal has been used in Apple products (as well as those of other manufacturers) for several years. The SIM card ejector tool in some North American first-generation iPads was made of Liquidmetal, and since then, Keller said, it's been used in a number of other internal parts and small mechanical components.

"We expect Apple and other manufacturers to start using this not only for larger and more visible portions of devices, but also entire enclosures," Keller said. Thus, a Liquidmetal iPhone chassis seems entirely reasonable to expect in the not-too-distant future.

Jones also noted that the discovery and use of new materials was one of Steve Jobs' obsessions. "But Apple will need to ensure a change in material does not compromise the performance of the device," he added, noting the infamous "antenna-gate" issue with the iPhone 4.

Reports that an upcoming iPhone could have a metal back and a unibody case have been circling since well before the iPhone 4S was announced.

Source: Wired  

Read More

Justin Bieber Imposter Accused Of Abusing Girl Online

A Canadian man has been arrested, accused of coercing a 12-year-old girl to perform sex acts online by pretending to be pop star Justin Bieber.

Toronto resident Lee Moir, 34, was arrested after police posed as a young girl and arranged to meet him.

The 12-year-old girl and her family live in New Jersey, where Essex County Assistant Prosecutor John Laurino said the girl believed Moir was Bieber and started a relationship with him, e-mailing back and forth.

"He began making demands that she show herself on camera, that she engage in acts of undress, and acts of sexual activity as well," Laurino said.

Once Moir persuaded the girl to perform the acts, "he then extorted her by saying he was going to post these onto pornographic websites," said Constable Victor Kwong of the Toronto Police.

It was not immediately clear how authorities learned of the girl's case. Working with information from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, Toronto Police Services became involved and engaged in sexual conversations with Moir while posing as a 14-year-old girl, according to the prosecutor's office.

On April 4, after requesting a meeting, Moir arrived at the designated spot and was arrested, the prosecutor's office said.

"This arrest highlights both the danger posed to children online as well as the best efforts of law enforcement authorities throughout the world to apprehend these child predators who exploit the wide reach and perceived anonymity of the Internet to take advantage of vulnerable children,'' said Assistant Prosecutor Deborah Freier, who handled the case.

Authorities said they believe Moir has been in contact with numerous girls in the United States, Canada, France, Australia and the Philippines using accounts on Facebook adn the video chat site ooVoo, the prosecutor's office said. They said he used the online names Lee Oneel, Lee Moir, YodaYoda01, and Justy.Beber1.

Charges against Moir in Canada include luring, manufacturing child pornography and extortion, according to Toronto police.

Source: CNN News  

Read More

More Than 100 Injured As Trains Collide In Amsterdam

More than 100 people were injured when two passenger trains collided in Amsterdam on Saturday, authorities said.

A national police spokesman put the number of people hurt at 136, while the spokesman for the Amsterdam mayor said 117 people had been injured. Of those hurt, dozens were severely injured and at least a dozen people were in critical condition, both spokesmen said.

"Everybody was in panic. Everybody was screaming. A lot of people were injured. There was a lot of blood," Giovanni Laisina, a passenger, said.

Though his head was knocked hard against a window, he said he is fine.

"I was shocked in the beginning, but because I don't have any injures at all ... for me it's OK. It's a little bit surreal," said Laisina.

The trains collided between the Amsterdam Sloterdijk and the Amsterdam Centraal stations, citing rescue officials. Video from the scene showed rescue personnel working around the two trains, as an injured person was wheeled away on a stretcher.

"My roommate and I heard the train signaling an emergency signal -- then we heard the intense impact of the collision," said Max Tau, whose apartment is about 20 yards from the tracks. "It rattled our windows, and there was a considerable amount of electrical and rock dust all around.

"The sound would be comparable to that of an electrical transformer blowing up. It was really intense," Tau said.

It was not immediately clear why the trains were on the same tracks, though Ed Kraszewski, the police spokesman, did not rule out that one of the trains might have ignored a red signal.

Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan visited with some of the passengers after the accident and offered his condolences.

