#NEWS : FDA Panel Backs First New Drug to Treat Lupus in 50 Years

Matthew Perrone

AP

ADELPHI, Md. (Nov. 16) -- Federal health experts on Tuesday voted in favor of the first new drug to treat Lupus in over 50 years, setting aside concerns that the experimental therapy does not work in some key patient groups, including African-Americans.

The recommendation from a panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers brings the biotech drug from Human Genome Sciences one step closer to market. The drug was co-developed with GlaxoSmithKline PLC.

Known as Benlysta, the drug is designed to treat flare-ups and pain caused by lupus, a little-understood and potentially fatal ailment in which the body attacks its own tissue and organs. Ninety percent of lupus patients are women. The disease causes skin rashes, joint pain and inflammation of the kidneys and the fibrous tissue surrounding the heart.

The FDA panel voted 13-2 in favor of approving the drug. The agency is not required to follow the advice of its panelists, though it often does.

The FDA is scheduled to make a decision on Benlysta by Dec. 9, and company executives suggested the drug could be available in the first quarter 2011.

Shares of Human Genome Sciences rose $2.41, or 9.3 percent, to $28.29 in after-hours trading, while GlaxoSmithKline stock gained 94 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $39.48.

Throughout Tuesday's meeting, FDA's experts stressed that Benlysta will not work for all patients and that more effective therapies are still needed.

"I think it's very exciting that this is the first new drug in five decades, but it's not magic bullet," said Dr. Maria Suarez-Almazor of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Panelists who voted against the drug's approval said the studies submitted by Human Genome Sciences did not show that patients taking Benlysta fared significantly better than those taking older therapies.

"I have all the hopes and dreams that we have heard expressed today, and I know my lupus patients want a medicine that is more effective, but I have not seen data that says this drug is it," said Dr. David Blumenthal of Case Western Reserve University.

Only 30 percent of patients studied by Human Genome Sciences responded to the drug, as measured by a comprehensive list of lupus symptoms. The drug did not help African-Americans - who are three times more likely to have lupus than Caucasians. Additionally, studies conducted in Latin America and Eastern Europe showed significantly better results than those conducted in the U.S. and Canada, leading some panelists to question the accuracy of the results.

Despite such concerns, panelists appeared swayed by more than 30 lupus patients - several of whom currently take Benlysta - who urged the FDA to approve the drug during a public comment session. Many of the patients said the side effects of current drugs are as debilitating as the disease itself. Current treatments include steroids, which can cause bone fractures, and chemotherapy drugs, which cause hair loss, anemia and diarrhea.

The drugs help keep the immune system in check, but aren't designed to treat lupus itself.

"Living with lupus is a daily fight simply to see another day, and often survival means letting go of things you love and wanted to do," said Wendy Rogers, a spokeswoman for the Lupus Foundation of America.

Sponsored Links

In separate votes the panel voted 10-5 in favor of the drug's effectiveness and 14-1 in favor of its safety.

"I found the personal stories today particularly compelling, and I see this as an important opportunity to advance a challenging area of medicine and serve a previously underserved population," said Dr. Robert Kerns of the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System.

An estimated 1.5 million people in the U.S. have lupus. Benlysta, known chemically as belimumab, is a once-a-month infusion that works by blocking the antibodies that cause the disease in a subset of patients.

If approved, analysts estimate Benlysta could eventually post sales of over $2 billion annually. Human Genome Sciences Inc., of Rockville, Md., and GlaxoSmithKline PLC, of Britain, which would split the profits, are also seeking approval to market the injectable drug in Europe.

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#crime Disque Denúncia paga R$ 2.000 por informações sobre grupo de extermínio do RJ

FOLHA

DE SÃO PAULO

O Disque Denúncia do Rio está oferecendo uma recompensa de R$ 2.000 por informações que levem a prisão de Wanderson da Silva Tavares, conhecido como Gordinho ou Tenente.

Reprodução

Cartaz do Disque Denúncia mostra o suspeito Wanderson da Silva Tavares, o Gordinho

Tavares é apontado pela polícia como sendo um dos lideres de uma quadrilha investigada por vários assassinatos em São Gonçalo, na região metropolitana do Rio --conhecida como Extermínio S/A.

De acordo com a polícia, a estrutura da quadrilha foi montada para extorquir dinheiro a partir de sequestros e assassinatos de supostos traficantes de drogas e de seus familiares. O grupo era integrado por policiais, que sequestravam e matavam os suspeitos, e depois exigiam dinheiro de familiares forjando um sequestro. Algumas das vítimas foram mortas quando entregavam o suposto resgate.

Informações obtidas por escutas telefônicas feitas pela 72ª DP (Mutuá), com autorização da Justiça, dão conta de que os suspeitos trabalhavam com valores definidos para cada vítima. O montante exigido em troca da liberdade variava entre R$ 15 mil e R$ 50 mil.

O Disque Denúncia afirma que os R$ 2.000 serão pagos após a prisão do suspeito à partir de informações repassadas exclusivamente ao serviço. O sigilo dos denunciantes é garantido --as informações podem ser passadas pelo telefone 0/XX/21/2253-1177.

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#aposentadoria #inss #cpmf #lula #bolsafamilia Cada parlamentar pode acrescentar até R$ 13 mi ao Orçamento, decide Congresso

FLÁVIA FOREQUE
GUSTAVO PATU
DE BRASÍLIA

O Congresso elevou o valor das despesas que deputados e senadores podem acrescentar ao Orçamento do próximo ano.

Segundo o texto aprovado, cada congressista poderá destinar até R$ 13 milhões para obras e outras modalidades de despesa em 2011.

Acompanhe a Folha Poder no Twitter
Comente reportagens em nossa página no Facebook

Pela proposta original, defendida pelo Executivo, seriam mantidos os mesmos R$ 12,5 milhões que vigoraram no Orçamento deste ano. O aumento significará despesas adicionais de cerca de R$ 300 milhões.

Parte dos parlamentares defendia um limite de R$ 15 milhões, o que significaria um gasto adicional de R$ 1,5 bilhão --o suficiente para elevar o salário mínimo em R$ 5.

Chamadas no jargão orçamentário de emendas individuais, as despesas acrescentadas no Orçamento por deputados e senadores são parte importante das relações entre o governo e o Legislativo: os congressistas usam o expediente para colher dividendos em seus redutos eleitorais, enquanto a liberação das verbas é usada como moeda de troca em votações de interesse do Executivo.

O novo valor das emendas individuais foi fixado na votação das propostas de modificação ao relatório preliminar do Orçamento de 2011.

Comissão do Orçamento aprova relatório com mínimo de R$ 540

FLÁVIA FOREQUE
GUSTAVO PATU
DE BRASÍLIA

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#news Eight arrested after 53 die in Shanghai apartment fire

CLIFFORD COONAN in Beijing

SHANGHAI POLICE have arrested eight people believed to be behind a fire that killed 53 people at a high-rise apartment that was under renovation. The government’s poor handling of the disaster has angered many in China’s financial capital.

