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Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Apple posts surprise fall in iPhone sale

Apple reported a surprise fall in iPhone sales for the second quarter on Tuesday, indicating that customers had held back purchases in anticipation of the 10th-anniversary edition launch of the company's most important product. 



As Apple customers wait for 10th anniversary handset (but don't worry, it still has £200 BILLION in the bank)

Apple posts surprise fall in iPhone sales as customers wait for 10th anniversary handset (but don't worry, it still has $256.8 BILLION in the bank)

Apple hit record $775 billion in market cap before earnings announcement

Apple sold 50.76 million iPhones in its fiscal second quarter ended April 1

Down from 51.19 million  year ago, although revenue from the smartphones rose

Has $256.8 billion in the bank - greater than the foreign cash reserves of the UK and Canada combined 

APPLE'S CASH PILE 

Apple's cash stockpile is greater than the foreign cash reserves of the UK andCanada combined.

The Cupertino company has $256.8 billion in the bank - double its cash pile from just four and a half years ago.

The firm has been able to avoid US corporate taxes by keeping nearly 93 percent of its $246.09 billion total cash, cash equivalents and securities off shore – a route many major companies have taken.


IS APPLE PLANNING A 'HUGE' BUY?


As Apple's stash of cash grows, so does the possibility that the company will use some of the money for a huge acquisition that would expand its empire beyond iPhones and other gadgets.

The guessing game primarily has focused on potential acquisitions of video streaming service Netflix and electric car maker Tesla Motors.

But in recent months the takeover talk has swirled around whether Apple might do something even more dramatic by trying to buy Walt Disney Co.

A marriage between Apple and Disney would create the world's first company worth $1 trillion while uniting some of the world's most successful brands in technology and entertainment.

Apple's chief financial officer told The Associated Press that the company is looking at potential acquisitions of all sizes.









Scientists completely eliminate HIV in living animals for the first time ever using 'cut and paste' gene-editing

US scientists infected three groups of mice with HIV then tried to remove it

One of the groups was infected with HIV-1, and one with EcoHIV (the mouse equivalent of HIV-1)

The third was a 'humanized model' engrafted with human T-cells, which is where HIV tends to hide and avoid detection

Using gene-editing, the team managed to eliminate the virus and prevent further infection

They hope to now test primates as they move towards human clinical trials


By Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com

Scientists have cured living animals of HIV using CRISPR gene-editing, a new study claims. 

The virus remains elusive due to the its ability to hide away in latent reservoirs. 

But now, in new research published this week, US scientists showed they could completely remove HIV DNA from human cells implanted into mice - preventing further infection.

It is the first time scientists have ever achieved complete elimination in animal models - paving the way to a human clinical trial.


Scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh completely removed HIV DNA from human cells implanted into mice (file image)

WHAT IS CRISPR AND HOW IS IT USED? 

CRISPR-Cas9 is a tool for making precise edits in DNA, discovered in bacteria.

The acronym stands for 'Clustered Regularly Inter-Spaced Palindromic Repeats'.

The technique involves a DNA cutting enzyme and a small tag which tells the enzyme where to cut.

By editing this tag, scientists are able to target the enzyme to specific regions of DNA and make precise cuts, wherever they like.

It has been used to 'silence' genes - effectively switching them off.

When cellular machinery repairs the DNA break, it removes a small snip of DNA.

In this way, researchers can precisely turn off specific genes in the genome.

The approach has been used previously to edit the HBB gene responsible for a condition called β-thalassaemia. 

Most exciting, the study by at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh involved a 'humanized' model in which mice were transplanted with human immune cells and infected with the virus.  

The new work, led by Dr Wenhui Hu at LKSOM, builds on the same team's previous research, in which they managed to delete HIV-1 from the genome of most tissues.

A year later, they have been able to eliminate the virus from every tissue.  

'Our new study is more comprehensive,' Dr. Hu said. 

'We confirmed the data from our previous work and have improved the efficiency of our gene editing strategy. We also show that the strategy is effective in two additional mouse models, one representing acute infection in mouse cells and the other representing chronic, or latent, infection in human cells.'

The team tested three groups of mice.

