Tomorrow's Newspapers Online 09-20-2013 | Sc

The Finnish firm said the money would be due to Elop following his agreement to immediately stand down alongside the announcement of the deal, and that Microsoft would pay approximately 70 percent of the total.

Elop is set to return to Microsoft, his former employer, after the closure of its 5.44 billion euros acquisition of Nokia's handset business, which prompted some Finnish media to dub him a "Trojan horse.

Nokia said Elop would be entitled to receive 18 months of his base salary, plus a short-term management cash incentive, equivalent to a total of around 4.2 million euros.

He would also be in line for around 14.6 million euros from an accelerated vesting of his outstanding equity awards.

Blackberry has confirmed BBM will be available as a free download for Apple and Android devices but not for Windows phones.

The move comes as the Wall Street Journal reports that Blackberry will lay off 40% of its staff before 2014.

Widening the appeal of BBM could be a clever way for the company to reinvent itself, said experts.

"Blackberry is having a tough time, sales are down, it is losing market to Windows phones and it needs to do something to stop the rot. This is as good a move as any," said Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group Europe.

"Offering it across other platforms broadens the appeal of BBM," he added.

BBM will be available for Android devices running Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean while iPhones running iOS 6 or iOS 7 can also download it. It will be available for Android from Saturday and for iOS from Sunday.

"With more than a billion Android, iOS and Blackberry smartphones in the market, and no dominant mobile messaging platform this is absolutely the right time to bring BBM to Android and iPhone customers," said Andrew Bocking, vice-president for BBM in a blogpost.

Reinventing itself

BBM has been described as Blackberry's "crown jewels" and the service hit a chord with a mass consumer audience.

Offering it to a wider public will not make any money for the company.

"It could even cost it money," said Mr Green.

"The firm is having to reinvent itself and whether that will be by focusing on software, monetising BBM, licensing its products or joint ventures is not yet clear. At the moment it is throwing everything out there," said Mr Green.

Blackberry chief executive Thorsten Heins revealed the plan at the company's annual developers conference in May.

At the time, Mr Heins said that the move was a "statement of confidence" and would allow Blackberry Messenger to "become an independent multi-platform messaging solution".

It could lead to new ways of diagnosing the condition and of testing the effectiveness of new drugs.

The technology, reported in the journal Neuron, can identify inside a living brain clumps of a protein called tau that is closely linked to the disease.

Alzheimer's Research UK said it was promising work.

Alzheimer's disease is a problem for researchers trying to come up with a cure. The brain starts to die years before any symptoms are detected, which means drugs are probably given too late.

A diagnosis of Alzheimer's cannot be made with absolute certainty until a patient has died and their brain is examined. It is also not 100% clear what is the cause of the dementia and what are just symptoms.

One protein, called tau, is very closely linked to the disease, with tangles of tau thought to be one way in which brain cells are killed.

The team, lead by the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba, used positron emission tomography to build a 3D picture of tau in the brain.

They developed a chemical that could bind to tau and then be detected during a brain scan. Tests on mice and people with suspected Alzheimer's showed the technology could detect tau.

Dr Makoto Higuchi, from the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Japan, said: "Positron emission tomography images of tau accumulation... provide robust information on brain regions developing or at risk for tau-induced neuronal death."

The research is at an early stage, but it could eventually lead to an actual test for Alzheimer's disease.

It might also allow researchers to closely follow the impact drugs that affect tau have on the brain.

Another protein - beta amyloid - is also linked to Alzheimer's and can be detected in similar tests.

Dr Eric Karran, director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "This promising early study highlights a potential new method for detecting tau - a key player in both Alzheimer's and frontotemporal dementia - in the living brain.

"With new drugs in development designed to target tau, scans capable of visualising the protein inside the brain could be important for assessing whether treatments in clinical trials are hitting their target.

So it will come as little surprise that it is now addressing one of the biggest issues of all - ageing.

It has formed a company named Calico, which will be led by Apple chairman Arthur Levinson.

