VIDEO: Newtown dad weeps at hearing

VIDEO: Newtown dad weeps at hearing

VIDEO: Newtown dad weeps at hearing

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 08:14 PM PST

Neil Heslin, the father of a boy slain in a mass school shooting in December, has broken down in tears at a US Senate hearing on a proposed assault weapons ban.

VIDEO: Kampusch attends 3,096 Days premiere

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:28 PM PST

Natascha Kampusch has attended some of the first screenings of a film based on her kidnap ordeal

Benedict begins final day as pope before retiring

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:21 PM PST

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI is beginning a final quiet day as pontiff, meeting with his cardinals before flying off into retirement.

Nevada Corporation Solely Owned By California Resident Dodges California Taxes

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:18 PM PST

The California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) held that a Nevada Company was commercially domiciled in California because it was owned by the California resident. The FTB assessed total California taxes, interest and penalties in the amount over $2.27 million for the years 1997 and 1998.

Astronomers Measure How Fast A Supermassive Black Hole Spins

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:59 PM PST

For the first time, astronomers have been able to determine how fast a supermassive black hole spins - which is fast enough to push the limits of the laws of physics.

VIDEO: Australia finds largest meth haul

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:51 PM PST

Australian police say they have made their largest-ever seizure of the drug methamphetamine hidden in a shipment from southern China

VIDEO: Celebrated US pianist Cliburn dies

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:41 PM PST

Van Cliburn, the renowned American classical pianist, has died aged 78.

VIDEO: Kerry holds talks with Syrian opposition

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:36 PM PST

US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Rome for his first meeting with key figures in the Syrian opposition.

VIDEO: Celebrated US pianist Cliburn dies

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:41 PM PST

Van Cliburn, the renowned American classical pianist, has died aged 78.

Indonesia finance minister says not being pushed out of job

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:38 PM PST

Indonesian Finance Minister Martowardojo leaves the presidential compound after attending a meeting in JakartaJAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's finance minister denied on Thursday that he was being pushed out his job, dismissing speculation that he was being shifted to the post of central bank governor because he had crossed swords with politically powerful businessmen. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week unexpectedly nominated Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo to replace Darmin Nasution, whose term as Bank Indonesia governor ends in May. ...

Terrorized ethnic group to form force in Pakistan

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:49 PM PST

In this Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, photo, Pakistani Shiite Muslim children hold candles and banners next to photographs of people, who were killed by a bomb blast in market on Saturday, February 16, 2013, in Quetta, Pakistan. Terrorized by ferocious attacks that have killed nearly 400 ethnic Hazaras in the past 18 months, with almost half of those deaths occurring in the first two months of this year, Shiite leaders blamed the inaction of Pakistan's security service for the rising violence against them in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province.(AP Photo/Arshad Butt)QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Inside the ruins of a market demolished by a powerful bomb, four tiny white candles —dwarfed by the scale of the destruction — flickered gently in the freezing rain as dazed Shiite Muslim Hazaras wept for the nearly 90 people killed in the blast.

China To Erect Tallest Skyscraper In 90 Days? Not So Fast

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:49 PM PST

It's hard not to be impressed by this 2011 video of a 15-storey tower going up in China in just 30 days. Ignore the pompous music and marvel at the night-becomes-day pace. The trick, if you can call it that, lies in the prefabrication of steel-and-concrete blocks that can be hoisted into position, just as bricks form a wall. Think Lego meets PC. Modular buildings aren't new, but the technique wasn't seen as applicable to skyscrapers until Broad Sustainable Building entered the picture. Based in Changsha, central China, Broad ('Yuanda') is known for making giant air-con systems; its founder and CEO Zhang Yue has built an estimated fortune of $860 million. In 2008, Zhang began experimenting with prefab construction that he says makes for buildings that are cheaper to build and consume less concrete and water. Architects have taken note of Broad's innovative approach rather than its aesthetics: the buildings are barely distinguishable from others in China's drab cityscapes. Zhang is a self-taught engineer, not an architect, and it shows.

