London 2012 Olympics: Team GB men's hockey defeat New Zealand in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

Great Britain kept their hopes of winning the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup alive with a much improved performance against the tournament’s top side, New Zealand.

First half goals from Ashley Jackson and Matt Daly secured the 2-1 victory over the Black Sticks, who had been unbeaten in their first three games. Kiwi penalty-corner specialist Andrew Hayward pulled a goal back in the second half, but it wasn't enough as Great Britain’s defence stood strong.

Head coach Jason Lee earlier this week warned that his side would not stand a chance of winning an Olympics medal if they continued their poor form as they succumbed to a 3-2 loss to Argentina.

But on Wednesday he was delighted with his side’s performance and said: “It was a much improved performance following the Argentina game where I had been very disappointed. I thought the players showed a lot of spirit and we played some good tactics to win the game.”

The final few minutes saw exciting end-to-end play and several good attacks from Great Britain, Jonty Clarke and Jackson in the thick of it. Despite several balls going straight across the goal there were no Great Britain players in range to finish and the score remained 2-1.

Lee added: “I thought Matt Day played very well considering this is only his third game back from a long term injury. He scored a very good individual goal and it is encouraging to see him getting into the right positions.”

Deadly Quake Hits Northern Italy

ROME – Less than ten days after an earthquake devastated the Emilia Romagna region of northern Italy, a 5.8-magnitude tremor shook the area Tuesday morning, killing at least eight people, Italian news agencies reported. The new quake destroyed more buildings and once again tested the fortitude of an already unsettled population.

In Mirandola, identified as the epicenter of the earthquake, rescue workers searched the ruins of a warehouse that collapsed looking for a missing worker, the news agency ANSA reported. Though many factories were still closed after the magnitude 6.0 earthquake that hit the region on May 20, many businesses were starting to reorganize so that they could reopen or start production again.

Early news reports set an initial death toll at eight, though there were fears that it could grow. At least 7,000 people from the area had been forced to abandon their homes after the first quake and were living in makeshift dormitories in schools and in tent camps. Thousands of others were still sleeping in their cars, because aftershocks had continued all week.

When the earthquake took place at 9:03 AM on Tuesday morning, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was in Rome in a meeting with Vasco Errani, the president of the Emilia Romagna region, and other officials, to discuss reconstruction efforts.

In a televised statement Mr. Monti said that the government pledged to immediately cope with the aftermath of the new earthquake. “The state will do everything it can as quickly as it can to guarantee the return to normal life in this very special area, so productive for Italy,” Mr. Monti said. “We want to return to a normal life and to a recovery of businesses.”

Mr. Errani said that the priority would be to ensure the safety of citizens in the area, a task that had already begun, and he promised that the next phase would focus on reconstruction. “We acknowledge that there has been damage to companies and citizens, and we pledge to initiative a course to recovery,” he said.

Some towns that had survived the May 20 earthquake relatively unscathed were struck by the new tremor. One person died in the town of Concordia and there were dozens injured, mayor Carlo Marchini told Sky News, and the situation in general in the historic center of the town was “very serious,” he said.

The cathedral in Carpi collapsed, killing the parish priest, the news agency ANSA reported.

The earthquake was felt throughout northern Italy and buildings were evacuated in Genoa and in Pisa. After earlier slowdowns, high speed trains were returning to normal, a spokesman for the national railway system said, but some local lines were still interrupted.

Questions About Divorce? Ask a Lawyer!

If you're wondering about more of the in-depth questions concerning divorce, keep in mind that there are plenty of divorce attorney phoenix lawyers that can help you out. They receive questions all the time from people who are not clients and [depending on the attorney] they really don't care about answering them. 

They will help pretty much anyone because they know that there is a chance of them getting a new client out of it. Searching for answers on the web can be both helpful and misleading. There are a lot of wrong sources and information all over the internet, and who is to decide what is right? If the case is important to you, I would rather highly suggest that you ask an actual attorney your questions so that you are getting information from someone who really knows what they are talking about. Know exactly what you want to discuss about your case when you walk into the attorneys office. Looking like you are very knowledgable is a great first impression and will help you to get the assistance that you need. 

