China expresses regret at North Korea restarting nuclear plant

As per usual, Google put out various, elaborate April Fools Day jokes, which only reminded everyone how much time and money the tech company has to spend on projects that aren't core products like, ahem, Google Reader.?For those too busy to follow along, The Next Web has a running list of the myriad pranks. And while some of the antics, like the pirate treasure map,?are harmless and cute, others hit too close to home.

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Riding in style: The evolution of the popemobile

Alessandro Di Meo / EPA

Images of the automobiles that have transported popes over the years.

By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

Comes outfitted in protective bullet-proof glass. Draws a crowd wherever it goes. A driver is included; gold trim is optional.

Popemobiles also include such amenities as a handrail to let the pope easily stand and wave while in motion, a built-in stereo and arctic-cool air conditioning.

Eight popes have had their own set of holy wheels since Pope Pius XI got a stretch 460 Nurburg edition Mercedes-Benz in 1930, but the eighth, Pope Francis -- known for?taking the bus to work?before he was named pope -- may not want all the frills and custom built-ins that popemobiles offer.?

By retiring, Benedict XVI has passed along a white armored Mercedes SUV, which has a white leather interior with gold trim and a white leather turret that can be raised by hydraulic lift high enough for crowds to see the pope, if he wants to sit. (For longer trips around Italy, Benedict enjoyed his own helicopter.) Bullet-proof?Plexiglas?that's strong enough to withstand explosions surrounds the turret on three sides. There's an emergency oxygen supply built in, according to?The Telegraph.?

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"The pope must feel comfortable. People must be able to see him. People have traveled very far; they want to be able to get a good look at him," said Christoph Horn, Director of Global Communications of Mercedes-Benz, from Stuttgart, Germany. "This is about creating a comfortable and safe environment for the pope to travel in and be seen in.?

The pre-mobile
Popes didn't have to wait for the invention of automobiles to be mobile. For centuries, popes traveled by throne when going out on local outings. The popes were carried by 12 bearers (representing the 12 disciples of the church) as they moved through crowds, Ronald Rychlak, a University of Mississippi law school professor who has written numerous books on religion,?said.

Daimler

The first car used by a pope.

All that changed when Pope Pius XI got his Benz. The limousine was a gift from the car company, which would provide vehicles for many popes after that.

"Usually more than one vehicle was provided, especially for the popes in the 1930s," Horn said. "They were traveling a lot, so many popemobiles were built for them."

Back then, popes traveled in limousines with open tops, he said. Over the years, more than 12 different models of cars and trucks would be provided for popes. Pope John XXIII ushered in a new era of pope cars in 1960 with a Mercedes 300D Landaulet, which had a throne that rose high in the back, The New York Times reported. His successor switched to a 1964 Lincoln model before he went back to the preferred Mercedes brand a year later.

But don't call it 'popemobile'
When popes travel abroad for state visits, it's not always possible for the vehicles they use at home to make the journey with them. Instead, customized cars are prepared ahead of the visit, submitted for Vatican approval from the country he will visit.

"The primary level of security is assigned to the host nation,"?Rychlak said. "If they want to have something like a popemobile for a major parade, let's say they're doing Mass at Yankee stadium or something like that, they would have to make arrangements to ship something over, or that's the kind of situation where there may be a gift made to the pope" by a major car company.

That was how the car that officially became known for the first time as the "popemobile" came into existence: Pope John Paul II had visited Ireland in 1979, and a boxy yellow Ford Transit van awaited him as his chariot. Last November, The Telegraph reported an Irish businessman had acquired the van from the Dublin Wax Museum, where it had been since the papal visit, and was transforming it into a party bus.

Many other popemobiles have stayed in the countries they were used in. In 2008, Newsweek got a peek at the popemobile Benedict used for his U.S. tour, describing it as "by far the fanciest and sleekest papal car ever built ... The papal handlers can shift their passenger from zero to 60 in less than eight seconds, but the drivers probably won't exceed 10 mph along the parade routes."

In 2002, John Paul II asked the media to stop using the term "popemobile," insisting it sounded "undignified."

A clear need for better security
John Paul II survived an assassination attempt in 1981 while in St. Peter's Square. A Turkish man was later convicted of firing the shots, which punctured the pope's car and struck him four times. John Paul II survived, but it was clear his wide-open truck wouldn't suffice to protect him. From then on, bulletproof glass has encased popemobiles, although popes have occasionally ridden around without covering for brief periods.

Arturo Mari / AP

A 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.

Since adding bulletproof glass, popemobiles have added other necessary features, including ultra-powerful air conditioning to cool down the glass dome that popes sit in, reports The Telegraph.