The World's Tallest Buildings

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:49 PM PST

Get On Down Co-Founder Matt Welch On Physical Music and Rap Re-issues

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:48 PM PST

Personality can go a long way in the music industry, even during a time of instability. Matt Welch, who co-founded Boston-based label Get On Down, can attest to that fact: In the past few years Get On Down has become a premiere reissue imprint known best for its impressive and creative re-packaging of beloved rap albums. The label has released a box-set version of GZA's Liquid Swords that includes a chess set, revived Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in its fetishized purple-colored cassette format, and earlier this week it dropped a new version of Ghostface Killah's Ironman that comes with a puzzle of the album's artwork. At a time when musicians and labels often bend their wills to the digital marketplace Get On Down has carved out a niche by focusing on the physical product.

NBA legend visits North Korea

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 08:52 AM PST

Flamboyant former NBA star Dennis Rodman and three members of the famed Harlem Globetrotters arrived in North Korea Tuesday to "entertain and inspire" with their basketball skills while they film a TV show.

Indonesia finance minister says not being pushed out of job

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:38 PM PST

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's finance minister denied on Thursday that he was being pushed out his job, dismissing speculation that he was being shifted to the post of central bank governor because he had crossed swords with politically powerful businessmen.

EMC Greenplum Brings SQL to Hadoop

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:09 PM PST

Back in January, I wrote a blog post on how we, as an industry will need to combat the Big Data skills shortage. One of the ways I suggested was to bring traditional capabilities, methods and approaches to Big Data (namely Hadoop). On February 25, 2013, Greenplum (a division of EMC) launched PivotalHD. PivotalHD brings standard SQL to Hadoop. This means that databsae administrators (DBAs) who have spent a career building up their database skills on relational databases, such as Oracle, IBM DB/2, and Sybase can take those skills and apply them to the Hadoop world. This is a major leap in the acceptance of Hadoop in the enterprise. Hadoop engineers and contributors can work as hard as they want to harden Hadoop for the enterprise, but without the necessary skill set to put it into production, the efforts would be for naught. What this means is that one of the major hurdles for enterprise adoption of Big Data (and in this context, Hadoop) has been taken away. The marriage of SQL and Hadoop can be viewed much like the royal marriages that took place for dynasties and bloodlines to continue. I heard a beautiful phrase from the TV series In Plain Sight recently, "two nerds don't make a right". SQL "nerds" are about querying relational databases. Hadoop "nerds" about breaking down the prescriptive relational nature of data management. Bringing these "two nerds" together is an oxymoron. But combined, it actually provides enterprises with the necessary runway to evolve themselves into a much more dynamic and competitive organizations; better able to relate to its customers and create value through innovation. Much of the revenue opportunities available for Big Data vendors is in helping traditional enterprises evolve to the next generation software defined data management data center. Bringing SQL and Hadoop together allows enterprises to do just that; and it is very likely that this will lower the barrier to entry for Big Data. Neuralytix wrote a Communiqué on this very topic. Click here to view it.

VIDEO: Blair calls for UK intervention in Syria

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 09:00 AM PST

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair tells Newsnight's Kirsty Wark he believes Britain should be taking a far stronger line on Syria.

VIDEO: Pope Benedict's retirement nears

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:03 PM PST

Pope Benedict XVI will retire on Thursday - the first pope to abdicate since Gregory XII in 1415.

VIDEO: Three dead in Swiss factory shooting

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 02:26 PM PST

Three people have been killed and seven injured during a shooting at a factory near the Swiss city of Lucerne, police have said.
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India's reformist finance minister faces budget moment of truth

India's reformist finance minister faces budget moment of truth

India's reformist finance minister faces budget moment of truth

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:33 PM PST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will present one of the most highly anticipated Indian budgets of recent years on Thursday, a blueprint for austerity that forms the centerpiece of India's efforts to stave off a damaging credit ratings downgrade.

Slovenia parliament dismisses PM, gives center-left mandate

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:23 PM PST

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia dismissed its conservative-led government on Wednesday and gave a centre-left finance expert the task of halting the Alpine state's fall from post-communist rising star to the euro zone's latest bailout candidate.

