Yahoo! News: World - China

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• Israel army disperses Lebanese protesters at border
• Egypt annoyed as Britain continues suspension of flights
• Taliban leader encourages people to plant trees
• Trump Administration Seeks to Loosen Hiring Requirements to Beef Up Border Patrol
• This Week Fast Forward 02.26.2017
• One dead, two injured in Germany car attack
• Congress Is Making It Harder To File A Class-Action Lawsuit
• Here’s the three new Nokia Android phones you’ve been waiting for
• White House bars some news organizations from briefing
• French legal probe ratchets up pressure on Fillon election bid
• Thorny skate will not be added to endangered species list
• An Ecstatic Crowd Greets Obama At NYC Starbucks
• Guatemala orders expulsion of abortion ship, crew
• Syria's White Helmets rescuers will not attend Oscars
• Photos of the day - February 25, 2017
• Dakota protesters regroup, plot resistance to other pipelines
• 5 Reasons a Riding Mower Snow Plow Is a Bad Idea
• You’ll never look at your TV the same way again
• What we've learned about President Trump during first weeks in office
• Pope quietly trims sanctions for sex abusers seeking mercy
• MH370 Search Must Continue, Australia’s Former PM Says
• Photos of the day - February 26, 2017
• Magistrates to probe France's Fillon over 'fake jobs'
• Protesters mark Philippine revolt by condemning killings
• Zimbabwe's Mugabe says will not impose successor, party will choose
• In besieged Gaza, first English library to open window to world
• Interview: Secret messaging app Confide wins new fans in the Trump era
• Jerk alligator steals a huge fish off a little boy's line
• Haiti gov't creates commission to probe prison conditions
• Here's How To Watch Ring Of Fire Eclipse Sunday Morning
• Pence: Administration backs Israel abroad, business at home
• FCC chair to block stricter broadband data privacy rules
• Russia frees opposition activist jailed for protesting
• 7 Reasons Why We Love MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolours
• This tiny laptop charger is the accessory all MacBooks need
• Brazil's Carnival begins with parades, parties but no mayor
• Samsung Galaxy S8, S8 Plus Specs Leaked, Again
• Judge decides against fining widow who called police 'pigs'
• British FM Johnson, Egypt's Sisi finalise loan deal
• South Carolina Republican's town hall starts rowdy, ends peaceably
• WWII Navy officer who helped rescue Kennedy dies at age 97
• France sends backup to Niger after 16 troops killed
• How To Watch Mardi Gras Online
• This Kickstarter pen looks so good, I actually backed it
• Christian Louboutin adds eye products to existing makeup collection
• Huawei seeks to exploit Samsung gap with new smartphone
• Police work to bring back murder suspect who fled state

Israel army disperses Lebanese protesters at border Posted: 25 Feb 2017 11:03 AM PST Israel's army dispersed dozens of Lebanese demonstrators Saturday after they crossed the border protesting against the alleged installation of spying equipment in their village, the Israeli army and media said. "Dozens of people gathered at the border between Lebanon and Israel," a military spokeswoman said. "Upon the group crossing of the international border, IDF forces fired dispersal means in order to disperse the gathering and prevent further infiltration into Israeli territory," she said, adding there were no casualties.

Egypt annoyed as Britain continues suspension of flights Posted: 25 Feb 2017 11:33 PM PST Egypt expressed frustration on Saturday at Britain's refusal to lift a suspension of flights from the United Kingdom to the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, imposed after Islamic State brought down a Russian airliner in 2015. The issue of airline security came up in talks involving visiting British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry. Johnson praised Egypt as a longstanding friend of Britain and said they were strong allies against terrorism and extremist ideas, according to a British statement.

Taliban leader encourages people to plant trees Posted: 26 Feb 2017 05:18 AM PST KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Springtime in Afghanistan usually brings a spike in violence as the Taliban takes advantage of the thaw to launch a wave of fresh attacks. But the Taliban's leader has just issued a statement calling on Afghans to plant more trees.

