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quinta-feira, 1 de abril de 2010

Elevador que caiu no interior de SP estava superlotado


Imagens mostram que equipamento transportava 11 pessoas.
Capacidade era para oito passageiros no máximo.

Do G1, em São Paulo, com informações da EPTV


Imagens do circuito interno do elevador que despencou do quarto andar de um prédio no Centro de Ribeirão Preto, no interior de São Paulo, na quarta-feira (31), mostram que a cabine do equipamento estava superlotada. Onze estudantes ocupavam o elevador, que tem capacidade para transportar oito pessoas por vez.

O técnico responsável pela manutenção informou que o equipamento é novo e que não houve pane no sistema. Os cabos de aço estariam em condições normais de funcionamento, segundo ele.

A altura da queda foi de 18 metros, mas o impacto acabou amortecido pelo sistema de segurança, formado por molas no fundo do poço. Os 11 passageiros tiveram ferimentos leves.






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'American Idol' elimination: 'Teflon Tim' Urban survives again; Didi Benami goes home


By Len Melisurgo/ The Star-Ledger

April 01, 2010, 8:02AM

Amercan-Idol-Didi-Benami-Top12.JPG'American Idol' finalist Didi Benami ended up in the bottom two last night with Tim Urban, and when the final votes were announced, the pretty waitress from Tennessee was sent home.

Well, it looks as if Tim Urban's new nickname, '"Teflon Tim" is starting to stick.

The 20-year-old Texas college student with the Disney-friendly face survived yet another elimination night on "American Idol" and slid his way into the Top 9, while Didi Benami, the pretty waitress with the sultry voice and persistent stage fright, was voted out.

That was the end result of last night's drawn-out elimination show on Fox, which featured the following:

• Lots of promos for the upcoming "Clash of the Titans" movie (completely unrelated to "American Idol").

• A decent performance by "Big Mike" Lynche former Idol winner Ruben Studdard, who sounds just like "Big Mike" Lynche and looks like he lost half of the weight he had on when he first took the Idol stage seven years ago. By the way, Ruben, who actually towers over Mike, was there to promote his new R&B single, "Don't Make 'Em Like U No More," and to promote his upcoming tour with Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken.

American-Idol-Ruben-Studdard.JPGRuben Studdard, 'American Idol' winner from season 2, returned to the stage last night to perform a single from his new album.

• A decent performance by R&B superstar Usher, who just finished a successful stint as an Idol mentor and promoted "OMG," a single from his just-released album, which he was there to promote.

• An energetic performance by hip-hop star Diddy (formerly known as P. Diddy, formerly known as Puff Daddy, formerly known as Sean Combs) and his new group, Dirty Money, who sang "Hello, Good Morning," the third single from Diddy's upcoming album, which he was there to promote.

• A glimpse of Ryan Seacrest's son young pop star Justin Bieber sitting in the audience, because he and Usher are buddies and the teen idol wants the world to know his album has hit the top of the charts. Oh man, another unintentional product promotion...

• Another corny Ford music video, featuring the Top 10 finalists of Season 9 acting and strutting around to that old 70s hit, "Kung Fu Fighting." (to promote Ford cars)

• A glimpse of Big Mike's wacky pink hair extension (which he said was done in honor of fellow Idol finalist Siobhan Magnus -- not to promote any products).

• A second look at Andrew Garcia's mom in the audience. And now we know for sure she loves clothes with patterns. (On Tuesday night, Mrs. Garcia was wearing a zebra-striped vest; last night she was wearing a blouse that resembled a giant checker board.)

• More tension between Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest. (Hard to tell if it's staged or authentic.)

• A welcome surprise: We did NOT -- I repeat, NOT -- have to endure another cheesy, lip-synched, badly choreographed group song by the Top 10 finalists. There was none last night. (I guess my prayers to God -- channeled through former Idol semi-finalist Jermaine Sellers -- were finally answered...)


'TEFLON TIM' EXPLAINS HIS SMILE

American-Idol-Tim-Urban-Top-10.JPGDespite his repeated struggles on the 'American Idol' stage, young Texan Tim Urban managed to survive another elimination night.

Another interesting moment last night came when Zac Efron Tim Urban was asked why he smiles so much on stage, even after getting bashed by the judges.

Young Tim gave a somewhat convoluted answer, but I kind of understood what he was trying to say: He savors every moment he's performing, because he knows it could be his last one, and he realizes it's an honor to sing before millions of television viewers on the nation's highest-rated show. (sniff, sniff, get me a tissue...)

"Every time I step up out onto that stage, I know like it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Tim told the Idol judges before the rest of his words were drowned out by loud applause from the audience.

(In case you're wondering... A newspaper recently gave Urban the nickname "Teflon Tim" because he has repeatedly managed to survive elimination despite his long string of unimpressive performances -- just like the late mob boss John Gotti Jr. was dubbed the "Teflon Don" because he was a struggling singer who always smiled. OK, just kidding. Gotti's nickname refers to his ability to avoid convictions at most of his trials. Seems like the charges would never stick, just like eggs don't stick to Teflon pans...)


