Explosion shakes central Prague, some injured and trapped

PRAGUE (Reuters) - An explosion in central Prague on Monday injured about a dozen people and others were trapped in a building damaged by the blast, a Reuters witness and emergency services officials said.

The explosion, a few dozen meters (yards) from Prague's National Theatre, was heard as far as Prague Castle about a mile across the Vltava river.

A police spokesman said the blast was probably caused by gas and that there had been about 15 people in the building, which included an office of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and an art gallery.

"There is an unknown number of injured and trapped people," said Jirina Fikejzova, Prague emergency services spokeswoman.

A Reuters witness at the site said about a dozen people were being treated by emergency services.

The blast blew out windows in neighboring buildings, including Prague's landmark Cafe Slavia.

A fire department spokeswoman said there have not been reports of any deaths. Neighboring buildings were being evacuated, the spokeswoman said.

(Reporting by Michael Winfrey, David Cerny and Robert Mueller; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/explosion-shakes-central-prague-injured-trapped-091125948.html

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Facebook And The Sudden Wake Up About The API Economy

What a two weeks it’s been. Something happened that has been simmering for a while. The API market exploded. Intel bought Mashery for more than $180 million and CA acquired Layer 7. 3Scale received a new $4.2 million round of funding from Javelin Ventures. Mulesoft acquired Programmable Web. And then Facebook jumped in and bought Parse. The acquisitions and funding point to a maturing market that is reflected in the ubiquity of APIs across the application landscape. It’s not a new market by any means. The space is filled with companies that have leveraged the API build out that has happened over the past several years. Instead this is an inflection point. There are more than 30,000 APIs, according to Programmable Web, the leading API directory and blog. Javelin Ventures Managing Director Noah Doyle said to me in an interview that analysts see the API market growing five to ten times over the next five years. With that scaling in number of APIs comes a virtuous circle for the developers that build compelling apps and APIs. The APIs extend the apps reach as they become part of distributed data network. As more people use the APIs so the app developer generates more data. As the data increases in scope, often the service will become an API. Facebook needs new streams of data to keep rolling out new digital products. Back end as a service providers like Parse provide SDKs and APIs that give developers access to infrastructure for storing basic data types, locations and photos. How Facebook uses this data is a question mark. But regardless, Pare serves as a constant replenishing source, nourished by the apps on the Parse platform that use APIs. Facebook now will decide how to package and segment that data to push more relevant advertising to its 1 billion users. APIs Are Like Glue APIs will be the glue to the Internet, said Programmable Web Founder John Musser. Musser, like Doyle, sees a new generation of APIs emerging that are fueled by demand, triggered by mobile devices, which serve in many respects as the new client/servers. Apps are hosted on cloud services and distributed across mobile devices that read and write data, sending and receiving information, connecting via APIs. In the first generation, Mashery and companies like Apigee pioneered the API management space. Twitter and other web companies emerged in the second generation. In the

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/w8YoAqX9UZY/

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Bangladesh building collapse death toll hits 362

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) ? Bangladesh rescuers on Sunday located nine people alive inside the rubble of a multi-story building that collapsed five days ago, as authorities announced they will now use heavy equipment to drill a central hole from the top to look for survivors and dead bodies.

At least 362 people are confirmed dead in the collapse of the 8-story building that housed five garment factories. The death toll is expected to rise further, but it is already the deadliest tragedy to hit Bangladesh's garment industry, which is worth $20 billion annually and a mainstay of the economy.

Wednesday's collapse and previous disasters in garment factories have focused attention on the poor working conditions of workers who toil for as little as $38 a month to produce clothing for top international brands.

Army Maj. Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy, the coordinator of the rescue operations, said they will try to save the nine people first by manually shifting concrete blocks with the help of light equipment such as pick axes and shovels.

"But if we fail we will start our next phase within hours," which would involve manual efforts as well as heavy equipment, including hydraulic cranes and cutters to bore a hole from the top of the collapsed building, he told reporters.