As Dennis Rodman visits, North Korea pledges 'bitter hatred for the U.S.'

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:57 PM PST

Dennis Rodman's ongoing "basketball diplomacy" to North Korea, which his agent says is meant to convince "Kim Jong" that "the only way to go is with peace not war," doesn't seem to have exactly revolutionized North Korean foreign policy just yet.

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Iran nuclear talks end on upbeat note

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:57 PM PST

Prospects for a nuclear deal with Iran received an unexpected boost Wednesday when negotiators from Tehran and six world powers emerged from talks with a commodity rarely seen in recent Iranian diplomacy: optimism.

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China is happy with John Kerry because it thinks he'll drop the 'pivot to Asia'

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:42 PM PST

John Kerry's first weeks as secretary of state, and even the weeks before he took the job, certainly gave the impression that he would focus on the Middle East on restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, on nuclear negotiations with Iran, on the Syrian civil war and he has. But he so far has not showed much enthusiasm for the Obama administration's first-term "pivot to Asia."

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Rwanda's Kagame brushes off speculation over third term

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:17 PM PST

KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwandan President Paul Kagame responded to speculation he might run for office again by telling journalists on Wednesday "I don't need (a third term)", but did not clearly rule out the possibility of extending his time in office.

Italy president snubs German candidate over clown gaffe

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:08 PM PST

BERLIN (Reuters) - Italy's president cancelled a dinner with the German opposition's chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrueck in Berlin on Wednesday after he described the former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi and comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo as "clowns".

Shell Suspends Arctic Drilling for 2013

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:55 PM PST

The company said it would pause its exploration drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas after encountering numerous problems.

Domenica Ruta’s Memoir, ‘With or Without You’

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 08:19 AM PST

Domenica Ruta's new memoir, "With or Without You," details her complicated life and her drug-addicted mother.

Social activist Stephane Hessel dies at 95

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:35 PM PST

The French resistance hero, Holocaust survivor and social activist's writing inspired millions around the world.

BP 'egregious' for drilling well

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:49 PM PST

BP is accused of disregarding evidence during drilling that the Macondo well was unstable, on the third day of a civil trial over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The power of Mexico's 'Maestra'

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:54 AM PST

Mexico's most powerful woman faces her greatest challenge

Stocks Barrel Ahead on Wall Street

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:44 PM PST

Shares gained more than 1 percent after a second round of testimony in Congress by the Federal Reserve chairman.

Draghi Holds Governments to Task

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:21 PM PST

The ECB president said governments bear the responsibility for restoring sound finances, suggesting there will be no softening in the insistence that countries agree to politically unpopular measures to qualify for any ECB bond-buying aid.

Slovenia Ousts Premier in No-Confidence Vote

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:27 PM PST

Slovenia's prime minister became the latest casualty of European public anger at austerity measures and alleged government corruption, as the recession-hit nation's Parliament ousted him in a no-confidence vote.

Greek Ex-Mayor Gets Life Sentence

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:32 PM PST

A Greek court sentenced a former mayor to life in prison for embezzling millions of euros from the municipal budget of Greece's second-largest city.

Shell Suspends Drilling for Arctic Ocean in 2013

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:14 PM PST

The company said it will "pause" its exploration drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Shell drilled top holes on two wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi in 2012 but encountered problems.

Sudan cuts off hand, foot of man convicted of robbery: activists

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:30 PM PST

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese authorities cut off a hand and foot of a man convicted of armed robbery, rights groups said on Wednesday, the first such punishment under Islamic law in Sudan for almost 30 years.

Guinea security forces clash with protesters

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:27 PM PST

CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea's security forces fired teargas at thousands of rock-throwing anti-government protesters in the seaside capital Conakry on Wednesday in clashes that wounded more than 50 people, witnesses and other sources said.

Two Palestinians end hunger strike that fuelled protests

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:27 PM PST

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Two Palestinian prisoners whose hunger strike stoked clashes in the West Bank have ended their protest after Israel agreed to release them in May, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday.
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