Egypt prosecutors extend Mubarak detention

The probe into the role Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's deposed president, played in the deaths of protesters is prolonged.

Egypt's state prosecutor has renewed the detention of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak for another 15 days amid a probe into a deadly crackdown on protesters and corruption.

"The state prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmud decided to renew the detention of ex-president Hosni Mubarak for 15 days for questioning... effective when his last detention period expires," the MENA news agency reported on Friday.

Mubarak, who was forced to resign in February after mass protests, was first remanded into preventive custody for 15 days on April 13 on suspicion of involvement in a deadly crackdown on protesters and corruption.

The former president is being detained in a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort town where he has lived since his ouster.

The report said that prosecutors went to the resort on Friday to further interrogate Mubarak.

Judicial sources said that they had questioned Mubarak about his possible role in the killings of protesters and also on details of a controversial deal to supply natural gas to Israel at a low price.

His former oil minister Sameh Fahmi was remanded into custody on Thursday for his alleged role in selling the gas at less than market prices.

Mubarak's health an issue

There have been conflicting reports on Mubarak's state of health and the reason he was hospitalised, but the state news agency on Thursday reported that the 82-year-old former strongman's condition was "unstable."

Friday's edition of the official Al-Ahram newspaper quoted medical sources as saying doctors were conducting tests to determine why his health is unstable.

The state prosecutor's office had earlier said that he ordered a medical team to head to the hospital to verify whether Mubarak was healthy enough to be transferred to a Cairo prison cell or hospital.

The team was also to evaluate medical services in the Tora prison hospital. When Mubarak was first remanded, the prosecutor asked the interior minister to prepare for his transfer to the prison hospital but was told it was not equipped to handle an intensive care case.

The ousted president's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, and several of his ministers and senior aides are being held in the south Cairo prison complex on various charges as part of a sweeping probe into corruption and abuse.

Mubarak's trial was a key demand of tens of thousands of protesters who staged weekly demonstrations in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, eventually leading to a deadly clash with soldiers when they tried to clear an overnight demonstration.

An official commission set up to investigate deaths during the 18 days of protests that forced him out of power said in a summary of its report released this week that 846 civilians and 26 policemen were killed in the revolt.

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Deaths reported in Friday protests in Syria

Security forces said to have killed 20 protesters as anti-government demonstrations rock the country.

At least 20 people have reportedly been killed in Syria, as mass protests are being held across the country.

Deaths were reported in the central city of Homs and the southern city of Azraa.

Security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Damascus calling for the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, according to reports received by Al Jazeera.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets for rallies on what activists have dubbed "Great Friday", in what they say could become the biggest protests against the government to date.

Al Jazeera's Rula Amin reported from Damascus, which until now has been relatively calm, that the level of tension in the city on Friday marked a new high.

"It wasn't a big protest, and it was dispersed very quickly, but the security presence was very heavy," she said.

"The level of violence has really escalated," she said, referring to use of force by security forces across the country.

A witness told Al Jazeera that demonstrators gathering at a mosque after prayers in Hasakah in the mainly Kurdish northeast were attacked by pro-government protesters.

Syrian activists co-ordinating mass protests against al-Assad's rule have demanded the abolition of Baath Party monopoly on power and the establishment of a democratic political system.

In the first joint statement since protests erupted five weeks ago, the Local Co-ordination Committees, representing provinces across Syria, said "freedom and dignity slogans cannot be achieved except through peaceful democratic change".

"All prisoners of conscience must be freed. The existing security apparatus has to be dismantled and replaced by one with specific jurisdiction and which operates according to law," said the joint statement.

On the eve of the protests, witnesses said security forces were setting up checkpoints in areas surrounding Damascus, checking people's ID cards.

The demonstrations are a test of whether Assad's decision to lift emergency law, imposed by his Baath Party when it took power in a coup 48 years ago, will defuse mass discontent with repression and corruption.

"We are determined on totally peaceful protests... we rejoice at the downfall of the state of emergency. It was not lifted, it was toppled... With the help of God, we will embark on freedom," a comment on a Facebook page run by activists said.

Yet Amin said that because one of the conditions for the newly-gained right to protest was to request a permit, today's protests fell outside of the changes.

"There was no time for anyone to ask for permission for today," she said.

Aided by his family and a pervasive security apparatus, Assad, 45, has absolute power in Syria.

More than 220 protesters have been killed since pro-democracy protests erupted on March 18 in the southern city of Daraa, rights campaigners say.

A decree Assad signed on Thursday that lifted emergency law is seen by the opposition as little more than symbolic, since other laws still give entrenched security forces wide powers.

Human Right Watch said Assad "has the opportunity to prove his intentions by allowing [Friday's] protests to proceed without violent repression.

"The reforms will only be meaningful if Syria's security services stop shooting, detaining, and torturing protesters," Joe Stork, the group's deputy Middle East director, said.

The authorities have blamed armed groups, infiltrators and Sunni Muslim armed groups for provoking violence at demonstrations by firing on civilians and security forces.

Western and other Arab countries have mostly muted their criticism of the killings in Syria for fear of destabilising the country, which plays a strategic role in many of the conflicts in the Middle East.

