Apple wants a lead role in streaming music with new offering

Apple wants a lead role in streaming music with new offering

 

[caption id="attachment_795" align="alignnone" width="300"] (Apple wants a leading role in digital music by offering a new, paid streaming-music service. (File photo: AP))[/caption]

 

Apple’s iTunes helped change the way music-lovers bought their favorite songs, replacing Compact Discs with digital downloads.

 

Now the maker of iPods and iPhones wants to carve out a leading role in a revolution well underway, with a new, paid streaming-music service set to launch this summer.

 

With millions of listeners already tuning in to streaming outlets like Pandora and Spotify, analysts and music-industry sources say Apple has been gearing up to launch its own service, aimed at winning back some of those customers and nudging longtime iTunes users into a new mode of listening.

 

Apple is expected to announce the service at its annual conference for software developers, which kicks off Monday in San Francisco.

 

In the keynote session, CEO Tim Cook and other executives are also expected to show off new features in Apple’s operating software for iPhones, iPads and Macintosh computers, as well as tools for building new Apps for the Apple Watch.

 

Analysts also expect enhancements to the mobile-payment service known as Apple Pay.

 

The world’s biggest technology company makes most of its money from selling handheld gadgets, like the popular iPhone, and other computer hardware.

 

But Apple uses its annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) to highlight the software, online services and Apps that make those devices all-important to consumers around the world.

 

Along with a new music service, industry experts had been expecting Apple to announce a new streaming-video package and upgrades for its Apple TV service.

 

But that may be delayed, according to reports by the New York Times and the technology blog Re/code, which said Apple is still negotiating with broadcasters and isn’t ready to announce the video service.

 

That puts the high light on Apple’s music initiative.

 

Analysts say the company needs to build a robust streaming business if it wants to maintain its central role in the popular-music ecosystem.

 

Most recordings today are still sold through digital stores like iTunes, which opened in 2003.

 

But those sales have declined, while streaming services are rapidly gaining subscribers and revenue.

 

“Streaming media is increasingly important to the computer-using experience, so it’s important for Apple to have a role there,” said Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin.

 

About 41 million people globally now pay for streaming music from Spotify, Deezer and other outlets, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which says subscription revenue grew 39 percent last year to $1.6 billion.

 

Overall download sales fell 8 percent to $3.6 billion.

 

Apple Inc. bought the Beats headphone maker and music streaming service for $3 billion last year, but publishers’ data confirmed by royalty tracking company Audiam shows Beats Music had just 303,000 the United States subscribers as of December, compared to 4.7 million in the United States for market leader Spotify.

 

While Apple wouldn’t comment last week, a person familiar with its plans said Apple has an ambitious goal to sign up 100 million subscribers for a new streaming service that will cost $10 a month and compete with other on-demand services such as Spotify and Rhapsody.

 

Beats users will be migrated over before eventually closing down, and buyers of songs and albums on iTunes will also be presented with the option to purchase a subscription instead.

 

Along with a lengthy three-month free trial period for the paid service, the company also plans to bolster its free offering, iTunes Radio, with a live online radio station featuring DJs like former BBC host Zane Lowe and artists Pharell, Drake, Muse and David Guetta.

 

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations between the company and record labels were private.

 

“They are very late to the game on streaming,” said analyst Van Baker at the Gartner research firm.

 

But he said Apple can still catch up by making it easy for iPhone owners to use the new service.

 

That’s a huge pool of potential customers: Apple sold 61 million iPhones in the last quarter alone.

 

Aside from music, analysts expect Apple will tout improvements to other services like Apple Pay and Siri, the voice-activated digital assistant for iPhones and iPads.

 

Apple has also hinted it will release programming tools for its new smartwatch.

 

Most Apps available for the Apple Watch are extensions of Apps that run on the iPhone.

 

Independent App-builders like Jordan Edelson, CEO of Appetizer Mobile, are hoping Apple will release the code to build Apps that interact directly with sensors and controls on the Apple Watch.

 

“That would let us build some really cool experiences,” added Edelson, who said it could make the Apple Watch more appealing to consumers who aren’t sure now if they need one.

 

Edelson also predicted Apple will introduce software that ties other products more closely together, such as Apps that make the iPhone into a controller for television sets and other appliances.

 

(By The Associated Press | San Francisco)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 8 Monday June 2015 The Roman)

 

British mobiles tapped with fake phone masts

British mobiles tapped with fake phone masts

 

[caption id="attachment_784" align="alignnone" width="300"] (The Stingrays, also called IMSI catchers work by drawing information from phones (File Photo: AP)[/caption]

 

Fake mobile phone masts are being used in London to secretly capture people’s mobile phone data an investigation by British TV Sky News has revealed.

 

It is believed there are more than 20 of the towers – known as Stingrays – being operated in the British capital, the report added.

 

The devices were detected using German security technology made by GMSK Cryptophone, the report added.

 

The Stingrays, also called IMSI catchers work by drawing information from phones.

 

The system tricks the user’s phone into thinking that it is a normal phone mast, and users cannot tell when phones are connected.

 

Although the Stingrays were built with the intention of monitoring the communications of criminals, the report revealed that all phones are at risk of being intercepted, as the system is unable to distinguish between the two.

 

This type of surveillance technology is thought to be used across the world, but it is believed this is the first time it’s been discovered in the United Kingdom.