"There are many wounded, but luckily they got help quickly. All the attention and care go out to those people that are severely wounded. I hope that it will all end well," van der Laan said.

Source: CNN News  

Read More

120 Bodies Recovered After Plane Crash In Pakistani Capital

The grisly search for remains at the scene of a commercial plane crash in Pakistan continued Saturday, with officials doubting anyone on board survived.

The plane, carrying 127 people, crashed Friday in Islamabad just before it was to land at a nearby airport, according to Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority, which cited poor weather as a possible factor.

At least 120 bodies have been recovered from the scene, Interior Minister A Rehman Malik said. No survivors have been found.

"In the morning we will start to search by helicopters," Malik said overnight, adding that officials could not bring in helicopters on Friday due to bad weather.

The Bhoja Air Boeing 737-200 was en route from Karachi to Islamabad, where the weather was cloudy, officials said.

Malik said family members in Karachi are being flown in to help identify the victims.

Relatives and fingerprints have already helped identify the remains of 73 people taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. Wasim Khawaja said.

Identifying all the bodies -- many of which lie in pieces -- will be challenging, Malik said. He said he hoped DNA technology will help in the process.

From what he's seen, "I don't see any survivor here -- all 127 people seem to be dead," the interior minister said.

The crash occurred near the Chaklala airbase, a military site used by the country's air force, which is adjacent to the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad.

Debris and body parts were scattered across the crash site as workers sifted through the wreckage in the heavily populated residential area. Four villages were affected by the crash, and debris from the plane has been recovered within a kilometer of the site, Malik told reporters.

More than a 150 bags filled with body parts have been transported to hospitals across the region, according to Farkhand Iqbal, a municipal official in Islamabad.

Malik said he is ready to launch a security probe through the Federal Investigation Agency in case the Civil Aviation Authority's investigation shows evidence of any security breaches. He also said Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has ordered a "high-powered investigation."

Head of Bhoja Air, Farooq Omar Bhoja, has been put on an exit control list, meaning he can leave the country without government clearance, he said.

The flight data recorder, which is considered a key component in determining what may have caused the tragedy, was recovered, officials said Friday.

The Bhoja airliner had been flying from the southern seaport city of Karachi and crashed just before touching down in the capital after its 3½-hour flight.

Weather reports indicated that conditions in the area included thunderstorms and limited visibility.

Authorities are examining what may have caused the crash and the potential for additional casualties at the site of the wreckage.

Investigators are "going to be looking at technology," aviation security consultant Greg Feith said. "What kind of radio equipment, what kind of ground proximity warning system the aircraft was equipped with, weather radar, things like that ... since the weather may be a factor in this accident."

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Friday expressed "deep shock and grief over the tragedy," ordering his country's Civil Aviation Authority "to gear up all its resources for rescue operation," state media reported.

A separate inquiry into the incident has been launched by Pakistan's Safety Investigation Board, and two crisis operation rooms have been set up at airports in both Islamabad and Karachi to provide information to the affected families.

A Boeing spokeswoman said the American manufacturer "stands ready to provide technical assistance to the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan."

The airliner was originally sold in 1985, Julie O'Donnell said.

Comair, a South African airline, said in a statement Saturday that it operated the plane under the British Airways brand from 1996 until late 2011.

"The aircraft was retired due to it being too uneconomical for Comair to operate because of its small seat capacity and high fuel consumption," said Comair spokeswoman Nicola Nel. "It was sold to Jet Aviation in Dubai who leased it on to Bhoja Air at the end of 2011. The aircraft was sold in a serviceable condition."

Responding to allegations that the aircraft was not in good condition to fly, Defense Secretary Nargis Sethi told a local television station that the government has initiated "an immediate investigation."

"Whether it was 10, 8 years old, or not airworthy, is something that we can't confirm yet," Sethi said.

But Bhoja Air station manager Zahid Bangish told a Pakistani television station later Friday that the "aircraft was new, not the old one and unairworthy."

