Minshall’s work mesmerizes
Paul Ceglia charged with trying to defraud Facebook
A New York businessman has been charged with trying to defraud Facebook by claiming he was owed a 50% share of the social media company, prosecutors say.
Paul Ceglia is accused of fabricating and destroying evidence in a lawsuit asking for half-ownership of the firm.
Arrested at his home in Wellsville, New York, Mr Ceglia was due in court on Friday afternoon.
US Attorney Preet Bharara said the entrepreneur had been chasing a "quick payday based on a blatant forgery".
In 2003, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, then a Harvard University student, agreed to do programming work for Mr Ceglia and his fax business, say prosecutors.
Mr Ceglia later filed his lawsuit claiming that he and Mr Zuckerberg had signed a two-page contract awarding him a 50% stake in Facebook.
But Mr Zuckerberg said he had not yet conceived the idea for the social network at the time.
Facebook's lawyers said the contract that Mr Ceglia and Mr Zuckerberg signed in 2003 was to develop street-mapping software.
Mr Ceglia subsequently doctored the document to insert Facebook references, it is alleged.
Nintendo's Wii U games console will be sold at a loss
Nintendo has confirmed that it will lose money on every sale of its Wii U console at launch.
The Japanese firm's president revealed the news after the firm cut its profit forecast.
"We had to book a loss on the hardware, which is currently in production and will be sold below cost," said Satoru Iwata.
The firm might ultimately make money through add-on sales and by cutting its manufacturing costs at a later stage.
It marks a change in the company's business strategy.
Ahead of the launch of the original Wii console in 2006 Nintendo's US boss, Reggie Fils-Aime, told Reuters: "We will make a profit on the entire Wii proposition out of the box - hardware and software... That really is a very different philosophy versus our competitors."
Sell now, profit later
The decision to abandon the prospect of immediate profits in order to maximise later earnings is part of a growing trend in the tech world.
Researchers at IHS iSuppli estimated that Sony lost $300 (£186) on every 20GB model of its original PlayStation 3 console in 2007. Although the company never confirmed the figure, it did acknowledge that it was not until 2010 that the machine became profitable.
Microsoft pursued a similar strategy with its Xbox 360.
More recently Amazon's chief executive Jeff Bezos revealed to the BBC that it sold its new Kindle tablets and e-readers at break-even prices.
IHS iSuppli has also suggested that Google is selling the 8GB Asus-made Nexus 7 tablet for the same price it costs to manufacture, ship and advertise the machine.
Troubled by tablets
Nintendo might have altered course to take advantage of the fact that neither Microsoft nor Sony have announced their next-generation consoles yet.Its pursuit of the more casual gamer means it has also had to take account of the keenly priced tablet market which attracts a similar consumer.
In addition to taking a cut of software sales, the firm might also benefit from users' desire to buy add-on hardware.
The cheapest model of the Wii U will be sold for about £250 in the UK when it launches at the end of the month, but only includes one of its new touchscreen GamePad controllers.
If users want a second GamePad they face paying more. A standalone controller costs more than £100 in Japan, but is not available for pre-order elsewhere yet.
"Nintendo's move is an acknowledgement of a wider reality that smartphones, tablets, connected televisions and other non-dedicated devices now offer excellent game playing experiences," Ed Barton, director of digital media at Strategy Analytics, told the BBC.
"There simply wasn't the level of competition in terms of hardware last time round, and on the new devices you can now buy games at a fraction of what a top-end Wii U console game will cost."
One silver lining in Nintendo's earnings update was news that its handheld Nintendo 3DS console had become profitable.
However, investors remain concerned that the firm posted its first ever annual loss in April and has predicted it would only make a net profit of 6 billion yen ($75m; £47m) in its current business year.
Spain jobless rate hits new high in third quarter
About a quarter of working-age people in recession-hit Spain are unemployed, new figures have shown.