Google co-founder Larry Page said it would focus on "health and wellbeing, in particular the challenge of ageing and associated diseases".

Moonshot thinking

There were few details about how the firm would tackle the issues, but experts think that it is likely that it will use Google's vast databases to search for solutions.

"Google is exceptionally well placed to get involved through their understanding of consumer activity in the delta between big data and information," said Ovum analyst Joe Dignan.

Mr Page has high ambitions for the spin-off.

"Illness and ageing affect all our families. With some longer term, moonshot thinking around healthcare and biotechnology, I believe we can improve millions of lives," he said in a blog post.

Increasingly big data is being used to help "solve" health issues.

Information management firm EMC is heavily involved in healthcare, using data analytics to predict, for example, who may be more prone to getting MRSA.

"There is a focus on big data now. It is about changing the current model of healthcare to a wellness model by combining genomic data [information about DNA] with clinical data to give personalised medical care," said Chris Roche, EMC's chief technology officer for big data.

In an interview with Time magazine, Mr Page questioned whether current scientific enquiry was focused in the right direction.

He said he found it surprising that finding a cure for cancer would only add three years to average life expectancy.

"When you really take a step back and look at it, yeah, there are many, many tragic cases of cancer, and it's very, very sad - but in the aggregate, it's not as big an advance as you might think."

Crazy ones

He himself has had health issues. He revealed in May he had been diagnosed with vocal cord paralysis, a nerve condition that affects his ability to speak.

Meanwhile co-founder Sergey Brin has been funding research into Parkinson's disease since he learnt in 2008 that he has a flawed gene that means that he has a 50% chance of getting the disease.

So far he has donated $132m (£82m) to help create a DNA database of 7,000 patients and to support work on treatments for the condition.

Some may raise an eyebrow that Google has chosen rival Apple's chairman Arthur Levinson to head up Calico but chief executive Tim Cook had no such concerns.

Typically, underwriters receive around 7 percent of overall IPO proceeds, but larger offerings can command a lower fee. Underwriters were willing to split a fee pool of just 1.1 percent for Facebook Inc's $16 billion IPO because of the deal size, as well as the prestige of being associated with a high-profile deal.

It was not clear what percentage of the potential IPO proceeds Twitter has proposed to pay underwriters.

Twitter Chief Financial Officer Mike Gupta is leading the microblogging platform's IPO and is in touch with the investment banks about their roles, one of the people said.

The people asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak with the media. The company could not be immediately reached for comment.

Twitter's valuation is estimated at around $15 billion by analysts. Assuming that it sells around 10 percent of its shares and an overall fee would come to 4 to 5 percent, underwriters could stand to split a fee pool of around $60 million to $70 million.

Facebook underwriters who worked on the social network's $16 billion IPO, meanwhile, divided up fees of $176 million.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is the lead adviser on the Twitter IPO with Anthony Noto, the global co-head of the firm's global telecommunications, media and technology group, playing a key role, according to a fourth source familiar with the matter.

He warned that the Church's moral structure could "fall like a house of cards" unless it changed.

The Pope used the first major interview of his papacy to explain comments he made in July about homosexuality.

He told a Jesuit magazine the Church must show balance and "heal wounds".

The pontiff used the 12,000-word interview with La Civilta Cattolicato to set out his priorities as Pope, acknowledge his own shortcomings and open up about his cultural interests.

'Freshness and fragrance'

His vision for relegating the Catholic Church's reliance on rules marks a contrast to the priorities of his predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who saw doctrine as the paramount guide for clergy

"The church's pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently," Francis said.

"We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel."

Instead, he said, the Catholic Church must work to heal the wounds of its faithful and seek out those who have been excluded or have fallen away. "It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars," he said. "You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else."

He said the Church had become tied up in "small-minded rules" and risked losing its true purpose.

"The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you. And the ministers of the Church must be ministers of mercy above all.'

