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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Tayyip Erdogan arrives in Tehran on official visit

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TEHRAN (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Tehran on Tuesday evening on an official visit expected to be dominated by trade ties and the Syrian civil war.The visit comes as the two countries are trying to rebuild relations strained by the situation in Syria, with Iran supporting President Bashar al-Assad while Turkey backs the rebels seeking to oust him.Erdogan arrived late Tuesday, accompanied by his foreign, energy and economy ministers, Iranian media said.He will meet Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzihe Afkham said. Dialogue and contacts have entered a new phase, and we hope this trend continues. Besides serving the interests of the two countries, we hope (our dialogue) serve the interests of the region as well, Afkham said.Rouhani will visit Turkey in the coming months, the ministry said.Energy-hungry Turkey is planning to increase oil and gas imports from Tehran after the gradual lifting of sanctions on the Islamic republic's energy sector.Iran reached an interim deal in November with world powers, under which it agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear programme and halt further advances in exchange for the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and limited relief from crippling sanctions.Before leaving Ankara, Erdogan told reporters he welcomed that agreement and hoped it would lead to a definitive deal on removing sanctions.We wish the process will be finalised with an agreement that will ensure the removal of all sanctions on Iran. Turkey has so far done its best in that regard and will continue to do so, he said.Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu travelled to Tehran in late November and his Iranian counterpart Zarif visited Ankara earlier this month.Erdogan also said he would raise the Syrian crisis during his visit.Turkey and Iran are two powerful countries that play a major role and have a say in the resolution of problems in the region, he said.Erdogan is under the shadow of a massive graft scandal at home that includes illegal gold sales to Iran.Iran has arrested a tycoon said to have been involved in the Turkish scandal.Iranian officials say trade between the countries stood at $22 billion (16.2 billion euros) in 2012, before dipping to $20 billion in 2013. The figure is expected to reach $30 billion in 2015.

Turkey's central bank in huge rate hike to stop lira rot

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ANKARA (AFP) - Turkey's central bank on Tuesday aggressively raised its key interest rates Tuesday, in a dramatic move to stem a steep drop in the country's lira currency.The lira perked up after the shock decision, which comes amid the Turkish regime's most damaging political crisis in a decade and went against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recommendation.The central bank hiked its overnight lending rate to 12 percent from 7.75 percent, the overnight borrowing rate from 3.5 percent to 8 percent, and one-week repo rate to 10 percent from 4.5 percent.The lira strengthened after the crisis meeting to 2.17 against the dollar from 2.25 before the announcement.Recent domestic and external developments are having an adverse impact on risk perceptions, leading to a significant depreciation in the Turkish lira and a pronounced increase in the risk premium, the bank said in a statement posted on its website at midnight. The central Bank will implement necessary measures at its disposal to contain the negative impact of these developments on inflation and macroeconomic stability, it added. The bank said it decided to implement a strong monetary tightening and to simplify the operational framework.Analysts said the decision was a turning point that went beyond expectations.They said the decision would bring fresh credibility to the bank after months of inaction raised questions about its independence from Erdogan.The central bank left nobody in doubt on Tuesday night when they hiked interest rates, Gillian Edgeworth, economist at UniCredit Research, said in a statement. Following the turmoil of the past few weeks, tonight's meeting probably had to deliver two things in order to stabilise Turkish financial markets, Neil Shearing, chief emerging markets economist at the London-based Capital Economics, said in a statement. First, it had to deliver a substantial tightening of policy. And second, the policy tightening had to be delivered in a clear and transparent way ... On both counts, tonight's meeting delivered about as much as could reasonably have been expected.Early Tuesday, the bank hinted at interest rate hikes, saying that it was ready to tighten monetary policy in a lasting way.Nobody should have any hesitation that the central bank will use all available tools, the bank's governor Erdem Basci told a press conference. But Erdogan's reiteration before what observers had billed as make-or-break meeting of his opposition to a hike had left some doubt as to whether decisive action would be taken.I am opposed to interest rate increases now as I always have been, Erdogan told reporters at an Ankara airport before leaving for Iran.But I don't have any authority to interfere in the central bank, he said, adding that he hoped the bank would make a right decision.Erdogan's government wants rates held down to sustain growth ahead of an election cycle beginning with March local polls.Until now, the bank has avoided a sharp rise in the base rate, using a big increase in the overnight rate -- held at 7.75 percent last week -- and intervening heavily on the foreign exchange market.Some analysts estimated in July last year, when the bank began intervention, that it had about $46 billion dollars (34 billion euros) available but since then it has spent heavily, using up to $4 billion in the last few days alone.And those costly measures have failed to protect the lira. The Turkish currency has been hitting record lows almost daily and has lost about 10 percent since mid-December, when a corruption scandal roiling key Erdogan allies became public.Risks remainThe central bank on Tuesday sharply raised its inflation forecast for 2014 to 6.6 percent from 5.3 percent.The bank predicted that inflation would slow from the second half of 2014, but analysts said it was likely to remain high this year.Core inflation in Turkey is high and, with tax hikes and the weaker lira, inflation is likely to remain persistently high this year, economist William Jackson at the London-based Capital Economics told AFP.Analysts said the risks remain for the Turkish economy.Turkey remains among the most fragile EMs (emerging markets), commented Shearing.Unless the government follows the central bank's lead, by both tightening fiscal policy and toning down some of its more aggressive rhetoric, Turkey will remain vulnerable to further bouts of market turbulence.The currencies of emerging economies have taken a beating recently, due in part to the US Federal Reserve's decision to reduce its stimulus measures, which curbs the attractivity of markets that had offered higher returns.The Fed tapering hits countries that tend to fund their deficits with short term money flows like Turkey, said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Forex.com.Brooks listed Turkey among those countries with shaky economic fundamentals, particularly current account deficits, along with India, Indonesia, South Africa and Thailand.But Erdogan played down tensions over the darkened economic outlook.The Turkish economy is quite robust and it is pressing ahead in a resilient way, he told parliament.

