Apple sells 9 million new iPhones in three days

Apple Inc sold 9 million new iPhones during their first three days in stores after China joined the list of launch countries for the first time, prompting the company to issue a rosier financial forecast.

Shares in the company closed up 5 percent at $490.64 on Monday after the company said revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter would gravitate towards the high end of its previous forecast for $34 billion to $37 billion.

Apple, which began selling the top-tier iPhone 5s and cheaper, multi-hued iPhone 5c on Friday, rarely adjusts its outlook in the middle of a quarter. Since CEO Tim Cook took the reins, however, the world’s largest tech company has begun to court Wall Street more visibly.

The record sales and beefed-up forecast reinforced expectations of strong demand for Apple’s latest gadgets. Phones based on Google Inc’s Android software and made by the likes of Samsung Electronics have steadily eroded its market share, as customers flocked to lower prices and larger phone sizes proved popular.

Critics had also said the iPhone 5c was priced too high to take advantage of pent-up demand in emerging markets.

“The critics have told you Apple lost its magic,” said Daniel Ernst, an analyst with Hudson Square Research. “Customers are telling you something very different. Clearly, people like the product. That sentiment is almost more important than the number.”

Sales of the new models were nearly double those of the iPhone 5′s 5 million in the first weekend after its launch a year ago, and far surpassed the roughly 6 million that analysts had projected.

But forecasts for Apple’s latest iPhone had proven trickier than in the past, because the company introduced two models simultaneously in 11 countries — including the crucial Chinese market. Apple launched the iPhone 5 in just nine countries.

Another factor was that this time around, Apple signed on NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile carrier.

China joined a rollout that included Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States, Australia, Japan, Britain, Canada, Germany, France and Puerto Rico. Previously, Apple began selling phones in China only months after the global launch.

“We underscore one important caveat for investors: Apple’s iPhone seasonality is likely to be exaggerated this cycle because of the addition of NTT DoCoMo, and particularly because of the early launch in China,” said Bernstein Research’s Toni Sacconaghi, who has an “outperform” rating on Apple.

“Although upside exists for the September and December quarters, the risk exists that the fall-off in iPhone sales beginning in the March quarter could be more acute than history, potentially resulting in some downside to estimates.”

Supply limited

Demand for the iPhone 5S has exceeded initial supply and many online orders are scheduled to be shipped in the coming weeks, Apple said. On Friday, long lines formed outside stores in Tokyo, New York, San Francisco and other cities for the new top-of-the-line 5s and the less-expensive 5c. It was the first time Apple launched two iPhone models simultaneously.

The gold-colored version of the 5S, which also comes in silver and gray, was sold out as of Friday and will now ship only in October, according to Apple’s website. As of Monday, the two other colors were also set to be shipped only in October.

“Thanks to all our amazing customers for the fantastic weekend!” said Cook in his second tweet, after he joined Twitter following a visit to Palo Alto Apple store last Friday.

Apple also said gross profit margin would come in near the top of a range of between 36 percent to 37 percent, in line with average forecasts for 36.7 percent. The more optimistic margin forecast should allay investor concerns that, at just $100 less than the 5s, the 5c will draw buyers away from the premium gadget.

Analysts’ average revenue forecast for the quarter stands at $36.1 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Apple, which had grown notorious for providing conservative estimates that it routinely overshot, had resolved to improve its guidance for investors. Analysts have said the change will help rein in some over-the-top financial expectations.

The company said more than 200 million iOS devices are now running iOS 7 mobile software, rolled out just before the iPhone launch.

Apple did not break out separate sales figures for the 5S and 5C. The 5C, which starts at $199 with a contract, offers a touch ID that scans a user’s fingerprint to unlock the phone. The 5C starts at $99 and comes in five colors.