American-Idol-Elimination-Top10-Didi-Benami.JPG'American Idol' finalist Didi Benami sang her final song during last night's elimination show.THE BOTTOM THREE

The bottom three singers, based on the voting from Tuesday night, turned out to be Didi Benami, Tim Urban and Katie Stevens. Katie was sent back to join the other survivors, leaving Didi and Tim to learn their fates at the very end of the one-hour-plus show.

Tim was told he earned enough votes to join the Top 9, and Didi learned she was the lowest vote-getter. Unlike last week's lowest vote-getter, Paige Miles, Didi was given an opportunity to sing one final song in hopes of earning the "judge's save."

The save (a stupid rule) can be used by the judges only once per season, and only up until the Final 5. And the decision has to be unanimous.

Last night, after Didi performed a somewhat shaky encore of "Rhiannon," the Fleetwood Mac song that earned her very high praise several weeks ago, Simon Cowell delivered the grim verdict.

"Didi, it's bad news, sweetheart -- we're not gonna save you. Sorry," Simon told her. "But I'm gonna tell you, it was a million times better than what you did last night."

Simon was referring to Didi's surprisingly dull and flat performance of "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted" during Tuesday night's live two-hour-plus show.

Two other singers Tuesday performed just as badly as Didi -- Siobhan Magnus and Tim Urban.

But Siobhan didn't even end up in the bottom three (voters cut her a break because she simply had one off-night), and Tim ended up in the bottom three for the third straight week and the bottom two for the second straight week.

And he survived again... because he's "Teflon Tim." (and, as we've mentioned many times before, lots of American teenagers seem to admire his floppy hair, his Disney-friendly smile and his well-toned muscles, so they keep on voting for him)


YOUR PREDICTIONS American-Idol-Bottom3-Predicted.jpgThe bottom three you predicted in our poll: Tim Urban, Didi Benami and Siobhan Magnus.
In our reader poll yesterday, after the Top 10 singers performed, you guys came pretty close to picking the correct bottom three.

• Your bottom three were Tim Urban, Didi Benami and Siobhan Magnus. (same as mine)

• The actual bottom three turned out to be Didi Benami, Tim Urban and Katie Stevens.

Here are the complete stats from our March 31 Idol poll, with 571 votes cast:

Tim Urban -- 54 percent (307 votes) felt he deserved to go home this week.
Didi Benami -- 29 percent (167 votes) felt she deserved to go home this week.
Siobhan Magnus -- 5 percent (30 votes)
Katie Stevens -- 3 percent (17 votes)
Andrew Garcia -- 3 percent (17 votes)
Crystal Bowersox -- 1 percent (8 votes)
Mike Lynche -- 1 percent (7 votes)
Casey James -- 1 percent (6 votes)
Lee Dewyze -- 1 percent (6 votes)
Aaron Kelly -- 1 percent (6 votes)

Let's give it another shot after next week's show.



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American Idol Results Show Sends Didi Benami Home, Usher & Sean Diddy Combs Perform


American Idol last night sent Didi Benami home. Her R&B soul week performance of "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" could not get her enough votes from America to survive another week.
Once again the judges declined to use their once-per-season save but Benami kept her usual smile on her face and American Idol 2010 got one step closer to finding the next singing sensation of the year, with one more elimination.

On the brighter side, American Idol Wednesday night show saw Usher perform his new single "OMG" . Also performed Sean "Diddy" Combs with Dirty Money singing "Hello Good Morning," and there was American Idol season 2 winner Ruben Studdard, back to the "Idol" stage with "Don't Make 'Em Like U No More."

Another highlight of the night was Simon Cowell Ryan Seacrest verbal exchange over Katie Stevens' second time bottom-three placement.

Seacrest said, leaning in to the judges' table, "You don't gloat when someone is in the bottom three,"and Simon Cowell replied, "Ryan, you are really getting on my nerves tonight." Cowell then explained that he was not gloating but only trying to make them understand the importance of song choices and style for the struggling singers.

This week the bottom three were Tim Urban (no surprise there, he was back for third time in a row), Katie Stevens and Didi Benami.

Didi's performance on Tuesday was criticized by judges as being off key and old-fashioned. Kara's words turned kind of prophetic when she said, "It's over, done girl."

Tim Urban as always was again criticized for his this week's performance of Anita Baker's "Sweet Love." Cowell though said, "I don't think it makes any difference whatsoever what we say," looking kind of frustrated.

"You're not going to win. But it doesn't matter because you're going to smile, the audience is going to vote for you, nobody cares and you'll be here next week, so well done," Cowell added.

In the end it was Didi Benami who got marching orders. Other Idol contestants joined her in a group hug as the show ended.

Next week on American Idol season 9, its going to be Lennon McCartney songs week for the remaining 9 contestants.

Do post your comments to us about America Idol review. We will be back with more American Idol news for you.



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La novia de América


Analizamos el estilo de Jennifer Aniston con motivo de su visita a nuestro país.

La novia de América

Jennifer Aniston creció con nosotros, provocando nuestras risas con sus ocurrencias en la serie de televisión Friends. Marcó estilo en la década de los noventa con su pulida y dorada melena y padecimos con ella cuando Brad Pitt la abandonó inesperadamente en favor de Angelina Jolie.

