Zionism row casts cloud over Kerry's Turkey visit

ANKARA: US Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with Turkey's leaders on the Syria crisis Friday amid a row over comments by the Turkish premier branding Zionism a "crime against humanity."

"Obviously we disagree with that, we find it objectionable," Kerry said at a joint press conference in Ankara, referring to a speech delivered by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that likened Zionism to fascism and anti-Semitism.

Kerry said he would raise the issue "very directly" with Erdogan and express Washington's hopes to see the two "vital allies" work together.

He met later Friday with Erdogan and had a "respectful but frank discussion of the prime minister's speech in Vienna," a senior State Department official said.

"The Secretary made US concerns very clear. The US and Turkish side agreed to stay in very close touch about the whole range of related issues, including their shared commitment to Middle East peace," the official said..

The top US diplomat's visit to Turkey came a day after Washington announced that it would for the first time provide direct aid to Syrian rebels in the form of food and medical supplies as well as $60 million in extra assistance to the political opposition.

But the discussions were overshadowed by renewed tension between Turkey and Israel, two major US allies, following comments Erdogan made earlier this week at a UN-sponsored forum in Vienna.

"As is the case for Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it is inevitable that Islamophobia be considered a crime against humanity," Erdogan said on Wednesday.

Kerry said it was essential for Turkey and Israel to rekindle their "historic cooperation" but the situation got more complicated "in the aftermath of the speech that we heard in Vienna."

Turkish-Israeli relations have remained in free fall since Israeli troops raided a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship in 2010, killing nine people.

"We have never made any hostile remarks against any nation," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in response to a question over Erdogan's remarks.

"If you want to talk about hostile you can call Israel's attitude that, after it killed nine civilians on high seas," he added.

"If some countries acted in a hostile way against our citizens' right to life, allow us to reserve our right to make a statement."

The incident strained bilateral military and diplomatic ties and left Washington in a bind to mend relations between its two key allies in the region.

Erdogan's comments were branded as "a dark and mendacious statement," by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while Washington said "characterisation of Zionism as a crime against humanity... is offensive and wrong."

A US official travelling with Kerry on his first trip abroad since taking over as secretary of state from Hillary Clinton said Washington was "dismayed" to hear Erdogan's remarks.

"This was particularly offensive frankly," said the official who requested anonymity.

Dealing with Syria, terrorism

As part of their agenda, Kerry and Davutoglu also discussed the nearly two-year civil war in neighbouring Syria which has killed at least 70,000 people according to the UN.

"Together we work to strengthen the Syrian opposition so that we are in a position now to be able to do more," Kerry said, adding that the US and Turkey were trying to reduce the money "flowing to Assad regime's war machine."

"There is no legitimacy in a regime that commits atrocity against its own people," he said.

Turkey, once a close ally of Syria, has joined the United States in its campaign to oust the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and has given shelter to Syrian rebels and to nearly 200,000 refugees along its volatile border.

In January, the US began deploying Patriot missiles, along with Germany and the Netherlands, as part of a NATO mission to protect Turkey from any spillover of the Syrian conflict.

Turkey had requested the measure after several cross-border shelling incidents, including one in October that killed five civilians.

Kerry also attended a memorial ceremony in Ankara, in honour of the US embassy guard who was killed in a February 1 suicide attack claimed by the fiercely anti-US Marxist group the Revolutionary People's Liberation Front (DHKP-C).

"The United States stands strongly with Turkey, our NATO ally, in the fight against terrorism in all its forms," including DHKP-C, al-Qaeda and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Kerry said.

Also on the agenda during the talks was Washington's pressure for increasing sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear programme.

-AFP/ac

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Tips for increasing the longevity of your Mac

Regardless of whether you purchase it new, refurbished, or used, your Mac is likely a sizable investment that you might wish to keep running for as long as possible, not only because of the cost factor but also because of the time and effort it would take to migrate your data and workflow to a new system (even though Apple has made the latter quite easy if you have proper backups).

There are many ways your
Mac can get damaged, become outdated, or otherwise experience greater wear and tear from use that can shorten its lifespan. In most cases these will only have a little (if any) effect on the system but may help keep the system running longer and without problems or capacity limitations.