If you choose to go to an attorneys office with another person, make sure that you are the one that does most of the talking unless it is their case. This just shows that you know what you want and are confident about it. You don't need anyone else to talk for you, that just gives the image that you don't quite know what you want. If you need help talking about something because it is a personal problem for you than that is different and just be sure to explain that to your attorney. Trust him or her with everything you need help with and everything that you would like to happen and I'm sure they will do their very best to win your case for you.

Soy Protein Reduce Symptoms of Heart Disease

We have been familiar with soy as a source of healthy food. Recently found evidence that soy protein can reduce the symptoms of liver disease.

University of Illinois scientists report that the protein may reduce the accumulation of fat asses and trigeliserida in the liver that can lead to the emergence of liver disease, especially in people who are obese. This is because soy is able to restore some of the key functions of the organ signaling pathway.

"Nearly a third of American adults have fatty liver disease, and many of them without experiencing certain symptoms. Obesity is a key risk factor for this condition and this can lead to liver failure," said Hong Chen, assistant professor of food science and nutrition humans at the University of Illinois as reported from Health24, Wednesday (25/04/2012).

In general, fat is metabolized in the liver, but the people who are obese, fat transport to the tissues can be slowed down so adiposanya become dumping grounds for excess liver fat, he said.

"When fat accumulates in an organ that is not supposed to store fat, such as the liver, the function of vital organs can become dangerous," he added. But eating soy protein sources like tofu and soy yogurt seems to reduce some pressure on the liver fat, he said.

Chen compared the accumulation of fat in lean rats and rat liver obesity. The result, Chen did not find any effect of diet on rat liver thin profile. However, obese rats that were fed soy showed a reduction in triglycerides and fat accumulation by 20 percent so that Chen believed that soy protein can be used to reduce the symptoms of fatty liver disease.

Furthermore, researchers also found that soy protein partially restored the protein Wnt signaling pathway as a crucial player in lipid metabolism.

"In the obese, there is a traffic problem in the body. When there is more fat that can make a way out of the heart, pressure on the organs that could be reduced," he said.
 

Obama kicks off battle versus Romney with big money lead

Mitt Romney had his best fundraising month yet in March, but the presumed Republican nominee remained far behind Democratic President Barack Obama in the money game, filings with the Federal Election Commission showed on Friday.

Romney reported raising nearly $12.7 million last month, with some $10.1 million left in the bank as he sought to wrap up the nomination and focus on raising money for the costly fight to unseat Obama in the November 6 election.

The deep-pocketed "Super" political action committee, or PAC, that supports Romney, Restore Our Future, brought in $8.7 million in March, with three-quarters of it remaining on hand.

Democratic PACs have struggled to match the prowess of Restore Our Future, but Obama's campaign - spared the strenuous nominating process - raised $34.8 million in March and had $104 million left in the bank at the end of the month.

Republicans and Democrats are waging a war to raise as much money as possible to fund crucial television and radio airtime and get-out-the-vote efforts, projected to total $1 billion on each side of the aisle.

Romney's March haul came at a time when the former Massachusetts governor was still facing stiff competition from his last big conservative challenger, Rick Santorum, who has now dropped out of the race.

The pro-Obama group Priorities USA - a Super PAC that can raise and spend unlimited funds but cannot coordinate with the campaign - reported raising $2.5 million in March. It spent only a fraction of it, $318,254, and had $5 million left on hand.

While Romney just started fundraising jointly with the Republican National Committee this month, Obama has been taking full advantage of that option with his party organization, the Democratic National Committee since last year.

The joint fund greatly increases how much a donor can give to help a candidate, thanks to larger contributions allowed for party organizations in addition to the campaign.

Obama's two joint funds shared with the DNC had about $6.5 million in cash on hand and sent $7.5 million to the Obama campaign and $10.5 million to the DNC.

Both the RNC and the DNC plan to spend nearly everything they raise to help their candidates.

