Wednesday, February 17, 2010

GSMA Mobile World Congress: Telegent and Brightstar Partner to Launch 'Soccer TV' Phone


righstar's Avvio 505 with Telegent mobile TV, customized for soccer fans in the Brazil marketCaption for Avvio photo (PRNewsFoto/Telegent Systems, Inc.) BARCELONA SPAIN

Brighstar's Avvio 505 with Telegent mobile TV. (PRNewsFoto/Telegent Systems, Inc., Luis Fernandez) BARCELONA SPAIN

16 Feb 2010 16:40 Africa/Lagos


Telegent and Brightstar Partner to Launch 'Soccer TV' Phone

Avvio 505 enables Latin American and African soccer fans to view live, free-to-air broadcasts of World Cup 2010

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at Mobile World Congress, Telegent Systems, the company that makes television mobile, and Brightstar Corp., a global leader in value-added distribution and integrated supply chain solutions for the wireless industry, announced a partnership to bring a low-cost handset that delivers live, free-to-air broadcast TV to Latin American and African consumers prior to this summer's 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa. Brightstar's Avvio 505 device, which incorporates Telegent's free-to-air analog mobile TV receiver, will provide consumers on the go with an affordable way to view this summer's "cannot miss" soccer matches.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100216/AQ55321-a)
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100216/AQ55321-b)


"With the Avvio 505, we are delivering a model designed to appeal to sports fans in the Latin American and African markets," said Jaime Narea, vice-president of Brightstar's Idea to Consumer Division. "In these markets, consumers have a passion for soccer, and all eyes will be on the events unfolding real time this summer in South Africa. The combination of voice and TV in a low-cost handset is very compelling for consumers who want to follow the matches live, whether they are at work, home, or on the road."

The Avvio 505 adds further appeal for the sports fan as the handset is designed with the customized colors and flags of those countries participating in this summer's soccer event. In addition to voice, SMS, TV and FM radio, the device features a 2.0 inch screen, measures 43X101X13.3mm, and delivers 240 minutes of continuous talk time. The TV and FM radio features, enabled by Telegent's mobile TV receiver, provide consumers with one-button mobile access to live, free-to-air analog television and radio broadcasts.

"We are delighted to work with Brightstar on this innovative campaign," said Samuel Sheng, president and chief executive officer of Telegent. "Global sporting events provide a unique draw, and the Avvio 505 is well positioned to make the televised matches broadly accessible to the Latin American and African mobile consumers."

Brightstar's Avvio 505 will be sold in select operator and retail channels throughout Latin America and Africa prior to the World Cup.

About Telegent Systems, Inc.

Telegent Systems is a fabless semiconductor company that enables the reception of live, free-to-air analog and digital broadcast television in mobile handsets and other portable consumer devices. Telegent's television-on-a-chip solutions solve the long-standing technical challenges that have precluded mobile reception of analog broadcast TV, enabling manufacturers and operators to benefit from the convergence of broadcast TV with mobile and portable devices. Telegent's products are the most widely sold broadcast television solutions for mobile handsets in the world. For more information, visit www.telegent.com.

About Brightstar Corp.

Brightstar Corp. is a multi-billion dollar global innovator in value-added distribution and integrated supply chain solutions for the wireless industry. Serving manufacturers, operators, and retailers in approximately 50 countries across six continents, Brightstar's customers have access to industry-leading solutions that yield measurable results and turn their supply chains into a competitive advantage. Learn more about us at www.brightstarcorp.com.
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100216/AQ55321-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100216/AQ55321-b
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: Telegent Systems, Inc.

CONTACT: Diana Jovin, VP Corporate Marketing of Telegent,
+1-408-990-7092, djovin@telegent.com; or Rafael de Guzman of Brightstar,
+1-305-921-1434, rafael.deguzman@brightstarcorp.com

Web Site: http://www.telegent.com/
http://www.brightstarcorp.com/

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Nigeria / CPJ condemns police harassment of Desert Herald editor

15 Feb 2010 17:43 Africa/Lagos



Nigeria / CPJ condemns police harassment of Desert Herald editor

ABUJA, February 15, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on police and prosecutors in northern Nigeria to withdraw the threat of arrest and prosecution of Mallam Tukur, the editor-in-chief and publisher of the independent weekly, Desert Herald, based in Kaduna State.