Tunisia's parliament approves technocratic caretaker government

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TUNIS (AFP) - Tunisia's parliament on Wednesday approved a technocratic caretaker government tasked with leading the country out of a bruising political crisis and to fresh elections.After a marathon session broadcast live on national television, the line-up proposed by Prime Minister-designate Mehdi Jomaa was approved by 149 lawmakers, with 20 voting against and 24 abstaining.The line-up was only agreed after weeks of horsetrading and will replace the government led by the Islamist Ennahda party, which accepted last year to step down as part of deal to end a crippling political crisis.Jomaa, who was industry minister in the outgoing government, announced on Sunday that he finally clinched a deal on an apolitical line-up.But he still faced a tougher than expected time Tuesday in parliament, where he spent more than 12 hours fending off accusations that his caretaker cabinet included members of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's former regime.The once-banned Ennahda, now Tunisia's largest party, and the secular opposition have been at loggerheads over the legacy of the revolution that toppled Ben Ali three years ago.The crisis deepened when two opposition MPs were assassinated by suspected jihadists last year.Under the roadmap agreed by Tunisia's rival factions to end the impasse, parliamentary and presidential polls are due by the end of 2014.In another late-night session on Sunday, parliament adopted a new constitution.The new charter is the result of two years of acrimonious debate, including on the role of Islam and women's rights, but is regarded as the most modern in the Arab world.

Karzai suspects US behind Afghan bombings: report

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai suspects the United States may have backed insurgent-style attacks to undermine his government but has no evidence to support his theory, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.Karzai, whose relations with Washington have steadily deteriorated over the years, has compiled a list of dozens of attacks that he believes the US government may have been involved in, the Post wrote, citing unnamed Afghan officials.Karzai even harbors suspicions that the Americans may have been behind a deadly attack this month on a Lebanese restaurant frequented by foreigners in Kabul, the newspaper said, quoting a presidential palace official.However, the Afghan official acknowledged that the government had no concrete proof of a US role in any of the attacks. The Taliban often claims responsibility for bombings employing homemade explosives and other assaults, including the recent attack on the Lebanese restaurant.In Kabul, Afghan officials were unavailable to comment on the report.US officials privately scoffed at the allegations, while lawmakers vented their frustration.I think we have to get beyond Karzai, Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters.Senate Republican Kelly Ayotte told The Hill newspaper she remains deeply concerned that hes almost becoming delusional in terms of what the US role is there.The United States paved the way for Karzais coming to power by toppling the Taliban regime in 2001 over its support of Al-Qaeda.Washington and its NATO allies have since poured billions of dollars of aid into Afghanistan and sent tens of thousands of troops to the country to battle the Taliban.Karzai himself has admitted accepting regular deliveries of cash from the Central Intelligence Agency. The Afghan leader has long railed against US and NATO military operations that have left Afghan civilians dead but it remains unclear why the mercurial president would try to pin blame on the Americans for attacks associated with insurgents.Karzai has held up a crucial bilateral security agreement (BSA) negotiated with Washington that would allow for a smaller contingent of American troops to stay in the country after the end of the year.NATO combat troops are due to withdraw by December and without a legal agreement, the United States and NATO would have to drop the idea of a post-2014 force.Its outrageous what Karzai is trying to do, Republican Senator John McCain, who visited Kabul this month and urged the Afghan leader to sign a BSA, told CNN.He and Levin argued for waiting until after the April 5 election, when a new Afghan president might be more willing to strike a deal on US troops.Well make the arrangements then, which means an enduring presence and not a date for withdrawal because weve seen what happened in Iraq, McCain said, referring to increased insurgent activity after Obama pulled US forces out of Iraq.Karzais suspicions of a conspiracy may offer an explanation why he has refused to sign the security accord, the Post wrote. It also was possible Karzai wanted to demonstrate he was no puppet of Washington or that he wanted to persuade the Taliban he was ready for reconciliation talks.The revelation is sure to exacerbate the already strained ties between Karzai and his American counterparts, who have long complained about his mood swings and lack of gratitude for American and NATO sacrifices.A former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, wrote in a 2010 diplomatic cable to Washington that Karzai continues to shun responsibility for any sovereign burden and cited the Afghan presidents lack of reliability as a reason not to send more US troops to the country.