According to a report on the local government website, four welders were guilty of using their equipment badly, which sparked the blaze seen across the city.

The 28-storey building was under renovation when it went up in flames; the fire broke out on the north side of the 10th floor.

“The fire grew so big because the scaffolding contained a lot of flammable materials,” Zhu Zhixiang, a Shanghai firefighter, told state broadcaster CCTV.

Shanghai, a city of more than 20 million people and the venue of the recent World Expo, has been host to a construction frenzy in recent years, ranging from high-rises that dot its skyline to new subway lines, highways and airport upgrades. However, unsafe building work remains a chronic problem in China.

Firefighters rescued more than 100 residents from the burning building. The building housed 150 families, the news agency said.

Frustration has been growing among relatives seeking answers to how such a tragedy could happen in a city like Shanghai, a wealthy city that is one of the country’s best-run urban centres.

Shanghai fire chief Chen Fei said 200 firefighters went into the burning building. Once the scaffolding and nylon nets caught fire, the flames spread quickly, especially because it was a windy day.

Survivors were taken to nine Shanghai hospitals, where relatives sought their loved ones.

Local authorities have tried to determine the number of residents who were actually at home in the building when the fire broke out and how many remain missing, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Police investigating the disaster said eight people had been detained, but did not identify them.

It is the worst Chinese fire since 53 people died in a supermarket fire in Jilin province in northeast China in 2003.

According to Shanghai’s fire chief, the fire started on the 10th floor and spread quickly to scaffolding and nylon nets. The inferno sent black smoke billowing across the city’s skyline.

As well as the 53 deaths, more than 70 people suffered smoke inhalation. Many were rushed to hospitals. These were most elderly and suffering from smoke inhalation.

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#news Unlicensed Welders Detained in Shanghai Fire

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#news Kate: Princess Diana 'an inspiration'

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#news #tech : Nook Color review

By Joshua Topolsky posted Nov 16th 2010 8:31AM

Review

It's hard to believe we're already writing a review of the Nook Color, considering Barnes & Noble's first foray into the e-reader world was revealed just over a year ago. In that time, the company has gone from no presence in e-books to owning 20 percent of the marketshare, and now has moved from a somewhat sluggish hybrid E-Ink / LCD device to a full color, tablet-like product. The Nook Color is definitely a major step forward, boasting a completely revamped, Android-based OS, and a big push into the children's book and periodical market (particularly full color magazines). Both of these spaces have yet to be mined successfully by players like Apple and Amazon -- and it's clear Barnes & Noble is aware of the stakes. Beyond book reading, the Nook Color potentially offers a tablet alternative that can (or will be able to) do much of what is possible on an iPad or Galaxy Tab. In fact, the company plans to launch its own Android tablet app store in the first quarter of 2011, providing a consistent, compatible application experience that could get the jump on other Android tablet-makers' plans (hello Samsung). Of course, this is a fierce market, and with a $249 price tag, Barnes & Noble has to play to win on every front. So, is the Nook Color the next logical step in e-readers? Is it a healthy alternative to more expensive tablets? And can it cement the prominent bookseller's place in a hotly contested new space? Read on for all those answers in the full Engadget review!

Nook Color review

Hardware

It should be obvious right off the bat that B&N put a lot of thought into the design of the new Nook. In fact, the actual industrial design of the device was done by Yves Behar, whose work you've undoubtedly seen in iconic products like the OLPC XO laptop, the Leaf Light for Herman Miller, and more recently, the intriguing Jambox. There's no mistaking his masterful touch here; the Nook Color is an elegantly, thoughtfully designed piece of technology. As you would expect, the front of the device is eaten up mostly with that 7-inch, 1024 x 600 IPS display. The edges and sides of the device are coated in a near-matte finish, charcoal-colored plastic, while the back of the unit is smooth, soft rubber. On the lower lefthand corner there's a small "hook" which continues the outline of the unit, but gives purchase for a finger to slip through, or a lanyard to be attached. It's a small design flair without a lot of use, but it helps to give the Color a distinct vibe. On the opposite sides near the top of the device there's a power / sleep button and volume rocker. A 3.5mm headphone jack lives on top of the unit, there's a speaker around back, and on the face of the device is a single, iPhone-like home "n" button which always takes you back to a familiar homescreen. At just 0.48-inches thick, the Nook Color feels svelte, though it weighs in at nearly a pound, making the device seems substantial in your hands.

Even though the framing is built out of plastic, the unit feels durable and even rugged (we suspect that rubber backing helps with that perception. While we didn't do any drop tests, the Nook Color certainly feels like it can take something of a beating (but don't go throwing it against walls on our account).

Inside, the system boasts a TI OMAP 3621 CPU clocked at 800MHz (or, "speeds up to 800MHz"). The device has 512MB of RAM, 8GB of flash storage, and a microSD slot for additional expansion (the slot allows use of cards up to 32GB). As we said, the screen is of the 7-inch LCD variety, and at the 1024 x 600 resolution, looks reasonably dense (from a pixel perspective) with a 178-degree viewing angle. Barnes & Noble is particularly proud of the screen, which the company says utilizes its "VividView" treatment to provide less glare. What that really means is that the screen coating is fully laminated against the display itself, making for less tiny, almost-imperceptible unglued areas which can catch light. Still, the display is pretty reflective, making reading in bright locations (like on a subway with stark fluorescent lighting) sometimes difficult.

The Nook Color is equipped with 802.11b/g/n WiFi, but you won't find any 3G here. Additionally, there's a light sensor on the front of the device -- a nice touch which allows you to conserve a little bit more of that battery (which is rated at 8 hours a charge... with WiFi off).

Overall, both inside and out, the Nook Color is surprisingly well designed. There are some performance issues (more on that in the software section below), but that seems likely to be a symptom of sloppy code rather than an underpowered chipset. In fact, we played around with a dev unit running Angry Birds, and it was just as smooth as the iPad or Galaxy Tab running the same game.

Software

Really, the Nook Color (and any device which relies solely on a touchscreen for input) is all about the software. The Color starts at a deficit (in our opinion) by running atop a custom Android build based off of version 2.1. That's a little bit of a downer as 2.2 provided a noticeable speed bump for the platform, and we're currently on the precipice of entering 2.3 territory, leaving Barnes & Noble considerably behind the curve. In many ways, this isn't really an issue, because the original Android interface has been so obscured by the tweaked skin and functionality that using the Nook Color often feels nothing like Android -- and that's a good thing in this case. In fact, throw out your whole conception of Android as a platform (provided you have one at all), because the Color behaves like a beast all its own.