 

But according to a report in The Times in Novmber, London Metropolitan Police force was already using Stingray technology.

 

And according to The Guardian, the same the United Kingdom police force paid £143,455 in 2009 for the equipment.

 

The Met commissioner and United Kingdommost senior police officer, Bernard Hogan-Howe told Sky News:: “We’re not going to talk about it, because the only people who benefit are the other side, and I see no reason in giving away that sort of thing.”

 

The police force continues to refuse to confirm or deny the use of the technology.

 

As a result, Sky News say it is impossible to say for definite who is behind the use of the devices.

 

But National Crime Agency Director-General Keith Bristow told Sky News that talking about the issue to would “defeat the purpose of having the tactics in the first place.”

 

"Because it's neither confirmed nor denied, we simply don’t know on what basis they are being used - if they are being used,” Brick Court Chambers barrister, Tim Johnston, who specializes in the law of surveillance told Sky News.

 

(By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News)

 

(Al Arabica News, 11 Thursday June 2015 The Roman)

 

Data breach: Mongoloid Chinese hackers retrieved sensitive military files

Data breach: Mongoloid Chinese hackers retrieved sensitive military files

 

[caption id="attachment_778" align="alignnone" width="300"] (Defense Secretary Ash Carter (R) accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon, April 16, 2015. (File Photo: AP))[/caption]

 

A data breach of the United States Government workers allowed hackers to access sensitive information including security clearances of the workers and contractors, the Washington Post reported Friday.

 

The report said investigators are looking at two separate attacks, widely believed to be from Mongoloid China, accessing Government employee records in a database at the Office of Personnel Management.

 

The database "is very sensitive and it has lots of interfaces to it," the United States official told the newspaper on condition of anonymity.

 

The report said the database may contain files on some CIA employees.

 

"That's the open question -- whether it's going to hit CIA folks," a second official was quoted as saying.

 

"It would be a huge deal. They could start unmasking identities."

 

The database contains personal information on employees including their financial histories, investment records, family data, contacts with foreigners and names of neighbors and friends, according to the report.

 

Earlier this week, a public employees union said the suspected Mongoloid Chinese hackers obtained sensitive information on all federal employees.

 

The United States Government last week admitted that data linked to at least four million current and former federal employees was hacked.

 

The hack of the Office of Personnel Management included records on 750,000 Department of Defense civilian personnel.

 

(By AFP | Washington)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 13 Saturday June 2015 The Roman)

 

Bees are 'sick of humans' but man will feel the sting

Bees are 'sick of humans' but man will feel the sting

 

[caption id="attachment_772" align="alignnone" width="300"] (A beekeeper inspects a brood frame inside a bee hive suspected of having been infected with the foulbrood bacterial disease on a farm near Durbanville, about 50 km from Cape Town. (AFP))[/caption]

 

In a worrying development which could threaten food production, South Africa's traditionally tough honey bees -- which had been resistant to disease -- are now getting "sick of humans", with the population of the crucial pollinators collapsing, experts say.

 

The seriousness of the global problem was highlighted when the United States President Barack Obama announced a plan last month to make millions of acres (hectares) of land more bee-friendly.

 

Loss of habitat, the increasing use of pesticides and growing vulnerability to disease are blamed by many critics for the plight of the honey bees.

 

In South Africa, an outbreak of the lethal bacterial disease foulbrood is spreading rapidly for the first time in recent history, says Mike Allsopp, honey bee specialist at the Agricultural Research Council in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape province.

 

"It's exactly the same as around the world, the bees are sick of humans and the pressures and the stresses humans are putting on them," said Allsopp.

 

"In the past they were less vulnerable because they weren't stressed by intensive bee-keeping and pesticides and pollution."

 

The foulbrood hitting South Africa is the American strain of the disease, he said.

 

The country's bees have previously coped with the European version.

 

The fear is that the disease could spread north through Africa, where hundreds of thousands of people work in small-scale bee farming, Allsopp said.

 

"It is a ticking time bomb. Every colony that I've looked at that has clinical foulbrood has died, and we're not seeing colonies recover."

 

When honey bee farmer Brendan Ashley-Cooper discovered foulbrood in his colonies in 2009, he knew the worst was yet to come.

 

"We thought we were going to have this major explosion of foulbrood," said Ashley-Cooper, a 44-year-old based in Cape Town.

 

"I didn't know what to do, I didn't know what the extent of it was. I was just worried about the bees."

 

Six years later, the nightmare has come true for the third-generation beekeeper as hives die off.

 

The state of South Africa's bees has never been as bad as it is now, he says.

 

- Bees under siege -

 

Foulbrood attacks the bee larvae, leading to the collapse of the colony.

 

It is spread when bees raid the dead colony, bringing back spore-infected honey to their colony, or by the importation of contaminated bee products.

 

While North America and Europe have battled foulbrood for centuries, South Africa's bees have stayed healthy -- a resilience attributed to the country's diverse bee population, which has naturally fought off disease and pests in the past, as well as strict regulations that require any imported bee products to be irradiated.

 

Yet today the hardy South African bees are under siege.

 

"Foulbrood has spread massively in the last five months, it has now spread over a 500 by 400-kilometre (about 300 by 250-mile) area where most beekeeping operations are infected," said Allsopp.