In the first, they infected mice with HIV-1.

In the second, they infected mice with a severe case of EcoHIV (the mouse equivalent of human HIV-1).

The third used a 'humanized' mouse model, engrafted with human immune cells, that was infected with HIV-1.  

Treating the first group, they managed to genetically inactivate HIV-1, reducing the RNA expression of viral genes by up to 95 percent, confirming their earlier findings.

The second group has an added challenge: the virus is more prone to vociferously spread and multiply. 

'During acute infection, HIV actively replicates,' Dr Khalili explained. 

'With EcoHIV mice, we were able to investigate the ability of the CRISPR/Cas9 strategy to block viral replication and potentially prevent systemic infection.' 


Revolutionary cut and paste gene-editing tool sets its...

More than 400 patients are being recalled for blood tests...

The CRISPR/Cas9 technqiue uses tags which identify the location of the mutation, and an enzyme, which acts as tiny scissors, to cut DNA in a precise place, allowing small portions of a gene to be removed

Their strategy eliminated 96 percent of EcoHIV from the mice, providing the first evidence for HIV-1 eradication with a CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Finally, they came to the third animal model: humanized mice engrafted with human immune cells, including T cells, which is where HIV tends to hide. 

'These animals carry latent HIV in the genomes of human T cells, where the virus can escape detection,' Dr. Hu explained. 

Following a single treatment with CRISPR/Cas9, the scientists managed to completely remove viral fragments from the latently infected human cells embedded in mouse tissues and organs. 

The new study marks another major step forward in the pursuit of a permanent cure for HIV infection. 

'The next stage would be to repeat the study in primates, a more suitable animal model where HIV infection induces disease, in order to further demonstrate elimination of HIV-1 DNA in latently infected T cells and other sanctuary sites for HIV-1, including brain cells,' Dr. Khalili said. 

'Our eventual goal is a clinical trial in human patients.

Watch Video below


So much for the 'world's most secure' coin

'Minting errors' cause new £1 coins to melt, crack and the middle to DROP out

The new £1 coins are supposed to be the 'the most secure in the world' 

Bemused collectors have found coins with melted centres and design faults

Mangled coins found across Britain are being sold on eBay for up to £100 



Watch video on the 12 sided 1 pound wonder coin Hahahaha - Maybe made in China to save cost


Why are new £1 coins so secure?

12 sides make it more difficult to forge
A 'latent image', similar to a hologram is etched on
Very small lettering is used on the rim of both sides of the coins
Two metals: Nickel-plated alloy and golden nickel-brass
Milled edges: Alternate sides of the coin's 12 sides have grooves


COIN DOES NOT FIT IN LOCKERS AT BANK OF ENGLAND'S GYM

Bank of England officials were left red-faced today when it emerged that their sports centre lockers cannot take the new one pound coins.

Despite the new 12 sided coin becoming legal tender nearly a month ago on March 28, they were forced to put signs up on the lockers telling members to carry on using the old coins.
One member of staff at the Bank of England Sports Centre in Roehampton, south west London fumed: 'You'd think that the Bank of England would have thought about this. After all, they had more notice than anyone else.

'You really couldn't make it up.'

The centre in Priory Lane charges single members a £565 joining fee on top of £1434 annual membership.


'Doctors sent our girl home to die':

Parents hit out over suicide of anorexic pupil, 15, just five days after her clinic discharged her

Pippa McManus died at Gatley railway station in Stockport, in December 2015
She stepped in front of a train after a family dispute over her excessive gym use
Problems started when she was 12 with her condition leading her to self-harm




The parents of an anorexic schoolgirl who stepped in front of a train five days after being released from a top psychiatric unit said last night that their daughter was failed by authorities 'from beginning to end'. Pippa McManus, 15, who weighed as little as four stone, committed suicide after a family argument about her excessive gym use ended with her running out of the house shouting: 'I am going to kill myself.' Her body was later found near a local railway station. The girl's parents, Marie and James McManus, had expressed reservations about her release from the private Priory clinic, where her treatment was being funded by NHS England, but felt they were 'left with no choice', they told an inquest in Stockport.