The crash is reminiscent of one in 2010, when 152 people were killed as a Pakistani passenger plane crashed on the outskirts of Islamabad. That plane was also was coming from Karachi when it crashed into a hillside while trying to land, officials said at the time.

Four years earlier, another airliner crashed in central Pakistan, leaving 45 dead.

The first known commercial passenger airplane crash occurred in Pakistan in 1953 when a Canadian Pacific DH-106 Comet crashed shortly after takeoff from Karachi. That crash killed 11 people on board.

Source: CNN News   

Related Stories

• Airliner Crashes Near Islamabad Airport 

Read More

Zimmerman May Remain In Jail Until Middle Of Next Week

The neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin could remain behind bars until the middle of next week due to concerns about collecting enough funds for his $150,000 bond, his lawyer said Saturday.

Attorney Mark O'Mara visited his client George Zimmerman in the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford, Florida on Saturday, a day after Seminole County Judge Kenneth R. Lester Jr. set the bond. 

Prosecutors had asked that Zimmerman remain in jail without bond until trial or that it be set at $1 million.

With the 10% cash payment customarily made to secure bond, Zimmerman could be freed with $15,000 from his family, attorneys said.

Speaking to reporters Saturday outside the jail, O'Mara said his client is "focused on getting out" while still aware this is "a long, long process."

"This is the first few steps," the lawyer said. "And he's still very worried about the fact that he's facing a life sentence on a 2nd-degree murder charge."

Zimmerman apologized in court Friday to Martin's family for shooting the unarmed, black 17-year-old boy in a confrontation that has riveted the nation and sparked intense discussions about race and gun control.

"I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son," he said in an unusual appeal directly to Martin's family before he testified in the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford. "I thought he was a little bit younger than I was, and I did not know if he was armed or not."

O'Mara said after the hearing that his client was responding to an interview in which Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said she wanted to hear from the man who shot her son.

"He didn't want to defend himself, he didn't want to discuss the facts of the case. He heard the request of the family, and he wanted to respond to it," O'Mara said, adding that an attempt to apologize to the family in private was rebuffed.

Source: CNN News  

Related Stories

•  Trayvon Martin: George Zimmerman To Be Charged

Read More

Sprint Hit With $300 Million Tax Fraud Lawsuit

New York's attorney general filed a tax fraud lawsuit against Sprint Nextel on Thursday, accusing the wireless carrier of intentionally underpaying sales tax in the state for seven years.

Starting in 2005, Sprint stopped collecting and paying New York sales tax on around 25% of the revenue from its fixed-price monthly cell phone plans, according to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Its goal, he says, was to give itself a price advantage over its rivals. Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500), AT&T (T, Fortune 500), T-Mobile and MetroPCS (PCS) all collect the taxes Sprint is accused of shirking, according to Schneiderman.

He says that Sprint's "unlawful actions" cost the state more than $30,000 per day -- a $100 million underpayment, in total. Under New York state law, Sprint could be on the hook for as much as $300 million, plus penalties, if it is found liable.

"Sprint did not correct its sales tax practices when it was informed of its illegality, and it has not corrected them even today," a statement from Schneiderman's office alleges.

Shares of Sprint Nextel (S, Fortune 500) fell 5% on the news.

The company released a statement saying the case is "without merit."

Sprint says it "categorically denies" the allegations, and added: "We have collected and paid over to New York every penny of sales taxes."

If the state's case is proven and back taxes are owed, Sprint customers could technically be on the hook, a point the state makes in its lawsuit. But Schneiderman's office made clear that wants the company itself, not its customers, to foot the bill.

It's also seeking to let Sprint's current New York customers end their contracts early without having to pay termination fees.

Whistleblower law: The Sprint case is the first-ever tax enforcement suit filed under the New York False Claims Act. That law allows whistleblowers and prosecutors to take legal action against companies or individuals accused of defrauding the government.

It also requires liable companies to pay triple their tax underpayments. That would be quite a blow to Sprint, which lost nearly $2.9 billion last year on sales of $33.7 billion.

Whistleblowers are eligible to receive up to 25% of any cash the government collects as a result of the information they provided.