Trump Administration Seeks to Loosen Hiring Requirements to Beef Up Border Patrol Posted: 25 Feb 2017 01:09 PM PST According to an internal memo, laxer standards are needed to expand the number of Border Patrol agents, but that could come at a cost in security.

This Week Fast Forward 02.26.2017 Posted: 26 Feb 2017 08:47 AM PST Speed through the highlights from the latest "This Week."

One dead, two injured in Germany car attack Posted: 25 Feb 2017 02:00 PM PST One person was killed and two injured Saturday when a man rammed a car into pedestrians in the southern German city of Heidelberg, said police, adding that it did not appear to be a terror attack. After the crash, the driver, a 35-year-old German man, fled on foot armed with a knife on a busy city centre street but was shot and wounded by police.

Congress Is Making It Harder To File A Class-Action Lawsuit Posted: 25 Feb 2017 05:20 AM PST The bill would require all litigants to have "suffered the same type and scope of injury" as one another.

Here’s the three new Nokia Android phones you’ve been waiting for Posted: 26 Feb 2017 09:26 AM PST About five years too late, Nokia has finally entered the Android market. It's probably not quite what you were expecting: the phones really come from Nokia's new Finnish owner, HMD Global. But hey, they're Nokia phones running Android, and they look half-decent, so who are we to complain? Things get better when you hear about the design decisions HMD has been making. Just a few small companies (and Motorola) have done in the past, HMD is shipping all three phones with pure Android, no gimmicks, no bundled apps, and no bungled re-skinning. The three devices are called the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6. The specs and price increase along with the number, but all three handsets look distinctly mid-range. It starts with the Nokia 3, the most basic of the new devices. It's featuring a 5-inch display up front, generic quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM underneath, and 16GB of storage, expandable with a microSD. The design looks a lot like the Nokia we've recently become familiar with: curved edges, a polycarbonate frame, and most of the flair coming from color. It's not a bad design, normally, but in a world of aluminum unibody, it's sorely in danger of feeling cheap. That's exactly what the Nokia 3 is, though, as it should be available in the spring for around $150. Just like the new 3310, there's a range of colors for you to choose from. The Nokia 5 looks like a small step up in price, but hits a much more attractive place with the specs. Ther's a 5.2-inch display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a Wualcomm Snapdragon 430 underneath. That's a decent amount of power for a mid-range Android device, and especially given that it's running a naked version of Android with no bloat, should be enough for most day-to-day use. The polycarbonate body is also upgraded to aluminum, which helps with a more premium feel. It still looks to have a lot of bezel compared to this year's crop of smartphones, but at the price of the 5, you can lett that go. It should be shipping in Q2 for $200, which is a steal for a serious low-end handset these days. There's also one other piece of classic Nokia to be found in the 5's hardware: a 13-megapixel camera at the back and 6-megapixel front-facing camera. Provided that these are good lenses and not just gratuitously thrown on there to save the spec sheet, that could mean that Nokia's legendary mobile cameras are back for good. Finally, we've got the Nokia 6. It many ways, it's similar to the 5: aluminum body, Snapdragon 430 processor, but the screen has been upgraded to 5.5-inches and the RAM to 3GB. The camera also gets a small bump to 16 megapixels. There's also a limited edition available with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, if that really catches your eye. It's still not priced anywhere close to flagship smartphone pricing, with the regular version running about $250. None of these phones are going to change the world or compete with a new iPhone, but it looks to be a solid first step back into the phone-making business for Nokia. We'll have to wait and see how sales actually go -- for low-end phones like these, it will probably depend if they can get into any carrier retail stores -- but the future looks a little brighter for Nokia after today.

White House bars some news organizations from briefing Posted: 24 Feb 2017 06:49 PM PST By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House excluded several major U.S. news organizations, including some it has criticized, from an off-camera briefing held by the White House press secretary on Friday. Spicer's off-camera briefing, or "gaggle," replaced the usual televised daily news briefing in the White House briefing room. Reuters was included in the session, along with about 10 other news organizations, including Bloomberg and CBS.