Parliament speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia caught day dreaming with eyes wide open

Again drinking too much Ketum juice. Yes it confirms that he was not a neutral speaker but the Inn Keeper for Najib and Barisan Nasional. Feel sorry for him that the Sabah voters will reward him and elect him to Parliament in GE/PRU 14. Would not be surprised that he will lose his election deposit because the voters know too well he was a bad guy who helped the bad guys when he was the Inn keeper of the Malaysian Parliament . Next to the leadership of State UMNO - BN and Najib he is the most hated man in Sabah as of now





Kota Kinabalu – Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, who earlier this month told Daily Express the current term may be his last as Parliament Speaker as he wants to return to active politics, is likely to contest his former Tempasuk state seat or the pending newly-created State seat of Pintasan.Both are in the Kota Belud parliamentary constituency.

“I have seen a lot in politics, both at Federal and State levels. With my experience and wide political network nationwide, there are a lot of things that I can contribute to the stability of Sabah’s politics,” he said.

  


The former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department who formed Parti Bersih in the early 1980s upon graduating in law and also was involved in PBS and Akar, is still an Umno member.

Pandikar, 64, said he would also like to go back to Parliament where he had, for nine years now or two terms, sought to restore decorum to the House by asking unruly Members of Parliament to leave on occasions, among others.

“After nine years as Speaker, leading the Commonwealth parliamentary conference and giving orders, comments and ordering elected representatives to sit down, it my wish that I, in turn, shall be in the same House and told to sit down,” he said.

To be in the “same House” would require Pandikar to be a Member of Parliament. That being the case, he may also go for the Kota Belud MP seat, now held by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

Should that happen, speculation is that Abdul Rahman would move to Sepanggar.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department had lately been meeting Umno divisional leaders as well as Barisan Nasional component leaders in Sepanggar, a seat now held by suspended Umno member Jumat Idris.

Should Abdul Rahman contest in Sepanggar, Jumat may be fielded in the pending new State seat of Darau.

Sepanggar now comprises the state seats of Inanam and Karambunai.

Pandikar, a former assemblyman for Usukan and Tempasuk, two state seats within the Kota Belud parliamentary constituency, had been seen at almost all public functions in the “Cowboy Town” of Sabah due to buffalo riding Bajau residents.





He first won Usukan in a by-election in 1982 when he contested on an Usno ticket and defeated Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak, who was then a Parti Berjaya candidate.

Pandikar did not defend his Tampasuk seat in the 1999 general elections.

He was made President of the United Sabah Bajau Organisation (Usbo), an association once headed by former Kota Belud MP and currently Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh.

Both Pandikar and Salleh also once served as Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly.

Pandikar is also keen to contest a state seat in the east coast, Tungku in Lahad Datu, where he has considerable following. Last week, a delegation of Usbo leaders, on a state-wide tour, was given a rousing welcome by Tungku residents.

“That was an indication that Barisan Nasional is most welcome in the constituency,” an Usbo leader said.

Tungku had always been a BN stronghold in every election in the past.

Pressed for confirmation, Pandikar said, “Where I will contest, in principle, has been finalised.

But I leave it to the wisdom of BN leaders, both at the State and Federal levels to decide.

But for now it is confirmed I am returning to politics.”

– Joseph Bingkasan

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my

Saudi Aramco sale stake will be near 5%, prince says


May 2, 2017 5:44 PM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor 


The planned sale of a stake in the Saudi Aramco national oil company "will be not be very far off 5%" and occur in 2018, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says.

The Saudi government would retain sole control over Aramco's oil and gas reserves and would decide on production levels, and would have a concession to monetize those reserves, Prince Mohammed says.

The proceeds from the Aramco sale will help to develop other industries inside Saudi Arabia and will be invested by the kingdom's top sovereign wealth fund, according to the prince, who has said the IPO would value Aramco at ~$2T.

And comments below

Jihaad Arsehole

More money for the Saudis to sponsor more Islamic terrorists to Kill more non-Muslims world wide and thanks to the Westerns who are buy into Aramco IPO. Fools

speerfish

So they get 2 trillion for 5%, an American IPO, then they tax the hell out of it and get another 10 trillion off production, processing and a handling fee, from the Americans and we use their oil on top of that...go shale drillers!!!!


