Aemiliano blog

Assange's Fate Hangs in the Balance During U.K. Extradition Hearing

The captivating saga of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange continued full steam ahead on Monday as his two-day extradition hearing commenced in the U.K. Assange, who is wanted for questioning in Sweden regarding , is digging in his heels in the hopes of staying on British soil. Among his defense team's many arguments are claims that, if Assange is extradited to Sweden, he could ultimately wind up ; there, he could face execution due to his role in leaking thousands of American diplomatic cables, many of which were marked as "confidential" or "secret."

Assange's defense team is hoping that prevailing negative sentiments about U.S. execution policies will allow their client to remain in the U.K.; that's not the only argument they have up their sleeves, though. No formal charges have been filed in Sweden, something Assange supporters say invalidates the need to extradite him. Since he has not been formally charged with rape in Sweden, supporters argue he could be questioned via Internet or telephone. On top of all of these claims, Assange supporters posit that proper procedures were not followed during the Swedish investigation into the sex assault claims.

Extradition hearings tend to garner a lot of worldwide attention since many people consider fleeing their countries in order to avoid punishment. One of the most famous examples of a media feeding frenzy regarding extradition revolves around director , who has long been wanted on allegations of rape in the United States. The director has steered clear of the U.S. in order to avoid punishment. In 2010, however, Swiss authorities took him into custody. Ultimately, they released Polanski; he lives there as a free man to this day.

The "Merchant of Death," , is another prime example of somebody whose case pivoted on extradition hearings. Thailand ended up sending him to the U.S. to face various arms charges. Russia had been fighting to bring Bout, a Russian citizen, back home. While Bout's case certainly hasn't caused the whirlwind of media hype that's been a staple of the Assange saga, it's another example of the sometimes thorny questions that arise during extradition cases.

U.S. "X Factor" to offer large record deal for winner

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – Acerbic British music judge and entrepreneur Simon Cowell said on Monday that the winner of the first U.S. version of the television singing competition, "The X Factor," will receive a $5 million record deal.

The new talent show on Fox television will start auditions for solo artists and vocal groups aged 12 and above in Los Angeles on March 27 before hosting more auditions in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York, New Jersey and Seattle.

Cowell said the winner would receive a record deal with Syco, a joint venture between Sony Music and Cowell, and the same label tied to Scottish singer Susan Boyle.

"We are going to put our money where our mouths are with the $5 million recording contract. I'm doing this show in America because I genuinely believe we can find a superstar," Cowell said in a statement.

Britain's "The X Factor", which launched in 2004, won the talent show category at Britain's National Television Awards two weeks ago beating "Britain's Got Talent."

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Patricia Reaney)

New CEO Could Lead Nokia To Windows Phone 7

It seems like a match made in wireless heaven: Microsoft, whose Windows Phone 7 operating system needs a boost in the market, and Nokia, the world's biggest cell-phone maker, struggling to hold its domination in a market enthralled by sexier devices.

And the matchmaker may be Stephen Elop, a former Microsoft executive who became Nokia's president and CEO in September. The Canada native has been dropping hints lately that Finland-based Nokia's reliance on its own Symbian software is waning. The first step in that direction came when Nokia and Intel signed a deal to create the MeeGo operating system for a new line of products.

'New Ecosystems'

Now Elop said in an earnings call that he sees the need to "create and/or join other ecosystems" as Nokia's share of the global smartphone market slips. That could mean Nokia, which opened a new Silicon Valley office for developers Thursday, might embrace Google's free Android OS or a make a deal with Elop's former company. Answers may come as soon as Feb. 11, when a major announcement is expected at an investors conference in London.

While still on top, Nokia says its market share fell to 31 percent in the last quarter, down from 35 percent a year ago, and Elop conceded that the company "faces some significant challenges in its competitiveness," according to the Associated Press.

"Nokia does not have any real market in North America, which has become one of the most lucrative cell-phone markets in the world, and their user interface has not been well received," said analyst Gerry Purdy of MobileTrax. "Stephen Elop is from Microsoft, so you'd expect that if they were looking outside, the first place they would look is where he came from."

Multi-Platform Strategy?

But given the increasing momentum of Android, which recently became the top platform in the United States with its availability on multiple devices on numerous carriers, Purdy said it "would be smart for the company to consider [Android] as well as Windows Phone 7 in their decision-making process." He noted that other manufacturers such as LG, HTC and Samsung have a multi-platform strategy. Samsung, for instance, sells the Focus with Windows 7 as well as a range of Android devices and phones powered by its own Bada system.

Purdy said adding Android and Windows devices could help Nokia appeal to different audiences. "You can justify Phone 7 for enterprise because Microsoft has that base and that's a strong market, and you can justify Android because it's a popular consumer platform," he said.

Elop formerly headed Microsoft's business division.

Microsoft recently announced that two million Windows smartphones have been shipped to sellers since their November release, but it's unclear how many have ended up in the hands of consumers. A survey by NPD Group found that in the first two months of sales, Windows Phone 7 devices gained only a two percent foothold in the U.S. market.