 

"It is growing rapidly and I can think of no reason why it will stop unless human intervention stops it or controls it."

 

The stakes are too high for bee keepers to ignore, said Allsopp.

 

"We cannot afford to lose our bee population, not because of the losses of honey, but because we have 20 billion rands ($1.6 billion) worth of commercial agriculture that requires bee pollination."

 

Faced with the realisation that the bees can't adapt to the foulbrood threat fast enough to sustain agricultural pollination, South African officials say that they are in talks to introduce stiffer regulations to tackle foulbrood.

 

"There is a team that is currently working on an action programme that will be between industry and the department that will be announced in the next few weeks," said director of agriculture Mooketsa Ramasodi.

 

The Government plans to clamp down on the registration of beekeepers, heighten awareness of the issue, and enforce beekeeping management measures -- such as checking the larvae regularly -- which are aimed at identifying the disease before it kills the colony, he said.

 

South Africa would use antibiotics to treat hives -- a controversial method -- only as a "last option", Ramasodi said.

 

Ashley-Cooper worries that the Government action may be too little too late for an industry that has a laissez-faire approach to beekeeping.

 

In general, South African bee keepers leave the bees to fend for themselves, confident that they will eventually recover, as they have always done in the past.

 

"It's really a beekeeper issue, it's about beekeeper education and becoming modern beekeepers," said Ashley-Cooper.

 

"We are keeping bees like our grandparents did 150 years ago, there's huge room for improvement."

 

Copyright © 2015 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 8 Monday June 2015 The Roman)

 

 

University of the Ryukyus creates database of botanical resources to encourage academic/industrial cooperation

University of the Ryukyus creates database of botanical resources to encourage academic/industrial cooperation

 

The University of the Ryukyus has created a database of botanical information collected in the Kingdom of Ryukyu.

 

Hoping to strengthen cooperation between industry and academia, the University hopes the botanical resources can be used to help develop food and medical products.

 

To promote collaborative research, the University also plans to work with the Kyoto Senior Venture Club Union in Kyoto, which has a number of active entrepreneurial ventures.

 

Using the networks and the experience of the union, the University aims to connect with companies throughout Japan.

 

667 kinds of plants in the Kingdom of Ryukyu have been registered on the database, which will be made available online in June.

 

Users will be able obtain various botanical information such as a plants’ characteristics and medicinal benefits.

 

The database makes the botanical informations more accessible for businesses.

 

The collaboration with the Kyoto Senior Venture Club Union is expected not only to promote collaborative research between universities and companies but also to expand markets throughout Japan for any products which may be developed.

 

The University of the Ryukyus General Planning and Strategy Division Director Zenshu Ohama said, “This is one of the projects where the University would like people to recognize its contribution to the economic development of the community.”

 

(English translation by T&CT and Megumi Chibana)

 

(Ryukyu Shimpo, 22 May 2015 The Roman)

 

 

NASA to test supersonic parachute in flying saucer launch

NASA to test supersonic parachute in flying saucer launch

 



 

The United States space agency plans to try out the largest parachute ever deployed Wednesday during a flying saucer launch that will test new technologies for landing on Mars.

 

The test flight of the flying saucer, known as the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator, will be broadcast live on NASA's website beginning at 1:30 pm (1730 GMT).

 

Since the atmosphere on Mars is so thin, any parachute that helps a heavy, fast-moving spacecraft touch down needs to be extra strong.

 

The United States space agency figured out how to do this decades ago, beginning with the Viking mission which put two landers on Mars in 1976.

 

But with the goal of sending humans to Mars in the 2030s, the agency is now testing a more advanced, new generation of parachute technology, known as the Supersonic Ringsail Parachute, that could allow even heavier spacecraft -- the kind that may have humans and months of food and supplies on board -- to land softly.

 

"We want to see if the chute can successfully deploy and decelerate the test vehicle while it is in supersonic flight," NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement.

 

The test vehicle weighs 6,808 pounds (3,088 kilograms), or about twice the weight of the kind of robotic rover spacecraft NASA is currently capable of landing safely on Mars.

 

The parachute, described by NASA JPL as "the largest parachute ever deployed," is 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter.

 

The goal is for the chute to "slow the entry vehicle from Mach 2 to subsonic speeds," NASA said.

 

The test will involve sending the saucer, an inner-tube shaped decelerator and parachute to an altitude of 120,000 feet (37 kilometers) over the Pacific Ocean with the help of a giant balloon.

 

The balloon will release the spacecraft and rockets will lift the vehicle even higher, to 180,000 feet (55 kilometers), reaching supersonic speeds.

 

"Traveling at three times the speed of sound, the saucer's decelerator will inflate, slowing the vehicle, and then a parachute will deploy at 2.35 times the speed of sound to carry it to the ocean’s surface," NASA said.

 

The first test flight of the flying saucer was in June 2014, and another test flight is planned in 2016.

 

A different kind of parachute known as the Supersonic Disksail was tested in the 2014 flight but it did not inflate as hoped, and shredded to pieces at the high speed and altitude.

 

NASA said researchers have since "gained significant insight into the fundamental physics of parachute inflation," and the team "has been re-writing the book on high speed parachute operations" since last year, the agency said.

