YahLive delivers the future of satellite TV broadcasting now - AME Info

As a panelist for the "Increasing Profitability" discussion aimed at facilitating dialogue amongst industry leaders to discuss ways to capitalise on emerging trends at the Broadcast Conference 2013, Magnus Simons, Director of Sales and Business Development at YahLive, emphasised the need for broadcast industry players to adapt their business models to the inevitable HD migration that is being driven by consumer demand, not just in the region, but globally: "There is a significant number of HDTVs sold in the Middle East region, and in some Gulf countries, it is almost impossible now to buy a conventional Standard Definition (SD) TV set, which indicates that MENA consumers have an insatiable appetite for content choice and a quality viewing experience. It is our belief that the future direction of the regional television market will be driven by the consumers' willingness to pay a modest price for content and quality."

Simons further explained YahLive's cataclysmic role in enabling broadcasters to make a faster, more cost-effective SD-to-HD conversion: "YahLive allocates eight megabits per second per HD channel, which we see is the minimum needed for a high-quality HD viewing experience. Yahlive, in collaboration with SES, a leading global satellite operator, is implementing new technologies to make transmission of HD channels more efficient and affordable, offering Ku band satellite capacity suitable for broadcast services through three connected high power beams."

Other panelists included Yousef Touqan, Chief Executive Officer, Flip Media; Christopher O'Hearn, General Manager of Emirates Media Measurement Company and Nick Grande, Managing Director, Channel Sculptor.

YahLive also conducted an HD migration workshop at the conference, which featured YahLive's up-scaling SD-to-HD process that lowers barriers to HD conversion and frees up much needed capacity for broadcasters.

Ammar Baranbo, Director of Engineering at YahLive, who led the workshop stated: "High Definition is the future of television and, because we have the necessary capacity and engineering infrastructure and our diverse channel bouquet on the YahLive platform means that we can offer the future of TV today to both broadcasters and consumers."

Broadcasting from the powerful satellite Y1A at 52.5? East, Abu Dhabi-based YahLive has a high-quality, robust and secure HD TV service standard and is also creating an extensive MENA HD installation network to support the region's growing HD broadcast demand through its HD Academy roadshows that provide technical satellite and dish installation training to the installers.

Baranbo commented: "HD is becoming the 'new normal' for TV channels across the region and consumer demand is driving the HD conversion that is sweeping across the region. The benefit of YahLive is that we offer a platform exclusively for HD channels which television households across the MENA region can access simply by installing a small satellite dish pointed at 52.5 degrees East."

Within a year of launching operations, YahLive has established a regional installer network of 500 with aims to reach 2,000 by year-end 2013 and also created an exclusive HD bouquet of 47 quality channels including Saudi TV, Dubai Media Incorporated, Abu Dhabi Media, Cartoon Network Arabia, GEM, MBC and others that appeal to diverse audiences.

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/yahlive-delivers-future-satellite-tv-broadcasting-331773

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China's Xi rides high hopes ahead of presidency

LUOTUOWAN VILLAGE, China (AP) ? China's fawning state media, jaded social media commentators and even poor corn and cabbage farmers agree: new Communist Party chief Xi Jinping is off to a good start.

"General Secretary Xi doesn't put on any airs. He talks like an ordinary person," said 69-year-old farmer Tang Rongbin. The new leader visited Tang's sparse, dimly lit farmhouse in Luotuowan village in December, bearing gifts of cooking oil, flour and a blanket.

Xi has styled himself as an economic reformer, an iron-fisted graft-buster, a staunch nationalist and a no-frills man-of-the-people ? spurring expectations for change. But as he prepares to be appointed to the largely ceremonial role of president, pressure will be growing on him to deliver.

China faces rising public anger over endemic corruption, a burgeoning rich-poor gap and the degradation of the country's air, soil and waterways. Slower economic growth and territorial disputes, especially with Japan, add to the tension.

Mounting protests over environmental issues, land seizures and high-handed officialdom point to the underlying social discontent. Days before the party conclave that brought Xi to power last year, thousands of protesters in the eastern city of Ningbo faced off against riot police outside government offices, calling on officials to halt a chemical plant expansion.

