SA:SA govt clamps down on crime gangs

AAP General News (Australia)
08-21-2011
SA:SA govt clamps down on crime gangs

The South Australian government has moved to clamp down on criminal gangs with a raft
of measures aimed at disrupting gang activity and giving greater protection to victims.

Attorney-General JOHN RAU today announced a package of measures that includes making
it a criminal office to participate in a criminal organisation.

Known gang members will be banned from certain places, have their driver licences and
other licences revoked and be prevented from using electronic media under the new measures.

Mr RAU says the measures would make it more difficult for criminal gangs to operate.

AAP RTV ce/gfr/ar

KEYWORD: GANGS (ADELAIDE)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Howard govt staff left offices in "pigsty"

AAP General News (Australia)
02-18-2008
Fed: Howard govt staff left offices in "pigsty"

Staffers of the former HOWARD government's shadowy communication unit apparently left
their office in such a pigsty .. it took four days to clean up.

Labor senator ROBERT RAY says the suite occupied by the Government Members Secretariat
was smeared in food .. and damaged by indoor cricket games.

He's told a Senate estimates committee he has 55 photos of the damage .. as well as
the bat and ball .. and the stumps which happened to be a MARK VAILE poster.

Department of Parliamentary Services assistant secretary JOHN NAKKAN says he's unaware
of any damage .. because responsibility for ministerial wing suites lies with another
department .. and he'll check with the cleaners.

AAP RTV mfh/rl/jmt

KEYWORD: PIGSTY (CANBERRA)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED:Disasters see Easter crowds grow

AAP General News (Australia)
04-24-2011
FED:Disasters see Easter crowds grow

By Jessica Marszalek

BRISBANE, April 24 AAP - International and Australian disasters are behind strong Easter
church attendance across the country as people look to religion for comfort and a sense
of community, church leaders say.

There had been concerns the extra-long Easter and Anzac Day holiday weekend could see
a fall in church attendance this Sunday, but but church leaders say the opposite proved
to be the case, with numbers up at different denominational services throughout Australia.

This year's disasters in Australia, New Zealand and Japan were partly behind that,
the church leaders said.

Dean Peter Catt of St John's Anglican Cathedral in Brisbane, where numbers were reported
to be up by 50 per cent, said many were turning to religion after experiencing a strong
sense of community during Queensland's summer of disasters.

Parishes like Ipswich and Grantham, where flooding was particularly devastating in
January, had recorded higher-than-normal attendance figures, Dr Catt said.

"As to why they were there? I guess all the natural disasters and some of the other
stuff that's happening in the world has got people asking questions about ultimate meaning
and the like," he told AAP.

"I guess that could be the reason, but people were not talking about that as being
the reason they were there.

"I think there might just be a heightened sense of community that's probably a by-product
of all the stuff they've faced."

The Uniting Church reported similar record attendance.

Reverend Stewart Cameron, the lead minister for one of the church's largest congregations,
said attendance numbers were well up across the board.

Rev Cameron said attendance levels at his own church - the New Life Uniting Church
at Robina on the Gold Coast - were up by at least 10 per cent.

That was partly because Gold Coast holidaymakers had come along to services, he said.

"I also think the uncertainty of the last six months with what's happened here in Queensland
and New Zealand and Japan and everything else, I think that's part of it as well," he
told AAP.

"So many people are looking for a message of hope, and Easter's about that."

The Catholic archdiocese of Brisbane also reported strong numbers, with about 1200
at St Stephen's Cathedral's mid-morning service in Brisbane.

Young families in particular had turned to religion this Easter, Western Australia's
Anglican Archbishop Roger Herft said.

"We had a huge turnout, there was no sitting room anywhere," Archbishop Herft told AAP.

"The ushers commented to me that they had never seen so many young couples and young
families at a service."

While church numbers had been in decline in recent years, Archbishop Herft said he
was happy to see more people returning to their faith this year.

"I think a lot of young couples are saying, `We missed out on an important story and
we don't want our kids to miss out on it,' so they are bringing their children to church,"

he said.

At the Catholic mass at Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral, about 10,000 worshippers turned
out for the three Easter Sunday services.

And the city's St Andrew's Anglican Cathedral was standing room only.

Hundreds of poor and homeless people also gathered for an Easter Sunday roast lunch
and church service at Sydney charity The Exodus Foundation.

"In church, we had double the numbers we usually have and it looks like a huge turnout,"

the foundation's founder the Reverend Bill Crews said.

AAP jmm/mp

KEYWORD: EASTER AUST WRAP

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

GOLF:Webb to take on Tseng in opening round

AAP General News (Australia)
02-10-2011
GOLF:Webb to take on Tseng in opening round

Seven-time winner KARRIE WEBB won't have too look too far to keep on eye on ANZ Ladies
Masters favourite YANI TSENG in today's opening round.

WEBB and the world number two ranked TSENG are drawn together along with England's
MELISSA REID in a hot group to hit the Royal Pines course early.

While TSENG destroyed a top class field to win last weekend's Women's Open by seven
shots, WEBB has an amazing record on the course.

AAP wh/ash

KEYWORD: GOLF WOMEN (GOLD COAST)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

VIC:Shorten triggered ousting: Langdon

AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-2010
VIC:Shorten triggered ousting: Langdon

MELBOURNE, Aug 26 AAP - Victorian government lower house whip Craig Langdon has named
federal Labor powerbroker Bill Shorten as one of the "faceless" men behind his preselection
loss last month.

Mr Langdon cited family reasons for his resignation on Wednesday after 14 years as
an MP but also pointed to disunity in Labor ranks.

He lost Labor preselection for the seat of Ivanhoe in July to Education Minister Bronwyn
Pike's former chief-of-staff Anthony Carbines.

"I am going through a divorce and my children must come first," he told ABC Radio on Thursday.

"I'm not trying to damage the government per se, I'm trying to represent my seat and
get the best for it.

"I'm aware there was a campaign behind my back."

In a letter to Premier John Brumby, Mr Langdon said he was "fairly certain who the
`faceless they' are".

"I believe they were led by Bill Shorten and the AWU (Australian Workers Union) group
based in Geelong," he said.

"I've never been beholden to the factional warlords and that may well be my undoing,
I've never sought their support."

The state government would have struggled to hold on to the seat at the November poll,
Mr Langdon said.

"I don't believe the candidate's up to it," he said.

"My office has been inundated with phone calls and people coming in complaining about
his role as a (Banyule) councillor and his role as a candidate."

Opposition scrutiny of government spokesman David Davis said Mr Langdon's resignation
was a reflection on the Victorian government.

"He's obviously been a hard-working local member ... but this can't be seen as anything
other than an attack on the premier and the government."

MORE ees/gfr/jl/apm

KEYWORD: LANGDON

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Carl Williams dies in high security prison=4

AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2010
Vic: Carl Williams dies in high security prison=4

Williams was serving life imprisonment in Barwon's maximum security Acacia unit with
a non-parole period of 35 years for ordering the murders of three underworld rivals and
the failed conspiracy to murder a fourth person.

He was found guilty of murdering Jason Moran, Lewis Moran and Michael Marshall.

He had one child, a daughter, with his ex-wife Roberta Williams, a convicted drug trafficker.

Williams' father George was released from prison in June 2009 after serving a sentence
for drug trafficking, while his mother Barbara was found dead in 2009 after an apparent
overdose.

MORE ees/pmu/jlw

KEYWORD: PRISONER 4 MELBOURNE (REOPENS)

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Firefighters union slams commission evidence

AAP General News (Australia)
12-04-2009
Vic: Firefighters union slams commission evidence

By Edwina Scott

MELBOURNE, Dec 4 AAP - The firefighters' union has described as a "massive slur" evidence
to the bushfires royal commission that 46 city firefighters took sickies on Black Saturday.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) chief fire officer Tony Murphy on Thursday told the
commission that 46 city firefighters were "absent on unplanned leave" on February 7.

