Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/302436864?client_source=feed&format=rss
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মঙ্গলবার, ৩০ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩
Italy's new government wins 1st confidence vote
ROME (AP) ? Italy's new government easily passed its first confirmation vote Monday in Parliament after Premier Enrico Letta made concessions to his uneasy coalition allies, promising to ease part of a slate of austerity measures that have weighed on Italians impatient at the slow pace of economic recovery.
While pledging the country will do what the eurozone wants to improve its public finances and debt problem, the center-left leader has to placate his tense two-day-old coalition, including former premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservatives, whose support he needs for confirmation.
The lower house of Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, approved his fledgling government by a vote of 453 to 153. The government faces the second mandatory confidence vote of confirmation in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon.
Bending in part to a key Berlusconi campaign promise, Letta said his government will immediately suspend an unpopular tax on primary residences due in June and make it fairer to less affluent taxpayers. He also pledged not to raise the sales tax and to reduce some payroll taxes.
"Reducing taxes is a priority," Letta said, promising he would "pinpoint a strategy to revive growth without interfering with the process to heal finances."
The European Union has insisted on rigorous austerity to heal Italy's finances, but the public's patience has been tried by spending cuts and higher taxes. Voters across the continent have been rebelling against governments that have imposed such measures.
While Letta stressed the urgency of reducing the tax burden on homeowners, consumers and businesses, he didn't say how he planned to make up for the reduced revenues. He might have to resort to more spending cuts, which could ultimately sharpen an already harsh part of the austerity agendas.
Markets appeared pleased over Letta's brand new government. Italy's stock market was trading up some 2.2 percent at the market's close, while the country's borrowing costs on its 10-year bonds dropped below 4 percent for the first time since 2010.
The failure of Letta's party to win both chambers in the February election left the nation in political paralysis until he agreed to a deal on Saturday with Berlusconi.
Berlusconi had demanded that the new government honor his No. 1 campaign promise to voters ? abolishing the property tax on primary residences and refunding what Italians paid in the tax last year. Letta didn't say if last year's property tax payments would be refunded, but a top Berlusconi aide immediately shouted victory and insisted it would be.
"If Letta wants the PDL votes, this is the condition posed in a coalition government," an exultant Brunetta told state TV, referring to the initials of Berlusconi's party.
Standard & Poor's rating services said that it wasn't clear yet whether the government can put growth reforms in place, but said Letta's initial comments "suggest an intention to slow, but not to reverse" the pace of austerity.
Intent on reassuring eurozone governments and European Union officials that despite his demanding coalition partners, Italy's would stay the course of economic reform, Letta will soon visit major European capitals. He begins in Berlin on Tuesday, assuming his government wins the Senate confidence vote.
He'll also visit Paris and Brussels to give, as he put it, a "sign that this is a European and a pro-Europe government."
He vowed to keep the sales tax from rising to 22 percent from 21 percent in July, as predecessor Mario Monti's government had planned. Italy's business sector is worried the higher tax would discourage consumers from buying everything from washing machines to new clothing.
The new premier also pledged to reduce payroll taxes for businesses hiring the young or those currently on temporary work contracts.
Italy's central bank said Monday that Italian companies were suffering ever more as loans dry up, with banks reluctant to make risky deals.
Italians are impatient after 18 months of austerity budget, pension reform and new taxes under Monti to see jobs return and the small and medium firms that power the economy bounce back. Letta denounced the "anger and conflict" that the five-year economic slump has triggered.
On Sunday, an unemployed man shot and wounded two police officers Sunday in a crowded square outside the prime minister's office at the same time the government was being sworn in elsewhere in the capital.
The premier indicated his impatience with the political class' failure to enact reforms. He indicated that he would give this legislature 18 months to make serious inroads or he might throw in the towel. However, virtually nobody expects the new government to last anywhere near Parliament's five-year term.