The RNC in March also had its best month, raising $13.7 million and reporting $32.7 million in cash on hand, according to the FEC filings. The DNC reported receiving a total of $17.9 million in March, with $24.4 million in the bank.

ROMNEY'S SUPER PAC ALLIES

But donations to outside Democratic groups have lagged those given to Republicans, a source of concern for Democrats.

Campaigns can take only $2,500 from each donor, once for the primary process and again for the general election. Super PACs can take unlimited donations as long as they do not coordinate with the campaigns, and these have largely taken over the dirty task of negative advertising.

The pro-Obama Super PAC, Priorities USA Action, has struggled to catch up to the pro-Romney PAC Restore Our Future.

Restore Our Future on Friday reported raising $8.7 million in March, spent $12.7 million on knocking Santorum out of the race but still emerged with $6.5 million on hand.

The group's biggest donors last month included Texas billionaire banker Harold Simmons, who gave another $600,000 for a total of $800,000; hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin of Citadel LLC, who gave $850,000 for a total of $1.1 million; and Huron Carbon LLC, which gave $1 million and shares an address in Florida with Oxbow Carbon, run by Bill Koch and itself a big donor to the Super PAC.

Other big donors included Charles Schwab Corp founder Charles Schwab and his wife, Helen, Cisco Systems Inc Chairman and Chief Executive John Chambers, New Balance Athletics Chairman James Davis, Marriott International Inc CEO J.W. Marriott Jr. and his brother Richard Marriott, chairman of Host Hotels and Resorts Inc.

Priorities received $1 million from Amy Goldman, heir to the fortune of New York real estate mogul Sol Goldman, and a second installment of $500,000 from Kareem Ahmed, CEO of California medical billing and collecting firm Landmark Medical Management.

The PAC also received $250,000 from Anne Earhart, granddaughter of oil baron J. Paul Getty. Earhart is also the top donor to another Democratic Super PAC, opposition research-focused American Bridge.

Other big donors included U.S. standup comedian and talk show host Chelsea Handler and longtime Democratic donor New York investor Bernard Schwartz, both of whom gave $100,000.

MORE SUPER PAC HELP

Helping Romney bridge the gap between his money power and Obama's is American Crossroads, perhaps the most formidable Republican Super PAC, which was co-founded by Karl Rove, former top aide and election strategist for President George W. Bush.

American Crossroads and its non-profit sister group Crossroads GPS have made plans to spend up to $300 million on this election cycle and by the end of March were two-thirds of the way to raising that sum, having hauled in $99.8 million over 2011 and the first quarter of 2012.

American Crossroads reported $24.4 million left in cash on hand, but raised only $1.2 million in March. Citadel investor Griffin was its top donor with his $700,000 contribution.

The non-profit Crossroads GPS is not legally required to report its fundraising or donors to the FEC.

The groups have been running ads slamming Obama, his policies and his party's congressional candidates. The $300 million plan covers the efforts launched last year into the rest of the cycle, with two-thirds focusing on the presidential race and the rest on Senate and House of Representatives races.

One of Romney's two rivals left in the Republican race is Texas Representative Ron Paul. His campaign's FEC filing on Friday showed he raised $2.6 million and had $1.8 million left in cash on hand at the end of March.

The second rival, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, was heavily in debt, running up a $4.3 million tab. He raised $1.7 million and spent about $2 million in March.

The Super PAC backing Gingrich, Winning Our Future, has been heavily reliant on Las Vegas casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his family. In March, despite Gingrich's campaign fading far into Romney's shadow, Adelson's wife, Miriam, gave another $5 million, bringing the total Adelson clan contribution to the Super PAC to $21.5 million.

Santorum, who ended his campaign on April 10, also had nearly $2 million in debt and has continued to try to raise money to pay for it. He raised almost $5 million in March and spent $5.8 million.

The Super PAC backing his candidacy ended the month with less than $270,000 on hand, having spent almost all of the $8.3 million it had raised over the campaign cycle. Foster Friess, Wyoming millionaire investor and Santorum's friend, gave another $500,000 to the PAC in March for a total of $2.1 million.