Other protection measures include heavy-metal reinforcement on the bottom of the vehicle as well as the other sides, and the driver is always a trusted longtime Vatican employee. There's no partition between the pope and his driver; a microphone enables him to broadcast messages to crowds through speakers outside the popemobile.

The current weighs five tons and was just presented to Benedict last December by Mercedes-Benz.

"We work with the members of the Vatican and with the people in charge of the garages of the Vatican," Horn said. "These are all individual vehicles that are built to specifications."

The new pope's desire to get up close and personal with his faithful has presented challenges for his security detail.

"The pope's going to want to be up close hugging and touching and meeting people and that's going to be a tremendous concern for his security people,"?Rychlak said. "His security forces have taken him aside, or probably already have, and are going to say, 'Holy Father, you're putting us in a horrible situation if you don't go along with these things.'"

They're used to having to say that, though: Benedict didn't always like the feeling of a "shield between him and the people,"?Rychlak said. Most popemobiles are designed so the glass can be lowered, though.

This story was originally published on Sun Mar 31, 2013 4:36 AM EDT

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Drug maker loses India patent battle

NEW DELHI (AP) ? A lawyer for healthcare activists says India's Supreme Court has rejected drug maker Novartis AG's right to patent a new version of a lifesaving cancer drug.

The landmark ruling Monday is a victory for India's $26 billion generic drug industry that provides cheap medicines to millions around the world.

The ruling is a precedent that prevents international pharmaceutical companies from obtaining fresh patents in India on updated versions of existing drugs.

Lawyer Anand Grover said such a ruling would help poor people get access to affordable, generic versions of lifesaving medicines.

Novartis has fought a legal battle in India since 2006 for a fresh patent for a leukemia drug.

India's patent office had rejected the company's patent application because it was not a new medicine.

Associated Press

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China's manufacturing growth improves in March

BEIJING (AP) ? Growth in China's manufacturing picked up in March in a potentially positive sign for the recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said Monday that its Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.9 in March from 50.1 in February, which was the lowest reading in five months. Numbers above 50 denote expansion on a 100-point scale.

Chinese manufacturing is closely watched as an indicator of global consumer sales and potential demand for countries that supply its factories with raw materials and industrial components.

China's economic growth rebounded to 7.9 percent in the final quarter of last year following its deepest slowdown since the 2008 global crisis. But analysts warn the recovery will be weak and gradual, and growth could be vulnerable if trade or investment weakens.

The federation said in a statement that the improvement in factory production was largely due to an increase in orders and less pressure for prices of manufacturing inputs to rise.

"This indicates that the economy overall is stabilizing," economist Zhang Liqun said in the statement.

Zhang said that growth rates for investment and export orders have accelerated, and the level of new orders suggests a rise in business activity.

He cautioned, however, that the improving trend is not confirmed, partly because the Lunar New Year Holiday fell in February this year, which makes the data for the first quarter of the year less conclusive. Factories shut for up to two weeks during the holiday.

The latest Chinese manufacturing data come as hopes for stronger global growth have been boosted by a series of indicators including employment that suggest the U.S. economic recovery is gaining momentum.

China's slowdown was largely due to government controls imposed to cool inflation and surging housing prices. It deepened when global demand for Chinese exports weakened unexpectedly in 2011.

Associated Press

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Louisville beats Duke 85-63 to reach Final Four

Louisville's Peyton Siva, left, and Chane Behanan, celebrate following their 85-63 win over Duke in the Midwest Regional final in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Indianapolis. Behanan was wearing the jersey of teammate Kevin Ware (5) who was injured during the game. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Louisville's Peyton Siva, left, and Chane Behanan, celebrate following their 85-63 win over Duke in the Midwest Regional final in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Indianapolis. Behanan was wearing the jersey of teammate Kevin Ware (5) who was injured during the game. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Louisville players huddle as guard Kevin Ware is treated for an injury during the first half of the Midwest Regional final against Duke in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Louisville players celebrate following their 85-63 win over Duke in the Midwest Regional final in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell (24) blocks a shot by Duke forward Mason Plumlee during the first half of the Midwest Regional final in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Louisville guard Peyton Siva (3) goes up with a shot against Duke guard Quinn Cook (2) during the first half of the Midwest Regional final in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Crying and shaken by the sight of Kevin Ware writhing on the court, his right leg splintered, Rick Pitino and his Louisville players had no idea how they were going to pull it together with a half still left to play and a Final Four berth on the line.

Ware showed them the way.

"I don't think we could have gathered ourselves ? I know I couldn't have ? if Kevin didn't say over and over again, 'Just go win the game,'" Pitino said. "I don't think we could have gone in the locker room with a loss after seeing that. We had to gather ourselves. We couldn't lose this game for him.

"We just couldn't."