But don't count Phone 7 out. "I wouldn't write it off," Purdy said. "In relation to older versions of Windows, it is doing much better. It's still too early to tell."

Flower worried by Bresnan injury as W. Cup looms

MELBOURNE (AFP) – England coach Andy Flower says Tim Bresnan's tour-ending calf injury is the biggest worry for his team ahead of the upcoming World Cup.

The English play the final one-day international of their marathon Ashes tour at Perth's WACA Ground on Sunday, before heading home for what is only a brief break for most of the players.

The 15-man English squad for the World Cup departs on February 12 and five members of that squad are currently injured, including Bresnan.

Disconcertingly, all five are valuable members of the attack, the others being Paul Collingwood (back), Stuart Broad (stomach), Graeme Swann (back), Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring), while Chris Tremlett would probably be the obvious late inclusion if any of that group failed to prove their fitness, but he too is sidelined by a side strain.

Flower said Bresnan's calf was the biggest concern.

"Probably it's Bresnan, considering the sight of his injury, just above his Achilles tendon in his lower calf," Flower said when asked which player was in most doubt.

"But he's not a man who has suffered injuries, well not many injuries, in the past and hopefully he will recover very quickly and be ready somewhere near the start."

Flower admitted the injuries were far from ideal so close to the tournament, which starts in under three weeks.

"Of course the timing of them getting back to full fitness is important for the start of the World Cup," Flower said.

"We can't be absolutely certain of that at this stage but we are monitoring them on a daily basis."

The Ashes tour has dragged on beyond three months and Collingwood was the fifth player to fly home during the seven-match ODI series, while Broad was sent back to the UK during the Test series.

Flower had no doubt the length of the tour was the reason for the spate of injuries and that England's World Cup preparation had suffered as a result.

He said he would like to be consulted on his team's playing schedule in future, although he admitted this wasn't always feasible.

"Without a doubt the length of the tour is a reason for the injuries," he said.

"We've been here over three months now and with the intensity at which the guys play their cricket, and with the intensity that we demand in training, it is no surprise that people will pick up injuries and break down at the end of a long, hard tour.

"It would be quite sensible to look at how these tours are set up, especially this close to a World Cup, however, these are the schedules that we are given and we will deal with them as well as we can."

Green, Ibaka help Thunder escape 111-107 over Suns

PHOENIX – Jeff Green scored 28 points and Serge Ibaka added 18 on 9-of-10 shooting to help the Oklahoma City Thunder escape with a 111-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

Kevin Durant, who had at least 40 points in three of his previous four games, added 24 in the Thunder's fourth victory in five games. Russell Westbrook scored 19, including an 11-footer that put Oklahoma City up 107-103 with 34 seconds to go.

Vince Carter scored a season-high 33 for Phoenix, but missed three long-range jumpers down the stretch as Oklahoma City outscored the Suns 12-5 over the last 2 1/2 minutes. No other player scored more than 13 for the Suns.

Carter was 1-of-7 shooting in the fourth quarter, missing his last five attempts.

Channing Frye scored 13 but made only 5-of-17 shots. Grant Hill and Steve Nash added 12 apiece for Phoenix.

Oklahoma City tied it at 97 after Hill was whistled for a foul on Durant. Hill and Nash drew technical fouls from referee David Guthrie for complaining about what replays showed to be a dubious call. Durant made only two of the four free throws, though, and Hill's 3-pointer with 3:22 to play put Phoenix back ahead 100-97.

Ibaka's tip-in cut it to 100-99, then Nash made two free throws to put Phoenix ahead 102-99 with 2:38 to go.

The Thunder followed with an 8-1 run, capped by Westbrook's jumper in the lane. Nash's driving layup with 16 seconds to go cut it to 107-105, then Durant and Westbrook put the game away at the foul line, despite loud complaints from Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry that Durant should have been called for traveling before he was fouled.

"Just give them the game," Gentry said.

Durant, the NBA's leading scorer, made just 2-of-7 shots in the second half, one of them on an offensive basket interference call against Frye.

Down 69-64 after Durant's only basket of the third quarter, Phoenix outscored the Thunder 19-7 to go up 83-76 with 2:06 left in the period. The last 12 points of the run came on 3-pointers, two by Carter and one apiece by Hill and Nash. Phoenix led 87-80 entering the fourth quarter.

Carter made all five of his shots, two of them 3-pointers, in a 15-point first quarter.

Neither team led by more than five in the second quarter and the Thunder were up 63-60 at the half.

Notes: After speculation that Nash could be named to the NBA All-Star game to replace injured Yao Ming, the spot went to Minnesota's Kevin Love. The Suns are without a player in the game for the first time since 2004. ... Phoenix guard Goran Dragic missed his third game in a row after cutting his left foot stepping on a piece of broken glass at his home, requiring nine stitches. ... Durant is his franchise's first All-Star starter since Gary Payton in 1998. ... Carter's previous high this season was 29 against New York on Jan. 7.