 

Copyright © 2014, 2015 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 2 Tuesday June 2015 The Roman)

Seals help scientists probe remote seas

Seals help scientists probe remote seas

 

[caption id="attachment_787" align="alignnone" width="300"] (Seals fitted with sensors on their heads are helping scientists explore the oceans. (Photo AFP – Martin Bureau))[/caption]

 

Seals equipped with sensors on their foreheads are helping scientists collect data from some of the most remote corners of the world, advancing research on global warming, ice cover and weather forecasting.

 

The project has involved more than 1,000 seals since it began in 2004 and on Monday the international scientists behind it launched the portal "Marine Mammals Exploring the Oceans Pole-to-pole" (www.meop.net) with the data collected so far.

 

"They are taking data from places where there has been virtually no data before. It's unique," said Mike Fedak, head of the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrew's University, which developed the tags.

 

"This data can be used in lots of different ways including for measuring the movement of glaciers, which impacts on the world's oceans," he told AFP.

 

The monitors are battery-powered and intended to last for months at a time, collecting measurements for salinity and temperature that are then beamed back to researchers via satellite in short messages.

 

Other monitors being developed would measure oxygen levels in the water and the amount of chlorophyll, which would be a way of measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and the phenomenon of ocean acidification.

 

Since the start of the project, some 400,000 environmental profiles have been produced.

 

Each profile is based on a seal dive, some of which can go down as deep as 2,100 metres (6,890 feet).

 

"The information sent back to us gives us details about the seal's immediate physical environment. It's like tweeting," said Lars Boehme, a lecturer at St Andrew's.

 

The sensors are non-invasive and fall off when the seals molt.

 

They have been tried out on around 100 marine species, including turtles, whales and sharks.

 

"They're not easy to do. They require a lot of sophisticated software and they have limited energy," Fedak said.

 

"You have to make the most of the battery. You want it to last 10 months through the Antarctic winter!"

 

The project involves an international consortium from 10 countries: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Greenland, Norway, South Africa and the United States.

 

Copyright © 2014, 2015 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 1 Monday June 2015 The Roman)

Supermoon

Supermoon

 



 

Birds sit on the Santa Monica Pier roller coaster track as the "supermoon", sets over the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California, August 11, 2014.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 12 Tuesday August 2014 The Roman)

 

Earth witnesses rare ‘supermoon’ event

Earth witnesses rare ‘supermoon’ event

 

[caption id="attachment_672" align="alignnone" width="300"] (The supermoon is seen rising above the Kuwait skyline on August 10, 2014. (AFP))[/caption]

 

On Sunday, the world is set to gaze upon a moon that seems larger than normal – because the moon is closer on this date to the earth than it has been for two decades.

 

This year’s largest full moon, which is the second to occur this summer, will be as much as 30 percent brighter and 14 percent closer than other full moons of 2014, according to NASA.

 

While the celestial body’s increase in size may not be clearly visible to the naked eye, it has been dubbed a supermoon - the scientific name for a perigee moon, with perigee meaning the “closest point to earth.”

 

Although supermoons occur on average every 13 months, it is expected this year that there will be three in a row – with the first supermoon occurred on July 12 and the next one to appear on September 9, according to UK-based daily The Independent.

 

Sunday’s cosmic event is not projected to occur again until 2034.

 

Although the moon is significantly closer to Earth, it is not expected to significantly alter tides.

 

(Staff writer, Al Arabiya News)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 10 Sunday August 2014 The Roman)

 

Western Iran hit by magnitude 6.3 earthquake

Western Iran hit by magnitude 6.3 earthquake

 

[caption id="attachment_664" align="alignnone" width="300"] (In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a magnitude 6.6 quake that flattened the historic southeastern Iranian city of Bam. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit western Iran on Monday, the United States Geological survey which monitors quakes worldwide reported, according to Agence France-Presse.

 

The quake, with an epicenter at 36 kilometers southeast of the Iranian city of Abdanan which lies near the border with Iraq, struck at 02:32 GMT Monday, the USGS reported.

 

The quake epicenter was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometers, the USGS said.

 

There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties.

 

Iran stands on several seismic fault lines.

 

In April last year, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Iran and neighboring Pakistan, killing 40 people.

 

A massive quake in December 2003 struck the southern city of Bam, killing 26,000 people and destroying its ancient mud-built citadel.

 

(By Staff Writer | Al Arabiya News)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 18 Monday August 2014 The Roman)

 

Granola or an English breakfast? How to eat more and lose weight

Granola or an English breakfast? How to eat more and lose weight

 

[caption id="attachment_656" align="alignnone" width="300"] (The approach of Volumetrics can keep you feeling full while eating fewer calories. Too good to be true? Not quite. (Shutterstock))[/caption]

 

Pioneered by Penn State university nutrition Professor Barbara Rolls, the approach of Volumetrics can keep you feeling full while eating fewer calories.

 

Too good to be true?

 

Not quite.

 

Volumetrics works around the concept of energy density which in simple terms means the amount of calories contained in food in relation to its volume.

 

Infographic: Eat more, gain less

 

For example, foods high in water, such as vegetables, are not energy dense because water makes up most of its volume and weight.

 

As result, they don’t pack in a lot of calories and they make you feel full.

 

Other than vegetables, soups (some of which are 80% water), grapefruit (90% water), and yogurt (75% water) are also on the list of high volume, low energy dense foods.