The physical

The first part of your Mac is the physical machine, which includes the logic boards and controllers, screen, keyboard, mouse, and other similar components. While peripherals like the keyboard and mouse can be replaced, it may be harder to do so for the components in the machine.

The machine itself
Of the considerations for ensuring a long-lasting Mac, the first begins before you even purchase it where you are offered options to configure your system. Apple offers a number of configure-to-order details including RAM capacity, processor speeds and types, and hard-drive size.

Apple periodically updates its maximum RAM offerings.

(Credit:
CNET)

While for the most part these should be relatively comparable, the faster you go and the more capacity you give the system the longer you will be able to use it before you need to upgrade. For RAM considerations I've usually recommended people get the minimal from Apple and then upgrade at a later date to save money; however, for some of Apple's systems such as the
MacBook Air and Retina
MacBook Pro this is not possible, so purchasing the ones with the most built-in RAM is recommended.

These same recommendations extend to hard drives and processors, especially for systems like the iMac that cannot be easily serviced (if at all in some cases). If you are offered the option to get a Core i5 versus a Core i7 processor for your system, then if you can afford it I would recommend the upgrade (which sometimes comes with the benefit of a faster graphics processor as well). Likewise, consider an SSD over Apple's Fusion Drive, and a Fusion Drive over a conventional hard drive for increased speed.

For hard drives, capacity is not so much an issue as you can always use an external storage device if needed, but the speed of your internal drive that holds your OS and applications is one of the biggest data bottlenecks in the whole system so buying the fastest one will keep your system running in top gear.

Power source care
Of the remaining details, perhaps one of the more common items to be damaged is the system's power supply, which being subject to relatively harsh and noisy wall power circuits can potentially break down over time. In addition, the external power supply for laptops may experience a greater degree of physical abuse that can eventually lead to a failure.

Apple's power adapters may be subject to wear with use, or be replaced with newer options.

(Credit:
Apple)

For power supplies, continued use is not too much of an issue, but surges and sudden power failures may disrupt the system and result in data corruption or broken components (hard drives or the power supply itself), so be sure to help protect your system by either turning it off when not in use, at least using a surge protected power strip, or better yet use a Uninterrupable Power Supply (UPS).

For laptop users, consider purchasing a second power supply for your system, especially since as new technologies become available the older ones may be phased out. For example, Apple recently released new Lightning connectors for iOS devices and a new MagSafe connection for its laptops. While the older MagSafe connections should be available for a while, over time they will be harder to find.

In addition to the power supply for laptops, be sure to take proper care of its batteries. For the health of the batteries, the best practice is to use them regularly (often enough to run through a full charge cycle about once per month) to help prevent dead spots that can reduce their overall capacity. Additionally, do not use them in extreme temperatures, and if you store system for a long period of time, be sure to charge the battery until it is half-full before doing so.

Battery calibration is not a necessary step for its health; however, it can be done regularly as a way to ensure the battery is regularly used.

Avoid abuse
While it might be needless to say, avoiding physical abuse of the systems is another easy way to increase the longevity of Apple's systems. The aluminum Apple uses in its systems is durable and quite protective, but is not indestructible. If you travel with your system then consider using a case or cover that will help protect it, and also consider using a properly padded bag even if you use a case.

In addition to transport security, consider a keyboard slip cover for laptops to help protect the keys from wear. The keys on a MacBook keyboard have a slightly matte finish to them out the factory door, but over time with you pressing them the keys will become shiny as you wear down the top surface. In some cases the wear can be great enough so the symbol disappears making it difficult to type. One option instead of a slip cover is to get a set of transparent stickers to place on the keys that are showing any wear.

Lastly, be kind to the ports on your Mac. When peripherals are attached, the ports can be subject to torquing that in extreme conditions or over time may result in it no longer working, not being able to hold the inserted connection firmly, becoming mangled, or even being subject to shorting out and frying a component of the motherboard. This is easily done by inserting the incorrect plug into a port, so avoid fishing around blindly to insert a connection by feel.

Be aware of your touch
I've often noticed people hammering on keys when typing, or mashing a key or two in frustration, and while the keyboard ought to be able to take such treatment, it can only lead to faster wear. If your system is not working properly then clicking or tapping harder or faster will not fix the situation, and will only increase the chance of damaging the system. In some cases multiple presses during a frustrating hangup can even confuse the system more and make the matter worse.

