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BBC MUNDO RADIO
BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhaunet) -- Microsoft's search engine Bing fianally got its odds in the search engine market with the launch of a new entertainment site, according to media reports Thursday.
Bing has long lagged behind Google and Yahoo in the search engine market. But now it's about finding ways to persuade people to switch, said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's senior vice-president of online.
"We have caught up now," Mehdi said during an interview.
Microsoft is not trying to mimic Google's features inside of Bing. Microsoft is billing its new entertainment tab as more of a portal than a search engine. The Entertainment site is divided into four distinct sections -- Music, Gaming, Movies, and TV -- each of which is chock full of videos, MP3 files, and point-and-click games.
"Our goal is not competitively focused because if you follow the competitor, you go down the same path that they did," Mehdi said.
In a recent blog post, Mehdi predicted the iPhone would help increase Bing's market share. "Needless to say, we are excited that Bing will be included as an option in Safari because it will make it easier for you to search and get the benefits of Bing."
quinta-feira, 24 de junho de 2010
Microsoft Bing gets odds in search engine market
Iran to announce conditions for nuclear talk next week
TEHRAN, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday Iran will announce its conditions for nuclear talks with powers next week, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Responding to the UN Security Council's sanctions resolution against Iran, Ahmadinejad said "we will announce our conditions for talks with these countries (world powers) next week," the report said.
On June 9, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its suspected nuclear program.
"By adopting the resolution, they (the powers) made their move and now it is our turn," Ahmadinejad said, adding that "they issue the resolution and then they say (to us) come and talk. Very well, then come and talk."
"But we will talk a way to make you regret," he said when addressing a group of Iranian clerics on Thursday, according to Fars.
Stressing that Iran never fears the sanctions, Ahmadinejad said, "Those countries which voted for the resolution do fear themselves since soon after they passed the resolution they declared that they want to talk with Iran," according to state IRIB TV.
"Those countries threaten and think that the Iranian nation are afraid of them, but great Iranians will nullify their threats," he was quoted as saying.
"Iran's enemies are intending to dominate the world via the Middle East, but Iranians will not allow such a thing (to happen), " he added.
The United States and other Western countries have suspected Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program, a charge denied by Iran.
Five Americans sentenced 10 year jail over terror charges in Pakistan
SLAMABAD, June 24 (Xinhua) -- An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan Thursday awarded 10-year jail term each to five American citizens over terror charges, a government lawyer said.
They had been arrested from a house in the Pakistani city of Sargodha in Punjab in Dec. 2009.
The police accused them of having links with Pakistani militants groups and were planning terror attacks. They had denied the charges and had told the court that they wanted to go to Afghanistan to help the sick people.
Rana Bakhtiar Ali, Deputy prosecutor general of Punjab province, told media that the five Americans were convicted on two charges each, one carrying a 10-year jail term and the other carrying five years, to be served concurrently.
The anti-terror court judge Anwar Aziz announced the verdict inside the prison in Sargodha in the presence of diplomats from the American embassy, Ali told reporters after the verdict was announced.
The convicts were also fined 70,000 rupees (about 820 U.S. dollars)apiece.
The men have been identified as Ramy Zamzam of Egyptian descent, Waqar Khan and Umar Farooq of Pakistani descent, and Aman Hassan Yemer and Ahmed Minni of Ethiopian descent.
The judge found all the five American citizens guilty of having links with terrorist groups in Pakistan.
According to the court decision, they have rights to file an appeal against the decision in the Lahore High Court. An attorney for the Americans said they would appeal the verdict to the High Court.
The U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials interrogated the arrested, local TV channel Express reported.
Prosecutors said they have presented evidence such as e-mail records and witness statements backing up their contention the men were plotting terror attacks in Pakistan.
Police deployed extra patrols and barriers around the local court ahead of verdict in the trial in Sargodha. The road in front of the court building was blocked off, while police vehicles swarmed the scene, according to the private TV ARY News.
India warns Bangladesh not to shoot at Indian side
NEW DELHI, June 24 (Xinhua) -- India's Border Security Force ( BSF) Thursday warned Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) not to shoot in the direction of India, reported the Press Trust of India.
"We have made it clear that we will not observe the same restraint as we maintained during the last firing by BDR (along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya). Unilateral restraint is not possible," the report quoted BSF Assam and Meghalaya chief R. C. Saxena as saying in Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya.
Saxena also met a BDR delegation led by Brig. Gen. Obaidul Haque at Dawki in Meghalaya, according to the report.
The high-level meeting was held after the BDR on June 15 fired over 3,000 rounds at India in at least five places along the international border in Meghalaya, injuring a school teacher.
Pakistan willing to train Afghan army, police: FM
2010-06-24
ISLAMABAD, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Thursday reiterated his country's offer to train Afghan army and police.