His remarks are could generate dismay among clergy in the United States who have already expressed disappointment that Francis has not pressed Church teaching on abortion, contraception and homosexuality.

Last week, Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, wrote in his diocesan newspaper that he was "disappointed" Francis hadn't addressed abortion since his papacy began six months ago, according to AP.

Francis said it was not necessary to speak out on such issues.

'Home of all'

"We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible,' he said.

"The teaching of the Church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the Church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.'

Husband and wife team Annie Lennox and Dr Mitch Besser are working to create a world where babies are not infected with HIV and where mothers with HIV/Aids live long and healthy lives.

Mitch Besser is founder and medical director of mothers2mothers, which provides education and support services to improve the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in sub-Saharan Africa. It employs and trains mothers living with HIV to work in health centres – which also helps ensure they keep taking their medication. Working with some 400 health centres, it is part of the UN’s Global Plan to end pediatric Aids by 2015.

His wife, the former Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox, founded the SING Campaign in 2007 to help prevent the spread of HIV in South Africa. Lennox is an ambassador for Oxfam, Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Campaign, Amnesty International, and several other organizations.

Lennox and Besser spoke to BBC Future at the Aspen Ideas Festival. (All background footage courtesy of Nick Fletcher/La Lennoxa Ltd)

The bill, which would keep the government running through December 15 and avert shutdowns with the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, faced its first test vote in the House on Thursday with passage of the measure expected on Friday.

"We'll deliver a big victory in the House tomorrow," a confident House Speaker John Boehner told reporters.

The administration wasted no time in formally announcing that it would not allow rebellious House Republicans to destroy the "Obamacare" healthcare law by denying funds.

In a terse statement, the White House said the House bill would be vetoed "because it advances a narrow ideological agenda that threatens our economy and the interests of the middle class." The statement went on to say that "millions of hard-working middle class families" would be denied affordable health coverage.

This is the latest round in a series of battles Obama faces with Congress over the next few months in what has become an unending standoff over running Washington's most basic operations, from the FBI and national parks to education and military programs.

And the December 15 cut-off date for the funding measure guarantees yet another struggle around Christmas time.

Besides the spending bill, Congress and the White House have to either agree in October or early November on a measure to increase U.S. borrowing authority or plunge the nation into a first-ever credit default.

In 2011, as Republicans and Democrats fought over these two same issues, U.S. financial markets swooned because of all the uncertainty created by Washington's inability to work together.

Between July 7 and August 9 of that year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average blue-chip stocks plummeted 2,150 points, or 16.9 percent.

'STEALTH DEBT LIMIT' HIKE

The Republican bill is expected to attract no Democratic support and even some conservative opposition.

For example, Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky told Reuters that he planned to vote against the measure because "it's a stealth debt limit increase."

Massie was referring to a provision of the bill that would instruct the Treasury Department to pay bondholders and Social Security retirement benefits even if Congress fails to increase the government's $16.7 trillion borrowing cap that will soon be breached.

Canadian Rehtaeh Parsons took her own life in April having been severely bullied after a separate photo, showing her alleged rape by four boys, was circulated online, her mother has said.

Her father said on Wednesday that he had been "disgusted" by the advert.

Facebook said it had banned the company involved from the social network.

"This is an extremely unfortunate example of an advertiser scraping an image from the internet and using it in their ad campaign," a spokesman said.

"This is a gross violation of our ad policies and we have removed the ad and permanently deleted the advertiser's account.

"We apologise for any harm this caused."

The advert had used the title "Find Love in Canada!" and referred users to ionechat.com.

Apple's scanner is seen as a first step toward realizing the full potential for biometrics in personal electronics, heightening security for applications like banking and shopping while doing away with multiple passwords.

"The best part is that it actually works - every single time, in my tests," wrote reviewer David Pogue of the New York Times.

"It's nothing like the balky, infuriating fingerprint-reader efforts of earlier cellphones. It's genuinely awesome; the haters can go jump off a pier."

