Mayweather calls himself best ever
It was in the 11th round that it happened: Floyd Mayweather so brilliantly bamboozled Andre Berto that it was possible to buy into his claim of being "TBE" -- The Best Ever.
Certainly dozens in the crowd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday thought so, chanting "TBE! TBE!" as Mayweather earned a unanimous decision over the limited Berto.
The widely expected victory gave the American, 38, a perfect 49-0 record to equal the feat of heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano.
Mayweather said before the bout that he had achieved all he could from the fight game, and Berto was to be his final victim -- and he repeated that assertion afterwards.
"I've been in the sport 19 years and I don't know anybody who's been in the sport and made upwards of $800 million," he said, handing more ammunition to critics who say Mayweather has been the best ever only in terms of knowing how to make more money from boxing than anyone else in history.
Colorful boxing promoter Don King has seen many of boxing's legends up close, having arranged some of the biggest bouts in the sport's history, including the "Rumble in the Jungle" between Ali and George Foreman.
Mayweather will be remembered as "one of the greatest fighters that ever lived", the famously wild-haired King told reporters on the eve of the Berto showdown.
Source-AFP
Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer in final
World number one Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer in four dramatic sets to win his second US Open and 10th Grand Slam title.
The Serb won 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4 in New York and will end the year with three of the four tennis majors.
Djokovic, 28, kept his nerve in front of a heavily pro-Federer crowd at Flushing Meadows.
The 34-year-old Swiss had been hoping to win his 18th major title and his first for three years.
"It's been an incredible season, next to 2011 the best of my life," said Djokovic, who also won three Grand Slam titles four years ago.
"I'm enjoying this year more than I did any previous one because I'm a husband and a father, and that makes it sweeter."
Five-time champion Federer was playing his first US Open final since 2009, and drew one of the loudest cheers of the night when he told the crowd: "I'll see you guys next year."
The Swiss said it was "always tough" facing Djokovic, adding: "I think we both walk away from it knowing more about our games and more about each other.
Source-BBC
Google Car to be rev up by Auto veteran
Google announced Monday it hired auto industry veteran John Krafcik to head up its self-driving car project, as it eyes expanded road tests for autonomous vehicles.
Krafcik, most recently a top executive at consumer auto shopping service TrueCar, said the project "is a great opportunity to help Google develop the enormous potential of self-driving cars."
"This technology can save thousands of lives, give millions of people greater mobility and free us from a lot of the things we find frustrating about driving today," he said.
Krafcik previously spent 10 years at Hyundai Motor America, including five as president and chief executive of the US arm of the South Korean auto giant.
He also worked at Ford Motor Company and was an engineer at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., the former joint-venture plant operated by Toyota and General Motors.
Google said Krafcik would join the company as CEO of the self-driving car project later this month and that his experience "will be particularly valuable as we collaborate with many different partners to achieve our goal of transforming mobility for millions of people."
"Over the last few years, we've made more progress with our self-driving car technology than we ever thought possible," Google said in a statement.
"We still have a lot to learn about how people perceive our vehicles and how they'll want to fit this technology into their lives and their communities -- and that's why our vehicles are currently self-driving (some) 10,000 miles a week in Mountain View and Austin, and why we'd like to run pilot programs with our prototypes at some point."
The self-driving car project is part of the Google X-Lab working on future technologies, but the Google statement said "it's certainly a good candidate" to become an independent entity under Alphabet, the holding company that is being created as Google carves out separate units for its Internet search giant and its various other technology efforts.
Source-AFP
Campaign Leader Call for a ban on Robots designed as Sex toys
A campaign has been launched calling for a ban on the development of robots that can be used for sex.
Such a use of the technology is unnecessary and undesirable, said campaign leader Dr Kathleen Richardson.
Sex dolls already on the market are becoming more sophisticated and some are now hoping to build artificial intelligence into their products.
Those working in the field say that there is a need for such robots.
Dr Richardson, a robot ethicist at De Montfort University in Leicester, wants to raise awareness of the issue and persuade those developing sex robots to rethink how their technology is used.
"Sex robots seem to be a growing focus in the robotics industry and the models that they draw on - how they will look, what roles they would play - are very disturbing indeed," she told the BBC.
She believes that they reinforce traditional stereotypes of women and the view that a relationship need be nothing more than physical.
"We think that the creation of such robots will contribute to detrimental relationships between men and women, adults and children, men and men and women and women," she said.
Abyss Creations, which sells male and female sex toys, is now starting to introduce electronics into its creations.
Meanwhile True Companion boasts that it is developing "the world's first sex robot" and promises to launch its first doll, Roxxxy, later this year.
Chief executive Douglas Hines believes there is a real need for products such as Roxxxy.