French legal probe ratchets up pressure on Fillon election bid Posted: 25 Feb 2017 01:16 PM PST A French prosecutors' decision to launch a full judicial inquiry into claims that presidential candidate Francois Fillon paid his family for fake jobs leaves him facing a fraught two months before elections, media commentators said Saturday. Rightwing standardbearer Fillon, who was previously leading the race, will be investigated over allegations of embezzlement for putting his wife Penelope on the public payroll, prosecutors said Friday. The Paris daily Le Parisien said the decision unleashed a "surge in the pressure" on Fillon.

Thorny skate will not be added to endangered species list Posted: 25 Feb 2017 08:25 PM PST PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The thorny skate's population may have declined, but not by enough to justify listing it under the Endangered Species Act, the federal government has ruled.

An Ecstatic Crowd Greets Obama At NYC Starbucks Posted: 24 Feb 2017 09:33 PM PST Barack Obama may no longer be the U.S. president, but it appears he can still attract a large crowd.

Guatemala orders expulsion of abortion ship, crew Posted: 24 Feb 2017 06:35 PM PST GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's immigration office on Friday ordered the expulsion of a ship run by a Dutch nonprofit organization that performs free abortions onboard in international waters.

Syria's White Helmets rescuers will not attend Oscars Posted: 25 Feb 2017 09:16 PM PST Rescue workers from Syria's White Helmets group - the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary - will not attend this weekend's Academy Awards ceremony because of intensified regime bombing and a rejected passport. Raed Saleh and fellow White Helmet member Khaled Khatib had been set to attend Sunday's ceremony in Hollywood, where "The White Helmets" is shortlisted for best short documentary. Sad, but important work to do here," Khatib tweeted Saturday from Istanbul.

Photos of the day - February 25, 2017 Posted: 25 Feb 2017 11:45 AM PST Iraqi security forces transfer displaced Iraqis who fled their homes during fighting between Iraqi special forces and Islamic State militants, on the western side of Mosul, Iraq; Supporters of the ruling AK Party wave Turkish flags during a campaign meeting for the April 16 constitutional referendum, in Ankara, Turkey; and, Jacqueline Loelling of Germany competes in the third run of the IBSF World Championships Bob & Skeleton 2017 at Deutsche Post Eisarena Koenigssee in Koenigssee, Germany. These are just a few of the photos of the day for February 25, 2017. See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr.

Dakota protesters regroup, plot resistance to other pipelines Posted: 25 Feb 2017 03:08 AM PST By Terray Sylvester CANNON BALL, N.D. (Reuters) - Opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline who were pushed out of their protest camp this week have vowed to keep up efforts to stop the multibillion-dollar project and take the fight to other pipelines as well. The Oceti Sakowin camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, was cleared by law enforcement on Thursday and almost 50 people, many of them Native Americans and environmental activists, were arrested. The number of demonstrators had dwindled from the thousands who poured into the camp starting in August to oppose the pipeline that critics say threatens the water resources and sacred land of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

5 Reasons a Riding Mower Snow Plow Is a Bad Idea Posted: 26 Feb 2017 04:00 AM PST Anyone with a lawn tractor or ZTR riding mower who lives in a snowy region has probably pondered the notion of attaching a plow or snow blower to it, especially when the snow falls heavy and deep...

