Facebook smartphone to be 'released next year'


A smartphone displays a Facebook app
Facebook already provides apps for various different mobile platforms
Social networking giant Facebook is to launch its own smartphone by next year, reports have suggested.
The New York Times cited unnamed sources, including Facebook employees, suggesting that the network had been hiring several smartphone engineers.
Facebook recently admitted it was struggling to make money out of its growing mobile audience.
The company, which recently floated on the stock market, has also just launched its own mobile app store.
The App Center currently offers links to Facebook-enabled apps within Apple's iOS and Google Android stores but developers will soon be able to write apps to be placed exclusively in Facebook's store.
According to the New York Times, Facebook has hired experts who worked on the iPhone and other smartphones.
It quoted a Facebook employee as saying the site's founder Mark Zuckerberg was "worried that if he doesn't create a mobile phone in the near future... Facebook will simply become an app on other mobile platforms".
Mobile money A Facebook smartphone has reportedly been in the works for some time.
In 2010, Techcrunch reported that Facebook was "secretly" building a smartphone - although this particular project is said to have broken down.
The company's desire to enter the smartphone market could be a result of increasing pressure to improve the potential of mobile to make money.
In a statement for potential investors ahead of its initial public offering earlier this month, the company admitted it had concerns about more users accessing Facebook through their mobile - a trend which could make it more difficult to sell advertising.
When asked by the BBC, a spokeswoman for Facebook said the company did not comment on speculation, and referred instead to a written statement.
"Our mobile strategy is simple: we think every mobile device is better if it is deeply social," the statement read.
"We're working across the entire mobile industry; with operators, hardware manufacturers, OS providers, and application developers to bring powerful social experiences to more people around the world."

Controversial Art Exhibition Causes Political Uproar

ANC to go to court over Zuma artwork (© Gallo)
The ANC vowed on Thursday to go to court to get a painting of President Jacob Zuma with his genitals hanging out removed from a Johannesburg gallery.
"The African National Congress is extremely disturbed and outraged by the distasteful and indecent manner in which Brett Murray and the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg is displaying the person of comrade President Jacob Zuma," ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.
"We have this morning [Thursday] instructed our lawyers to approach our courts to compel [them] to remove the portrait from display as well as from their website and destroy all printed promotional material."
The 1.85m-high acrylic on canvas painting titled "The Spear" is part of Murray's "Hail to the Thief II" exhibition at the gallery.
It is part of a body of satirical work which is a sequel to his 2010 exhibition "Hail to the Thief".
A biography of Murray handed out by the gallery shows how Murray's work continues his forthright attacks on abuses of power.
His bronzes, etchings, paintings, and silk-screens formed part of a "vitriolic and succinct censure of bad governance".
They were Murray's attempts to humorously expose the paucity of morals and greed within the ruling elite, according to the biography.
The painting of Zuma, and a few other pieces, have already been sold.
The ANC said the painting violated Zuma's right to dignity.
It said the image and the dignity of the president as president of the ANC, president of the country, and as a human being had been dented by "this so-called piece of art".
Staff at the Goodman Gallery said on Thursday that the exhibition, which opened on May 10, had been well received, with positive comments in the guest book.
"Hilariously sad and true," wrote one person. Other comments were "brilliant", "very cool", and "amazing".
The gallery said it would make an official comment in response to the ANC's threat of court action, but had not done so by Thursday evening.
The ANC also bemoaned the use of the party's logo.
Part of Murray's work was a poster of the ANC's emblem with "for sale" printed on top of it and then "sold" stamped across it.
"The vulgar portrait and the dismembering of the ANC logo... is an abuse of freedom of artistic expression and an acute violation of our constitution, apart from being defamatory," said Mthembu.
Murray also took struggle posters and adapted them to read: "Amandla, we demand Chivas, BMWs and bribes"; "Now you have touched the women you have struck a rock, you have dislodged a boulder; you will be president"; and "Tell my people that I love them and that they must continue the struggle for Chivas Regal, Mercs and Kick-backs".
The exhibition runs until June 16.
Murray is Cape Town-based artist whose work is to be found in a number of South African and international galleries.

Barack Obama Supports Same-Sex Marriage

Barack Obama
President Obama had previously refused to support gay marriage

Hannah Thomas-Peter, US reporter

Barack Obama has become the first President in US history to unequivocally support gay marriage.

His decision has been both welcomed by gay rights groups and attacked by political opponents, heralding the start of a fight on the polarising issue ahead of the 2012 elections.
Mr Obama has always stopped short of explicitly endorsing gay marriage, often explaining that his views on the subject were "evolving".
He told ABC news: "I have hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought that civil unions would be sufficient.
"I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people the word marriage was something that invokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth.
People Celebrate Barack Obamas Support For Gay Marriage
The move has been described as 'a great day for America'
"I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that same-sex couples should be able to get married."
The President said that his daughters Malia and Sasha had friends with same-sex parents, explaining that "it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated different".
"It doesn't make sense to them and frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective."
The announcement comes on the heels of an interview given on Sunday by Vice President Joe Biden, in which he said that he was "completely comfortable" with gay people getting married.
It was widely viewed as a change of stance by the administration even though Mr Biden framed it as a personal opinion.
Opinion polls have shown that Americans increasingly approve of same sex marriage, but the issue is likely to be unpopular in key election battleground states.
President Obama's politically explosive altering of his position comes as voters in North Carolina, a state that could become either Republican or Democrat in the coming election, approved an amendment to the state constitution that marriage may only be the union of a man and a woman.
Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney said: "I have the same view on marriage as I had when I was governor and that I have expressed many times.
"I believe that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman."

Romney: Marriage Is Between Man And Woman

Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said: "President Obama has consistently fought against protecting the institution of marriage from radical social engineering at both the state and federal level."
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who strongly supported the recent legalisation of gay marriage in New York State, said: "This is a major turning point in the history of American civil rights.
"The march of freedom that has sustained our country since the Revolution of 1776 continues, and no matter what setbacks may occur in a given state, freedom will triumph over fear and equality will prevail over exclusion."
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force director Rea Carey said: "Who benefits? Millions of families who now know that their country's leader believes in fairness for all. This is a great day for America."
Gay marriage is legal in six states in America, and Washington DC and Maryland have passed legalisation laws that have not taken effect yet.
Although Mr Obama opposed gay marriage during his 2008 election campaign, his administration has since backed a number of initiatives improving gays rights, such as repealing of the US military's "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy and giving same sex partners improved rights over medical decisions.

Niger worst place to be mother - Save the Children

Women and children at a hospital in Ouallam, Niger
Nearly one third of Niger's children are malnourished and one in seven dies before the age of five
The West African state of Niger is the worst place in the world to be a mother, according to Save the Children.
The ranking comes in the charity's annual index which compares conditions for mothers in 165 countries.
It considers a number of factors including health, education, economic status and nutrition.
Niger is severely affected by a regional food crisis. It replaces Afghanistan at the bottom of the Save the Children index.
After two years at the bottom of the list, Afghanistan has moved up a notch. This is credited to greater investment in front-line health workers.
'Vicious cycle' This year the situation in Niger reflects the impact of nutrition.
The food crisis developing in the Sahel region is threatening the lives of up to a million youngsters, Save the Children says.
The charity describes how chronic malnutrition leads mothers, who themselves have been stunted in childhood, to go on to have underweight and vulnerable babies.
It warns that if a mother is "impoverished, overworked, poorly educated and in poor health, she may not be able to feed the baby adequately, with largely irreversible effects".
Director of policy Brendan Cox said: "We urgently need global leadership on malnutrition that results in key nutrition projects being rolled out for mothers and babies to ensure health and survival."
Save the Children believes that measures focusing on the first 1,000 days of a child's life, starting from pregnancy, could help to break the vicious cycle.
BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says the report shows that wealth is not the sole criterion for a nation's position in the survey.
He says a poor country like Malawi has done significantly better than might have been expected for one key reason: children are breastfed by their mothers within an hour of their birth and continue to be breastfed for up to two years.
Our correspondent says Nepal, Pakistan and Mali have trained tens of thousands of health visitors to roll out best practice and, as a result, breastfeeding has risen and the number of poorly nourished children has fallen sharply.
Save the Children identifies Norway as the best place to be a mother, while the UK comes 10th.

Mayweather win sets clock ticking on Pacquiao superbout



Suggested Topics It was the hardest fight of his career, and when it was over a blood-stained Floyd Mayweather finally looked like a normal boxer does at the end of 12 torrid rounds.