“If Apple could ship so well without even having a larger screen iPhone, which we think it could deliver next year, then Apple is getting over a key hump,” Shebly Seyrafi, an analyst with FBN Securities, said in a note to clients. “We believe that the immediate availability of the phone in China is also a key driver of the strength.”

source: interaksyon.com

BlackBerry failed to keep pace with rivals

WASHINGTON — In just a short time, BlackBerry went from being the coolest gadget-maker on the planet to one apparently destined for the history books.

The Canadian smartphone maker, which agreed to a $4.7 billion buyout to take the firm private, appears close to a breakup, which might salvage some parts of the once high-flying Canadian tech pioneer.

While BlackBerry was considered perhaps the hippest if not the largest smartphone maker several years ago, the company quickly lost momentum as it failed to keep pace with innovations from rivals.

“They had a syndrome where they didn’t think anyone could displace them,” said Gerry Purdy, an analyst who follows the mobile sector for Compass Intelligence.

Purdy said BlackBerry, previously known as Research in Motion, reacted too late to the threat from Apple’s iPhone launched in 2007 and manufacturers using the Google Android operating system announced the same year.

“The one gigantic issue was the delay in getting an advanced operating system into the market,” Purdy told AFP.

“They had an operating system in 2010 and it took them three years to get in the market. And that was three years after the iPhone was released. So that’s six years. The market was moving too fast.”

Roger Kay at Endpoint Technologies Associates agreed that BlackBerry was too complacent, and became “blinded” to competitive threats.

“BlackBerry hung its hat on the physical keyboard, they believed that for people who do a lot of typing they need a keyboard,” Kay said.

“By the time it got the touchscreen it was too late. In this industry if you miss a couple of product cycles you’re pretty much toast.”

BlackBerry announced Monday it has signed a letter of intent agreement with a consortium led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited to buy the Waterloo, Ontario, firm, subject to financing and due diligence.

Fairfax, a Canadian firm headed by billionaire Prem Watsa, is already BlackBerry’s largest shareholder with approximately 10 percent of its shares. Watsa resigned from BlackBerry’s board when it announced in August its intent to search for a suitor.

Analysts say BlackBerry’s handsets are unlikely to draw much interest but the company’s software and services, which have a strong reputation for security, might offer the most value.

“Their device management solution is as good as it gets in the industry,” said Purdy, referring to BlackBerry’s ability to allow IT managers to control and monitor devices for a large number of employees.

“The highest value is in their security and software manageability suite, that’s been their stronghold in government and enterprise. They could have gone off the devices and onto software a few years ago but they got intoxicated with the revenue from hardware.”

BlackBerry still has some 70 million subscribers worldwide, but most of these are using older handsets, with the newer devices on the BlackBerry 10 platform failing to gain traction.

According to research firm IDC, BlackBerry’s global market share was just 2.9 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since the firm began tracking.

Because BlackBerry has some $2.6 billion cash on hand, the Fairfax offer is worth around $2 billion for the value of the enterprise, analysts point out.

Still, Kay said Fairfax “is taking quite a risk” with an equity buyout, which he maintained would be an interim solution until it is able to find a partner in the industry.

“Fairfax will be lucky to get its money back and to make a profit,” Kay said.

“If BlackBerry is going anywhere it has to have some strategic relationship with another company in the enterprise solutions business.”

Jack Gold, analyst with J. Gold Associates, argued meanwhile that BlackBerry is worth more as a single entity than the sum of its parts.

“I believe there is more value in keeping the three parts of the company (devices, services, and collaboration) intact, which works better for longer term value,” Gold said in an email.

“But BlackBerry still faces a huge mountain to climb to get back into the device marketplace, given the precipitous decline in sales.

“Going private and potentially bringing back the founder of the company, Mike Lazaridis (as has been rumored) could buy them some time to put the house in order.”

source: interaksyon.com

Singapore tightens rules on hiring of foreign professionals

SINGAPORE - Singapore Monday announced tighter rules on the hiring of foreign professional workers, saying companies will from next year have to show proof they first tried to recruit local citizens.

The change, taking effect in August 2014, follows protests and online complaints about the large number of foreigners in the affluent city-state.

