Kenya arrests two British citizens crossing into Somalia
Kenyan and Somali troops launched an offensive Sunday against al Shabaab rebel group in southern Somalia after a string of kidnappings of Westerners in the past few weeks by gunmen thought by Kenya to be linked to the militants.
UPDATE 1-New China Life eyes approvals for $4 bln IPO next week-IFR
Oct 18 (Reuters) - New China Life, the country’s
third-biggest life insurer, aims to seek regulatory approvals
for its potential $4 billion initial public offering in Hong
Kong and Shanghai next week, Thomson Reuters publication IFR
reported on Tuesday, citing a source with direct knowledge of
the matter.New China Life, in which Swiss insurer Zurich Financial
holds a stake, will join other companies including
Shaanxi Coal Industry and China Communications Construction
planning to brave a sluggish market to raise billions
of dollars in Shanghai listings later this year.New China Life’s draft prospectus for the Shanghai listing
may be released as early as Friday and the China Securities
Regulatory Commission (CSRC) may review its IPO application next
week, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Tuesday,
citing an unidentified regulatory source.However, IFR said that whether the Shanghai listing hearings
would happen next week depended on whether the CSRC would want
the issuance to come amid difficult market conditions, further
pressuring the broader market.The regulator halted approvals for new listings during the
global financial crisis in 2008, concerned that a heavy supply
of new shares would further undercut already weak share prices.New China Life had lined up a number of cornerstone
investors for the deal and was planning to start premarketing
the deal once regulatory approvals were granted, IFR reported
earlier this month.
iPhone owners cozy up to chatty Siri assistant
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The âSiriâ personal assistant software included in Appleâs new iPhone 4S has been widely anticipated and fans who lined up to buy the smartphones on Fridayâs launch were quick to test the voice recognition feature.
Voice recognition software historically has been pretty hit and miss, especially for anyone for whom English is a second language.
But beyond struggling with mumbling or foreign accents, it looks like the people who developed Siri â which you can use to send text messages, query movie times and check the weather â have a sense of humor.
âWill you marry me? Siri: My End User License Agreement does not cover marriageâ, went a conversation between Twitter use #dujkan and his new iPhone.
More examples of early interactions with Siri can be found here. http://thisismynext.com/2011/10/12/siri-weird-things-iphone-4s/
Unit of Egypt’s OCI wins a $578 mln mall contract
Six Construct will build a 235,000 square metre retail area,
a parking lot, and associated infrastructure, the firm said in a
statement. UAE’s Aldar Properties , which is developing
the mall, had previously announced it gave the award to OCI,
without giving the value of the contract.The total area for the project, expected to be completed by
the fourth quarter of 2013, is about 1.2 million square metres.OCI (OCICq.L), Egypt’s biggest listed firm, posted a 15
percent rise in second-quarter net profit and has said it
expected construction orders to grow this year as governments in
the Middle East try to create jobs by boosting infrastructure
spending.($1=0.72 euros)
UPDATE 1-Kuwait’s Zain names acting CEO for home operations
The reshuffle follows the departure of Saad al-Barrak. He
quit as Zain Saudi CEO on Tuesday, having previously also been
group CEO of the seven-country operator.Zain is forecast to make a third-quarter profit of 71.91
million dinars, according to the average forecast of analysts
polled by Reuters.Zain shares were trading down 1 percent at 0650 GMT on the
Kuwait bourse.
UPDATE 1-Fairchild Semi Q3 rev misses estimates
* Q3 rev $403.2 mln vs est $404.2 mln* Sees Q4 rev $350-$370 mln vs est $397 mlnOct 13 (Reuters) - Fairchild Semiconductor posted
weaker-than-expected third-quarter sales, hurt by soft demand at
its computing and consumer markets and forecast fourth-quarter
revenue well below expectations.Last month, the company, which makes analog chips for PCs,
mobile phones and automobiles, had lowered its third-quarter
sales expectations, citing slowing orders for consumer and
computing chips.In the last few months, technology companies have raised
concerns about weak consumer spending, especially in the
personal computer market, hurt by a global economic slowdown and
rising unemployment.According to Gartner, PC shipments grew 3.2 percent in the
third quarter, well below the 5.1 percent projected by the
research firm earlier.For Oct-Dec, Fairchild expects revenue of $350-$370 million.