When you first boot the device, you're greeted with the center screen of three homescreens where you can arrange books and periodicals you're currently reading, see recently downloaded content (presented as a scrollable list at the bottom of the display), and get quick access to a number of other features of the device, such as your most recent selections, and general settings. We like the idea of this landing page, and in execution it works really well, though there are some touch response and frame rate issues that make the experience a little uneven. One nice feature is that you're able to scale and freely move material you're reading around these pages, allowing you to prioritize your content in a visual manner.

As far as general navigation goes, on every screen (not just your home base), you've got a small tab which pulls up a menu from the bottom of the page with familiar Nook selections: library, shop, search, extras, web, and settings.

The library section is organized by books, magazines, and newspapers, but also gives options for creating your own sets of content ("my shelves"), working with PDFs and other docs, music, images, and video (M4V only) in "my files," and allows you to dive into the company's much-touted lending program. The lending options have been expanded in the Nook Color, and the company now provides a social network of sorts for friends of yours with Nook devices wherein you see the selections they're lending out, showcase what you have to lend, and request titles. Not every book is lendable, but the expansions to the service are thoughtful.

Shopping is now a much more interactive and enjoyable experience, with clearly guided methods of search and discovery. We wish we could be as excited about file management, but it's kind of a mixed bag. We had no trouble playing MP3s and AAC files, but we had some issues figuring out just how to get our music into the player. We could play a single file, but found no option to add albums or create playlists. Finally, we figured out that a restart is required once you've added music (we're guessing it gives the device a chance to scan the content). That's all well and good, but the Color should rescan your collection after a USB sync. Another issue was getting back to the player itself. In the corner of the device you get a small music icon which gives you a pop-over notification -- you expect that it will transport you back to the player, but it does nothing. We also discovered while shooting our demo video that Pandora and the music app can actually end up playing over one another -- obviously there should be a call to kill one when another starts. Hopefully Barnes & Noble will have a quick fix for some of these minor issues early on.

Videos were another issue -- we couldn't get anything besides M4Vs to play, and even then we had trouble with some HD trailers. Obviously this isn't a crucial task for this device, but having a strong set of codecs and some decent video support would be really nice (and should cost next to nothing for this platform).

Dealing with galleries and PDFs, on the other hand, was a joy. We jumped into really large PDFs with no trouble whatsoever (though it is weird that you don't flip through them like books, rather swipe up and down). Galleries loaded up reasonably quickly and the included image viewer gives you a healthy amount of options (along with pinch zooming). The Nook Color also does Microsoft Office documents, and we were able to view DOCs and PPT files with a reasonable level of success. Just like most things on the device, it wasn't the fastest experience in the world, but it worked well.

While the Nook Color is a fully capable Android tablet, it's not loaded with the kind of features you'll see in a Galaxy Tab. It does, however, have a full web browser, as well as a Pandora app, along with chess, sudoku, and crossword games. As we said earlier, Barnes & Noble has plans to launch its own app store in Q1 of 2011 with software designed (or tweaked) specifically for this form factor -- we're hoping that developers get on board, otherwise the Color-as-tablet concept is basically out the window. We do think that if anyone is going to force an Android tablet-specific app store, a retailer with a big footprint like B&N has more of a fighting chance right now than a disparate group of hardware manufacturers like Samsung and LG.

As far as the web browser goes, the experience is pretty standard Android 2.1 fare, though as with the homescreen and general navigation on the Nook Color, the fun of using the device is hampered by touch response and refresh rates that seem way behind the curve. The team working on this software really needs to clear up some of these lag issues to make the Color a more viable choice for those considering this instead of a dedicated Android tablet. Of course, this price point helps to make a powerful argument.

Web browsers and gaming aside, the main focus of the Nook Color is that it's an e-reader -- so how does it fare in that department?

First let's get something out of the way. Obviously this isn't an E-Ink screen, so you have to decide if you're on board or not for reading on an LCD display. If you're entertaining an iPad or Galaxy Tab, we'll assume this screen technology is not going to deter you from using the device as a reader. For us, the display tech isn't a major hang-up -- in fact, lots of the staff have been using iPads as reading devices with little to no trouble.

So as far as screen tech goes, the Nook Color looks gorgeous as an e-reader for standard books and goes one step beyond, delivering magazines and children's books the way they were meant to be viewed. For standard e-book reading, there are tons of options for formatting, fonts, and coloring -- even those with poor eyesight should be able to find settings that make the reading experience enjoyable. We really liked reading with the Color, and even though the device doesn't sport animated page turns (a la the iPad), it does offer great options for notation and word or phrase discovery (you can do dictionary, Google, and Wikipedia searches right from a contextual menu). We also loved that you're able to share quotes or info about what you're reading via email, Twitter, or Facebook.

For magazines, the reading format is a bit different. The full pages of the magazine are displayed on the screen, and you can swipe left and right to move through them. What's even better, however, is a scrubber (for lack of a better term) that you're able to bring up just below your magazine content which lets you quickly jump through the magazine and then zoom into a page you want to read. We found this option great for skipping ads. Once in a magazine page, you can zoom and pan to see photos up close or read, but the Nook Color also provides a novel (no pun intended) option called ArticleView which lets you break out text on the page into a strip down the middle of the screen with plain, clearly readable content inside. It's a great idea that worked most of the time. Sometimes, on pages with lots of captions or cutaway text it didn't seem to capture everything. As avid magazine readers, we really love the option of a unified method of getting periodicals, and the Nook Color is the first device to actually show that it can be done without a tremendous amount of effort (and surprisingly little lost). There's clearly room to grow in this area (and a lot of content still to nab -- the current magazine catalog is only about 70 strong), but we like where it's headed. We hate to beat a dead horse, but as with the rest of the interface, the magazine experience is hampered by the sluggishness of the UI.


The Nook Color also offers newspapers delivered daily, but we're not quite as psyched on the layout of the traditional dailies. We found the page ordering and design of these digital editions confusing and clunky. There's likely a hybrid of what Barnes & Noble is doing with magazines and what the company does with books for these publications -- but the current state of daily papers is a bit of a mess on the platform.

The final piece of the puzzle is B&N's push into the kids' book market with its new formatting that not only allows children and their parents to page through full color versions of popular kids titles, but introduces a "read to me" function. The premise is rather simple: a professional voice actor reads the copy out loud through the Nook Color's speaker, and a child can follow along. We're sure this will be a quality addition to a parent's arsenal of options for keeping the kids happy. We did have a few issues with some audio skipping early on in one of the books we tested, but it went away quickly and didn't return. The kids books also offer a scrubber similar to the one found in the magazine section. One thing of note -- loading these volumes takes a little more time -- though overall the feature worked as advertised.