Mr Murphy revised that figure on Friday morning, admitting only five people had called
in sick without a medical certificate.

Asked on radio if he had 46 people on unplanned leave, he replied, "No".

"There were five people from the 46 that were without a certificate," Mr Murphy said.

"You know, this is a very, very complex issue."

United Firefighters Union (UFU) national secretary Peter Marshall said the firefighters
and the MFB were owed an apology by the chief officer, after calling for a vote of no
confidence among members.

"That was not unplanned leave," he told reporters on Friday.

"People were on WorkCover, on promotional courses, on military leave, leave that Mr
Murphy would have approved.

"The figures were doctored... to give a perception that there was a large-scale absence
on the day, and there was not."

An emotional Mr Marshall said the false figures were provided to deflect examination
of wasted MFB resources on February 7 and in the aftermath of the devastating fires that
killed 173 people.

In particular, he said the public deserved to know about an MFB strike team of 22 firefighters
kept waiting at Whittlesea for five hours on February 9 before deployment to a large fire
at Healesville.

The UFU has requested an urgent hearing at the commission on Monday to correct the record.

"The damage that was done yesterday was not only unwarranted, but it was very hurtful,"

Mr Marshall said.

"We say it's not good enough to simply run a red herring about some ill-conceived,
factually wrong issue on absenteeism ..."

"We want the real issues examined during this royal commission."

Comment is being sought from Mr Murphy.

AAP ees/pmu/jl

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES UNION

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Oldest contestant Bob wins Loser, shedding a record 87.6kg

AAP General News (Australia)
04-27-2009
Fed: Oldest contestant Bob wins Loser, shedding a record 87.6kg

EDS: Strictly Embargoed until 2230 (AEST) Monday, April 27, 2009

By Katherine Field, National Entertainment Writer

SYDNEY, April 27 AAP - The oldest-ever contestant on Australia's version of The Biggest
Loser, Bob Herdsman, has shed a record breaking 87.6kg to win the latest series and $200,000
in prize money.

Entering the television reality series competition weighing 167.8kg, the 57-year-old
shed more than half his body weight, and is now just 80.2kg.

It's the most weight a competitor has dropped in four years of the series.

But it looks like the major prize money will stay in the family, as Herdsman just pipped
his 27-year-old daughter-in-law Tiffany Herdsman who weighed in at 47.62 per cent less
than her starting weight of 113.6kg, losing 54.1kg.

She now weighs 59.5kg, and won $30,000.

Queenslanders Sharif Deen came third, with Sammy Fisher fourth.

A woman has never won The Biggest Loser.

Herdsman, from Stratham in Western Australia, said winning meant that his wife could
now rest easy.

"She thinks she's got her boy back that she married," Herdsman told AAP on Monday.

"I was a slim guy when she married me. I think she thinks I'm back at last.

"She doesn't have to be frightened every night, worried that I'm going to die in the night."

He said he was "ashamed" of himself before he entered the Network Ten competition and
would work hard to keep the weight off.

Herdsman says he'd now like to help others by mentoring obese people.

"I really hope that I can because I know what it's like to be obese," he said.

"I know the pain. I know the anguish."

Herdsman put down his win to pure hard work knowing he was the oldest in the "couples
competition".

"I'm ashamed of the way I allowed myself to become," he said.

"I was really only trying to rectify something that I should never have allowed in
the first place."

Despite concerns from some doctors that dramatic weight loss was unhealthy, Herdsman
said he felt great.

"I'm very very fit and healthy," he said.

"I've been on blood pressure and cholesterol medication for many years.

"I'm off all those now.

"My blood pressure is that of an athlete."

He added that he didn't think cosmetic surgery was necessary, as he didn't have much
overhanging skin.

As for being recognised - Herdsman said it had been crazy, but he wasn't expecting
the same reaction in his home town.

"It's bigger in Sydney. In our town, you have to have a special antenna to get channel
Ten," Herdsman said.

"So if they watch it they have to watch it on the WIN channel about 11'oclock at night.

"But here, in Sydney, oh my goodness, it's huge.

"People mob us and all kinds of things, it's crazy."

Herdsman says he plans to put some of the prize money into his retirement.

"And maybe a nice little holiday somewhere," he said.

AAP kaf/ht/cdh

KEYWORD: LOSER EMBARGOED (PIX AVAIL, FACTBOX)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Union seeks to stop mining job cuts at AIRC

AAP General News (Australia)
12-23-2008
Qld: Union seeks to stop mining job cuts at AIRC

The coal miners union will visit the Australian Industrial Relations Commission today
to stop job cuts at a central Queensland mine.

It comes after Xstrata Coal announced last week it would sack 230 workers at its Oaky
Creek mine at Tieri amid reduced demand for hard coking coal.

The CFMEU is seeking orders from the AIRC to stop the terminations.

The union argues the company failed to follow a workplace agreement that requires consultation
with workers and unions when redundancies were to occur.

STUART VACCANEO from the union says the job cuts had been announced via a press release
.. with no consultation undertaken.

AAP RTV jmm/ka

KEYWORD: XSTRATA (BRISBANE)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Swm: Lauterstein wins Olympic bronze

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-2008
Swm: Lauterstein wins Olympic bronze

By Todd Balym

BEIJING, Aug 16 AAP - Australian butterflyer Andrew Lauterstein will never forget his
100m butterfly Olympic bronze medal and neither will the rest of the world.

Lauterstein will be remembered as the other man on the podium, the one crying, when
US superstar Michael Phelps won his record-equalling seventh Olympic gold medal.

"I said to him I can't believe I'm about to cry and it's the American national anthem,"

said Lauterstein of his medal presentation.

The race will forever be shrouded in controversy after silver medallist Milorad Cavic
of Serbia protested the result after replays showed he touched the wall first even if
the timing awarded Phelps the win by one hundredth of a second.

Phelps was given a time of 50.58 seconds to Cavic's (50.59), while Lauterstein (51.12)
had his own tiny victory beating world record holder Ian Crocker (51.13) to bronze by
the same margin.

"It felt like I was dreaming," said Lauterstein of his third placing.

"It was the type of thing I was dreaming about last night. I knew I could be up there
pushing for a medal and it is just amazing.

"Words cannot comprehend the way I am feeling at the moment.

"It was just a great race to be part of, an absolute spectacle.

"I had already achieved all my goals for this meet and it was just a matter of going
out there and knowing I had nothing to lose."

Lauterstein's rise to Olympic bronze medallist is an incredible story of persistence
after he relocated from Melbourne to the Gold Coast as a backstroker.

He has since turned into a butterflyer and freestyler making massive gains in the past 12 months.

"I have trained better than I ever have and I've been taking my gym pretty professionally,"

he said.

"I've trimmed down a little bit and I think I'm stronger as well.

"A year and a half ago my 100m freestyle personal best was 51.1 and now it's my 100m
butterfly personal best.

"It is just crazy ... it's a little bit surreal at the moment."

AAP tb/mo

KEYWORD: OLY08 SWM LAUTERSTEIN

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Scientists tag deep-sea sharks

AAP General News (Australia)
04-09-2008
Fed: Scientists tag deep-sea sharks

Australian scientists have tagged deep-sea sharks to learn more about habitats closed
to commercial fishing.

Last month CSIRO scientists fitted acoustic tags to 50 gulper sharks .. swellsharks
and green-eye dogfish .. near Port Lincoln in South Australia.

They'll track their movements in a closed area designed to protect the gulper shark
.. a species which has been severely depleted and is nominated for protection.

The research is using tagging techniques never before tested at such depths and has
developed new handling practices to minimise stress caused by the tag and release process.