Obama to deliver State of the Union address today

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama was to warn Tuesday that he will bypass Congress if it thwarts his battle against inequality, in a State of the Union address meant to lift US spirits and his own political fortunes.Obama was to step up in the House of Representatives in US television's primetime seeking new momentum for a presidency that stumbled through a disastrous first year of his second term.What I offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middle class, and build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class, Obama was to say, according to advance excerpts of his speech released by the White House.Some require congressional action, and I'm eager to work with all of you, Obama planned to tell mass ranks of lawmakers, dignitaries and honored guests in the annual televised speech.But America does not stand still - and neither will I.So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do.Obama planned to argue that the fundamental American idea that anyone has a chance to better their lot had taken some serious blows.Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled.And too many still aren't working at all, Obama was to say, according to the excerpts.White House aides say Obama will be ambitious in the speech.But beyond the spin -- and despite signs of faster growth in a still wounded economy -- the president has little to cheer going into his sixth year in office.A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll pegged Obama's approval rating at 43 percent, the worst level for any president apart from George W. Bush, heading into his sixth year State of the Union address since World War II.Sixty-eight percent said the country was either stagnant or worse off since Obama moved into the White House in 2009.Obama's reputation was scarred last year by a botched roll out of his signature health care law, budget clashes with Republicans and perceived missteps abroad.But he will seize a chance to chart the early going for mid-term elections in November, in which his Democrats are in danger of losing the Senate.Since Republicans are unlikely to advance Obama's agenda in Congress, Obama will try to directly mobilize the American people behind his priorities in the prime time address.He will also wield his own powers to the limit, though what he can achieve through executive order is more limited than what is possible through congressional action.Obama will for instance call on Congress on Tuesday to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 -- a proposal that he has raised before and never seen enacted.And with a sweep of his pen, the president will use his executive authority to hike the minimum wage to that level for low level workers employed on new federal contracts.Obama is also expected to call on Congress to extend expired benefits for the long-term unemployed and to improve access to pre-school and college education as a way to pave the way to the middle class for future generations.In their response to Obama's address, Republicans will also address contracting middle class opportunity, an increasingly important theme in American politics.Republican congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers however differed in how to address the middle class crunch in excerpts of her speech.She promised viewers an agenda that empowers you, not the government. It's one that champions free markets - and trusts people to make their own decisions, not a government that decides for you.It helps working families rise above the limits of poverty and protects our most vulnerable.While concentrating on domestic issues, Obama will likely defend an interim nuclear deal with Iran that is facing significant opposition in Congress.Obama is also likely to stress he has lived up to a promise to end US combat in Iraq and will do so in Afghanistan by the end of this year.He may also highlight Secretary of State John Kerry's exhaustive attempt to forge peace between Israelis and Palestinians and plans for trading blocs with Asia and Europe.But facing challenges from Syria to the South China Sea -- and few easy solutions -- there is little political advantage in surveying US prospects abroad.He is also likely to tread carefully on the one issue where he could achieve a large, domestic legacy enhancing achievement in 2014 -- immigration reform.There are signs that House Republicans, fearful of continuing to anger the key Hispanic demographic are moving towards some kind of reform this year.The White House is giving House Speaker John Boehner room to maneuver, knowing that an ill-timed intervention from Obama, who is reviled by conservative Republicans, could backfire.