The Ministry of Manpower said companies that discriminate against citizens "will be subject to additional scrutiny" when they apply for employment passes for foreign professionals.

"Even as we remain open to foreign manpower to complement our local workforce, all firms must make an effort to consider Singaporeans fairly," Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan Jin said in a statement.

"What we are doing is to put in place measures to nudge employers to give Singaporeans -- especially our professionals, managers and executives -- a fair chance at both job and development opportunities."

About 37 percent of Singapore's total workforce of 3.36 million in 2012 were non-resident.

Some 150,000 Filipino workers are based in Singapore.

The ministry said companies must first advertise for Singaporeans to fill job vacancies in a national jobs bank administered by the government's workforce development agency.

Foreigners can be hired if no citizens are qualified.

Firms which have a "disproportionately low concentration" of Singaporean employees at professional level, and companies where foreign managers are accused of favoring their own compatriots in hiring, will also be put under tighter scrutiny, the ministry said.

Firms with 25 or fewer staff, or those recruiting for jobs paying Sg$12,000 ($9,580) and above a month, will be exempted from the advertising rule.

Authorities have been phasing in measures to tighten foreign worker inflows after facing criticism from Singaporeans, who accuse foreigners of competing with them for jobs, housing, schools and space on public transport.

Singaporeans have also complained that the rapid influx in previous years is eroding their national identity.

The discontent spilled into general elections in 2011 when the ruling party garnered its lowest-ever vote count after more than 50 years in power.

Two rallies against the government's immigration policy were held earlier this year garnering crowds of more than 3,000, making them the country's biggest protests in decades.

source: interaksyon.com

France's Schneider Electric plans PH production of solar power components

MANILA - Schneider Electric plans to put up a manufacturing facility for solar power components in Cavite.

In a forum today, Schneider Electric Philippines president Philippe Reveilhac, said the company is keen on putting up the said facility to complement its manufacturing hub in the province.

"We have been working on a project for our manufacturing in Cavite. It hasn't been implemented yet but it's part of the plan," he said.

The proposed plant will allow Schneider Electric to manufacture solar power parts but not the panels.

The project, once put up, will help support the country's solar power industry, which Reveilhac said should "boom" on account of the net metering and tariff incentives approved by regulators.

"We have been prioritizing it but it's very difficult to say [the timeline]. [But] as soon as we can because we want to make it a showcase," he said.

A France-based multinational, Schneider Electric runs four manufacturing plants in Cavite that produce uninterruptible power system (UPS) devices.

Besides the production of UPS devices, Schneider Electric offers energy management and efficiency services. The company has over 2,000 employees in its local manufacturing plants and business process outsourcing units.

source: interaksyon.com

PH stock market down on light trading

MANILA - Philippine share prices drifted lower on Tuesday in light trading, as investors focused on renewed concerns over the US debt ceiling and the future direction of its monetary policy.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the benchmark index fell 16.56 points or 0.26 percent to close at 6,461.38. Except for the marginal gain of the financial counter, the other sub-indices finished in negative territory, with the property, industrial and service sectors losing at least 0.50 percent each.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 83 to 56, while 43 issues were unchanged. A total of 670.52 million stocks worth P6.62 billion changed hands.

Most actively traded stocks were Alliance Global, PLDT, Universal Robina, LT Group and BPI. The biggest gainers were Millennium Global, AgriNurture and E-Game, while the biggest losers were Mabuhay Vinyl, Vitarich and Solid Group.

"The US remains among the top source of new jitters this time revolving around the debates on the debt ceiling," said Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp.

The US Treasury may hit its borrowing limit by mid-October. The cap must be raised to prevent the world's largest economy from defaulting on its debt.

This not the first time that the US government is faced with this problem. It happened three years ago and again in late 2012, causing a massive selloff in global markets.

"President [Barack] Obama has indicated earlier that he will not 'negotiate' on the issue against hardline Republicans. This puts in peril the creation of a much needed additional federal government borrowing space – a scenario that could lead to a shutdown and a debt default," Calaycay said.

Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 49.71 points or 0.32 percent to close at 15,401.38 as investors weighed the next move of the US central bank on its monetary stimulus.

"It’s a mix of extending the duration of the stimulus, to shifting focus to priming the real economy and to outright tapering – running the whole gamut of all possible policy alternatives and leaving investors clueless," said Calaycay.

In its last policy meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to postpone the tapering of its $85-billion bond-buying program, a huge driver of stock market rallies in the past.

William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said the current pace of economic growth is not strong enough to withstand the reduction of the US central bank's asset purchases.

This statement came on the heels of conflicting statements of FOMC members signaling the central bank could start reducing stimulus next month, while another criticized the decision not to taper in September.

"Except for the ongoing crisis in three barangays of Zamboanga City and the seemingly diminishing steam of the pork barrel saga, there is very little investors can actually move and act on from the domestic front – except the oncoming end-of-quarter window dressing – from which hopes of a short-term positive action springs," Calaycay said.

source: interaksyon.com

‘Breaking Bad’ finally makes good with best drama Emmy

LOS ANGELES | Television drama “Breaking Bad” won the top Primetime Emmy award for the first time on Sunday, just as the gritty tale of a chemistry teacher turned meth cook and drug kingpin winds down to widespread acclaim.

Although it won best drama series for its fifth season, AMC’s “Breaking Bad” has just one episode left to air next Sunday in its sixth and final season. Its creators credited a changing television world of binge-watching, video on demand, online streaming and social media buzz for its success Sunday.

“I don’t think our show would have even lasted beyond season two if it wasn’t for video on demand, and also the Internet component of it where folks get to chat,” “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan said backstage. “It really has held us in good stand. It’s a bold new era.”

If the best drama nod vindicated the gritty power of basic cable, the best comedy series award honored the slick production values of the broadcast networks. ABC’s “Modern Family,” a highly stylized show about unconventional families, won the top comedy award for the fourth consecutive year.

The Emmys are handed out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and in a nod to the changing times, host Neil Patrick Harris made much of the latest trends in television viewing. He opened the ceremony enclosed in a room, binge-watching on multiple screens to catch up on every episode.

“Right now, I am watching an episode of ‘American Horror Story: Asylum’ on my contact lens,” Harris joked with the audience at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

The newest player in the television industry, online streaming company Netflix Inc, failed to score wins in best drama and best acting categories for its political thriller “House of Cards.” But it took home an award for directing and was a topic of conversation backstage as competitors lauded its ability to break ground on original programming for online streaming.

Premium cable veteran HBO, which led the field with 108 of the more than 500 nominations, proved its staying power in the increasingly competitive television industry, where basic cable and Netflix have challenged its high-quality production.

Jeff Daniels, who plays a jaded anchorman in HBO’s “The Newsroom,” scored an upset win for the best actor in a drama, while Claire Danes clinched her second consecutive best drama actress Emmy for her role as a bipolar CIA agent in “Homeland.”

Daniels beat front-runner Bryan Cranston, who was looking for this fourth best actor Emmy in his role as unlikely drug kingpin Walt White in “Breaking Bad,” and Kevin Spacey, who made waves as a cutthroat congressman in “House of Cards.”

“I didn’t expect this,” Daniels said. “I usually don’t win anything. The last thing I won was for ‘The Squid and the Whale,’ best actor over 50 from the AARP. With all due respect to the AARP, this is better.”

Danes proved to be the only repeat winner in the major categories for Showtime’s domestic terror thriller “Homeland,” which won the trifecta of best drama series and best actor and actress for drama last year for its freshman season.

Its third season begins next Sunday after a second season that critics said fell short of the high notes in its first year.

BINGE-WATCHING ‘BREAKING BAD’

HBO also won the best miniseries/movie category with its slick Liberace program “Behind the Candelabra.” Veteran actor Michael Douglas won best actor in that category for his portrayal of the pianist, besting his co-star Matt Damon, who played his young lover.