___
Barry reported from Milan.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italys-government-wins-1st-confidence-vote-195954946.html
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সোমবার, ২৯ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩
StoryKid, Created By Literature PhDs Students, Is An App That Helps Young Ones Tell Stories (And Their Parents, Too)
Children are known for how much they love to play make-believe, and StoryKid, an app introduced today during the Disrupt Hackathon in New York, takes this and gives it a new twist by offering a series of pictures as visual cues for a child to tell a story based around them. StoryKid is aimed at children aged 2 to 5 who are already talking but may either be too young or are just starting to write. Created by two comparative literature PhD students from Columbia University, the idea is that this will help bring children into the world of story telling and literature. And as co-founder Tianjiao Yu tells me, it can also be used by parents when they've run out of inspiration for their own made-up bedtime stories.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/yJpW9EaiKgg/
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Samsung Galaxy Mega hits FCC (again), this time with LTE
Better start working on those powerball exercises. At least if Samsung's Galaxy Mega was the thing you thought your life was missing, as it's just landed at the FCC. Yeah, we know this isn't the first time, but on second time around it's the LTE-sporting AT&T-friendly GT-i9205 model. The usual lab tests show little that we didn't know already -- unless you didn't know it had LTE Band 5, dual band WiFi, NFC or GSM 850 / 1900. As the 5.8-inch isn't 4G-enabled, this means we're looking at the bigger 6.3-inch version, but still no word on if, when or how this might land on US shores. Still no harm in limbering up though, is there?
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Source: FCC
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Thunder Edge Rockets 104-101 In Game 3: Kevin Durant, OKC Take 3-0 Series Lead (VIDEO)
HOUSTON ? Kevin Durant was in uncharted territory on Saturday night, playing in his first game without friend and teammate Russell Westbrook.
Durant knew it would be different, but vowed to do whatever he could to carry his team through this difficult period.
He delivered on that promise by scoring 41 points and helping Oklahoma City fight off Houston's late rally to beat the Rockets 104-101 for a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series.
"I didn't feel the same," Durant said. "And I knew I just had to give my all from here on out ... every game is for him."
Durant checked his phone moments after leaving the court and smiled recalling the text messages he received from Westbrook.
"He texted me at halftime and right after the game," Durant said. "Just said congrats and that he loved me."
Durant scored 27 points in the first half, and the Thunder led by 26 points before a big third-quarter rally by the Rockets put them within striking distance.
Houston regained the lead with about 4 minutes left, and was up with less than a minute remaining. But Durant hit a 3-pointer, which bounced off the rim before falling in, to put Oklahoma City on top 100-99.
"We didn't want to give up any 3s," Houston's James Harden said. "He just made a lucky shot. It was good defense. It just went in and took some of the energy out of us."
A turnover by Harden gave the Thunder the ball back and Derek Fisher made two free throws to push the lead to three. Harden made a layup, but Reggie Jackson hit two more free throws after that.
Houston had a last chance, but Carlos Delfino's 3-pointer fell short.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks was impressed that his team was able to win despite losing its All-Star point guard.
"It's been an emotional time the last 48 hours," Brooks said. "We all love what Russell (Westbrook) is about. He's got probably the biggest heart I've ever been around."
Fisher said it was difficult getting through these last couple of days, but the 16-year veteran said he was there to help the younger guys deal with the loss of Westbrook.
"We're still grieving, so to speak, as a team," Fisher said. "But that's why I'm here, and that's why this is a team. Injuries and bad things happen in sports, but we still have to figure out a way to get things done."
Harden scored 30 points for the Rockets in the first playoff game in Houston since 2009. The Rockets will be at home again for Game 4 on Monday night.
Westbrook was injured in Game 2 and had season-ending right knee surgery Saturday. It was the first time Durant had played a pro game without Westbrook, who hadn't missed a game in his career before Saturday.
Durant's 41 points equaled a playoff career high, and he also had 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. He sat down for just 44 seconds on Saturday.
"Kevin has done a great job of being a playmaker all season long," Brooks said. "He's an amazing scorer, and he sets up a lot of guys to get easy buckets."
Jackson made his first career start in place of Westbrook and had 14 points, and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Chandler Parsons had a tying 3-pointer for Houston with 5:46 left, and Delfino put the Rockets in front for the first time since early in the first quarter when he connected from long range to make it 94-93 about 2 minutes later.
Ibaka made four straight points after that, ending with a reverse layup, to make it 97-94 with about a minute and a half left.