The unemployment rate rose to 25% in the third quarter, from 24.6% in the previous three months, Spain's National Statistic Institute said.
Among workers aged 16-24, the jobless rate was flat at about 52%.
The figures confirm those by the EU statistics agency, which has said that unemployment in the eurozone is at a high of 18.2 million.
"In the space of just five years, unemployment in Spain has risen from 8% to now just over 25%," said the BBC's Tom Burridge in Madrid. "In parts of southern Spain, one in three of those looking for a job can't find one."
"An increase in the number of people out of work means less money circulating in a recession-hit Spanish economy. It also makes it harder for the Spanish government to balance its finances, as it pays more out in unemployment benefits, and takes less revenue in."
Spain is trying to restore confidence among international investors in Madrid's ability to repay its debts, which have been made harder by the fact that Spain is currently in a deepening recession.The Spanish government has found itself in financial difficulty since the 2008 global financial crisis caused a big crash in the country's over-heated property market, and many fear that it will need a full bailout on top of the banking loan that has already been agreed.
It has introduced highly unpopular spending cuts and tax rises as it attempts to reduce the country's deficit.
But with a shrinking economy and unrest in the country, reducing the deficit with further austerity measures may prove a difficult task for the government.
The government is still hoping to avoid requesting a bailout from the eurozone rescue funds, but many think this is inevitable.
At least five regions of Spain's 17 have requested help from Madrid's 18bn-euro Regional Liquidity Fund, including Valencia and Catalonia.
Jamaican QC expected in T&T tomorrow to take Clico brief
Jamaican lawyer Vincent Nelson, QC, will arrive in T&T tomorrow. Nelson is the newly-appointed lead counsel in the Ministry of Finance’s legal team at the Clico/HCU Commission of Enquiry. Along with Jagdeo Singh and Roger Kawalsingh, he replaced fired attorneys Fyard Hosein, SC, and Michael Quamina.
Hosein and Quamina were terminated by e-mail earlier this month. No reason was given for their removal. They were replaced initially with Law Association president Seenath Jairam, SC, and COP chairman Joseph Toney and Singh. After public outcry, Toney and Jairam returned their briefs and Nelson and Kawalsingh were chosen to replace them.
Nelson was scheduled to attend the enquiry last Thursday but was stranded in his home country when Hurricane Sandy pounded the island on Wednesday. Asked yesterday when he would arrive in T&T, a commission source said “Sunday.” A graduate of the University of Birmingham, he spent the first 12 years of his legal career as adviser and senior executive of several top United Kingdom companies.
This was followed by a thriving practice specialising in large-scale, multi-party commercial litigation and since 1992, he has regularly instructed in high-profile commercial disputes involving some of the UK and United States’ most well-known names, his profile said.
The Advocacy Training Council of England and Wales ranked Nelson a Grade A trainer of lawyers and he was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2001. He is the author of a leading standard legal textbook, The Law of Broadcasting and Entertainment.
Portia says Cabinet will discuss hurricane damage
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has ordered all government agencies to submit reports outlining areas in need of immediate attention following the passage of Hurricane Sandy that left at least two people dead.
In national radio and television broadcast, Prime Minister the Simpson Miller said reports should be submitted by Friday and the contents considered by Cabinet on Monday.
Hurricane Sandy, the first storm to hit the island since the passage of Hurricane Gustav in 2007, is now moving out of the Bahamas after leaving more than 22 people dead in Cuba. It is also being blamed for the death of one man in the Bahamas who fell from a roof on Thursday night.
Prime Minister Simpson Miller, who had earlier this week cut short an official visit to Canada, said that she has already met with the National Disaster Executive where she had been given a preliminary report on the damage caused by the hurricane.
“Apart from the visible signs of flooding and blocked roads, there was evidence of widespread damage to small farms and crops, and some damage to roofs. Several rivers also remain in-spate,” she said noting that the eastern parts of the island received the most damage.”
