Verizon Seeks to Buy Out Vodafone’s Wireless Unit

Vodafone, the British telecommunications giant, confirmed that it was in talks to sell to Verizon its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, analysts say Verizon’s purchase of the 45 percent of Verizon Wireless it does not already own would help the company to dictate strategy as it looks to invest billions of dollars in high-speed data infrastructure.

To justify what would be one of the largest deals in history, Verizon would have to be confident that the growth of Verizon Wireless will remain consistently strong, he said. By contrast, Vodafone would have to believe that the American wireless business is stagnating and that Verizon Wireless cannot grow much more,“Vodafone faces a strategic challenge in its European business,” said Mr. Marsch of Berenberg Bank. By selling its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, Vodafone could receive a large war chest to finance potential acquisitions and renewed investment in so-called fourth-generation wireless networks.

source

nytimes technology

Syria crisis: Incendiary bomb victims

The aftermath of a fresh horrific incident - an incendiary bomb dropped onto a school playground in the north of the country - which has left scores of children with napalm-like burns over their bodies.
Eyewitnesses describe a fighter jet dropping the device, a low explosion, followed by columns of fire and smoke.

source bbc news

UK government motion on Syria intervention defeated in parliament

UK government motion on Syria intervention has been rejected by a 285 to 272 margin after British lawmakers rejected an opposition Labour amendment calling for more information about the deployment of chemical weapons in Syria.

 The Labor amendment was defeated Thursday by 332 votes to 220, with a government majority of 112. “A number of Tories in the no lobby with Labour,” wrote Labor MP Jon Trickett.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has asserted that such action would put a halt to human rights atrocities in Syria, while Labor party MPs said they required more evidence 

source rt.com 

UK sends jets to Cyprus

Britain has sent six RAF Typhoon jets to its Akrotiri base in Cyprus in a move to protect British interests as tensions grow over Syria, the Ministry of Defence said on August 29, 2013

Typhoon jets are primarily air defense fighters and are fitted with medium range air-to-air missiles and short range air-to-air missiles, although the jets can also be used in a ground attack role.

source rt.com

Snowden reveals US intelligence’s black budget

The latest Snowden leak reveals that at $52.6 billion, the government is actually handing out 2.3 percent fewer than it did in fiscal year 2012 and, additionally, sequestration has caused the agencies to shed 1,241 positions, or around one percent of its workforce. Despite these setbacks, though, the budget, described by the Post as “a bureaucratic and operational landscape that has never been subject to public scrutiny,” includes billions of dollars towards operations that may not be funded if debated in the press.

source rt.com 

House Commons

UK Parliament vote today expected to take place just after 21.00 GMT. We'll be bringing you all the latest from the Syria debate

source  bbc live

Syrian army moves Scud missiles to avoid strike

Assad's forces appeared already by Wednesday to have evacuated most personnel from army and security command headquarters in central Damascus.

The Scud units, of Soviet or North Korean manufacture, are designed to be mobile and so could still be set up quickly to fire from new positions.

Source reuters.com 

China urged other nations not to put pressure on UN investigation team

China supports the conduct of a fair, objective and professionally done UN investigation without exertion of any pressure from the outside,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, calling all the sides to “refrain from forecasting the results, let alone undertaking any kind of actions.

Wang Yi also stressed that the international community should stick to diplomatic means when dealing with the conflict in Syria, and pointed out that military intervention will only worsen the Middle East crisis.

source rt.com

James Spader to Play Ultron in The Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Naturally, there are no details beyond the casting.  Since Ultron is a humanoid robot, will Spader do motion-capture, or will he just be providing the voice?

 

The Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1, 2015.