Foreign direct investment in China falls in 2012

BEIJING: Foreign direct investment in China fell 3.7 percent in 2012 to $111.72 billion, according to the government.

For the month of December FDI also declined, slipping 4.5 percent from the same month in 2011 to $11.7 billion, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday.

Investment from the European Union declined 3.8 percent to $6.11 billion, the ministry said.

But investment from the United States rose 4.5 percent to $3.12 billion, while investment from Japan increased 16.3 percent to $7.38 billion.

"The growth momentum of investment from some developed countries including the United States and Japan was good," the ministry said in a statement.

Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang also said in a statement that in 2012, Chinese directly invested $77.22 billion overseas, an increase of 28.6 percent from the year before.

- AFP/al

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Apple, Amazon ordered to try settlement in 'app store' suit

A judge has ordered Apple and Amazon to meet to try to work out an agreement about whether "app store" is a generic term before the case goes to court.

U.S. Judge Elizabeth Laporte ordered the two companies to meet on March 21 with their attorneys in tow and work to negotiate and settle the lawsuit, according to Bloomberg. It seems that the judge is looking to find other ways for the companies to come to an agreement besides taking the matter to trial.

The battle began in March 2011 when Apple sued Amazon accusing the online retail giant of misappropriating the "App Store" moniker, a name it attempted to trademark in 2008 following the launch of the App Store for iPhone.

The complaint was later amended to include Apple's claims of Amazon's "false advertising." Apple said that Amazon changed its "Amazon Appstore for
Android" naming convention to just "Amazon Appstore" in order to distance ties from Google's Android in ads for its Kindle Fire tablet. Amazon fired back by referring to the term as generic. And, siding with Amazon earlier this month, another California judge ruled that the "false advertising" portion of the complaint must be omitted.

This case is the latest between Apple and another company over the rights to use "App Store" and "Appstore." Apple owns the rights to both marks in Europe but not in the U.S., where its trademark application for App Store is pending approval. An effort by Microsoft, HTC, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson in May 2011 sought to invalidate Apple's trademarks in Europe.

If a settlement is not reached between Apple and Amazon, the case is scheduled to go to trial in August.

CNET contacted Apple and Amazon for comment. We'll update the story when we get more information.

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Sandy Aid Clears Huge Hurdle in Congress

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Seventy-nine days after Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Northeast, the House of Representatives voted this evening to approve about $50 billion of additional relief for the region pounded by the storm.

The measure passed 241-180, mostly behind Democratic support, winning 49 votes from Republicans and 192 votes from Democrats. Just one Democrat opposed the legislation, while 179 Republicans voted against it.

The base bill, known as the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Act, included about $17 billion to fund immediate and critical needs for Sandy victims and their communities. An amendment offered by New Jersey Republican Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen to provide an additional $33 billion for disaster relief also passed, bringing the total amount of relief closer to the Obama administration’s emergency supplemental request, which called for $60.4 billion in total relief.

The Senate still must approve the legislation before President Obama can sign it into law.

An amendment offered by South Carolina Republican Rep. Mick Mulvaney to require all funding in the disaster package to be offset fell well short of the votes required to change the bill, 162-258.

Democrats and Republicans from the storm-ravaged region shared a common frustration over members who opposed to the relief package.

“To use this funding as a political pawn in a game over the role of government and budgetary debates is shameful,” New York Democratic Rep. Elliot Engel wrote in a statement shortly after the vote. “The first order of business for the federal government is to protect our citizens, and helping them recover from the tragedy of a natural disaster is one of those times.”

“I am pleased that the House of Representatives has finally passed legislation to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy,” Rep. Jon Runyan, R-N.J., stated after the vote. “I am hopeful that the Senate will quickly debate and pass this bipartisan legislation so that families in New Jersey and New York will not have to continue to wait for the aid they need.”

The governors of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, the three states  hit hardest by the storm, had all angrily criticized Republicans in the House for deciding not to vote on an aid package passed by the Senate in December, but after the measure’s passage tonight issued a joint statement thanking the House.