Harden hit a pair of free throws. Then Francisco Garcia's 3-pointer put them up 99-97 with 45 seconds left, before the clutch shot by Durant.
The Rockets rallied from a 15-point deficit to take a lead in the fourth quarter in Game 2. But they weren't able to hold on and Oklahoma City got the 105-102 win.
It was much the same this time, as Houston went up late only to fall again.
"We've got to find a way to win those games," Houston coach Kevin McHale said.
Harden complained that he and his teammates were sluggish and lacked energy early. He knows that won't cut it if they expect to win on Monday.
"We have to have that energy from the beginning of the game to the end of the game," he said. "We can't have droughts. You have to play a solid game for 48 minutes."
Westbrook's absence didn't seem to bother Oklahoma City early, as Durant had the big first half and the Thunder looked to be in complete control.
Things changed in the third quarter when Durant was limited offensively and Houston outscored the Thunder 27-14 in the period.
Houston point guard Jeremy Lin, who bruised a chest muscle in Game 2, started but scored only two points in about 18 minutes.
Parsons scored 21 points, and Garcia had 18.
After a big run got Houston within eight in the third quarter, Garcia and Harden made 3-pointers around a dunk by Durant to whittle the lead to 80-76 entering the last quarter.
Durant was scoreless in the third until his dunk with 27 seconds remaining in the quarter.
The Thunder led by 19 points when the Rockets used a 16-5 surge to get to 78-70 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third. The Rockets harassed Oklahoma City into three turnovers in that stretch, and Durant went cold as he missed four shots.
NOTES: Garcia and McHale received technical fouls in the first quarter. ... Pitching great Roger Clemens and Houston Texans star receiver Andre Johnson attended the game.
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/28/thunder-rockets-game-3-playoffs_n_3172264.html
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রবিবার, ২৮ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩
President Obama Zings CNN, MSNBC During Correspondents? Speech ? Watch the Whole Thing Here
ObamaPresident Barack Obama talks with Ed Henry, President of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) during the organization's annual dinner on April 27, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Getty Images)
President Barack Obama had several pages of cohesive one-liners during his White House Correspondents' Dinner Speech Saturday night.? He took aim at Rush Limbaugh and Republicans, as is his habit, but he (and many others) also singled out CNN and MSNBC.
Swaggering up to the podium to the sound of rap music, he began: "Rush Limbaugh warned you about this -- second term baby, we're changing things around here a little bit..."
He touched on how the second term, though, is somewhat more tiring.? "I'm not the strapping young Muslim socialist that I used to be..." he joked.
The president said at one point he was so desperate to quell the never-ending controversy he decided to use one of "Michelle's tricks."? At that point, a number of images of President Obama flashed on the screen, all with prominent bangs PhotoShopped onto the forehead.
Switching gears, Obama turned to the media.? Of CNN, he said: "I admire their commitment to cover all sides of the story -- just in case one of them happens to be accurate!"
He continued: "David Axelrod now works for MSNBC, which is a nice change of pace since MSNBC used to work for David Axelrod.? The History channel is not here, I guess they were embarrassed about that whole, 'Obama is a devil thing,' of course that didn't keep Fox News from showing up..."
After joking about how Buzzfeed used to be "something I did in college around 2 a.m," Obama recognized the press' preference for him over his competitors.
"My job is to be president, your job is to keep me humble -- frankly I think I'm doing my job better," he said.
After joking about the election and how Sheldon Adelson would've been better off offering him $100 million to drop out than spending it on attack ads, the president said he's already planning his legacy.
In lieu of a library, he's going to build another "edifice" next to the George W. Bush presidential library.? A giant billboard pointing to it saying, "His Fault."
President Obama closed on a more somber note, saying "these have been some very hard days for too many of our citizens...[but] even when the days seem darkest, we have seen humanity shine at its brightest.? We have seen first respondents and national guardsmen who dashed into danger, law enforcement officers who served their oath to serve and protect, Americans opening their homes and their hearts to perfect strangers..."
He urged everyone in the room to do more for "all those folks who are counting on us."
Watch the entire speech via the Washington Post, below:
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/president-obama-zings-cnn-msnbc-during-correspondents-speech-042426745.html
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