Two plainclothes police arrested Tukur on defamation charges at his office in Kaduna on February 8 and took him to a police station in Bauchi State. He was released on bail the following day, the Nigerian Union of Journalists told CPJ. Police then withdrew the charges against Tukur at the Bauchi Magistrate Court on February 10 in order to re-arrest him under new, unspecified charges and take him to neighboring Yobe State, according to local news reports. Tukur told CPJ that the Yobe State judiciary staff has been on strike for the past four months, which would ensure he remains under police detention for a long time period if detained there.


According to defense lawyer Mahmoud Moussa, police attempted to re-arrest Tukur outside the Bauchi courtroom today without an arrest warrant or closure of the original case against him, but lawyers intervened. The initial defamation charges will be officially withdrawn on Monday, Moussa said. Police will then be legally able to arrest him under the new charges.


Local journalists told CPJ they believe police are trying to arrest Turkur because a recent edition of the Desert Herald had accused Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Geidam of rapidly acquiring several housing properties illicitly. The Desert Herald is considered one of a handful of critical independent newspapers still printing in northern Nigeria, local journalists told CPJ.


“We call on Nigerian authorities to cease harassing Mallam Tukur immediately and allow him to work freely without further threat of prosecution,” CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes said.


The deputy governor of Yobe State, Danlami Bello, initially attained a warrant to arrest the critical editor for a September 2009 story in which the governor was alleged to have escaped a conspiracy to poison him, according to Tukur. Governor Geidam had publicly stated last year that there had been a plot to assassinate him, and the matter was widely covered by national newspapers.


Tukur is now in hiding and said he fears the police may arrest him without a warrant at any time. This is his third arrest in the past year, Desert Herald Assistant Editor Umar Abubakar told CPJ.


National police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu did not answer repeated phone calls by CPJ.



Source: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

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For the First Time, King Tut's DNA Is Mapped, his Family Identified, and his Short Life Investigated

16 Feb 2010 19:46 Africa/Lagos



For the First Time, King Tut's DNA Is Mapped, his Family Identified, and his Short Life Investigated

A Discovery Channel Two-Night World Premiere Special Event, KING TUT UNWRAPPED, Airs Sunday, February 21, at 8 PM (ET/PT) and Monday, February 22, at 8 PM (ET/PT) on Discovery Channel in the U.S.

SILVER SPRING, Md., Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- World-renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass leads an unprecedented forensic investigation into the life and times of King Tut that reveals for the first time the identity of Tut's parents and grandparents, his cause of death and new details of his reign in a two-night world premiere special event, KING TUT UNWRAPPED, airing Sunday, February 21, at 8 PM (ET/PT) and Monday, February 22, at 8 PM (ET/PT).

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080919/NEF051LOGO-b )

Papers published today in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) detail the painstaking medical and archeological research conducted by an international team of field experts. Part One of KING TUT UNWRAPPED follows the delicate, first- ever DNA extraction from Tut's mummy setting into motion a series of cross-reference studies to determine the Boy King's family. Part Two uses never-before-examined evidence from Tut's mummy to conclude what caused his death and how that information sheds new light on his reign as a military, religious and political leader.

"Discovery is honored once again to work with Dr. Zahi Hawass. The life and death of King Tut continues to hold a special power and mystery for people all over the world. Dr. Hawass' trailblazing leadership has successfully fused traditional, methodical archeology with cutting-edge, advanced forensics. This is a new chapter in Egyptology firmly establishing Cairo as a center for innovation and scholarship," said Clark Bunting, president and general manager, Discovery Channel and Science Channel.

The road to understanding the Tut family tree begins with filling out his parents' branches. Based on historical records and previous digs, Dr. Hawass determines Tut's father could one of three great Egyptian pharaohs: the successful and popular second king of the 18th Dynasty Amenhotep III; the radical and controversial Akhenaton, who moved Egypt into the age of monotheism or the little-known Smenkhare who reigned just prior to Tut's rule. To effectively solve this mystery, the team will need test Tut's DNA against the mummies of these three candidates.