With Russ Smith, Peyton Siva and Gorgui Dieng leading the way, the Cardinals finally shook off their grief early in the second half, erupting for a 13-2 run that Duke was powerless to answer. The 85-63 victory clinched a second straight trip to the Final Four for the top-seeded Cardinals, who are determined to win it all for Ware, a New York City native who moved to the Atlanta area for high school.

The Cardinals (33-5) will play Wichita State in the national semifinals next Saturday. The ninth-seeded Shockers (30-8) added to their streak of upsets with a 70-66 victory over Ohio State on Saturday night.

As the final seconds ticked down, Ware's best friend on the team, Chane Behanan, put on the guard's No. 5 jersey and stood at the end of the bench, screaming. Cardinals fans chanted "Kevin Ware! Kevin Ware!"

"We talked about it every timeout, 'Get Kevin home,'" Pitino said.

Smith finished with 23 points and earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the Midwest Region. Siva added 16 while Dieng had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Mason Plumlee had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Duke. But the Blue Devils (30-6) couldn't overcome a poor start by Seth Curry, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half, or their foul trouble.

"I thought we had a chance there, and then, boom," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "That's what they do to teams. They can boom you."

This was the first time Pitino and Krzyzewski had met in the regional finals since that 1992 classic that ended with Christian Laettner's improbable buzzer-beater, a game now considered one of the best in NCAA tournament history.

This game will be remembered, too, but for a very different ? and much more somber ? reason.

With 6:33 left in the first half, Ware, who has played a key role in Louisville's 14-game winning streak, jumped to try and block Tyler Thornton's 3-point shot. When he landed, Ware's right leg snapped midway between his ankle and knee, the bone skewing almost at a right angle. Ware dropped to the floor right in front of the Louisville bench and, almost in unison, his teammates turned away in horror. Thornton grimaced, putting his hand to his mouth as he turned around.

"I heard it and then I seen what happened, (the bone) come out," Smith said. "I immediately just, like, fell. I almost didn't feel nothing."

Pitino went to help Ware up and then saw the leg, which broke in two places.

"I literally almost threw up," Pitino said, his voice catching. "Then I just wanted to get a towel to get it over that. But all the players came over and saw it."

Louisville forward Wayne Blackshear fell to the floor and Behanan looked as if he was going to be sick on the court, kneeling on his hands and feet. Luke Hancock patted Ware's chest as doctors worked on the sophomore and Smith walked away, pulling his jersey over his eyes. The arena was silent, and several fans wept and bowed their heads.

Pitino had tears in his eyes as he tried to console his players. Dieng draped an arm around the shoulders of Smith, who repeatedly wiped at his eyes and shook his head.

"It was really hard for me to pull myself together," Smith said. "I didn't ever think in a million years I would ever see something like that. And that it happened, especially, to a guy like Kevin Ware, I was completely devastated."

As the Cardinals (33-5) gathered at halfcourt to try and regroup before play resumed, Pitino called them over to the sideline, saying Ware wanted to talk to them before he left.

"Basically, the bone popped out of the skin. It broke in two spots," Pitino said. "Remember the bone is six inches out of his leg, and all he's yelling is 'Win the game, win the game.' I've never seen anything like that."

Added Siva, "He told us countless times: 'Just go win this game for me. Just go win this game. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Just go win this game.' I don't know how he did it. I don't know how he got strength to do it, but he told us to go out there and win."

News of the injury dominated social media. Joe Theismann, whose NFL career ended with a horrific broken leg, said on Twitter, "Watching Duke/ Louisville my heart goes out to Kevin Ware."

Pitino wiped away tears as Ware, whom Smith described as the Cardinals' "little brother" was wheeled off the court. Surgeons reset his leg and inserted a rod in his right tibia during a 2-hour operation at Methodist Hospital. Ware is expected to remain in Indianapolis until at least Tuesday, and Pitino said he, his son Richard and the Cardinals' equipment manager planned to visit the player later Sunday night and again Monday morning.

"He'll come back," Pitino said. "We'll get Kevin back as good as new."

But when play resumed, it was clear the Cardinals' minds were elsewhere. They missed four of their next five shots along with two free throws, and were uncharacteristically sloppy. But they regrouped after a timeout, with Smith's finger roll sparking a 12-6 run to finish the half that gave them a 35-32 lead.

Smith picked up where he left off at the start of the second half, making all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to give Louisville a 38-32 lead, its largest of the game to that point.

But just as he did against Michigan State, Curry got hot after halftime, making two 3s in the first three minutes. A Plumlee dunk tied the game at 42.

That, however, was all Louisville needed.

Clawing for every rebound, diving on the floor for loose balls and cranking the intensity up even higher on their ferocious defense, the Cardinals were not going to lose.

