The Israeli military, expecting widespread confrontations in the West Bank as the United Nations debates recognizing a Palestinian state, is training Jewish settlers to repel protests. Settlement security chiefs are being given tear gas and stun grenades, and the military is mapping out firing zones around settlements according to leaked…
Continue reading …Stone Age missiles met medieval weaponry on the streets of San Diego yesterday—and lost. A 16-year-old boy and a friend were throwing rocks at passing cars when a passenger in an SUV fired a crossbow bolt at them, hitting the teen in the abdomen. He was rushed to a…
Continue reading …Relax, girls. Not a hair on Justin Bieber’s head is out of place, even though a Honda Civic collided with the black Ferrari he was driving in Los Angeles. Neither driver nor Bieb’s assistant, who was a passenger in his car, was injured, and no damage was reported, according to…
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Department of Justice attempting to block $39bn merger on antitrust grounds, according to reports The US government has attempted to block the $39bn (£24bn) takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T, according to reports. The department of justice filed court papers in Washington in an attempt to halt the merger on antitrust grounds, according to Bloomberg . “AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low-priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market,” the department of justice reportedly said in its filing. The multibillion-dollar merger, announced in March, would be create the largest mobile provider in the US with 130 million customers, reducing the number of players in the market from four to three. The US telecoms giant AT&T is the second largest network in the US, behind Verizon Wireless, with T-Mobile the number four network. Sprint Nextel is the other remaining large operator in the country, with the third largest service. AT&T proposed in March to pay $25bn in cash for T-Mobile USA and the rest in stock, giving T-Mobile’s German parent an 8% stake in AT&T. The agreement was approved by the boards of directors at both AT&T and Deutsche Telekom. Regulators have pored over the terms and implications of the deal for months, given its size and scale. AT&T’s shares were down 3.85% in early-morning trading on the New York stock exchange, trading at $28.53. The DoJ had not returned requests to comment at the time of publication. Telecoms T-Mobile Telecommunications industry Media business Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Poet and author Maya Angelou says a recently unveiled monument to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is inscribed with a quote taken out of context that makes the reverend seem “arrogant.” I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness, the inscription on the 30-foot-tall statue of King reads. “The quote makes
Continue reading …The Justice Department’s bid to block AT&T’s proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA was widely anticipated by antitrust experts, and the government is likely to succeed in thwarting the deal, a former top communications regulator tells The Lookout. “Any objective antitrust lawyer expected this,” Reed Hundt, a former chair of the Federal Communications Commission,
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• Look back at the first part of our deadline-day coverage • Keep up to date with the Guardian Sport Twitter account • Email simon.burnton@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts • Joe Cole joins Lille on season-long loan • Tottenham seal £6m deal for West Ham’s Scott Parker • All today’s completed deadline day deals 4.39pm: Everton are going to sign someone you might have heard of ! By which I mean, there’s an article in Spanish paper As saying they are going to get Real Madrid outcast Royston Drenthe. Meanwhile – Ian Rush … Robbie Fowler … Craig Bellamy – what is it with Liverpool re-signing former strikers? 4.35pm: I’m in the market for more photos of people posing with new shirts. Let me know if you spot any good ‘uns. 4.34pm: Fulham have completed the signing of former Juventus defender Zdenek Grygera on a free transfer. 4.31pm: West Ham have signed Papa Bouba Diop and Henri Lansbury, the latter on loan for the season. 4.29pm: Florent Malouda, who had been linked with Arsenal and Tottenham, has refused to leave Stamford Bridge. Currently with the France squad preparing to play Albania on Friday, this is what he had to say on the subject today: “I’ve always been clear in my choices. It’s going to be very difficult to take me out of my club. I’ve still got two years left on my Chelsea contract. My objective is to extend by one year until the 2014 World Cup. That hasn’t changed and it won’t change tonight.” 4.24pm: Craig Bellamy to Liverpool, eh? 4.21pm: And yet more from Andy Hunter: “Shaun Wright-Phillips isn’t going anywhere yet. He’s still looking for a pay-off from Manchester City before agreeing to undergo a medical with QPR. Owen Hargreaves should complete his move to City today, although as a free agent he has until Friday to sign a contract.” 4.20pm: Sky are now saying that reports of Asamoah Gyan asking for a transfer are “categorically untrue”. 4.19pm: Here’s another missive from our Liverpool-based correspondent, Andy Hunter: “Christian Poulsen has completed a permanent transfer to Evian Thonon Gaillard, 12 months after arriving at Liverpool for £5.5m. That leaves only Raul Meireles and Brad Jones of Roy Hodgson’s signings at the club (Danny Wilson was agreed before Hodgson arrived).” Meireles might not be there long either, if current talk about a move to Chelsea proves accurate. 4.19pm: Hello! We’re back – and this time we’re here to stay (hopefully)! Welcome back to our live coverage of transfer deadline day. What you’ve missed from the first part of our live blog : • Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole joins Lille on season-long loan deal. • Scott Parker completes £6m switch to Tottenham from West Ham. • Arsenal complete deal for Fenerbahce defender André Santos. • Sunderland’s Anton Ferdinand set for medical at QPR; Stoke agree fee with Birmingham for Cameron Jerome; Liverpool midfielder Christian Poulsen signs for Evian. Transfer window Paolo Bandini Simon Burnton guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …It doesn’t look as if the Colin Powell-Dick Cheney feud is going to end any time soon. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Powell’s longtime chief of staff, says that Cheney—whose new memoir is sharply critical of Powell—”fears being tried as a war criminal” and “was president for all practical purposes…
Continue reading …The U.S. government is suing to block AT&T’s proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA, on the grounds that it would “substantially lessen competition” in the wireless market, the Justice Department announced minutes ago. “AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low- priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market,” the government
Continue reading …This mystery has legs. Yet another sneakered foot has washed ashore in Canada, becoming the dozenth such find in four years. The foot, inside a running shoe, with a bit of leg bone attached, was spotted floating along the shore of Vancouver’s False Creek, reports AP . The others have been…
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