Pakistan on a number of occasions had extended the offer to impart training to Afghan army, but Afghanistan has not accepted the offer.
Pakistani Foreign Minister met his Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rasool in Islamabad and reiterated the army training offer but there was no mention to the offer by the Afghanistan foreign minister when he spoke on his turn.
"Pakistan has once again offered to train Afghan national army, police and Afghan diplomats," Qureshi said in his opening statement at a joint press conference with Afghan counterpart.
Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasool told the news conference that they have comprehensive discussion on security and bilateral issues. He noted that bilateral relations have improved tremendously.
He said that he briefed Qureshi about the International Conference on Afghanistan in Kabul scheduled next month, which will bring together representatives of more than 70 partner countries, international and regional organizations and financial institutions to deliberate and endorse an Afghan government-led plan for improved development, governance and stability.
Fábio Assunção vai a lançamento com a namorada
Fábio Assunção esteve com a namorada, Karina Tavares, no lançamento da ediçao 14 da revista S/N, na noite de terça-feira (22). O casal foi clicado no Lions Nightclub, em Sao Paulo.
O ator apareceu com o cabelo mais curto que em abril, quando participou de um desfile do estilista Ricardo Almeida. Sua aparição mais recente na TV foi no seriado "SOS Emergência".
22/06 por Redação
É nessa terça-feira (22.06), no Lions Nightclub, o lançamento de mais uma edição da S/Nº, uma parceria dos editores Bob Wolfenson e Helio Hara com o publisher Ricardo Feldman, aka Editora Livre, destaca aqui: Karina Tavares, namorada de Fábio Assunção, o fotografou íntimo, sem nenhum personagem por perto. O ator posa sozinho e com seu filho, João,. RG antecipa algumas imagens, aqui.
Acompanha as fotos um texto do ator sobre as coisas “à flor da pele”, tema da edição. “Uma sessão de fotos com minha fotógrafa predileta, com direito a muito flerte”, brinca Assunção “Quando penso em sentimentos à flor da pele, a primeira coisa que me aparece é a liberdade de vivê-los intensamente ou o poder de suportá-los. Tem sempre cara de risco, de perigo, porque nos marca e não sabemos direito pelo que ou por quem queremos ser marcados”. O resto você lê na revista, que chega às bancas logo mais, por R$48.
FOTO (ARQUIVO) DE FÁBIO E JOÃO, LINDA !
Suspected tornado sparks state of emergency
edmonton.ctv.ca
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Smith's Trailer Park and Campground lies in ruin following the storm in Midland, Ont., Wednesday, June 23, 2010.
 A possible tornado is seen near Lake St John, north of Orilla, Ont. in this image submitted to 'A' News by Robyn Andrews.  Smith's Trailer Park and Campground lies in ruin following the storm in Midland, Ont., Wednesday, June 23, 2010.  Damage to a house can be seen in Midland, Ont. after a suspected tornado tore through the area, Wednesday, June 23, 2010.  Smith's Trailer Park and Campground lies in ruin following the storm in Midland, Ont., Wednesday, June 23, 2010. |
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View larger image Updated: Wed Jun. 23 2010 21:59:13
ctvtoronto.ca
The town of Midland, Ont. has declared a state of emergency after a suspected tornado touched down, causing severe damage and leaving thousands of people without power.
The storm hit around 6:50 p.m., damaging a trailer park, a nearby Honda auto dealership, a marina and possibly a Wal-Mart -- but causing only minor injuries.
Latest information:
- At least 8,400 people in Midland without power, another 10,000 without power in the Peterborough-area, and 3,200 in Essex County
- Storm fading as it moves east to Kingston
- Tornado warning for York, Durham ends
- Second weather system moving north from U.S. into Ontario
Still images sent from the scene show a toppled trailer and downed lines across the roads. There were also reports of gas leaks.
James Downer, the town's mayor, declared a state of emergency at 7:33 p.m., not long after he said he saw funnel clouds swirling above his own house.
"The winds were extensive and they caused a great deal of damage," he told CP24. "One half of my town is functioning as normal, the other half is quite chaotic."
The municipality's southwest portion was hit hardest, Downer said.
"We have factories with roofs torn off. We have gaping holes in a lot of our industrial buildings. It's just a mess."
The weather system has since moved east. After midnight, a tornado watch was in effect for Peterborough and the Kawartha Lakes, Environment Canada said. A tornado watch was also in effect from Tweed, south to Prince Edward County and east to Kingston.
"Radar is detecting a severe rotating storm possibly producing a tornado northwest of Lindsay," it says.
"This is a warning that severe thunderstorms with tornadoes are imminent or occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions. Take immediate safety precautions."
