Strong Quake Shakes Central Philippines, Kills 10

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A 7.2-magnitude earthquake collapsed buildings and roofs and cracked roads Tuesday morning in the central Philippines, killing at least 10 people.

The quake was felt across the central region, and people rushed out of buildings and homes, including hospitals, as aftershocks continued. Offices and schools were closed for a national holiday, which may lower casualties.

The temblor struck about 56 kilometers (35 miles) deep below Carmen town on Bohol Island and did not cause a tsunami in the seas around the archipelago.

At least four were killed on Bohol, said the island's Gov. Edgardo Chatto.

Four others died when part of a fish port collapsed in Cebu city, across the strait from Bohol, officials said. Two more people died and 19 were injured when the roof of a market in Mandaue in Cebu province collapsed.

Photos from Cebu broadcast on TV stations showed a fallen concrete 2-story building, and reports said an 8-month-old baby and a second person were pulled out alive.

Vilma Yorong, a Bohol provincial government employee, said she was in a village hall in Maribojoc town when "the lights suddenly went out and we felt the earthquake."

"We ran out of the building, and outside, we hugged trees because the tremors were so strong," she told The Associated Press by phone. "When the shaking stopped, I ran to the street and there I saw several injured people. Some were saying their church has collapsed."

She said that she and the others ran up a mountain fearing a tsunami would follow the quake. "Minutes after the earthquake, people were pushing each other to go up the hill," she said.

Chatto, the Bohol governor, said that a church was reported damaged in the provincial capital of Tagbilaran and a part of the city hall collapsed, injuring one person.

A 17th-century stone church in Loboc town, southwest of Carmen, crumbled to pieces, with nearly half of it reduced to rubble. Other old churches dating from the Spanish colonial period, which are common in the central region, also reported damage.

Tuesday is a national holiday for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, and that may have reduced casualties because schools and offices are closed. The earthquake also was deep below the surface, unlike the 6.9-magnitude temblor last year in waters near Negros Island, also in the central Philippines, that killed nearly 100 people.

Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda said that he recalled soldiers from the holiday furlough to respond to the quake. He said it damaged the pier in Tagbilaran and caused some cracks at Cebu's international airport but that navy ships and air force planes could use alternative ports to help out.

Passenger flights were put on hold until officials check runways and buildings for damage.

Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire."

Cebu province, about 570 kilometers (350 miles) south of Manila, has a population of more than 2.6 million people. Nearby Bohol has 1.2 million people and is popular among foreigners because of its beach and island resorts.

___

Associated Press writers Hrvoje Hranjski, Teresa Cerojano and Jim Gomez contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=234406287&ft=1&f=
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PC shipments crater and tablets are the bogeymen

The third-quarter numbers are in, and both of the major PC shipment bean-counting organizations agree that worldwide PC shipments are down year-on-year (IDC says down 7.6 percent, Gartner says 8.6 percent), but US shipments held relatively stable (IDC says down 0.2 percent, Gartner says up 3.5 percent). In short, it was the worst back-to-school quarter in five years.

Worldwide, Lenovo and HP are running neck and neck, both eking out a bit of growth; Dell's shipments are up slightly, but Acer and Asus have hit the skids, down 20 to 30 percent from last year. In the US, the big stories are Lenovo, with an increase of 25 percent or so; Toshiba, up about 14 percent in the US; and Apple, with a decline of 11.2 percent (IDC) or 2.3 percent (Gartner), depending on whom you believe.

IDC's numbers don't include iPads or "Android-based tablets with detachable keyboards." Gartner's numbers don't include "media tablets such as the iPad." Neither company breaks out Surface sales, which are presumably too small to make any difference.

Tablets are the bogeymen, of course -- blamed by one and all for sapping PC sales.

I tend to look at the numbers with a Windows 7 vs Windows 8 eye. Consumer PC shipments in the US invariably come with Windows 8 pre-installed, and corporate shipments commonly end up with Windows 7. Outside the US, PC shipments aren't always tied to an operating system -- any operating sytem. The fact that Lenovo dominates worldwide shipments, with 14 million PCs that may or may not have Windows pre-installed, yet only hits fourth place in the US, with 1.7 million PCs, speaks volumes: The US accounts for about 20 percent of all PCs sold worldwide, yet Lenovo only sells about 12 percent of its PCs in the US. Could the difference be at least partially attributable to flexibility in shipping Windows 8 pre-installed?