"I think there has been a revolution of rising expectations," said Willy Lam, an expert on party politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "People realize they can get away with even demonstrations to make their wills heard."

Joining the clamor for change this past week were dozens of prominent intellectuals who signed a petition urging the government to ratify an international treaty on protecting human rights and the rule of law. Also, a group of about 100 parents of gays and lesbians urged lawmakers to legalize gay marriage.

The annual session of the national legislature, which opens Tuesday, will complete the once-a-decade handover of power that began in November when Xi and his leadership team assumed the top positions in the Communist Party. At the end of the session, Xi will take the title of president from his predecessor as party leader, Hu Jintao.

Deputies to the National People's Congress will rubber-stamp appointments of senior officials to the State Council, or Cabinet, to run economic and foreign policies; Xi and other party leaders finalized the personnel changes at a closed-door meeting last week. The No. 2 party leader, Li Keqiang, will become premier, the country's top economic official.

The legislature gives the Xi administration a high-profile platform to lay out policies to build the prosperous, strong and fairer society he has talked about in his public appearances.

Xi came to power in the wake of a scandal that exposed infighting and corruption in the highest reaches of the party. Exuding a confidence and ease lacking in the remote, wooden Hu, Xi has seized on the public's disgust over graft and its hopes for national greatness to rally support for his leadership.

"He certainly took challenges and made them opportunities," said Cheng Li, an expert on Chinese politics at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "He turned them around into great expectations for him, and great hope."

Xi visited an early testing ground for the market reforms that have transformed China into the world's No. 2 economy to align himself with reform in broad terms, though he has given no indication of the changes he wants to make.

He stopped off at Luotuowan and other farming villages to show his concern for those struggling to get by. And he has played to nationalist sentiments, taking a hard line against Japan in a long-festering territorial dispute, and touring military units to show his commitment to national defense.

Xi has disappointed some who had hoped for greater political freedom. Though he has espoused the virtues of constitutional government and the rule of law, dissidents continue to be harassed, and a crackdown on self-immolation protests in Tibetan areas has only intensified.

It is fighting graft that Xi has made the signature campaign of his first three months ? a popular campaign that so far featured more symbolism than action.

He launched a drive to cut out red carpets, motorcades and other official extravagance. State media touted that he preferred simple meals over the usual banquets leaders are given while on inspection tours. He has vowed to target corruption at high and low levels of power ? both the "tigers" and the "flies."

So far, it's mostly flies that have been swatted. A slew of lower-level officials have been punished after revelations they were keeping mistresses or amassing multiple unaccounted-for properties. Its highest-level victim has been a deputy provincial party chief suspected of influence peddling and dodgy real estate deals.

Many politically minded Chinese aren't convinced that Xi will take the painful steps needed to root out deeply embedded corruption. Eliminating graft would require an overhaul of the patronage-based political culture and restraining the party's unchecked power.

"Will it be like the past when there was great determination expressed in speech, but ultimately no effective efforts followed to control corruption?" said Ren Jianming, an anti-corruption expert at prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing. "We haven't seen much in terms of specific measures."

Some Chinese want the party to allow its anti-corruption watchdogs to operate independently, and to require officials to declare assets publicly. A system in place since 2010 requires some officials to report income, real estate holdings and other wealth to their superiors ? not the public ? but that has done little to stanch graft. A few areas in Guangdong have recently been named as testing grounds for public asset declaration.

Still, resistance to full disclosure is high within the bureaucracy and perhaps even the leadership. Bloomberg News reported in June last year that Xi's extended family has amassed assets totaling $376 million, though it said none was traced to Xi himself.

"I believe that Xi should take the lead," said Wang Yukai, an anti-corruption expert at the Chinese Academy of Governance, which trains provincial and ministerial-level civil servants. "Politburo Standing Committee members also need to declare information about their spouses and children. This will pave the way for future declarations."

Many experts advocated an asset declaration mechanism when they attended a meeting called by Wang Qishan, the party's new anti-corruption agency chief, in late November, according to Ren, who was one of the participants. Ren said Wang noted that more research needed to be done but otherwise stayed noncommittal.