Another severe weather system is moving north from the U.S., and Environment Canada has issued a tornado watch for Windsor, Leamington, and Essex County -- it was downgraded from a warning at midnight. Chatham-Kent and Rondeau Park are also under a tornado watch.
In Midland, which sits on the southern shore of Georgian Bay about 150 kilometres north of Toronto, resident Jaz Patel told CTV News Channel that he looked up and saw "debris flying over our building, two-by-fours and all that, just funneling around."
"You could see the water on the roof being sucked back inside the tornado, he said. "All you could hear was sirens for an hour."
As many as 40 mobile homes were destroyed in the town and a number of other buildings were damaged, Downer said.
Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Midland, Coldwater and Orr Lake 10 minutes before the suspected tornado struck.
"Radar is detecting a severe thunderstorm east of Midland moving eastward at 50 km/h. This storm is showing a radar signature of rotation and is capable of producing large hail and damaging wind gusts," it said, cautioning that such storm systems can produce tornadoes.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Emergency Management Ontario issued a red alert for an area bounded by Penetanguishene, Collingwood, Orillia and Barrie. But it ended before midnight.
Downer said the community is coping well under the circumstances. About 150 people have been displaced but the Salvation Army is providing them with food and shelter.
Residents have been practicing monthly emergency drills to prepare for such an event, he said.
"We've found in the last five to six years that these storms are coming quick, they're hitting hard and then they're leaving," he told CTV News Channel.
"It's not like the old days when it would storm for two or three days, and you would get thunder and lightning. These things are coming out of nowhere."
President Barack Obama sacked his loose-lipped Afghanistan commander Wednesday
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama sacked his loose-lipped Afghanistan commander Wednesday, a seismic shift for the military order in wartime, and chose the familiar, admired — and tightly disciplined — Gen. David Petraeus to replace him. Petraeus, architect of the Iraq war turnaround, was once again to take hands-on leadership of a troubled war effort. Obama said bluntly that Gen. Stanley McChrystal's scornful remarks about administration officials in interviews for a magazine article represent conduct that "undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system."
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President Barack Obama, followed by, from second from left, Gen. David Petraeus, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Vice President Joe Biden, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, walks to the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, June 23, 2010, to announce that Petraeus would replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) |
Ministério do Esporte libera R$ 3,1 milhões para Casa Brasil, na África do Sul
Leandro kleber
Do Contas Abertas
A Casa Brasil 2014, espaço com aproximadamente 3 mil metros² na África do Sul usado para divulgar a imagem do país que vai sediar a próxima Copa do Mundo e os Jogos Olímpicos de 2016, custou pelo menos R$ 3,1 milhões aos cofres brasileiros. O Ministério do Esporte liberou R$ 2,5 milhões ao Turismo para executar o projeto e outros R$ 598 mil pagaram a produção, organização e realização da exposição do Acervo CBF (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol). Peças alusivas aos campeonatos de 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 e 2002, nos quais o Brasil foi campeão mundial, são exibidos por lá.
O espaço Casa Brasil 2014 foi inaugurado no último dia 15 e contou com a presença dos ministros do Esporte, Orlando Silva, do Turismo, Luiz Barreto, a presidente da Embratur (Instituto Brasileiro de Turismo), Jeanine Pires, além de outros servidores públicos federais que foram até a África do Sul para participar de ações promocionais do país.
O espaço fica no Centro de Convenções de Joanesburgo. Além da tradição no futebol, o espaço prioriza também atrativos turísticos, culturais, gastronômicos, econômicos e tecnológicos brasileiros. A apresentação visual e conceituação temática está a cargo do cenógrafo e designer Gringo Cardia. Representantes de cada uma das 12 cidades brasileiras que vão sediar os jogos da Copa de 2014 (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Brasília, Curitiba, Salvador, Recife, Natal, Fortaleza, Manaus e Cuiabá) também estão presentes na Casa Brasil, para divulgar os atrativos de suas respectivas regiões.
“É o primeiro momento de apresentação do Brasil, de apresentação das duas cidades e fundamentalmente de projetar essa imagem de país que a gente gostaria que o mundo conhecesse”, disse Luiz Barreto, ministro do Turismo. Já para Alcino Rocha, assessor especial de Futebol do Ministério do Esporte, o espaço é importante para os preparativos brasileiros. “Estamos cientes de que seremos muito cobrados sobre isso já durante a Copa da África do Sul, quando os holofotes mundiais se voltarão para o Brasil como o próximo anfitrião”, afirmou.
Segundo o Ministério do Esporte, responsável pela realização da exposição, foi necessária a contratação da empresa Memories para transportar, manipular e cuidar da segurança do acervo da CBF, que ofereceu seu patrimônio gratuitamente, “com a condição de que fosse contratada tal empresa”.