In addition to using a gentle touch on the keyboard, avoid touching your display, especially if you have one with a matte finish. Apple's glossy glass displays are decently protected from touching, but matte displays can easily be poked and damaged.

Ensuring you have clean hands when using your system is another way to help increase its longevity. Grime and oils on hands can help wear down the surface of keys or simply contribute to dirt that gets into the keyboard and can potentially block a key or two from working.

Clean your system
Dirt and grime on a system will not necessarily hurt it, but over time it can become unsightly and may build up enough to cause a problem or two, so be sure to gently wipe away any grime in keyboards or around the edges of your display, but more importantly be sure the ports and vents are clear of dust or obstructions. It is very easy for dirt to get into these ports, and if you press a connection into them then you only jam the dust in farther, so be sure to check your data ports and clean them out.

For the vents on the system, use canned air or a vacuum cleaner to remove any dust that you see in them, as any reduction in the efficiency of these vents may lead to a system that more easily overheats. For Mac Pro systems, you can easily remove the cover and use canned air to blow around the fans and heat sinks to clear any dust accumulation (do this outside, as billowing clouds of dust can be irritating to live with).

Avoid hard shutoffs
Finally, unless your system is experiencing a crash or severe hangup, then avoid holding the power key to shut it off or unplugging it as this sudden interruption can be damaging to the system's logic boards and components. If you are finding the system is regularly crashing then try addressing this problem instead of resorting to always shutting your system down by yanking the plug or pressing the power key. There are numerous resources for helping find the source of hangs and crashes in OS X, including Apple's retail stores and its online discussion forum.

The logical

Besides taking care of your system's physical condition, consider lengthening its usefulness by maintaining its capabilities, security, and stability. Doing this not only involves the operating system and software that you use, but also considers any components and upgrades that are available for your system.

Software Update is available in the Apple menu.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Topher Kessler/CNET)

Upgrade software
While it can be argued that the features and details in the latest release of OS X may not suit your needs, at least be sure to update your current OS installation to its latest version, as this will ensure the best security and fixes to problems that people have been experiencing. Updating a system can easily be done by going to the Apple menu and choosing Software Update, where the system will check for and then install new versions of operating system software or Apple's supplied programs like iTunes, iPhoto, or iWork.

In addition to Apple's software, be sure to update any third-party software you have installed and keep those at their latest versions, not only to help maintain security but also to ensure compatibility with OS X. Most programs offer built-in updating features similar to Apple's software-update, and can be configured to check for updates on launch or on a regular schedule, so consider setting these up along with doing so for Apple's Software Update to ensure you are running the latest versions of all of your software.

Upgrade hardware
As you use your system and install new releases of OS X and upgrades to your software, you may find that the new software demands more out of your system and can result in a slower system. Therefore, as mentioned above for new systems consider the faster upgrades at purchase, but for older and used systems you can still consider similar upgrades to breathe new life into it and get you up and running faster without needing to purchase a new computer.

The two most common options are to upgrade your system's RAM capacity to give your processor and applications adequate "desk space" in which to perform computations. While 8GB to 16GB of RAM should be adequate these days for most uses, in general the more RAM the better so get as much as you can afford. Just be sure to fully test your RAM once you have installed it to ensure it is working correctly, as bad RAM can be a major source of crashes and data corruption.

Other World Computing's Data Doubler offers a convenient way to put two drives in an older MacBook system.

(Credit:
Topher Kessler/CNET)

Also consider a faster storage medium such as an SSD in place of a conventional hard drive. For laptop systems you can replace older and unused optical drives with a secondary internal drive, giving yourself the options for increased capacity, dual-drive redundancy, an internal backup, options for implementing Apple's "Fusion" drive, and more.

To give a rough estimate, an 8GB RAM upgrade, a 240GB SSD, and an optical drive conversion kit for an old 2008 MacBook Pro will cost about $300 to $400 and will at times more than double the speed of your old system.

Finally, for Mac Pro systems you can upgrade the graphics card for increased graphics performance. While the offerings for this are relatively limited and a touch expensive, if needed the option to do so is out there.

Take care of slowdowns and other problems
Over time and depending on how it's used a Mac can develop odd problems or two that can lead to slowdowns, crashes, hangs, and other odd behaviors that can be a real burden to deal with. Sometimes the issues can be quite difficult to track down, but in general if you are experiencing odd problems there are some approaches you can quickly take to clear them up or at least help identify where the root of the problem may be.

To do this, first try running a general maintenance routine on your system to clear caches and other temporary items that if corrupted may lead to odd problems. Additionally, you can run through a general troubleshooting routine to help identify if the problem is systemwide, because of a third-party program or two, or rooted in your user account, which can greatly help if you need to communicate the problem to others for help.

Lastly, Apple's hardware test suite should be available to most Mac systems and can be used to test the system's RAM and internal sensors to see if a problem is occurring.

Time Machine offers options to back up to more than one drive.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Topher Kessler/CNET)

Back up regularly
A final consideration for increasing your Mac's longevity is to make continual backups. Your Mac's hardware is only half of the story, and your Mac experience lies mainly in your documents, settings, installed applications, and the entirety of your system's software environment. With proper backups, should an irrecoverable problem happen to your system then you can easily restore or migrate your data from the backup to a new system and be up and running as if nothing ever happened (minus the cash for a new system, of course).

Anything missed?
Do you have any tips or suggestions on keeping your Mac running the longest? If so then let us know in the comments.

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Questions? Comments? Have a fix? Post them below or !
Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.

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Judge accepts Manning's guilty pleas in WikiLeaks case

Updated at 5:52 p.m. ET

FORT MEADE, Md. A U.S. Army judge has accepted an offer by a private to plead guilty to violating military regulations in the biggest leak of classified material in U.S. history.

Pfc. Bradley Manning admits to sending hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports, State Department diplomatic cables and other files to WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Baghdad.

An Army judge accepted the pleas to 10 charges at a hearing Thursday. Manning could face a maximum of 20 years on those charges alone.

Prosecutors say they plan to move forward with an additional 12 charges against him, including aiding the enemy. That charge could carry a life sentence.

Earlier, Manning offered to plead guilty Thursday, saying he spilled the secrets to expose the American military's "bloodlust" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was the first time Manning directly admitted leaking the material to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks and detailed the frustrations that led him to do it.

Sitting before a military judge, the slightly built 25-year-old soldier from Oklahoma read from a 35-page statement through his wire-rimmed glasses for more than an hour. He spoke quickly and evenly, showing little emotion even when he described how troubled he was by what he had seen.

"I believed that if the general public, especially the American public, had access to the information ... this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general," Manning said.

12 Photos

WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning

Retired Lt. Col. Jeffrey Addicott, a former Army lawyer, told CBS Radio News that the defense's move was "pretty gutsy."

"Basically they're saying that they're willing to plead guilty to some of the offenses, recognizing that he understands the gravity of what he did, which will of course have an effect on himself on the mercy of the panel of the jury in terms of the sentencing process," said Addicott. "But he's not pleading guilty to everything, so he's kind of splitting the baby."

Manning said he didn't think the information would harm the U.S. and he decided to release it because he was disturbed by the conduct of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the seeming disregard by American troops for the lives of ordinary people.

"I felt we were risking so much for people who seemed unwilling to cooperate with us, leading to frustration and hatred on both sides," he said. "I began to become depressed at the situation we found ourselves mired in year after year. In attempting counterinsurgency operations, we became obsessed with capturing and killing human targets on lists."

He added: "I wanted the public to know that not everyone living in Iraq were targets to be neutralized."

Manning admitted sending hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports, State Department diplomatic cables, other classified records and two battlefield video clips to WikiLeaks in 2009 and 2010 while working as an intelligence analyst in Baghdad.

The battlefield reports were the first documents Manning decided to leak. He said he sent them to WikiLeaks after contacting The Washington Post and The New York Times. He said he felt a reporter at the Post didn't take him seriously, and a message he left for news tips at the Times was not returned.

In a statement, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sex-related charges, called the Times "cowards."

"The only safe way to get these cowards to publish anything is to get WikiLeaks to publish it first," Assange said.

Manning said he was appalled by a 2007 combat video of an aerial assault by a U.S. helicopter that killed 11 men, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. The Pentagon concluded the troops mistook the camera equipment for weapons.