Schneiderman's office confirmed that the Sprint case began with a whistleblower lawsuit, which was filed in New York State Supreme Court in March 2011.

The attorney general's case claims Sprint's alleged tax underpayment "arose out of a nationwide effort by Sprint to obtain an advantage over its competitors."

Sprint's tactic made its plans cheaper than its rivals by a collective $4.6 million per month, Schneiderman claims.

Source: CNN News  

Read More

France Votes In Presidential Poll

There has been a solid turnout in early voting in the first round of France's presidential election, officials say.

Centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy is seeking re-election, saying only he can preserve a "strong France" amid widespread anxiety over the economy.

Mr Sarkozy is facing a strong challenge from Socialist Francois Hollande, who says it is "the left's turn to govern".

There are 10 candidates in all, and if none wins more than 50% of the votes there will be a run-off round on 6 May.

Polls in mainland France and Corsica are open until 18:00 (16:00 GMT), with voting stations in big cities remaining open for a further two hours.

Official figures put turnout by 12:00 (10:00 GMT) at 28% - only slightly lower than the figure at the same time in 2007, when morning turnout reached an exceptional 31%.

Analysts say a strong turnout would favour opposition candidates.

The first official results will be released after the last stations close at 20:00.

President Sarkozy, who has been in office since 2007, has promised to reduce France's large budget deficit and to tax people who leave the country for tax reasons.

He has also called for a "Buy European Act" for public contracts, and threatened to pull out of the Schengen passport-free zone unless other members do more to curb immigration from non-European countries.

Mr Hollande, for his part, has promised to raise taxes on big corporations and people earning more than 1m euros a year.

He wants to raise the minimum wage, hire 60,000 more teachers and lower the retirement age from 62 to 60 for some workers.

If elected, Mr Hollande would be France's first left-wing president since Francois Mitterrand, who completed two seven-year terms between 1981 and 1995.

If Mr Sarkozy loses he will become the first president not to win a second term since Valery Giscard d'Estaing in 1981.

French presidents are now elected for five years.

Wages, pensions, taxation, and unemployment have been topping the list of voters' concerns.

But the candidates have been accused of failing to address the country's problems during a lacklustre campaign.

Frustration with Mr Sarkozy's flashy style and with Mr Hollande's bland image has also allowed radical candidates to flourish.

Marine Le Pen, a media savvy far-right leader, has invigorated her anti-immigration National Front.

Meanwhile Jean-Luc Melenchon, who is supported by the Communist Party, has galvanised far-left voters.

Centrist leader Francois Bayrou is standing as a presidential candidate for the third time. In 2007, he came third, with nearly 19% of the vote.

Voting was held on Saturday in France's overseas territories - including Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean and French Polynesia.

Those territories vote early because results will be known on Sunday evening in mainland France - when it is still mid-afternoon in Caribbean islands and other overseas territories.

The presidential vote will be followed by a parliamentary election in June.

Source: BBC News

Read More

US Introduces $60 LED Light Bulb

A prize-winning light bulb that lasts for 20 years is going on sale in the US on Sunday - also known as Earth Day.

Made by Dutch electronics giant Philips, the bulb swaps filaments for light-emitting diodes to provide illumination.

Using LEDs endows the light with a long life and a hefty price tag. The first versions are set to cost $60.
Philips has arranged discounts with shops that will sell the bulb meaning some could buy it for only $20.

The bulb triumphed in the Bright Tomorrow competition run by the US Department of Energy that aimed to find an energy efficient alternative to the 60-watt incandescent light bulb.

The DoE challenged firms to develop a design that gave out a warm light similar to that from an incandescent bulbs but was much more energy efficient.

Philips was the only entrant for the competition and its design underwent 18 months of testing before being declared a winner.

A cheaper and less efficient version of the LED bulb is already sold by Philips in the US and Europe.

LED bulbs face competition from compact fluorescent lights which are almost as energy efficient and cost a lot less.

Sales of more energy efficient bulbs are being aided by official moves to end production of higher wattage incandescent bulbs.