You’ll never look at your TV the same way again Posted: 25 Feb 2017 07:30 AM PST Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to get serious for a few moments, if we may. We show you plenty of great deals every day, and we constantly cover awesome products that our readers love. We hear from readers all the time who tell us how much they appreciate our recommendations, and how grateful they are after saving so much money. Of course, not everyone listens to us, and that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that at all. But if you pick up only one product that we recommend, this is the one: The Luminoodle Color Bias Lighting Kit. This awesome and affordable gadget plugs into a USB port on the back of your TV and automatically turns on as soon as you power up your television, projecting gorgeous backlighting onto the wall behind your TV. You can adjust the brightness and change colors using the included remote, and the result is a viewing experience that's so much better than watching normal TV, it's difficult to put into words. Trust us, this will be the best $21 you ever spend. Some highlights from the product page: INCLUDES: 78-in high quality RGB LED strip light kit to provide 250 lumens of USB bias lighting, 3M adhesive backing and reversible USB for easy plug-in. A built in on/off, dimmer, and color changing switch as well as wireless remote make this easy to customize for any viewing situation. 14 color choices, 10 brightness settings, 3 white modes and 3 fade or strobe modes. Provides benefits with any TV size 30"/40"/50"/60" USB Input: 5W (5V, 1A) EASY TO USE: Just clean the back of your TV, secure your LED strip light, plug the RGB TV backlight USB plug into the USB port, and you have a great TV light or monitor backlight. Cut the LED strip every 2 inches for the perfect fit for any size screen. The TV light strip powers on and off with your TV's USB port. Choose from 14 color options, 10 dimmer settings, 3 white modes, and single and multi-color strobe and fade modes. CREATE A BEAUTIFUL VIEWING EXPERIENCE: With RGB LED bias lighting, you create sharper images and color contrast while adding beautiful TV ambient lighting of any color to your surroundings. Customize the backlight to your surroundings by choosing the perfect color and brightness setting. Easy on/off switch for TVs with a constant on USB setting. The Luminoodle Backlight for TV creates a beautiful environment that makes your friends and family want you to be the one to host viewing parties. REDUCE EYE STRAIN IN CHILDREN & ADULTS: With increasing screen time, eyestrain and headaches have become more and more common. Bias lights save your eyes and prevent unwanted headaches in both children and adults by reducing the contrast between the brightness of the TV and the surrounding room. This 78-inch TV backlight kit with color and dimmer provides benefits with any TV size 30"/40"/50"/60'' 1 YEAR WARRANTY: Power Practical offers a 1 year warranty on our RGB LED TV lights with friendly, easy to access customer support.

What we've learned about President Trump during first weeks in office Posted: 26 Feb 2017 08:50 AM PST ABC News' George Stephanopoulos reports the latest in politics on "This Week."

Pope quietly trims sanctions for sex abusers seeking mercy Posted: 25 Feb 2017 05:54 AM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has quietly reduced sanctions against a handful of pedophile priests, applying his vision of a merciful church even to its worst offenders in ways that survivors of abuse and the pope's own advisers question.

MH370 Search Must Continue, Australia’s Former PM Says Posted: 25 Feb 2017 09:31 PM PST Tony Abbott said Friday that he did not believe all search avenues in the southern Indian Ocean had been exhausted so as to suspend the search.

Photos of the day - February 26, 2017 Posted: 26 Feb 2017 11:43 AM PST Somali migrants cross the U.S. border into Canada; figure skating Gold medalist Choi Da-bin of South Korea, performs during the closing ceremony of the Asian Winter Games; Portland Timbers midfielder David Guzman and Los Angeles Galaxy forward Giovani dos Santos vie for the ball. See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr.

Magistrates to probe France's Fillon over 'fake jobs' Posted: 24 Feb 2017 07:58 PM PST Francois Fillon, the conservative candidate in France's presidential election, will face a probe by investigating magistrates into claims he gave members of his family fake jobs, prosecutors said. Fillon, one of the frontrunners in the presidential race, will be investigated for alleged embezzlement of public funds and misappropriation of corporate assets, prosecutors said in a statement. The 62-year-old former prime minister has not been charged at this point, but under French law investigating magistrates can decide to bring charges.

Protesters mark Philippine revolt by condemning killings Posted: 25 Feb 2017 07:59 PM PST MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Thousands of pro-democracy activists marked the anniversary of the 1986 revolt that ousted Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos with a warning against what they say are the incumbent president's dictatorial tendencies.