“We are grateful to those members of Congress who today pulled together in a unified, bipartisan coalition to assist millions of their fellow Americans in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut at their greatest time of need,” Gov. Chris Christie, N.J.; Gov. Andrew Cuomo, N.Y.; and Gov. Dannel Molloy, Conn., wrote in the statement.

“The tradition of Congress being there and providing support for Americans during times of crisis, no matter where they live across this great country, lives on in today’s vote in the House of Representatives,” they wrote. “We anticipate smooth passage when this package moves back to the Senate for final approval and for this long-awaited relief to finally make its way to our residents.”

Nevertheless, there were still many lawmakers who opposed the package because they felt it contained non-emergency spending.

“The final version passed here tonight includes billions in pork and unrelated spending that we cannot afford while Americans are struggling to make ends meet,” Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., wrote in a statement. “Hurricane Sandy victims need a simple, responsible aid package, and nothing more.  Our nation is facing a debt crisis: it’s time for Washington to stop using important bills to fund its own political projects.”

Congress has already approved $9.7 billion for flood insurance on Jan. 4. The House also passed a separate bill without opposition Monday evening, the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act, to speed up and streamline federal disaster recovery programs.

After the House voted Jan. 1 on the “fiscal cliff” deal, House Speaker John Boehner decided not to vote on any relief during the 112^th Congress. Republicans and Democrats from the region revolted until Boehner held a private meeting with angry Republican members, during which he promised to make Sandy relief a priority in the 113^th Congress.

The legislation was opposed by numerous leading conservative interest groups, including Heritage Action, Americans for Tax Reform, and the Club for Growth, which all warned Republicans not to support the measure.

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Today on New Scientist: 14 January 2013

Activist's death sparks open-access tribute on Twitter

Hundreds of researchers have been offering free access to their work in tribute to internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide on Friday

Exploding microchip could make arms dumps safer

Shrapnel and bullets can set off huge explosions if they hit weapons stores. But microchip-based detonators could help keep them safe

The hologenome: A new view of evolution

Far from being passive hangers-on, symbiotic microbes may shape the evolution of the plants and animals that play host to them

White House uses Death Star request to plug science

The White House has politely declined to build a version of the planet-destroying space station from Star Wars but took the opportunity to promote science

Wolves bite back in the human world

Grey wolves are an evolutionary success story, giving rise to the domestic dog 10,000 years ago and now rebounding from centuries of persecution

Mariko Mori: From stone circles to stardust

The artist's new exhibition tethers human history to the life of the entire cosmos

Why we called off hunt for ancient Antarctic life

Geoscientist Martin Siegert says that drilling through 3 kilometres of ice to reveal the secrets of an entombed lake was never going to be easy

Give video games a sporting chance

Traditional fans will turn their noses up at e-sports, but they risk missing some compelling action

Benefits of emissions cuts kick in only next century

Even rapid action now to curb emissions will bring only modest results this century, but the earlier we act, the greater the eventual rewards

Video games take off as a spectator sport

Professional gaming has been huge in Asia for years, and improved technology means it is now going global

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Asian stocks rise after Fed comments

HONG KONG: Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday after US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke reassured markets that easing measures were set to stay in place, with Tokyo leading regional bourses higher.

Traders also mulled a warning from US President Barack Obama to Republican rivals not to delay raising the debt ceiling, as the next budget fight took shape in Washington following the battle to avert the "fiscal cliff".

Tokyo put on 1.25 per cent in early trade boosted by the weak yen, which makes exporters' products cheaper, and as dealers hoped for more aggressive easing from the Bank of Japan to lift the world's third-biggest economy.

"The declining yen continues to pull investors off the fence, while earnings expectations from US companies, as well as for a broader global economic rebound, remain relatively firm," said SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi.

