Sony’s “surprise” PlayStation 4 announcement earlier this week reportedly caught Microsoft off guard at first, according to one Sony senior official that asked not to be named. The person in question said they definitely ruffled some feathers which seems likely considering most expected the two companies to announce their next… … Read More
Alex Jones: Taylor Swift ‘loves genetically-modified bacteria poop’
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who earlier this year led the push to have CNN host Piers Morgan deported, is now calling on singer Taylor Swift to stop endorsing Diet Coke. Jones’ criticism, released on Friday, hinges on the soda containing the sweetener Aspartame, which some studies have…
Surface Pro Release Date Set For Feb. 9 By Microsoft
REDMOND, Washington (AP) — Microsoft says that the pro version of its Surface tablet will be available to purchase Feb. 9 in the U.S. and Canada.
Unlike the previous version that launched in October, the “Surface Windows 8 Pro” will use the full version of Windows 8, which is compatible with programs that run on earlier versions of Windows.
The tablet will be priced starting at $899 for the model with 64 gigabytes of memory.
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British-Somali man abducted from Africa appears in US court
A British-Somali man, who earlier this year was stripped of British citizenship and subsequently went missing, has appeared before a US federal court to face charges of terrorism.Mahdi Hashi, 23, disappeared on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, several months ago. He stands accused of “providing material support” to Somali militant group al Shabaab and “the unlawful use of high-powered firearms.”An FBI statement revealed that from December 2008 to August 2012, Hashi, known as ‘Talha,’ joined with two other men also on trial and “participated in weapons and explosives training with members and associates of al Shabaab,” and was “deployed in combat operations to support al Shabaab’s military action in Somalia.”If convicted of all charges, Hashi will face a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 30 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.The other two defendants were identified by the FBI as Ali Yasin Ahmend and Mohamed Yusuf, who allegedly hold Swedish citizenship. The three men were apprehended in Africa in August while traveling to Yemen, US authorities said.Hashi has been in the US penal system since November 12, however, his family and his legal team were not informed of his capture, the FBI said.Hashi, who had been raised in London since he was 5, was stripped of British citizenship in June over accusations of his involvement with Islamist extremists. His family claims that the decision was prompted by Hashi’s refusal to become an informant for MI5.In 2009, while still in the UK, he and his Muslim acquaintances were allegedly harassed by security agents, who tried to force them to spy on their Muslim neighbors.“All I can say is that Madhi is a Muslim in belief; he is a practicing Muslim. But being a practicing Muslim does not mean an Islamist. That’s all why he is being victimized,”Hashi’s father Mohamed told RT.Sometime after the incident, Hashi returned to Somali to care for his grandmother. He went missing in the summer of 2012.Mohamed Hashi said that after his son disappeared, the family was contacted by a man who claimed he had been held with Madhi in a jail in neighboring Djibouti. … Read More
Spain gets €39bn aid for banking
(AFP Photo / Dominique Faget)Spain has received a 39.5 billion euros aid package from the European Stability Mechanism to keep the country’s banking system afloat.“The funds from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) have been received…for the Group One banks,” the Spanish Economy Ministry confirmed to Reuters.The money was transferred to Spain’s own bank bailout fund, the FROB, and then will be disbursed to the banks. Nearly half of that total – 17.96bn euro – will go to Bankia, while 5.43bn euros will be provided to Novagalicia, 9.08 billion euros to CatalunyaCaixa and 4.5 billion euros to Banco de Valencia.Besides that, the 2.5bn euro will fund the Sareb bank, set up to absorb toxic real-estate assets. The set up of a ‘bad’ bank is expected to simplify monitoring of rescued Spanish banks as their bad assets would be consolidated in a single centrally-administered body.In exchange for financial aid, the Spanish banks are expected to tighten their belts, including employee lay-offs, which is likely to worsen the situation at the country’s job market which has 25% unemployment. In June the eurozone’s finance ministers agreed to provide up to 100 billion euro to recapitalize Spanish banks. Earlier EU leaders agreed their 500bn euro rescue fund would be able to recapitalize troubled banks directly without providing money first to national governments.Meanwhile independent auditors on Friday revealed the results of a check on Spain’s banks saying they would need about 62 billion euros in the worst case scenarioSpanish banking problems has become the major problem for the eurozone finances following Greece as the bursting of the Spanish housing bubble in 2008 created a huge number of bad debts.
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Chargers Upset Steelers 34-24: San Diego Snaps Four-Game Losing Streak
PITTSBURGH — Norv Turner looked nothing like a man who earlier this week was reportedly certain to be fired at the end of the season.His San Diego Chargers played nothing like a team that had won only once since September.Read More…
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