'Big 3' lobbying successful: India, Australia and England to occupy key posts at ICC

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DUBAI (Dunya News): India, Australia and England, the so called ‘big three’ have succeeded in lobbying for key positions and veto power at International Cricket Council (ICC). A key point in the draft was to control the council at key positions level and the Big Three had demanded permanent membership at new executive committee.ICC has agreed to confer most of the rights to these three boards. A reconstruction of executive committee and finance committees will be carried out and these committees will have five members. India, Australia and England will be granted permanent memberships in those committees. Chairmanship of ICC board will be taken by India, executive committee by Australia and finance committee by England. Members also agreed that ICC needs a strong leadership and India will be given a key responsibility regarding that. Big Three had reportedly demanded special benefits and ICC members had agreed to distribute Test Cricket Fund equally among the permanent members except for Indian, Australian, English and Welsh boards.Big Three had demanded that the decision making role of ICC among member countries be abolished which has been accepted by ICC. Now the series will be decided by two countries with mutual consultation and will be legally bound to oblige once decided upon.Big Three had also suggested holding Champions Trophy events in 2017 and 2021 instead of the proposed ones; which has also been accepted by ICC.Cricket experts worldwide are terming this move by Big Three as destruction of cricket. The international controlling body of cricket has given away its powers to the Big Three. On the first day of the ICC executive board session, Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Zaka Ashraf and Willie Edwards of Cricket Australia exchanged heated arguments. Warning Bangladesh of consequences, Chief Indian Cricket Board Srinivasan said if Bangladesh doesn’t vote in favour of Big Three, participation in Asia Cup and T20 Worldcup will not be possible.Several attempts and alliances were made in favour and opposition of Big Three at the executive session at ICC headquarters in Dubai.Big Three required eight to ten votes for the approval of propositions which became the point of heated discussion between Chairman PCB Zaka Ashraf and Head Cricket Australia Willie Edwards.A parallel opposition alliance was formed based on Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Turkey's crisis rate rise: central bank

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ISTANBUL (AFP) - Turkeys central bank, fighting to defend the lira, sent strong signals that it is about to raise interest rates in a policy U turn and in defiance of the government.However, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took a sanguine view, insisting that the economy was doing well.The lira and stock market rallied in morning trading ahead of a crisis meeting of the central bank later and decision around midnight.The bank said it would not hesitate to tighten monetary policy in a lasting way if necessary and asserted the banks independence.Nobody should have any hesitation that the central bank will use all available tools, the banks governor Erdem Basci told a press conference in Ankara.The bank will not hesitate to take steps to make lasting tightening in monetary policy if deemed necessary, he said.The central bank is independent and can be held accountable...The bank also raised its outlook for inflation.Some analysts estimated in July last year when the bank began intervention that it had about $46 billion dollars (34 billion euros) effectively available but since then it has spent heavily, using up $4 billion in the last few days alone to little avail.The central bank gave an insight into how intervention has run down its precious reserves, saying: A steep decline in forex reserves may cause other concerns, thus the interest rate weapon should be put into use in this environment.Basci added: Our goal during the monetary policy committee meeting will be to undertake steps that will ensure price stability.The bank is expected to raise its overnight lending rate to at least 9.0 percent.The meeting comes as Turkey is rocked by a mounting political crisis which threatens Erdogan and the countrys once-booming economy.Erdogan reassuresThe government has applied strong pressure to prevent a rise in base interest rates, and on Tuesday Erdogan played down the tensions.The Turkish economy is quite robust and it is pressing ahead in a resilient way, he told a parliamentary gathering.The government has pressured the central bank not to raise interest rates so as to sustain growth ahead of a highly-charged election cycle beginning with March local polls.Until now, the bank has avoided a sharp rise in the base rate, using a big increase in the overnight rate -- held at 7.75 percent last week -- and intervening heavily with its reserves on the foreign exchange market.But these costly measures have failed to protect the lira.The Turkish currency has been hitting record lows almost daily and has lost about 10 percent since mid-December, when a corruption scandal ensnaring key government allies became public.Like other emerging market currencies, the lira has also been hit from the US Federal Reserves decision to reduce its stimulus measures, of which Turkey has been one of the main beneficiaries.But amid expectations of an increase in base rates, the currency recovered to 2.2583 on Tuesday, after hitting an all-time low of 2.3331 to the dollar and 3.1950 to the euro.The main Istanbul stock index, which has lost about 20 percent of its value over the past year, gained 1.26 percent to 65,382.07 points.Higher interest rates on the cardsThe central bank raised sharply its inflation forecast for 2014 to 6.6 percent from 5.3 percent.Although the bank assured that inflation would slow from the second half of 2014, analysts said that it was likely to remain high this year.The higher inflation forecast really just reflects reality - core inflation in Turkey is high and, with tax hikes and the weaker lira, inflation is likely to remain persistently high this year, economist William Jackson at the London-based Capital Economics told AFP.Jackson also said: As for our expectation from the central bank meeting, it seems that higher interest rates are on the cards.He said: Its always difficult to predict movements in Turkish monetary policy, but our best guess is that it might involve a 100-300 basis point (1.0-3.0 percentage point) hike in the O/N (overnight) lending rate, he added.For now, though, we suspect that a hike in the O/N lending rate (perhaps to 9.0 percent) is the most likely outcome.But other analysts called for more aggressive action.Inan Demir, chief economist at Istanbul-based Finansbank, said: We think that any rate hike needs to be aggressive enough to push short term rates firmly into double digit territory.