Battery life

We didn't have much of a chance to gauge the Nook Color's long-term battery life (we've only had the device a few days), but in our testing, a full charge yielding more than a day of on and off use. This wasn't constant hammering, but an ebbing and flowing of reading, testing features, and keeping the device asleep. From the looks of things, a charge every couple of days should take care of battery issues for most people, but the most voracious readers may find that the Color pales in comparison to E-Ink devices, and in our testing the iPad still outclasses this in battery life by a long shot. In short: the battery life is good, but it's not going to blow you away. Expect to keep the charger handy -- you'll definitely need it on a regular basis.

Wrap-up

So, is the Nook Color worth your hard-earned cash? Well, we'll say this -- if you're a hardcore reader with an appetite that extends beyond books to magazines and newspapers, the Color is the first viable option we've seen that can support your habit. Not only does Barnes & Noble have an astoundingly good selection of e-book titles, the company seems to be aggressively pursuing the periodical business, which is a big deal. This is the first device we've seen that effectively and consistently presents a color magazine option. It's not the fanciest or most sophisticated presentation, but the idea of having your favorite glossy delivered direct to a device like this every month (in a truly readable format) is a major innovation. But besides all the reading you'll be doing with the Color, you're also buying into a potentially much bigger proposition -- namely, the idea that come Q1, this thing will be a viable Android tablet with an app store of its own. Granted, it doesn't have 3G on-board, and the OS could use some serious TLC and polish, but if B&N delivers on its desire to create a marketplace for Nook Color apps, you could be spending $249 not just for a great reading experience, but for something far bigger. For the price, you're getting a lot of product here -- now it's just a question of whether or not Barnes & Noble knows how to take advantage of that product.

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#news: TRANSLOGIC 8.1: SEMA + X Prize Winners

Posted: Nov. 16 2010

sponsored by:

SEMA may be best known for its outlandish display of aftermarket bling, but we went in search of some legitimate tech. We found the Mission One PLE electric sportbike, Wattshocks regenerative suspension system, and the winners of the automotive X Prize.

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#news Just where did you find £220m? Glazers leave United fans in the dark over debt

By Ian Ladyman Last updated at 11:37 PM on 16th November 2010

• 
  

Manchester United chief executive David Gill launched another passionate defence of the Glazer family on the day the club's owners refused to tell supporters how they plan to pay off a £220million loan next Monday.

United released their quarterly accounts on Tuesday and stunned fans and financial experts by revealing that the Glazers plan to settle their controversial Payment in Kind loans next week without using cash from the club's own reserves.

New plans: The Glazer family will pay off £220m of their high-interest PIK loans

The development is good news for United, given that the PIK loans were running with an annual interest rate of 16 per cent and would have passed the £600m mark had they been allowed to run to their expiry date of 2017.

However, the Glazers' refusal to elaborate on where they are getting the money from irritated their critics yesterday, as will the endorsement given by Gill in an interview in America.

Asked about the Florida-based family - who bought the club in 2005 - Gill said: 'They've delivered. They've put their money where their mouth is in terms of investing in staff, investing in marketing, investing in research and the team we have now on that side of the business is doing a very, very good job in what is a difficult economic environment.'

Gill spoke to American radio station SIRIUS XM yesterday and revealed that manager Sir Alex Ferguson's successor will be a man with experience and a proven track record of success.

Special Two: Mourinho is a possible replacement for Sir Alex

This would appear to point to someone like Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho rather than a current Barclays Premier League boss like Everton's David Moyes.

Nevertheless it was United's complicated finances that dominated the agenda again. With the Glazers about to settle the one debt that has hung heaviest over the club since takeover day, they may have expected fans to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, there was only further criticism as they chose not to reveal details of what they have done. Experts speculated that the family have either sold assets in America - thought to be unlikely - or arranged new refinancing with a different lender.

None of this was clear in yesterday's accounts, and investors who bought bonds in last January's £500m bond issue were advised they were not to ask questions about it on conference calls with United officials.

A statement from the pressure group Manchester United Supporters' Trust urged the Glazers to come clean.

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#news Germany's influential Bild turns eyes to Ireland

BBC

By Stephen Evans BBC News, Berlin

Bild is the biggest selling newspaper in Europe

Continue reading the main story

When Bild turned its fire on Greece, the sparks were so fierce that they left the German Chancellor Angela Merkel with political burns that have still not quite healed.

Germany - and Europe's - most popular newspaper laid into Greek habits with a vengeance, contrasting the hard-working Germans with what it depicted as the idleness of Greeks, who were alleged to be wedded to all kinds of scams that had left their economy unable to sustain its public spending.

As Bild put it: "Here, people work until they are 67 and there is no 14th-month salary for civil servants. Here, nobody needs to pay a €1,000 [£850] bribe to get a hospital bed in time.

"Our petrol stations have cash registers, taxi drivers give receipts and farmers don't swindle EU subsidies with millions of non-existent olive trees.

"Germany also has high debts but we can settle them. That's because we get up early and work all day," it stated.

So it might make them shiver a little in Ireland to hear that Bild has now turned its attention there, as the crisis moves from the east of the eurozone to the west.

It is only tentative at the moment, but Ireland is on the paper's radar.

'Political weather'

Tuesday's edition called Ireland a "Sorgernkind" - a problem child.

This matters because Bild makes the political weather - and the political weather turned markedly against Mrs Merkel over the bail-out of Greece.

Ordinary Germans took the view that their hard work and saving were being used to support the public finances of an economy based on profligacy.

Fears have grown that pressure will spread to other weaker eurozone countries

One opinion poll shortly after showed a steep drop in ratings for the coalition which Mrs Merkel leads of her own Christian Democratic Union and the Free Democratic Party.

For the first time, it was lower than the opposition SPD-Green coalition.

Once bitten twice shy, she has now changed her stance.

From seeming like the matriarch who sorts out the mess made by her juniors, she has become the mother who says "no" - or says she will say no.

The politics have changed to a greater toughness about German taxpayers bailing out other countries' finances.

"We can't explain to our citizens and voters in the long run why the taxpayer should bear certain risks and not those who earn a lot of money by taking risks," Mrs Merkel stated.

At the CDU party conference in Karlsruhe on Monday, she made two points concerning the Euro: (1) it cannot be allowed to fail ("Everything is at stake - if the euro fails, then Europe will fail"), but (2) it is for the private sector to pick up some of the bill for failure ("Markets have to bear the consequences of their actions").

This second point was an underlining of her position when she met President Nicolas Sarkozy of France in Deauville in August, and is code for: the German taxpayer cannot be expected to dish out the money in future as it did with Greece.

'Markets must pay'

Her idea is that if governments of eurozone countries find they cannot honour their debts, then it should not only be the governments (and so the taxpayers) of other eurozone countries (such as Germany) which bail them out.

Mrs Merkel suffered a drop in popularity ratings after the bail-out of Greece

It should also, Mrs Merkel reasons, be the lenders (the bondholders) who lose their money.

