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Rogue Trader Admits $1bn Apple Fraud

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 16 April 2013 | 23.12

A securities trader has pleaded guilty to fraud after he bought $1bn (£650m) of Apple stock without permission and brought down his company.

David Miller's rogue trade caused the demise of Rochdale Securities after he bought 1.625million shares on the day Apple reported third-quarter results in October 2012.

Prosecutors said Miller had hoped to profit from a rise in Apple's share price - but the gamble backfired.

It is claimed the 40-year-old made the trade on behalf of one of Rochdale's clients who had in fact only ordered 1,625 shares.

They allege Miller conspired with another person to reap the profit if the share price went up or claim "human error" if the price dropped.

When the share price fell, Miller claimed he had made a mistake in purchasing a thousand times too much stock.

Rochdale ended up holding 1.6million shares it did not want and taking a $5.4m (£3.5m) loss, pushing its assets below the legal limit for a brokerage.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission called the scheme "deliberate, brazen and ultimately ill-conceived".

"(It) caused catastrophic losses for his former employer and was unravelled promptly by the FBI," said attorney David Fein.

Miller faces 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 8, but could get just five to eight years under a plea deal.

His attorney said he regrets what he did and the harm it caused.

"Those who know David know that what happened here was out of character for a kind and generous family man who has lived an otherwise law abiding and good life," said Kenneth C. Murphy.

"When the time comes he will accept his punishment and he will spend the rest of his life trying to make up for the wrong he committed."

Rochdale Securities is not a defendant in either case and is not accused of any wrongdoing.


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WikiLeaks' Assange In Australia Poll Setback

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stands very little chance of winning a seat in Australia's national elections, according to a new poll.

The Australian-born whistleblower intends to run for the upper house Senate in elections on September 14.

His WikiLeaks Party announced earlier this month that they intend to field candidates in at least three states.

But a Nielsen poll of voters, published online, showed Mr Assange had only an outside chance of victory.

He has just 15% support in the southern state of Victoria where he intends to run for a seat.

His campaign director Greg Barns had previously said the party was "certainly in the mix" to win a few seats.

Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Julian Assange gives a speech from a balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy

The party is running on a platform of "standing up to the powerful and shining a light on injustice and corruption".

Mr Assange himself gave an upbeat assessment of his prospects last week in a telephone interview.

He said that bookmakers had him as a better prospect than the deeply unpopular ruling centre-left Labor Party.

Under Australian law, a nominee must receive more than 14% of the vote to be elected.

That means that, according to this poll, every single person who says they will consider voting for him will have to follow through.

Nielsen's research director John Stirton said it was a "big ask".

"I think his candidacy looks credible from these numbers but I still think on those numbers it would be a very big ask to win," Mr Stirton said.

"He's in the ballpark of the support he needs but he's got to convert every single one ... and I think that's highly unlikely."

Analysts expect WikiLeaks to get about 4% of the total vote in Victoria - the state in which Mr Assange is most popular - and 3% nationwide.

According to the Nielsen poll of 1,400 respondents conducted from April 11-13, 69% of Australians said they knew "a lot" or "a little" about Mr Assange and WikiLeaks.

Mr Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since June after he was granted asylum but denied free passage out of the country.

He is wanted for questioning in Sweden over sex assault allegations but fears if handed over he will be passed onto the US for his controversial diplomatic memo leaks.


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El Salvador: Abducted Mexican Girl, 4, Found

A four-year-old girl abducted in Mexico more than two weeks ago has been found in El Salvador.

The child vanished from her home near Mexico City on April 1.

She was apparently subsequently taken to the Central American country, attorney general Luis Martinez said.

A 43-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the kidnapping.

Mr Martinez said prosecutors suspected the man was part of a human trafficking ring.

Tests indicated the child had been sexually abused.

She has now been flown home and reunited with her mother.

The suspect reportedly dumped her at a home in El Salvador, where residents alerted police.


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Samsung In Taiwan Probe Over HTC Reviews

Samsung is being investigated over claims it paid students to post malicious online comments about rival phone-maker HTC.