“You deserve half of this,” Douglas told Damon. “Do you want the bottom or the top?”

The lead comedy acting awards were less of a surprise than the drama category.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won the best comedy actress Emmy for the second year in a row for her role as hapless U.S. Vice President Selina Meyer on HBO’s “Veep.”

Jim Parsons picked up his third lead comedy actor win for his role as the nerdy and neurotic Sheldon Cooper on CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory.”

Some of the notable losers of the night were “American Horror Story: Asylum,” the miniseries that led the field with 17 nominations but only picked up two awards, and HBO’s medieval fantasy “Game of Thrones,” which received 16 nominations overall and won two technical awards.

“Breaking Bad” had 10 nominations overall and won three awards. Good timing and a surge in binge-watching seemed to be on its side.

AMC split the final season of “Breaking Bad” in two. It enjoyed a surge in ratings and a crescendo of critical and social media buzz perfectly timed to when Emmy voters were casting their ballots.

The first six episodes of the eight-episode ending to Walter White’s saga, released weekly starting in August, averaged 5.2 million viewers, more than double last year’s audience, according to AMC.

Netflix is credited with helping boost viewership for “Breaking Bad,” giving audiences a chance to binge-watch earlier episodes to quickly catch up – something that Gilligan recognized backstage.

“I think Netflix kept us on the air,” he said.

source: interaksyon.com

Emo culture among the young and the restless

More than 10 years ago, I had a student who came to class wearing an all-black ensemble. His fingernails were painted black, his shades were darker than night—and he wasn’t even gay, snickered the straight guys in class. I didn’t mind, because he wrote well, asked difficult questions, and made the teacher think.

Later, he became a friend of mine and last I heard, he was making short films that were being screened all around the globe.

He seems to be the precursor of the emo phenomenon that is sweeping some (okay, a small) segment of the studentry. In 21st-century Philippines, what does emo mean?

Since I am now between the age of 50 and death, I had to ask the help of my former students in figuring out what it is. They tell me it began with an underground music scene. It all loops back to the mid-1980s in Washington, D.C., where the bands played with pitch and passion bordering on emotional overkill. The subject matter of the songs thrummed with images that were dramatic and poetic – all served up in contemporary melodies. Thus was emo born, emo being shorthand for emotive hardcore.

Quoting Frederic Trasher, a student of mine said that young people cluster together because of common likes. “Peer groups function in two ways: they substitute for what society fails to give them, and they provide relief from suppression (of feelings). Thus, peer groups fill a gap and afford teenagers a form of escape.” How familiar this is, if you look back at the landscape of your life, when what our classmates thought seemed more important than what the teacher taught; when what our crushes felt mattered more than what we felt. The pivot was on what the Other thought, or felt, or wanted, and we orbited around these like planets in the solar system.

And if emo began in the West, can its clone in the Philippines be far behind?  As they say, we are always at least 20 years behind what (good or bad) happens in the United States.

The emo movement has also made its mark here. My former students cited bands like Chicosci, Typecast, and Urbandub as emo, whether self-proclaimed, or hailed so by their teenage fans. Young people swoon at lyrics like “I’ll bleed for you like a new tattoo. In my heart you’ll stay permanent . . . permanent . . .” Or listen to these lines: “Caught you in the arms of another, and I’ve been dying every day since then.” It’s the romance of the youth with what they do not have—love or even death. It’s the desire for permanency of those who themselves are still in the bloom of youth, in the flux of life.

They add it is not unusual to see the teenage fans imitate the way the band members look. Clones of Chicosci’s Miggy Chavez, Typecast’s Arsie Gabriel, and Urbandub’s Gabby Alipe abound. As are the clones of the other new bands in the block. The look is generic: asymmetrical haircut, black nail polish, skinny jeans. The looks telescope the feelings welling up from within. My student, Jamir Tan-Torres, called these “unstable moods, dark emotions, suppressed feelings. In a way, their personal style is reflective of their current state of mind.”

