HELSINKI (Reuters) – Struggling Finnish cellphone maker Nokia unveiled on Monday two new cellphone models, the Asha 205 and the Asha 206, pricing both models at around $ 62, excluding subsidies and taxes.
Both models will go on sale this quarter.
Nokia unveiled a new Slam feature which allows consumers to share multimedia content like photos and videos with nearby friends almost instantly through Bluetooth connection.
(Reporting By Tarmo Virki)
Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News
R&B singer Chris Brown has taken down his Twitter account after a vulgar online exchange with comedian Jenny Johnson.
Johnson says she's now receiving death threats on Twitter from Brown's supporters.
The fight started when 23-year-old Brown posted a picture of himself, saying he looked old. Johnson replied: "I know! Being a worthless piece of (expletive) can really age a person."
Brown fired back a series of crude sexual jokes. Johnson posted a link to a news story about Brown's 2009 assault on singer Rihanna.
Before deleting his account, Brown wrote: "Just ask Rihanna if she mad??????" The on-again-off-again couple have been seen together recently.
A representative for Brown's record label didn't immediately respond Monday to an email seeking comment.
Brown had 11.6 million followers on Twitter.
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Online:
http://www.twitter.com/JennyJohnsonHi5
CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.
Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.
The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents. Most involve children falling inside or out of the inflated playthings, and many children get hurt when they collide with other bouncing kids.
The number of children aged 17 and younger who got emergency-room treatment for bounce house injuries has climbed along with the popularity of bounce houses — from fewer than 1,000 in 1995 to nearly 11,000 in 2010. That's a 15-fold increase, and a doubling just since 2008.
"I was surprised by the number, especially by the rapid increase in the number of injuries," said lead author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Amusement parks and fairs have bounce houses, and the playthings can also be rented or purchased for home use.
Smith and colleagues analyzed national surveillance data on ER treatment for nonfatal injuries linked with bounce houses, maintained by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Their study was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
Only about 3 percent of children were hospitalized, mostly for broken bones.
More than one-third of the injuries were in children aged 5 and younger. The safety commission recommends against letting children younger than 6 use full-size trampolines, and Smith said barring kids that young from even smaller, home-use bounce houses would make sense.
"There is no evidence that the size or location of an inflatable bouncer affects the injury risk," he said.
Other recommendations, often listed in manufacturers' instruction pamphlets, include not overloading bounce houses with too many kids and not allowing young children to bounce with much older, heavier kids or adults, said Laura Woodburn, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.
The study didn't include deaths, but some accidents are fatal. Separate data from the product safety commission show four bounce house deaths from 2003 to 2007, all involving children striking their heads on a hard surface.
Several nonfatal accidents occurred last year when bounce houses collapsed or were lifted by high winds.
A group that issues voluntary industry standards says bounce houses should be supervised by trained operators and recommends that bouncers be prohibited from doing flips and purposefully colliding with others, the study authors noted.
Bounce house injuries are similar to those linked with trampolines, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against using trampolines at home. Policymakers should consider whether bounce houses warrant similar precautions, the authors said.
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Online:
Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org
Trade group: http://www.naarso.com
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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner
President Barack Obama announced Monday he had picked Securities and Exchange Commissioner Elisse Walter to replace outgoing chair Mary Schapiro, who plans to step down in mid-December. Schapiro has helmed the agency since January 2009, winning confirmation with the economy shaken to its core by the global financial meltdown.
Walter is a former top official of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street's industry-funded watchdog. She does not need Senate confirmation to her new post.
The new SEC chair will likely find herself in the thick of a fight over financial industry regulations known as Dodd-Frank. Some Obama aides have said the president hopes to improve aspects of the law, while Republicans insist they want to roll back many of its provisions. And big banks want a say in how the new rules are implemented.
Obama praise Schapiro for her stewardship of the SEC during a critical time.
"When Mary agreed to serve nearly four years ago, she was fully aware of the difficulties facing the SEC and our economy as a whole," Obama said in a statement. "But she accepted the challenge, and today, the SEC is stronger and our financial system is safer and better able to serve the American people — thanks in large part to Mary's hard work."
"I'm confident that Elisse's years of experience will serve her well in her new position, and I'm grateful she has agreed to help lead the agency," the president said.
NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of gay rights activists marched through New Delhi on Sunday to demand that they be allowed to lead lives of dignity in India's deeply conservative society.
Dozens of demonstrators carried a nearly 15-meter (50-foot) -long, rainbow-colored banner and waved placards demanding that the government extend the scope of anti-discrimination laws to schools, workplaces and public and private spaces.