The purpose is to "continue the operation to recover both survivors and dead bodies. In this stage, we have no other choice but to use some heavy equipment. We will start it within a few hours. Manual operation and use of small equipment is not enough," he said.

The work will be carried out carefully so as not to mutilate bodies, he said. All the equipment is in place, "from a small blade to everything. We have engaged many private sector companies which supplied us equipment, even some heavy ones."

In rare good news, a female worker was pulled out alive on Sunday. Hasan Akbari, a rescuer, said when he tried to extricate a man next to the woman, "he said his body was being torn apart. So I had to let go. But God willing, we will be able to rescue him with more help very soon."

On Saturday, police took six people into custody, including three owners of two factories who were placed under arrest. Also under detention are the wife of the building owner who is on the run and two government engineers who were involved in giving approval for the building design. The owner had the approval to construct five floors but he added three more illegally.

A huge crack appeared in the building, Rana Plaza, on Tuesday, but the owner, Mohammed Sohel Rana, assured tenants it was safe to go inside. A bank and some shops on the first floor shut their premises on Wednesday after police ordered an evacuation, but managers of the garment factories on the upper floor told workers to continue their shifts.

Hours later the Rana Plaza was reduced to rubble, and most victims were crushed by massive blocks of concrete and mortar falling on them. A garment manufacturers' group said the factories in the building employed 3,122 workers, but it was not clear how many were inside it when it collapsed. About 2,500 survivors have been accounted for.

Working round-the-clock, rescuers have used bare hands and shovels, passing chunks of brick and concrete down a human chain away from the collapsed structure. On the ground, mixed in the debris were several pairs of pink cotton pants, a mud-covered navy blue sock and a pile of green uncut fabric.

The badly decomposed bodies pulled out of the rubble were kept at a makeshift morgue at the nearby Adharchandra High School before being handed over to families. Many people milled around at the school, waving photos of their missing loved ones.

Among those arrested are Bazlus Samad, managing director of New Wave Apparels Ltd., and Mahmudur Rahman Tapash, the company chairman, and Aminul Islam, chairman of Phantom Apparels Ltd.

Rana, the building owner, was a local leader of ruling Awami League's youth front. His arrest, and that of the factory owners, was ordered by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the Awami League leader.

The disaster is the worst ever for the country's booming and powerful garment industry, surpassing a fire five months ago that killed 112 people and brought widespread pledges to improve worker-safety standards. But since then very little has changed in Bangladesh, where low wages have made it a magnet for numerous global brands.

Bangladesh's garment industry was the third largest in the world in 2011, after China and Italy, having grown rapidly in the past decade. The country's minimum wage is the equivalent of about $38 a month.

Among the garment makers in the building were Phantom Apparels, Phantom Tac, Ether Tex, New Wave Style and New Wave Bottoms. Altogether, they produced several million shirts, pants and other garments a year.

The New Wave companies, according to their website, make clothing for several major North American and European retailers.

Britain's Primark acknowledged it was using a factory in Rana Plaza, but many other retailers distanced themselves from the disaster, saying they were not involved with the factories at the time of the collapse or had not recently ordered garments from them.

Wal-Mart said none of its clothing had been authorized to be made in the facility, but it is investigating whether there was any unauthorized production.

__

AP writers Farid Hossain and Gillian Wong in Dhaka contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bangladesh-building-collapse-death-toll-hits-362-054021527.html

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Obama: Flight delay fix a 'Band-Aid'

A United Airlines jet departs in view of the air traffic control tower at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Tuesday, April 23, 2013, in Seattle. A day after flight delays plagued much of the U.S., air travel is smoother Tuesday. But the government is warning passengers that the situation can change by the hour as it runs the nation's air traffic control system with a smaller staff. Airlines and members of Congress urged the Federal Aviation Administration to find other ways to make mandatory budget cuts besides furloughing controllers. While delays haven't been terrible yet, the airlines are worried about the long-term impact late flights will have on their budgets and on fliers. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