Going against the emo stereotype
Like all people who think they are rebels, the young ones also bristle at what they perceive to be emo stereotyping.

Jamir says: “It is a misconception that people who are part of the emo culture cross the boundary of what is normal. It is unfortunate that some people view them as disturbed, self-mutilating and apathetic individuals. Just like the punks and Goths before them, people immediately pinned a label on them. Even media worsened the situation by using the term emo loosely, in several cases portraying the teenagers in a negative light.”

To prove his point, Jamir interviewed a 15-year-old girl who is a self-confessed emo. “Her profile did not fit the description of my notion of the emo look. She was wearing white short shorts and a bright yellow shirt with the figure of a smiling sun. She wore French tips and not black nail polish. Her reply to my comment that she looks so un-emo was a raised middle finger and a laugh. She said she does not like the typical emo look. For her, being an emo is not a matter of physical transformation but a decision to be ‘true to one’s self.’ It is a way of feeling and there is a sense of freedom and acceptance in being an emo.”

Being “true to one’s self.” A sense of freedom and acceptance. These are the key words of the roles portrayed by James Dean and Marilyn Monroe; the books of J.D. Salinger (Catcher in the Rye) and the most recent Young Adult (YA) novels by John Greene (The Fault in the Stars, among others).

Thus, emo, which used to be a term for a subgenre of punk has, like all its earlier reincarnations, taken on a complex form. Another young artist I know describes emo in the form of the images that she draws. Her roses have black petals. The tears streaming down the faces are like black knives.

Like my favorite writer, the ageless icon Gilda Cordero Fernando who is now forever 81, emo is okay with me. If my students and my nephews and nieces call themselves in an emo state of mind, no problem with me. I think it will give a better high than drugs.

source: interaksyon.com

German group claims to have hacked Apple iPhone fingerprint scanner

BOSTON — A group of German hackers claimed to have cracked the iPhone fingerprint scanner on Sunday, just two days after Apple Inc launched the technology that it promises will better protect devices from criminals and snoopers seeking access.

If the claim is verified, it will be embarrassing for Apple which is betting on the scanner to set its smartphone apart from new models of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and others running the Android operating system of Google Inc.

Two prominent iPhone security experts told Reuters that they believed the German group, known as the Chaos Computing Club, or CCC, had succeeded in defeating Apple’s Touch ID, though they had not personally replicated the work.

One of them, Charlie Miller, co-author of the iOS Hacker’s Handbook, described the work as “a complete break” of Touch ID security. “It certainly opens up a new possibility for attackers.”

Apple representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

CCC, one the world’s largest and most respected hacking groups, posted a video on its website that appeared to show somebody accessing an iPhone 5S with a fabricated print. The site described how members of its biometrics team had cracked the new fingerprint reader, one of the few major high-tech features added to the latest version of the iPhone.

The group said they targeted Touch ID to knock down reports about its “marvels,” which suggested it would be difficult to crack.

“Fingerprints should not be used to secure anything. You leave them everywhere, and it is far too easy to make fake fingers out of lifted prints,” a hacker named Starbug was quoted as saying on the CCC’s site.

The group said it defeated Touch ID by photographing the fingerprint of an iPhone’s user, then printing it on to a transparent sheet, which it used to create a mold for a “fake finger.”

CCC said similar processes have been used to crack “the vast majority” of fingerprint sensors on the market.

“I think it’s legit,” said Dino Dai Zovi,” another co-author of the iOS Hacker’s Handbook. “The CCC doesn’t fool around or over-hype, especially when they are trying to make a political point.”

Touch ID, which was only introduced on the top-of-the-line iPhone 5S, lets users unlock their devices or make purchases on iTunes by simply pressing their finger on the home button. It uses a sapphire crystal sensor embedded in the button.

Data used for verification is encrypted and stored in a secure enclave of the phone’s A7 processor chip.

Two security experts who sponsored an impromptu competition offering cash and other prizes to the first hackers who cracked the iPhone said they had reviewed the information posted on the CCC website, but wanted more documentation.