"We are not supplanting the wife or trying to replace a girlfriend. This is a solution for people who are between relationships or someone who has lost a spouse.
"People can find happiness and fulfilment other than via human interaction," he added.
He told the BBC that he hopes Roxxxy will eventually become a self-learning engine that is able to talk to her owner and learn his likes or dislikes.
"The physical act of sex will only be a small part of the time you spend with a sex robot - the majority of time will be spent socialising and interacting," he said.
Some experts are sceptical about the claims made for Roxxxy, given the huge complexity of creating intelligent machines but the first version - which will sell for $7,000 (£4,530) - has had thousands of pre-orders, according to Mr Hines.
Dr Kevin Curran, a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, believes such products are about to become mass market.
"We would be naive to ignore market forces for 'intimate robots'. Building human-like robots is quite easy once the mechanics are taken care of," he told the BBC.
"Turning these robots into attractive companions is simply adding a 'skin'. Not difficult at all and not done much to date as most robots are built in research-led institutions - not businesses. That time is coming to an end," he said.
However, he thinks a public backlash is inevitable.
"There have been campaign groups actively voicing opposition to killer robots but I foresee the time soon when humans are lobbying against robot companions or at least shouting 'not in my backyard'," he said.
As such robots become more sophisticated and are able to simulate human behaviour, so the relationship with humans will become more complex, he thinks.
Dr Curran worries that society as a whole is ill-prepared for an age where sophisticated robotic companions are the norm.
Source-BBC
Toshiba troubles continue with new losses and falling sales
Japan's troubled Toshiba has posted a first-quarter net loss for the three months to June as sales fell to their lowest point in two and a half years.
The firm said in a statement that its net losses for the quarterly period were 12.3 billion yen ($102m; £66m).
It noted poor performances in its televisions, home appliances and personal computer businesses.
Last week, the Tokyo-based firm released a full-year net loss of $318m for the year to March 2015.
The full-year numbers had been delayed amid a recent accounting scandal.
In its first quarter results statement released on Monday, Toshiba said Japan's domestic economy had not shown signs of acceleration because of sluggish performance by smaller businesses that depended on domestic demand.
It also said Japan as a whole was experiencing a decrease in consumer spending due to a decline in real incomes and exports.
Japan, which is the world's third largest economy, last week announced a revised fall in private consumption to 0.7% from a previous estimate of 0.8%. The country relies on domestic consumption for about 60% of its economy.
Source-BBC
WEATHER FORECAST FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT MONDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2015
GENERAL SITUATION: A PRE FRONTAL SURFACE TROF OVER THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS ALONG WITH TROPICAL MOISTURE WILL CREATE SOME UNSETTLED WEATHER OVER THE ISLANDS TODAY
FOR THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS
WEATHER: PARTLY CLOUDY AND HOT WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT SHOULD BE ALERT FOR GUSTY WINDS AND HIGHER SEAS IN OR NEAR HEAVY SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS
WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS FALLING LIGHT AND VARIABLE AT TIMES
SEAS: 2 TO 4 FEET OVER THE OCEAN
FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
WEATHER: PARTLY CLOUDY, HOT AND BREEZY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT
WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 15 TO 25 KNOTS
SEAS: 5 TO 8 FEET OVER THE OCEAN
DAYTIME HIGH TEMP: 91F 33C OVERNIGHT LOW TEMP: 77F 25C
SUNSET: 7:15PM SUNRISE: 6:56 AM
MOONSET: 8:09PM MOONRISE: 8:47AM
LOW TIDE: 3:23PM HIGH TIDE: 9:26PM
LOW TIDE: 3:39AM TUE HIGH TIDE: 9:46AM TUE
WEATHER OUTLOOK: RIDGING WILL DOMINATE WITH WEATHER OVER THE ISLANDS BRINGING VARIABLE CLOUDY AND BREEZY CONDITIONS
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK: A WELL DEFINED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM LOCATED SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES WEST-SOUTHEAST OF CAPE VERDE ISLANDS IS PRODUCING MINIMAL SHOWER ACTIVITY. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE CONDUCIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT, AND THIS SYSTEM COULD STILL BECOME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO WHILE IT MOVES GENERALLY NORTHWESTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL TROPICAL ATLANTIC
German finance minister Schaeuble warns of market bubble
The global economy faces a financial bubble from central banks pumping cash into economies, Germany's finance minister has warned.
"We should take on board the lessons of the last crisis," said Wolfgang Schaeuble in his Budget speech.
He added that economic reforms should not be neglected in favour of action from central banks.
The comments come after the European Central Bank (ECB) said it would extend its stimulus programme if needed.
The ECB launched its €1.1 trillion bond-buying scheme - a form of monetary policy or quantitative easing - in January to support the eurozone economic recovery, which the bank's president, Mario Draghi, said could be extended beyond 2016 if needed.