Zimbabwe's Mugabe says will not impose successor, party will choose Posted: 25 Feb 2017 06:48 AM PST By Philimon Bulawayo MATOBO, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said on Saturday he would not impose his successor and that if the ruling ZANU-PF party felt he should retire, it would hold an extraordinary congress to choose a new leader. The world's oldest leader, who turned 93 this week, has maintained a tight grip on power in Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980. Mugabe was joined by thousands of supporters to celebrate his birthday at a school in Matobo just outside the second biggest city Bulawayo, and a short distance from the grave of colonialist Cecil John Rhodes.

In besieged Gaza, first English library to open window to world Posted: 25 Feb 2017 11:04 PM PST Mossab Abu Toha has never actually left Gaza, instead devouring books as an escape. Now he is struggling to open the first English-language library in the beleaguered Palestinian territory. Abu Toha, like so many Gazans effectively trapped in the Palestinian enclave by Israeli and Egyptian restrictions, dreams of travelling.

Interview: Secret messaging app Confide wins new fans in the Trump era Posted: 25 Feb 2017 11:15 AM PST It started with an email, which led to a swapping of voicemails, which led to several days of back and forth until the two professionals trying to connect with each other finally decided -- this is taking too long; it shouldn't have to be this hard to communicate. So they did what any technology-minded executive with means would do in that scenario. They launched an app. It was back in 2013, and the result was Confide, a secret messaging app -- Snapchat for professionals, as they like to call it -- whose chats self-destruct after they've been read. Four years on, the service has raised $3.4 million, is available in 15 different languages and works across major platforms from iOS to Android to PCs. Its profile has also skyrocketed in recent weeks -- not due, really, to efforts from the company, which doesn't have much in the way of an advertising or marketing push to speak of. No, Confide is in the counterintuitive position of being a secret messaging service dealing with a gush of notoriety because -- well, ok, like so much of the news these days, there's a Trump connection in there somewhere. Anyone who's gotten whatever the news audience equivalent is of whiplash from trying to keep up with the head-spinning pace of news out of the Trump administration will already be clued in to this: not all of the press, shall we say, has painted the newest occupant of the White House in the most flattering of lights. And some of that coverage has been stoked by leaks from within the mighty bowels of the country's great ship of state. Trump tweeted on Feb. 16 that the hunt was on for "low-life leakers!" That's helped spawn a culture of secrecy throughout the administration, as staffers have reportedly begun taking steps to cover their tracks and communicate using Confide. Talk about an unexpected journey. Confide co-founder Jon Brod says they set out to help business people communicate securely. Now worried staffers are using it to keep themselves away from the scrutiny of the leader of the free world. From the beginning, Brod tells BGR, "what we realized was the permanent digital record of the Internet is truly an impediment to efficiency and is dangerous as it relates to sensitive communication. "And so we said -- Snapchat was gaining some popularity at that point and was getting people comfortable with the notion of ephemerality. And we sort of said, huh, what if we could apply some of those principles of security and ephemerality to communications particularly among professionals and business people. Wouldn't that solve some interesting problems and create a private and efficient way to communicate." The app he went on to co-found has tended to see spikes in use around big hacks and other security-related events like the Sony Pictures breach in 2014. Confide keeps user numbers close to the vest, but lately Brod says every month has been producing new record highs for the service -- and while the U.S. is its biggest market, usage overseas also represents a significant chunk of the business. Usage of Confide among GOP operatives and staffers to send messages securely -- which was reported by the digital political news outlet Axios -- has brought the service new recognition. That recognition will help with the go-forward game plan, which includes bringing Confide to additional platforms along with an even higher-level goal. Brod wants to see the brand reach the ubiquity of something like "follow us on Twitter" or "Like us on Facebook." Maybe one day, he hopes, people will say with the same familiarity, "send with Confide." Again, with a focus on business profiles -- we are to Snapchat, Brod says, what LinkedIn is to Facebook. Among other quick facts about Confide: The service says its message encryption is based on the PGP standard. It's designed to detect and prevent screenshots. All messages between Confide can only be decrypted using a private key which is generated on, and never leaves, the user's device, according to the company. The team has both employed and contracted with engineers who Brod says have "strong security and cryptography backgrounds." The company uses "standard encryption protocols" and, following the example of other messengers like WhatsApp and iMessage, does not open source its code. "If you think about conversations throughout history, they were the spoken word, whether through a face-to-face meeting or a phone call," Brod says. "And in those conversations, you generally know who you're speaking to, and only the intended recipient can hear those conversations. And then after the words are spoken, they disappear. "With the advent of digital communication, all of that got turned on its head. And now everything you communicate digitally is archived forever in the Internet's permanent record. While that's really good for innocuous conversations, because it allows you to communicate on any device, in real time, it's exactly those characteristics and those copies that make it vulnerable and dangerous for sensitive communication. So that's how we think about the business." And about what's next for getting users to confide in, well, Confide.