COAS meets PM, discusses national security

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News): Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday to discuss affairs pertinent to peace and national security.The leadership reviewed the steps and strategy to counter terrorism and restore peace in the country. Army chief gave a detailed briefing to the Prime Minister about the current state of national security.Pakistan’s political and military leadership have been deliberating to come up with a measured strategy to counter the recent wave of terrorism in the country.

Evil Controllers Master Mod v3 For Xbox

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(Web Desk) - Custom manufacturers Evil Controllers have added Xbox One to their lineup, granting people the privilege to design their own modified device. Mostly shooter fans will be pleased with the addition of the Master Mod v3, since most adjustments benefit that model.A total of 8 mods are included in a controller, which looks just like the real thing, by the way. You don’t need to fear one of those ghastly knockoffs. Mods are as follows:•Rapid Fire•Drop Shot•Auto Run•Akimbo Rapid Fire•Left Trigger Rapid Fire•Fast Reload•Auto Scope•Auto SpotA short clip lists some of the alterations and shows off their effects. For instance, Rapid Fire allows its users to adjust what speed they want any gun to shoot.One of the more interesting manipulations is Fast Reload. Using a glitch in the animation, it cuts through about an added second of reload time, ensuring you always return fire faster.With Auto Scope, you’ll hold your breath automatically, stabilizing your view without a fuss.While the controller will work for the popular shooters on Xbox One right now, being Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4, it is noted the Auto Spot only works for the latter. Still, this design that lets you lay down and fire more smoothly can make all the difference.There is one small catch though: Master Mod v3 Xbox One controllers have a minimum cost of $200. That’s without any frills whatsoever and not including shipping.You can easily add over $300 to the cost of one modified controller by applying a different paint job, another light, sensitive buttons and other decals. When you’ve just spent $500 on a console, this is quite the up sell, almost doubling up on the price.Look; if you only play a certain type of game every year and you want that experience to work as well as possible, then you have our blessing to purchase this gaudy piece of decadence. Buying a Master Mod v3 Xbox One controller certainly will make things a lot easier, so think of it as an investment on lowering frustration.

Nintendo looks to power-up Mario after not-so-super Wii U

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TOKYO (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd, facing a third year of losses, is getting lots of unsolicited advice on how to squeeze more out of its Mario franchise and revive its fortunes after admitting that its Wii U game console has been a flop.The company has given few clues on its new management strategy, due to be announced on Thursday. One thing, however, is certain - it will have to burn through a lot of its cash pile in the years it takes to try again with the Wii Us successor.The Nintendo that emerges could well be a more efficient company - better at marketing its beloved characters, but still wedded to its basic strategy of making hardware as the vehicle for software developed in-house.Most analysts do not expect a bolder change of direction, such as making its back catalogue available via an online subscription service or allowing its games to be played on smartphones - despite some saying they are the future of gaming.The Kyoto-based company has been slow to move online, falling behind Microsoft Corp and Sony Corp, which will launch a cloud-based streaming service this summer enabling users to play the same game across numerous platforms.Taking Mario to the cloud would be a big step for conservative Nintendo.Online is big and Nintendo is notorious for not having a great online system, said Jean Snow, a Tokyo-based gaming expert.The company faces no imminent existential danger. With 850 billion yen ($8.3 billion) in cash and its own shares at the end of last September it can survive a few years of losses.That cash pile was amassed from past hits such as the first Wii - evidence, say some, that a company with its history of booms and busts has the ability to turn things around once more.Nintendo is a special thing, because of its history, so many gamers have a soft spot for Nintendo... they just shot themselves in the foot with this piece of hardware, the Wii U, said Snow. But I totally think they can get out.WII U FAILUREThe failure of the Wii U - whose annual sales forecast was slashed by 70 percent earlier this month - leaves Nintendo as the loser of the pack now led by Sony and Microsoft.Analysts say the Wii U foundered because too few games were released for the console, with development issues leading to a delay of more than six months between the games released at the launch in November 2012 and the next batch of titles.Theres no software that is made especially for the Wii U. If there were fun games that you couldnt play on anything else then that would be something to talk about, said Eiji Maeda, an analyst at SMBC Nikko.It was the sports and fitness games introduced with Nintendos previous console, the Wii, that made it a runaway hit as their use of the consoles unique motion sensor controllers drew in families and video games newbies.But those casual gamers have been unconvinced of the need to upgrade to a console whose name and concept seems so close to its predecessor, while core gamers hanker for the more adult games, higher processing power and connectivity offered by Sonys Playstation 4 and Microsofts Xbox One.Although Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata said that sales of the Wii U would pick up as more titles are released, there are few cases of a console becoming a hit after a slow start. Third party developers are also less likely to want to make games for a failing console.Nintendo has survived misses amid its hits before. It weathered the blow to the games industry from the collapse of rival Atari, scoring a hit with its Nintendo Entertainment System, and later won a battle for dominance against Sega.Nintendos Gamecube console, released in 2001, stumbled against Sonys PlayStation 2 and Microsofts Xbox. The Wii was initially derided for lacking the high-definition graphics of its rivals next-generation consoles. It went on to outsell the Xbox 360, with more than 100 million sold by September 2013.NEXT LEVELNintendo budgeted a record 70 billion yen ($684 million) for research and development this year, as increasingly sophisticated graphics and functions has pushed the average cost of making a game to around 2-3 billion yen.But with the company falling short of a 100 billion yen operating profit target set last year, Thursdays announcement is likely to focus on cost cuts. Nintendo will report its third-quarter results on Wednesday.The increase in the cost of game development is one of the reasons why Nintendo hasnt put out (enough new) software, said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Securities.Nintendo has already moved to reduce costs by merging its portable and home game console departments last year.Some investors doubt the move will be drastic enough, with some clamoring for Nintendo to license its games out to other companies and to make a mobile version for Apples iOS and Google Incs Android smartphone platforms.But the robust sales of the Playstation 4 and Xbox One suggests the threat of smartphones to home game consoles has been overplayed, while Nintendo has long resisted going mobile, saying it would hurt the inherent value of its characters.Instead, Nintendo could better exploit that value by expanding its franchises for characters such as Mario and Zelda as it did with Pokemon, which was spun into a successful cartoon series, movie and toys and is now owned by an affiliate.They could diversify their revenue streams... rather than licensing Mario to another game company it would be better to make a movie or a TV series, said Yasuda of Ace Securities. Bandai Namco has found great success doing that with Gundam and Kamen Rider.