Estos días, la "novia de América" se encuentra en nuestro país promocionando su último trabajo "Exposados" (The bounty hunter). De la mano de su compañero de reparto, Gerard Butler, la actriz posó en los cines de Callao (Madrid) con un minivestido bustier negro con tachuelas armadura, de la pre-colección 2010 de Valentino.

Aprovechamos su visita para analizar sus últimas apariciones de alfombra roja. Aniston evita colores energy y se decanta principalmente por vestidos nude y diseños con destellos aluminio de Donna Karan, Alexander McQueen y Valentino, entre otros. En materia de complementos, opta por bolsos de Salvatore Ferragamo y joyas de Bulgari o Fred Leighton.

Jennifer Aniston en la premiére de "Exposados" en Madrid.

Foto: GTRESONLINE






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Carlos Eduardo Gabas, novo ministro da Previdência, descarta aumento maior para aposentados





Publicada em 31/03/2010 às 23h58m

Isabel Braga

BRASÍLIA - O novo ministro da Previdência, Carlos Eduardo Gabas, que tomou posse nesta quinta-feira na vaga deixada pelo petista José Pimentel, afirmou que não há espaço para nova negociação com as centrais sindicais e os parlamentares que garanta um aumento maior aos aposentados que ganham acima de um salário mínimo. Deputados da base aliada pressionam o governo por um reajuste além dos 6,14% previstos na medida provisória que tramita na Casa. A tentativa é garantir um reajuste da inflação mais 80% do PIB dos dois últimos anos, que daria um índice de 7,9%, com um custo de cerca de R$ 2 bilhões a mais por ano nas contas da Previdência.

Gabas afirmou que as contas não suportam este impacto e pediu responsabilidade:

" O governo está convencido de que atingiu seu limite. Qualquer coisa acima disso é pouco responsável "



'A sociedade não é palhaça',



- Tudo foi feito com diálogo. O governo está convencido de que atingiu seu limite (6,14%). Qualquer coisa acima disso é pouco responsável. A Previdência não pode ser objeto de aventuras em período eleitoral. Tudo que passar dos limites negociados vai prejudicar. Não se pode usar a disputa eleitoreira para comprometer a Previdência.

Técnico de carreira do INSS, onde ingressou em 1985, por concurso público, Gabas sempre atuou no movimento sindical e é filiado ao PT há mais de 20 anos. Foi chamado em 2002 por Ricardo Berzoini, primeiro ministro da Previdência do governo Lula, para ser superintendente do INSS em São Paulo. A pasta teve outros ministros, mas ele manteve-se no cargo até ser chamado, por Nelson Machado, para a secretaria-executiva, onde permaneceu até agora.

" A Previdência Social tira (A) gente da miséria. Previdência é cidadania "


E ninquem vai lá gritar :

JUSTIÇA!
JUSTIÇA!
JUSTIÇA!
HEIN????

A IMPRESNA SANGUINOLENTA, NÃO VAI DAR COBERTURA 25 HORAS POR DIA ???


Nesta quarta, ao receber o cargo do também petista José Pimentel, Gabas emocionou-se várias vezes e usou expressão repetida por Lula para dizer que "nunca antes na história" da Previdência um servidor de carreira havia assumido o comando da pasta. Destacou sua luta contra a tese de privatização da Previdência e afirmou que a sociedade não aceitará retrocesso neste sentido:

- A Previdência Social tira gente da miséria, da dignidade social. Previdência Social é cidadania. É a maior política de distribuição de renda no país.

Lula brinca com presença de Gloria Pires na plateia

O auditório do ministério estava lotado de servidores, amigos de Araçatuba (SP), sua cidade natal, além de quatro ex-ministros da pasta. Mas quem mais causou frisson na solenidade foi a atriz Glória Pires, amiga de Gabas, que fez questão de prestigiar o evento. Glória e o marido Orlando estiveram antes na solenidade no Itamaraty e o presidente Lula não perdeu a piada.

- O novo ministro Gabas, que até trouxe minha mãe para a posse - disse Lula, numa referência ao personagem vivido por Glória Pires no filme que conta sua vida, "Lula, o filho do Brasil", de Fábio Barreto.

" O novo ministro Gabas, que até trouxe minha mãe para a posse "

Pimentel volta à Câmara, porque disputará a eleição para o Senado no Ceará. Segundo ele, a decisão de concorrer ao Senado foi formalizada pelo PT do estado no último final de semana. O partido fechou apoio à reeleição de Cid Gomes (PSB), mas deixou claro que não aceitará qualquer tipo de aliança formal ou informal com o PSDB.

Cid quer apoiar a eleição de Tasso Jereissati (PSDB) para o Senado. O PT decidiu apoiar Eunício Oliveira (PMDB) para a outra vaga do Senado.




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Carro de luxo é destruído por funcionário de concessionária




O carro era utilizado como test drive na concessionária que fica na Zona Sul da capital. O funcionário saiu da loja por volta das 17h; e às 23h30, bateu o veículo no muro de uma escola.