Baidewei

NAH - if you read the release carefully - they don't even own their reserves so 2 trillion is not a very reasonable valuation for an operator that is not an owner.


lowdawg81

I've seen reports that bankers most optimistic projection is $1.5T. Which is still roughly $75B Gross proceeds from a IPO.


Baidewei

ALL of the reports seem to assume the reservoirs are owned by Saudi Aramco and are part of the valuation. This is absolutely wrong.


Baidewei

XOM - just as an example - is only 350 billion.


moneybags9

Biggest company in the world right here


lowdawg81

It's not a true company, it's a GSE. Which if PBR is any indication, it'll be poorly ran while being saddled with debt and corruption.


MrHawkeye

I am not an expert on oil field valuations or even the business itself, however, I have dealt with the Saudi's in Riyadh... and while many are fine and smart....there is just a lot of corruption(they dont necessarily consider it corruption) at the top and I wouldnt touch this investment as a stockholder with a ten foot pole. They are used to total control-- and with this arrangement they have it. Makes the Russians/Putin look like amateurs. I am sure it will be touted by the firms offering the IPO shares .....ha, and why not, they will make millions.


snafzee

Corruption is the law in Saudi, Putin learns from the Saudi family. I wouldn't even spit on that stock


Doug-

Well this mean the growth phase for Saudis is over. They see the handwriting on the wall. Stagnation is the future for the Saudia Arabia.


goat21

5% transparent.


lowdawg81


Can this even be listed on a US exchange? Since it's essentially a GSE wouldn't it violate the Patriot Act.

Joke of the day - Warning Ketum juice is dangerous to the health of you mind and will make you in impossible grandeur

Delusional disorder is a mental illness in which the patient presents with delusions, but with no accompanying prominent hallucinations, thought disorder, mood disorder, or significant flattening of affect. Delusions are a specific symptom of psychosis. Delusions can be "bizarre" or "non-bizarre" in content; non-bizarre delusions are fixed false beliefs that involve situations that could potentially occur in real life, such as being followed or poisoned .Apart from their delusions, people with delusional disorder may continue to socialize and function in a normal manner and their behavior does not necessarily generally seem odd. However, the preoccupation with delusional ideas can be disruptive to their overall lives. For the diagnosis to be made , auditory and visual hallucinations cannot be prominent, though olfactory or tactile hallucinations related to the content of the delusion may be present. 
 What is Ketum juice - Extracts and leaves have been used to treat coughs, diarrhea, and intestinal infections. Kratom is often used by workers in laborious or monotonous professions to stave off exhaustion as well as a mood enhancer and/or painkiller for the brain.

 BN can grab back Kelantan with history, 3-cornered fights backing it


IT has been 27 years since Barisan Nasional lost Kelantan but the ruling federal coalition believes that three-cornered fights in the next elections could win it the Malay heartland as it did nearly 40 years ago.

BN’s dominant partner Umno is confident of retaking the state it lost in 1990 after news that PAS wants to cut ties with its last ally, PKR and the emergence of PAS splinter party Parti Amanah Negara.

“We can make it this time. PAS’s weaknesses are showing. The party is split. That’s why there is Amanah today.

“The people in Kelantan are also looking at things differently with Nik Aziz gone. His death itself has weaken PAS. The situation in Kelantan is not the same any more,” BN’s Paloh assemblyman Nozula Mat Diah said, referring to the late spiritual leader and menteri besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.


Many in Kelantan were no longer confident of PAS, which had promised development in the state but failed to deliver, Nozula told The Malaysian Insight in state capital, Kota Baru.

“Take the flood victims, for example. That problem is not solved. If you look at the state’s development, administration and management, you can see things are not in order.”

Nozula said PAS had failed to look into the welfare of the people to the extent of needing federal funds of RM740 million since 2005 for the state administration.

“It is as if the state government is unable to generate new revenue. It is time for them to take their leave,” he said.

His and other Kelantan Umno leaders’ optimism is not without reason as the state PAS has been fractured since the death of the popular Nik Aziz in 2015. Coupled with a leadership fallout within PAS, the party has lost members and leaders to splinter party Amanah.