AAP RTV dep/rl/crh/bart

KEYWORD: TAG (CANBERRA)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

1400 973fm Headlines

AAP General News (Australia)
12-05-2007
1400 973fm Headlines

- KEVIN RUDD has described BERNIE BANTON as an extraordinary bloke and a true Australian hero.

- QLD will join the rest of Australia by adding fluoride to its water supply.

- GORDON NUTTALL has defended himself against the latest allegations of corruption.

- Large retailers across the state are being given the green light to open long hours
up until Christmas.

SPORT: NRL CEOs are discussing a daytime grandfinal.

AAP RTV jec/

KEYWORD: 1400 973FM (BRISBANE)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Drug laws don't protect public: study

AAP General News (Australia)
04-23-2007
NSW: Drug laws don't protect public: study

Eds: Embargoed until 0600 AEST on Monday, April 23

By Paul Carter

SYDNEY, April 23 AAP - The authors of a new study showing illicit drug use cost Australian
business $3.3 billion in one year say the law enforcement approach to drugs has failed
to protect people and commerce.

The Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation today released what it claims is the first
known Australian study to quantify the cost of illicit drug use.

The foundation said illicit drug use in 2003 cost Australian business $3.3 billion,
or two per cent of that year's corporate profits.

The Three Billion Dollar Question for Australian Business report counted the cost mostly
in terms of drugs' effect on labour - including a reduced workforce and absenteeism.

"The illicit drugs market draws resources away from legitimate businesses supplying
legal goods and services and paying their fair share of taxes," the report compiled by
economists says.

"If illicit drugs were reduced the business sector would benefit not only from reduced
labour costs and a bigger workforce but also from reduced drug-related property crime
and corruption, and higher consumer demand for legally supplied products.

"The potential for increased business efficiency could lead to greater export competitiveness,
better worker and management rewards, higher profits and higher returns to shareholders."

Foundation president Alex Wodak said a new approach to drugs was needed after the costly
law enforcement approach had largely failed to protect people.

"We would prefer to see a more balanced business-type approach to this problem where
governments invest according to the return on investment," Dr Wodak said.

"We know that return on investment is very good with drug treatment, harm reduction
and social services.

"Other governments around the world have already stopped pretending we can arrest and
imprison our way out of this problem.

"We have to move away from the `war against drugs' language and recognise this is a
problem that is not going to be solved by the I'm-tougher-than-you-are approach."

Dr Wodak said it had been proven that a health and social welfare approach to drugs
shrinks the drug market to a size law enforcement agencies can tackle.

"The problem now is the drug industry is so large that there is no possibility that
drug law enforcement can succeed. It's set up to fail," he said.

AAP pc/cp/cdh

KEYWORD: DRUGS (EMBARGOED)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: ABC workers to move out of cancer scare office=2

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-2006
Qld: ABC workers to move out of cancer scare office=2

Eds: Removes error in last par, thus removing the word "conducted"

The review, chaired by Sydney University public health professor Bruce Armstrong, concluded
it would have been reasonable for 1.6 women in the studio to have suffered breast cancer,
but the prevalence could not be due to a statistical abnormality.

It found women who worked for the broadcaster in Brisbane were between three and 11
times more likely to suffer breast cancer.

The report ruled out a number of lifestyle and environmental factors, but was unable
to pinpoint the cause.

The women did not have a higher level of personal risk factors, as all did significant
amounts of exercise, were non-smokers and none had a family history of cancer.

The investigation also tested radiation levels in the building and ruled that out as the cause.

An ABC reporter who attended the meeting with Mr Scott said about 250 people worked
at the studio.

Staff in the newsroom, where the concentration of cancer was highest, would move out
today, she said.

Most would probably work temporarily at the Ten Network and Network Seven's newsrooms.

Staff at other programs such as Australian Story and Landline would be moved to a temporary
location in coming days, she said.

"When Mark Scott, the managing director, handed down the report, there were a number
of women who were crying," the reporter said.

"A combination of emotions for the people they know, the women who have had breast
cancer, and of course for these young girls in their early 30s who are now concerned that
they might have ... breast cancer because they've worked there."

AAP jb/sb/goc/jlw/

KEYWORD: BREAST 2 BRISBANE (REISSUES)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Private school pays out over student's reading failure

AAP General News (Australia)
08-15-2006
NSW: Private school pays out over student's reading failure

A top private school in Melbourne has given a student's mother a payout for failing
to teach her son how to read properly.

YVONNE MEYERS reached an out-of-court settlement with Brighton Grammar School .. which
she says failed to deliver on its promise to address her son JAKE'S reading problems.

The Australian newspaper reports Ms MEYERS saying JAKE .. now aged 13 and in a private
secondary school .. made it all the way to Year 5 without adequate reading skills.

AAP RTV tr/psm/

KEYWORD: READING (SYDNEY)

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Red tape cut to bolster IR regime: Howard

AAP General News (Australia)
04-07-2006
Fed: Red tape cut to bolster IR regime: Howard

By Nick Lenaghan

MELBOURNE, April 7 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard hopes that slashing the cost of
incorporating companies will bring more of them under the reach of the government's new
workplace regime.

Mr Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello today announced the government would halve the
cost of incorporation to $400, under its plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from
business costs.

The halving of the incorporation fee alone will cost the federal budget more than $200
million over the next four years.

"We don't make any secret of the fact that one of the reasons why we are cutting the
cost of incorporation is to encourage firms and partnerships that might not be covered
by the industrial relations system that's been introduced recently, to make it more attractive
for them to do so," Mr Howard reporters in Melbourne.

He said the cuts would give small companies an incentive to come under the new regime,
which protects firms with fewer than 100 workers from unfair dismissal claims.

"The more companies, the small companies that come within the reach of the government's
industrial relations system, the better," he said.

"We want them to get under the umbrella of it, to get the benefit of it and take advantage
of it. They can only do that if they are incorporated."

Today's announcement is the first half of the government's response to a taskforce,
which compiled a report on reducing regulatory burdens on business.

The government's final response is due by the end of July.

Other changes include increasing the minor fringe benefits exemption threshold from
$100 to $300, and increasing the fringe benefits reporting exclusion threshold from $1,000
to $2,000. Both changes come into effect from April 1, 2007.

Firms will also be allowed to publish annual reports solely on the internet, removing
the requirement to mail them to shareholders.

Mr Costello said a recent survey showed Australia was the quickest and second easiest
place in the world to incorporate a company.

"It can be done in one day in Australia. So for people that want to incorporate and
to start a business in Australia it's as good as it's ever been," he said.

Mr Howard and Mr Costello also said state and local governments must also address the
problem of red tape.

Business groups around the country welcomed the changes, but demanded more cuts to
the costs of doing business.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the government's response was "good start".

"However, there is a way to go," it said in a statement.

"Regulation, especially where it has superficial political appeal, has become the most
favoured immediate policy reaction of bureaucrats, ministerial advisers and their ministers.

"Dealing with this mind-set remains an underlying problem."

Labor's treasury spokesman Wayne Swan praised the work of the taskforce but said the
government's response was inadequate.

It ignored the need for long-term systemic change to business regulation, he said.

AAP nl/dk/tnf/de

KEYWORD: BUSINESS NIGHTLEAD

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Dow Jones and Reuters to Combine Interactive Business Services.

NEW YORK and LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 1999--

New Venture Will Offer Combined Internet Product

to Global Corporate Desktop Market

Dow Jones & Company (NYSE:DJ) and the Reuters Group Plc (NASDAQ:RTRSY) announced today that they have agreed to combine their interactive business services, Dow Jones Interactive and Reuters Business Briefing.

The agreement will result in the formation of a new joint venture, Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive LLC, with combined 1998 revenues of more than $225 million. The new company will be a leading global service provider of proprietary and third party business information to corporate and professional markets. Importantly, it will target business professionals at their desktops through Internet distribution.

Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive LLC will develop a new web-based service to provide corporate news, information and research data for many categories of business professionals. It is currently planned to launch this product, with its innovative features and functionality, within twelve months. Before that, both Dow Jones and Reuters will provide proprietary content to one another's existing products enabling their respective customers to access and benefit from their combined information sources.

Both companies believe that the potential for developing the business information market for corporate users is significant. Independent research indicates that there are some five million potential corporate users world-wide, and that the corporate information market may be worth some $6 billion by 2002. The new company will be well positioned to benefit from the growth in this market. It will provide multiple language content and interfaces and will extend its penetration into developed markets in North America and Western Europe and exploit emerging markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Peter Job, Reuters chief executive, said: "The business information market is growing rapidly. To benefit fully from its growth one needs size, considerable information access and a leading market position. This combination provides those attributes and offers both partners excellent opportunities to realise the potential of the business information market world-wide, particularly through exploiting Internet technology. We are delighted to have been able to bring about this venture."

Peter Kann, chairman and chief executive officer, Dow Jones & Company, said: "Combining Dow Jones Interactive and Reuters Business Briefing will bring together the leading, state-of-the-art business 'current awareness' and archival services in North America, Europe and Asia, which we expect to be a `must-have' offering for every corporate desktop world-wide. We're thrilled to have completed this agreement."

The new joint venture company will be owned equally by Reuters and Dow Jones with a board of directors comprising representatives from the two companies. Its president and chief executive will be Timothy Andrews, currently vice president and editor of enterprise products for Dow Jones Interactive Publishing. The non-executive chairmanship of the board will rotate between the two parent companies. Rob Rowley, Reuters finance director, will be the first to hold the position.

Dow Jones Interactive, formerly known as Dow Jones News/Retrieval, provides archival material from The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires and more than 6000 other publications and is currently available on more than 650,000 desktops around the world. Reuters Business Briefing delivers to over 6,000 corporations and financial institutions a database of over 4,000 sources including leading newspapers, newswires, trade journals and magazines as well as archived Reuters news wires.

The new venture will have archival rights to The Wall Street Journal, including its international editions, and be able to access extensive content from more than 7000 international business news and information sources in 20 languages, with user interfaces in 11 of these languages.

The new venture does not involve the two companies' consumer Internet products, including The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition and Reuters digital new media products, nor their competing real-time financial newswires.

Note to editors

About Dow Jones & Company

In addition to Dow Jones Interactive, Dow Jones & Company publishes The Wall Street Journal and its international and Interactive editions, Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones Indexes, Barron's and SmartMoney magazines and other periodicals, and the Ottaway group of community newspapers. Dow Jones is co-owner of the CNBC television operations in Europe and Asia, and also provides news content to CNBC in the U.S.

For more details see www.dj.com

About Reuters

Reuters supplies the global financial markets and the news media with the widest range of information and news products including real-time financial data, collective investment data, numerical, textual, historical and graphical databases plus news, graphics, news video, and news pictures, reaching over 485,000 users located in 57,900 organisations. Reuters designs and installs enterprise-wide information management and risk management systems for the financial markets as well as providing equity and foreign exchange transaction systems. It extensively uses internet technologies for wider distribution of information and news. The Group employed 16,938 staff in 218 cities in 96 countries at 31 December 1998. Reuters is the world's largest news and television agency with 2,072 journalists, photographers and camera operators in 182 bureaux serving 157 countries. News is published in 23 languages.

For more details see www.reuters.com/aboutreuters

Reuters and the dotted and sphere logos are the trademarks of the Reuters Group of Companies.

This release contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the size of the corporate desktop market for on-line business information and research services and the extent to which that market grows; competition from other on-line and traditional business information services; difficulties or delays that may be encountered in the development, production, testing or implementation of new products; and such other risk factors as have been or may be included from time to time in the reports that Reuters Group Plc or Dow Jones & Company, Inc. file with the SEC.

E-Color to Provide Accurate Color to Streaming Media; New Technology Will Ensure Consistent Broadcasts.

Business Editors

Demo 2000

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2000

E-Color Inc.(TM), the industry's leader in color accuracy, announced today at DEMO2000 that they have created a technology to color correct streaming video.

The technology will be incorporated into E-Color's True Internet Color(TM) service in the near future (Q32K) and will enable broadcasters of streaming content such as movie studios, e-retailers, personal video recorders, and broadband providers to show color-corrected content on PC and TV screens. Poor image quality and color inconsistencies are acknowledged problems for video streamed over the Internet.

According to Forrester Research, there will be 13 million households viewing Web-enabled content on TV screens by 2004. An additional 17 million households will view enhanced broadcasts of some kind via cable or satellite. Adding another 6 million users of personal video recorders (TivO, ReplayTV) means that an additional 36 million users will be affected by E-Color's technology by 2004.

&uot;E-Color is always on the forefront of color technologies,&uot; stated Chris Shipley, editor of the Demo Letter. &uot;We are excited for them to be part of our conference today and demonstrating such an innovative technology.&uot;

Through the new technology, True Internet Color will support color-accurate e-commerce shopping on platforms such as WebTV as well as provide color accurate services to enhance broadcast of movie trailers via the Web and ultimately satellite broadcasts such as DirectTV. The streaming video technology is similar to E-Color's True Internet Color in that it enables streaming content providers to control the image quality through the broadcast, tuning the color, lighting, and shading characteristics for each consumer display.

&uot;Creating a technology to correct streaming media was the next logical step for us,&uot; stated Bill Hilliard, president and chief executive officer of E-Color, Inc. &uot;We've proven to be the leader in color matching on computer systems through Colorific(R) and on the Web through True Internet Color. We are now confident that our streaming media technology will provide equal benefits in this area.&uot;

Visit E-Color at DEMO2000 to see a demo of the movie &uot;The Matrix&uot; in a color-corrected and non-corrected environment. E-Color executives will show the improvement in quality that will be experienced by consumers as they watch streaming digital content in the new few years.

About E-Color Inc.

E-Color is the industry leader in electronic color matching technology in multiple applications, including e-retailing, computer displays, printer and graphic cards. Creating the standard for maintaining color fidelity on the Web, True Internet Color allows consumers to enjoy an accurate e-shopping experience, helping to avoid unnecessary returns due to incorrect color representation on screen.

E-retailers such as Bloomingdales.com, MXGonline, Indulge.com, Lucy.com and Art-Ex.com have already licensed True Internet Color. Leading monitor and system manufacturers including ADI, Acer Peripherals, Compaq, Hitachi, IBM, and Samsung have licensed Colorific for their monitors. Graphics card vendors such as Creative Labs, 3D Labs, Appian Graphics and VideoLogic also bundle Colorific with their products. For more information visit our newly designed Web site at www.ecolor.com.

6 E-Color and True Internet Color are registered trademarks of E-Color Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective companies.

New Findings from University of Turin in the Area of Medical Informatics and Decision Making Published.

According to the authors of a study from Turin, Italy, "Recent international sources have described how the rapid expansion of the Internet has precipitated an increase in its use by the general population to search for medical information. Most studies on e-health use investigated either through the prevalence of such use and the social and income patterns of users in selected populations, or the psychological consequences and satisfaction experienced by patients with particular diseases."

"Few studies have been carried out in Europe that have tried to identify the behavioral consequences of Internet use for health-related purposes in the general population. The aims of this study are to provide information about the prevalence of Internet use for health-related purposes in Italy according to demographic and socio-cultural features, to investigate the impact of the information found on health-related behaviors and choices and to analyze any differences based on health condition, self-rated health and relationships with health professionals and facilities. A multicenter survey was designed within six representative Italian cities. Data were collected through a validated questionnaire administered in hospital laboratories by physicians. Respondents were questioned about their generic condition, their use of the Internet and their health behaviors and choices related to Internet use. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression to assess any differences by socio-demographic and health-related variables. The sample included 3018 individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 years. Approximately 65% of respondents reported using the Internet, and 57% of them reported using it to search for health-related information. The main reasons for search on the Internet were faster access and a greater amount of information. People using the Internet more for health-related purposes were younger, female and affected by chronic diseases. A large number of Internet users search for health information and subsequently modify their health behaviors and relationships with their medical providers. This may suggest a strong public health impact with consequences in all European countries, and it would be prudent to plan educational and prevention programs," wrote R. Siliquini and colleagues, University of Turin.