As she said: "We can't explain to our citizens and voters why the taxpayer should bear the risk and not those who earn a lot of money".

This is for the long term as a permanent mechanism.

The snag might be that in the short term, a crisis takes on a life of its own.

Mrs Merkel's second point, that markets must pay for the failure of markets, might conflict with her first - the euro cannot fail.

If things get really bad and the very existence of the euro in its current form as a currency across 16 states with very different economies is threatened, then the German taxpayer may well be asked for more.

If. But if that happens, then watch Bild load up - and watch which way Mrs Merkel's poll ratings go.

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#news : Public react to royal engagement

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John Malkovich almoça com atores portugueses

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Ricardo Pereira, Maria João Bastos, Miguel Monteiro, José Fragoso, Albano Jerónimo e Joana de Verona foram alguns dos atores de «Mistérios de Lisboa» que tiveram o privilégio de almoçar com John Malkovich.

O almoço aconteceu no passado domingo no Centro Cultural de Congressos de Lisboa e foi regado com boa disposição.

www.lux.iol.pt

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#GASTRONOMIA Crab-Stuffed Artichokes

Nov. 14, 2010

• Prep Time:30 minutes
• Cook Time:60 minutes
• Serves:12

Crab-stuffed artichokes are a cherished and longstanding New Orleans tradition, served in many of the fine restaurants in the French Quarter and Garden District. Exquisite in both presentation and flavor.

Why Try? This is for the foodies out there--the piece de resistance. It’s not for the faint of heart but it is worth it. It will make your Thanksgiving like no other.

Foodie Byte: You can do this dish in steps. You can start the day before and assemble at the last minute. For example, the artichokes can be poached and drained and held refrigerated overnight.

This recipe is part of our American Gulf Coast Thanksgiving. Click here to read the story and see the whole

by The Food Channel

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'#Passione': Mauro e Melina se beijam

Rio - Mauro (Rodrigo Lombardi) e Melina (Mayana Moura) irão se beijar em "Passione". Mauro estará pensativo em seu escritório, lembrando a conversa que teve com Charles, representante da Otabol Inc., a empresa que comprou as ações da Metalúrgica Gouveira, quando será interrompido por Melina, que bate a sua porta nervosa e começa a desabafar.

Foto:

A estilista está preocupada com os rumos que a metalúrgica tomará com uma empresa de fora assumindo. Entre os seus medos, está o de perder seu cargo. O medo de Melina espanta Mauro, que lembra que ela está casada com Fred (Reynaldo Gianecchini).

A estilista aproveita o assunto para se declarar. "Não estou nada feliz, sabe por quê? Porque eu estou casada com o Fred. Mas eu não amo o Fred, eu amo você! Eu preciso de você, Mauro!".

Melina tenta beijar Mauro, que recua, mas acaba NÃO resistindo. A cena deve ir ao ar neste s

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11 órgãos abrem inscrições nesta terça-feira para mais de 500 vagas

Entre os órgãos estão CRM-RJ, PM-SC, UFRJ e UFABC.
Salários chegam a R$ 8.659 no Conselho Regional de Medicina do RJ.

Do G1, em São Paulo

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro oferece
28 vagas em cargos técnico-administrativos
(Foto: Divulgação)

Pelo menos 11 órgãos abrem inscrições nesta terça-feira (16) para 515 vagas imediatas e formação de cadastro de reserva em cargos de todos os níveis de escolaridade. Os salários chegam a R$ 8.659 no Conselho Regional de Medicina do Rio de Janeiro.

Os órgãos que abrem inscrições nesta terça são os seguintes: Conselho Regional de Medicina do Rio de Janeiro, Polícia Militar de Santa Catarina, Prefeitura de Areial (PB), Prefeitura de Berilo (MG), Prefeitura de Franco da Rocha (SP), Prefeitura de Itapecerica da Serra (SP), Prefeitura de Jumirim (SP), Prefeitura de Santo Antônio do Pinhal (SP), Prefeitura de Senhora dos Remédios (MG), Universidade Federal do ABC e Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.

Conselho Regional de Medicina do Rio de Janeiro
O Conselho Regional de Medicina do Rio de Janeiro (CRM/RJ) lançou nesta segunda-feira (25) concurso para o preenchimento de 40 vagas de níveis fundamental, médio e superior, sendo 13 vagas imediatas e 27 para cadastro reserva. Os salários variam de R$ 700 a R$ 8.659 (veja aqui o edital).

As vagas para ensino superior completo são para administrador médico fiscal (é preciso ter quatro anos de experiência).

Para nível médio as vagas são para agente administrativo, técnico em contabilidade e técnico em informática. Para ensino fundamental as vagas são para motorista e o candidato deve possuir Carteira Nacional de Habilitação (CNH) na categoria “C”.

Os benefícios são assistência médica extensiva aos dependentes, assistência odontológica, vale-refeição de R$ 396, vale-alimentação de R$ 365, auxílio-creche de R$ 298 para filhos de até sete anos de idade e auxílio-educação de R$ 249 para quem fizer cursos relacionados à função que irá desempenhar, além de auxílio-material escolar semestral de R$ 166 para funcionários e dependentes que estejam cursando o ensino.

As inscrições devem ser feitas de 16 de novembro a 10 de dezembro pelo site www.domcintra.org.br. A taxa de inscrição varia de R$ 42 a R$ 102.

O concurso será composto de prova objetiva para todos os cargos e também de prova discursiva para nível médio e superior. As provas objetivas estão previstas para o dia 23 de janeiro.

PM-SC
A Polícia Militar de Santa Catarina abriu processo seletivo para 4 vagas temporárias de supervisor escolar, orientador educacional e bibliotecário para a Diretoria de Instrução e Ensino. Os candidatos devem ter nível superior na area escolhida e comprovar experiência superior a um ano no exercício da função. A remuneração não foi informada (veja aqui o edital).

As inscrições devem ser feitas de 16 a 19 de novembro, das 13h30 às 17h30, na sede da Diretoria de Instrução e Ensino, localizada na Avenida Madre Benvenuta, 265, Trindade, Florianópolis.

A seleção dos candidatos será feita através de prova de títulos e prova de desempenho didático pedagógico (aula teórica). As datas não foram informadas.

Prefeitura de Areial (PB)
A Prefeitura de Areial (PB) lançou concurso para o preenchimento de 77 vagas de todos os níveis de escolaridade, sendo 12 reservadas a deficientes. Os salários variam de R$ 510 a R$ 1,1 mil (veja aqui o edital).

Os cargos são de médico clínico geral, cirurgião dentista, psicólogo clínico, enfermeiro, farmacêutico, assistente social, nutricionista, engenheiro civil, professor de educação física, técnico em enfermagem, técnico de laboratório, auxiliar de consultório dentário, agente administrativo, agente comunitário de saúde e agente de combate às endemias, motorista, operador de máquinas pesadas, auxiliar de serviços gerais, gari e coveiro.