A United Airlines jet departs in view of the air traffic control tower at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Tuesday, April 23, 2013, in Seattle. A day after flight delays plagued much of the U.S., air travel is smoother Tuesday. But the government is warning passengers that the situation can change by the hour as it runs the nation's air traffic control system with a smaller staff. Airlines and members of Congress urged the Federal Aviation Administration to find other ways to make mandatory budget cuts besides furloughing controllers. While delays haven't been terrible yet, the airlines are worried about the long-term impact late flights will have on their budgets and on fliers. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

A passenger sits at right in the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, Friday, April 26, 2013, in Atlanta. Congress easily approved legislation Friday ending furloughs of air traffic controllers that have delayed hundreds of flights daily, infuriating travelers and causing political headaches for lawmakers.(AP Photo/David Goldman)

The control tower stands in the background as a passenger lays on the pavement outside the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, Friday, April 26, 2013, in Atlanta. Congress easily approved legislation Friday ending furloughs of air traffic controllers that have delayed hundreds of flights daily, infuriating travelers and causing political headaches for lawmakers.(AP Photo/David Goldman)

The control tower stands in the background as a passenger paces while on the phone outside the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, Friday, April 26, 2013, in Atlanta. Congress easily approved legislation Friday ending furloughs of air traffic controllers that have delayed hundreds of flights daily, infuriating travelers and causing political headaches for lawmakers.(AP Photo/David Goldman)

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Michael Huerta testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 24, 2013, before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation hearing on flight delays that are being caused by the FAA's decision to furlough air traffic controllers because of mandatory budget cuts. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama says the congressional fix for widespread flight delays is an irresponsible way to govern, but he's prepared to sign the legislation that lawmakers fast-tracked.

He says the bipartisan bill to end furloughs of air traffic controllers is a "Band-Aid" solution rather than a lasting answer to this year's $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester.

The cuts have affected all federal agencies, and flight delays last week left thousands of travelers frustrated and furious and Congress feeling pressured to respond.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Saturday that it had suspended all employee furloughs and that air traffic facilities would begin returning to regular staffing levels over the next 24 hours.

The FAA's statement said the air traffic system would resume normal operations by Sunday evening.

"Republicans claimed victory when the sequester first took effect, and now they've decided it was a bad idea all along," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address, aired Saturday.

He singled out the GOP even though the bill passed with overwhelming Democratic support in both the House and Senate.

The president scolded lawmakers for helping the Federal Aviation Administration while doing nothing to replace other cuts that he said harm federal employees, unemployed workers and preschoolers in Head Start.

"Maybe because they fly home each weekend, the members of Congress who insisted these cuts take hold finally realized that they actually apply to them, too," Obama said.

Rushed through Congress with remarkable speed, the bill marked a shift for Democrats who had hoped the impact of the cuts would increase pressure on Republicans to reverse the broad cuts.

Republicans have rejected Obama's proposal to replace the spending reductions with a mix of spending cuts and tax increases.

"There are some in the Obama administration who thought inflicting pain on the public would give the president more leverage to avoid making necessary spending cuts, and to impose more tax hikes on the American people," said Rep. Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania in the Republican address.

Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the FAA could have averted the flight delays on its own by cutting costs elsewhere and rejiggering work schedules, but chose not to do so.

The bill signed by Obama would let the FAA use up to $253 million from an airport improvement program and other accounts to halt the furloughs through the Sept. 30 end of the government's fiscal year.

Faced with the prospect that emboldened Republicans will push to selectively undo other painful effects of the cuts, the White House said Friday that a piecemeal approach would be impractical, but wouldn't definitely rule out signing other fixes.

___

Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: www.youtube.com/HouseConference

___

Follow Josh Lederman at https://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-27-Obama/id-e9098cab62ec41c7bcd8a41dc51b3a3c

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10 Tips for Using Credit Cards Responsibly When You Have ADHD ...

The very nature of ADHD makes it difficult for adults with the disorder to use credit cards responsibly. ?Impulsivity, for one thing, means an adult with ADHD will see something they want and without thinking it through, will pull out their credit card and make a purchase,? according to Terry Matlen, ACSW, a psychotherapist and author of Survival Tips for Women with AD/HD.