The researchers concluded: "However, it could be important to investigate the quality of health-related websites to protect and inform users."

Siliquini and colleagues published their study in BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making (Surfing the internet for health information: an italian survey on use and population choices. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 2011;11():21).

For more information, contact R. Siliquini, University of Turin, Dept. of Public Health, School Specializat Public Health, Turin, ITALY.

Publisher contact information for the journal BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making is: Biomedical Central Ltd., 236 Grays Inn Rd., Floor 6, London WC1X 8HL, England.

Keywords: City:Turin, Country:Italy, Region:Europe

This article was prepared by Psychology & Psychiatry Journal editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, Psychology & Psychiatry Journal via NewsRx.com.

NZ firm addresses gripes on web.

New Zealand's Fisher & Paykel Appliances is communicating with unhappy North American customers on a US website that allows consumers to post complaints about defective products.

In April last year the Herald reported that the list of complaints about the whiteware maker's goods on Los Angeles based consumeraffairs.com ran to 16 internet pages.

Customers had posted notices covering a range of woes, from clothes dryers burning clothing to faulty dishwashers, fridges and poor customer service.

North America is a key market for the Manukau-based company, and accounted for $208 million, or 19 per cent, of total operating revenue in its last financial year.

US whiteware giant Whirlpool has more than 15 times as many complaints on consumeraffairs.com as F&P Appliances. However, its sales in North America, US$9.75 billion in 2010, were roughly 57 times greater than the New Zealand company's last year.

Since April 2010, about 80 more notices have been posted on the complaint website about F&P products, mostly from US consumers.

In a few of the posts customers report positive experiences with its appliances. To address the negative ones, the firm has signed up to consumeraffairs.com's ``reputation management programme''.

The service allows the company to post replies to complaints on the website, including one from a customer in the US city of Indianapolis, who wrote about a dryer bought in 2007 that had ``not worked a full year without breaking''.

F&P Appliances spokesman Matt Orr said it was important that the firm communicated directly with its customers to resolve issues.

``We've recognised that even one complaint is significant with that person and we want to get in touch with them.

``Consumeraffairs.com is a complaint site _ and it covers all brands not just us _ so we pay their monthly subscription fee so we can get in touch with [customers] and solve any issue they may have.''

James Bickford, the New Zealand managing director of global branding agency Interbrand, said online consumer review sites had given critical word-of-mouth a lot more power.

Prospective customers looked at these websites when researching products.

Bickford said F&P Appliances was doing the right thing in communicating directly with disappointed consumers.

``[Companies] are not spending enough time talking about how they can actually engage customers who are unhappy,'' he said.

Other websites are also carrying unflattering reviews of F&P products, such as Australia's productreview.com.au, on which 54 per cent of 593 F&P DishDrawers users gave the product a one star out of five rating. And in Consumer New Zealand's 2011 Appliance Reliability Survey, F&P DishDrawers were rated in the ``worse'' category behind dishwashers made by other manufacturers including Miele, Bosch and Whirlpool.

Orr said it was important to note that a Reader's Digest survey found F&P was this country's most trusted whiteware brand last year.

And the company announced late last month that product quality improvements had reduced warranty costs by $6 million in the year to March 31, compared with the previous year.

But Orr said the reduction in warranty costs was a result of continuous improvement within the company's operations.

Asked if he thought consumers' perception of F&P as a high-quality brand had diminished, he said: ``I can't really comment on the perception.

``At this stage we know that quality is very important _ that's why we continually try to improve our quality.''

NAB MELTDOWN A "WAKE UP CALL" FOR AUST FINANCIAL SEVICES SECTOR.

MELBOURNE, June 8 Asia Pulse - National Australia Bank's (ASX:NAB, NAB) payments processing meltdowns were a "wake-up call" for the financial services community, a technology conference has been told.

"It is a wake-up call," said CGU Insurance Australia chief information officer (CIO) Ian Frew.

Banks, insurers and others in the sector were always implementing large-scale business changes simultaneously and NAB's outages partly reflected poor processes, he said.

"It comes down to your change management processes - whether you have fully tested them ... and that you have the ability to not only deploy them, but to also pull them back very quickly if something has gone wrong."

Mr Frew was referring to NAB's payments processing meltdowns in November 2010 and April this year that left millions of employees without their pay.

He was speaking at FST Media's fifth annual Technology & Innovation - the Future of Banking and Financial Services conference in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The faults in NAB's overnight batch settlement systems affected customers of most Australian banks who transacted to and from NAB accounts.

It also hit customers of HSBC Australia, Citi and Macquarie Group, which use NAB for clearing and settlement services.

The November outage paralysed payments, EFTPOS and ATM systems for more than a week.

"We've certainly taken some learnings out of the last six months," NAB's head of mobile and emerging technologies, Ben Forsyth, said at the conference.

"We've seen similar problems across the big four in that period as well.

"The reality is that when you're dealing with the volumes that we're now putting through these systems, there will be instances where you have some kind of problem.

"It's how the organisation responds to those problems that is the differentiator."

He said NAB's response was robust, with the organisation pulling together to assist and communicate with customers, and ensure losses were reimbursed.

"There was an undying commitment to make sure none of our customers were out of pocket as a result of that."

NAB outsourced the management of its data centre to IBM in December.

NAB wants to be the number one bank, and the solution to its IT woes lies in revamping its core banking platform via its Next Gen platform, scheduled for release within 12 months, he says.

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) is progressing its core banking modernisation IT project and Westpac is focusing on updating customer facing technologies after delaying the integration of its core systems with St George until 2014.

ANZ will update the market on its IT strategy in coming months, chief executive Mike Smith said in May.

Like other bank IT executives, Mr Forsyth and ANZ Banking Group CIO Greg Booker say all financial institutions depend on each other for payments processing in what is an IT ecosystem.

"We work very closely together to make sure that those outages are minimised and the impact on customers is minimised," Mr Booker said.

NAB's rivals were also hit by IT faults, with CBA's (ASX:CBA) ATM system in March issuing more cash to customers than they had requested or had in their accounts.

Westpac's (ASX:WBC) internet banking customers were unable to access the portal in March; and ANZ's (ASX:ANZ) customers were unable to use internet banking and ATMs last June due to faults.

But the conference speakers denied they had found any faults or weaknesses when they reviewed their systems after the outages.

"In reality ... there's three lines of defence behind every single thing," said BankWest's head of application delivery, Dave Williams.

(AAP) ms 08-06 0924

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS FLORIDA AND HAWAII LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICES FOR WORK COMBATING CHILD EXPLOITATION.

MIAMI, FL -- The following information was released by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida:

Attorney General Eric Holder today honored several Florida and Hawaii law enforcement offices for their leadership protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The awards were presented at the 2011 National Strategy Conference on Combating Child Exploitation in San Jose, Calif.

Broward, Fla., Sheriff's Office; Miami-Dade Police Department; Miami Beach Police Department; the Honolulu Division of the FBI; the Miami Division of the FBI; the U.S. Secret Service Miami office; and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida were honored for their "Outstanding Overall Partnership Coalition" work in combating domestic sex trafficking of minors in South Florida.

Attorney General Eric Holder has made one of the Department of Justice's four key priorities the protection of those most vulnerable - children, the elderly, and victims of hate crimes, human trafficking and exploitation.