Activists said that three years after the Delhi High Court made changes in India's colonial-era law that made gay sex a crime, homosexuals are still not socially accepted in India.
In 2009, the court decriminalized gay sex, which until then had been punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Conservative groups have asked India's top court to overturn the lower court's order, and Supreme Court judges are currently hearing opinions from a range of people, including conservative groups and gay rights activists. It's unclear when the court will make a ruling.
"If only the Supreme Court comes out on our side, and if gay marriage became legal, what could be better," said Zorian Cross, a New Delhi-based theater actor and playwright at the parade.
"Queer and loving it" and "Give us your support" read some of the placards carried by the activists as they marched to the beat of traditional drums and music. Other supporters distributed badges and rainbow-colored flags and scarves.
The march ended in a public meeting at Jantar Mantar, the main area for protests in the heart of the capital. Many gay rights group members and their families danced and sang as drummers and musicians performed.
Vimal Kumar, an activist with the National Alliance of People's Movements, said the government had to ensure that all forms of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgenders are ended.
"The government has to listen. Our struggle has gone on for very long, and we are hopeful the government will listen and act on our demands," Kumar said.
Gay rights activists are demanding that the government allow people to record the gender of their choice in the national census, voter identity cards and all other government documents.
"We are demanding that all people be allowed to exercise their right to live their lives with dignity and freedom, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation," said a statement issued by rights groups at the parade.
Kumar said people's attitudes were gradually beginning to change and there was greater understanding among families in urban areas as television campaigns and gay parade marches caught on. But the pace of change is slow, he said.
In some big cities, homosexuality is slowly gaining acceptance, and a few high-profile Bollywood films have dealt with gay issues.
Still, many marchers Sunday covered their faces with scarves or wore masks because they have not told their friends and families about their sexuality.
(Reuters) – Saudi Arabia‘s No.2 telecom operator Etihad Etisalat Co (Mobily) has been suspended from selling pre-paid sim cards by the industry regulator, the firm said in a statement to the kingdom’s bourse on Sunday.
Mobily’s sales of pre-paid, or pay-as-you-go, sim cards will remain halted until the company “fully meets the prepaid service provisioning requirements,” the telco said in the statement.
These requirements include a September order from regulator, Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC). This states all pre-paid sim users must enter a personal identification number when recharging their accounts and that this number must be the same as the one registered with their mobile operator when the sim card was bought, according to a statement on the CITC website.
This measure is designed to ensure customer account details are kept up to date, the CITC said.
Mobily said the financial impact of the CITC’s decision would be “insignificant”, claiming data, corporate and postpaid revenues would meet its main growth drivers.
The firm, which competes with Saudi Telecom Co (STC) and Zain Saudi, reported a 23 percent rise in third-quarter profit in October, beating forecasts.
Prepaid mobile subscriptions are typically more popular among middle and lower income groups, with telecom operators pushing customers to shift to monthly contracts that include a data allowance.
Customers on monthly, or postpaid, contracts are also less likely to switch provider, but the bulk of customers remain on pre-paid accounts.
Mobily shares were trading down 1.4 percent at 0820 GMT on the Saudi bourse.
(Reporting by Matt Smith; Editing by Dinesh Nair)
Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bella Swan, James Bond and Abe Lincoln have combined to lift Hollywood to record Thanksgiving revenue at the box office.
Kristen Stewart's finale as Bella in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2" was No. 1 again with $64 million during the five-day holiday stretch that began Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Daniel Craig's Bond adventure "Skyfall" came in at No. 2 with $51 million, while Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg's Civil War saga "Lincoln" finished third with $34.1 million.
According to box-office tracker Hollywood.com, the three films paced Hollywood to an all-time Thanksgiving week best of about $290 million from Wednesday to Sunday.
That tops the previous record of $273 million over Thanksgiving in 2009, when "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" led the weekend.
The "Twilight" finale, "Skyfall" and "Lincoln" finished in the same top-three rankings for the second-straight weekend as new releases were unable to dislodge the holdovers.
Released by Lionsgate's Summit Entertainment banner, "Breaking Dawn — Part 2," pulled in $43.1 million from Friday to Sunday, raising its domestic total to $227 million. The movie added $97.4 million overseas to bring its international total to $350.8 million and its worldwide take to $577.7 million.
Sony's "Skyfall" also topped $200 million domestically, ringing up $36 million for the three-day weekend to put its U.S. total at $221.7 million.
"Lincoln," a DreamWorks film distributed by Disney, took in $25 million over the weekend to lift its domestic revenue to $62.2 million.