IDC says that Windows 8.1, due next week, led to an uptick in PC shipments late in the quarter:

While shipments remained weak during the early part of the quarter, the market was somewhat buoyed by business purchases, as well as channel intake of Windows 8.1-based systems during September.

To my jaundiced eye, that's a danger sign. If the general acceptance of Windows 8.1 mirrors that of Windows 8, we're going to see a whole lot of Q3 PC shipments sitting on the shelves this Christmas. Granted, enterprise customers will be moving from Windows XP to Windows 7 as fast as they can, and that will drive some PC shipments. But it doesn't seem likely that this one-time shift will turn the PC market around even temporarily, much less permanently.

While I have great hopes that Windows 9 will show a significant turnaround in the evolution of Windows -- primarily growing the phone system "up" into tablets, rather than forcing the desktop version "down" -- it's hard to be optimistic about Windows 8.1's prospects. A significant non-BandAid update to the PC version of Windows could well be a few years away, and the market's changing on Internet time.

A year ago Steve Ballmer predicted that 400 million Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices would be in use by now. No matter how you count the chips, Win8 reality hasn't quite met up with Ballmer's expectations.

This story, "PC shipments crater and tablets are the bogeymen," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/pc-shipments-crater-and-tablets-are-the-bogeymen-228542?source=rss_infoworld_blogs
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Church of England sees momentum for ethical investment

By Belinda Goldsmith and Chris Vellacott

LONDON (Reuters) - The global financial crisis has strengthened the Church of England's drive for more ethical business practices by making companies and shareholders more receptive to change, according to the man who manages its investment fund.

With about 5.5 billion pounds ($8.8 billion) of financial and property assets, the Church has greater clout than many hedge funds. But it has often struggled to make its voice heard.

That is starting to change, according to First Church Estates Commissioner Andreas Whittam Smith.

"It's on both sides," he told Reuters in his wood-paneled office in the shadows of London's Westminster Abbey. "It's not only companies considering whether they are behaving as they should as good citizens," it's also investors preparing to line up alongside the Church to promote better behavior, he said.

"Our typical holdings in companies are half percents, so in itself it doesn't make a lot of difference, but if you can represent with others 15 percent of the capital you can achieve something."

Ethical investment comes at a cost, estimated at about 0.7 percent a year of growth lost from "opportunities foregone".

But the Church's fund still made a return of 9.7 percent last year and stands firmly by its decision to sell out of News Corp in 2012 and mining company Vedanta in 2010, unhappy with how the companies were run.

Taking a moral high ground to investment has meant some public relations hiccups along the way.

Scrutiny of the Church's portfolio intensified this year after it was found to indirectly invest in short-term lender Wonga which Church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, said he wanted "to compete out of business".

But Whittam Smith, a former financial journalist who founded the Independent newspaper in 1985, said ethical investment was not just about avoiding shares in firms involved in pornography, gambling, alcohol and tobacco, or the like.

"With ethical investment there are two aspects. One is to disinvest, the second is to stay and see whether you can change things," he said.

"CHANGE IN MORAL CLIMATE"

About 2.5 billion pounds of the Church's portfolio is invested in shares listed in Britain or overseas, including in drug companies GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca , miner Rio Tinto , and bank HSBC .

Whittam Smith said the Church had discussed its role in the banking sector after a string of scandals over mis-selling and huge compensation payouts, but decided it had more influence as an activist shareholder within to change the moral compass.

"Active ethical investment is not visible from the outside but I see from the inside it changes things," he said.

Whittam Smith added he believed the City of London's financial industry had undergone a "change in moral climate", reining in the bloated bonuses and unscrupulous behavior of recent years. Much still needed to be done, however.

"We still have concerns about the banks as you would imagine. I think there is a change in sentiment in retail banking. I'm not sure there's a change of sentiment in investment banking," he said.

His confidence in bringing change in the banking sector was reflected two weeks ago when it emerged the Church had joined U.S. investors to back a new "ethical" British bank from branches sold by Royal Bank of Scotland .

Whittam Smith said the Church's investment in 314 branches of the dormant Williams & Glyn's brand was worth about 60 million pounds and the Church would appoint one board director.

This move indicated the Church was taking an increasingly hands-on role in its investment, for example managing its own property assets worth over 1.1 billion pounds, he said.

Other recent changes in the portfolio include a greater investment in timber, mostly in the United States, and taking a more rigorous path in choosing managers to run fund assets.

