Ethiopia: Proclamation on Telecom Fraud Offences

In this analysis, ARTICLE 19 finds the recently adopted Proclamation 761/2012 on Telecom Fraud Offences (“the Proclamation”) to be fundamentally flawed from a freedom of expression and information perspective, and recommends its immediate repeal.

Ferrari 458 Italia Manettino, Launch Control and Interior

The 458 Italia is equipped with a racing manettino switch leading toward more sporting set ups and giving the driver a wider selection of electronic controls parameters. The ICE setting saw in the F430 has been removed, while the CT setting has been added in order to deactivate the traction control and at the same time maintain the stability control. There are five different manettino positions and conditions: Low Grip, Sport, Race, CT and CTS. Low Grip setting provides maximum grip under all driving conditions, and it is particularly suited for low grip surfaces. The emphasis is on comfort and stability without compromising the handling.

Olimpiade

Olimpiade adalah ajang olahraga internasional empat tahunan yang mempertandingkan cabang-cabang olahraga musim panasdan musim dingin serta diikuti oleh ribuan atlet dari sekitar 200 negara yang berkompetisi dalam berbagai pertandingan olahraga. Awalnya, Olimpiade hanya berlangsung di Yunani kuno sampai pada tahun 393 M. Olimpiade kemudian dihidupkan kembali oleh Pierre Frèdy Baron de Coubertin pada tahun 1896. Dalam kongres pada tahun 1894 yang diselenggarakan di Paris, didirikanlah Komite Olimpiade Internasional (IOC) dan ibu kota Yunani, Athena dipilih sebagai tuan rumah Olimpiade modern pertama tahun 1896. Selanjutnya, sejak tahun 1896 sampai sekarang, setiap empat tahun sekali Olimpiade Musim Panas senantiasa diadakan kecuali tahun-tahun pada masa Perang Dunia II.

9 Early Online Back to School Deals

This year, parents will spend an average of $688.82 on back-to-school gear, up from $603.63 in 2011.

"Backpacks rip, pencils break, and children grow, there's no way around it, but as they begin tackling their shopping lists, parents will make sure to spend smarter than they ever have before," said National Retail Federation President Mathew Shay. "We fully expect retailers to be aggressive with their promotions both in-store and online, keeping an eye on inventory levels as families look to spread out their shopping throughout the entire summer."

Supernova Progenitor Found? New Research Identifies Star System That May Explode

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2012) — Type Ia supernovae are violent stellar explosions. Observations of their brightness are used to determine distances in the universe and have shown scientists that the cosmos is expanding at an accelerating rate. But there is still too little known about the specifics of the processes by which these supernovae form. New research, led by Stella Kafka of the Carnegie Institution for Science in the United States, identifies a star system, prior to explosion, which will possibly become a type Ia supernova.

The work will appear in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Britain's Bellamy gamble pays off

CARDIFF, Wales (AP) -- Craig Bellamy is certainly no David Beckham. For Britain's Olympic football team, perhaps that's a good thing.

Britain coach Stuart Pearce caused an uproar when he left Beckham off the team for the London Olympics, opting to go with fellow midfielder Bellamy as one of his three overage players instead - alongside Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs and defenderMicah Richards.

Chinese badminton player blogs 'farewell' to sport

LONDON (AP) -- A Chinese badminton star is apparently quitting the sport after she was one of eight players disqualified from the doubles tournament at the London Olympics for trying to lose.

A comment on a verified account for Yu Yang on the Tencent microblogging service late Wednesday read: "This is my last game. Farewell Badminton World Federation. Farewell my dear badminton."

Yu's retirement could not be immediately confirmed with Chinese badminton officials. In China, the lives of top athletes are closely controlled by sports officials, including decisions on retirement.

Yu and Wang Xiaoli were one of four doubles teams which appeared to play poorly on purpose to secure a more favorable position in the next phase of the event.

Two teams from South Korea and another from Indonesia were disqualified from competition but allowed to stay at the games - a step lighter than expulsion, the penalty for positive drug tests.

It appeared to be the first mass disqualification in Olympic history.

The feeble play was obvious to fans who attended the matches Tuesday night at Wembley Arena - they chanted, "Off! Off! Off!" - and to incredulous television broadcasters and viewers watching around the world.

"They're serving fault and fault! They are just hitting the ball into the net!" the BBC's David Mercer said in disbelief. "They are both trying to lose, and that is unforgivable. This is the Olympic Games."

The Chinese players set off a domino effect when they tried to rig the draw after China's second-seeded pair unexpectedly lost to a Danish team in the morning. The South Koreans and Indonesians, wanting to avoid a tough opponent as well, followed suit in later matchups.

Teams blamed the introduction of a round-robin stage rather than a straight knockout tournament as the cause of the problem. The round-robin format can allow results to be manipulated to earn an easier matchup in the knockout round.

None of the players was made available for interviews.

Yu went on state television in China to apologize "to all the badminton fans and friends over yesterday's game, because we did not comply with the Olympic spirit, and did not deliver a match with our true level to the audience, the fans and the friends."

In a statement released to Xinhua, the Chinese Olympic delegation criticized its players' actions.

"The behavior by Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli on court violated the Olympics ideal and the spirit of fair play. The Chinese delegation feels distressed over this matter," the delegation said.

Xinhua also reported Chinese badminton coach Li Yongbo apologized and accepted blame for the scandal.

"As the head coach, I owe the fans and the Chinese an apology," Li said. "Chinese players failed to demonstrate their fighting spirit of the national team. It's me to blame."

Associated Press writer Scott McDonald in Beijing, China, contributed to this report.

9 Scientists Receive a New Physics Prize

Physicists are rarely wealthy or famous, but a new prize rewarding research at the field’s cutting edges has made nine of them instant multimillionaires.

The nine are recipients of the Fundamental Physics Prize, established by Yuri Milner, a Russian physics student who dropped out of graduate school in 1989 and later earned billions investing in Internet companies like Facebook and Groupon.

“It knocked me off my feet,” said Alan H. Guth, a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was among the winners. He came up with the idea of cosmic inflation, that there was a period of extremely rapid expansion in the first instant of the universe.

Power Failures Hit Half of India

NEW DELHI — About 600 million people lost power in India on Tuesday when the country’s northern and eastern electricity grids failed, crippling the country for a second consecutive day.

The outage stopped hundreds of trains in their tracks, darkened traffic lights, shuttered the Delhi Metro and left nearly everyone — the police, water utilities, private businesses and citizens — without electricity. About half of India’s population of 1.2 billion people was without power.

Olympic Swiss Soccer Player Michel Morganella Sent Packing After Idiotic Tweet

Peppered among the grand tales of glory from the Olympics are some awful life lessons for athletes who couldn't resist taking Twitter to racist depths.

Swiss football player Michel Morganella has been sent home after taking to Twitter to voice his disgust with losing to South Korea. Instead of losing with class, he lobbed an idiotic tweet that will now mark him with shame well through the Games.