Mr Schaeuble has repeatedly warned against an over-reliance on central bank stimulus to prop up economies.
He stressed the need for structural reforms stating: "When we call for structural reforms in return for financial assistance, this isn't some narrow-minded mantra being repeated by people who have lost sight of the big strategic questions of the future.
"In fact, this may well be the most important long-term strategic question we face today."
Hungary Blocks Migrant Entry Point
Hungary blocked its main migrant crossing point from Serbia on Monday, hours ahead of imposing tough new laws aimed at halting the massive stream of Middle East refugees headed into the country on their way to Germany and other western European countries.
Dozens of police, supported by mounted police and soldiers, stood guard on a railway track that asylum seekers had been using to cross into the European Union. A helicopter hovered overhead.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Europe's most outspoken foe against allowing thousands of refugees from war-torn Syria and elsewhere into the EU, spoke at a police cadet swearing-in ceremony in Budapest.
He said the new laws against the migrants call for prison terms and the punishment for human traffickers "will be so severe that it will be really deserved."
"Hungary is a country with a 1,000-year-old Christian culture," Orban noted. "We Hungarians don't want the global-sized movement of people to change Hungary. This is not what we worked for and this is not why we battled through world wars, communism, the change of regime after communism and an economic crisis. We had and have a different concept of the Hungarian and European future. We want to live in order, peace and security. We don't want chaos."
Hungary rolled a rail container car lined from top to bottom with razor wire onto the entry point near Roszke, entirely blocking the passageway. Budapest said anyone entering illegally will face criminal charges, but it sent refugees seeking asylum to a nearby police supervised border crossing. Authorities there allowed hundreds to board buses bound for Austria.
Source-VOA
'World Is Failing Asylum Seekers', according to UN Chief
The U.N. high commissioner for human rights has condemned the failure of the international community to act to protect the hundreds of thousands of Syrians and refugees from other countries seeking asylum from war and persecution in Europe.
In opening remarks at the U.N. Human Rights Council’s three-week session in Geneva, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein lambasted the apparent hypocrisy of a world that professes to uphold and protect the human rights of the most vulnerable by invoking the tragic image of Aylan Al Kurdi, the little boy whose lifeless body was swept ashore in Turkey, shining a light on the plight of thousands to escape violence in Syria for a safe haven in Europe.
“It made us choke. Shamed and disgraced, the world wept before the body of this little boy. These speeches, these sessions, these protests by so many of us here for a world more humane and more dignifying of the rights of all humans, all humans - what good are they, when this happens?” Hussein asked.
He commended Jordan and Lebanon in the Middle East, and Turkey, Germany and Sweden in Europe for hosting refugees and migrants needing protection. He thanked the millions of ordinary people who opened their homes. He denounced, what he called, the mean-spiritedness of some decision-makers for whipping up xenophobic hatred among their populations.
Hussein also welcomed a European Union proposal to relocate 120,000 refugees in member states and urged Europe to build on this surge of human feeling.
“We need expanded channels of regular migration and resettlement - two measures which would prevent deaths and cut smuggling. Detention, particularly of children, and all forms of ill-treatment should cease, at borders and elsewhere,” Hussein said.
The high commissioner noted that all regions of the world are guilty of atrocities and gross human rights violations. He said too many countries - in Africa, in Asia, in the Middle East, in the Americas - are getting away with crimes against their people because no one is being held accountable.
In regard to sub-Saharan Africa, Hussein expressed particular concern about conditions in seven countries – the Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Mali, Eritrea, and Burundi. While the circumstances differed, he noted that violent and unconscionable actions in all these countries have resulted in countless thousands of deaths and injuries, and millions of people being internally displaced or forced to leave their countries as refugees.
More FIFA Indictments Coming according to US Attorney General
An investigation into corruption in world soccer that seriously implicates FIFA is widening, and more arrests appear likely.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Monday at a news conference in Zurich with Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber that she expects more indictments and is hopeful the suspects will be extradited.
"We do anticipate being able to bring additional charges against individuals and entities," she said. "What I can say is that, separate and apart from the pending indictment, our investigation remains active and ongoing, and has in fact expanded since May."
There is no word yet on whether FIFA president Sepp Blatter would be targeted. Lynch did not comment on that.
Fourteen soccer and marketing officials were indicted in May by the U.S. Justice Department, and six guilty pleas were unsealed in a $150-million bribery and racketeering conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Swiss officials searched houses in western Switzerland, and seized evidence and properties in the Swiss Alps as part of a separate money-laundering investigation of World Cup bidding.
Lauber said 121 different bank accounts have been reported as suspicious by a Swiss financial intelligence unit.
Some material for this report came from AP, AFP and Reuters