the with inch centimeter display
the costs dollars more than the dollars for the basic kindle while
the goes for dollars significantly more than the for amazon
large screen kindle dx
samsung is not the only new entrant with relatively high price tag
britain plastic logic unveiled long anticipated que reader it described as
paperless briefcase for the business professional
que with four gigabytes of memory capable of storing as many as
documents costs dollars while an eight gigabyte model costs dollars
like the kindle dx the que is about the size of piece of paper but it has
plastic finish instead of glass it also has stylish black border around its
touchscreen and is sleeker and thinner than the plain white kindle dx
we are going beyond an reader product and actually developing whole new
category plastic logic chief executive richard archuleta said
que devices allow users to mark up and annotate documents as well as work with
spreadsheets and other business software
archuleta said que is the first of what will be series of specialized
readers for students teachers health care professionals and other niche
markets
plastic logic partnered with us bookseller barnes amp noble which came out
with its own book reader the nook late last year in an online bookstore
another new player is hearst backed skiff which aims to provide newspaper and
magazine readers with what chief marketing officer kiliaen van rensselaer called
more authentic experience
it got the whole newspaper with all the visuals van rensselaer said as he
browsed through digital replica of the wall street journal with swipe of the
finger on the skiff touchscreen
skiff is also touting its ability to provide advertising alongside articles
feature important to struggling us publishers which the kindle and others do not
currently provide
we find that with newspapers and magazines people actually like the ads van
rensselaer said we want to capitalize on that publishers are going to get
big share of that advertising
we will have competitive book offer but our sweet spot is really newspapers
and magazines he said
skiff has not set price yet for its first device which it plans to release by
the end of the year
gartner analyst allen weiner singled out the skiff for praise but was
unimpressed with most of the new offerings
many of the devices do pretty much the same thing present books in pub
format he said some have bells and whistles that are minor but they don do
anything to create book experience
and they do terrible job with newspapers and magazines
weiner said he thinks the skiff is the real winner in the category
this is the best reader of newspapers ve seen and it also has an ad
dimension he said
but the entire category may be endangered however with tablets on the way
what we have here may appear as an afterthought he said
device that does nothing but show text is going to be passe by the middle of
the year he said an apple tablet and others are all going to offer color and
exciting applications
two ex blackwater staff charged with afghan murders
washington jan afp
two former blackwater employees have been arrested and charged with the murder
of two afghans in kabul last year and could face the death penalty the us
justice department has said
justin cannon of corpus christi texas and christopher drotleff of
virginia beach virginia were arrested thursday and charged with second degree
murder following the shooting deaths of the two afghan men
they were also charged with attempted murder after third man was wounded in
the kabul incident on may when cannon and drotleff were working as
contractors for the us military in afghanistan
both men who had provided training to the afghan army in using and maintaining
weapons systems were detained after the count grand jury indictment the
statement added
they face total of eight charges each including knowingly discharging
firearm to commit crime
the arrests come in sharp contrast to last week dismissal by federal judge
of criminal charges against five blackwater guards stemming from bloody
confrontation in baghdad in that left people dead
that decision outraged many iraqis and led the country government to begin
steps to try and bring the contractor firm to justice over the highly publicized
controversy
blackwater private security firm which has changed its name to xe services
is headquartered in north carolina the two men in the kabul clash were employed
by paravant llc xe subsidiary
the department of justice said the kabul incident that led to the charges
occurred at an intersection in the afghan capital
the two men who were shot dead were identified as rahib mirza mohammad also
known as rahib helaludin and romal mohammad naiem
few other details of what had happened were given but some reports said the
shootings arose out of road traffic accident
xe spokesman mark corallo told the washington post the company immediately and
fully cooperated with the government investigation of this tragic incident and
terminated the individuals involved for violating company policy he said there
would be no further comment
blackwater was once among the largest security firms operating in iraq after the
us led invasion of
in september blackwater guards opened fire with automatic weapons while
escorting an american diplomatic convoy through baghdad nisur square
blackwater said their guards had come under attack