Production of 100 watt bulbs has ceased in the US and Europe. Production of 60 watt bulbs has been stopped in Europe and is being phased out in the US. From 2014, incandescent bulbs of 40 watts or above will be banned in the US.

Read More

Afghanistan Militants Planning Huge Attack Held In Kabul

Afghan security officials say they have foiled a huge attack in the capital Kabul, as they gave details of the seizure of 10 tonnes of explosives.

The explosives were found in a truck seized along with five militants in an operation last Sunday, a National Directorate of Security spokesman said.

The group was planning to attack crowded areas in the capital, he said.

He also gave reporters a video detailing plans for a separate attack on Vice-President Mohammed Khalili.
Describing the planned bomb attack on Kabul, the spokesman, Shafiqullah Tahiri, said the 10 tonnes of explosives were stuffed in 400 bags and hidden under piles of potatoes.

"If this amount of explosives had been used, it could have caused large-scale bloodshed," Mr Tahiri said.
He said three of the captured militants are Pakistani citizens, and two are Afghans.

The five suspects had confessed that the planned attack was co-ordinated by two Taliban commanders with links to Pakistan's main intelligence organisation the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), according to the spokesman.

The arrests, which came during a wave of insurgent attacks around the country, was kept quiet at the time because of the ongoing security operation, he said.

Afghanistan has often accused the ISI of involvement in supporting anti-government insurgents in Afghanistan - an allegation strongly denied by Pakistan.

Last week, 51 people died in a wave of co-ordinated attacks by insurgents in Kabul and three other provinces.

.

Read More

Airliner Crashes Near Islamabad Airport

Air crash investigators are combing the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed near the Pakistani capital Islamabad, killing all 127 on board.

Rescue teams working through the night recovered many bodies as well as the jet's flight recorder, officials said.

The Bhoja Air Boeing 737, which had flown from Karachi, crashed on its approach to the airport during a storm.

Grieving relatives have gathered at a hospital in Islamabad to identify and claim the bodies of their loved ones.

The head of Bhoja Air has been barred from leaving the country pending the outcome of the inquiry, officials said.

The plane came down in the village of Hussain Abad on the outskirts of Islamabad on Friday evening, scattering debris over a wide area. There are so far no reports of villagers being among the casualties.

Pakistani official Capt Arshad Mahmood said there was a heavy thunderstorm with hail as the plane came in to land.

"The weather was very bad. The pilot lost control and hit the ground. It [the plane] tossed up due to the impact and exploded and came down in a fireball," he said.

Some people have also called into question the age of the aircraft and Pakistan's system of regulating air safety.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Farooq Bhoja, head of Bhoja Air, had been barred from leaving the country as the investigation gets under way.

"It is being said that the aircraft was pretty old, so it has been ordered to investigate thoroughly the air worthiness of the Bhoja Air aircraft," Mr Malik said.

"The causes will be investigated, whether it was any fault in the aircraft, it was lightning, the bad weather or any other factor that caused the loss of precious lives."

The victims are said to include 11 children and a newly married couple.

A Bhoja Air official in Karachi said it had arranged to fly one member from each family to the capital.

At Islamabad airport, one man yelled "my two daughters are dead", before slumping to the floor in a state of shock.

Weeping relatives have been gathering at Islamabad's main hospital where dozens of coffins are lining a hallway.

Staff at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, their faces covered with masks, sprayed air freshener as families tried to identify the remains.

Abdul Raoof, 55, said he had come for the body of his cousin.

"We have been here since early morning. We go inside the mortuary and return in depression after seeing body parts lying there," he said.

"We are traumatised. We want to get the body and leave this place as early as possible."

Bhoja Air is a small commercial airline that started domestic flights in 1993. It suspended operations in 2001 because of financial difficulties but recently re-opened.

In July 2010, an Airblue Airbus A321 crashed as it was about to land in Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board - Pakistan's worst-ever air disaster.

Although Pakistan's air industry has been booming, critics say standards have not always kept pace with the increase in services.

Read More