"Through their work in urban, rural and tribal communities - and through cutting-edge online efforts - these individuals are advancing bold, innovative and collaborative solutions to keep our children safe from all forms of exploitation and abuse," said Attorney General Holder. "By focusing on prevention and intervention, as well as proven enforcement and prosecution strategies, these award recipients are strengthening our ability to protect children in need and at risk, and to bring offenders to justice."

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, commended the efforts of the prosecutors and law enforcement officers, stating "Investigating and prosecuting child exploitation cases is a difficult and resource-intensive endeavor. The team of prosecutors, agents, and officers honored today worked seamlessly together, sharing information and resources, across jurisdictional limits, to rescue minor victims and bring the sex traffickers to justice."

Through close partnerships, shared resources and tireless work, this group's efforts have resulted in the indictment of more than 16 cases, charging more than 25 defendants for domestic sex trafficking of minors. In 2010, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Southern Florida had approximately five cases proceed to trial involving the sex trafficking of minors. Despite the many significant challenges faced by the prosecution teams, all defendants were found guilty.

Focused on protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation, the conference in San Jose is bringing together more than 1,000 investigators, agents and prosecutors from all levels of government to receive state-of-the-art instruction in investigative techniques, court room advocacy, digital forensics, behavioral profiling, victim advocacy and community outreach.

The conference is sponsored by the Department's Project Safe Childhood Initiative and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program.

United States Commodity Funds Recognized at 10th Annual Capital Link Global ETF Forum.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- United States Commodity Funds LLC (USCF), a leading provider of exchange traded commodity funds, announced that the United States Commodity Index Fund ("USCI"), a series of the United States Commodity Index Funds Trust, was honored at Capital Link, Inc.'s 10th annual Closed-End Fund and Global ETF Forum on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 as the "Most Innovative New ETF Product in 2010". In addition, the SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index Total Return was also honored as the "Most Innovative Index in 2010". The award was based on votes from ETF and closed-end fund analysts throughout the industry.

The United States Commodity Index Fund began trading on August 10, 2010, and is based on the SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index ("Commodity Index"). USCF is sponsor of USCI. SummerHaven Index Management, LLC ("SummerHaven"), owns and manages the Commodity Index.

John T. Hyland, CFA, USCF's Chief Investment Officer, said: "We are excited to be recognized by the industry for our newest fund. In addition, we are pleased that the analysts also saw fit to recognize the work of the team at SummerHaven Index Management."

Capital Link, Inc., a New York-based investor relations and financial communications firm, provides investor relations services to an extensive roster of corporations worldwide. Their services range from corporate advisory to internet based communications. As a sponsor of this forum, Capital Link is not part of the nominating committee.

About United States Commodity Funds LLC

United States Commodity Funds LLC manages exchange-traded products that track commodity futures price movement. As of December 31, 2010, USCF had $4.962 billion in total assets under management. For more information, please visit the USCF's website at www.unitedstatescommodityfunds.com.

About the SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index Total Return

The Commodity Index is designed to reflect the performance of a diversified group of commodities. The Commodity Index is owned and maintained by SummerHaven Index Management, LLC and calculated and published by Bloomberg, L.P. The Commodity Index was developed by SummerHaven based upon academic research by Yale University professors, Gary B. Gorton and K. Geert Rouwenhorst, and Hitotsubashi University professor, Fumio Hayashi. The Commodity Index is comprised of 14 commodity futures contracts that are selected on a monthly basis from a list of 27 possible commodity futures contracts.

This material must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus. Please read it carefully before investing or sending money.

Commodities and futures generally are volatile and are not suitable for all investors. The Fund is speculative and involves a high degree of risk. An investor may lose all or substantially all of an investment in the Fund. Funds that focus on a single sector generally experience greater volatility.

USCI is not a registered investment company so you do not have the protections of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Accordingly, you do not have the protections afforded by that statute which, for example, include: (1) controls over activities of an investment company's investment adviser; (2) an express private right of action for shareholders; (3) restrictions on transactions between the fund and the adviser; (4) restrictions on investments; (5) regulation of adviser services and fees; and (6) capital structure requirements, including restrictions on debt.

Investing in commodity futures interests subjects USCI to the risks of the commodities industry and this could result in large fluctuations in the price of USCI's units.

The price of USCI's units may be influenced by factors such as the short-term supply and demand for commodity futures and the short-term supply and demand for USCI's units. This may cause the units to trade at a price that is above or below USCI's NAV per unit. Accordingly, changes in the price of units may substantially vary from the changes in the value of the SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index (SDCI). If this variation occurs, then you may not be able to effectively use USCI as a way to indirectly invest in the SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index.

For further discussion of these and additional risks associated with an investment in USCI units, see the prospectus that has preceded or accompanied this announcement, downloaded at http://www.unitedstatescommodityindexfund.com/PDFS/USCI-Prospectus.pdf.

Not FDIC insured, may lose value, no bank guarantee.

Shares are not individually redeemable and the owners of Shares may purchase or redeem Shares from a Fund in Creation Units only.

USO000469 EXP. 4/31/2012

SOURCE United States Commodity Funds LLC

Fupa Games Launches New Dressup Games on Social Game Site.

Santa Cruz, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) April 14, 2011

Fupa today announced the addition of 100 new games on it's free online gaming site including cheerleader themed Dressup Games Cheerleader Olivia, Cheerleader Hannah and Cheerleader Madison.

Online Dress-Up games are experiencing global success and it's no wonder. According to recent statistics, 42% of all gamers are female, girls and women, finding entertainment through practicing fashion and style while mixing and matching outfits, colors and accessories. Fupa recognizes that girls and women are an important market and has found success with its Caribbean Fashion Swimsuit, Dress-Up the World and Glamour Dress-Up Supreme games.

With more than 48,000 free multi-player, classic arcade and board games, kids, sports, flash, action and puzzle games Fupa has one of the largest collections of games on the web with 100,000 daily users. The launch is part of Fupa's on-going commitment to offer free gaming experiences to players of all ages and gender while enhancing each users overall experience. Fupa's Cheerleader series allows players to dress up their cheerleader in school colors with different uniforms and a variety of shirts, skirts, shoes, hair styles, and skin tones for the best school spirit in town.

"My Two Daughters and I love to spend quality time playing dressup Games on Fupa.com", Says Lars Mapstead President of Fupa Games Inc.

About Fupa Games Inc.

Fupa, headquartered in Santa Cruz, California is a casual social video game developer with more than Three million monthly active users playing their games. There are fifteen different categories of free online games! Each of the categories is loaded with hundreds and thousands of Girl Games, puzzle games, dressup games, strategy games, sports games, action games, adventure games, flash games and many more. Our over fifty thousand games makes Fupa Games one of the largest sources of free internet games! Fupa games are available on several platforms including the Web, Facebook and Android. For more information, visit Fupa Games

###

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/freeonlinegames/dressup/prweb8304175.htm

GSMA LEADS MOBILE INDUSTRY TOWARDS A SINGLE, GLOBAL SOLUTION.(Industry overview)

(Full text of a statement. Contact details below.)

( BW)(GSMA) GSMA Leads Mobile Industry Towards a Single, Global Solution for Voice over LTE

More than 40 leading mobile industry organisations back GSMA's VoLTE initiative

Technology Editors Mobile World Congress 2010

BARCELONA--(BUSINESS WIRE) - Feb. 15, 2010-- The GSMA today announced it has adopted the work of the One Voice Initiative* to drive the global mobile industry towards a standard way of delivering voice and messaging services for Long-Term Evolution (LTE). The GSMA's Voice over LTE (VoLTE) initiative has the backing of more than 40 organisations from across the mobile ecosystem, including many of the world's leading mobile operators, handset manufacturers and equipment vendors, all of whom support the principle of a single, IMS-based voice solution for next-generation Mobile Broadband networks.