Jerk alligator steals a huge fish off a little boy's line Posted: 26 Feb 2017 07:07 AM PST Today, a little boy named Connor learned the brutal lesson that Mother Nature has no manners. In a clip posted to the Bass Masters And Fish Experts Facebook Page, a thieving alligator had an easy lunch thanks to some humans fishing off a pier. In the clip, a young boy hooks a pretty sizable fish, and as one man encourages the boy to reel in the fish all on his own, another spots an alligator lurking near the pier. The man tries to distract the gator by hitting the side of the pier with his arm, but the reptile was determined to get its eats. "You need to cut your line," one the of the men tells the little boy as the gator swims away with his catch.  Although it's unclear where the incident occurred, many commenters insisted it happened in Florida.  [h/t: UPI] BONUS: Giant nets harvest fog to solve water crisis in Morocco

Haiti gov't creates commission to probe prison conditions Posted: 24 Feb 2017 07:16 PM PST PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti announced a new government commission on Friday to probe the country's prisons and other overcrowded lockups and make recommendations to improve desperate conditions for inmates.

Here's How To Watch Ring Of Fire Eclipse Sunday Morning Posted: 26 Feb 2017 03:20 AM PST The eclipse will be most visible at 8:16 a.m.

Pence: Administration backs Israel abroad, business at home Posted: 24 Feb 2017 11:30 PM PST LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence is assuring the Republican Jewish Coalition that he and President Donald Trump will work tirelessly on foreign and domestic issues important to the group, such as enacting business-friendly policies at home and supporting Israel abroad.

FCC chair to block stricter broadband data privacy rules Posted: 25 Feb 2017 09:52 AM PST By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will block some Obama administration rules that subject broadband providers to stricter scrutiny than websites, a spokesman said on Friday, in a victory for internet providers such as AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc. The rules approved by the FCC in October in a 3-2 vote were aimed at protecting sensitive personal consumer data. Ajit Pai, the FCC chairman appointed by President Donald Trump, believes all companies in the "online space should be subject to the same rules, and the federal government should not favor one set of companies over another," said FCC spokesman Mark Wigfield.

Russia frees opposition activist jailed for protesting Posted: 26 Feb 2017 02:02 AM PST Russia on Sunday released a prominent opposition activist from jail, after a court quashed a sentence that made him the only person convicted under a tough law against public protests. Ildar Dadin, 34, emerged from a Siberian penal colony after some 15 months behind bars for repeatedly holding unsanctioned rallies against President Vladimir Putin's rule. Dadin -- who was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International -- has complained of torture and abuse behind bars, and his case became a cause celebre for those who oppose the Kremlin.

7 Reasons Why We Love MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolours Posted: 25 Feb 2017 08:00 AM PST Watch Yahoo Beauty Director, Dana Oliver, try on the 7 new shades of the MAC Retro Matt Liquid Lipcolour line. Here's why we love them so much!