last week the charges were dismissed against five blackwater guards accused of
fatally shooting people in the incident
judge ricardo urbina said prosecutors violated the defendants rights by using
incriminating statements they had made under immunity during state department
probe to build their case
but the post reported the case was dismissed after attorneys for about iraqis
who sued xe said they had all agreed to financial settlement originally
reached with the company in november
we are pleased that the original settlement has been affirmed by the
plaintiffs the company and plaintiffs attorneys said thursday in joint
statement quoted by the us daily
this enables xe new management to move the company forward free of the costs
and distraction of ongoing litigation and provides some compensation to iraqi
families
the new york times reported however that other victims represented by
different law firm said they had not yet been offered settlements
blackwater first came under scrutiny on march when four of its
employees were killed by an angry mob in fallujah then sunni arab insurgent
stronghold
us media further reported this week that two xe contractors had been among eight
people killed in suicide bombing at cia base in eastern afghanistan on
december
the reports pointed to continued close relationship between the cia and
blackwater
the firm is believed to have participated in programs to kill top al qaeda
terrorists in among other missions but the central intelligence agency
had appeared to distance itself from the firm in recent years
alert
georgia russia re open air traffic with first direct flight since war
tennis clijsters and henin set up fascinating final
brisbane australia jan afp
belgian comeback queens kim clijsters and justine henin followed the script to
the letter on friday to reach the final of the brisbane international tennis
tournament
henin demolished third seed ana ivanovic to win the first semi final
while clijsters was made to work much harder before overcoming unheralded german
andrea petkovic
henin granted wildcard to play this week was ruthless as she disposed of
ivanovic in just minutes
there were no signs of any of the rustiness she displayed in her epic three set
win over melinda czink in thursday quarter finals as she broke ivanovic three
times in either set
and while ivanovic like henin former world number one was able to break the
belgian serve in each set henin came back even harder to break back almost
immediately and underline her complete dominance
in the final of my first tournament back it great feeling henin
said
it surprise of course because it not as easy as it may seem because
months with no competition is not that easy
clijsters looked on course for similarly easy ride when she broke petkovic in
the opening game of the match
but the german refused to buckle to her more illustrious opponent and broke back
later in the set to get the match back on even terms
however the greater experience of clijsters began to tell and she gradually
wore her opponent down taking the match in one hour and minutes
henin and clijsters have set the tennis world alight since their respective
comebacks
clijsters who retired in may and had baby girl set the ball rolling
when she came back midway through last year to sensationally win the us open
soon after that triumph henin announced she too would end her retirement at the
start of this year with the brisbane international marking her return to the
court
from the moment clijsters and henin found themselves in opposite
halves of the draw the prospect of the pair meeting in saturday final has
been the tournament main talking point
fierce rivals on the court their careers have also been marred by speculation
of severe rifts off the court
henin while admitting they weren close friends was keen to play down any
talk of bad blood
just because we are from the same country does not mean we have to be best
friends she said
but there is so much respect between the two of us
know sometimes people would love to hear that there have been problems
between us but it not the case
respect her personally and respect her play and think it the same for
her
henin said it was simply case of two different personalities
we are so different we have good memories of when we were younger and we were
travelling lot to the same tournaments but after that we grew up differently
we went in different directions she said
israeli strikes on gaza kill three palestinians medics
gaza city jan afp
israeli air strikes hit seven targets in the hamas run gaza strip early friday
killing three men and wounding another palestinian medics said
the casualties occurred near gaza border with egypt when israeli jets bombed
tunnels which palestinians use to smuggle goods into the besieged coastal strip
medics and hamas security officials said
the israeli military confirmed it conducted air raids in response to rocket and
mortar fire into israel which caused no casualties
the israeli air force hit two smuggling tunnels in rafah and another tunnel near
gaza city designed for infiltration into israeli territory in order to execute
terrorist attack the military said in statement
the terror tunnel was dug kilometre less than mile from the border it
said
weapons manufacturing facility in gaza city was also hit the statement said
on thursday israeli planes dropped thousands of leaflets over the gaza strip