Whittam Smith was confident the portfolio was faring well this year and would again beat its annual growth target of five percentage points over the rate of inflation, with much of the income used to pay clergy pensions and support Church work.

"I believe we will exceed that this year," he said.

He said the Church fund was looking to invest in infrastructure projects either in Britain or overseas, increase investment in private equity, and had considered investing in Brazil but had veered off that idea for now.

Asked what kept him awake at night, Whittam Smith expressed deep concerns about the fiscal impasse in the United States.

"If it all went terribly wrong and there was a default it would unpick things very quickly, much more quickly than people think, because so many things depend on it," he said.

(Editing by Mark Potter)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/church-england-sees-momentum-ethical-investment-012326984--finance.html
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Today in History

Today is Wednesday, April 24, the 114th day of 2013. There are 251 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 24, 1913, the 792-foot Woolworth Building, at that time the tallest skyscraper in the world, officially opened in Manhattan as President Woodrow Wilson pressed a button at the White House to signal the lighting of the towering structure.

On this date:

In 1792, the national anthem of France, "La Marseillaise" (lah mahr-say-YEHZ'), was composed by Captain Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.

In 1800, Congress approved a bill establishing the Library of Congress.

In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States. (The United States responded in kind the next day.)

In 1915, what's regarded as the start of the Armenian genocide began as the Ottoman Empire rounded up Armenian political and cultural leaders in Constantinople.

In 1916, some 1,600 Irish nationalists launched the Easter Rising by seizing several key sites in Dublin. (The rising was put down by British forces almost a week later.)

In 1932, in the Free State of Prussia, the Nazi Party gained a plurality of seats in parliamentary elections.

In 1953, British statesman Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1962, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology achieved the first satellite relay of a television signal, using NASA's Echo 1 balloon satellite to bounce a video image from Camp Parks, Calif., to Westford, Mass.

In 1963, the Boston Celtics won the NBA Finals in Game 6, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 112-109.

In 1970, the People's Republic of China launched its first satellite, which kept transmitting a song, "The East is Red."

In 1980, the United States launched an unsuccessful attempt to free the American hostages in Iran, a mission that resulted in the deaths of eight U.S. servicemen.

In 1993, former African National Congress president Oliver Tambo died in Johannesburg, South Africa, at age 75.

Ten years ago: U.S. forces in Iraq took custody of Tariq Aziz (TAH'-rihk ah-ZEEZ'), the former Iraqi deputy prime minister. China shut down a Beijing hospital as the global death toll from SARS surpassed 260. In Red Lion, Pa., 14-year-old James Sheets shot and killed principal Eugene Segro inside a crowded junior high school cafeteria, then killed himself.

Five years ago: The White House accused North Korea of assisting Syria's secret nuclear program, saying a Syrian nuclear reactor destroyed by Israel in 2007 was not intended for "peaceful purposes."

One year ago: President Barack Obama went after the college vote, telling students at the University of North Carolina that he and first lady Michelle Obama had "been in your shoes" and didn't pay off their student loans until eight years ago. Republican Mitt Romney swept primaries in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York. Lakers forward Metta World Peace was suspended for seven games by the NBA two days after a vicious elbow on Oklahoma City's James Harden.

Today's Birthdays: Film and drama critic Stanley Kauffmann is 97. Movie director-producer Richard Donner is 83. Actress Shirley MacLaine is 79. Author Sue Grafton is 73. Actor-singer Michael Parks is 73. Actress-singer-director Barbra Streisand is 71. Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is 71. Country singer Richard Sterban (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 70. Rock musician Doug Clifford (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 68. Rock singer-musician Rob Hyman is 63. The Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, Enda Kenny, is 62. Actor-playwright Eric Bogosian is 60. Rock singer-musician Jack Blades (Night Ranger) is 59. Actor Michael O'Keefe is 58. Rock musician David J (Bauhaus) is 56. Actor Glenn Morshower is 54. Rock musician Billy Gould is 50. Actor-comedian Cedric the Entertainer is 49. Actor Djimon Hounsou (JEYE'-mihn OHN'-soo) is 49. Rock musician Patty Schemel is 46. Rock musician Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors) is 45. Actress Melinda Clarke is 44. Latin pop singer Alejandro Fernandez is 42. Country-rock musician Brad Morgan (Drive-By Truckers) is 42. Rock musician Brian Marshall (Creed; Alter Bridge) is 40. Actor Derek Luke is 39. Actor Eric Balfour is 36. Actress Rebecca Mader is 36. Country singer Rebecca Lynn Howard is 34. Country singer Danny Gokey is 33. Actor Austin Nichols is 33. Actress Sasha Barrese is 32. Contemporary Christian musician Jasen Rauch (Red) is 32. Singer Kelly Clarkson is 31. Rock singer-musician Tyson Ritter (The All-American Rejects) is 29. Actor Doc Shaw is 21.