When Howard Carter discovered the riches of King Tut's tomb in 1922, who could have predicted that almost a century later the ancient chamber would be the site for the cutting edge of Egyptology? KING TUT UNWRAPPED details the edge-of-your-seat process as researchers hold their breath and oh so gingerly but successfully extract DNA for the first time from Tut's mummy.

Specimens now abound for testing, but the expert team assembled at Discovery Channel's DNA lab at the Cairo Museum faces challenge upon challenge in connecting the forensic dots. In order to test the ancient DNA, Assistant Professor Dr. Carsten M. Pusch of the University of Tubingen's Institute of Anthropology and Human Genetics in Tubingen, Germany and Professor Albert Zink of the EURAC-Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy, work with Dr. Yehia Zakaria Gad of the Department of Medical Molecular Genetics at Cairo's National Research Center to perform, for the first time, microsatellite-based DNA-fingerprinting on familial Egyptian mummies.

There is triumph in the lab but that is only the start of the Tut family odyssey. With successful DNA sequencing of Tut's father, Hawass is able to pursue leads that will eventually point to Tut's mother and grandparents. KING TUT UNWRAPPED is a juggernaut of science, history, national pride and professional drive. From the pristine interiors and precision work of the DNA lab to dusty, unpredictable dig sites in the field, Dr. Hawass leads an intense, deeply personal journey for the truth.

KING TUT UNWRAPPED will air worldwide in the following regions and times:



Latin America February 28 - March 1

United Kingdom March 3-4

Germany: March 7 (TBD)

EMEA: May

Asia April - July (varies per territory)
SEA: April 18, April 25
China: May 3, May 10
ANZ: June 6
Japan: June 14, June 21
Taiwan: Early July

For more information via discovery.com:

VIDEO : http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/king-tut-unwrapped/


ABOUT THE SHOW: http://dsc.discovery.com/egypt/tut-investigation/king-tut-unwrapped.html

KING TUT UNWRAPPED is produced for Discovery Channel by Brando Quilici Productions. Brando Quilici is director and executive producer for Brando Quilici Productions. Paul Gasek is executive producer for Discovery Channel.

About Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel (DSC) is dedicated to creating the highest quality nonfiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which reaches 98.1 million viewers in the U.S., can be seen in over 170 countries, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres, including science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:DISCA) (NASDAQ:DISCB) (NASDAQ:DISCK) is the world's number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 100-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Planet Green, Investigation Discovery and HD Theater, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

For more information and artwork, please log on to www.press.discovery.com.
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080919/NEF051LOGO-b

Source: Discovery Channel

CONTACT: Elizabeth Hillman, +1-240-662-2664,
elizabeth_hillman@discovery.com, or Joshua Weinberg, +1-240-328-3988,
joshua_weinberg@discovery.com, both of Discovery Channel

Web Site: http://dsc.discovery.com/



Monday, February 15, 2010

Law To Ban Marriage Between People Who Don't Love Each Other


Photo Credit: Willyyilly

Law To Ban Marriage Between People Who Don't Love Each Other
The Minnesota law would nullify the marriages of an estimated 2.4 million couples currently living in silent resentment or seething hatred. ~ The ONN

Wow! Now this is really long over due. Millions have been suffering and dying in Marriage of convenience since Adam and Eve. In fact, Marriage of convenience is most common among those who are not fortunate to have partners they would have loved to marry, but have to settle down with partners who can provide what they need to catch up with the Joneses or make ends meet. A poor girl would prefer to marry a rich man, because of her fears of poverty or a girl from an upper class family who is in love with a guy from a lower class family ends up with a guy from another upper class family, but she does not love him. But she has to keep posing and posturing to impress her upper class peers. Examples of Hollywood marriage, Sham marriage or Green Card Marriage are no longer news, because they are more popular in these days of interesting times in an existentialist world where everybody has a price.

Couples who marry out of lust or social class competition often cheat on their partners, because they did not marry in love. Many of them end up miserable and unhappy in marriage.

The grave consequences of wrong choices in marriage have caused countless tragedies and passing a law to ban or dissolve marriages between couples who do not love each other will save us from the miseries of broken hearts, broken homes and and dysfunctional families.

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima