SEO TEMPLATES

Home » Posts filed under AFP

Showing posts with label AFP. Show all posts

Ivory Coast’s Yaya Toure wins 2013 BBC African Footballer of the Year

Posted by Unknown Monday, 2 December 2013 0 comments

LONDON: Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure was named the BBC’s African Footballer of the Year for 2013 on Monday.

It was the fifth straight year the Manchester City star had made the shortlist but the first time he’d taken the award.

“Thank you to all the fans around the world who continue to support me and who love me a lot,” said Toure in a BBC statement. “I’m very proud, I’m very happy, this award is amazing.

“It’s the fifth time in a row (being nominated) and this time is very special.”

Toure, who has scored 13 goals for club and country this year, was the choice of the BBC’s global audience.

He held off competition from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon and Borussia Dortmund), Victor Moses (Nigeria and Liverpool, on loan from Chelsea), John Obi Mikel (Nigeria and Chelsea), and Jonathan Pitroipa (Burkina Faso and Rennes).

Toure was presented with the award at Manchester City’s Carrington training ground on Monday.

“We are pleased for Yaya Toure that he has finally won the BBC African Footballer of the Year on his fifth nomination for the award,” said BBC Africa’s current affairs editor Vera Kwakofi.

“This shows the high esteem in which he is held by lovers of African football and the respect the fans have for his exploits for club and country.”

Toure now has the chance to complete an awards double having been selected among a 25-man shortlist for the African Football Confederation (CAF) African Footballer of the Year for 2013.

In contrast to the BBC award, Toure has won the CAF equivalent in each of the last two years and winning it for a third consecutive year would see him match the achievement of Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, winner in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

The winner of the latest edition is due to be announced at a ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria, on January 9.

India’s squads for South Africa tour

Posted by Unknown Monday, 25 November 2013 0 comments

NEW DELHI: India’s squads announced on Monday for next months Test and one-day series in South Africa:

Test squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kolhi, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Ambati Rayudu, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha.

One-day squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ambati Rayudu, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra.

AFP

Jury awards Apple $290 mln in Samsung patent case

Posted by Unknown Saturday, 23 November 2013 0 comments

San José (United States): A US federal jury Thursday ordered Samsung to pay $290 million in damages to Apple in a partial retrial of the blockbuster patent case involving the two smartphone giants.

The award comes instead of $450 million in damages originally awarded in the landmark suit, but thrown out by a judge. It is in addition to nearly $600 million in patent infringement damages upheld from the trial last year.

Apple has accused its South Korean rival of massive and wilful copying of its designs and technology for smartphones and tablets and won the landmark case in a jury decision in August 2012. But the case has been on hold pending multiple appeals.

The original verdict for more than $1 billion was reduced in March when Judge Lucy Koh invalidated some $450 million and ordered a retrial on portions of the case.

The six-woman, two-man jury in Koh’s courtroom in San Jose, California, reached a verdict on the third day of deliberations.

The panel was sent back to the jury room to wait while rival lawyers and the judge checked the verdict to see if there are questions or concerns before entering it into the record.

Even though Apple won the landmark case last year, this has not had much impact on the new smartphones hitting the market, though the California maker of the iPhone is seeking injunctions to bar some Samsung products from being sold in the United States.

The California case is among several pending in courts and administrative agencies around the world between the two electronics giants, each of which accuses the other of infringing on its patents.

After years of following and refining the iPhone’s pioneering innovations — a strategy that resulted in bitter patent battles with Apple — Samsung has dethroned its California-based rival to become the world’s top smartphone maker.

Samsung extended its lead over Apple in the global smartphone market in the third quarter, according to surveys.

The South Korean electronics giant increased its market share by nearly half a percentage point to 31.4 percent, according to the IDC survey. Apple sold 33.8 million iPhones in the quarter, but its growth was slower than the overall market, so its share slipped to 13.1 percent from 14.4 percent a year ago.

There was no immediate comment from Apple or Samsung to Thursday’s verdict.

In a separate legal battle, the US International Trade Commission in August blocked imports of some older model Samsung mobile devices in response to Apple’s complaints on patent violations.

The Obama administration, which had a final review in the case, upheld the decision in October.

The disputes are closely followed because the two companies are the leading players in the smartphone and tablet markets and also because Samsung products are closely aligned with the Android system created by Google, a major Apple rival.

AFP

England all out for 136 in 1st Ashes Test

Posted by Unknown Thursday, 21 November 2013 0 comments

BRISBANE: England were all out for 136 to trail Australia by 159 first innings runs late on the second day of the first Ashes Test on Friday.

The tourists lost their last eight wickets for 81 with fast bowler Mitchell Johnson taking four for 61.

AFP

Dylan puts interactive video spin on Like a Rolling Stone

Posted by Unknown Wednesday, 20 November 2013 0 comments

NEW YORK: Bob Dylan put a 21st-century interactive spin on a 48-year-old song that many consider his greatest composition when he released an official video for "Like a Rolling Stone.

"Posted on bobdylan.com, it invites viewers to channel-surf between mock TV shows where the song is lip-synched by newscasters, reality TV stars, tennis players, fashionistas, game show hosts and a levitating cartoon cat, among others.

Dylan himself appears on a "Music 1 Classics" channel in vintage footage, performing the song in concert in 1966 alongside his background band The Hawks.

"No two people will engage with the video in the same way twice," said a statement by New York-based digital media firm Interlude, which developed the patented interactive technology that underpins the video.

Dylan, who earlier this month re-issued all his albums in a massive box set, is currently on tour in Britain, where he will play the Royal Albert Hall in London for the first time since the 1960s.

AFP

Dollar extends gains in Asia

Posted by Unknown 0 comments

TOKYO: The dollar extended its gains in Asia on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserves October meeting showed policymakers were considering cutting its stimulus programme "in coming months".

The greenback climbed to 100.39 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 100.03 yen in New York Wednesday afternoon.

The euro inched down to $1.3426 from $1.3435 while it strengthened to 134.78 yen from 134.40 yen.

Minutes from the Feds October meeting released Wednesday showed policymakers felt recent data indicate the time is approaching to start cutting down its $85 billion a month bond-buying scheme.

National Australia Bank said the minutes point to the likelihood of tapering sooner than later."

AFP