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Trecho Sul do Rodoanel é aberto ao tráfego


Vice-governador admite que obra não está totalmente concluída.
Carro particular de Alberto Goldman é o primeiro a cruzar nova rodovia.

Juliana Cardilli do G1, em São Paulo


O Trecho Sul do Rodoanel Mario Covas foi aberto à circulação de veículos às 6h40 desta quinta-feira (1º). O primeiro carro a passar pela via era dirigido pelo vice-governador paulista, Alberto Goldman. O vice-governador iniciou o trajeto em seu carro particular, acompanhado dos secretários de Economia e Planejamento, Francisco Luna, e de Transportes, Mauro Arce. Goldman percorrerá todo o Trecho Sul, partindo da Rodovia Régis Bittencourt até a Via Anchieta. Antes mesmo da liberação, já havia carros e caminhões esperando para estrear a nova rodovia paulista.

Foto: Juliana Cardilli/G1

Primeiros veículos a utilizarem o Trecho Sul do Rodoanel Mario Covas, na manhã desta quinta-feira (1º). (Foto: Juliana Cardilli/G1)

Pouco antes da liberação, Goldman afirmou que faltam poucos detalhes para serem finalizados na nova pista, mas que isso não compromete o tráfego no local. “Nós temos alguns viadutos para serem terminados, isso pode levar de 30 a 60 dias. No entanto, os que já existem permitem perfeitamente a ligação do Trecho Oeste até a saída para a Anchieta. Quanto a isso não há nenhum problema”, afirmou.

Goldman assume interinamente o governo de São Paulo na sexta-feira (2) e oficialmente na próxima terça-feira (6), às 15h, em cerimônia na Assembleia Legislativa. Na quarta-feira (31), o governador José Serra deixou o cargo para possivelmente disputar a presidência da República, nas eleições deste ano.

Foto: Alexandre Vieira/Futura Press

Obras no Trecho Sul do Rodoanel nesta quarta-feira, véspera da inauguração (Foto: Alexandre Vieira/Futura Press )

saiba mais


Informalmente, o Trecho Sul foi inaugurado por Serra na terça-feira (30). Minutos antes da abertura das pistas da via nesta quinta-feira, faixas ainda eram pintadas.

A inauguração do Trecho Sul do Rodoanel traz para os motoristas de São Paulo a expectativa de alívio em duas das principais vias da cidade – a Marginal Pinheiros e a Avenida dos Bandeirantes. Com 61,4 km de extensão e custo total previsto de R$ 5,03 bilhões, ele ligará Mauá, no ABC, ao Trecho Oeste do anel viário – passando pelas Rodovias Anchieta e Imigrantes, acesso para o litoral paulista.

Enquanto os trechos Leste e Norte – que ainda não começaram a ser construídos – não ficam prontos, pegar a via para seguir para o litoral é vantajoso para os motoristas que estão nas zonas Norte e Oeste de São Paulo. Para isso, é preciso seguir pela Marginal Tietê ou Pinheiros até uma das cinco rodovias cortadas pelo Trecho Oeste do Rodoanel, já em operação – Bandeirantes, Anhanguera, Castello Branco, Raposo Tavares e Régis Bittencourt.

O mesmo poderá ser feito para quem sai do litoral e quer acessar as zonas Oeste ou Norte de São Paulo – basta seguir pelo Rodoanel desde as rodovias Anchieta e Imigrantes até uma das cinco rodovias do trecho oeste.

Para quem está na região central ou nas zonas Leste e Sul da cidade, entretanto, acessar o Rodoanel representa um desvio muito grande. Por isso, seguir por dentro da cidade até as rodovias que acessam o litoral deverá ser o caminho mais vantajoso.

Confira onde estão os acessos para o Rodoanel



Vias mais livres
Os motoristas que seguem do interior do estado por uma dessas cinco rodovias com destino ao litoral não precisarão mais acessar as marginais e a Avenida dos Bandeirantes – poderão seguir pelo Rodoanel até o Sistema Anchieta-Imigrantes e então para o Porto de Santos, por exemplo.

Mesmo quem sai das rodovias Presidente Dutra, Fernão Dias e Ayrton Senna com destino ao litoral será beneficiado – mesmo sem serem cruzadas pelo anel viário, os motoristas podem seguir pela Marginal Tietê, acessar a Rodovia dos Bandeirantes e seguir então para o Rodoanel.

A expectativa da Secretaria Municipal de Transportes é que 40% dos caminhões que circulam atualmente pela Marginal Pinheiros e pela Avenida dos Bandeirantes deixem as vias e passem a usar o Rodoanel. Com isso, a Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego (CET) estima uma redução de 15% nos índices de lentidão na cidade de São Paulo.

A previsão é que circulem cerca de 16,5 mil caminhões e 55,5 mil veículos de passeio por dia no novo trecho. Com a inauguração, o tráfego também deve ser impactado no Trecho Oeste – que tem previsão de aumento de 20% na circulação de veículos.