Syria is technically at war with Israel but has kept its Golan Heights front quiet since a 1974 ceasefire.

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Powerful Presentations with iPad

The world of business is full of numerous meetings and presentations which makes it exciting and more colorful. But it is hard to make at least one presentation worth watching and a lot of equipment and skills needed for that. That would be a nice to have everything needed in one place when you are dealing with the process of creating a representation. And, if it were possible to use something like an iPad that could provide you with the tools for effective and impressive presentation. For now, every time we are in need of planning a meeting, we have to deal with a lot of office machines and keep it all moving
Every company depending on its business, customers has some definition of formality and informality. Disregarding the form of meeting, an iPad have a great deal of applications that will not only help but create the most suitable presentation with a lot of nice tricks.

One of the greatest advantages of using an iPad is that everything you see on it you can transfer on the screen of a projector. The only thing you need to do is to buy the right cables from the Apple Store.

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GQ announced the release of its new iPad application that comes with the redesigned digital editions. GQ states that the application is new and improved but not that much. This very new issue was created with the help of the publishing system of Adobe.
Reviewers have a positive opinion about that improvement as now it looks more like a digital magazine and now comes in a PDF-like format. Reader-friendly layout with some build-in slideshows make reading more exciting and occupying.

But, the testing of the application appeared to be frustrating as we still observe a lot of bugs and crashes in its work. You cannot even select a part of the text and it appeared to be very unhandy to send it via e-mail or through social networking sites.

Surprisingly but the cost of the application has been raised by $2 and costs $4.99. One more disadvantage is that this issue is just available with the iPad. People even cannot subscribe to the news.

In general, it is pleasant to use the application but it is so soon to call it improved. People get more entertainment but they do not get what they are used to. It is hardly to say what is better or what is worse.

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Landslide hits Philippines mining town

At least three people killed and 40 missing after a landslide hits a remote gold mining village.

At least three people have been killed and scores of others are missing after a landslide caused by heavy rains hit a mining area in the southern Philippines.

The disaster hit Kingking village near Pantukan town in Compostela valley province on the island of Mindanao just before dawn on Friday, burying people under mud, rocks and rubble, officials said.

Lieutenant-Colonel Camilo Ligayo, spokesman of a military unit aiding the site, said residents had told him at least 40 people were missing and feared buried in the tunnels and their homes.

"There are 40 still missing and that is a conservative estimate. The one who gave the estimate was one of the survivors from the tunnels. They know each other there," he told the AFP news agency.

"The landslide is massive and these people, the small scale miners, they work and live on the slopes. They have bunkers, houses, stores."

Rescue workers, including police, soldiers and miners, were able to save 11 people, but the remote location and unstable terrain was hampering efforts to bring in equipment, such as bulldozers.

Shanty towns have grown around Kingking following a gold rush in the area around two decades ago. Many of the mining operations are illegal and unregulated.

Two years ago, a similar landslide in another part of the village killed more than 20 people, including some children.

Residents had been ordered to relocate due to the instability of the land and higher risks of landslides.

The Philippines is said to sit on an estimated $1 trillion untapped mineral deposits, but has only targeted to attract $1bn in mining investment this year.

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Apple Wins! Adobe Must Admit Rules

The battle between two flash media giants was hot and nobody could suppose that the winner of it will be Apple. Adobe appeared in front of the terms when Apple is not going to adopt its flash media to the iOS platform of Adobe.
Recently Adobe has presented the newly developed Flash Media Server that uses HTTP Live Streaming protocol developed by Apple. It features H.264-encoded video and soon flash media streaming appears on iOS devices.

Before, there were a lot of complaints about the difficulty of optimizing media content considering Flash Media Server featuring Real Time Streaming Protocol. There are many friends of mine who have already uninstalled Flash from the desktops. And each of them is interested how Adobe will leave Real Time Streaming Protocol along and will simply apply HTTP Live Streaming once an iOS device is found.

Many companies start refusing the flash rep-installs of Adobe. Apple has already declined all the pre-installs with MacBook Air. Now, you can see what company is in charge and what company will dictate any tendencies in the sphere of Flash. Hopefully, you won’t be left without Flash media at all and each company will act with respect to each other.

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PlayBook Is Not Standalone Device

Why would you use the PlayBook? What are the advantages and disadvantages of it? The first thing to mention is that it is generated and produced by BlackBerry, supported with the powerful QNX operating system. The Playbook itself carries a 1GHz dual-core processor and features 1GB of RAM which provides high functionality and a vast valley for creation without a thought that something goes wrong. With its 7-inch screen you can browse whatever you want and your experience will be rather positive. Additionally, the PlayBook supports the resolution of 1024 x 600.
Plus, you will not experience any problems with listening to any sounds or music as the PlayBook is equipped with high-quality speakers. Having such great front cameras will let you take really professional and amazing pictures.

There are also disadvantages of the PlayBook that make it not a standalone device. It aims at it , but still it is not. The most striking disadvantage is that you do not have a possibility to use an e-mail, you do not have calendar. The only way you can reach the option is by attaching the PlayBook to your BlackBerry phone.

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