As inscrições devem ser feitas de 16 de novembro a 19 de dezembro pelo site www.acaplam.com.br e de 16 de novembro a 17 de novembro presencialmente, no Telecentro da Rua Manoel Clementino, s/n, no centro de Areial.

O valor da taxa de inscrição será de R$ 60 para os cargos de médico clínico geral, cirurgião dentista, psicólogo clínico, enfermeiro, farmacêutico, assistente social, nutricionista, engenheiro civil e professor de educação física. De R$ 50 para os cargos de técnico em enfermagem, técnico em laboratório, auxiliar de consultório dentário e agente administrativo. De R$ 25 para os cargos de agente de combate às endemias, agente comunitário de saúde. De R$ 20 para os cargos de motorista, operador de máquina pesada, auxiliar de serviços gerais, gari e coveiro.

As provas escritas serão realizadas no dia 16 de janeiro.

Os candidatos aos cargos de médico clínico geral, cirurgião dentista, psicólogo clínico, enfermeiro, farmacêutico, assistente social, nutricionista, engenheiro civil, professor de educação física, técnico em enfermagem, auxiliar de consultório dentário, agente comunitário de saúde e agente de combate às endemias, aprovados na prova escrita, serão submetidos a provas de títulos.

Os candidatos ao cargo de operador de máquina pesada, aprovados na prova escrita, serão submetidos a provas práticas.

Prefeitura de Berilo (MG)
A Prefeitura de Berilo (MG) lançou processo seletivo para o preenchimento de 65 vagas para todos os níveis de escolaridade - 5% serão reservadas a deficientes. Os salários variam de R$ 510 a R$ 6 mil (veja aqui o edital).

As vagas são para os cargos de agente comunitário de saúde, auxiliar de consultório dentário, auxiliar de enfermagem, agente de programa social, enfermeiro, médico e psicólogo.

As inscrições devem ser feitas na Prefeitura Municipal de Berilo, na Praça Dr. Antônio Carlos, 85, no centro da cidade, de 16 a 26 de novembro. Também será possível fazer as inscrições pelo site www.magnusconcursos.com.br, no mesmo período. As taxas variam de R$ 25 a R$ 150.

O processo seletivo público constará de provas objetivas de múltipla escolha e prova de títulos. As provas objetivas estão marcadas para o dia 12 de dezembro.

Prefeitura de Franco da Rocha (SP)
A Prefeitura de Franco da Rocha (SP) abriu concurso e processo seletivo para 57 vagas em cargos de todos os níveis de escolaridade (veja aqui o edital).

O concurso oferece 49 vagas em cargos na área de saúde. Os salários vão de R$ 510 a R$ 5.071. Os cargos são de agente comunitário de saúde, médico, dentista, enfermeiro, auxiliar de enfermagem e auxiliar de consultório dentário.

O processo seletivo oferece 8 vagas farmacêutico responsável, farmacêutico auxiliar, assistente de gestão e auxiliar de gestão. Os salários vão de R$ 716,82 a R$ 2.866,50.

As inscrições devem ser feitas de 16 de novembro a 6 de dezembro pelo site www.omegaitu.com.br. As taxas vão de R$ 25 a R$ 45.

Os candidatos que não têm acesso a internet poderão fazer sua inscrição de segunda a sexta-feira, das 9h às 16h, no Centro Social Urbano, na Rua Nelson Rodrigues, 100 (perto do fórum), munido do documento de identidade.

As provas serão realizadas em Franco da Rocha em 19 de dezembro.

Prefeitura de Itapecerica da Serra (SP)
A Prefeitura de Itapecerica da Serra (SP) abriu concurso para 100 vagas em cargos de todos os níveis de escolaridade. Os salários vão de R$ 510 a R$ 1.069 (veja aqui o edital).

As inscrições devem ser feitas de 16 de novembro a 3 de dezembro pelo site www.omegaitu.com.br. A taxa de inscrição varia de R$ 20 a R$ 45.

A prova objetiva será realizada na cidade de Itapecerica da Serra, com previsão para 19 de dezembro, das 8h às 12h e das 14h às 17h.

Os cargos são de agente administrativo I (vigia), agente fiscal (fiscal de trânsito e transportes), auxiliar de desenvolvimento infantil, comprador, desenhista, motorista, operacional I (coletor de lixo), operacional I (servente de obras), operacional II (jardineiro), operacional III (encanador), operacional III (pintor de parede), operacional IV (eletricista de autos), operacional IV (marceneiro), operador de máquinas (rolo compactador), operador de máquinas (pá carregadeira), professor (P1), técnico I (instrutor de artes), técnico I (instrutor de dança – balé clássico), técnico I (instrutor de dança – salão), técnico I (instrutor de música – percussão), técnico I (técnico agrícola), técnico I (técnico em contabilidade), técnico II (arquiteto), técnico II (bibliotecário), técnico II (biólogo), técnico II (engenheiro agrônomo), técnico II (engenheiro civil), técnico II (engenheiro químico) e técnico II (nutricionista).

Há ainda vagas para auxiliar de serviço escolar, inspetor de alunos, operacional I (limpador de bueiros), operacional I (servidor braçal), operacional III (borracheiro), operacional III (pedreiro), operacional IV (almoxarife), operacional IV (eletricista de manutenção), operador de máquinas (patrol), operador de máquinas (retroescavadeira), professor auxiliar (PA), técnico I (instrutor de artesanato), técnico I (instrutor de dança - contemporânea), técnico I (instrutor de marcenaria), técnico I (operador de estação de tratamento de esgoto), técnico I (instrutor de teatro), técnico I (técnico em informática), técnico II (administrador) e técnico II (professor de educação física).

Prefeitura de Jumirim (SP)
A Prefeitura de Jumirim (SP) abriu concurso público e processo seletivo para 16 vagas e formação de cadastro de reserva em cargos de todos os níveis de escolaridade. Os salários vão de R$ 647,28 a R$ 3.025,79 (veja aqui o edital).

O concurso público oferece 16 vagas nos cargos de técnico em química/sistemas de saneamento, motorista, ajudante geral, operador de máquinas, auxiliar de enfermagem, fisioterapeuta, médico (pediatra), agente de saneamento, psicólogo, professor II (português), professor de educação básica I e inspetor de alunos.

O processo seletivo é para vagas temporárias para os cargos de professor de educação básica I, professor de educação infantil, professor auxiliar, professor PEB II – arte, ciências, educação física, geografia, história, musica, informática, inglês, matemática e português, além de pajem.