Thought for Today: "To change and to improve are two different things." ? German proverb.

(Above Advance for Use Wednesday, April 24)

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/today-history-050206767.html

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Bangladesh factory building collapse kills nearly 100

By Serajul Quadir and Ruma Paul

DHAKA (Reuters) - A block housing garment factories and shops collapsed in Bangladesh on Wednesday, killing nearly 100 people and injuring more than a thousand, officials said.

Firefighters and troops dug frantically through the rubble at the eight-storey Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 km (20 miles) outside Dhaka. Television showed young women workers, some apparently semi-conscious, being pulled out.

One fireman told Reuters about 2,000 people were in the building when the upper floors slammed down onto those below.

Bangladesh's booming garments industry has been plagued by fires and other accidents for years, despite a drive to improve safety standards. In November 112 workers died in a blaze at the Tazreen factory in a nearby suburb, putting a spotlight on global retailers which source clothes from Bangladesh.

"It looks like an earthquake has struck here," said one resident as he looked on at the chaotic scene of smashed concrete and ambulances making their way through the crowds of workers and wailing relatives.

People and rescuers gather after an eight-story building housing several garment factories collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Dozens were killed and many more are ... more? People and rescuers gather after an eight-story building housing several garment factories collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Dozens were killed and many more are feared trapped in the rubble. (AP Photo/ A.M. Ahad) less? "I was at work on the third floor, and then suddenly I heard a deafening sound, but couldn't understand what was happening. I ran and was hit by something on my head," said factory worker Zohra Begum.

An official at a control room set up to provide information said 96 people were confirmed dead and more than 1,000 injured. Doctors at local hospitals said they were unable to cope with the number of victims brought in.

CRACKS IN BUILDING

Mohammad Asaduzzaman, in charge of the area's police station, said factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after a crack was detected in the block on Tuesday.

Five garment factories - employing mostly women - were housed in the building, including Ether Tex Ltd., whose chairman said he was unaware of any warnings not to open the workshops.

"There was some crack at the second floor, but my factory was on the fifth floor," Muhammad Anisur Rahman told Reuters. "The owner of the building told our floor manager that it is not a problem and so you can open the factory."

He initially said that his firm had been sub-contracted to supply Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, and Europe's C&A. In a subsequent interview he said he had been referring to an order in the past, not current work.

Wal-Mart did not immediately respond to requests for comment. C&A said that, based on its best information, it had no contractual relationship with any of the production units in the building that collapsed.

The website of a company called New Wave, which had two factories in the building, listed 27 main buyers, including firms from Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Canada and the United States.

"It is dreadful that leading brands and governments continue to allow garment workers to die or suffer terrible disabling injuries in unsafe factories making clothes for Western nations' shoppers," Laia Blanch of the U.K. anti-poverty charity War on Want said in a statement.

November's factory fire raised questions about how much control Western brands have over their supply chains for clothes sourced from Bangladesh. Wages as low as $38.50 a month have helped propel the country to no. 2 in the ranks of apparel exporters.

It emerged later that a Wal-Mart supplier had subcontracted work to the Tazreen factory without authorization.

Buildings in the crowded city of Dhaka are sometimes erected without permission and many do not comply with construction regulations.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Biraj; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/garment-factory-building-collapses-bangladesh-25-dead-tv-051140268.html

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House GOP report: Hillary Clinton lied under oath about additional Benghazi security request (Michellemalkin)

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Georges St-Pierre says he still has challenges at 170 lbs

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre stopped by the "UFC Tonight" studio and talked about the challenges he sees on the horizon. While everyone is clamoring for an Anderson Silva-Georges St-Pierre bout, he thinks there are still plenty of challenges for him to tackle at welterweight. And as he's claimed many times, St-Pierre said a move up to fight Silva at middleweight would have to be a permanent move because he doesn't want to cut back down. GSP also talked about his new book, his week of Hollywood glamor, and the reasoning behind that hair. Check it out.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/georges-st-pierre-says-still-challenges-170-lbs-131440236--mma.html

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