CM KP Khattak meets PM, demands replacement of PESCO Chief

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ISLAMABAD (Web Desk): During a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the federal capital on Tuesday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak demanded the replacement of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) chief Tariq Sadozai.The KP government has been protesting against prolonged power outages and had also earlier alleged that Sadozai was the real problem-maker in the province.Khattak also complained against the attitude of Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali. The latter had earlier accused the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of protecting electricity thieves, taking Pesco staff hostage for ransom and “provincialising” the national energy challenge.Meanwhile, matters relating to terrorism and negotiations with banned militant organisation Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were also discussed in the meeting as well as other regional issues.Separately, the blockade of Nato supplies to Afghanistan via Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also deliberated upon.Earlier on Sunday, the sour working relationship between the KP government and Pesco got further bitter after Provincial Information Minister Shah Farman raided the company chief’s residence and accused him of stealing electricity through illegal connections taken directly from the power distribution line.

US and British spies 'get personal data from Angry Bird's

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US and British spy agencies routinely try to gain access to personal data from Angry Birds and other mobile applications, a report says.A National Security Agency (NSA) document shows location, websites visited and contacts are among the data targeted from mobile applications.It is the latest revelation from documents leaked by Edward Snowden.In a statement, the NSA said it was not interested in data beyond valid foreign intelligence targets.Any implication that NSAs foreign intelligence collection is focused on the smartphone or social media communications of everyday Americans is not true, the statement said. Golden nuggetThe report, published by the New York Times, ProPublica and the Guardian, says the NSA and Britains GCHQ have worked together since 2007 to develop ways to gain access to information from applications for mobile phones and tablets. The scale of data gathering is unclear.But the reports suggest data is gained from a variety of mapping, gaming and social networking applications, using techniques similar to the ones used to intercept mobile internet traffic and text message data. The documents also reveal the two agencies are increasingly convinced of the importance of mobile applications data.The joint spying programme effectively means that anyone using Google Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system one 2008 document from the British intelligence agency is quoted as saying.Another GCHQ report, in 2012, laid out how to extract information from Angry Birds user information from phones on the Android operating system. The game has been download 1.7 billion times across the world.The British spy agency said it would not comment on intelligence matters, but insisted that all of its activities were authorised, necessary and proportionate.Another NSA document described a golden nugget - a perfect scenario where NSA analysts could get broad selections of information from the applications, including networks the phone had connected to, documents downloaded, websites visited and buddy lists.Other applications mentioned by the documents include the photo-sharing site Flickr, movie-based social network Flixster and applications that connect to Facebook.Developers are responsible for the information generated from each application, but there was no suggestion firms were actively agreeing to give the spy agencies data.