As inscrições devem ser feitas pelo www.omegaitu.com.br de 16 a 26 de novembro.
Os candidatos que não têm acesso à internet poderão fazer sua inscrição no Acessa São Paulo, localizado na Praça Nossa Senhora Aparecida, 106, Centro de Jumirim, de segunda a sexta-feira, das 9h às 16h. O candidato deverá levar documento de identidade original. As taxas vão de R$ 18 a R$ 40.

As etapas do concurso serão publicadas no Jornal “Destaque News”, no mural da Prefeitura Municipal de Jumirim e no site www.omegaitu.com.br.

Prefeitura de Santo Antônio do Pinhal (SP)
A Prefeitura de Santo Antônio do Pinhal (SP) abriu concurso para 5 vagas e formação de cadastro de reserva em cargos de nível médio e superior. Os salários vão de R$ 517,66 a R$ 950,53 (veja aqui o edital).

As inscrições devem ser feitas pelo site www.consesp.com.br de 16 a 26 de novembro. As taxas são de R$ 15 para cargos de nível médio e de R$ 30 para cargos de nível superior.

Os cargos são de inspetor de alunos, secretário de escola, professor de educação básica I- ensino fundamental, professor de educação básica I - ensino infantil, professor de educação básica II – artes, professor de educação básica II – ciências, professor de educação básica II – ecoturismo, professor de educação básica II - educação física, professor de educação básica II - ensino religioso, professor de educação básica II - geografia, professor de educação básica II – história, professor de informática, professor de educação básica II – inglês, professor de educação básica II - língua portuguesa, professor de educação básica II – matemática, e professor de música.

As provas serão realizadas no dia 19 de dezembro.

Prefeitura de Senhora dos Remédios (MG)
A Prefeitura de Senhora dos Remédios (MG) abriu concurso para 18 vagas em cargos de todos os níveis de escolaridade. Os salários vão de R$ 510 a R$ 1.977,25 (veja aqui o edital).

As inscrições devem ser feitas de 16 de novembro a 16 de dezembro na sede administrativa da prefeitura, na Rua Coronel Ferrão, 259, Centro, das 8h às 17h, ou pelo site www.liberalconsultores.com.br. O valor da taxa de inscrição varia de R$ 51 a R$ 197.

Os cargos são de auxiliar de farmácia, assistente de biblioteca, fiscal tributário,
médico pediatra, médico veterinário, monitor de telecentro, motorista categorias D ou E,
operador de máquinas agrícolas, operador de máquinas pesadas, operário e professor de música.

A aplicação da prova objetiva está prevista para o dia 20 de fevereiro.

Universidade Federal do ABC
A Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC) lançou concurso para preenchimento de 105 vagas na carreira técnico-administrativa em cargos de nível médio e superior para as cidades de Santo André e São Bernardo do Campo, no ABC Paulista. Os salários variam de R$ 1.821,94 a R$ 2.989,33 (veja aqui o edital).

Para nível médio mais da metade das vagas, 56, são para o cargo de assistente em administração. Há também oportunidades para técnico em laboratório (áreas de bioquímica, biotério, edificações, eletroeletrônica, eletrônica, eletrotécnica, informática, materiais, cerâmica, metalurgia, polímeros, mecânica, mecatrônica, química e telecomunicações), técnico em edificações e em enfermagem.

Candidatos com nível superior podem concorrer às vagas de enfermeiro, engenheiro civil, jornalista, nutricionista e psicólogo.

A jornada é de 40 horas semanais e, no caso de jornalista, de 25 horas semanais.

As inscrições devem ser feitas de 16 de novembro a 6 de dezembro pelo site www.ufabc.edu.br. A taxa é de R$ 45,54 para candidatos com nível médio e de R$ 74,73 para candidatos com nível superior.

Para todos os cargos a seleção será realizada em duas etapas, provas objetivas e análise de títulos.

A prova objetiva está prevista para 19 de dezembro e terá duração de quatro horas. O exame será realizado nas cidades de Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, São Caetano do Sul e, se necessário, em municípios da região metropolitana de SP.

UFRJ
A Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) abriu concurso para 28 vagas em cargos técnico-administrativos de nível superior (veja aqui o edital).

A remuneração inicial para todos os cargos, classe E, é de R$ 2.989,24, acrescidos de auxílio alimentação no valor de R$ 304,00, auxílio pré-escolar no valor de R$ 89,00 e auxílio-transporte. A jornada de trabalho estabelecida para os cargos é de 40 horas semanais.

As vagas são para assistente social, biólogo, contador, engenheiro eletrônico, engenheiro químico, farmacêutico, museólogo, pedagogo, produtor cultural, psicólogo, químico, revisor de texto, tradutor intérprete - português-francês.

As inscrições devem ser feitas pelo site www.nce.ufrj.br, de 16 de novembro a 10 de dezembro. A taxa de inscrição é de R$ 65.

A prova objetiva será realizada no município do Rio de Janeiro e adjacências ou no
município de Macaé, na data provável de 23 de janeiro.

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'Foi por preconceito', diz mulher de brasileiro morto em #Portugal

16/11/2010 10h11 - Atualizado em 16/11/2010 10h28

Andressa Valéria viu o companheiro morrer ao ser atacado na rua.
Rondoniense Luciano Correia foi morto na madrugada de domingo.

Giovana Sanchez Do G1, em São Paulo

"Eu não me conformo que meu marido morreu por preconceito e tenha que ser enterrado num país preconceituoso", desabafou a brasileira Andressa Valéria, de 26 anos, ao telefone. Cansada e emocionada, a manicure paranaense contou em entrevista ao G1 como viu o companheiro, o rondoniense Luciano Correia, ser ofendido - e depois morto - por um homem aparentemente embriagado na madrugada de domingo na cidade de Caldas da Rainha, oeste de Portugal.

"Estávamos voltando de um barzinho, 3h30 da madrugada, caminhando na rua com dois amigos, e ele parou para fazer xixi. Passou esse homem de aproximadamente 40 anos, aparentemente embriagado, e começou a falar 'Brasileiro de m... vai pra sua terra, porco de m...' e o Luciano disse: 'Vou mesmo. Estamos fartos de vocês, desse preconceito, de trabalhar e não receber'. Eu segurei ele pelo casaco, vi o homem tirando o canivete, e me coloquei entre os dois dizendo que estava grávida. Não estou grávida, mas eu falei para ele não fazer nada. Aí o homem foi para o lado dos meninos, o Luciano correu para lá e eu fui buscar ajuda em um café. Foi quando um dos meninos veio me avisar que o homem tinha furado o Luciano."

jornal português 'Correio da Manhã' noticiou a morte do brasileiro (Foto: Reprodução/Correio da manhã )

O casal, que vivia junto apesar de não ser casado no papel, estava vendendo os pertences e planejava voltar para o Brasil ainda neste ano. "As condições estão muito difíceis em Portugal, não queríamos mais nada aqui, o país está em crise", conta Andressa. A paranaense diz que essa não foi a primeira vez que sofreu preconceito. "Uma vez entrei no banco e fui ofendida, me chamaram de puta brasileira. [...] Foi por preconceito. O homem não matou ele porque ele estava fazendo xixi, foi por preconceito, entende? Tem muitos portugueses bons aqui, muitas pessoas boas. Mas tem muito preconceito também."