"The most alarming aspect of the video to me was the seemingly delightful bloodlust the aerial weapons team happened to have," Manning said, adding that the soldiers' actions "seemed similar to a child torturing ants with a magnifying glass."

As for the sensitive State Department cables, he said they "documented backdoor deals and criminality that didn't reflect the so-called leader of the free world."

"I thought these cables were a prime example of the need for a more open diplomacy," Manning said. "I believed that these cables would not damage the United States. However, I believed these cables would be embarrassing."

Manning said when he was on leave, he visited his boyfriend in the Boston area and said he asked him hypothetical questions about how to go about sharing the information he had. He said his boyfriend didn't really understand what he was talking about and that their relationship grew distant.

The Obama administration has said releasing the information threatened valuable military and diplomatic sources and strained America's relations with other governments. The administration has aggressively pursued individuals accused of leaking classified material, and Manning's is the highest-profile case.

Manning has been embraced by some left-leaning activists as a whistle-blowing hero whose actions exposed war crimes and helped trigger the Middle Eastern pro-democracy uprisings known as the Arab Spring in 2010.

In his statement, Assange called Manning "America's foremost political prisoner."

"Today's events confirm that," said Assange. "Both the U.N. and the U.S. military have formally found him to have been mistreated. All those involved in the persecution of Bradley Manning will find cause to reflect on their actions."

WikiLeaks did not immediately return a text message for comment on Manning's statement. The group has been careful never to confirm or deny whether he was the source of the documents it has posted online.

On its Twitter feed Thursday, WikiLeaks called Manning an "alleged source" and noted that he was detailing "what he says" were his dealings with the online organization.

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Obama Admin to Court: End Calif. Gay Marriage Ban

In a historic argument for gay rights, President Barack Obama on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to overturn California's same-sex marriage ban and turn a skeptical eye on similar prohibitions across the country.

The Obama administration's friend-of-the-court brief marked the first time a U.S. president has urged the high court to expand the right of gays and lesbians to wed. The filing unequivocally calls on the justices to strike down California's Proposition 8 ballot measure, although it stops short of the soaring rhetoric on marriage equality Obama expressed in his inaugural address in January.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California is one of eight states that give gay couples all the benefits of marriage through civil unions or domestic partnership but don't allow them to wed. The denial of marriage to same-sex couples, "particularly where California at the same time grants same-sex partners all the substantive rights of marriage, violates equal protection," the administration said.

The administration's position, if adopted by the court, would likely result in gay marriage becoming legal in the seven other states: Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island.

In the longer term, the administration urges the justices to subject laws that discriminate on sexual orientation to more rigorous review than usual, a standard that would imperil other state bans on same-sex marriage.

The brief marks the president's most expansive view of gay marriage and signals that he is moving away from his previous assertion that states should determine their own marriage laws. Obama, a former constitutional law professor, signed off on the administration's legal argument last week following lengthy discussions with Attorney General Eric Holder and Solicitor General Donald Verrilli.

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West to send Syrian rebels aid, not arms

ROME (Reuters) - Western powers pledged aid for Syrian rebels on Thursday but stopped short of offering them weapons, disappointing opponents of President Bashar al-Assad clamoring for more arms.

More than 70,000 Syrians have been killed in a fierce conflict that began with peaceful anti-Assad protests nearly two years ago.

Washington has given $385 million in humanitarian aid for Syria but U.S. President Barack Obama has so far refused to give arms, arguing it is difficult to prevent them from falling into the hands of militants who could use them on Western targets.

The United States said it would for the first time give non-lethal aid to the rebels and would more than double its support to Syria's civilian opposition, casting it as a way to bolster the rebels' popular support.

The help will include medical supplies, food for rebel fighters and $60 million to help the civil opposition provide basic services like security, education and sanitation.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the new steps after a meeting of 11 mostly European and Arab nations within the "Friends of Syria" group.

The European Union, acting on a decision this month to send direct aid to the rebels, said it had amended sanctions on Syria to permit the supply of armored vehicles, non-lethal military equipment and technical aid, provided they were intended to protect civilians.

If the provision of non-lethal assistance goes smoothly, it could conceivably offer a model for providing weaponry should Western governments ultimately decide to do so.

The aid offered for now did not appear to entirely satisfy the Syrian National Council opposition, a fractious Cairo-based group that has struggled to gain traction inside Syria, especially among disparate rebel forces.