Mini iPad: The good, bad and ugly

Apple generates more gossip than the Kardashians.

There's a constantly spinning mill of rumors about Apple products, most of which turn out to be untrue. What's unusual this week is that talk has revived of a smaller iPad model, an idea company founder Steve Jobs derided publicly a year before he died.

Apple and its suppliers aren't commenting. Rumors of a smaller iPad, or "iPad mini" have percolated ever since the first iPad was launched two years ago. This time around, they're fed by media reports from South Korea, China and Taiwan, saying Apple has ordered Samsung screens that are 7.86 inches measured on the diagonal. That would make the screen about two-thirds the size of the current iPad, which has a diagonal measurement of 9.7 inches.

Why it's a good idea: A smaller tablet would help Apple further its lead in the tablet market.

"From a competitive standpoint, we believe an iPad mini with a lower price point would be the competition's worst nightmare, says Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee. "Most (competitors) already have a tough enough time competing against the iPad 2, as well as the new iPad."

Apple has successfully fended off competitors who have tried to sell tablets in iPad's size range. But last year, Amazon.com Inc. figured out how to crack Apple's stranglehold on tablets by making a half-size, no-frills tablet. The result was the Kindle Fire, which sells for $199 —basically, the cost of production. Amazon has sold millions of them.

Apple sells the iPod Touch for $199, but its screen is about a quarter of the size of the Kindle Fire — a big disadvantage for people who want to enjoy books, movies and games. It also sells the older iPad model for $399. It has nothing in between.

Price isn't the only reason customers might prefer a smaller tablet. A 7-inch model would fit in many handbags, unlike the current iPad.

Wu says he's seen evidence of Apple experimenting with both smaller and larger tablet screens since 2009, and doesn't sense that the release of an iPad mini is "imminent."

What it might cost: It could be hard for Apple to make money from an iPad-quality 7-inch tablet that sells for $299. Analysts at IHS iSuppli estimate that a smaller tablet would cost around $250 to produce, a figure that doesn't include development costs, packaging or patent royalties. That suggests Apple would price it at $329 or $349.

"The first thing you always have to keep in mind is: Apple is not going to sell an unprofitable product," says Rhoda Alexander at iSuppli.

Why it's a bad idea: A smaller iPad would be a headache for software developers.

"Going to a different screen size ends up being a ton of work," says Nate Weiner, the creator of Pocket, an application that stores Web pages and other material for later reading.

"If you take, for an example, an interface built for the iPad and try to cram it into the Kindle Fire, it just doesn't fit," he says.

However, developers who have already adapted their programs to the Kindle Fire or other 7-inch tablets wouldn't face a big hurdle in adapting to a third Apple screen size, Weiner says.

What jobs thought: Apple's late CEO made a rare appearance on an October 2010 earnings conference call to launch a tirade against the 7-inch tablet Samsung Electronics Inc. was set to launch as the first major challenger to the iPad.

"The reason we wouldn't make a 7-inch tablet isn't because we don't want to hit a price point, it's because we don't think you can make a great tablet with a 7-inch screen," Jobs said. "The 7-inch tablets are tweeners, too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with an iPad."

He said the resolution of the display could be increased to make up for the smaller size, but that would be "meaningless, unless your tablet also includes sandpaper, so that the user can sand down their fingers to around one quarter of the present size."

"There are clear limits of how close you can physically place elements on a touch screen before users cannot reliably tap, flick or pinch them. This is one of the key reasons we think the 10-inch screen size is the minimum size required to create great tablet apps," he said.

Jobs failed to mention Apple's success developing apps that use taps, flicks and pinches on the iPhone, with its 3.5-inch screen.

Plane Crash in Pakistan

Civilian aircraft crashes in bad weather near Islamabad international airport: Pakistani television channels.

Over 120 passengers were on board

The plane had flown from Karachi, and was due to land in Islamabad at 6:40pm local time.
Rescue teams were en route to the crash site, located near the Pakistan Air Force base Chaklala.