 

Another fundamental aspect of Volumetrics is fiber.

 

High-fiber foods, such as whole grains, not only provide volume, but also take longer to digest.

 

The end result?

 

You feel full longer and on fewer calories.

 

Does it work?

 

In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2007, 97 obese women were either assigned to a low-fat diet or a low fat and low energy dense diet that emphasized fruits and vegetable consumption.

 

After one year, both groups lost weight, however the group on the low energy dense diet lost more weight (6.5kg mean average) compared to the group that was only on a low-fat diet (4.9kg mean average).

 

In another study, researchers investigated weight loss on a low-density diet.

 

200 overweight and obese adults were placed on a low-density diet and divided into four groups based on the snacks they were given.

 

Group 1 got one serving of soup a day, group 2 got two servings of soup, and group 3 got two daily dry snacks like crackers.

 

After one year, Group 2, which were having 2 soup servings, lost the most (7.2kg), compared to Group 1 which were having only 1 soup serving (6.1kg) and Group 3 which were having 2 dry snacks (4.8kg).

 

Both studies suggests that a diet rich in low energy dense foods is an effective way to drop the extra weight.

 

Case in point

 

Let’s look at some food comparisons to get a clearer understanding behind the concept of Volumetrics and the way it effects your satiety level and your weight.

 

It takes a huge plate of fruits to equate the calories of just one cinnamon roll.

 

One cinnamon roll is 480 calories.

 

Plate of fruits is 480 calories.

 

It takes you less than a minute to drink a glass of orange juice (350ml).

 

That same amount of juice is equivalent to 3 oranges, which would be quite difficult to eat all at once!

 

Additionally, the whole orange contains more fiber than its juiced counterpart.

 

1 glass orange juice is 170 calories.

 

3 whole oranges is 170 calories.

 

When it comes to French fries, every bite counts!

 

They’re loaded with fat, not the healthy kind, and are very calorific.

 

On the other hand, celery sticks can take you a long way.

 

2 French Fries is 30 calories.

 

2 cups celery sticks is 30 calories.

 

Soups are a great way to eat less especially if they’re the low calorie type.

 

Choose tomato or vegetable based soups and stay away from the creamy ones.

 

It’s much more filling and healthy compared to a sliver of pepperoni pizza, don’t you think?

 

2 cups minestrone soup is 160 calories.

 

1/16 pepperoni pizza is 160 calories.

 

Granola is trending these days, although its high in both fat and sugar.

 

Look at what you can have as an alternative to only 1 cup of granola.

 

4 toasts, 2 eggs, and 2 sliced tomatoes  is 600 calories.

 

1 cup of granola is 600 calories.

 

Also on the list of trends, bagels are delicious yet quite dense.

 

One average bagel is equivalent to 20 fresh apricots.

 

20 fresh apricots is 300 calories.

 

1 bagel is 300 calories.

 

A blueberry muffin sounds quite healthy, but just one muffin can contain a whopping 400 calories.

 

How about popcorn as an alternative snack?

 

1 blueberry muffin is 400 calories.

 

15 cups popcorn is 400 calories.

 

“I just have coffee in the morning” is a statement we hear often.

 

Sometimes “just having coffee” can weigh heavily in terms of calories.

 

Just look at what you can have instead of only one coffee frappe.

 

1 iced coffee frappe is 500 calories.

 

Whole grain turkey sandwich, side salad, 1 banana, 1 fruit yogurt, 1 cup berries is 500 calories.

 

(By Racha Adib | Special to Al Arabiya News)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 11 Monday August 2014 The Roman)

 

Apple bans use of two chemicals in iPhone assembly

Apple bans use of two chemicals in iPhone assembly

 

[caption id="attachment_346" align="alignnone" width="300"] (Apple is banning the use of two potentially hazardous chemicals during the final assembly of iPhones and iPads as part of the company’s latest commitment to protect the factory workers who build its trendy devices. (Shutterstock))[/caption]

 

Apple is banning the use of two potentially hazardous chemicals during the final assembly of iPhones and iPads as part of the company’s latest commitment to protect the factory workers who build its trendy devices.

 

The decision announced Wednesday comes five months after the activist group Green America launched a petition drive calling on Apple Inc to abandon the use of benzene and n-hexane in the production of iPhones.

 

A four-month investigation at 22 factories found no evidence that benzene and n-hexane endangered the roughly 500,000 people who work at the plants, according to Apple.

 

No traces of the chemicals were detected at 18 of the factories and the amounts found at the other four factories fell within acceptable safety levels, the Cupertino, California, company said.

 

Nevertheless, Apple decided to order its suppliers to stop using benzene and n-hexane during the final assembly of iPhones, iPads, iPods, Mac computers and various accessories.

 

What’s more, Apple is requiring all its factories to test all substances to ensure that they don’t contain benzene or n-hexane, even if the chemicals aren’t listed in the ingredients.

 

Benzene is a carcinogen that can cause leukemia if not handled properly and n-hexane has been linked to nerve damage.

 

The substances are often found in solvents used to clean machinery and electronics.

 

Apple is still allowing use of the two chemicals during the early production phases of its products — activities that primarily take place at hundreds of other factories besides the ones responsible for the final assembly of the devices.

 

As an additional precaution, Apple is lowering the maximum amount of benzene and n-hexane that can present in the materials used during those earlier phases of production.