This tiny laptop charger is the accessory all MacBooks need Posted: 25 Feb 2017 10:00 AM PST The MacBook charger is an iconic design that is, by all accounts, a good piece of work. It's a little more elegant and refined than the ugly black bricks most laptops ship with, and a reason why people are willing to repeatedly spend $80 to replace it every time the cable craps out. But as it turns out, the advent of USB-C is causing a shift. For the first time in forever, it's feasible to make a third-party laptop charger, because more and more new laptops charge off the USB-C standard, rather than some random proprietary plug. Enter the FinSix Dart C, which claims the title of the world's smallest laptop charger. It will charge any laptop that draws 65W or less, and it's about the same size as most phone chargers. Needless to say, I'm in love. There's not much to review here, which is a great thing. Necessary items like chargers are best when you don't notice them: a charger needs to be robustly built, provide electricity in a consistent fashion, and have a long enough cable. Beyond that, all I really want from a charger is to be small and light and in my bag when I need it. On all of these arbitrary categories that I just invented, the FinSix scores really well. It is absolutely tiny, taking up less room in my bag than just the power cable for a regular MacBook charger. 65W is enough for the Retina MacBook, every new Chromebook on the market, and most of the smaller Windows ultrabooks. Most importantly, it's just enough to charge the new MacBook Pro. Other small details: there's a USB port just before the USB-C charging tip, which lets you charge a phone at the same time. It's not a huge deal, since I'd normally just charge the phone off the laptop anyway, but when you're using a one-port wonder like the Retina MacBook, it does mean one less charger to carry. There are some small niggles. Making the charging prongs retractable would be good, even if it added a few grams to the overall weight, as I live in fear of the prongs getting bent in the bag. Making the cable with a braided fabric cover would also be handy, and while we're on the topic, it would have been good to make the cable USB-C on both ends; as it stands, the connector into the wall wart is proprietary, which isn't ideal. Still, having a replaceable cable does mean that if (when) you break the connector end, you can replace it for $35, rather than the full $100. The charger is on back-order currently, but new orders should ship in March.

Brazil's Carnival begins with parades, parties but no mayor Posted: 24 Feb 2017 06:42 PM PST RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Revelers across Brazil began Carnival celebrations on Friday, taking to the streets to dance, drink beer and spirits, and blow off steam at a time of economic angst and fury with politicians over a sprawling corruption scandal.

Samsung Galaxy S8, S8 Plus Specs Leaked, Again Posted: 26 Feb 2017 02:29 AM PST Both the devices are expected to be launched in April and come with high-end features such as an iris scanner.

Judge decides against fining widow who called police 'pigs' Posted: 25 Feb 2017 02:42 PM PST MOORE, Okla. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a request to impose a stiff fine against a widow who called police "pigs" on Facebook as she vented her frustrations over the death of her husband in a scuffle.

British FM Johnson, Egypt's Sisi finalise loan deal Posted: 25 Feb 2017 10:36 AM PST British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday finalised a $150 million loan guarantee agreement tied to crucial IMF financing for Egypt. In Johnson's first visit as foreign secretary to Egypt, he also discussed boosting trade, with UK company investments having reached $30 billion in 2016, according to Britain's Foreign Office. Johnson and Sisi "finalised a joint declaration agreement on a $150 million loan guarantee to Egypt," the British embassy said in a statement.

South Carolina Republican's town hall starts rowdy, ends peaceably Posted: 25 Feb 2017 04:00 PM PST By Harriet McLeod NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Tim Scott faced a quandary on Saturday in hosting his town hall: he promised to meet with his South Carolina constituents, but he wanted to avoid the kind of adversarial free-for-all so many Republicans encountered this week. Scott decided to ban placards from his North Charlestown meeting in hopes of averting the raucousness that erupted at dozens of town halls during the first congressional recess of Donald Trump's month-old presidency. The senator also required the crowd submit questions in writing ahead of time after other Republican lawmakers faced a wave of anger on issues ranging from Trump's immigration and healthcare policies to the president's ties to Russia.

