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Yahoo acquires Maktoob . com

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:11:04 +0000

Maktoob was founded by Samih Toukan and Hussam Khoury in 2000 as a free online e-mail service, but grew to encompass online payments under the “cashU” brand and Internet auctions with “souq.com.” These companies will be favorably promoted on the new Yahoo!-owned Maktoob.At the conference, Yahoo’s Senior Vice President and Head of Emerging Markets Keith Nilsson said, “Maktoob is a terrific local brand. Yahoo will be combining its global technology and Maktoob’s local Arabic content.Yahoo! is taking refuge in the Middle East, where it has sealed a deal to buy online portal Maktoob for an undisclosed sum.General Manager Ahmed Nassef is expected to continue to lead Maktoob after the deal is completed, which is likely to happen in the fourth quarter. Keith Nilsson, head of Yahoo’s emerging markets unit in Singapore, will be his boss.Maktoob is actually less popular in the Arab world than its new owner–only in Saudi Arabia is Maktoob ranked higher, according to Maktoob’s Web site. But what counts is the local content, delivered in the Arabic language: Yahoo! says Middle East markets are in the “early stages” of Internet adoption, with only 1% of all online content in Arabic, despite the fact that there are 320 million Arabic speakers worldwide. In other words, the growth potential is promising.The site, which was founded in 2000 after the dot-com rise and fall, serves 22 Arab countries as a vendor for online debit cards, auctions, a marriage-service directory and entertainment but most notably as a search engine.

Karzai confident of victory

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:20:13 +0000

Deen Mohammad, President Karzai’s campaign chief, told several media outlets that Mr Karzai had secured the outright majority needed to avoid a run-off in early October with Dr Abdullah, his closest rival. Across town, Karzai’s campaign team said the president had won more than 50 percent of the vote, a result that would negate the need for a two-man runoff.Claims of early victory by Karzai and Abdullah were an attempt to win the expectations game, and officials with the country’s Independent Election Commission said it was too early for any campaign to claim itself the winner.

Launch of shuttle Discovery

admin — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:18:54 +0000

Discovery will carry a crew of seven astronauts as it ferries equipment to the space station. One of the astronauts, Nicole Stott, will remain on the space station as a flight engineer, replacing astronaut Timothy Kopra, who will return home aboard Discovery as a mission specialist, according to the NASA Web page for the mission.The mission will be Discovery’s 37th to space, and the 30th shuttle mission dedicated to assembly and maintenance of the space station, NASA says.Discovery and its seven-member crew will haul equipment and supplies to the space station, including a new treadmill named after Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert. Earlier this year, the TV comedian tried to get a future space station chamber named after him. NASA chose Tranquility instead — after the Apollo 11 moon base — and Colbert had to settle for the treadmill.The upcoming 13-day mission to the international space station will deliver supplies, including food, as well as scientific equipment to the outpost orbiting Earth. It will also deliver a second treadmill to the station, nicknamed Colbert, after comedian Stephen Colbert.

Clintin Climate and India

admin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:32:13 +0000

Our correspondent says the talks in Delhi promise to be spirited, although there is no indication of what outcome is expected. Mrs Clinton has sought to allay fears the US will press India on carbon emission cuts but will also argue they do not contradict economic development.She will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other officials, with relations with Pakistan also sure to be high on the agenda.The BBC’s Kim Ghattas, who is travelling with Mrs Clinton, says the secretary of state accepts that developed countries made the mistakes that led to the current environmental problems, but that countries like India could lead in a different direction.The key date for climate change is December – when a summit in Copenhagen, Denmark will look to forge a new international treaty that will replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Microsoft and mobile growth

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:32:05 +0000

The paid-click data released Tuesday by Efficient Frontier Inc, the world’s largest sThe company has been toying with different search box designs to see which ones lead to the most queries. As it stands, the MSN portal already accounts for half of Microsoft’s search engine traffic. Comparatively few people typed in queries straight from Microsoft’s Live.com address (now Bing.com) earch engine marketer, suggests Bing could become a significant revenue generator for the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker – if Microsoft can maintain its momentum.Though often overlooked by Microsoft watchers, the MSN portal remains critically important to Microsoft’s online business. Its home page is the crown jewel of its display ad business and MSN is also responsible for about half of the company’s Internet search traffic. And, despite the notion that portals are passe, Microsoft says its research shows that 37 percent of Internet users still rely on a portal as an important source of information.