Mayweather remains unbeaten in 43 fights after something resembling a masterclass reduced the brilliant Miguel Cotto, who entered the ring with a world title belt, to challenger status at the MGM in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The judges' scores of 117-111 twice and 118-110 truly reflect the action but fail to convey the moments of raw drama and physical jeopardy that May-weather was forced to endure for the first time in boxing.
"You have got to suck it up in fights and that is what I had to do," said Mayweather, who is 35. "The blood was there and I just had to ignore it and bite down and fight. That is what I do." Cotto made Mayweather fight like no other boxer has managed in a professional career that started after the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
The fight's outcome was ultimately decided after round nine when Mayweather, his nose and mouth smeared with blood, took advantage of a drop in pace to move and counter, as he has done so many times in his career. Mayweather's 2007 fight with Oscar de la Hoya was closer at the end, but it was certainly not as physically draining.
It is possible that part of the fight's attraction was created by the inevitable diminishing of Mayweather's speed and timing, partly due to his age and his constant breaks from the ring. However, it would also be wise to reject any bar-room claims that if the fight had happened when it should, in 2008, it would have had a different ending.
Mayweather has just one obstacle to overcome in the ring and no doubt during his impending incarceration – he goes to prison for 87 days on an assault charge on 1 June – he will have a lot of solitary time to consider his hated rival, Manny Pacquiao.
"I want to give the fans what they want and that is a fight with Pacquiao," insisted Mayweather. "It's not my fault that this fight is not happening, you all need to blame his promoter, Bob Arum." Sadly, if the obstacle was simply a veteran promoter the fight, even in the ridiculous realm of modern boxing, would be made; the problem is far more serious, with debates over drug testing, the venue and inevitably the split of the money remaining unresolved.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are reputedly closer than they have ever been over the issue of drug testing – this follows five years of abuse from Mayweather and his uncle and father, who insist that the Filipino legend has used performance-enhancing drugs. Pacquiao has denied this again and again but he does have a phobia of needles and has been reluctant to take a blood test close to a fight, believing it drains him of his power.
However, the split of the spoils remains the major problem and it has been that way for important fights since bare-knuckle heroes gathered in the mist on cold Victorian Tuesday mornings. Mayweather now wants a split of 60-40 in his favour to accurately reflect his power as the all-important king of American pay-per-view. The figures are not yet in but it seems that Saturday night is likely to have been the second-highest grossing fight in history, just behind Mayweather's "passing of the torch" encounter with De La Hoya.
The danger with this familiar and annoying impasse is that time is working against both men. Pacquiao was lucky to get a gift decision the last time he fought and Mayweather has just had to fight like he has never done before. The signs are clearly visible that their superbout could evaporate because of natural decline and not because of wretched intransigence from a few men over the slicing of an obscene cash pie. Mayweather here walked away with boxing's highest ever guaranteed purse, $32m (£20m), and, with the upside of the PPV sales, could make over $50m.
Mayweather's starting price for a guarantee against Pacquiao is likely to top $50m and it is hard to see how a fight with Pacquiao would not satisfy the desires of all involved. Cotto's beating should serve as the endgame to this, and should lead to boxing's richest fight.

Tupac is alive 2016 NEW PROOF LEAKED (HD)

Facebook IPO values company at between $85bn and $95bn

Facebook logoFacebook was founded in 2004 and now has 900 million users
Facebook has set the share price for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) at between $28 and $35 per share, valuing the company at between $85bn-$95bn (£52bn-£59bn).
The IPO is set to be the largest ever for an internet firm, bigger than Google's valuation of $23bn in 2004.
IPOs are when companies list shares on the stock market for the first time.
Facebook is set to list on the Nasdaq and would rival Amazon's and Cisco System's current market values.
It is thought that Facebook will start promoting the share offering on Monday. Its shares are expected to start trading under the symbol "FB" on 18 May.
More than 10% of the business is being sold, which is expected to raise about $12bn for the company.
The eight-year-old social network has 900 million users worldwide and made a profit of $1bn last year.
Mobile growth There is expected to be a huge take-up, though some investors have voiced concerns about the company's longer-term growth.
Last week, Facebook reported its first drop in revenue between quarters for two years.
But during a video presentation on Thursday Facebook executives sought to allay those concerns, pointing to mobile as an area for growth that the company will invest heavily in.
Last month Facebook said it would buy the fast-growing mobile phone photo sharing app Instagram for $1bn, its largest purchase ever.
Zuckerberg-controlled The higher valuation still falls short of the $100bn that had been talked about for Facebook.
But it is not uncommon for IPO price ranges to move up if there is strong investor demand for the stock.
Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg will remain in control of the company even after the IPO, controlling more than 57.3% of the voting power through shares he holds and through voting agreements with other stockholders.
He will own 31.5% of Facebook's outstanding stock. At the top end of the price range, this would make his holdings worth $17.6bn.
Such a value would put him at about number 33 on Forbes' list of the world's richest people.