Hong Kong was up 0.15 per cent and Shanghai rose 0.39 per cent, adding to strong gains on Monday. Sydney put on 0.16 per cent but Seoul slipped 0.52 per cent.

There was no clear lead from Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.14 per cent, but the broad-based S&P 500 falling 0.09 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite shedding 0.26 per cent.

Bernanke indicated on Monday, after Asian markets had closed, that the Fed's latest round of quantitative easing would continue.

He told an audience at the University of Michigan that "while we've made some progress there is still quite a ways to go", in comments reported by Dow Jones Newswires.

His comments were a relief to markets, dealers said, after minutes from the December meeting of Fed policymakers showed they were divided over how long the central bank should continue its $85-billion-a-month bond-buying programme.

In Washington, the next stage of a drawn-out fiscal battle was taking shape as Obama warned Republican lawmakers against using the debt ceiling as a "bargaining chip".

He said a failure to raise the borrowing limit by late February would sow financial chaos and send markets into a tailspin, adding that: "Investors around the world will ask if the United States of America is in fact a safe bet."

Investors are also optimistic ahead of the release of fourth-quarter growth figures for China on Friday, which it is hoped will confirm that the world's number two economy has picked up following a slowdown, analysts said.

On foreign exchange markets, the dollar remained firm against the yen in early Asian trade, at 89.48 yen against 89.45 yen in New York Monday afternoon.

The euro fetched 119.72 yen and $1.3379, slightly up from 119.65 yen and $1.3376 in US trade.

Oil prices fell. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, shed nine cents to $94.05 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for February delivery dipped nine cents to $111.79.

Gold was at $1,671.86 at 0300 GMT compared with $1,668.39 late Monday.

- AFP/ck

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Predicting the next big thing up Mark Zuckerberg's sleeve

Mark Zuckerberg on stage at f8 in 2010.

(Credit:
James Martin/CNET)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg won't be phoning it in tomorrow when he shows off something rumored to be quite grand.

Will he unveil a Facebook phone, a search engine, a reimagined version of the mobile News Feed, a measly Messenger app for
iPad, or all of the above? Anything seems possible at this point. Perhaps, the only thing we know for certain is what he will be wearing: jeans, his characteristic tee, and maybe even that famous hoodie.

CNET will be live-blogging the news as it happens at 10 a.m. PT. Until then, we've rounded up the rumors and included our educated guesses as to what you can expect to see tomorrow.

A Facebook Phone
Ring-a-ding-ding, could it be? Will we finally get to feast our eyes on the mythical Facebook Phone, a years-old legend that probably isn't an actual phone made by Facebook, just one optimized to run the social network to an extreme degree. MG Siegler said as much over the weekend, and we've heard a few credible whispers ourselves, though we can't confirm the existence of said phone just yet.

Should Zuckerberg show off a phone tomorrow, it will probably be a piece of hardware manufactured by a partner like HTC running a forked version of
Android with Facebook at the core of the experience, a.k.a. a Facebook mobile operating system. Now that would be some interesting news that would continue to move the needle on the company's stock onward and upward. Shares have already been bolstered by phone-related reports in recent days.

Verdict: Likely. Our friends at Facebook have led us to believe that this announcement is a big deal, which means we'd be sadly disappointed if all we got was some silly Messenger application for iPad. Here's another hint: Facebook is also participating in the Open Compute Project on Wednesday. Wouldn't it make sense that company executives used the summit to talk more about how to build around or optimize for a Facebook OS? Yes, yes it would.

Messenger for iPad
Speaking of Facebook Messenger for iPad, Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch said sources are pointing to the release of an iPad application that emulates the features of Messenger for iPhone and Android.

Verdict: Very likely. Dry as it may be, this one seems like a no-brainer. Facebook has been regularly improving and expanding on Messenger, so an iPad app would round out the company's alternative to traditional texting and email. But did Facebook invite the media elite to Menlo Park just to see this app? Heck no, they didn't.