Ao contrário do Trecho Oeste, onde há 13 praças de pedágio localizadas nas saídas para as demais rodovias, com valor de R$ 1,30, o Trecho Sul começou a funcionar sem a cobrança. Ele passa pelos municípios do Embu das Artes, Itapecerica da Serra, São Paulo, São Bernardo do Campo, Santo André, Ribeirão Pires e Mauá, todos na região metropolitana.

Melhorias na capital
Além da Marginal Pinheiros e da Avenida dos Bandeirantes, a Secretaria de Transportes também prevê melhorias nos índices de lentidão de outras vias da cidade. Entre elas estão a Marginal Tietê, Avenida Jornalista Roberto Marinho, Avenida Hélio Pellegrino, Eixo Norte/Sul, Avenida Marquês de São Vicente, Avenida Gastão Vidigal, Avenida Pedroso de Morais e corredor das avenidas Ricardo Jafet e Abraão de Morais.

De acordo com o secretário de Transportes, Alexandre de Moraes, a necessidade de novas medidas restritivas a caminhões na cidade será definida em 90 dias, quando os motoristas já estiverem mais habituados a utilizar o novo trecho do Rodoanel.





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Trânsito no Rio


Acompanhe as câmeras da Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego do Rio de Janeiro (CET-Rio), ao vivo, em diversos pontos da cidade. O serviço está disponível até as 9.





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Acompanhe o trânsito na capital paulista pelas câmeras da TV Globo.





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Compradores chinos cancelarían cargamentos aceite soja argentina

PEKIN (Reuters) - Compradores chinos deberán cancelar casi todos los cargamentos argentinos de aceite de soja, unas 200.000 toneladas mensuales entre mayo y julio, por las represalias de China contra las medidas anti-dumping de Argentina a sus productos, estimaron operadores y analistas.

Los compradores habían reservado entre 200.000 y 250.000 toneladas de aceite de soja cada mes para ser importadas durante esos tres meses que en su mayoría procederían de Argentina, el principal vendedor mundial del producto.

"Creemos que la mayoría de los compradores debe cancelar, pero algunas compañías estatales aún están coordinando con las autoridades del Gobierno debido a que ésto vino sin previo aviso", dijo un ejecutivo que declinó ser identificado.

Las compañías chinas fueron convocadas a una reunión de emergencia el miércoles y fueron instadas a no importar aceite de soja desde Argentina como una medida de represalia contra el país, que lanzó impuestos anti-dumping e investigaciones contra varios productos chinos, incluyendo calzado, tuberías de acero e inflamables.

Funcionarios de la agencia de cuarentena de China dijeron a los participantes en la reunión que desde el 1 de abril las autoridades locales implementarán "estrictamente" el estándar chino en la inspección de las importaciones de aceite de soja crudo desde Argentina, que actualmente no cumple con el estándar.

"No tenemos claro por cuanto tiempo se extenderá la situación. Si dura de cinco a seis meses, definitivamente impulsará las importaciones de aceite de palma" dijo el ejecutivo que se sumó a la reunión del miércoles.

Pero las reservas actuales de aceite de palma de China aún son elevadas y se ubican cerca de niveles récord de 600.000 toneladas, dijo el ejecutivo.

El bloqueo a las importaciones de aceite de soja argentino podría no llevar a un repunte inmediato de la soja debido a que su venta en la actualidad ha sido golpeada por brotes de enfermedad porcina.

Las importaciones de aceite de soja de Brasil, otro de los principales exportadores mundiales, no serán interrumpidas, dijeron operadores.

(Reporte de Niu Shuping y Tom Miles; editado en español por Hernán García)





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Nueva explosión en Rusia tras la reivindicación islamista de la matanza de Moscú

MOSCÚ (AFP) - Un coche cargado de explosivos explotó este jueves de madrugada en la convulsa república caucásica de Daguestán, agudizando la alerta en que se encuentra Rusia después de que un grupo islamista se atribuyese el doble atentado del metro de Moscú y amenazase con perpetrar más.

Moscú se preparaba para oficiar los funerales de muchos de los 39 muertos en los dos atentados suicidas perpetrados el lunes en el metro, en un ambiente de gran nerviosismo al que también contribuyó el doble atentado que el miércoles mató a 12 personas frente a una comisaría en Daguestán.

En el último episodio de violencia, dos personas más murieron en el distrito de Jasavurtski, en Daguestán, cuando estalló su vehículo, aparentemente cargado de explosivos.

"Según informaciones preliminares, el material explosivo transportado en el coche estalló de forma accidental", informó la agencia de noticias rusa Interfax citando a una fuente de los servicios de seguridad.

El miércoles, el grupo islamista "Emirato del Cáucaso", que lucha por imponer en el Cáucaso ruso un Estado islámico basado en la ley islámica, reivindicó el doble atentado suicida del metro en un mensaje de video realizado por su líder, Doku Umarov.

El jefe islamista, al que las fuerzas de seguridad rusas han intentado matar en varias ocasiones, afirmó haber ordenado personalmente el ataque del metro moscovita.

Se trata de "una acción legítima de venganza por los continuos asesinatos de civiles en el Cáucaso", afirmó Umarov en el video divulgado en la página web kavkazcenter.com, utilizada frecuentemente por los insurgentes.