"Many sides ... focus (more) on the length of the rebel fighter's beard than they do on the blood of the children being killed," Syrian National Coalition President Moaz Alkhatib said at an appearance with Kerry and Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi.

A rebel commander in Aleppo, Syria's second city left devastated by several months of heavy fighting, said the lack of arms was the main obstacle to victory for his forces.

"We hope ... that weapons will flow and things will change but we are not waiting for them - we are going ahead with our fighting plans on the ground," the commander, Abdel-Jabbar Oqaidi, told Reuters by Skype.

He estimated that four fifths of the city was now under rebel control and the insurgents had taken over Aleppo's historic Umayyad mosque and the Palace of Justice. The claim could not immediately be verified.

A picture posted on the Internet showed what activists said was a rebel fighter prostrate in prayer in the Umayyad mosque's courtyard, its blackened archways still bearing signs of a fire which damaged the 13th century complex last year.

The rebels were still fighting for control of three airports in the Aleppo region, Oqaidi said.

DISAPPOINTMENT

In what analysts described as a sign of disappointment at the West's reluctance to send arms, Syria's political opposition postponed talks to choose the leader of a provisional government, two opposition sources told Reuters in Beirut.

Opposition leaders hoped a Saturday meeting in Istanbul would elect a prime minister to operate in rebel-controlled areas of Syria, threatened by a slide into chaos as the conflict between Assad's forces and insurgents nears its second anniversary.

While one source said the meeting might happen later in the week, a second source said it had been put off because the three most likely candidates for prime minister had reservations about taking the role without more concrete international support.

"The opposition has been increasingly signaling that it is tired of waiting and no one serious will agree to be head of a government without real political and logistical support," said Syrian political commentator Hassan Bali, who lives in Germany.

Bali said the United States and other members of the core "Friends of Syria" nations appeared intent "on raising the ante against Assad but are not sure how."

A final communiqué said participants would "coordinate their efforts closely so as to best empower the Syrian people and support the Supreme Military Command of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army in its efforts to help them exercise self-defense".

Kerry said the United States would for the first time provide assistance - in the form of medical supplies and the standard U.S. military ration known as Meals Ready to Eat, or MREs - to the fighters.

A U.S. official told reporters it would give the aid only to carefully vetted fighters, adding that the United States was worried that "extremists" opposed to democracy, human rights and tolerance were gaining ground in the country.

"Those members of the opposition who support our shared values ... need to set an example of a Syria where daily life is governed neither by the brutality of the Assad regime nor by the agenda of al Qaeda affiliated extremists," the official said.

REBELS WANT ANTI-TANK, ANTI-AIRCRAFT WEAPONS

The continued U.S. refusal to send weapons may compound the frustration that prompted the coalition to say last week it would shun the Rome talks. It attended only under U.S. pressure.

Many in the coalition say Western reluctance to arm rebels only plays into the hands of Islamist militants now widely seen as the most effective forces in the struggle to topple Assad.

With fighting raging on largely sectarian lines, French President Francois Hollande said at a Moscow summit that new partners were needed to broker talks on ending the crisis, winning guarded support from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We think that this dialogue must find a new form so that it speaks to all parties," said Hollande, giving few details of his proposal.

Putin said Russia - one of Assad's staunchest allies - would look at Hollande's proposal, "which I think we could consider with all our partners and try to carry out."

Russia has said Assad's departure must not be a precondition for talks and a political solution, while the West has sided with Syria's opposition in demanding his removal from power.

Kerry's offer of medical aid and food rations fell far short of rebel demands for sophisticated anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to help turn the tables against Assad's mostly Russian-supplied forces.

It also stopped short of providing other forms of non-lethal assistance such as bullet-proof vests, armored personnel vehicles and military training to the insurgents.

Last week the European Union opened the way for direct aid to Syrian rebels, but did not lift an arms embargo on Syria.

Kerry said the U.S. role should not be judged in isolation but in the context of what other nations will do.

"What we are doing ... is part of a whole," he said. "I am absolutely confident ... that the totality of this effort is going to have an impact of the ability of the Syrian opposition to accomplish its goals."

(Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Roger Atwood and Tom Pfeiffer)

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Facebook buys advertising firm from Microsoft

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook agreed Thursday to buy Atlas Advertiser Suite from Microsoft as part of an effort to boost ad revenues at the massive social network.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Atlas is a leader in campaign management and measurement for marketers and agencies. We believe this acquisition will benefit both marketers and users," Facebook's Brian Boland said in a blog post.

Atlas was part of the aQuantive group acquired by Microsoft, which ended up in a writedown and loss for Microsoft last year.

Microsoft's Dave O'Hara said the deal "will strengthen our existing partnership" with Facebook "for the benefit of both companies and their respective long-term visions."

Facebook has become the world's biggest social network with more than one billion users, but its stock has been hit by concerns about its ability to boost revenues and profitability.

The California group has been working on a number of advertising initiatives for both desktop and mobile Facebook applications.

Facebook shares rose 1.4 percent to end Thursday at $27.25.

- AFP/ac

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Bigger, thicker, cheaper, plastic iPhone coming next year (rumor)

Apple's iPhone 5 makes use of aluminum and ceramics.

(Credit:
Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Holdouts expecting a larger version of the iPhone this year will have to keep on waiting, a new report says.

Citing sources, Japanese Apple news site Macotakara says such a device is instead slated for next year, and will use plastic instead of aluminum for its body.

Macotakara says the device will sport a polycarbonate plastic enclosure much like the one found on the MacBook, and iBook before it -- a product line that was discontinued in mid-2011. Other rumored details include a 4.5-inch screen, which would be half an inch larger than the one found on the
iPhone 5 and
iPod Touch; Apple's usual home button; and a $330 price tag that would be a little less than half of the average selling price of the iPhone 5 (without carrier subsidy).

As MacRumors notes, Macotakara's had a mixed rumor scorecard, but had accurate information about Apple's latest batch of iPods, some two months before they were officially unveiled.

Wall Street analysts have, for months, opined about the possibilities of a larger-screened device, and the potential financial windfall it could provide Apple. In a note earlier this month, Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes said the firm believes the company is cooking up a 5-inch model for later this year or the first quarter of next year and could boost the average amount Apple sells the iPhone for by about 5 percent for Apple's 2014 calendar year.

The rumor is separate from those pointing to another "S" iteration from Apple later this year. The company has released both the
iPhone 3GS and 4S between major device generations, something that is expected to happen once again. Purported shots of the device's internal components surfaced in January alongside reports Apple was planning to double down with a second, cheaper model to gain ground in emerging markets.

(via AppleInsider)

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Newtown father's emotional plea to Congress

During emotional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, the father of a first grader slain at Sandy Hook Elementary School fought back tears as he stressed the need to ban weapons like the assault rifle that a gunman used to kill his son, 19 other children, and 6 educators in Newtown, Conn.

Neil Heslin described how his son Jesse "was brutally murdered at Sandy Hook school on December 14, 20 minutes after I dropped him off."

"He said 'It's all going to be OK'," Heslin recalled his son saying as he was dropped off at school. "And it wasn't OK."

"Jesse was the love of my life. He was the only family I have left. It's hard for me to be here today, talking about my deceased son," Heslin said. But he added, "I have to. I'm his voice. I'm not here for the sympathy...I'm here to speak up for my son."

"There's many changes that have to happen to make a change effective," he continued. "Mental health issues, better background checks, bans on these weapons, bans on high capacity magazines - they all have to come together and they all have to work effectively...common sense tells you that."

The hearing was convened to discuss a bill from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., which would ban military style semiautomatic weapons like the Bushmaster rifle that was used to commit the massacre at Sandy Hook. The bill would also ban the manufacture and sale of ammunition magazines in excess of 10 bullets.

Feinstein, who sponsored the original assault weapons ban that passed Congress in 1994 and lapsed in 2004, said that "The need for a federal ban" on these assault weapons "has never been greater."

The committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, extended his condolences to the victims of gun violence in the audience but voiced skepticism about the prospect of enacting new gun laws when, in his view, existing gun laws are not even being properly enforced.

The assault weapons ban is perhaps the most controversial among a raft of proposals to reduce gun violence floated by President Obama in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook. Another key propsoal would strengthen and expand the background check system for gun purchasers.

Opponents of gun control argue that many of the proposals would be an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment's guarantee of a right to bear arms. Many also argue that the proposals would be an ineffective deterrent of gun violence.

