UN raises Burma cyclone estimate, todays news..

The UN has sharply increased its estimate of those severely affected by Burma's cyclone to 2.5m people. The figure was revised up from the 1.5m previously thought to be in need, following the storm 12 days ago. Since Cyclone Nargis struck, hardly any foreign aid workers have been allowed into Burma to hand out relief supplies.

Latest Burmese official figures put the death toll at almost 38,500 with 27,838 more missing but the Red Cross warned as many as 128,000 could be dead. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he "regretted" the UN had spent more time arranging rather than delivering help, amid claims of stonewalling by the junta. Read full story on this site..

source: bbcnews.co.uk

Todays News..Thousands dead in Chinese quake

A powerful earthquake has killed at least 8,500 people in China's south-western Sichuan province, up to 5,000 of them in just one county.
Many more are feared killed and injured in other parts of the country after the quake, which had a magnitude of 7.8, struck at 1428 local time (0628 GMT).
At least 50 bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a school where an estimated 900 students were buried.
President Hu Jintao has urged "all-out" efforts to rescue victims.
The epicentre of the earthquake was about 92km (57 miles) from Chengdu, Sichuan's provincial capital.
Because the earthquake struck in the middle of the day, it is feared that many schoolchildren may be among the victims. Read full story on this site..

source: bbcnews.co.uk

Todays News..First US aid plane lands in Burma

The first US aid flight to Burma following the devastating cyclone nine days ago has landed in Rangoon. The US spent days negotiating with Burma's military government to gain permission for the aircraft to land.

The junta has admitted that parts of the worst-affected region remain cut-off, but the generals are still refusing entry to foreign aid workers. The official death toll has risen to almost 32,000, with close to another 30,000 missing.

But aid agencies fear 1.5m could die if help does not come, and estimate that 100,000 have already perished. An official from Save the Children in Burma told the BBC that about half the people affected by the cyclone were receiving help.

Nine days after Cyclone Nargis struck Burma's low-lying Irrawaddy Delta region, survivors are beginning to gather in makeshift camps around the edges of the disaster zone. Read full story on this site..


source: bbcnews.co.uk

Yahoo stock slips as buyout talks end; Google may be winner

SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo Inc.'s stock took a beating Monday after Microsoft Corp. withdrew its $47.5 billion takeover bid, but the punishment wasn't as severe as many analysts anticipated because investors suspect the rivals eventually will renew their mating dance.
Although Microsoft has publicly indicated it will focus on measures besides buying Yahoo in its bid to make its Internet division profitable, several analysts predicted the software maker will revive its bid in the summer or fall if Yahoo can't snap out of a two-year funk that exposed it to an unwanted takeover in the first place.
"Should the frustration of (Yahoo) shareholders come to a boil, we believe (Microsoft) could re-enter the picture, essentially playing the role of the white knight," analyst David Hilal of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. wrote in a Friday research note.
Read full story on this site...

source: gmanews.tv

Do you want to be the FIRST PINOY SOLE SURVIVOR?

PAUTAKAN!
PAGALINGAN!
PATATAGAN!
GMA is in search of contestants from 18 to 60 years old, physically fit and willing to become castaways and endure intense physical and mental challenges in an unfamiliar territory for 39 days.
If you think you got what it takes to be one of the 16 castaways for SURVIVOR PHILIPPINES, go to any of the nationwide auditions in key cities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
DAVAO = SM DAVAO = MAY 1 and 2
CEBU = SM CEBU = MAY 5 and 6
ILOILO = SM ILOILO = MAY 8 and 9
DAGUPAN = EMERALD STADIA = MAY 16
BAGUIO = SM BAGUIO = MAY 17 and 18 MANILA =
SM NORTH EDSA = MAY 21 and 22 MANILA =
SM MANILA = MAY 23
Be part of the biggest reality show worldwide!
Be the Philippines’ first sole SURVIVOR! Get the latest updates about Survivor Philippines at the SURVIVOR BLOG.

source: gmanews.tv

Microsoft walks away from $42-B Yahoo bid, todays news.

SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft Corp. has withdrawn its $42.3 billion bid to buy Yahoo Inc., scrapping an attempt to snap up the tarnished Internet icon in hopes of toppling online search and advertising leader Google Inc.
The decision to walk away from the deal came Saturday after last-ditch efforts to negotiate a mutually acceptable sale price proved unsuccessful.
Microsoft was willing to pay $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, up from the bid's current value of $29.40 per share, according to a letter from Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer to Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang.
But Yahoo demanded at least $53 billion, or $37 per share, according to Ballmer. That would have been nearly double Yahoo's stock price of $19.18 at the time Microsoft first made its bid a little over three months ago.
"Clearly a deal is not to be," Ballmer wrote. A spokeswoman for Sunnyvale-based Yahoo didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
The decision to walk away came as a surprise, given that many analysts believed Microsoft wanted to close the deal badly enough to either sweeten the offer or pursue a hostile takeover — a risky maneuver that would have required an attempt to replace the Yahoo board that spurned rejected the bid.
But Ballmer said he concluded that pursuing a so-called proxy battle was "not sensible."
"Our discussions with you have led us to conclude that, in the interim, you would take steps that would make Yahoo undesirable as an acquisition," Ballmer wrote to Yang.
But Yahoo hasn't necessarily faded from Microsoft's crosshairs.
The software maker conceivably could renew its bid later this year if Yahoo can't bounce back from more than two years of financial lethargy.
Should Yahoo's turnaround efforts flop, many analysts believe the company's stock would sink into the mid-teens and open the door for another takeover offer that would be more difficult to rebuff.
For now, at least, Microsoft appears to believe it has enough internal weapons to chip away at Google's dominance of the booming Internet ad market.
"We have a talented team in place and a compelling plan to grow our business through innovative new services and strategic transactions with other business partners, " Ballmer said. "While Yahoo would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals."

source: AP/ gmanews.tv

Hidden jewel of Afghan culture, todays article..

Architectural historian and broadcaster Dan Cruickshank treks into the mountains of western Afghanistan to visit and film an architectural treasure, the leaning minaret of Jam. Herat is a wonderful city.

It was rebuilt by Alexander the Great around 330 BC, and was later one of the major cities in Tamerlane's empire. Herat's ancient buildings have been damaged in many military conflicts We had come not to enjoy its glories, but to get our permission to travel validated by local officials.

First we went to see the Deputy Governor of Herat. Haji Mir Abdul Khaliq was a mujahideen in the 1980s and - robed, turbaned and bearded - looked a formidable character. He was delighted that we wanted to go to Jam.

"Our history is a source of great national pride," he told us. "It's good you should see one of our greatest buildings and show the world." Read full story on this site..

source: bbcnews.co.uk