Smartphone sales top billion, Samsung leads: Survey

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The smartphone market hit a milestone in 2013 with more than a billion shipped, a survey.Samsung extended its lead as the worlds biggest vendor, accounting for 31.3 percent of sales, ahead of Apples 15.3 percent, according to the poll by market research and analysis firm IDC.IDC said vendors delivered a total of 1.004 billion smartphones last year, up 38.4 percent from 2012. And smartphones made up 55 percent of the total mobile phone shipments of 1.8 billion.The sheer volume and strong growth attest to the smartphones continued popularity in 2013, says Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst.Total smartphone shipments reached 494.4 million units worldwide in 2011, and doubling that volume in just two years demonstrates strong end-user demand and vendor strategies to highlight smartphones.South Koreas Samsung saw growth of 42.9 percent, allowing it to extend its dominance in the global market, the IDC figures showed.Apple saw 12.9 percent growth, slower than the overall market, resulting in a declining market share.Chinas Huawei narrowly captured the number three spot with a 4.9 percent market share, ahead of South Koreas LG (4.8 percent) and Chinese maker Lenovo (4.5 percent), IDC said.Data from the fourth quarter showed Apple rebounding slightly with the release of its new iPhone models, and capturing 17.9 percent of sales to Samsungs 28.8 percent.A separate survey out Monday showed that the Android smartphone platform has extended its lead over Apples iPhone in key markets including the United States, Europe and China.Windows Phone, meanwhile, has made inroads to secure a strong third place showing in some markets, and is ahead of Apple in Italy, according to the survey of fourth quarter sales released by Kantar Worldpanel.The survey showed that Android, the free operating system from Google, remained on top in Europe and most other major markets outside Japan.Android ended 2013 as the top platform across the five major markets in Europe with 68.6 percent share, while Apple held second place with 18.5 percent.Windows Phone showed strong year-on-year growth, and in Italy captured 17.1 percent of the market, ahead of Apples 12.8 percent, but behind Androids 66.2 percent, according to the survey.In the United States, the survey showed Androids share rising more than four percentage points over the past year to 50.6 percent, while Apples share declined to 43.9 percent.In Japan, Apple held 68.7 percent of smartphone sales.In China, Androids share increased to 78.6 percent while Apples declined to 19 percent.Android finished 2013 strongly, showing year-on-year share growth across 12 major global markets including Europe, USA, Latin America, China and Japan, said Kantars Dominic Sunnebo.Windows Phone has now held double-digit share across Europe for three consecutive months, Sunnebo said.But unfortunately for Nokia the European smartphone market is only growing at three percent year-on-year so success in this market has not been enough to turn around its fortunes -- reflected in its recent disappointing results.

Chinese ivory smuggler gets record sentence after landmark Kenya trial

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NAIROBI (AFP) - A court in Kenya on Tuesday slapped a record sentence on a Chinese ivory smuggler, the first person to be convicted under tough new laws designed to stem a surge in poaching.Tang Yong Jian, 40, was ordered to pay 20 million shillings (170,500 euros, 233,000 dollars) or else go to jail for seven years.He was arrested last week carrying an ivory tusk weighing 3.4 kilogram’s (7.5 pounds) in a suitcase while in transit from Mozambique to China via Nairobi, and pleaded guilty to the charges. He has 14 days to appeal the sentence.A spokesman for the Kenya Wildlife Service, which manages the countrys celebrated national parks, said the ruling would give a much-needed boost to wildlife protection efforts.Its a landmark ruling that sets a precedent for those involved in smuggling, Paul Udoto told AFP, saying stricter sentences will make the killing of wildlife a high cost business.Its a remarkable precedent, he said, explaining that the fact that smugglers were previously punished with a slap on the wrist was demoralising for park rangers who are frequently outnumbered and outgunned by organised and well-paid poaching gangs.Its very motivating for our rangers to see poachers lose a lot of money and spend long terms in Kenyan prisons, he said.Delivering the sentence, magistrate William Oketch noted that the accused pleaded guilty and expressed remorse, but insisted that he cannot claim ignorance since the ivory trade is a major cause of concern internationally.Hours before the sentence was delivered, another Chinese man was arrested at Nairobi airport in possession of three ivory necklaces, two ivory bracelets, ten pendants and two rectangular blocks of ivory.The passenger was in transit from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Guangzhou when he was arrested, and claimed he bought the items innocently, airport police detective Joseph Ngisa said.Poaching has risen sharply in Africa in recent years, with rhinos and elephants particularly hard-hit.Ivory trading was banned in 1989 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, an international agreement between governments, but the illegal ivory trade, estimated to be worth up to $10 billion (seven billion euros) a year, continues to be fuelled by demand in Asia and the Middle East.Ivory is sought after for jewellery and decorative objects, while Asian consumers continue to buy smuggled rhino horn -- which is composed of keratin, the same material as human fingernails -- believing that it has powerful healing properties.Under the new Kenyan law, which came into force a month ago, dealing in wildlife trophies carries a minimum fine of a million shillings or a minimum jail sentence of five years, or both.The most serious wildlife crimes -- the killing of endangered animals -- now carry penalties of life imprisonment, as well as fines of up to 20 million Kenyan shillings.Previously, punishment for the most serious wildlife crimes was capped at a maximum fine of 40,000 Kenyan shillings (340 euros, 465 dollars), and a possible jail term of up to 10 years.Some smugglers caught in Kenya with a haul of ivory were even fined less than a dollar apiece.In 2012, 384 elephants were poached in Kenya, up from 289 the previous year. Poaching in the country remained high in 2013.Africas elephant population is estimated at 500,000 animals, compared with 1.2 million in 1980 and 10 million in 1900, and they are listed as vulnerable.Safari tours are a key draw for tourism to Kenya, which accounts for 12.5 percent of the countrys revenue and 11 percent of jobs.