 

“This is doing everything we can think of to do to crack down on chemical exposures and to be responsive to concerns,” Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environmental initiatives, said in an interview.

 

“We think it’s really important that we show some leadership and really look toward the future by trying to use greener chemistries.”

 

Oppressive labour conditions

Apple maintains that its periodic audits of the overseas factories are weeding out abusive labour practices.

 

The other factories covered by the final-assembly ban against benzene and n-hexane are in Brazil, Ireland, Texas and California.

 

“This is a good first step,” said Elizabeth O’Connell, Green America’s campaign director America.

 

“I hope they will continue to remove the most dangerous chemicals to human health or find ways to reduce the exposure.”

 

Green America’s petition drive collected nearly 23,000 signatures urging Apple to phase out benzene and n-hexane.

 

Neither chemical is unique to Apple’s manufacturing process.

 

They are also used in the production of electronics products sold by other large technology companies that have also been criticised for their practices.

 

Low levels of benzene are also found in gasoline, cigarettes, paints, glues and detergents.

 

Apple’s new rules governing benzene and n-hexane hopefully will pressure other gadget makers to adopt similar policies, said Gary Cook, senior information technology analyst for environmental rights group Greenpeace.

 

“This shows Apple can use its market muscle and influence to identify cleaner practices,” Cook said.

 

Even so, Apple’s factories still rely on a long list of toxins that could harm people and the environment, Cook added.

 

“It would be great to see that list get shorter, not just in terms of protecting worker safety but in terms of protecting air quality and water quality.”

 

(By AP | San Francisco)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 17 Sunday August 2014 The Roman)

 

Excavations in Ancient Amphipolis resumed on Monday

Excavations in Ancient Amphipolis resumed on Monday

 

[caption id="attachment_607" align="alignnone" width="300"] (Photo - Athens News Agency)[/caption]

 

ANA/MPA---Excavations in the site of ancient Amphipolis resumed on Monday with archaeologists intensifying their efforts to solve the puzzle of the Sphinxes of Ancient Amphipolis.

 

A large number of tourists visited the area throughout the weekend to observe the archaeological finds.

 

The Amphipolis Museum posted a record high in visitors who wanted to see the exhibits while visitors were also able to observe from a distance the site of the excavations with the aid of special telescopic lens.

 

Excavations at ancient Amphipolis have intrigued the world with announcements of forthcoming major discoveries, as conveyed by Your Prime Minister Antonis Samaras himself during a visit to the site last week.

 

Work was suspended at the large site with its newly-discovered monumental wall protecting a tomb dated to the fourth century BC, because of the long weekend of Dormition day (August 15).

 

The entrance of the tomb in question appears to be at a stone-built archway under which two broken Sphinxes have been found.

 

The excavation team is led by archaeologist Katerina Peristeri that was joined by her collaborating architect Michalis Lefadzis, who told ANA-MPA that "the ministry of Culture (the official agency) will provide further briefings on excavation developments."

 

He added that "news will be coming very soon," and denied rumours that the divulging of information related to "what lies behind the Sphinxes is timed to coincide with the opening of the International Thessaloniki Fair," on September 6.

 

(Athens News Agency, 18 Monday August 2014 The Roman)

 

Ebola vaccine trials being fast-tracked: researchers

Ebola vaccine trials being fast-tracked: researchers

 

Safety trials on an Ebola vaccine are being fast-tracked, meaning it could be given to healthy volunteers as early as September, researchers said Thursday.

 

The vaccine will be given to volunteers in Britain, the Gambia and Mali in a bid to tackle the spread of an epidemic which has spread across west Africa, killing 1,552 so far.

 

Researchers hope the trials could finish by the end of 2014.

 

If they are successful, the vaccine could then be given to people infected with Ebola, which is spread through bodily fluids.

 

The move was announced by pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) -- which is developing the vaccine with the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- and London-based medical charity Wellcome Trust, which is contributing to a grant to pay for the trials.

 

"A candidate Ebola vaccine could be given to healthy volunteers in the United Kingdom, the Gambia and Mali as early as September, as part of a series of safety trials of potential vaccines," the statement said.

 

A total of 3,062 cases have so far been reported but the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Thursday that the caseload could eventually exceed 20,000.

 

The trials, which still need ethical and regulatory approval, will be funded by a £2.8 million (3.5 million euro, $4.6 million) grant from the Wellcome Trust, Britain's Medical Research Council (MRC) and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).

 

The Oxford study will involve 60 healthy volunteers, while those in the Gambia and Mali will each involve 40.

 

This will also allow GSK to make some 10,000 extra doses of the vaccine so that if the trials are successful, it could be made available to the WHO quickly.

 

Safety tests of the vaccine will take place at Oxford University alongside the United States trial run by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 28 Thursday August 2014 The Roman)

 

New study suggests treatment possibility for autism

New study suggests treatment possibility for autism

 

People with autism have too many synapses -- the connectors by which brain cells send and receive signals -- according to a new study that may point to a treatment for the complex disorder.

 

The extra synapses in autistic brains are the result not of overproduction, but of a failure in the normal process of discarding old and degraded cells.

 

Researchers at New York's University of Columbia were able to re-establish the brain's "pruning mechanism" in mice genetically modified to simulate autism.