Authorities in Taiwan say the move follows complaints that people had been instructed to write articles recommending Samsung and criticising HTC, a Taiwanese company.

The probe could lead to penalties for false advertising and a potential fine of up to Tw$25 million (£550,000).

Precise details of the comments or where they were posted have not been confirmed.

Samsung Taiwan said the Fair Trade Commission had not yet informed it of the investigation.

However, a statement on its Facebook page said it regretted "any inconvenience and confusion from the internet event".

"Samsung Taiwan has halted all internet marketing such as posting articles on websites," it added.

Earlier this year, Samsung was also fined Tw$300,000 by the commission for a misleading advertisement about the camera functions on Samsung's Galaxy Y Duos phone.

South Korean firm Samsung controls around a third of the global smartphone market while HTC - which has seen profits slump over the last year - has 4.6%.

Fake reviews are thought to be on the rise as the web becomes increasingly social and businesses wise up to the influence they can have over consumers.

The New York Times last year reported on one company which made $28,000 (£18,000) per month writing "marketing reviews" for aspiring authors.


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Boston Marathon Bombs Prompt Twitter Ghouls

Best and Worst Of Social Media

Updated: 2:45pm UK, Tuesday 16 April 2013

By Niall Paterson, Media Correspondent

The explosions that shook the finish line of the Boston Marathon revealed the best and the worst of social media.

Even before the dust had settled, spectators and competitors had taken to social media to report the twin blasts - and the scenes of carnage they had caused.

Twitter came alive shortly before 8pm (British time), first with sketchy reports of loud bangs and clouds of smoke; later, with photos and video which clearly showed their tragic human cost.

It also became a useful communications tool for the police and marathon organisers, warning people to leave the area and not to gather in large groups.

Boston PD's twitter feed gave minute by minute updates. Followers could see in real time the advice from emergency services, and keep abreast of rumoured secondary devices.

Journalists on the ground, many of whom were only there to cover the marathon itself, could, without access to a broadcast camera or satellite truck, report live from the scene via their smartphones and social media apps.

In the moments after the explosions, these first-hand accounts were invaluable in alerting the world to the fact this was a terrorist attack, and not some freak accident.

One Boston Redditor created a page, "There was just an explosion at the Boston marathon" which compiled tweets, media reports and other useful links.

It was from there, for example, that many people were led to a webpage which allowed users to monitor emergency services radio frequencies, or the Massachusetts page of the American Red Cross website detailing blood banks across the city where donations could be made.

And, as with the earthquake in Japan, Google set up a People Finder to help users connect with family and loved ones in the aftermath.

Yet social media is, largely, unfiltered and unmediated. Graphic images of the injured flooded Twitter, as did inaccurate or downright false reports.

Mobile phone networks were said to have been shut down to prevent further remote detonations - yet Verizon, AT&T and Sprint Nextel denied this, claiming that the networks were simply experiencing "capacity issues".

A Twitter account, @bostonmarathon, promised to donate $1 to blast victims for every retweet they received. It was a fake.

As the blasts in Boston have shown, there are two sides to the social media coin.

The first, that its speed and ease of use can get information out to a wider audience practically in parallel with the events they describe.

The other, that everything one reads from an unconfirmed or unknown source needs to be checked for accuracy.

As Twitter user @rolldiggity said: "Twitter does its best work in the first five minutes after a disaster, and its worst in the twelve hours after that."


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Large Earthquake Felt Across The Middle East

A powerful earthquake has struck near the border of Iran and Pakistan, with at least 45 people reported to have been killed.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 - strong enough to cause damage to buildings.

Tremors were felt across the Middle East and as far away as the Indian capital New Delhi.

Iran's state-run Press TV said at least 40 people were killed, while a local health official told the Fars news agency that at least 20 villages are likely to have been "severely damaged".

However, a government official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said he expected hundreds of deaths in what he described as "the biggest earthquake in Iran in 40 years".

People stand outside of their office buildings following an earthquake tremor in Karachi Tremors were felt in Karachi, Pakistan, where office workers were evacuated

Meanwhile, a hospital spokesman in Pakistan said at least five people had been killed there, although national broadcaster Radio Pakistan put the death toll at 12.

The earthquake happened around 50 miles beneath the surface in an area prone to tectonic activity.

The remote, mountainous region is around 115 miles southeast of Zahedan, a city with a population of around 550,000.

Iran's Red Crescent Society, which has sent rescue teams to the area, said it was facing a "complicated emergency situation", with villages scattered over desolate hills and valleys.

Employees gather outside high-rise buildings in Dubai after a powerful earthquake struck Iran High-rise buildings in Dubai were evacuated after the earthquake

Strong tremors were felt across the Gulf, where high-rise buildings swayed and officials ordered evacuations.

The National newspaper said buildings were cleared in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which is home to the world's tallest tower, the 828m Burj Khalifa.

The earthquake was also felt in New Delhi, where witnesses said tall buildings shook, sending people running into the streets.

Local TV channel NDTV said lights and equipment in its south Delhi studio shook for nearly a minute.

Dr Brian Baptie, head of earthquake seismology at the British Geological Survey, said: "This earthquake occurred in the great belt of earthquakes that stretches through the Middle East into central Asia that results from the collision of the northwards-moving Arabian and Indian tectonic plates with Eurasian tectonic plate to the north.

"Given the depth, the earthquake was probably a result of normal faulting within the Arabian plate as it is subducted under the Eurasian plate along the Makran coast of Iran and Pakistan."

The tremors came a week after a deadly 6.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded 60 miles southeast of Bushehr, the site of Iran's nuclear reactor.

On Boxing Day 2003, more than 26,000 people were killed when a 6.6 magnitude quake struck Bam.


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US Helicopter Crashes Near North Korea Border

Who Is Kim Jong-Un?

Updated: 9:50am UK, Friday 08 March 2013

Kim Jong-Un is the world's youngest head of state. But very little is known about the supreme leader of North Korea, the most secretive nation on Earth.

Believed to have been born in Pyongyang around 1983, he was named North Korea's "great successor" following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, in December 2011.

The younger Kim is the leader of the ruling communist Workers' Party of Korea. He also holds the rank of Wonsu - the highest rank in the Korean military.

Reports in some Japanese newspapers claim he was educated in Switzerland at an English-language international school near Bern from the age of 10 to 17 where - according to a classmate - he developed a keen interest in basketball.

In 2012 he was voted the sexiest man alive in a spoof article by satirist website The Onion. China's Communist Party newspaper later ran a glowing report of the article, unaware it was a parody.

Quoting from the spoof report, The People's Daily wrote: "With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heart-throb is every woman's dream come true."

In 2012 he made several public appearances with a mystery lady, initially believed to be Hyon Song-Wol, a North Korean singer famous for the smash hit A Girl In The Saddle Of A Steed, often mis-translated as Excellent Horse-Like Lady.

But North Korean media later identified the woman as Ri Sol-Ju and claimed she was Mr Kim's wife. Unconfirmed reports have suggested the couple were married in 2009 and that she gave birth to a child in 2010.

But less is known about her than her husband. Conflicting reports have suggested she was born between 1985 and 1989 and that some of her family are involved in North Korean politics.

Her mother reportedly works in the gynaecology unit at a local hospital and her father as a university professor.

Mr Kim's interest in basketball is understood to have led to American NBA star Dennis Rodman paying the supreme leader a surprise visit in March 2013.

"He wants Obama to do one thing: Call him," Rodman later said. "He said, 'If you can, Dennis - I don't want (to) do war. I don't want to do war.' He said that to me."

A United Nations report on human rights in North Korea has urged for an inquiry to document the accountability of Mr Kim and the North Korean government for alleged crimes against humanity.

The UN has claimed that out of the total population of 25 million in the country, "16 million people continue to suffer varying degrees of chronic food insecurity and high malnutrition".


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Boston Marathon Explosions: Hunt For Clues

Within minutes of the explosions in Boston, the procedures required for a successful investigation will have been put in place.

The first responders treated the injured and bystanders pulled away wreckage from those trapped.

But following in quickly behind them will have been the men and women who were already thinking ahead.