The GSMA will also lead the development of the specifications that will enable interconnection and international roaming between LTE networks, and will complete that work by Q1 2011.

"The GSMA recognises the importance of a single, industry-wide solution for voice over LTE and by adopting the work of the One Voice Initiative, we will advance the creation of a global, next-generation wireless ecosystem," said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer at the GSMA. "With the support of the world's leading players in mobile, VoLTE will generate economies of scale similar to those provided through the ubiquitous availability of GSM-based networks and devices. As mobile operators begin to deploy LTE, it is essential their networks are aligned around one, common standard for voice and messaging services, for the benefit of the mobile industry and consumers alike."

"Telefonica plans to deploy LTE to provide an improved Mobile Broadband service for our customers," said Vicente San Miguel, CTO of Telef?nica.

"It is vital that we also deliver a high quality voice and messaging service that provides the full global interconnection and roaming that we enjoy on our current 2G and 3G networks. Telef?nica has led the work with the GSMA on VoLTE and we strongly support this initiative to drive a common voice and messaging solution for the mobile industry, as it is a key enabler for the success of LTE."

LTE is the first all-Internet Protocol (IP) network technology to be backed by the mobile industry and will be used initially to provide very fast, highly responsive mobile data services. For LTE to support voice and messaging, an IP-based solution that will offer the same interoperable and seamless experience that 2G and 3G wireless technologies offer today is required. IMS (IP multimedia subsystem) can achieve this, and supports all voice call service features such as call waiting, call hold and call barring, and is highly scalable to serve very large subscriber bases. IMS also provides mobile operators with the ability to offer services that can integrate voice calls with enhanced, rich features such as presence, instant messaging and video content, delivered in an interoperable and multi-operator environment.

The GSMA has widespread industry support for its VoLTE initiative and expects additional organisations to join over the coming year. Mobile operators supporting the initiative include 3 Group, AT&T, Bell Canada, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom/T-Mobile, KDDI, mobilkom austria, MTS, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, SKT, SoftBank, Telecom Italia, Telecom New Zealand, Telefonica, Telenor, TeliaSonera, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone. Handset manufacturers and equipment vendors supporting VoLTE include Acme Packet, Alcatel-Lucent, Aylus, Camiant, Cisco, Colibra, Communigate, Comneon, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Genband, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Movial, Mu, NEC, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Qualcomm, RADVISION, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Tekelec. Industry organisations such as the NGMN Alliance, 3GPP and IMTC also support this initiative and agree there should be industry agreement on a harmonised way to implement voice over LTE based on existing standards.

More than 74 mobile operators from around the world have committed to plans, trials or deployments for LTE. The world's first commercial LTE network was launched recently in Sweden by TeliaSonera, with Verizon Wireless in the US, NTT DoCoMo in Japan and China Telecom set to follow suit in 2010. China Mobile also plans to launch its TD-LTE network this year at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. LTE is widely regarded as the de facto Mobile Broadband technology that will be adopted by the vast majority of mobile operators globally and is expected to experience substantial growth over the next three to five years: Infonetics Research predicts the number of global LTE connections to exceed 72 million by 2013**.

Notes to Editors*The One Voice Initiative was a collaboration between AT&T, Orange, Telef?nica, TeliaSonera, Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Samsung and Sony Ericsson that used current open standards to define the minimum mandatory set of functionality for interoperable IMS-based voice and SMS over LTE. The GSMA adopted the technical profile developed by the One Voice Initiative and this work is now only referred to as the GSMA's VoLTE initiative.

**LTE Infrastructure and Subscribers Report, Infonetics Research, 2009.

About the GSMA The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online portal for the mobile communications industry, at www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at www.gsmworld.com.

GSMADaniel Lowther+44 7747 636 687press@gsm.org

KEYWORD: Europe Spain

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: Technology Hardware Networks Software Telecommunications Mobile/Wireless

CATEGORY KEYWORD: Contract/Agreement Trade Show

Source: Barcelona GSMA

Copyright Business Wire 2010

ASIA PULSE cg 16-02 1537

Comprehensive Analysis on Europes Wireless Broadband Market.

M2 PRESSWIRE-13 March 2009-Research and Markets: Comprehensive Analysis on Europes Wireless Broadband Market(C)1994-2009 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:13032009

Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ab72ea/2008_european_wi) has announced the addition of the "2008 European - Wireless Broadband Market" report to their offering.

This report covers developments in Europe's wireless broadband market, assessing the relative strengths of the principal delivery platforms. It presents regional and national statistics and analyses the market conditions which will affect how the sector is likely to progress in coming years. The increasing demand for broadband access among consumers, the regulatory emphasis on deregulation and competition, and the general move within Europe for broadband to be a universal service has focused greater attention on wireless solutions to complement fixed-line networks.

Despite continuing upgrades to cable and DSL networks, and the near-ubiquity of broadband in urban areas, there remain pockets within Europe where broadband is poor or unavailable. In these areas, WiMAX continues to provide a realistic alternative platform, while mobile broadband, based largely on HSPA technology and, from 2010, on LTE networks, will be able to compete with the fastest copper fixed-line offers now available. The EC and national regulators have also placed greater emphasis on releasing digital dividend spectrum for wireless broadband as it becomes available in individual markets during the next few years.

The European Commission has encouraged the development of wireless broadband as part of its i2010 Plan. In most countries, WiMAX services operate in licences-exempt frequency bands. To make access to the Internet more widespread, the EC opened substantial radio spectrum throughout the EU for wireless broadband. Access to spectrum aimed to make equipment cheaper and alleviate the overloading of spectrum already used for this purpose.

2008 European - Wireless Broadband Market :

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. EUROPE'S WIRELESS BROADBAND MARKET

2. ALBANIA

3. AUSTRIA

4. BELARUS

5. BELGIUM

6. BULGARIA

7. CROATIA

8. CYPRUS

9. CZECH REPUBLIC

10. DENMARK

11. ESTONIA

12. FINLAND

13. FRANCE

14. GERMANY

15. GREECE

16. HUNGARY

17. ICELAND

18. IRELAND

19. ITALY

20. LATVIA

21. LITHUANIA

22. LUXEMBOURG

23. MACEDONIA (FYROM)

24. MALTA

25. MONTENEGRO

26. NETHERLANDS

27. NORWAY

28. POLAND

30. ROMANIA

31. RUSSIA

32. SERBIA

33. SLOVAKIA

34. SLOVENIA

35. SPAIN

36. SWEDEN

37. SWITZERLAND

38. UKRAINE

39. UNITED KINGDOM

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ab72ea/2008_european_wi

CONTACT: Laura Wood, Senior Manager, Research and MarketsFax: +1 646 607 1907 (US)Fax: +353 1 481 1716 (Rest of World)e-mail: press@researchandmarkets.com

((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data prepared by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com)).

eBay wife for sale: 1p.(News)

A HUSBAND put his wife up for sale on internet auction site eBay for 1p.

Paul Osborn posted a photo of wife Sharon picking her nose. And he claimed: "Here is my lying, cheating, adulterous whore of a wife of 26 years."

But hundreds placed bids for the blonde mum-of-two.

And yesterday before Paul removed the posting the final bid had reached pounds 750,000.

Paul from Bletchley, Bucks, said: "I wish I'd been able to sell her for that much, it would have helped with the mortgage."

Last night Sharon was unavailable for comment.

Amelot Alternative Energy Plans to Bring Bio-Heat to Northeast.