“O acervo cedido gratuitamente ao Ministério do Esporte é de propriedade da CBF, único, insubstituível e de valor inestimável, fatos que por si só já demonstram a necessidade especial de manipulação, transporte, segurança, entre outros”, afirma a assessoria de imprensa do ministério. De acordo com a pasta, a CBF somente disponibiliza o acervo para a empresa contratada, que seria a única detentora de “todos os requisitos necessários à formatação, execução, operacionalização e segurança necessários à realização da exposição”.
Para o comentarista de esporte e blogueiro José Cruz, no entanto, a forma como o governo federal se associa à CBF é suspeita. Segundo ele, o Ministério do Esporte tornou-se um provedor de recursos a quem não precisa. “A CBF é riquíssima, fatura cerca R$ 220 milhões anuais, usa a marca nacional do país para promover o seu principal patrimônio, a Seleção Brasileira, e ainda precisa se socorrer dos cofres públicos para exibir, no exterior, a história de nosso futebol?”, diz.
A Casa Brasil 2014 foi organizada em conjunto pelos ministérios do Esporte, Turismo, Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior e Ciência e Tecnologia. O Contas Abertas entrou em contato com a assessoria de imprensa da Embratur e aguarda informações.
Em tempo
A assessoria de imprensa do Ministério do Turismo encaminhou e-mail à reportagem, na noite desta segunda-feira (21), com as respostas às perguntas feitas pela reportagem na última sexta-feira (18). Informou que o projeto Casa Brasil é fruto de parceria entre os ministérios do Turismo (via Embratur), do Esporte, da Ciência e Tecnologia (via Finep) e do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio (via Apex). "Os recursos repassados pelo Ministério do Esporte à Embratur destinam-se a pagamento de itens necessários para a montagem, funcionamento e manutenção do projeto e cenografia - instalações, iluminação, tecnologia, equipamentos – durante o período de funcionamento, de 15 de junho a 11 de julho", afirma.
Segundo a assessoria, toda a montagem, funcionamento e manutenção de equipamentos da Casa Brasil são realizados pelo contrato de empresa licitada pela Embratur para execução desses serviços no exterior.
Enchentes: Alagoas não recebeu nenhum centavo para prevenção
| Leandro Kleber Do Contas Abertas |
Por outro lado, com as ações do programa de “resposta aos desastres e reconstrução”, também administrado pelo Ministério da Integração Nacional, os dois estados foram mais bem contemplados neste ano. Alagoas recebeu R$ 3,8 milhões do governo federal para realizar ações de socorro e assistência às pessoas afetadas por calamidades, restabelecimento das atividades essenciais e recuperação dos danos causados pelas tragédias. Isso porque o estado sofreu com problemas no ano passado devido às chuvas. O montante, no entanto, não representa sequer 1% do total repassado pela rubrica a estados de todo o país, R$ 542,6 milhões. Pernambuco recebeu R$ 19,8 milhões desse valor, ou seja, 4% do total (veja tabela) O estado do Rio de Janeiro, que praticamente parou durante alguns dias do começo de abril por causas das enchentes e deslizamentos na capital e em cidades da região metropolitana, agora lidera o ranking dos mais beneficiados com verba para resposta aos desastres. Dos R$ 542,6 milhões repassados pelo governo federal, R$ 118,3 milhões foram destinados à região fluminense, 22% do total. Para o geólogo da Universidade de Brasília Oswaldo Filho, apesar das chuvas que caíram em Pernambuco e Alagoas terem sido anômalas, o Nordeste sempre tem problemas decorrentes das tempestades. Segundo ele, as dificuldades para implementar projetos de prevenção são mais políticas do que técnicas. “População em margens de rio são sempre um perigo em potencial, assim como moradias localizadas em encostas indevidas. Não há estudos geotécnicos para ocupação das áreas. Se houvesse, os impactos das chuvas seriam menores”, afirma.
Número de atingidos Segundo levantamentos preliminares do Centro Nacional de Gerenciamento de Riscos e Desastres (Cenad), junto às coordenações estaduais de defesa civil, em Pernambuco, 53 municípios declararam situação de emergência. São 17.719 desabrigados, 24.301 desalojados e 13 óbitos. Em Alagoas são 22 municípios atingidos, com 32.335 desalojados, 25.843 desabrigados e 19 mortes. A Secretaria Nacional de Defesa Civil liberou nas últimas horas 12 mil cestas de alimentos para Pernambuco e 8 mil cestas para Alagoas. Também foram enviados kits dormitório, composto por colchões, cobertores, lençóis, travesseiros, fronhas e toalhas, para a população que se encontra desabrigada. Cada estado receberá 6 mil kits. |