New James Bond director admits 'doubts' about Daniel Craig

LONDON –  The director of the new James Bond movie said he initially had doubts about Daniel Craig being cast in the role of the legendary British spy.

Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes admitted his concern at the media launch of the 23rd Bond movie, "Skyfall."

Speaking at Pinewood Studios, he said, "I was one of the people who said I didn't think he was the right casting. At the time, I was asked in an interview and I said, 'I'm not sure, I would advise him not to do it'."

Mendes, who directed Craig alongside Jude Law in 2002 movie "Road To Perdition," admitted he was wrong.

"I watched him go through that intense pressure and come through that with flying colors," Mendes said. "I bumped into him after 'Casino Royale' and I was so excited to see him as Bond. It was great to watch him come through that and prove the doubters wrong."

Craig said that working with Mendes for the second time -- and the first on a Bond film -- had helped him deal with the pressures of the role.

"I have got an awful lot to worry about when making a movie like this -- it's another level making a Bond movie," Craig said.

He added, "Sam has allowed me to forget about that and concentrate on the job. I have been able to remember why I love this job."

Audi said to be set to buy Ducati for $1.1 billion

Audi is poised to purchase Italian motorcycle maker Ducati from owner Investindustrial for about 860 million euros ($1.1 billion), a person familiar with the matter said.

Audi has reached an agreement with Investindustrial to buy the maker of luxury motorbikes, with VW's supervisory board set to approve the deal on Wednesday, said the person, who declined to be identified discussing the private negotiations.

Audi and Investindustrial declined to comment. At that price the deal, minus debt, would value Ducati at about seven times last year's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Ducati's total liabilities are less than 200 million euros, buyout firm Investindustrial said last month.

Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who turned 75 today, has long coveted the brand, publicly expressing interest in buying Ducati in April 2008 before eventually losing out to Investindustrial.

The purchase will make Ducati the 11th brand in VW's portfolio, alongside super-car marques Lamborghini and Bugatti and heavy-duty truck manufacturers Scania AB and MAN SE.

"Ducati is one of the finest machines you can buy but strategically it's insignificant for Volkswagen," said Christoph Stuermer, a Frankfurt-based analyst with IHS Automotive. "Its revenue is more than Lamborghini's and Bugatti's combined, but to the automotive operations, it's a mere accessory."

BMW competition

Ducati would complement Audi's luxury-car lineup with products such as the $28,000 Superbike 1199 Panigale S Tricolore and expand the brand's competition with BMW, which makes BMW and Husqvarna motorcycles.

Ducati, which last year sold about 42,000 motor bikes, had revenue for 2011 of 480 million euros.

For Volkswagen, the deal would mean an entry into the motorcycle business and gaining another asset in Italy after buying super-car brand Lamborghini and Italdesign Giugiaro. Piech has also expressed interest in the past in Fiat's Alfa Romeo brand.

Hero MotoCorp Ltd., India's biggest motorcycle maker, had also expressed interest in Ducati after Investindustrial made it known in February that it planned to sell the company. Daimler reiterated on Tuesday that it's not interested in acquiring Ducati.

Ducati, which was founded in 1926, sells the Superbike, Monster, Streetfighter, Hypermotard, Multistrada and the new Diavel models in 65 countries. Over the past 60 years it has won 17 manufacturer's World Championship titles, most recently winning the 2011 World Superbike Championship title.

Suu Kyi to visit Norway, UK after 24 yrs in Myanmar

Yangon: Nobel Peace Prize laureate and newly elected lawmaker Aung San Suu Kyi will travel outside Myanmar for the first time in 24 years after accepting invitations to visit Norway and Britain in June, her party said on Wednesday.

Her travel caps months of dramatic change in Myanmar, including a historic by-election on April 1 that won her a seat in a year-old parliament that replaced nearly five decades of oppressive military rule. 

Her trip will include a visit to British city Oxford, where she attended university in the 1970s, said National League for Democracy (NLD) party spokesman Nyan Win.

"But I don't know the exact date yet," Nyan Win said, adding he did not know which country she would visit first. She has previously indicated that it would be Norway.