It also doesn?t help that credit cards are so easy to use. ?Credit cards are rather intangible. They?re plastic, easy to store and don?t look like money. It?s much easier handing a card to a clerk than reaching for cash that generally has more meaning and is more concrete.?

Psychotherapist Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D, agreed. ?Credit cards can give the illusion that one is not really spending ?real? money.?

Plus, you get instant gratification, and the negative consequences are delayed, since your bills don?t arrive for weeks, Matlen added.

But while using credit cards is more challenging when you have ADHD, you can learn to use them responsibly. Below, Matlen and Sarkis shared their practical and realistic suggestions.

1. Use cash.

?It?s much easier to hand over a little plastic card than a wad of bills that the person worked very hard to earn,? Matlen said. Cash is tangible. ?[U]sing cash is a giant cue that there is only so much money available once some or much of it is spent.?

2. Use one credit card.

If you can?t use cash all the time, have one card for all your purchases, Matlen said. And make sure it has the lowest finance fees you can find, she said.

3. Get a credit card with full payment requirements.

Some people have a remaining balance on their credit cards each month, which leads to finance charges, said Sarkis, author of several books on adult ADHD, including 10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD.

She compared having an unpaid balance to ?taking out a high-interest loan. An item that seemed like a deal at 50 percent off may actually cost you 200 percent for the original cost if you don?t pay off your balance.? That?s why she suggested having a card like an American Express that requires paying off the full balance every month.

4. Set up automatic withdrawals.

It?s common for adults with ADHD to rack up late fees, because they forget to pay their bills. This is why having money automatically taken out of your account every month is helpful. But, as Sarkis said, you have to make sure there?s enough money in your account.

5. Set up online payments.

Another option is to pay your bill online, Matlen said. Set up reminders to help you pay on time, she said. For instance, you can create reminders in an online calendar and with alarms on your phone.

6. Create a system for bills.

If online payments aren?t possible, Matlen also suggested keeping a box or manila folder for your bills: When each bill arrives, open it, and look at the due date. Write that date on the envelope, and put the bill in your box or folder. Keep the bills in the order in which they?re due. Then, pick two days each month to pay your bills. Note those days in your calendar.

7. Have a pre-paid card.

Both experts suggested having a pre-paid card that fits your budget. ?This helps to prevent over-spending on credit cards,? Matlen said.

8. Take drastic measures.

Some readers might need to take more drastic measures. For instance, for clients whose over-spending is particularly bad, Matlen suggests ?they take their credit cards and put them in the freezer so that they aren?t so easily accessible.?

9. Give yourself a day to reconsider purchases. ?

According to Matlen, when it seems like you?re making an impulsive buy, stop and take a picture of the item instead. (Most cell phones have cameras.) Then give yourself one day to decide if you really want it.

10. Shop with a person who can keep you accountable.

?Shop with someone who can help you curb your impulsive buying,? Matlen said.

It?s common for adults with ADHD to overspend and forget to pay their bills. But while these problems are prevalent, they?re also surmountable. The key is to find a system that works for you and stick with it.

Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. is an Associate Editor at Psych Central and blogs regularly about eating and self-image issues on her own blog, Weightless.

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Catch up on other posts by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. (or subscribe to their feed).

????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 26 Apr 2013
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Tartakovsky, M. (2013). 10 Tips for Using Credit Cards Responsibly When You Have ADHD. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 26, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/04/26/10-tips-for-using-credit-cards-responsibly-when-you-have-adhd/

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Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/04/26/10-tips-for-using-credit-cards-responsibly-when-you-have-adhd/

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Dan Jenkins - a legendary sports writer - Golf feature | bettor.com

Dan Jenkins - a legendary sports writer - Golf feature

Dan Jenkins, a legendary golf writer, dedicated more than 60 years of his life to sports covering thousands of events all over the world.