warning residents to steer clear of the border after palestinian militants fired
mortar rounds into israel
the letters which were dropped over northern gaza and gaza city warned
residents not to go within metres yards of the heavily secured border with
israel
gaza militants have fired more than rockets or mortar rounds at israel since
it ended devastating offensive against the territory on january according
to the military
before the war more than rockets or mortar rounds were fired from gaza in
it said
about palestinians and israelis were killed during the offensive which
israel launched on december in response to persistent mortar and rocket
fire from the palestinian enclave
malaysian churches attacked in row over use of allah
kuala lumpur jan afp
three malaysian churches have been targeted with firebombs leaving one badly
damaged in an escalating dispute over the use of the word allah by non
muslims
muslim groups angry over the use of allah as translation for the christian
god held small protests outside at least two mosques in the capital friday but
plans for mass nationwide demonstrations did not materialise
police deployed officers to patrol churches and mosques across the country after
church in suburban kuala lumpur was set ablaze in midnight attack that
gutted its ground floor
molotov cocktails were thrown into the compounds of two other churches in pre
dawn raids but did not cause serious damage
prime minister najib razak condemned the attacks which he said could destroy
racial harmony in malaysia muslim majority country with ethnic chinese and
indian communities which has seen racial conflict in the past
as multiracial community we must practice respect for one another it
cannot come under threat from anybody he told state media pledging action to
prevent any further incidents
police chief musa hassan said that officers were deployed to monitor churches
nationwide after the fire bombings as well as phone threats to other places of
worship
we don know if all three attacks were isolated or linked we are still
investigating the modus operandi was different at all three incidents he told
press conference
tensions were heightened last week when the high court ruled in favour of the
catholic herald newspaper which has used allah as translation for god in
its malay language section
in long running legal battle the government has argued the word should be
used only by muslims
the ruling was suspended on wednesday pending an appeal after the government
argued the decision could cause racial conflict
in the capital friday few dozen demonstrators gathered outside the national
mosque and another in the malay enclave of kampung baru chanting god is great
and we will defend the dignity and rights of muslims
we have lived in peace with all religions but we want other religions to
respect us and the use of the word allah which is exclusive to muslims said
organiser arman azha abu hanifah
the first incident struck the three storey metro tabernacle church part of the
assemblies of god movement leaving its ground floor charred and twisted
wreck
witnesses saw four people smash the glass and throw incendiaries into the
church building they came on two motorcycles church leader peter yeow told
afp warning other churches to double their guard against any attacks
several hours later the catholic church of the assumption in kuala lumpur
southwest was targeted parish priest philip muthu said
was awoken by men riding on motorcycles who threw kerosene bomb into the
church compound he told afp adding that the fire damaged part of the grounds
molotov cocktail was also thrown into the front porch of the nearby protestant
life chapel church
the bomb damaged the wall and plants in the area but thankfully no one was
injured said church elder wong sai wong
religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial malaysia which
experienced deadly race riots in
the row over the use of allah is among string of religious disputes that
have erupted in recent years straining relations between malays and ethnic
chinese and indians who fear the country is being islamised
about percent of malaysians are christians including some catholics
more than half of those catholics are from indigenous groups most of whom live
in the borneo island states and who mainly speak malay
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor abhik kumar chanda
tel
top stories
nigerian in court over failed plane bomb plot
execution video heaps pressure on sri lanka
energy alert as europe cold wave intensifies
attacks us nigeria newseries wrap
washington
the nigerian accused of trying to bomb us bound airliner is to make his first
court appearance as president barack obama says the buck stops with me over
intelligence flaws and orders sweeping overhaul
words gmt by stephen collinson picture
we have also moved attacks aviation security us marshals
srilanka un unrest rights warcrimes wrap
colombo
sri lanka comes under new pressure to submit to war crimes probe after the
united nations authenticates video allegedly showing prisoners being executed
by troops last year
words gmt by amal jayasinghe picture video
europe weather lead wrap
london
europe is blasted by more snow and ice amid brutal winter that sees britons
endure their coldest night this year as france announces new alerts in nearly
areas
words gmt
filing plans by region
europe
germany china economy trade thlead
frankfurt