Activist's road from Syrian prison to Geneva peace talks

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GENEVA (AFP) - Not so long ago Noura al-Ameer was being beaten and subjected to electric shocks in a Syrian prison. Today, she sits across from the regime that put her there, hoping diplomacy can end her countrys suffering.It was as if I was seeing the faces of the killers, the bombers, the torturers, Ameer describing her first meeting with regime representatives in Switzerland last week.At 26, she is a vice president of the opposition National Coalition and the youngest member of the delegation in talks in Geneva aimed at ending her countrys nearly three-year civil war.It was not easy, she said, sitting down across from representatives of the executioner and criminal President Bashar al-Assad.I felt the same thing I felt for my jailers: contempt, she said, her black-charcoaled eyes shining defiance under a headscarf dotted with bright red flowers and black and grey leopard spots.I tell myself: You cannot hurt me no matter what you do, because I defend a cause and you are only here to defend one person, said Ameer, who does not have a seat at the negotiating table but is one of the few women in the oppositions extended delegation.Sitting in the lounge of a luxury Geneva hotel, a stones throw from the UNs European headquarters where the talks are taking place, Ameer described how she had been studying literature at the University of Homs in early 2011 when a massacre in the central Syrian city prompted her to put her studies on hold and join protests.She was soon handing out fliers, shouting anti-regime slogans from loudspeakers and documenting abuses.We wanted the voice of the people to ring louder than the repression, she said, speaking in Arabic and gesticulating with delicate hands for emphasis.She had known from the beginning that she might be arrested, and when the moment finally came -- in March 2012 as she sat on a bus from Damascus to Aleppo -- I didnt feel anything.But soon she did. Ameer was shuttled between some of Syrias most notorious prisons, where she was first held incognito for three months before serving three more months for offending the state authority and the president and incitement to sectarian dissent.She was tortured, but not as badly as some, she insisted, straightening her black skirt over crossed knees and nervously tapping her foot.I was only beaten a bit and shocked with electric cables. It was nothing, she said, waving her hand dismissively.But then her dark eyes suddenly filled with tears: Im embarrassed to talk about my experience in prison, because others have suffered so much worse.Many women are raped, others folded into rubber tires suspended from the ceiling before being beaten, or hung by their wrists for hours and even days, she said, clasping her wrists together and lifting her arms above her head to illustrate.Her sister, only 20, was tortured in this way, forced to hang for hours on end until her shoulder was dislocated, she said.Ameers lips trembled, her gaze focused somewhere in the distance. She swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing: Then they hung her by only her bad arm.She shifted uncomfortably on the silk upholstered chair, flames flickering in a large fireplace behind her.The luxurious setting was far from the scene in her devastated hometown of Homs, where parts of the city have been under siege since June 2012.For the past 18 months, children, the sick and elderly have been starving to death in Homs, she said, her eyes flashing with anger.Ameer, who now lives in Turkey but is in regular contact with people in the besieged areas over the Internet, described how parents are giving their children sleeping pills to help them forget that they are hungry, and people are eating grass.The international community should be ashamed that no one has managed to get in a single carton of milk to a child in need, she said.Despite her own story and the catastrophe still unfolding in Syria, Ameer said she was convinced negotiations, in Geneva or elsewhere, will help bring an end to the suffering.There has been a pacifist battle, then a military battle. Now we need a political battle, she said, insisting the revolution will succeed through a political process, not war.

Posted by IMRAN ALI SOOMRO (DARVESH) at 1/29/2014 08:24:00 AM

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