"There's now a lot of public expectation about anti-corruption work, and as the leading cadre in charge of this work, he must remain calm and rational," Ren observed. "It's easy to raise public expectations, but if you're unable to meet them, then you'll end up disappointing everyone."

___

Follow Gillian Wong on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gillianwong

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-xi-rides-high-hopes-ahead-presidency-053258313.html

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US seizes 2,200 pieces of artwork in NJ

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ? The massive trove of artwork arrived in New Jersey last year from Texas on an 18-wheeler ? its contents a mystery.

After five days of inventory, the haul proved to be significant: more than 1,100 pieces of art, mostly works by some of the nation's most influential photographers, including Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston.

The valuable shipment was moved again to New York, but instead of being carefully exhibited in a home in Spain as planned, it ended up in the hands of federal authorities. By the end of an investigation, authorities had seized more than 2,200 works of art appraised at nearly $16 million.

On Friday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark announced a Feb. 22 court filing that alleges the artwork was purchased with money collected in a scheme that sold fake credits for renewable energy. The complaint seeks to force the owner to forfeit the works.

Authorities said they were seized from a warehouse in New York in July weeks after being moved from Newark and readied for shipment to Spain via Amsterdam. The works include numerous prints by Stieglitz, including one of his famous artist wife, Georgia O'Keefe, that sold for $675,000. An Edward Steichen print titled "Greta Garbo for Vanity Fair Hollywood" was purchased for $75,000.

Authorities allege the artworks' owner, Philip Rivkin, used money fraudulently funneled through his Houston-based company, Green Diesel, to buy the art. Rivkin has not been formally charged with a crime.

Kyle Sampson, a lawyer for Rivkin, said Friday he was aware the forfeiture action was filed.

"We have not received formal notice of the forfeiture action, but I am aware that a complaint has been filed," he told The Associated Press. "We've been working for some time with the EPA in an effort to resolve their concerns and any other outstanding issues there may be."

A lawyer for Green Diesel declined comment in an email message.

Rivkin was owner and CEO of Green Diesel and a company called Fuel Streamers. Authorities allege in the complaint that Rivkin and others claimed the companies produced, purchased and imported renewable fuel. But authorities say the fuel did not exist.

By federal standards, the national stock of gasoline and diesel must contain a certain percentage of renewable fuel. Authorities allege oil companies, including Shell and Exxon, have reported a total of $78 million in losses from buying fake renewables from Green Diesel.

According to the complaint, an unnamed assistant for Rivkin told authorities that Rivkin controlled all financial accounts. "Money would come in and he (Rivkin) would move it out," the assistant told authorities.

Authorities allege Rivkin used Green Diesel's bank account and other accounts to buy at least $18 million in artwork. Rivkin tended to buy his photographs in groups, making it difficult to trace individual purchases, but authorities said they have matched 1,590 pieces of art to one credit card and four bank accounts.

In April 2012, the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation to Green Diesel, alleging it improperly generated credits that track and boost renewable fuel production. Authorities claim Rivkin arranged to have the art shipped out the year before, after learning of the investigation.

An EPA spokesman did not return a call for comment.

According to the complaint, Rivkin's assistant said Rivkin started purchasing vintage photographs after receiving the "EPA money." Much of the artwork was shipped from Houston to Newark and eventually bound for Spain, authorities said.

The assistant traveled to Geneva and Barcelona with Rivkin, the assistant told authorities. Rivkin stayed in Spain and when the assistant returned to the U.S. noticed that Rivkin's office was cleaned out and numerous documents were shredded, authorities said.

___

Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Trenton contributed to this story.

___

Follow Zezima at www.twitter.com/katiezez

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-01-US-Energy-Fraud-Artwork/id-aae52d50acb64bbca43cb0a392eaf0c0

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The Yeshiva World New Study Says Holocaust Infrastructure Was ...

The Holocaust ? the systematic, state-sponsored murder, persecution and abuse of millions ? was far more shocking and horrific than even experts thought a few months ago.