china the world third largest economy finally surpasses germany as the
world leading exporter trade figures released by the german national
statistics office show
words gmt by william ickes file picture
croatia vote advancer
zagreb
croatians vote sunday in run off presidential election with leftist law
professor and populist mayor both promising crackdown on corruption to
secure the former yugoslav republic eu entry
words gmt by lajla veselica picture
croatia vote candidates profile
croatia vote factfile facts
asia
malaysia religion catholic church attack ndlead
kuala lumpur
three malaysian churches are fire bombed in an escalating dispute over the use
of the word allah by non muslims which has triggered nationwide protests
words gmt by romen bose picture
myanmar justice politics nkorea rdlead
yangon
two officials have been sentenced to death by court in myanmar for leaking
information official sources say in case reportedly involving secret contact
between the ruling junta and nuclear armed north korea
words gmt
pakistan unrest wrap
karachi
blast flattens house being used by militants in pakistan financial capital
karachi with seven people killed when explosives apparently detonated
accidentally police say
words gmt by hasan mansoor picture
japan economy politics wrap
tokyo
japan new finance minister hints at possible intervention to sell the yen as
tokyo toughens its stance against the currency strength which has prompted
fears for the export dependent economy
words gmt
americas
afghanistan unrest us crime thlead
washington
two former blackwater employees have been charged with the murder of two afghans
in kabul last year and could face the death penalty the justice department
says
words gmt
us it books media internet ces
las vegas nevada
flood of electronic book readers hits the annual international gadgets show in
las vegas as manufacturers seek to steal the limelight from amazon kindle
words gmt by chris lefkow
africa
attacks us nigeria airport
lagos
trolleys overflowing with open suitcases litter the check in hall at lagos
airport where security has been tightened since farouk umar abdulmutallab
narrowly failed to set off bomb on us jet
words gmt by jacques lhuillery
africa safrica malawi gay rights focus
cape town
matuba mahlatjie is gay african and married an unheard of status beyond the
borders of liberal south africa where governments are clamping down on
homosexuality across the continent
words gmt by fran blandy
size and diversity makes india slow moving elephant pm
new delhi jan afp
prime minister manmohan singh on friday likened india to slow moving
elephant whose sheer size population and diversity affects its ability to
implement key policy decisions
in speech to gathering of overseas indians in new delhi singh sought their
active involvement in speeding up economic growth and social development in
asia fourth largest economy
we are all legitimately proud of india vibrant democracy but cannot say
that we have delivered in full measure on the enormous promise and potential of
our country singh said
it is probably true that we are slow moving elephant but it is equally true
that with each step forward we leave behind deep imprint
there is price that we pay in trying to carry all sections of our people in
national development
many among the million strong overseas indian community are attending the
annual two day event
singh remarks followed criticism from lakshmi mittal the indian born
billionaire chairman of arcelormittal the world largest steel maker that
india was not prepared to handle big ticket investments
mittal who has threatened to scrap billion dollar project to build two
major steel plants in eastern india because of problems with land acquisition
said red tape at every level of government was major obstacle
the entire country is to be blamed for the delay in execution of projects he
told reporters here
in his address singh who launched india market reforms as finance minister in
said he hoped the country would achieve growth rate of seven percent in
we are equally optimistic that we can return to and sustain an annual growth
rate of nine to percent in couple of years he said adding the indian
diaspora could do more to inter link indian industry with global markets
to strengthen bonds between overseas indians and their mother country singh
said the government was working on allowing them the right to vote in the next
general election scheduled for
spanish official industrial output falls percent
madrid jan afp
spanish industrial output fell by percent in november on month
comparison the national statistics office said on friday
industrial output has been falling for more than year but in the last six
months the rate of contraction has slowed down
korea to launch cyber warfare command next week
seoul jan afp
south korea will launch cyber warfare command centre next week to fend off
attacks on government and military it networks from north korea and other
countries officials said friday
the centre led by one star general will begin official duties monday the
defence ministry said reports said it would be manned by some computer
specialists
south korea military computer networks are under increasing threat from cyber
attacks
experts say south korea one of the world most wired societies needs an
integrated unit to fight cyber attacks by north korea and china which run elite
hacker units