“We are simply awaiting a full video documentation and walk through of the process that they have claimed,” said mobile security researcher Nick DePetrillo, who started the contest with another security expert, Robert Graham. “When they deliver that video we will review it.”

The two of them each put up $100 toward a prize for the contest winner, then set up a website inviting others to contribute. While the booty now includes more than $13,000 in cash, it was not clear that the CCC would receive the full payout, even if DePetrillo and Graham declared them winners.

A micro venture capital firm known as I/O Capital, which had offered to pay $10,000 of the prize money, issued a press release late on Sunday saying that it would make its own determination about who won the contest.

source: interaksyon.com

69 dead, 63 missing as Nairobi siege enters 3rd day

NAIROBI - At least 69 people are confirmed to have been killed and 63 more recorded missing in an ongoing Nairobi shopping mall siege, Kenya Red Cross said Monday.

The 63 recorded missing are thought to include both hostages still being held by Islamist militants fighting Kenyan troops inside the complex, as well as those possibly killed in the three-day-long siege. Others may be hiding in the sprawling center.

As the stand-off entered its third day, sustained bursts of rapid gunfire erupted at dawn and lasted 15 minutes, and soldiers posted around the mall ducked for cover.

Somali Shebab militants on Monday threatened to kill hostages they are holding as Kenyan troops move to end their siege.

Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said in a security update Monday that "a few" hostages remain in the mall, but would not give precise figures.

The Shebab have not said how many people were being held by the dozen-or-so attackers, who marched into the four-storey building at midday Saturday, spraying shoppers with machine gunfire and tossing grenades.

"We authorize the mujahedeen inside the building to take actions against the prisoners as much as they are pressed," Shebab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage said in a statement posted on an Islamist website.

Nonstop skirmishes

Earlier, Kenyan troops battled into the early hours of Monday as they tried to end a bloody standoff with Somali Islamist militants holding hostages inside a shopping mall, with police warning the death toll of 68 could rise sharply.

The army said it had secured most of the upmarket, part Israeli-owned Westgate complex, and that most the hostages had been rescued. It said it was trying to bring a "speedy conclusion" to the drama, now into its third day.

Security and intelligence sources told AFP that Israeli agents were also assisting in the operation. Kenya's National Disaster Operation Center said a "major engagement" with the Al Qaeda-linked Shebab fighters was in process.

"Our concern is to rescue all hostages alive and that is why the operation is delicate," the Kenya Defense Forces said in its latest update.

It did not say how many people were being held by the dozen or so attackers.

"All efforts are underway to bring this matter to a speedy conclusion," it said, adding four of its soldiers were wounded in what appeared to be the final efforts to secure the mall, which is popular with wealthy Kenyans and expatriates.

An AFP correspondent close to the mall said the area was eerily quiet, with no sounds of gunshots heard -- possibly indicating the attackers were holed up deep inside the sprawling four-story complex, one of Nairobi's largest buildings.

"The criminals are now all located in one place within the building," Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a speech to the nation.

"They shall not get away with their despicable and beastly acts," Kenyatta said in an emotional speech, in which he announced he had lost a nephew and his fiancée in the attack. "We will punish the masterminds swiftly, and indeed very painfully."

Kenyatta said more than 1,000 people were rescued, and that he had also received "numerous offers of assistance from friendly countries."

A Kenyan security source said Israelis "are rescuing the hostages and the injured". The Israeli foreign ministry refused to confirm or deny its agents were involved, although a Western intelligence official confirmed the Israelis were playing a frontline role.

British and US agents were also at the scene, the source said.

Bodies still inside

Terrified witnesses told of scenes of horror and panic as the masked gunmen tossed grenades and sprayed automatic gunfire in the packed centre around midday on Saturday, sending panicked shoppers and staff fleeing or diving for cover.

Officials estimated some 200 people have been wounded, and the Red Cross made a nationwide appeal for blood donors.