New research shows that about 42,500 Nazi camps and ghettos stretched from Nazi-controlled France to Russia between 1933 and 1945, Hitler?s vicious reign of terror and darkness.

The prevalence of camps in Germany, in particular, astonished researcher Martin Dean. Berlin, for instance, had about 3,000 camps and Hamburg had 1,300 sites.

?You literally could not go anywhere in Germany without running into forced labor camps, P.O.W. camps, concentration camps,? said Dean. ?They were everywhere.?

Dean and fellow scholar Geoffrey Megargee presented their findings at the German Historical Institute in Washington in late January, reported The New York Times.

Megargee expected to find about 7,000 camps and ghettos when research began. The final number of 42,500 locations sent shudders throughout the room.

?The numbers are so much higher than what we originally thought,? institute director Hartmut Berghoff told the newspaper. ?We knew before how horrible life in the camps and ghettos was ? but the numbers are unbelievable.?

The research team uncovered 30,000 slave camps, 1,150 Jewish ghettos, 1,000 prisoner-of-war camps, 980 concentration camps, 500 sex-slave brothels and thousands of other camps serving a myriad of wicked ends: forced abortions, mandatory euthanasia of the elderly and ill, ?Germanisation? and transportation hubs to murder sites, according to the Times.

The team started its research in 2000 for a seven-volume encyclopedia published by the Holocaust Museum, who have already released the first two volumes and expect to release all seven by 2025.

(Source: NY Daily News)

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Source: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/?p=159125

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U.N.'s Ban, Syria mediator frustrated at failure to stop war

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon and Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi expressed frustration on Saturday at the failure to end Syria's conflict and said the United Nations was ready to facilitate peace talks.

Ban and Brahimi met in Mt. Pelerin, Switzerland, to discuss the two-year-old war that has killed more than 70,000 people.

In a joint statement, they said "they regretted that the government and armed opposition forces have become increasingly reckless with human life and stressed the importance of accountability for war crimes against humanity."

The conflict began as peaceful protests that turned violent when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad tried to crush the revolt.

"The United Nations would welcome and be prepared to facilitate a dialogue between a strong and representative delegation from the opposition and a credible and empowered delegation from the Syrian government," they said in a joint statement.

The U.N. Security Council has been deadlocked on Syria since 2011 over Russia and China's refusal to consider sanctions against Assad's government. They have vetoed three resolutions condemning Assad's crackdown on the opposition groups.

"Both expressed deep frustration at the failure of the international community to act with unity to end the conflict," the statement added.

Damascus and some opposition figures have recently softened their previous outright rejection of talks to resolve the civil war, with both saying they would consider talks with the other side, contingent on some conditions.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uns-ban-syria-mediator-frustrated-failure-stop-war-182746649.html

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The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Full On Robocop 33

Keeping with a proud tradition set forth by films like The Matrix, The Terminator, Godfather, Karate Kid, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the third installment of the Robocop franchise was an unmitigated, series-killing, disaster. It represented the worst of early 90's action flicks. However, when BenJamin Wigmore compresses it from a 104 minute shit storm down to a mere 2:10, RC3's actually kind of entertaining. Or at least tolerable. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/jjwCreLv0E4/the-weirdest-thing-on-the-internet-tonight-full-on-robocop-33

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Lawson's jumper lifts Nuggets over Thunder 105-103

Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson reacts after hitting game-winning basket with two-tenths of a seond remaining in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 105-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Friday, March 1, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson reacts after hitting game-winning basket with two-tenths of a seond remaining in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 105-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Friday, March 1, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Wilson Chandler (21), de los Nuggets de Denver, prepara un tiro sobre Russell Westbrook, del Thunder de Oklahoma City, derecha, en el primer cuarto del juego del viernes 1 de marzo de 2013, en Denver. (Foto AP/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler, left, picks up a loose ball in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka, of the Congo, in the third quarter of the Nuggets' 105-103 victory in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Friday, March 1, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler, front, picks up a loose ball in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kevin Martin in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 105-103 victory in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Friday, March 1, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, left, works ball inside for a shot against Denver Nuggets guard Andre Miller in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 105-103 victory in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Friday, March 1, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DENVER (AP) ? Wilson Chandler tied his career high with 35 points and gladly watched Ty Lawson take the game-winning jumper.