A visual redo of the mobile News Feed
Boy, wouldn't it be great if Facebook didn't merely replicate the Web experience for News Feed on mobile devices? Josh Constine at TechCrunch has apparently laid his eyes on an experimental version of Facebook for mobile devices that parses out the News Feed into sections based on content type such as news and photos. The reworked News Feed experience on mobile is entirely image-based with text overlaid on top of full-screen photos, he said.

Verdict: Possible for tomorrow but more likely for a later date. Facebook's mobile application users are still adjusting to and enjoying the faster, more native experiences the social network recently gave them on iOS and Android. It seems like a stretch of the imagination for Facebook to risk pissing people off (so soon after pleasing them) with such a dramatic redo, unless it's a separate application like Poke or Camera.

Video ads that auto play in News Feed
Just a few weeks ago, rumors were swirling that Facebook was preparing to launch a video ad unit that would auto play in members' News Feeds.

Verdict: Not happening. If Facebook was planning to unveil a new ad unit, the company would arrange to do so in New York in front of a media-buying audience. Plus, we believe the focus of tomorrow's press event will be mobile, and the video ads sound like they're hitting the desktop app first.

A Facebook search engine
"Facebook is pretty uniquely positioned to answer a lot of questions people have," Zuckerberg said in September in regards to creating a search engine. "At some point we will do it."

The admissions are fueling speculation that the social network could launch a much improved search experience tomorrow. The company has already taken baby steps in this area. A December update to the Nearby section of Facebook's iOS and Android apps gave members access to a list of places sorted by an algorithm that factors in friends' activities and preferences. The release highlights how Facebook is capable of mining pals' data to provide people with recommendations for unspoken queries.

Verdict: Maybe. There's no real evidence to suggest that a bonafide search engine is coming soon, but any improvement to the status quo would be welcome and good for Facebook's bottom line.

A cool new campus
Tuesday's press invite clearly states "come and see what we're building," which one could easily read as a literal clue suggesting the unveil of a funky second campus just for engineers.

In August, Facebook talked up plans to break ground on an engineering campus designed by celebrated architect Frank Gehry in "early 2013." That space is a single room, warehouse-style office with cafes, break-away spaces, a rooftop garden, and an underground tunnel to 1601 Willow Road.

Verdict: No way, Jose. Yes, it's early 2013, and the word "building" in the invite is more than a little suggestive, but this would be so anti-climatic that it would send Facebook's stock spiraling in the wrong direction. Facebook is too smart to set itself up for failure.

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"Fantastic" New Flying Frog Found—Has Flappy Forearms

Scientists have stumbled across a new species of flying frog—on the ground.

While hiking a lowland forest in 2009, not far from Ho Chi Minh City (map), Vietnam, "we came across a huge green frog, sitting on a log," said Jodi Rowley, an amphibian biologist at the Australian Museum in Sydney and lead author of a new study on the frog.

Rowley later discovered that the 3.5-inch-long (9-centimeter-long) creature is a relatively large new type of flying frog, a group known for its ability to "parachute" from tree to tree thanks to special aerodynamic adaptations, such as webbed feet, Rowley said. (Also see "'Vampire Flying Frog' Found; Tadpoles Have Black Fangs.")

Rowley dubbed the new species Helen's flying frog, in honor of her mother, Helen Rowley, "who has steadfastly supported her only child trekking through the forests of Southeast Asia in search of frogs," according to a statement.

The newfound species—there are 80 types of flying frogs—is also "one of the most flying frogs of the flying frogs," Rowley said, "in that it's got huge hands and feet that are webbed all the way to the toepad."

"Females even have flappy skin on their forearms to glide," added Rowley, who has received funding from the National Geographic Committee on Research and Exploration. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society.) "The females are larger and heavier than males, so the little extra flaps probably don't make much of a difference," she said.

As Rowley wrote on her blog, "At first it may seem strange that such a fantastic and obvious frog could escape discovery until now—less than 100 kilometers [60 miles] from an urban centre with over nine million people."