Prime Minister Simpson Miller said that teams from the various agencies and contractors have been deployed to clear roads of fallen trees and debris, and to restore electricity and expressed her gratitude to citizens “for caring for each other and especially for the children, the elderly, persons with disabilities and the vulnerable among us, during the passage of Hurricane Sandy”.
Jamaica has also thanked the Trinidad and Tobago government that has offered to provide assistance in the rebuilding process.
“Representatives of governments from the international community, including my sister Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago have made contact to enquire what they can do to assist in our recovery activities.
“I know these are challenging times, but, as we have done in the past, we will draw on the indomitable spirit, strength, courage, determination and resilience of our people to unite and to work together to get through this challenging period,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, (ODPEM) said it would be airlifting supplies to people in communities in the eastern section of the island severely affected by the storm.
ODPEM Director-General, Ronald Jackson, says personnel from the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) are assisting with the transportation of food and water as parliamentary representative for West Portland, Daryl Vaz, has called on the authorities to declare his area a disaster zone.
Vaz, said while no estimates have yet been prepared, the agricultural sector has taken a major hit, with some communities cut off because of the landslides. He said if the parish is declared a disaster zone then it could attract more assistance from donors.
Brazilian student sells her virginity for $780,000 online
Catarina Migliorini, 20, was the subject of 15 bids, with a Japanese man named only as Natsu winning on Wednesday night, Australian media reported.
They said Miss Migliorini would be "delivered" to her buyer on board a plane to Australia and that she would be interviewed before and after losing her virginity at a secret location.
Filmmaker Jason Sisely, who reportedly began his project in 2009 and caused outrage when he put posters up in Sydney and Melbourne saying "Virgins Wanted", said Miss Migliorini was ecstatic and had not expected such a high level of interest.
"The auction closed last night and Catarina is extremely excited. She was speaking to her family in Brazil online and they were extremely happy for her," he told Australian online news site Ninemsn.
"But I guess they didn't expect her to do something like this." He said the act would be consummated, but not filmed, in the next few weeks.
"We will fly over the winner to Australia and obviously, for the sake of the film and privacy, we can't disclose where and when the act will take place," he said. "I have to leave some details for the documentary."
Miss Migliorini defended the move.
"I saw this as a business. I have the opportunity to travel, to be part of a movie and get a bonus with it," she told Folha newspaper.
"If you only do it once in your life then you are not a prostitute, just like if you take one amazing photograph it does not automatically make you a photographer."
Sisely told Ninemsn that under the terms of the auction a condom was compulsory and Natsu must be tested beforehand for any sexually transmitted diseases.
"I'm looking forward to my audience's response to the film," he said.
Hurricane Sandy kills 21
At least 21 were killed across the Caribbean after Hurricane Sandy lashed the Bahamas with heavy rains and high waves on its way to the US east coast as a powerful 'Frankenstorm'
Forecasters warned that the massive hurricane could collide with a seasonal "nor'easter" weather system as it churns northward parallel to the East Coast, before swerving into the heavily populated mid-Atlantic just north of Washington, DC early Tuesday.
The meteorologists said the combination of adverse weather conditions could affect the area through Halloween on October 31, "inviting perhaps a ghoulish nickname for the cyclone along the lines of 'Frankenstorm'."
The Bahamas reported power and phone lines downed, tourists stranded and trees uprooted. Schools, government offices, airports and bridges were to remain closed Friday.
The storm was downgraded late Thursday to a category one hurricane on the five-point wind scale, with Sandy's winds at 80mph.
Although weakened, storm gusts and high waves were reported in south Florida as Sandy churned north.
Sandy claimed 11 lives in eastern Cuba, including several who died in the rubble of buildings that collapsed in the fury of the massive storm.
The hurricane damaged hundreds of homes, flooding crops and downing trees, according to media reports.
"It was terrible. Roofs were flying off lots of houses. Doors too, and windows," said Laquesis Bravo, 36, who lives outside the southeastern coastal city of Santiago de Cuba.