And with Amanah in the fray and showing no signs of working out any compromises with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, three-cornered fights in Kelantan are inevitable.

BN is eyeing 30 state seats and all the parliamentary seats, except for Kota Baru, Pengkalan Chepa and Kubang Kerian. Additionally, BN thinks it can grab Bachok, Pasir Putih and Kuala Krai. They now hold Jeli, Tanah Merah, Machang, Ketereh and Gua Musang.

Rantau Panjang Umno division chief Abdullah Mat Yasin agreed with Nozula about BN’s chances in taking back Kelantan by winning 30 state seats.

He said Umno had predicted that Nik Aziz’s death would cause PAS to split because more PAS members respected the deceased leader than the current president Hadi.

“Because of this split (with Amanah), many Kelantanese feel they have no other party to rely on, but BN,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Pengkalan Pasir assemblyman Hanafi Mamat said Kelantanese have also warmed up to BN because they could see that the coalition was more capable of looking after their welfare.

“People are fed-up and tired with PAS. They have ruled for more than two decades and yet there is still no serious effort to develop the state’s economy and solve logging and environmental issues.”

He also believes that three-cornered fights would help BN win big in Kelantan.

In the 1978 state elections, BN with the aid of Berjasa stopped PAS from extending its rule in Kelantan for a fifth term by creating three-cornered fights in the state.

As part of the strategy then, Umno fought one-on-one against PAS in 12 of its “safe” seats and won 11 while Berjasa took on PAS in its own strongholds and managed to win 11 out of the 12 seats they contested in. 

In the remaining 12 “grey” seats, Umno and Berjasa created three-cornered fights against PAS to win all the seats.

The final score was BN 23, Berjasa (11) and PAS (two). BN and Berjasa combined to form the state government with their total of 34 seats in the 36-man legislative assembly.

On the Nik Aziz factor, Hanafi did not think the leader’s passing would play such a big part in swinging votes back to Umno, as much as PAS’s own internal woes that had led to the departure of many of its leaders.

“We have always been optimistic. With or without Nik Aziz in Kelantan, BN is capable of taking the state back. What we see now is a weak state government. The people are no longer putting their hopes in the state government to improve their lives.”

Wary of a ‘worldly Umno’

However, Umno Kelantan’s confidence in recapturing Kelantan was not shared by two locals. While they readily admit that Kelantan is far behind the BN states in terms of development, but they were still willing to pick PAS over Umno.

“In Islam, we must follow the leader. And I will support the party that is more religious and can bring us closer to Islam,” said Mohamad Alawi Md Nor.

“As a Kelantanese I will still support PAS as Umno’s objectives are different. Umno is also Islam but its objectives are more worldly,” the 47-year-old told The Malaysian Insight.

On Kelantan’s backwardness, Alawi said that it was a given as PAS lacked the funds to develop the state.

“It’s true that the state lacks money. But isn’t Umno (as the federal government) responsible for giving money to PAS? As the opposition, where can PAS get sufficient money to develop the state?”

The Bachok native said that emergence of Parti Bersatu Pribumi Malaysia and Amanah was inconsequential as Kelantanese only recognised two parties – Umno and PAS.

“We want the federal government to help us. But we will accept PAS as the state government no matter how they pressure us,” said Alawi.

For 23-year-old Nik Shafiq Al Amir, PAS is still the party to beat in Kota Baru.

“BN wants to take Kelantan? Will we be more developed then?” asked Nik Shafiq when met in Kota Baru recently.

“I’m not sure about development but our support for PAS (ever since Nik Aziz’s days) is still very strong despite the federal government raising issues, such as deforestation and how flood victims didn’t get sufficient aid from the state.”

He said although there’s talk about how Amanah has fractured PAS, it was a small matter.

“If there’s any effect, it’s only a little. I have lived here all my life and I don’t think Umno can retake Kelantan just yet.” – May 3, 2017.

Traitors in the midst of Pakatan Harapan and mostly in DAP

Traitors in Pakatan Harapan , yes many are and do not realize they will be the ones because they are already been compromised during to the...

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