And everyone, Duke included, knew it.

This was only the second time the Blue Devils have reached the regional finals and failed to make it to the Final Four. The only other time? In 1998, when the Blue Devils lost to eventual national champion Kentucky.

"We got beat by a better team," Krzyzewski said.

Smith made a layup. Siva had a nice jumper at the top of the key, and then followed with a layup. Just like that, Louisville was off. Siva had seven points during the run, which was only halted by a timeout. But Dieng kept it rolling with a jumper and a tip-in. After Plumlee made a pair of free throws, Hancock made a 3 and the roof of the Lucas Oil Stadium nearly blew off.

"When Kevin went down, it was devastating for all of us," Siva said. "We just came together and Kevin Ware really was the reason why we pulled this game out.

"Everybody on the team just wanted to step up for him. For us to show that focus and that determination, we just tried to do it for him."

Associated Press

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Mobile Connection Technology ? meccabrowser.com

Mobile communication technological innovation is a phrase that is fundamentally given to we?ve got the technology used since the communication way of the lightweight devices like cellular phones, notebooks, palmtops, digital helpers, global positioning methods, wireless greeting card payment methods etc.

There are lots of technologies which are used in communication of these devices such as wi-fi fidelity (Wi-Fi), GSM companies (2G and 3G), GPRS, Bluetooth, Electronic Private Networks, dial up modems and so on. Using these systems, one can effortlessly communicate through office, house, car and even while traveling. Using the web as well as WAP services to gain access to internet either on phone or notebooks is known as mobile computing which is also viewed as a part of portable communication technological innovation.

Some of the main technologies which are used in the industry of Mobile Interaction can be listed as:

1. GPRS: General Box Radio Method is a portable technology which uses GSM services with regard to data communication. It is mostly used for providing the data companies on cellular devices. One of the disadvantage to GPRS service was its sluggish connectivity, though the coming up of 3rd Generation associated with GSM, the speed reduce has been improved and the info transmission has grown to be quite quickly. GPRS holds a unique feature where a user can easily very easily transfer the data while making phone calls.

2. Advantage: Enhanced info rates with regard to GSM Evolution as well as EGPRS is a technological innovation having the more rapidly data indication rate as compared with GPRS. If the Advantage network is not available in certain areas, then presently there GPRS service is utilised as a replacement associated with EDGE.

Several. Wi-Fi: Wireless loyalty is the technological innovation that uses wi-fi technology communication for the info transmission; in the past Wi-Fi was only used in combination with laptops along with palmtops but now-a-days additionally it is used with contemporary cellular phones that have Wi-Fi services. The advantage of using Wi-Fi technological innovation is indication speed as it can certainly support up-to 100 Mbps.

Several. Bluetooth: Bluetooth is a technological innovation that is used for the transmission of knowledge between devices in a small range of 100 multimeter. The community formed through by Bluetooth devices is known as Piconet. The Bluetooth technology enables you to create internet connections between a number of devices leading to machine to machine communication. At one time, several devices can easily communicate by means of Bluetooth.

A few. GSM: Global Technique for Mobile communications can be a technology used for digital cell phone networks used for second era technology but later it can be succeeded simply by 3G to boost the speed associated with circuit changed network. GSM community works on distinct frequencies with regard to 2G and 3G.

? 2G GSM network operate in 850 Mhz or Nineteen hundred Mhz frequencies.
? 3G GSM community operate in 2100Mhz regularity

Key options that come with 3G are video getting in touch with, video obtain, transfer the larger amount of info at a very high speed.

Besides these, there are several other systems such as VPN which is used to access outer networks by a secured funnel.

The benefit of portable technologies is that it makes our life very easy as we can gain access to data resources and companies from any world. But at the same time, it confronts certain difficulties as well like network difficulties, security concerns and cost of knowledge services. Though advance in technology, these complications are slowly decreasing along with mobile communication technology can be making our life very easy.

Gabriella Myers has been a experienced writer in over Fifteen yrs & been creating masterful improvements with communication towers as part of her involvement with New Ideas Group ,a new creative team for developing individuals. Learn All about her website to learn All about her cell repeater studies over the years.

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Senators: Reports of immigration deal premature

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Two of the lawmakers negotiating an immigration overhaul in Congress say a final deal is at hand but caution that the bipartisan group working on a proposal hasn't finished its work.

Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona said on Sunday that organized labor and the business leaders have reached an agreement on immigration. But they both told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the so-called Gang of Eight senators hasn't yet signed-off on final legislative language.

Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, is also part of the bipartisan group working on an immigration deal. After reports emerged on Saturday that the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce agreed on a deal, Rubio issued a statement calling a compromise "premature."

Associated Press

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