"We've got a lot of guys who can score," Chandler said after Lawson's shot with 0.2 seconds left lifted the Denver Nuggets to a 105-103 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.

"I'm good whether it's in Ty's hands, both Dre's (Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller), Corey (Brewer), Gallo (Danilo Gallinari), whoever."

After shooting 13 for 19, Chandler said he was thrilled just to be such a big part of a big week for the Nuggets, who ran all over the Lakers, snapped a long losing streak in Portland and then capped it off with a thunderous win over the star-studded Thunder.

Guarded tightly by Thabo Sefolosha, Lawson swished his jumper from just inside the 3-point arc on the right wing. With no time to catch and shoot, the Thunder failed to get off a final tip attempt after their timeout.

"At the end they made a tough shot to beat us," said Kevin Durant, who tied it with a driving bank shot with 17.6 seconds remaining.

Miller inbounded to Lawson, who never gave up the ball. He said his shot was the only option: "I was going to take the last shot, make sure it was the last shot, either make it or we go to overtime."

Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 38 points and Durant had 25 for the Thunder.

"You give Oklahoma City any time to shoot, K.D. and Russell are big shot-makers and we didn't want to give them a chance," Lawson said. "We were going to go to overtime or win in regulation."

The combined 63 points from Russell and Durant were almost double the 34 points Denver's starters scored.

"They're tough guards," Chandler said, "so you want to make them take tough shots. It's like trying to stop the sun from shining ? just hope for a cloudy day."

With Gallinari back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a bruised thigh, Chandler went back to being the Nuggets' sixth man and he led a bench that outscored the Thunder's reserves 71-11

"Say what?" Durant replied. "Jeesh. We've got to do a better job of helping them out, give them a better cushion."

Of course, Chandler was responsible for more than half of the Nuggets' points off the bench.

"That's a great asset to have," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "That's one of the strengths of their team. They're deep, they have a lot of good players that play, a lot of skill players. Thirty-five points, you don't expect that. He stepped up when the moment was needed and he made big shots."

Not even Chandler could have expected to score 35 points, though.

"Honestly, I thought I'd have a pretty good night but 35? No," Chandler said. "I was playing in my rhythm and taking open shots."

Nuggets coach George Karl said: "Well, we owe this one to Wilson Chandler. He was great. We wanted to play small against their big lineup because Scottie always gets small against me. So, the substitution was earlier and quicker and then he has a great game."

Chandler logged 35 minutes to Gallinari's 22.

The Nuggets improved to 25-3 at the Pepsi Center, including 2-0 against Oklahoma City, which has lost five of its last six road games. Only the Miami Heat, at 26-3, are better at home.

Oklahoma City trailed 85-75 heading into the fourth quarter but tied it at 91 on Westbrook's fast-break basket with just under 6 minutes left.

Westbrook's free throw with 3:17 left gave the Thunder their first lead of the second half, 97-96.

The Nuggets came back to take a 101-99 lead on Miller's finger roll, but Durant's two free throws tied it again.

Lawson missed a jumper just inside a minute and Durant missed at the other end.

Chandler's layup with 22.4 seconds left gave the Nuggets a 103-101 lead and gave him 35 points, tying his career high set in 2010 for the New York Knicks against Sacramento.

After a timeout, Durant's bank shot tied it at 103 and Denver called a timeout with 17.6 seconds remaining, then put the ball in Lawson's hands.

NOTES: The Thunder had hit 94 percent of their free throws (130 of 138) over their previous five games. They missed 10 of 34 attempts Friday night. Westbrook was 12 of 17 from the line ? same as the Nuggets. ... Denver C Timofey Mozgov played the final 0.2 seconds as Karl put his 7-footer on the inbounder. ... Durant played all but 21 seconds in the game and was never whistled for a foul, much to Karl's chagrin.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-02-BKN-Thunder-Nuggets/id-b36e06d6bd704cf3a4bc995b9bf0e351

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