in hackers based in china used information stealing viruses to break into
the computer systems of seoul government agencies
swedish group interested in buying saab report
stockholm jan afp
swedish group is interested in acquiring general motors beleaguered unit saab
automobile swedish media reported on friday after dutch sportscar maker spyker
presented an eleventh hour updated bid for saab
the new group is fronted by haakan samuelsson year old swede who quit as
chief executive officer of german engineering and truck manufacturer man in
november and jan nygren former social democratic cabinet minister and ex
deputy chief executive of defence materiel group saab financial daily dagens
industri said
the newspaper said it was not known who was financing the swedes bid
however it said the group business plan aimed for scaled down saab
automobile that would build to cars year and would not require
loan from the european investment bank
in the last year for which figures are available saab sold cars
worldwide
gm announced plans to wind down the iconic loss making swedish brand on
december after failing to reach an agreement with spyker but has said it
would continue to consider bids for the group
spyker on thursday presented revised offer to gm the details were not
disclosed
meanwhile british media reports friday said formula one boss bernie ecclestone
had teamed up with luxembourg investment firm to launch last minute rescue
bid for saab
luxembourg based genii capital announced it was interested in making an offer
with ecclestone just as the deadline for final bids for saab expired at
gmt thursday the bbc reported
the privately held firm said it would aggressively work towards successful
closing of the transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of the company
according to the bbc
saab which employs people in sweden is one of four storied brands being
shed by gm as part of massive restructuring effort that began in and
accelerated last year when the largest us automaker went bankrupt
analysts have warned that some jobs could be lost with saab closure
lebanon detains wanted islamist
beirut jan afp
lebanese authorities have arrested man suspected of being key operative in
an al qaeda inspired militant group an army spokesman said on friday
we arrested big fish in raid in beirut late on thursday and that all
can say the spokesman told afp asking not to be identified
lebanese media reported that the man arrested was suspected of being leading
figure in the fatah al islam group and of plotting future attacks
security official also speaking on condition of anonymity said the man was
palestinian from one of lebanon refugee camps
the suspect was on the state wanted list and is member of fatah al islam
the arabic language daily an nahar said
it added that the suspect had been implicated in previous attacks
newspapers said the army had seized equipment during the raid on home in
beirut
in fought fierce battles with the lebanese army at the nahr al bared
refugee camp in northern lebanon
the fighting killed people including soldiers and displaced some
refugees from the camp which was levelled in the fighting
fatah al islam has also been linked to deadly bombings targeting un peacekeepers
in the south and civilian buses
by longstanding convention the army does not enter lebanon impoverished
refugee camps home to an estimated palestinians
baseball mlb boss proposes global world series reports
tokyo jan afp
us major league baseball commissioner bud selig has proposed to launch global
world series between us and japanese champion clubs press reports said friday
selig japanese counterpart nippon professional baseball commissioner ryozo
kato told japanese media on thursday the proposal was made when they met in
milwaukee on tuesday
mr selig has expressed his enthusiasm to realise the series while he is in
office kato was quoted as saying in the daily sankei shimbun internet
edition he emphasised that the real world series will be important not only
for japan and the united states but also for the world
selig who is due to retire in said he was not floating the idea as
dream but he wanted to deal with it as real issue the nikkan sports daily
quoted kato as saying
mlb has been staging the so called world series since between the champion
clubs of its american and national leagues
since then the game has spread particularly in latin america the caribbean and
the asia pacific region
the japan series has been contested between the champions of the country
central and pacific leagues since
japan won the inaugural world baseball classic country by country
tournament created by mlb to emulate the success of the football world cup
japan retained the title last year
hong kong gold closes lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong gold closed lower on friday at us dollars an ounce
down from thursday close of dollars
it also opened at dollars
thousands of elvis fans to descend on australian town
sydney jan afp
sydney railway station was awash with diamante hairspray and acrylic jumpsuits
on friday as elvis presley fans began their journey to small town to
celebrate their idol th birthday
more than people are expected to join them on the six hour elvis express
train to parkes some kilometres miles west of sydney for the town
th annual elvis festival
it sort of the saviour of the town really in the drought red jumpsuited