Rusia ha luchado durante años contra los rebeldes islamistas en las regiones musulmanas del Cáucaso Norte -Daguestán, Chechenia e Ingusetia- pero los atentados del lunes marcaron la primera vez en seis años que la violencia se propaga a la capital rusa.

Umarov, que utiliza el alias de Abu Usman y el mes pasado llamó a la "guerra santa" en todo el país, advirtió a los rusos que se preparen para más ataques en el corazón de Rusia.

"Los habitantes de Rusia no van a seguir viendo tranquilamente por televisión lo que ocurre en el Cáucaso, mientras que nada les importa que haya abusos y crímenes cometidos por sus bandas dirigidas por Putin (Vladimir, el primer ministro ruso). Por ese motivo, la guerra llega a sus calles", afirmó el líder islamista desde un lugar no identificado.

Umarov afirmó que los atentados son la venganza por "la matanza por parte de los invasores rusos de los residentes más pobres de Chechenia e Ingusetia" el 11 de febrero, cuando "recogían ajo salvaje (...) para alimentar a sus familias". Los servicios de seguridad rusos habían informado de la muerte de 20 rebeldes en operaciones especiales realizadas el 11 de febrero.

Según fuentes de la investigación citadas por el diario ruso Kommersant, las dos mujeres kamikazes que perpetraron los atentados de Moscú llegaron a la capital en autobús procedentes de la ciudad daguestana de Kizliar, la misma en que tuvo lugar el ataque contra la comisaría que mató a 12 personas.

Vladimir Putin dijo el miércoles que los atentados de Daguestán podían estar relacionados con los del metro moscovita. En ese contexto, la Fiscalía Federal decidió crear en Daguestán un "grupo permanente de investigación", formado por miembros de la fiscalía, el ministro de Interior y los servicios especiales, para trabajar sobre "los crímenes particularmente graves y los crímenes terroristas".

El resto del Cáucaso ruso también se está bajo fuerte vigilancia. En Ingushetia, los servicios de inteligencia (el FSB, heredero del soviético KGB) decidieron ampliar la zona de "operaciones antiterroristas", según la agencia ITAR-TASS.





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Car blast kills two in Russia's Dagestan - agency

Photo
MOSCOW, April 1 (Reuters) - Two people were killed in Russia's North Caucasus region of Dagestan overnight when a blast ripped through their car, which was believed to have been carrying explosives, Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.

Interfax quoted police as saying the car blew up near a village in western Dagestan and that a third person was in hospital with serious injuries.

"According to preliminary information, an explosive device transported in the car spontaneously went off," a police spokesman said.

On Wednesday, suicide bombers killed at least 12 people in the Dagestani town of Kizlyar, two days after deadly attacks in Moscow that authorities linked to insurgents from the region.

On Monday, Moscow was hit by its bloodiest attack in six years -- twin morning rush-hour blasts that killed 39 people. Authorities blamed female suicide bombers with connections to the mainly Muslim North Caucasus




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Raw Video: Plane Damages Tyres on Sydney Landing

A Qantas A380 superjumbo jet damaged two tyres on landing in Sydney after a flight from Singapore, a spokeswoman said on Thursday. (1 April 2010)




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Geneva Atom Smasher Sets Collision Record



The world's largest atom smasher conducted its first experiments at conditions nearing those after the Big Bang, breaking its own record for high-energy collisions with proton beams crashing into each other Tuesday. (March 30)


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Laptop Killer? Pretty Close

iPad Is a 'Game Changer' That Makes Browsing And Video a Pleasure; Challenge to the Mouse

For the past week or so, I have been testing a sleek, light, silver-and-black tablet computer called an iPad. After spending hours and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades.

But first, it will have to prove that it really can replace the laptop or netbook for enough common tasks, enough of the time, to make it a viable alternative. And that may not be easy, because previous tablet computers have failed to catch on in the mass market, and the iPad lacks some of the features—such as a physical keyboard, a Webcam, USB ports and multitasking—that most laptop or netbook users have come to expect.

If people see the iPad mainly as an extra device to carry around, it will likely have limited appeal. If, however, they see it as a way to replace heavier, bulkier computers much of the time—for Web surfing, email, social-networking, video- and photo-viewing, gaming, music and even some light content creation—it could be a game changer the way Apple's iPhone has been.

The iPad is much more than an e-book or digital periodical reader, though it does those tasks brilliantly, better in my view than the Amazon Kindle. And it's far more than just a big iPhone, even though it uses the same easy-to-master interface, and Apple says it runs nearly all of the 150,000 apps that work on the iPhone.

It's qualitatively different, a whole new type of computer that, through a simple interface, can run more-sophisticated, PC-like software than a phone does, and whose large screen allows much more functionality when compared with a phone's. But, because the iPad is a new type of computer, you have to feel it, to use it, to fully understand it and decide if it is for you, or whether, say, a netbook might do better.