M2 PRESSWIRE-9 November 2006-StockProfiler.US: Amelot Alternative Energy Plans to Bring Bio-Heat to Northeast(C)1994-2006 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:08112006

New York, NY - Amelot Holdings, Inc. (Pink Sheets: AMHD); Amaru, Inc. (OTC: AMRU); TX Holdings, Inc. (OTC: TXHG); Grant Life Sciences Inc. (OTCBB: GLIF); NMC, Inc. (OTC: NMCX); SmartVideo Technologies (OTCBB: SMVD)

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Amelot Alternative Energy, Inc. plans to concentrate on the home heating oil market segment in the Northeast. The National Biodiesel Board, www.biodiesel.org, has identified that 66% of all the home heating oil sold in the U.S. is consumed in the 11 northeastern states. If just 5% of that oil was blended with bio-diesel, it would require over 300 million gallons of bio-diesel, equal to all of the bio-diesel produced in the U.S. last year. Amelot Holdings, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Amelot Alternative Energy, Inc. Nashua, NH, also announced earlier today that it has verbally agreed to acquire 20,000 gallons of B99.9 Soy Methyl Ester, bio-diesel, per month, from existing bio-diesel refineries in the Midwest and Mid Atlantic states, for resale to it current prospects of New England based fuel distributors and retailers.

"This acquisition and the relationships we are building with current bio-diesel producers will provide Amelot Alternative Energy, Inc. the ability to develop and service a strong client base with a competitively priced product, before our facility comes online, generating revenue and operating cash for our Nashua, NH facility," stated Allen Giles, President of Amelot Holdings, Inc.

Amelot Holdings, Inc. closed at $0.0215, trading 1,376,775 shares Tuesday.

About Amelot Holdings, Inc.

Amelot Holdings, Inc. is a diversified holding company focused on alternative energy and bio-fuels.

Amaru, Inc. closed at $0.80, trading 100 shares Tuesday.

About Amaru, Inc. (OTC: AMRU)

Amaru, Inc., a Nevada-based corporation, is an emerging leader in the broadband media entertainment business. The company is a global provider of interactive entertainment-on-demand, education-on-demand and e-commerce streaming over broadband channels, Internet portals and 3G devices. The company operates through its subsidiaries under the M2B brand. Some of the company's wholly owned subsidiaries include M2B World, Inc., M2B World Pte. Ltd., M2B Australia Pty. Ltd., M2B Entertainment, Inc., M2B Commerce Limited, M2B World Travel Limited, and Amaru Holdings Limited. Amaru, Inc., has launched a number of broadband TV websites for Hollywood and Asian entertainment, education and online shopping websites. Currently the company operates more than 100 channels that cater to a wide variety of consumer segments and lifestyles of both the local and international audience. Further, it operates many websites including Star78.com, Shine8.com, Jump29.com, Dreamstage7.com, Highfashion7.com, Dragon78.tv, Chinois78.com, Dimension88.com, Dragon78.com, HappyDigi.com, Wiz5.com, Starzmall.com, Trotteuse.com and Royalhive.com.

TX Holdings, Inc. closed at $0.70, trading 37,650 shares Tuesday.

About TX Holdings, Inc. (OTC: TXHG)

TX Holdings, Inc. engages in the acquisition and exploration of oil and gas properties. It seeks to acquire producing oil and gas properties throughout Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, the United States. The company is based in Miami Beach, Florida.

Grant Life Sciences Inc. closed at $0.166, trading 1,871,701 shares Tuesday.

About Grant Life Sciences Inc. (OTCBB: GLIF)

Grant Life Sciences Inc. develops products to improve the efficiency of detecting and diagnosing cervical cancer, including a sensitive, reliable, non-invasive, point-of-care test. Further information is available at: www.grantlifesciences.com.

NMC, Inc. closed at $0.019, trading 8,835,308 shares Tuesday.

About NMC, Inc. (OTC: NMCX)

NMC, Inc. also known as Nevada Mining Company, Inc., operates through its subsidiaries including Peeples, Inc., and offers mining and ore processing services. The company owns over 5 mining claims in Mesquite, Nevada and over 15 mining claims in San Bernardino, California.

SmartVideo Technologies closed at $1.10, trading 11,795 shares Tuesday.

About SmartVideo Technologies (OTCBB: SMVD)

SmartVideo Technologies offers the first and best-in-class services for broadcasting live, on-demand and download-and-play television content for mobile video consumers around the world. For additional information and to subscribe to SmartVideo's Live TV content packages, visit www.smartvideo.com or using your smartphone visit www.windowsmedia.com/mobile.

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Odimo Launches the New Diamond.com.

Online Retailer Enhances Jewelry Site to Improve Customer Experience, Further Build Diamond.com Business

SUNRISE, Fla., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Odimo Incorporated , an online retailer that offers high-quality diamonds, fine jewelry, brand-name watches and luxury goods through three websites (Diamond.com, Ashford.com, and WorldofWatches.com), today launched the redesign of Diamond.com, Odimo's premier online property specializing in certified diamonds, fine jewelry and brand-name watches at discounted prices.

The newly launched website, http://www.diamond.com/ , improves the customer experience through the implementation of enhanced technologies enabling faster searches, more precise search results, dynamic pan and zoom on product detail pages, and enhanced checkout for domestic and international customers. The improved design makes Diamond.com easier to navigate for consumers -- and the enhanced technology will enable Odimo to build better relationships with customers through increased personalization and 1-to-1 marketing campaigns.

"This is a newer, fresher Diamond.com," said Alan Lipton, Odimo's President and Chief Executive Officer. "But this is more than just a face lift. We are very focused on building our Diamond.com business -- and our goal is to improve conversions and average order value over time. So we have invested in technology enhancements and creative improvements to help take Diamond.com shoppers all the way from search to sale."

Key technological enhancements to Diamond.com include:

* Improved search capability - patented technology gives customers precise, relevant results in speedier searches

* Enhanced graphics - consumers can pan and zoom for a close-up look at products before they buy

* Enhanced, secure checkout - Diamond.com will store information consumers enter at the time of their first purchase in a secure environment, to make repeat purchases easier

* Flash technology - want to refine your diamond search results by one of the four Cs? Consumers will soon be able to quickly scan our entire inventory to refine a search by cut, carat, clarity, color AND price at Diamond.com

Odimo selected industry-leading technology solutions such as Celebros for search and browse, Scene 7 for imaging and Comerxia for international shipping for the Diamond.com redesign.

About Odimo

Odimo is an online retailer of current season, high-quality diamonds, fine jewelry, brand name watches and luxury goods. The Company operates three websites, http://www.diamond.com/ , http://www.ashford.com/ and http://www.worldofwatches.com/ and seeks to create long-term relationships with its customers by offering a broad selection of appealing merchandise. The Company's websites collectively showcase over 2,000 watch styles; a large assortment of luxury goods, such as designer handbags and fashion accessories, fragrances and sunglasses; more than 25,000 independently certified diamonds; and a wide range of precious and semi-precious jewelry. The Company sells brand name goods at discounts to suggested retail prices, and diamonds and fine jewelry at competitive prices. The Company features many of the branded items available in leading department and specialty stores, as well as diamonds certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Odimo is headquartered in Sunrise, Florida.

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "believe," "belief," or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business of Odimo and the industries and markets in which Odimo operates. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors which may affect Odimo's business, financial condition and operating results include the effects of changes in the economy, consumer spending, the financial markets, changes affecting the Internet and e-commerce, the ability of Odimo to develop and maintain relationships with suppliers, the ability of Odimo to timely and successfully develop, maintain and protect its technology, confidential information and product offerings and execute operationally and the ability of Odimo to attract and retain qualified personnel. More information about potential factors that could affect Odimo can be found in its reports and statements filed by Odimo with the SEC. Odimo expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as otherwise specifically stated by Odimo.

CONTACT: Amerisa Kornblum, Chief Financial Officer, Odimo, +1-954-835-2233, ext. 1207; or investors, Allison Malkinor or David Griffith, or media, Megan McDonnell or John Flanagan, all of Integrated Corporate Relations, +1-203-682-8200, for Odimo

Web site: http://www.odimo.com/ http://www.diamond.com/ http://www.ashford.com/ http://www.worldofwatches.com/