Leading the newcomers was Paramount and DreamWorks Animation's animated tale "Rise of the Guardians" at No. 4 with $24 million for the weekend and $32.6 million since opening Wednesday.
Close behind at No. 5 was director Ang Lee's shipwreck saga "Life of Pi" at No. 5 with $22 million over the weekend. The 20th Century Fox release has taken in $30.2 million domestically since its Wednesday debut and added $17.5 million in four Asian markets.
The weekend's other new wide release, a remake of the 1980s U.S.-invasion tale "Red Dawn," opened at No. 7 with $14.6 million, raising its total to $22 million since debuting Wednesday.
Black Friday, the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season, saw more foot traffic than ever before, according to estimates. But it appears so-called "doorbuster" deals offered the day before dinged sales.
According to ShopperTrak, which tracks retail foot traffic, there were more than 307 million store visits on Friday, up 3.5 percent. But Black Friday shoppers spent an estimated $11.2 billion, down 1.8 percent over 2011, when consumers spent $11.4 billion.
And for once, the sluggish economy is not to blame.
"It is all Black Thursday's fault," ZeroHedge.com said.
[Slideshow: Black Friday madness]
Shopping malls were "less hectic" on Black Friday this year, Bloomberg.com reported, as retailers "have turned Black Friday, once a one-day event after Thanksgiving, into a week's worth of deals and discounts."
And Thursday's deals "attracted some of the spending that's usually meant for Friday," ShopperTrak said.
Big box stores like Wal-Mart and Target were open on Thanksgiving night, drawing crowds that were--in some cases--rowdy. (Thankfully, it was nothing like the dystopian version of shopping hell recently envisioned by "Saturday Night Live.")
Another reason for the Black Friday dip: people skipped lines and shopped online. According to IBM Benchmark, online sales rose 17 percent on Thanksgiving and 21 percent on Black Friday.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Sunni and Shiite students clashed at Kabul University on a Shiite holy day Saturday, and Afghan authorities say that one person was killed.
Gen. Mohammad Zahir, director of the criminal investigation division, said police were trying to assess why the fight that broke out in the afternoon, killing one student and wounding six others.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene said Shia and Sunni students started fighting and by evening, several hundred more people joined the melee, fist-fighting and throwing stones at each other. He said eyewitnesses at the scene said the clash was related to Ashoura, the commemoration of the 7th century death of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson.
Afghan leaders went to the site to try to calm the crowd. Abdul Azim Nurbakhsh, a spokesman for the Ministry of Higher Education, said late Saturday that classes at the university had been canceled for the next 10 days. Damage was reported to buildings at the university.
Other gatherings marking Ashoura in the Afghan capital were peaceful, but last year, a suicide bomber on foot struck worshippers at a Shiite shrine in Kabul, killing at least 80 people. Some Sunni extremists consider Shiite ceremonies to be heretical.
Separately, NATO said a service member with the international military coalition was killed Saturday in an insurgent attack in the south.
No other information was disclosed.
So far this year, 379 NATO service members have died in Afghanistan.
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Associated Press Writer Massieh Neshat in Kabul contributed to this report.
J.R. Ewing was a business cheat, faithless husband and bottomless well of corruption. Yet with his sparkling grin, Larry Hagman masterfully created the charmingly loathsome oil baron — and coaxed forth a Texas-size gusher of ratings — on television's long-running and hugely successful nighttime soap, "Dallas."
Although he first gained fame as nice guy Major Tony Nelson on the fluffy 1965-70 NBC comedy "I Dream of Jeannie," Hagman earned his greatest stardom with J.R. The CBS serial drama about the Ewing family and those in their orbit aired from April 1978 to May 1991, and broke viewing records with its "Who shot J.R.?" 1980 cliffhanger that left unclear if Hagman's character was dead.
The actor, who returned as J.R. in a new edition of "Dallas" this year, had a long history of health problems and died Friday due to complications from his battle with cancer, his family said.
"Larry was back in his beloved hometown of Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved the most. Larry's family and closest friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday," the family said in a statement that was provided to The Associated Press by Warner Bros., producer of the show.
The 81-year-old actor was surrounded by friends and family before he passed peacefully, "just as he'd wished for," the statement said.
Linda Gray, his on-screen wife and later ex-wife in the original series and the sequel, was among those with Hagman in his final moments in a Dallas hospital, said her publicist, Jeffrey Lane.
"He brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented, and I will miss him enormously. He was an original and lived life to the fullest," the actress said.