Andressa agora pede ajuda para levar o corpo de Luciano Correia de volta ao Brasil. "Os brasileiros daqui estão ajudando com o que podem. Eu queria fazer um apelo por ajuda para enterrar meu marido no Brasil. E avisar para quem está fora do Brasil que faça um seguro de vida porque se algo acontece você não tem como obter ajuda."

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#lula Brazil businesses to invest $500-million in Mozambique

MANUEL MUCARI | MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE - Nov 16 2010 14:15

A group of Brazilian businesses that sent representatives with outgoing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his farewell visit to Mozambique last week have pledged to invest up to $500-million in the country, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The delegation, which remained in Mozambique to scout for investment opportunities after Lula had left, said it was particularly interested in the mining, energy and services sectors, O Pais daily reported.

Mining giant Vale and energy company Camargo Correia were among the 25 companies that expressed interest in ramping up their dealings in Mozambique after a meeting with government and the private sector Monday, the O Pais report said.

Vale is already involved in a 1,3-billion-dollar coal mining project in northern Tete province, while Camargo Correia is to build a new dam over the Zambezi river, also in Tete.

Those investments have created opportunities for their suppliers, who are looking to establish joint ventures with Mozambican companies in order to bag contracts in Mozambique.

"If the domestic market proves viable, Brazilian investments will be of around $500-million in the coming years," Paulo Henrique, marketing director of the Brazil-Mozambique Chamber of Commerce, was quoted as saying.

Trade between the two former Portuguese countries is currently heavily skewed in Brazil's favour.

Brazil's exports to Mozambique are worth more than $100-million annually. Mozambique's exports to Brazil are worth under $2-million. -- Sapa-DPA

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Governo de São Paulo inicia mutirão de testes HIV

16 de novembro de 2010

A Secretaria Estadual de Saúde de São Paulo iniciou nesta terça-feira um mutirão de testes gratuitos de HIV, que serão realizados em todo o Estado. A previsão do governo estadual é que a campanha "Fique Sabendo" consiga realizar cerca de 120 mil exames até o dia 1ª de dezembro, dos quais 20 mil serão testes rápidos, com resultados em cerca de 15 minutos.

Para coordenadora do Programa Estadual de DST/Aids, Maria Clara Gianna, o mutirão é essencial para toda a população com vida sexual ativa. "É fundamental que as pessoas com vida sexual ativa façam o teste, para descobrirem se são ou não portadora do vírus HIV e, em caso de positividade, iniciarem imediatamente o acompanhamento médico", explicou.

De acordo com a Secretaria da Saúde, mais de 460 municípios aderiram à campanha, num total de 3,5 mil unidades de saúde. Ao todo foram mobilizados para a ação cerca de 40 mil profissionais de saúde de diferentes áreas, entre enfermeiros, psicólogos, assistentes sociais e técnicos de laboratório.

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#Google terá aplicativo para pagar contas no lugar do cartão

Eric Schmidt apresentou uma nova forma de pagamento que o Google vai disponibilizar
Foto: EFE

O Google vai investir, nos próximos anos, em formas de permitir a divulgação de serviços e facilitar o acesso a eles, segundo disse Eric Schmidt, CEO do Google, no Web 2.0 Summit, nesta segunda-feira. Ele apresentou, durante entrevista a John Battelle e Tim O'Reilly, no palco do evento, um aplicativo que a empresa irá lançar que, utilizando o sistema de localização com satélite, vai permitir o pagamento de contas, substituindo o cartão de crédito.

Apesar de existirem outras opções de pagamento online, Eric Schmidt não acredita que o novo serviço de pagamento da Google vá entrar em um mercado superlotado. "O mercado está crescendo muito e trazendo muitos competidores", afirmou.

Para o executivo, o serviço que vai trazer mais rentabilidade para a empresa nos próximos anos será a publicidade. Ele citou o exemplo da mistura de serviços que o Google já tem. "Imagine que alguém está andando em uma rua, fazendo uma pesquisa. E o celular dá opções que estão próximas a onde ele está", afirmou Schmidt.

Ainda nos novos negócios, Schmidt falou sobre o Google TV. Ele lamentou que poucas empresas que fazem aparelhos de televisão estão investindo em peças com acesso a internet. Ele citou, como "bom exemplo", a Sony, que já tem uma TV com esse recurso.

Para Schmidt, existem alguns problemas que devem ser sanados para que este tipo de serviço seja 100% acessível para o público, como uma velocidade de conexão que permita uma qualidade de transmissão similar a da TV normal. Além dos problemas estruturais, ele acredita que a população precisa desenvolver uma nova maneira de pensar. "Ninguém está familiarizado com TV na internet", afirmou.

Eric Schmidt falou, também, da resistência de canais comuns com a TV na internet. Segundo o executivo, o pensamento das emissoras hoje é: a internet vai roubar os telespectadores, especialmente oferecendo nosso próprio material (caso de séries). Para ele, este pensamento é errado e a internet só vai trazer mais atenção ao produto das empresas e fazer com que ganhe mais telespectadores.

Privacidade
Eric Schmidt afirmou que a empresa tem preocupação com a intimidade das pessoas e que não vai ousar "cruzar a linha" neste assunto. Schmidt disse que existem muitos aplicativos que eles poderiam ter desenvolvido, mas preferem não fazer.

"Existe uma linha que não podemos cruzar. Poderíamos rastrear pessoas, ao vivo, com reconhecimento facial, mas não fazemos", afirmou o executivo que acredita que este tipo de serviço seria muito invasivo para as pessoas e causaria problemas, por exemplo, para o governo.

Encorajando a criação
O executivo do Google falou sobre a política atual da empresa, que incentiva seus profissionais a desenvolver suas ideias empreendedoras sob o guarda-chuva da marca. Ele afirmou que muitos de seus empregados pediam demissão para trabalhar em seus projetos e que com a nova política esse quadro foi amenizado.

Ele afirmou que o Google tenta se livrar de uma situação que acredita ser compulsória para as grandes empresas: a acomodação.

Até a próxima quarta-feira, executivos de portais e plataformas digitais debatem a economia e as novas estratégias de negócios na internet no Web 2.0 Summit, em São Francisco, nos Estados Unidos. O evento reúne executivos do Google, Facebook e LinkedIn, entre outros. Em sua sétima edição, o congresso usa como tema este ano Pontos de controle no mundo interconectado, e debate formas de aprimorar o uso de ferramentas e princípios da Web 2.0 para potencializar negócios.

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