Related Stories

Osama Bin Laden documents released

A boy holds a poster of Osama Bin Laden in Quetta, Pakistan, on 2 May 2012 Bin Laden was killed by US forces at his Pakistan hideout in May 2011
Newly released papers from Osama Bin Laden's hideout reveal a frustrated al-Qaeda leader struggling to control an unruly network, the US military says.
The documents seized during the raid on the Abbottabad compound were posted online by the research wing of the US military academy, West Point.
The papers show he was unhappy with affiliates' attacks on fellow Muslims, urging them to target the US instead.
Seventeen documents were released from a cache of more than 6,000.
The 175-page cache was posted online by the US Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center - in the week marking a year since Bin Laden's death.
'Vile mistakes' The papers date from September 2006 to April 2011 and include letters from other al-Qaeda leaders.
Some documents suggest that the group had a strained relationship with Iran.

Analysis

This confirms what a lot of people thought: that at the time of his death a year ago, Osama Bin Laden was no longer in operational control of al-Qaeda.
These 17 documents have been released to an academic institution that is a part of the US military. So they have a vested interest in painting Bin Laden as a loser rather than as a force to be reckoned with.
But I think this underestimates just how powerful a symbolic figure he was to many people because he was on the run from the US for so long. There is no question that al-Qaeda is much less dangerous than it was 10 years ago, but it would be foolish to say they have launched their last attack.
There are still grievances, and there are still causes. But what we have really seen is the fragmenting of al-Qaeda into smaller, more regional operatives.
Letters reveal al-Qaeda's exasperation with the way Tehran handled the release of detainees, including members of Bin Laden's family, expressing annoyance that the Iranians "do not wish to appear to be negotiating with us or responding to our pressures".
Meanwhile, there is no explicit reference to any institutional support from Pakistan, where the al-Qaeda leader lived for nine years.
The papers make mention of "trusted Pakistani brothers", but one reference suggests Bin Laden was wary of Pakistani intelligence.
He gave instructions to family members travelling to Pakistan to make sure they were not followed - in case the local intelligence chief trailed them to his location.
In some papers, Bin Laden and his inner circle emphasised that attacks on the US would ultimately weaken other enemies.
"Even though we have the chance to attack the British, we should not waste our effort to do so but concentrate on defeating America, which will lead to defeating the others," one letter said.
The documents also shed light on Bin Laden's concerns that Muslims were being alienated by the ideology of jihad.
In a letter from 2010, Bin Laden wrote of "starting a new phase to correct [the mistakes] we made".

Start Quote

In the event that mistakes involuntarily occur and non-combatants die as a result, apologies and explanations should follow," Bin Laden wrote in 2010, sounding for all the world like a Nato commander”
"In doing so, we shall reclaim, God willing, the trust of a large segment of those who lost their trust in the jihadis," he wrote.
In its executive summary on the documents, the US military says they reveal Bin Laden's frustration with affiliated organisations and his powerlessness to control their actions, including:
  • The al-Qaeda leader was advised by his California-born media adviser Adam Gadahn to distance his network from al-Qaeda in Iraq because of the latter's perceived failures
  • His lieutenants threatened to take measures against the leadership of the Pakistani Taliban for their "vile mistakes", including indiscriminate attacks on Muslims
  • Bin Laden wrote a strongly worded letter to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula urging them to focus on attacking the US, instead of the Yemeni government or security forces
  • Bin Laden saw little to gain from a pledge of allegiance to al-Qaeda from the Somali radical insurgent group al-Shabab, which he viewed as poorly organised
The letters reveal that Bin Laden was also sceptical of so-called lone wolf missions by homegrown jihadists.
He urged his associates "not to send a single brother on a suicide operation; they should send at least two".
He added that in cases when only one militant undertook an operation the "percentage of success was low due to psychological factors that affect the [designated] brother in such a situation".

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They are not to target visits by Biden... Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the US into a crisis”
Osama Bin Laden
Other papers suggest Bin Laden ordered his militants to look out for opportunities to assassinate President Obama or David Petraeus during any of their visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mr Petraeus, now CIA director, formerly commanded international forces in Afghanistan.
But Bin Laden warned them not to bother targeting Vice-President Joe Biden because "Biden is totally unprepared for that post [of president], which will lead the US into a crisis."
In a letter from April 2011, the al-Qaeda leader discusses the Arab Spring, calling it a "formidable event" in the history of Muslims and expressing hope they can influence events through media outreach and "guidance".
The correspondence suggests that Bin Laden's inner circle closely monitored US news media.
Al-Qaeda media adviser Adam Gadahn described ABC News as "all right, actually it could be one of the best channels as far as we are concerned", but he said Fox News "falls into the abyss" and "lacks neutrality".
He also felt al-Qaeda had not been given credit for America's economic downturn, according to documents from 2010.
"All the political talk in America is about the economy, forgetting or ignoring the war and its role in weakening the economy," wrote Mr Gadahn.
Earlier this week, White House counter-terrorism chief John Brennan said Bin Laden's papers reinforced the view that the US was safer without him.

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