Yet these tree dwellers can easily escape notice—they spend most of their time in the canopy, she said.

Flying Frog On the Edge

Even so, Helen's flying frog won't be able to hide from development near Ho Chi Minh City, which may encroach on its existing habitats.

So far, only five individuals have been found in two patches of lowland forest hemmed in by rice paddies in southern Vietnam, Rowley said. The animals can probably tolerate a little bit of disturbance as long as they have large trees and temporary pools, she added.

But lowland forests are among the most threatened habitats in the world, mostly because they're so accessible to people, and thus chosen for logging and development. (Get the facts on deforestation.)

"While Helen's flying frog has only just been discovered by biologists," Rowley wrote, "unfortunately this species, like many others, is under great threat from ongoing habitat loss and degradation."

The new flying frog study was published in December 2012 in the Journal of Herpetology.

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Armstrong Admits Doping in Tour, Sources Say

Lance Armstrong today admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, sources told ABC News.

A goverment source tells ABC News that Armstrong is now talking with authorities about paying back some of the US Postal Service money from sponsoring his team. He is also talking to authorities about confessing and naming names, giving up others involved in illegal doping. This could result in a reduction of his lifetime ban, according to the source, if Armstrong provides substantial and meaningful information.

Armstrong made the admission in what sources describe as an emotional interview with Winfrey to air on "Oprah's Next Chapter" on Jan. 17.

The 90-minute interview at his home in Austin, Texas, was Armstrong's first since officials stripped him of his world cycling titles in response to doping allegations.

Word of Armstrong's admission comes after a Livestrong official said that Armstrong apologized today to the foundation's staff ahead of his interview.

The disgraced cyclist gathered with about 100 Livestrong Foundation staffers at their Austin headquarters for a meeting that included social workers who deal directly with patients as part of the group's mission to support cancer victims.

Armstrong's "sincere and heartfelt apology" generated lots of tears, spokeswoman Katherine McLane said, adding that he "took responsibility" for the trouble he has caused the foundation.

Riccardo S. Savi/Getty Images|Ray Tamarra/Getty Images

Lance Armstrong Stripped of Tour de France Titles Watch Video

Lance Armstrong Doping Charges: Secret Tapes Watch Video

McLane declined to say whether Armstrong's comments included an admission of doping, just that the cyclist wanted the staff to hear from him in person rather than rely on second-hand accounts.

Armstrong then took questions from the staff.

Armstrong's story has never changed. In front of cameras, microphones, fans, sponsors, cancer survivors -- even under oath -- Lance Armstrong hasn't just denied ever using performance enhancing drugs, he has done so in an indignant, even threatening way.

Armstrong, 41, was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in October 2012, after allegations that he benefited from years of systematic doping, using banned substances and receiving illicit blood transfusions.

"Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling and he deserves to be forgotten in cycling," Pat McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union, said at a news conference in Switzerland announcing the decision. "This is a landmark day for cycling."

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency issued a 200-page report Oct. 10 after a wide-scale investigation into Armstrong's alleged use of performance-enhancing substances.

Armstrong won the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005.

According to a source, speaking to ABC News, a representative of Armstrong's once offered to make a donation estimated around $250,000 to the agency, as "60 Minutes Sports" on Showtime first reported.

Lance Armstrong's attorney Tim Herman denied it. "No truth to that story," Herman said. "First Lance heard of it was today. He never made any such contribution or suggestion."

Armstrong, who himself recovered from testicular cancer, created the Lance Armstrong Foundation (now known as the LIVESTRONG Foundation) to help people with cancer cope, as well as foster a community for cancer awareness. Armstrong resigned late last year as chairman of the LIVESTRONG Foundation, which raised millions of dollars in the fight against cancer.

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Benefits of emissions cuts kick in only next century

Are we the altruistic generation? Do we care what happens to our grandchildren, and to their children? Or are we with Groucho Marx when he said: "Why should I care about future generations? What have they ever done for me?"