Larry King, an American?television and radio host, called?Jenkins?"the quintessential Sports Illustrated writer" and "?the best sportswriter in America."

He is the only writer that most of the golf readers have ever followed. For the last few decades, he was the man on whom people can rely on for the news that television and newspaper could not tell them.

He started writing when players like Ben Hogan used to play on the golf course and still writing and covering the stars like Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald.

He covered US Open in 1951 for the first time in his career when Hogan shot 67 to finish the final round at Oakland Hills to win the major event.

Jenkins?s career goes from a manual typewriter to Twitter. He started working for Golf Digest n 1985 and still writes for it. He has also written 20 books during his writing career including best sellers Baja Oklahoma, Dead Solid Perfect, and Semi-Tough.

While working for the Golf Digest, Jenkins played 18-hole course with President Bush Sr. Following that, Hord Hardin, president of Augusta National Golf Club, invited him to stay for few days at the course, which he accepted wholeheartedly.

His way of golf writing is admired by many as he always tried to integrate informality, insight and humour all together to make it more interesting to read.

However, for the sake of a good joke, he never neglected the significance of accuracy.

"Even though I was making a stab at humour, I do not think I ever wrote a line I did not believe," he said. "When something great happens, you do not have to be funny; you just have to be accurate.?

Jenkins?s service to the game of golf has finally paid him off in form of induction of his name in the World Golf Hall of Fame next year. He will be the sixth media member to be selected for the Hall of Fame. Other five media members include writers Bernard Darwin, Bob Harlow, Herb Graffis, Herbert Warren Wind and television producer Frank Chirkinian and were inducted posthumously.

"Being from Fort Worth, I would follow Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson anywhere," Jenkins said after his selection through Lifetime Achievement category. "Since they are in there, I am happy to be the third guy from Fort Worth so included.

"I am delighted to be in such good company with the people who are already in there, especially the players."

Jenkins has already been inducted in the National Sportscasters and Sports Writers Hall of Fame and Texas Golf Hall of Fame. Moreover, Memorial Journalism Award and PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism are his other achievements.

For the last 16 years at Golf Digest, he has spent most of his time making fun and parodying selfish tour players, unexciting sports psychologists and some silly tournament sponsors. Golf is something more than just a game for Jenkins and he has enjoyed writing and speaking about it more than anyone around the world. He is among the people who have made this game interesting and lovable to watch. It is time now that someone else needs to take his position and entertain the golf fans as he did for 60 years.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Dan-Jenkins-a-legendary-sports-writer-Golf-feature-a214835

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China's Baidu reports slower profit growth

BEIJING (AP) ? Baidu Inc., which operates China's most popular search engine, reported slower profit growth in its latest quarter Friday as costs rose sharply and competition for its new mobile service intensified.

Earnings rose 8.5 percent from a year earlier to 2 billion yuan ($328.9 million) for the three months ended March 31, the Beijing- based company announced. That was down from the previous quarter's 36 percent increase.

Revenue rose 40 percent from a year earlier to 6 billion yuan ($961 million) but expenses rose at faster rates. Research and development costs increased 82.9 percent. Sales and administration rose 77.2 percent.

Baidu dominates China's traditional desktop computer-based search market but has seen its leadership erode in mobile search as Chinese users switch to surfing the Web on mobile phones and tablets.

Baidu accounted for 78.6 percent of China's traditional search market in the first quarter, well ahead of second-place Google Inc., which had 14.4 percent, according to Analysys International, a research firm. Google closed its mainland China search service in 2010 following a dispute over censorship with the communist government.

In mobile search, Baidu's share declined from 77.4 percent in July to 66.9 percent in March, according to Analysys. Some of that lost share went to Qihoo 360, a mobile search service launched in mid-2012 that rose to second place in March with 13.4 percent of the market.

Despite the competitive pressure, Baidu chairman Robin Li said the number of daily users of its mobile service rose 25 percent over the course of the first quarter to 100 million.

"Our mobile offering is making exciting progress," said Li in a statement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-baidu-reports-slower-profit-growth-112926889.html

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