Analysts were looking for sales of about $397 million, according
to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Third-quarter net profit was flat at $35.8 million, or 28
cents a share.Excluding items, Fairchild earned 34 cents a share, above
estimates of 32 cents a share.Adjusted gross margin fell 50 basis points to 36 percent.July-Sept revenue fell 3 percent to $403.2 million, compared
with expectations of $404.2 million.Shares of the company closed at $12.24 on Wednesday on the
New York Stock Exchange.
U.N. investigator wants more freed in Myanmar
Rights investigator Tomas Ojea Quintana said he expected Myanmar’s military rulers to hold by-elections by year’s end, and he would like to see the release of remaining political prisoners by then.”It’s very important that the government finish with this process of release before the elections,” he told Reuters in an interview.”I hope this takes place. I cannot anticipate, but this will be my demand to the government.”Myanmar has begun to open up after half a century of iron-fisted rule by the junta, with loosening of some media controls and more political dialogue with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose 15-year house arrest ended only last year.Asked if the government had one eye on the Arab Spring, which has toppled long-term rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, Ojea Quintana said officials in Myanmar had told him they did not want to release political prisoners because they were worried about public demonstrations.”What I said in that respect was: you have an example of an important politician who was released, Aung San Suu Kyi, and you have an example of how she’s reacting to this process and how she’s traveling round the country without compromising stability around the country, so I said you’ve got an example there and you should proceed with the release.”Wednesday’s release of at least 300 political prisoners, including several prominent dissidents, was welcomed as a positive sign by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, although it disappointed campaigners from Amnesty International who had hoped for many more to be freed.Ojea Quintana, an Argentine lawyer who serves as the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said some of the most important dissidents had not been released and more than 1,000 prisoners of conscience remained behind bars.”What I have seen in my last mission in August is that there are real opportunities for change and there are new institutions being built,” he said, adding that he will submit his report to the U.N. General Assembly next Wednesday.”My expectation is that on the 19th it’s going to be a pretty fruitful discussion at the United Nations and we’ll have to see what will be the resolution coming out from the General Assembly then.”
U.N. investigator wants more freed in Myanmar
Rights investigator Tomas Ojea Quintana said he expected Myanmar’s military rulers to hold by-elections by year’s end, and he would like to see the release of remaining political prisoners by then.”It’s very important that the government finish with this process of release before the elections,” he told Reuters in an interview.”I hope this takes place. I cannot anticipate, but this will be my demand to the government.”Myanmar has begun to open up after half a century of iron-fisted rule by the junta, with loosening of some media controls and more political dialogue with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose 15-year house arrest ended only last year.Asked if the government had one eye on the Arab Spring, which has toppled long-term rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, Ojea Quintana said officials in Myanmar had told him they did not want to release political prisoners because they were worried about public demonstrations.”What I said in that respect was: you have an example of an important politician who was released, Aung San Suu Kyi, and you have an example of how she’s reacting to this process and how she’s traveling round the country without compromising stability around the country, so I said you’ve got an example there and you should proceed with the release.”Wednesday’s release of at least 300 political prisoners, including several prominent dissidents, was welcomed as a positive sign by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, although it disappointed campaigners from Amnesty International who had hoped for many more to be freed.Ojea Quintana, an Argentine lawyer who serves as the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said some of the most important dissidents had not been released and more than 1,000 prisoners of conscience remained behind bars.”What I have seen in my last mission in August is that there are real opportunities for change and there are new institutions being built,” he said, adding that he will submit his report to the U.N. General Assembly next Wednesday.”My expectation is that on the 19th it’s going to be a pretty fruitful discussion at the United Nations and we’ll have to see what will be the resolution coming out from the General Assembly then.”