Nine people died in Santiago, including a four-month-old infant who was among four people who perished when a house caved in.
Five more people in the province died during the storm for unspecified reasons, while two people in the nearby town of Guantanamo were killed by falling trees.
On Wednesday, Sandy unleashed its wrath on Jamaica, where one person died, and on Haiti, where nine people died and three others were reported missing.
Source: AFP
Panama debates land sale law repeal
Panama's National Assembly has taken the first step towards repealing a controversial law allowing the sale of land in Colon Free Zone, Latin America's biggest duty-free zone.
The assembly debated the law on Friday and is expected to hold a final vote on its repeal on Sunday.
The decision to abandon government plans to sell the land in the city of Colon follows a week of protests.
At least three people have died, including a nine-year-old boy.
On Friday, dozens of looters ransacked shops, smashed store windows and stoned vehicles in Panama City after protesting outside the assembly.
The police clashed with protesters in Colon too.
'Little acceptance'
President Martinelli, who was returning home from a trip to Asia on Friday, tweeted that the controversial law would be repealed in its entirety.
"The law sought the best for Colon but it had little acceptance", he wrote. "We will proceed with its definitive repeal."
The government had said the privatisation would boost development in Colon, but trade unions and residents argued it would cost jobs and push down wages.
Opponents of the law included trade unions, members of the Colon Chamber of Commerce and a variety of civil society groups.
The protests flared in Panama soon after president Martinelli signed the controversial law on 19 October.
Four days later he announced the government would scrap its plans to sell the land to private investors.
Mr Martinelli tweeted: "If the people of Colon don't want the sale of lands in the free trade zone, the sale will be repealed."
The president said instead that commercial rents would be increased and the money reinvested in the region, as protesters had been demanding.
The Colon region is the biggest duty-free zone in Latin America but is blighted by poverty and crime.
Panama's economy has boomed in recent years, but sections of the population remain excluded from its commercial success.
The city of Colon - one of the largest free trade ports in the world and in operation since the 1950s - sits at the end of the Panama Canal on the Caribbean, just outside the former Panama Canal Zone.
The canal, linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, is Panama's main source of revenue.
Eloy Gutierrez-Menoyo, ex-revolutionary and dissident, dies in Cuba
Eloy Gutierrez-Menoyo, a former Cuban revolutionary who later became a dissident, has died aged 77, friends and family have said.
His wife, Flor Ester Torres Sanabria, told AP news agency that her husband died in a Havana hospital after suffering a heart attack.
Mr Gutierrez-Menoyo was a commander during the 1959 Cuban revolution.
However, he later led an armed uprising against former comrade Fidel Castro and spent 22 years in prison.
A close friend in Cuba, radio commentator Max Lesnik, said the opposition activist had died on Friday morning, the Miami Herald reported
Born in Madrid, Mr Gutierrez-Menoyo was the son and brother of men who fought in the Spanish civil war against Gen Francisco Franco.
The family moved to Cuba in 1945 and Mr Gutierrez-Menoyo later joined rebels opposing dictator Fulgencio Batista.
However, after the revolution he lost faith in the communist leadership and by 1961 was in exile in Miami helping to form Alpha 66, an armed commando group.
Mr Gutierrez-Menoyo and his fighters returned to Cuba in December 1964 hoping to launch an uprising, but they were captured after a month.
He then spent 22 years in Cuban prisons until being freed through a petition of the Spanish government in 1986.
He later moved back to Miami where he founded Cambio Cubano - a centrist group that promoted dialogue and reconciliation among Cubans of all political backgrounds.
Mr Gutierrez-Menoyo returned to Cuba in 2003. The authorities allowed him to stay despite his frequent criticisms of the government.
In 2008 he expressed his disappointment that Cuba's communist system had remained unchanged.
"Cuba cannot continue to corner itself, trying to convince the world that there is democracy here when a one-party system will never be a democracy," he said.