The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg was also enthusiastic, calling it simple and reliable. But he noted that the gadget would inexplicably prompt him for a password when swiping a finger to make purchases, which he blamed on a bug.

"I have come to like it and consider it a step forward, despite a few issues," he said of the overall device.

Re-tooled iOS7 mobile software, a better camera, a more useful voice-activated "Siri" personal digital assistant and a faster processor combined to make the iPhone 5S the best smartphone on the market, he added.

However, he argued that owners of the previous-generation iPhone 5 may not have a compelling reason to buy the latest device unless they specifically wanted the fingerprint reader.

Many industry analysts view the iPhone 5S and the cheaper 5C as being modest improvements on the previous generation, reviving fears that Apple's most innovative days may be behind it. They said the mere fact of a fingerprint scanner was unlikely by itself to make the gadget a sure win in a crowded market.

Apple has embedded the scanner into the iPhone's home button, while other mobile devices usually have it on the back, making it awkward for the user and increasing the number of failed attempts.

Officials say Alexis, a Navy contractor and former Navy reservist, opened fire at the Naval Sea Systems Command on Monday, killing 12 people before police shot him dead.

The shooting - a mile and a half from the U.S. Capitol and three miles from the White House - sent shockwaves through Washington.

The Pentagon said it would review security at military installations around the world and the White House promised to review standards for federal government contractors.

A Defense Department Inspector General's report published on Tuesday revealed security lapses that allowed 52 convicted felons to gain access to Navy facilities because budget cuts had undermined vetting.

Meanwhile, the U.S. capital paused to remember the victims, aged 46 to 73, who included retirees, parents and a bird lover.

Police in Newport, Rhode Island, were so concerned about Alexis' behavior on a business trip there in August that they alerted Navy police.

Alexis told police he believed people were following him and "sending vibrations into his body," according to a Newport police report.

He told police that he had twice moved hotels to avoid the noise he heard coming through the floor and the ceiling of his rooms, and that the people following him were using "some sort of microwave machine" to prevent him from sleeping.

"Based on the naval base implications and the claim that the involved subject, one (Aaron Alexis) was 'hearing voices,' I made contact with the on-duty Naval Station police," a Newport police officer wrote, adding that he faxed his report of the incident to Navy police.

The Newport police report said Navy police had promised to check if Alexis was in fact a naval base contractor.

Asked for comment, a spokesman said the Navy was looking into the matter, without confirming any details.

In addition, CNN reported that Alexis had contacted two Veterans Administration hospitals recently and was believed to be seeking psychological help.

"Initial reports indicate that this is an individual who may have had some mental health problems," U.S. President Barack Obama told Spanish-language network Telemundo.

"The fact that we do not have a firm enough background check system is something that makes us more vulnerable to these kinds of mass shootings." [ID:nL2N0HD27Y]

Obama is to address the Business Roundtable as part of a renewed push to focus on domestic budget and economic issues after a month dominated by foreign policy.

The U.S. Treasury is expected to exhaust measures to avoid exceeding the $16.7 trillion debt limit as soon as mid-October. If the cap is not raised, the United States will not be able to pay all of its bills and would go into default.

Obama will tell business leaders that they should pile pressure on Congress, which must vote to increase U.S. borrowing capacity, to avoid a default.

Republicans in the House of Representatives last week considered a plan to tie raising the debt limit to withholding funds for Obama's signature healthcare overhaul, but put off a vote because the party's most fiscally conservative members felt the plan lacked teeth.

It is possible that a federal government shutdown and debt default could result from the budget standoff, although such an outcome has been avoided in past spending battles.

A White House official said Obama "will ask the business community to help send the message to Congress that a default would be disastrous for our economy and for businesses across the country."

"Many reasonable Republicans have said it would be reckless and irresponsible to use the threat of default as a bargaining chip, but some of the extreme members of the Republican Party continue to threaten the full faith and credit of the United States government," the official said.

Obama has warned he will not negotiate over the debt limit.

Brendan Buck, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Washington, said Republicans are not threatening a debt default.