The scene was quickly sealed off. Every piece of debris will need to be collected and analysed.

Somewhere among the thousands of shards of metal and glass there will be answers to the first questions: What sort of bombs were they? Did they have timers? Were they detonated by remote control?

Any remnants of the bombs will be examined in detail and all footage of the event - professional and amateur video as well as CCTV - will be scrutinised.

Runners continue to run towards the finish line as an explosion erupts at the finish line of the Boston Marathon More than a hundred people were injured in the blast

The latter will be watched to see if anyone can be seen acting suspiciously at any point - in the hours, minutes and seconds leading up to the explosions.

Experts will also be painstakingly searching through social media to see if there is anything that their trained eye can spot. That is a very labour intensive procedure.

The FBI will also look at the records of mobile phone companies to isolate all the calls made in the area.

They will want to see if the same phone made two calls in quick succession in the few seconds before the two explosions.

They will also cross refer the phone records with any calls made by anyone they bring in for questioning.

This is all basic modern intelligence work, but most of it will not answer another important question - what was the motive?

Boston Deals With Aftermath Of Marathon Explosions Unclaimed runners' bags tell a tragic tale

Because America has suffered so many terrorist attacks of a different nature, the investigators will have to consider several possibilities.

The US has experienced attacks inspired by foreign Islamist jihadist philosophy, but it also has a long history of home-grown terrorism.

In recent decades it has seen the sporadic attacks of the Weathermen in the 1970s, bombings of abortion clinics beginning in the 1980s and the Oklahoma bombing in the 1990s which killed 168 people.

Behind the Oklahoma attack was the idea that "Big Government" had to be taken on by violent means.

The idea of "The State" is deeply unpopular in parts of the US especially among the survivalist militias.

Timothy McVeigh, who was convicted for Oklahoma, came from that mindset and regarded himself as a true patriot.

It may be a coincidence that the Boston bombing came on Patriots Day, the annual event commemorating the first major battle of the Revolutionary War.

But the date will have been noted by the authorities as one potential avenue to explore. 

Until things become clearer there are many such potentials, and although the men and women in the FBI will have their gut feelings about motive, they will have to keep an open mind.


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Alps Coach Crash Kills One: Britons On Board

A coach carrying Britons has crashed in the Alps killing one person and seriously injuring three, according to police.

Local paper Le dauphine said the bus was transporting 50 passengers - including youngsters - from the Alpe d'Huez resort after a week's holiday.

Media reports said the bus appeared to have hit a cliff and burst into flames after the "brakes failed" on bend 21 at around 1.30pm.

Alps Alpe d'Huez is a popular ski resort

People were believed to have been trapped inside the vehicle, including the dead passenger, who is thought to be bus driver.

Some managed to get out themselves while others were helped out by emergency crews. A helicopter evacuated the seriously injured while 17 with minor injuries were treated on the road.

The route, which has been used in the Tour de France race, is infamous for its treacherous hairpin bends.

In a statement the Foreign & Commonwealth Office said: "We are aware of a tragic incident involving British nationals in the Isere region of southern France.

"We are in touch with the local authorities and are providing consular assistance."

British travel organisation Abta and the Ski Club of Great Britain were attempting to get more details on the incident.

A Ski Club of Great Britain spokeswoman said: "We don't know if they were travelling with a tour operator or not.

"Alpe d'Huez is one of the largest French ski resorts and welcomes quite a few British tourists."

Sir Peter Ricketts, the British Ambassador to France, was travelling to the scene of the crash this afternoon.

He wrote: "Our thoughts are with those involved in the coach crash in Isere.

"On my way with consular support."


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Boston Marathon Explosions: 'Nails In Bombs'

Nails and other shrapnel appear to have been packed into the bombs that killed three people and injured more than 170 others in Boston, doctors have said.

Several people have had to have limbs amputated and others are at risk of losing legs following the blasts that ripped through crowds during the city's marathon.

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of several hospitals where victims were taken, told reporters eight people were in a "severe" condition.

A total of 17 people remain in a critical condition.