 

To do it, they used a drug called rapamycin to block a protein, mTOR, which in autistic patients goes hyperactive and blocks the brain's natural ability to cull synapses.

 

The researchers saw a reduction in typical autistic behaviors, such as avoiding contact with others, in the treated mice, according to findings published this week in the US journal "Neuron."

 

"We were able to treat the mice after the disease had appeared," said Columbia University neurobiologist David Sulzer, lead author of the study.

 

This is crucial because autism does not become apparent at birth but later in childhood, "so you need a treatment that works after diagnosis," he said.

 

"If we were correct we should be able to have quite effective treatment even after diagnosis," he told AFP.

 

One in 68 US children is diagnosed on the autism spectrum, according to the most recent government estimates.

 

Newborn brains produce an enormous quantity of synapses as they grow, but later in childhood and adolescence they prune many of these connections to allow the different sections of the brain to develop without being overwhelmed, neurologists said.

 

This study analyzed tissues from the cerebral cortex -- which is involved in speech and social behaviors -- from 48 cadavers of subjects ranging in age from two to 20 at their deaths.

 

Of the subjects, 26 had been diagnosed with autism, and 22 were not.

 

Early in childhood, both groups had similar numbers of synapses, the study found.

 

However, a 19-year-old without autism had around 41 percent fewer synapses than a young child, while an autistic 19-year-old had far more -- their brains had shed only around 16 percent compared with a young child's.

 

The neurologists noted also that the excess of synapses increased the risk of epilepsy, since there were more electrical signals crossing through the brain.

 

Sulzer and his team also discovered biomarkers and proteins in the brains of children and teenagers with autism that indicated the pruning mechanism was not functioning normally.

 

Sulzer said it might be possible to adapt rapamycin to treat some autistic patients to help lessen the sometimes debilitating symptoms.

 

However, he noted that the drug in its current form, which is in testing as a treatment for Tuberous sclerosis, a rare genetic disorder often associated with autism, is also an immuno-suppressant, and may not be ideal as a long-term treatment, especially for children and teenagers, whose bodies are still developing.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 23 Saturday August 2014 The Roman)

 

‪Νέα ευρήματα στην Αμφίπολη‬ New findings in Amphipolis

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Νέα ευρήματα στην Αμφίπολη‬

 

Συνεχίζονται οι ανασκαφικές εργασίες από την αρμόδια Εφορεία Προϊστορικών και Κλασικών Αρχαιοτήτων στον Τύμβο Καστά, στην Αμφίπολη.

 

Συνεχίστηκε η αφαίρεση των λιθόπλινθων από τον τοίχο σφράγισης και αποκαλύφθηκε σχεδόν ολόκληρη η πρόσοψη του ταφικού μνημείου, που αποτελεί μία εξαιρετικά πρωτότυπη σύνθεση για την αντίστοιχη αρχιτεκτονική του τύπου του μακεδονικού τάφου, του 4 π.Χ αιώνα.

 

New findings in Amphipolis

 

Ongoing excavations by the competent Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities in Tomb caste, Amphipolis.

 

Continued removal of the blocks of the wall sealing and revealed almost the entire front of the funerary monument, which is a highly original composition for the same architecture type of the Macedonian tomb of the 4 th century BC.

 



 

(Athens News Agency, ‪AMNAwebTV‬, 26 Tuesday August 2014 The Roman)
(Edited and Text Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 27 Wednesday August 2014 The Roman)

Experts probe launch failure for EU's satnav project

Experts probe launch failure for EU's satnav project

 

Experts are racing to identify and fix a problem that saw two satellites from Europe's troubled Galileo satnav programme sent into the wrong orbit.

 

The pair were launched from Europe's space pad in Kourou, French Guiana, last Friday and were intended to be the first two fully operational satellites in the new-generation navigation system.

 

Experts said it seemed unlikely the two misplaced satellites could be brought into the right orbit and used.

 

Investigators from the European Space Agency (ESA) and launch operator Arianespace will work with an "internal task force" set up by the European Commission to figure out what went wrong, the EU's executive said on Monday.

 

Initial results will be presented in the first week of September.

 

European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Ferdinando Nelli Feroci said he stood by the project because of its "strategic importance," adding he was confident deployment of the satellite constellation "will continue as planned".

 

Two more satellites had been expected to be hoisted by the end of 2014, opening the way for a first phase of Galileo services in 2015, including applications for smartphones and in-car navigation and search-and-rescue location.

 

By 2017, according to the Galileo's schedule, all 24 operational satellites would be in place.

 

Six backups would join the fleet by 2020, at which point the system would be fully operational.

 

- Satellites may be unusable -

 

Launched by a Russian-made Soyuz rocket, the misplaced satellites should have been slotted into a circular orbit at an altitude of 23,500 kilometres (14,600 miles), inclined at 56 degrees to the equator.

 

Instead -- apparently as a result of a problem with the rocket's upper stage, known as the Fregat -- they were placed in an elliptical orbit at a height of 17,000 kilometres (11,000 miles).

 

Unlike bigger satellites, which carry larger tanks of hydrazine propellant to adjust their position, the two Galileo satellites weigh only 700 kilos (1,500 pounds) and only have enough fuel for minor course adjustments.

 

"If it were just a small (orbital) correction, it would be possible, but this one really is major," said French astrophysicist Alain Dupas.