So I've been using my test iPad heavily day and night, instead of my trusty laptops most of the time. As I got deeper into it, I found the iPad a pleasure to use, and had less and less interest in cracking open my heavier ThinkPad or MacBook. I probably used the laptops about 20% as often as normal, reserving them mainly for writing or editing longer documents, or viewing Web videos in Adobe's Flash technology, which the iPad doesn't support, despite its wide popularity online.

My verdict is that, while it has compromises and drawbacks, the iPad can indeed replace a laptop for most data communication, content consumption and even limited content creation, a lot of the time. But it all depends on how you use your computer.

If you're mainly a Web surfer, note-taker, social-networker and emailer, and a consumer of photos, videos, books, periodicals and music—this could be for you. If you need to create or edit giant spreadsheets or long documents, or you have elaborate systems for organizing email, or need to perform video chats, the iPad isn't going to cut it as your go-to device.

The iPad is thinner and lighter than any netbook or laptop I've seen. It weighs just 1.5 pounds, and its aluminum and glass body is a mere half-inch thick. It boasts a big, bright color 9.7-inch screen that occupies most of the front. As on all Apple portable devices, the battery is sealed in and nonreplaceable. It has a decent speaker, and even a tiny microphone.

Memory, also sealed in and nonexpandable, ranges from 16 gigabytes to 64 gigabytes. And you can order one with just a Wi-Fi wireless connection to the Internet, or Wi-Fi plus an AT&T 3G cellular connection. The Wi-Fi models will be available Saturday and the 3G models, which I didn't test, about a month later.

Prices start at $499 and go to $829, with the costlier models having more memory and/or 3G. The cellular models don't require a contract or termination fee. You can pay AT&T either $15 a month for 250 megabytes of data use, or $30 a month for unlimited data—a significant reduction from typical prices for laptop cellular connectivity.

I was impressed with the iPad's battery life, which I found to be even longer than Apple's ten-hour claim, and far longer than on my laptops or smart phones. For my battery test, I played movies, TV shows, and other videos back to back until the iPad died. This stressed the device's most power-hogging feature, its screen. The iPad lasted 11 hours and 28 minutes, about 15% more than Apple claimed. I was able to watch four feature-length movies, four TV episodes, and a video of a 90-minute corporate presentation, before the battery died midway through an episode of "The Closer."

Oh, and all the while during this battery marathon, I kept the Wi-Fi network running and the email downloading constantly in the background. Your mileage may vary, but with Wi-Fi off and the screen turned down from the fairly bright level I used, you might even do better. Music plays far longer with the screen off. On the other hand, playing games constantly might yield worse battery life.

Apple says video playback, Web use and book reading all take about the same amount of juice. When I was doing the latter two tasks for an hour or two at a time, the battery ran down so slowly for me that I stopped thinking about it.

I also was impressed with the overall speed of the iPad. Apple's custom processor makes it wicked fast. Screens appear almost instantly and the Wi-Fi in my home tested as fast as it does on a laptop.

I found email easy and productive to use, and had no trouble typing accurately and quickly on the wide on-screen keyboard. In fact, I found the iPad virtual keyboard more comfortable and accurate to use than the cramped keyboards and touchpads on many netbooks, though some fast touch typists might disagree. Apple's $39 iPad case, which bends to set up a nice angle for typing, helps.

The Web browser also works beautifully, and takes advantage of the big screen to show full pages and cut down on scrolling. It even now has a bookmarks bar at the top. As noted, however, it doesn't support Adobe's Flash technology.

I also was able to easily sync the iPad's calendar and contacts apps with Google and Apple's MobileMe.

Watching videos, viewing photos, listening to music, reading books and playing games was satisfying and fun. I used the device heavily for Twitter and Facebook. And I even got some light work done in the optional iPad word processor, called Pages, which is part of a $30 suite that also includes a spreadsheet and presentation program.

This is a serious content creation app that should help the iPad compete with laptops and can import Microsoft Office files. However, only the word processor exports to Microsoft's formats, and not always accurately. In one case, the exported Word file had misaligned text. When I tried exporting the document as a PDF file, it was unreadable.

The iPad can run two types of third-party apps, both available from Apple's app store. It can use nearly all existing iPhone apps. These can either run in a small, iPhone-size window in the middle of the screen, which makes them look tiny, or blown up to double size. The larger size makes them fill the screen, but can make type inside them look blocky. Still, the dozens I tested all worked properly. And it can run a new class of specially designed iPad apps, of which Apple hopes to have 1,000 at launch. I successfully tested the revamped App Store, which features the iPad apps most prominently when you're on an iPad.

Based on my very small sample, some app developers may be testing higher prices for iPad apps than the 99 cents or $1.99 typical for paid iPhone apps. The paid iPad apps I saw ranged from $3.99 to $49.99. Others were free.

Apple has rebuilt its own core iPhone apps for the iPad to add sophisticated features that make the programs look and work more like PC or Mac software. For instance, there are "popover" menus that make it easier to make choices without leaving the screen you're on. And, when the iPad is held horizontally, in landscape mode, as I often preferred to use it, many programs now have two panels, making them faster and more useful. In email, a left-hand panel shows your message list, while a larger right-hand panel shows the message itself.