Meanwhile, officials have confirmed there were no unexploded devices found, despite earlier reports of multiple bombs in the area.

Boston Marathon Explosion Aftermath Nails and other shrapnel have been removed from patients' bodies

The FBI said it was following a number of leads following the attacks but special agent Richard DesLauriers declined to say whether anyone was in custody.

"We will go to the ends of the Earth to identify the subject or subjects who are responsible for this despicable crime, and we will do everything we can to bring them to justice," he said.

Mr DesLauriers was speaking at a news conference in which Boston mayor Thomas Menino pledged the city would recover and said: "Yesterday, terror was brought to the city of Boston."

Speaking at a news conference, Barack Obama said the twin-bombing was an "act of terror".

Image of 8-year-old Martin Richard who has been named as one of the dead from the Boston marathon bombings Martin Richard, eight, was among three people killed

He said: "What we don't yet know, however, is who carried out this attack or why, whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organisation, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual."

He added: "What I have indicated to you is what we now know. We know it was bombs that were set off. We know that obviously they did some severe damage. We do not know who did them.

"We don't have a sense of motive yet. So everything else at this point is speculation."

Mr Obama said the American people "refused to be terrorised" and that stories of "kindness" in the aftermath of the blasts had proved that.

He urged people to come forward if they knew anything that might help the authorities to bring to justice those responsible for what he called a "heinous and cowardly" act.

A first responder and a firefighter attend to an injured woman after a two bomb blasts at the finish of the Boston marathon. Photo courtesy of Kenshin Okubo/Daily Free Press Staff Bystanders rushed to the aid of victims

Among those killed in the blasts in the heart of the city was an eight-year-old boy, Martin Richard, who lived in Boston.

The Boston Globe newspaper reported that the boy had been waiting at the finish line for his father, who was running the race.

The bombs went off within seconds of each other and about 100m (330ft) apart on the same street, blowing out windows and sending smoke and debris into the air.

Emergency workers ripped down fencing and carried away seriously injured men and women amid scenes of panic and confusion.

Harrowing stories have emerged of victims whose limbs were torn off by blast forces.

Watch live coverage on Sky News.

Liz Norden, a mother of five, told the Boston Globe how two of her sons had each lost a leg in the blast.

Both had gone to Boylston Street to see a friend finish the race.

"Ma I'm hurt real bad," Ms Norden quoted one of her sons as telling her in a phone call from the ambulance.

The explosions happened four hours into the race and about two hours after the men's winner had crossed the line, as amateur runners were reaching the finish.

FBI agents arrive at the scene after explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon The FBI says it is following a number of leads

More than 17,000 competitors had completed the race by the time the blasts struck.

Police commissioner Ed Davis said the area around the blast areas is the most complex crime scene in history of the department.

Authorities are now looking for amateur video and photographs that can give clues to who set off the bombs. One Boston home has been searched as part of the investigation.

Security has been stepped up in Washington and New York, and Boston itself is a city on high alert, with armoured vehicles seen on the streets on Tuesday and random checks of backpacks on public transport.

Earlier, a plane was grounded at the city's Logan Airport over security concerns.

An injured and disorientated man walks through the street. Photo courtesy of Kenshin Okubo/Daily Free Press Staff An injured man on the streets (Pic: Kenshin Okubo/Daily Free Press)

There have been no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack, the most serious in the US since the 9/11 World Trade Centre atrocity. Al Qaeda-linked groups and militant white extremists have attacked targets in America in the past.

The Pakistani Taliban, who have previously threatened attacks in the US, have denied any involvement.

More than 25,000 people were registered as taking part in the race, 374 of whom were British. There were also 108 Irish athletes.

One British runner, Abi Griffiths, 34, from London, told Sky News the scene was in a "state of chaos".

She said: "Police were everywhere, we were being evacuated out of the area and it was really eerie."

The British Foreign Office has said it is not aware of any British nationals who have been injured but that it will continue to monitor the situation.

Police in London are now reviewing security plans for this Sunday's London Marathon - the next major international marathon.

The London race's chief executive, Nick Bitel, said it was "a very sad day for athletics and for our friends in marathon running".


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