Years before "Dallas," Hagman had gained TV fame on "I Dream of Jeannie," in which he played an astronaut whose life is disrupted when he finds a comely genie, portrayed by Barbara Eden, and takes her home to live with him.
Eden recalled late Friday shooting the series' pilot "in the frigid cold" on a Malibu beach.
"From that day, for five more years, Larry was the center of so many fun, wild and sometimes crazy times. And in retrospect, memorable moments that will remain in my heart forever," Eden said.
Hagman also starred in two short-lived sitcoms, "The Good Life" (NBC, 1971-72) and "Here We Go Again" (ABC, 1973). His film work included well-regarded performances in "The Group," ''Harry and Tonto" and "Primary Colors."
But it was Hagman's masterful portrayal of J.R. that brought him the most fame. And the "Who shot J.R.?" story twist fueled international speculation and millions of dollars in betting-parlor wagers. It also helped give the series a place in ratings history.
When the answer was revealed in a November 1980 episode, an average 41 million U.S. viewers tuned in to make "Dallas" one of the most-watched entertainment shows of all time, trailing only the "MASH" finale in 1983 with 50 million viewers.
It was J.R.'s sister-in-law, Kristin (Mary Crosby) who plugged him — he had made her pregnant, then threatened to frame her as a prostitute unless she left town — but others had equal motivation.
Hagman played Ewing as a bottomless well of corruption with a charming grin: a business cheat and a faithless husband who tried to get his alcoholic wife, Sue Ellen (Gray), institutionalized.
"I know what I want on J.R.'s tombstone," Hagman said in 1988. "It should say: 'Here lies upright citizen J.R. Ewing. This is the only deal he ever lost.'"
On Friday night, Victoria Principal, who co-starred in the original series, recalled Hagman as "bigger than life, on-screen and off. He is unforgettable, and irreplaceable, to millions of fans around the world, and in the hearts of each of us, who was lucky enough to know and love him."
Ten episodes of the new edition of "Dallas" aired this past summer and proved a hit for TNT. Filming was in progress on the sixth episode of season two, which is set to begin airing Jan. 28, the network said.
There was no immediate comment from Warner or TNT on how the series would deal with Hagman's loss.
In 2006, he did a guest shot on FX's drama series "Nip/Tuck," playing a macho business mogul. He also got new exposure in recent years with the DVD releases of "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Dallas."
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said Saturday morning in a statement that Hagman's role as J.R. helped the city gain "worldwide recognition."
"Larry is a North Texas jewel that was larger than life and he will be missed by many in Dallas and around the world," Rawlings said.
The Fort Worth, Texas, native was the son of singer-actress Mary Martin, who starred in such classics as "South Pacific" and "Peter Pan." Martin was still in her teens when he was born in 1931 during her marriage to attorney Ben Hagman.
As a youngster, Hagman gained a reputation for mischief-making as he was bumped from one private school to another. He made a stab at New York theater in the early 1950s, then served in the Air Force from 1952-56 in England.
While there, he met and married young Swedish designer Maj Axelsson. The couple had two children, Preston and Heidi, and were longtime residents of the Malibu beach colony that is home to many celebrities.
Hagman returned to acting and found work in the theater and in such TV series as "The U.S. Steel Hour," ''The Defenders" and "Sea Hunt." His first continuing role was as lawyer Ed Gibson on the daytime serial "The Edge of Night" (1961-63).
He called his 2001 memoir "Hello Darlin': Tall (and Absolutely True) Tales about My Life."
"I didn't put anything in that I thought was going to hurt someone or compromise them in any way," he told The Associated Press at the time.
Hagman was diagnosed in 1992 with cirrhosis of the liver and acknowledged that he had drank heavily for years. In 1995, a malignant tumor was discovered on his liver and he underwent a transplant.
After his transplant, he became an advocate for organ donation and volunteered at a hospital to help frightened patients.
"I counsel, encourage, meet them when they come in for their operations, and after," he said in 1996. "I try to offer some solace, like 'Don't be afraid, it will be a little uncomfortable for a brief time, but you'll be OK.' "
He also was an anti-smoking activist who took part in "Great American Smoke-Out" campaigns.
Funeral plans had not been announced as of Saturday morning.
"I can honestly say that we've lost not just a great actor, not just a television icon, but an element of pure Americana," Eden said in her statement Friday night. "Goodbye, Larry. There was no one like you before and there will never be anyone like you again."
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Associated Press writers Erin Gartner in Chicago and Shaya Mohajer in Los Angeles, and AP Television Writer Frazier Moore in New York contributed to this report.
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