A new study of climate change lays out in detail why this matters. According to its author, Nigel Arnell of the University of Reading, UK, the unpalatable truth is that even rapid action now to curb greenhouse gas emissions would have only a "negligible effect by 2030, and the benefits in 2050 would remain small". The big dividend – cooler temperatures, fewer floods and droughts and better crop yields, compared to carrying on as we are – would only become clear by about 2100.

Arnell and colleagues used climate models to look at how different policies to curb greenhouse gases would affect temperature, sea levels, crop yields and the incidence of droughts and floods. Two findings emerged. The first is that lags in the climate system mean the real benefits of cutting emissions will only show up late this century. This, says Arnell, underlines that there is a lot of global warming "in the pipeline" that cannot now be prevented.

But the study also shows that tackling climate change early brings big rewards. Arnell compared a policy of letting emissions peak in 2016 and then cutting them by 2 per cent a year with one that delays the peak till 2030 and then cuts by 5 per cent a year. He found that both restricted warming in 2100 to about 2 °C, but the climate disruption over the next century would be much less with the early start. Coastal flooding from sea-level rise in particular would be much reduced. This, he told New Scientist, contradicts a common view that drastic action to curb warming should wait for renewable energy to become cheaper.

"Arnell has shown just how crucial the emissions pathway we take today will be for our children and grandchildren," said Dave Reay, geoscientist at the University of Edinburgh, UK. Bill McGuire of University College London agrees: "It shows taking effective action now is far better than putting it off until later."

It's a shame, then, that even if all goes well with UN negotiations, no global deal to bring down emissions will come into force until at least 2020. Our great-great-grandchildren will be cursing our delay.

Journal reference: Nature Climate Change, DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE1793

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Venezuelan officials send mixed messages on Chavez

CARACAS: Officials sent mixed signals Sunday about the condition of cancer-stricken Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, fueling growing political uncertainty in the oil-rich country.

Chavez, who has not been seen in public for more than a month, is "fighting for his life," former vice president Elias Jaua said.

"The situation is complex and delicate, but it is true that Hugo Chavez has fought and is fighting for his life," said Jaua, who was in office from January 2010 until October.

Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas, however, indicated that the usually outspoken and ever-present leftist leader, hospitalized in Cuba following his fourth cancer operation last month, was doing better.

"Despite his delicate health state since his complex surgery on December 11, his general health has improved in recent days," Villegas said in a statement read on radio and television.

He said the president's previously disclosed severe pulmonary infection was "under control" but that he still required treatment for "respiratory failure."

Chavez, whose OPEC-member nation controls the world's largest proven oil reserves, has been out of sight since leaving for Cuba for the latest round of treatment in the 18 months since his condition was made public.

Uncertainty about his status has fueled speculation about his prospects for a full recovery -- and his political future.

The latest updates followed a denial from Chavez's brother Adan Saturday that the 58-year-old was in a coma. Instead, he said the Venezuelan leader was responding "well" to treatment and making progress on a daily basis.

Chavez's anointed heir, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, met with his ailing boss late Saturday.

During his trip, Maduro also met with Cuban President Raul Castro along with Venezuelan Parliament President Diosdado Cabello, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez and Attorney General Cilia Flores.

A slew of leftist leaders and Venezuelan officials have also come to Chavez's bedside, with Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva planning a trip to Havana in late January, according to his spokesman.

During his 2003-2010 rule, Lula, himself a cancer survivor, built a strong relationship with the Chavez government in power since 1999.

On Thursday, the government was forced to postpone the president's scheduled inauguration, as it became clear that Chavez could not attend. Authorities insist the Venezuelan constitution allows him to take the oath of office at a later time.

But the opposition has objected, calling for a medical board to review the absent leader's health -- a demand rejected by the Supreme Court, which said the delayed swearing-in was constitutional.

- AFP/ck

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