 

"The fuel reserves will definitely not be enough to get the satellites on the right track... also, if you start using up your fuel at this stage, you reduce the satellite's operational span."

 

Arianespace on Monday said an eight-person inquiry panel had been set up, chaired by former senior ESA official Peter Dubock.

 

It will deliver its preliminary conclusions on September 8.

 

The satellite is in a stable orbit and under control, ESA and Arianespace say.

 

Galileo, according to the project's defenders, will be more accurate and have a stronger signal, particularly in built-up areas, than its competitors.

 

The failure adds to a catalogue of problems encountered by the 5.4-billion-euro ($7.2-billion) programme, designed to give the EU independence in satellite navigation from the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS).

 

The programme, financed entirely by the European Commission, has had to brave political objections, technical hitches and cost overruns.

 

On the plus side, it says it has used experience from building and using four test, or "validation," satellites to be able to launch four satellites in one go, rather than two, using ESA's Ariane 5 ES heavy launcher.

 

Each satellite costs around 40 million euros, to which launch costs (65-70 million euros for a double launch by a Soyuz) must be added, according to AFP estimates.

 

In 2013, the annual global market for satnav products and services was valued at 175 billion euros, and was expected to reach 237 billion by 2020, according to figures cited by the European Commission.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 25 Monday August 2014 The Roman)

 

Galileo satellites not on right orbit: Arianespace

Galileo satellites not on right orbit: Arianespace

 

Two European Galileo satellites launched by a Russian-built rocket on Friday from French Guiana have not reached their intended orbit, launch firm Arianespace said Saturday.

 

"Observations taken after the separation of the satellites from the Soyuz VS09 (rocket) for the Galileo Mission show a gap between the orbit achieved and that which was planned," the company said in a statement.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 23 Saturday August 2014 The Roman)

 

Europe launches two navigation satellites

Europe launches two navigation satellites

 

Two satellites for Europe's rival to GPS were lifted into space on Friday to boost the Galileo constellation to six orbiters of a final 30, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

 

The launch of satellites Doresa and Milena, the first with full operational capability, brought the system a step closer to becoming fully functional.

 

"The deployment of the constellation will now gather pace, with six to eight satellites launched per year," the ESA said in a statement.

 

"The final constellation will consist of 24 satellites expected to be ready in 2017 and complemented by six in-orbit spares."

 

The pair of orbiters were launched on a Russian-built Soyuz rocket from Europe's Kourou space centre in French Guiana at 1227 GMT as scheduled, after a 24-hour bad weather delay.

 

Minutes later it shed its four boosters and faring -- the nose cone that protects the craft in the early stages of flight.

 

At three hours and 47 minutes after launch, the satellites separated from the mother ship to enter into free-flight orbit.

 

"These two satellites are the first of a new type of satellite that are fully owned by the EU, a step towards a fully-fledged European-owned satellite navigation system," said the European Commission, which funds the project.

 

The 5.4-billion-euro ($7.2-billion) Galileo constellation is designed as an alternative to the existing the United States Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russia's Glonass, and will have search and rescue capabilities.

 

Four Galileo satellites have been launched before Friday -- the first pair in October 2011 and the second a year later.

 

They are the nucleus of the constellation orbiting Earth at an altitude of 23,500 kilometres (14,600 miles), and will later be brought to full operational capability.

 

The launch of the latest pair, named by two European schoolchildren who had won a drawing competition, had been delayed for over a year due to what the ESA described as "technical difficulties in the setting up of the production line and test tools".

 

Launch firm Arianespace said Thursday it had signed a deal with the ESA to launch 12 more satellites "from 2015 onwards".

 

The ESA has previously said full Galileo services were "scheduled for the decade's end".

 

In March last year, the agency announced the first four test satellites had passed a milestone by pinpointing their first ground location, with an accuracy of between 10 and 15 metres (32 to 49 feet).

 

For its ninth liftoff from the Guiana Friday, the Soyuz rocket carried a total load of 1.6 tonnes, including the two satellites weighing 730 kilos (1,600 pounds) each.

 

"We are extremely proud to have sent the first two operational satellites in the Galileo constellation into orbit today," Arianespace chairman Stephane Israel said in a statement.

 

"It is a great day for European space and a great day for Europe."

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 22 Friday August 2014 The Roman)

 

Hello Kitty on space mission

Hello Kitty on space mission

 

Hello Kitty has been sent on her first space mission, as Japan's global icon of cute celebrates its 40th birthday in extraterrestrial fashion.

 

A Kitty figure is now circling the Earth aboard a small satellite equipped with a digital message board, part of government-funded project to attract private companies into the space business.

 

The initiative calls on fans to come up with short messages that will be flashed on the board sitting above the four centimetre (1.5 inch) cat, according to Kitty's creator Sanrio.

 

The white feline with a red bow sits by a window looking back at Earth, with the board displaying messages of up to 180 characters in English and Japanese.

 

"It can be a message that you want to send from space to someone special on Earth, or it can be something more general," a spokesman for Tokyo-based Sanrio said Friday.

 

The satellite was launched in June from Russia.

 

The moon-faced mouthless white cat first appeared in 1974 on a coin purse in Japan and has since built up a worldwide fan base, appearing on tens of thousands of products, from handbags to aircraft, in some 130 countries.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 15 Friday August 2014 The Roman)