Suu Kyi, 66, was first detained in 1989, and spent 15 of the next 21 years in detention until her release from house arrest in November 2010, refused to leave the country during the brief periods when she was not held by authorities, for fear of not being allowed to return.

She won one of her party's 43 seats in this month's by-election following a series of reforms under President Thein Sein, a former general, including the release of political prisoners, more media freedom, dialogue with ethnic militias and an exchange rate unification seen crucial to fixing the economy.
   

'Great progress'

Suu Kyi was invited to visit Britain when she met Prime Minister David Cameron in Yangon on Friday. At the time, she said the fact that she would consider the offer, rather than reject it outright, showed "great progress" had been achieved in Myanmar.

"Two years ago I would have said thank you for the invitation, but sorry," she added.

Suu Kyi's long refusal to leave Myanmar characterized her steely determination to defy the ruling junta, which offered to release her from house arrest to be with her late husband, Michael Aris, who died of cancer in Britain in 1999.

Their story was played out on the big screen late last year in the film "The Lady", as she is affectionately known, with Malaysian action star Michelle Yeoh playing Suu Kyi.

The daughter of assassinated independence hero Aung San visited Myanmar in April 1988 to take care of her dying mother, Khin Kyi, a former ambassador to India and Nepal.

Her NLD went on to win by a landslide a 1990 election for a constitution-drafting assembly, but the military ignored the result, leading to a two-decade political stalemate between the junta and Suu Kyi's opposition.

Agni-V to be test fired today

Taking a major leap forward in missile technology and military deterrent capability, India is all set to test fire its 5,000 km range Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Agni-5 today from a test range off the coast of Odisha. 

 

The test fire of the missile will be conducted today from a test range in Wheeler island off the coast of Odisha. 

Preparations have reached their last stage to conduct maiden flight of the missile, Defence Ministry officials said. 

DRDO Chief V K Saraswat had recently said the missile is being integrated at various facilities for the test launch which will be witnessed by military officials and other agencies which participated in its development.

Only the US, Russia, France and China possess the capability to operate an ICBM. 

DRDO plans to conduct more such tests of the missile over the next one year after studying and analyzing the parameters achieved in each subsequent trial. 

On the timeline fixed for fully developing Agni-5, Saraswat had said another one year of testing will be involved. 

In November last year, DRDO had successfully test fired the 3,500 km range Agni-4 missile giving muscle to India's deterrent capability against the military adversaries. 

DRDO has also placed necessary equipments to collect data on the trajectory and flight of the missile and other necessary data which will be studied further for its future development. 

Agni-5 will be a three-stage, all solid fuel powered, 17-metre tall missile with capability to carry various forms of payload, officials said.

Yahoo's 1Q results show progress under new CEO

Yahoo's first-quarter results showed signs of progress that may help boost the credibility of recently hired CEO Scott Thompson as he tries to turn around the long-sputtering Internet company.

The strides announced Tuesday were small compared with the huge gains that rivals such as Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. have been reaping as advertisers shift more of their budgets to the Internet.

Nevertheless, Yahoo's showing for the first three months of the year included an elusive breakthrough. The company's revenue increased from the prior year for the first time since the U.S. economy was sinking into the depths of the Great Recession in the autumn of 2008. It broke a streak of 13 consecutive quarterly declines in Yahoo's net revenue _ the amount of money that the company keeps after paying commissions to its ad partners.

"We still have a lot of work to do, but it's an important milestone for us,'' Tim Morse, Yahoo's chief financial officer, said in an interview.

Yahoo's earnings also rose in the first quarter, but that's not a new phenomenon. The company's net income had also been rising under Thompson's predecessor, tough-talking Carol Bartz, mostly because of cost cutting.

But Bartz never could produce a year-over-year increase in Yahoo's quarterly revenue before she was fired last September. Yahoo lured Thompson away from eBay Inc.'s online payment service, PayPal, three months ago.

In Thompson's first full quarter as CEO, Yahoo earned $286 million, or 23 cents per share. That represented a 28 percent increase from net income of $223 million, or 17 cents per share, at the same time last year.