WWII Navy officer who helped rescue Kennedy dies at age 97 Posted: 26 Feb 2017 01:04 PM PST MOUNT AIRY, N.C. (AP) — The WWII Navy officer who guided his warship into Japanese territory to rescue future President John F. Kennedy and his crew has died at age 97, his daughter said Sunday.

France sends backup to Niger after 16 troops killed Posted: 26 Feb 2017 01:40 AM PST France is to send a contingent of counterterror forces to help the army in Niger after militants ambushed a military patrol killing 16, the defence ministry said. The decision, announced late Saturday, was taken following a request from President Mahamadou Issoufou after Wednesday's attack near the border with Mali. The deadly ambush, which took place in an area some 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Niamey, the capital, also wounded another 18 Niger troops, with the army blaming "terrorist elements".

How To Watch Mardi Gras Online Posted: 26 Feb 2017 06:40 AM PST Take in the experience of New Orlean fun without paying airfare for a ticket to Louisiana.

This Kickstarter pen looks so good, I actually backed it Posted: 24 Feb 2017 06:03 PM PST I have a bit of a Kickstarter problem. I'll go on Kickstarter for a couple minutes, as per usual, to hunt for any interesting new projects to blog about. Somehow, fifteen minutes later, I'm $100 poorer and the potential future owner of an artisinal new knife, or a $400 camera bag I didn't know I needed. This is all a long-winded way of saying that last night, I may or may not have spend $87 on a pen. This is out of character for me; I avoid writing things whenever humanly possible, and I'm also bad at losing small pocket items. This makes an expensive titanium pen a dangerous thing to own, because I probably won't use it as much as I think, and it will almost definitely be left behind on an airplane at some point. Despite all that, I still had to back this project, because just look at it. The standout feature, aside from the design, is obviously the flashlight integration. I might not use a pen all that much, but I use a flashlight of some kind daily; having one integrated into a pen is exactly the kind of versatility that makes me love Kickstarter. The details also look perfect. I love the matte titanium finish, the bolt-action pen, and the decision to use a commonly-available pen refill is smart. I do have concerns, mostly that the flashlight will make it end-heavy, which will make writing a pain. As ever, I can't really recommend backing this yourself. Putting down money on a Kickstarter is still gambling on the future of a very unproven company, and it's far too easy to get burned. But if there's even a 75% chance that I end up with this pen in my hands, I'll be happy.

Christian Louboutin adds eye products to existing makeup collection Posted: 25 Feb 2017 05:03 AM PST The luxury French brand is set to launch a series of four eye products this March, WWD reports. The range will comprise a "Lash Amplifying Lacquer" mascara designed to offer a luminous effect, a "Luminous Ink Eyeliner" that includes a vivid shade of red, a "Velvet Eye Definer" eyeliner pencil and a "Brow Definer" eyebrow pencil. The mascara and eyeliners will come in shades of black and brown, with the eyeliner pencil also available in teal.

Huawei seeks to exploit Samsung gap with new smartphone Posted: 26 Feb 2017 05:54 AM PST Huawei is introducing a mass-market version of its premium business phone, to take advantage of a gap created by the withdrawal of Samsung's flagship Galaxy Note 7 after a crisis with its batteries catching fire. Huawei has aggressively expanded its mid- to high-end phones and is going head to head in Asia and Europe with Apple and Samsung in the premium phone market. Huawei's new P10 line is expected to be cheaper than the business-oriented Mate 9, with new features including facial detection that can tell whether a user is taking a selfie or a picture with more people and select its camera mode accordingly.

Police work to bring back murder suspect who fled state Posted: 25 Feb 2017 11:55 AM PST BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut police worked Saturday to secure the return of a man they say fled the state with his 6-year-old daughter after killing the girl's mother.

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