Police sources who had entered the building on Sunday evening said they feared that death toll, now confirmed at 68, "could be much, much higher ... judging from the bodies sighted inside."

Somalia's Shebab rebels said the carnage was in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia, where African Union troops are battling the Islamists.

"If you want Kenya in peace, it will not happen as long as your boys are in our lands," Shebab spokesman Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage said in a statement.

The group also issued a string of statements via Twitter, one of them claiming that Muslims in the center had been "escorted out by the Mujahideen before beginning the attack."

Witnesses have confirmed that the gunmen were trying to weed out non-Muslims for execution by interrogating people on their faith.

The dead also included three Britons, two French women, two Canadians including a diplomat, a Chinese woman, two Indians, a South Korean, a South African and a Dutch woman, according to their governments. Also killed was Ghanaian poet and former UN envoy Kofi Awoonor, 78, while his son was injured.

'People sprayed with bullets'

Mall worker Zipporah Wanjiru, who emerged from the ordeal alive but in a state of shock, said she hid under a table with five other colleagues.

"They were shooting indiscriminately, it was like a movie seeing people sprayed with bullets like that," she said, bursting into tears. "I have never witnessed this in my life."

Cafe waiter Titus Alede, who risked his life and leapt from the first floor of the mall, said it was a "miracle from God" that he managed to escape the approaching gunmen.

"I remember them saying 'you killed our people in Somalia, it is our time to pay you back'," he said.

One teenage survivor told how he played dead to avoid being killed.

"I heard screams and gunshots all over the place. I got scared ... (and) hid behind one of the cars," 18-year-old Umar Ahmed told AFP.

In the hours after the attack began, shocked people of all ages and races could be seen running from the mall, some clutching babies, while others crawled along walls to avoid stray bullets.

Israeli interests in Kenya have come under attack before, and the Westgate mall has long been seen as a potential target.

The attack is the worst in Nairobi since an Al-Qaeda bombing at the US embassy killed more than 200 people in 1998.

It was condemned by world powers.

US President Barack Obama called Kenyatta offering support "to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice", while UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the violence was "totally reprehensible".

Kenya's Vice President William Ruto has asked the International Criminal Court to delay his trial for crimes against humanity over deadly 2007-08 post-election violence because of the mall standoff, his lawyer said.

source: interaksyon.com

Withdrawing money from ATMs to cost more starting next month

MANILA - Two of the country's biggest banks are set to increase ATM transaction fees next month to defray the higher cost of "enabling interbank withdrawals and other services."

In an advisory, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co said its cardholders will be charged P15 when using other banks' ATMs and P7.50 when using Philippine Savings Bank ATMs.

PSBank is the thrift unit of George Ty-owned Metrobank, whose cardholders would however be charged zero if they use its network of ATMs. The new fee structure would take effect on October 1.


The country's second biggest bank in terms of assets, Metrobank closed the first semester with 832 branches and 1,822 ATMs nationwide.

In a separate advisory, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said its cardholders would be charged P15 per transaction starting next month -- up from P10 -- when withdrawing through any of the ATMs of Bancnet, Expressnet and Megalink.

BPI cardholders however can still withdraw from the bank's ATMs at no cost. The new ATM fee schedule would take effect October 22.

With at least 1,700 ATMs nationwide, BPI is the country's third biggest lender in terms of assets.

“This increase is necessary to enable us to maintain our service standards even for transactions using other banks' ATMs,” the Ayala-owned bank said.

“Since the last fee adjustment in 2005, the costs of enabling interbank/inter-network ATM withdrawals and related services have escalated. It is our commitment to ensure your transactions, wherever and whenever made, will be seamless and efficient,” BPI said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said banks have latitude in making product pricing decisions.

However, the BSP could look into it and decide if there’s a need to take action in the public interest, weighing cost, availability and competitive conditions among other considerations, BSP Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said.

“It’s a business judgment but that should also consider customer reaction that can have a severe
backlash. So they must decide carefully and responsibly,” he added.

source: interaksyon.com