The earnings for this year's quarter exceeded the average estimate of 17 cents per share among analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Thompson didn't spend much time crowing about the first-quarter revenue increase, probably because it was such a small gain. Net revenue totaled $1.08 billion, an increase of $13 million, or 1 percent, from the same time last year.

Google's first quarter net revenue, in contrast, soared by 24 percent from last year to $8.14 billion. The overall Internet ad market in the U.S. increased by about 23 percent, according to the research firm eMarketer.

In a Tuesday conference call, Thompson assured analysts he won't be happy until Yahoo's revenue is keeping pace with the rest of the Internet ad market.

"Yahoo must be nimble, responsive and act with a real sense of urgency,'' Thompson said on the call. ``We have to think and to move like a growth company.''

Investors evidently liked what they saw in the numbers and what they heard from Thompson. Yahoo shares rose 43 cents, or nearly 3 percent, to $15.44 in Tuesday's extended trading. The stock hasn't traded above $20 since the third quarter of 2008 _ the last time Yahoo's revenue climbed from the previous year.

The vote of confidence comes as Thompson tries to ward off a rebellion from one of Yahoo's largest shareholders, Daniel Loeb, who is waging a campaign to gain four seats on the company's board of directors.

Yahoo is trying to bring in more money with fewer workers and products. Earlier this month, Thompson announced the largest layoffs in Yahoo's 17-year history in a cost-cutting move that will save the company about $375 million annually. The housecleaning will jettison 2,000 employees, or 14 percent of Yahoo's workforce.

Jet Airways, IndiGo dump MakeMyTrip in protest against opaque fares scheme

Jet Airways and budget carrier IndiGo, which fly almost half the total air-passengers of the country, have pulled out inventory from Nasdaq-listed website makemytrip.com in protest against the 'opaque fares' scheme the portal deployed on its website.
 

The move came even as the portal claimed that it had absolved itself from such practices, after the government disallowed airlines from participating in such schemes.

'Opaque fares' was a scheme offered by a few travel portals such as yatra.com and makemytrip.com, which offered heavily discounted air tickets without disclosing the airline name until the payment was made. However, the country's aviation regulator DGCA had directed all airlines to "immediately withdraw" participation from such schemes through a directive on March 28.

IndiGo, India's second largest airline by market share, sent out an official statement on Tuesday saying it has withdrawn all content from makemytrip.com as "the arbitrary display of fares and opaque pricing is anti consumer and in violation of DGCA norms and directives."

The airline President Aditya Ghosh, in a text message, further said, "We have raised this with MMT on several occasions but unfortunately, there has been no resolution. We were, therefore, left with no choice. IndiGo can't be seen supporting a blatant violation of the law and something that is apparently anti-consumer."

Meanwhile, Jet Airways, which had earlier called opaque fares a scam and had threatened to pull out inventory from makemytrip.com last month, also confirmed the move.

"Jet Airways has not pulled out its inventory from makemytrip.com. However, we have limited the inventory available to them for sale," the airline spokesperson said through a text message.

A person from the travel industry, who did not want to be identified, however, said that these protesting airlines are deploying pressure tactics to make the travel portal drop Kingfisher Airlines from its list. "You will soon see everything fall back into place. These airlines are trying to thwart ailing Kingfisher's chances," he said.

The aim of this scheme (opaque fares), described variously as discount or special fares by the portals, was largely to get rid of tickets of Kingfisher Airlines, a debt-laden carrier. Some passengers, unaware that they were buying Kingfisher tickets, have subsequently been booked on flights that have later been cancelled.

Meanwhile, an official statement from makemytrip.com said that all fares are displayed with the approval of participating airlines.