Supporters of gun control argue that the right to bear arms is not absolute and has previously been legally abridged in a variety of ways. They further point to the dramatically decreased incidence of gun violence in countries whose firearm restrictions are more stringent than our own.

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Holder Says Sequester Makes America Less Safe

The looming budget sequestration will make Americans less safe, Eric Holder says—and anyone who says otherwise isn't telling the truth.

"This is something that is going to have an impact on the safety of this country," the U.S. attorney general told ABC's Pierre Thomas on Wednesday in a wide-ranging, exclusive interview.

"And anybody that says otherwise is either lying or saying something that runs contrary to the facts," Holder said.

In his interview with ABC News, Holder reiterated warnings that if automatic spending cuts are triggered on Friday, the Justice Department will be handicapped in some of its most vital missions to prevent terrorist attacks and crime.

"The Justice Department is going to lose nine percent of its budget between now and September 30th. We're going to lose $1.6 billion. There are not going to be as many FBI agents, ATF agents, DEA agents, prosecutors who are going to be able to do their jobs," Holder said. "They're going to be furloughed. They're going to spend time out of their offices, not doing their jobs."

Portions of the interview will air Wednesday, February 27 on "ABC World News"

Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

Eric Holder Says Homegrown Terror Threat Equals International: Exclusive Watch Video

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President Obama's Cabinet members have been warning for weeks that budget sequestration, which will begin Friday unless Obama and Republicans reach a deficit-reduction deal to avoid it, will leave their agencies shorthanded and could bring about disastrous consequences. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood have both appeared at the White House press briefing room to warn that furloughs for border-patrol agents, TSA agents and air-traffic controllers will mean weakened border and port security, longer waits in airport security lines, and logjammed air travel.

Holder, for his part, warned in a Feb. 1 letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee that cuts to the FBI, the ATF, the U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Attorneys would limit the department's capacity to investigate crimes. Cuts at the Bureau of Prisons, Holder wrote, would mean lockdowns and potential violence, with fewer staff members on hand. In a separate letter, FBI Director Robert Mueller warned that counterterrorism operations would be affected, with the possible elimination of some joint terrorism task forces with state and local police. Limited surveillance and slower response times would mean unwatched targets and the possibility that individuals on terrorism watch lists could gain entry to the U.S.

"FBI's ability to proactively penetrate and disrupt terrorist plans and groups prior to an attack would be impacted," Mueller wrote.

To Holder, the problem is simple.

"If you don't have prosecutors and agents doing what we expect them to do, and we won't if this thing actually takes place, we are going to be a nation that is going to be less safe. And that is simple fact," Holder said.

Some Republicans have claimed the Obama administration is exaggerating the sequester's purported consequences as a ploy to campaign for tax hikes. On "Fox News Sunday" this week, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., posited that federal agencies enjoy enough flexibility to avoid the worst consequences of the cuts.

On Wednesday, Holder acknowledged that the Justice Department will do what it can to avoid compromised security, while maintaining that furloughs can't be avoided.

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Football: Arsenal reveal plans for Bergkamp statue

LONDON: Arsenal revealed on Wednesday that they plan to honour former striker Dennis Bergkamp by erecting a statue of the Dutchman outside the Emirates Stadium.

Bergkamp follows in the footsteps of former team-mates Thierry Henry and Tony Adams and legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman, who have already been commemorated in bronze statues outside the club's north London home.

Arsenal were forced to confirm plans for the tribute after an image of a cast for the statue appeared online.

"First of all, I am honoured that this is going to happen," Bergkamp said.

"It makes me very proud. Everyone knows that I love Arsenal and that I had a fantastic time at the club.

"For me and my family it was an important period in our lives. Next to that the people were great, the team was amazing and we had a lot of success over the years.

"I will do everything I can to be there when it will be unveiled. It will definitely be a special moment for me, which I don't want to miss."

Bergkamp scored 120 goals for Arsenal and won three league titles and four FA Cups during his 11-year tenure at the club.

"Dennis and everybody at Arsenal are slightly disappointed that some images have been leaked today of the statue in its development, but this will not detract from the excitement we have for the statue's unveiling in the coming months," said Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis.

-AFP/ac

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