The photo app is striking, and much more like the one on the Mac than the one on the iPhone. The device can be used as a digital picture frame. The iPod app is beautiful, as are the calendar and contacts app. Unfortunately, Apple excluded some of the more familiar apps from the iPhone, including Weather, Clock and Stocks.

I tested a small selection of the new third-party iPad apps Apple hopes to have available at launch, and most were also rich and feature-filled, beyond what iPhone apps offer. These included games such as Scrabble and "Touch Hockey," a database app, news services and more.

I was able to try a pre-release version of The Wall Street Journal's new iPad app (which I had nothing to do with designing), and found it gorgeous and highly functional—by far the best implementation of the newspaper I have ever seen on a screen. Unlike the Journal's Web site, or its smart-phone apps, the iPad version blends much more of the look and feel of the print paper into the electronic environment. Other newspapers and magazines have announced plans for their own, dramatically more realistic iPhone apps.

I also found iBooks, Apple's book reader and store, easy to use, and read a couple of books on it. I consider the larger color screen superior to the Kindle's, and encountered no eye strain. But the iPad is much heavier than the Kindle and most people will need two hands to use it. The iBooks app also lacks any way to enter notes, and Apple's catalog at launch will only be about 60,000 books versus over 400,000 for Kindle.

I did run into some other annoying limitations. For instance, the email program lacks the ability to create local folders or rules for auto-sorting messages, and it doesn't allow group addressing. The browser lacks tabs. And the Wi-Fi-only version lacks GPS. Also, videophiles may dislike the fact that the iPad's screen lacks wide-screen dimensions, so you either get black bars above or below wide-screen videos, or, if you choose an option to fill the screen, some of the picture may get cut off.

All in all, the iPad is an advance in making more-sophisticated computing possible via a simple touch interface on a slender, light device. Only time will tell if it's a real challenger to the laptop and netbook.





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Horrific ordeal of girl, six, who was physically and sexually abused by 23 of her primary school classmates


By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:30 AM on 01st April 2010


abuse case

The girl was routinely assaulted by pupils of her own age within school grounds. (Posed by model)

The shocking case of a six-year-old girl who was physically and sexually abused by 23 of her classmates has emerged today.

The girl was stripped daily and routinely assaulted by pupils her own age in the grounds of the Welsh school.

But the school and local council said the children's young ages and lack of evidence meant little could be done.

A review has now been ordered into that investigation, which meant none of the children involved in the abuse were removed from school.

The Children's Commissioner for Wales Keith Towler said the inquiry into the case had been a 'shocking failure'.

A serious case review published two years after allegations of abuse first emerged accepted that sexually harmful behaviour had taken place.

But it said it had been difficult to establish exactly what happened.

The school and the local education authority, neither of which can be named, said the fact that the children had all been under the age of criminal responsibility meant little action could be taken.

The child's mother told how it took two years for education officials to investigate her daughter's torment.

She said she had been warned about what was happening by another mother whose daughter was also being abused.


CHILD'S MOTHER: 'I will never forget the look on her face.. the fear on her face. I said 'It is OK you can tell Mummy" and then it all started to come out. And she was telling me things that I think every mother dreads to hear from their daughter'

In an interview with the BBC, the child's mother described the moment her daughter began to tell her what had been going on.

'My daughter was just like any other little girl. I will never forget the look on her face.. the fear on her face. I said 'It is OK you can tell Mummy" and then it all started to come out.

'And she was telling me things that I think every mother dreads to hear from their daughter. It was horrendous what she'd gone through.'

The mother moved her daughter to a school in another area but it was not until she took legal action that the local authority carried out a serious case review.

She says her daughter is doing better but believes she will be traumatised for life.

Children's Commissioner for Wales

Children's Commissioner for Wales Keith Towler said the inquiry into the case had been a 'shocking failure'

'My daughter was going through that every day. Every day she was being stripped, she was being physically and sexually abused every day and every day she cried out for help and nobody ever came. And I think you can't excuse that.

'How can you possibly say that is OK and nobody is answerable for that?'

The child's family say she was failed by the school and by the system which took so long for something to be done.

Children's Commissioner for Wales Keith Towler said teachers needed on-going training to better recognise such incidents and the serious case review system in Wales would be changed to help prevent similar failures in the future.

'This is a shocking failure and the bottom line is the family will never know what happened to their child,' said Mr Towler.

'We are going to review the serious case review process in Wales to make sure they are much more timely published, within a year of incidents happening, so that we get really clear for everybody involved, what happened, why it happened and what we need to do to put things right.'

The local authority concerned has said it was confident the case review had been a robust one and said the school had received excellent inspections before and after the case.

Directors of Social Services in Wales president Neelam Bhardwaja said: 'If there are these number of children involved, it begs the questions, "Where did that behaviour arise from? Why are these children behaving in this way, and are they from abusive situations themselves, which they need protecting from?" '

She said an examination of the serious case review process in Wales had been going on for the last three months and was due to be completed by June.

She said it would be looking at the overall process, not the investigation in to the six-year-old's case.

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesman said it took 'its roles and responsibilities around the safeguarding of children very seriously'.





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