"We would like to maintain as before that fares and inventory on our website is controlled by the airlines. All the fares are displayed as per the guidelines received and approved by airlines, including the special fares that has been approved by the participating airlines. As India's leading online travel agency, MakeMyTrip strives to give customers the best quality of services and value based offerings," the company said in an emailed response.

iPhone + Cute Puppy = i-Puppy

Some people love their iPhones. Some people love their puppies. Bandai Co., Ltd., which specializes in character-related products from toys to costumes to various Pokemon snacks and gadgets, has figured out a way to blend the two, with its new “Smart Pet”– a kind of i-Puppy.

iPhone + Cute Puppy = i-Puppy

It starts with the robotic body of a dog not quite seven inches tall. Owners download a Smart Pet app onto to their iPhone or iPod touch. Then they nestle it between the floppy ears of the robot, and the iPhone becomes the dog’s face and brain.

The machine then transforms into an animated robotic dog, which will recognize its “owner,” can be “fed,” do more than one hundred tricks, and for all intents and purposes be a man’s best friend–without the necessary daily walks, vet visits, dog chow, and pooper scoopers that a flesh dog would require. (It’s reminiscent of Sony Corp.’s much-beloved Aibo, and has similarities to Bandai’s turn-of-the century digital pet, Tamagotchi.

And the mechanical Sparky can do all sorts of things real dogs can’t. It can help charge the iPhone, serve as an alarm clock, and, should a call happen to come in while the owner is playing with the pet, turn into a hands-free phone set. In another less-normal canine feature, the Smart Pet’s face is removable, so users can take it outside without the body, legs, and tail of the dog. In addition, owners with two Smart Pets—they run in white and black—can use the communication function to synchronize the two dogs as they dance and sing.

The battery-charged Smart Pet is designed so that the robotic dog “learns” more tricks, games, and facial expressions as its owner continues to use it, “playing” chores like feeding the pooch, simulating the relationship between a real dog an its owner. Smart Pets also have a mic and camera installed inside that enable them to do various tricks at the owners’ beck and call.

Smart Pets will run from Y7,800 yen starting April 28. Bandai expects its “completely innovative and new” not-so-furry friend to “not once bore its owners throughout the day,” according to its promotional video. As of now, the Smart Pet will only be available in Japan.

Tsunami unlikely after 8.6 earthquake hits Indonesia

Jakarta: A tsunami watch was issued for countries across the Indian Ocean after a 8.6-magnitude earthquake, the eight worst in the last 100 years, hit waters off Indonesia on Wednesday, triggering widespread panic as residents along coastlines fled to high ground in cars and on the backs of motorcycles. But earthquake and tsunami experts say that quake was horizontal and not vertical, lessening the threat of a tsunami. The National Disaster Management Authority in India said that there was no likelihood of tsunami being formed anywhere in the Indian Ocean. 

Tsunami unlikely after 8.6 earthquake hits Indonesia

The US Geological Survey said the 8.6-magnitude quake was centered 20 miles (33 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor around 269 miles (434 kilometers) from Aceh's provincial capital. 

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami watch was in effect for Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Maldives and other Indian Ocean islands, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Iran, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Singapore. 

According to earlier reports the tsunami waves were likely to be more than 6 metres high. A tsunami watch means there is the potential for a tsunami, not that one is imminent. 

Said, an official at Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency who goes by only one name, said a tsunami warning has been issued for cities all along the coast of Sumatra island. Residents in Banda Aceh are already moving to higher ground. 

There was chaos in the streets, with fierce shaking continuing for nearly four minutes. 

"I was in the shower on the fifth floor of my hotel," Timbang Pangaribuan told El Shinta radio from the city of Medan. "We all ran out. ... We're all standing outside now." 

He said one guest was injured when he jumped from the window of his room. 

The tremor was felt in Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia and India. High-rise apartments and offices on Malaysia's west coast shook for at least a minute. 

Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center issued an evacuation order to residents in six provinces along the country's west coast, including the popular tourist destinations of Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga. Indonesia agency also reported an aftershock of 6.5 quake Richter scale in Aceh. 

Tremors were also felt in Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Patna, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Cuttack, Bhubaneshwar and several other cities on the eastern coast of India. India has also issued tsunami warning for coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands following the earthquake. 

The Chennai port has been shut down due to tsunami alert. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have already been rushed to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. 

Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that makes the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity. 

A giant 9.1-magnitude quake off the country on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, nearly three quarter of them in Aceh.