Roger Federer and centre court

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:27:37 +0000

The five-times champion had made his own effort to look good, arriving on court in a eye-popping new all-white warm-up ensemble of military jacket and long flannels. On an afternoon when the dull light drained the color from the banks of spectators he may have been a little overdressed but he certainly stood out against the rich green of a virgin court. They spend millions of pounds on a sliding roof for the Centre Court, the sky darkens throughout the opening match until it seems certain that rain must fall before Roger Federer has polished off Lu Yen-hsun, and then the weather god – the one who so often brings “aahhs of shaahhs” to Wimbledon – decides to stay his hand. Federer paid tribute to his opponent – “I knew the danger today – he’s beaten good players in the past” – and sympathized with Nadal’s lost chance to experience the feeling of being the defending champion on opening day. “That first moment, walking out, warming up for the first time here at Wimbledon, sometimes is not an easy thing to do,” he said. “You want to get off to a good start, get it out of the way, find your way into the tournament. But it’s what you dream about.”

US Federal Reserveplan

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:02:07 +0000

Federal Reserve’s emergency loan and market-support programs could start to inadvertently subsidize unwise risk-taking. To avoid having taxpayers once again on the hook for Wall Street excesses, the government needs a clear strategy for winding the schemes down.For the short-term liquidity facilities, which are no longer urgently needed, the government should act sooner rather than later. The country’s massive borrowing requirements — an eye-popping $104 billion of notes is on offer this week alone — may push short-term interest rates up, making the Fed facilities attractive once again. If that happens, it may be harder for the government to snatch away the punch bowl.The Fed’s asset-backed security funding program is gaining steam and may eventually total as much as $1 trillion. It appears to have a good chance of reviving at least parts of the moribund securitization market. But again, the pricing and collateral requirements of the loans backing the ABS should be calibrated carefully to allow only those deals that would be viable under normal market conditions to cross the finish line.

U .S . and Iranian crisis

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:52:47 +0000

Administration officials are reiterating their call for a fair and non-violent resolution of the Iranian election conflict, while stressing their determination not to allow Tehran to make the United States a “foil” for the country’s political conflict. Officials at the State Department have expressed concern that a more vigorous response would fuel already frequent Iranian charges that the United States is meddling in the crisis.However, at a press event with Georgia’s Foreign Minister, Grigol Vashadze, Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg rejected the notion that the administration is “pulling its punches” on Iran. He said the president’s cautious stance has bipartisan support.Stung by criticism that the U.S. has not condemned Iran’s crackdown on demonstrators harshly enough, the Obama administration said Monday that the protests would weaken the current regime and might improve the chances of capping Iran’s nuclear program.

Manning and Project 18

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:07:39 +0000

Indianapolis Colts quarterback helped launch the effort, encouraging about 100 Christel House students to keep active and eat healthy.This move is just the latest in a line of philanthropic steps Manning has taken ever since coming to the Indianapolis Colts.Project 18,” named after Manning’s jersey number, gives Indiana elementary schools access to a health and wellness curriculum targeted at third through fifth graders. The program is intended to address “major risk behaviors” in young children to prevent them from becoming overweight or obese.

North Korea nuclear test

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:22:56 +0000

U.S. and international nuclear experts had estimated that the latest
test was in the 3- to 4-kiloton range. Former nuclear weapons inspector
David Albright,
the director of the Institute for Science and International Security,
said the test shows that the North Koreans are “pushing their program
along” and that they have “made progress.The U.S. intelligence community believes that North Korea tested a
nuclear device last month with an explosive yield of several kilotons,
considerably more powerful than its first test nearly three years ago.In its confirmAt a news briefing on Monday, State Department
Spokesman Ian Kelly called on Pyongyang to end its bellicose threats
and return to Chinese-sponsored six-party negotiations on its nuclear
program.