Thursday, 13 January 2011
New clues found in Mona Lisa's eyes
01-13-2011 08:37 BJT
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Art experts have made a surprising discovery of the world's most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa. They claim to have found a set of tiny letters painted into the eyes and a number under the bridge in the backdrop of the painting. Tom Fearon looks into the cryptic message in the 500-year-old portrait.
For centuries, Mona Lisa's eyes have enchanted art lovers admiring Leonardo da Vinci's celebrated masterpiece. However, few people dared imagine the eyes contained an actual code.
Stefania Romano from Italy's National Committee for the Valorization of Cultural Heritage says the latest discovery leaves more questions than answers.
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| For centuries, Mona Lisa's eyes have enchanted art lovers admiring Leonardo da Vinci's celebrated masterpiece. |
Stefania Romano said, "We believe that in the eyes of the Mona Lisa there are two letters: an L in her right eye, and an S in her left eye. It is also possible to notice the number 72 with a simple magnifying lens."
The "S" might refer to a woman in the Sforza dynasty that ruled Milan. The letter "L" could be for Leonardo.
The number 72 is auspicious in the Judaism's Kabbalah. 7 is also sacred in Judaism and Christianity in the creation of the world, while 2 could refer to the duality of man and woman.
But art historians aren't convinced of the meaning.
Claudio Strinati, art historian of Italian Culture Ministry, said, "Even conceding that there are really letters and numbers hidden in the painting, it seems to me that the mystery isn't emerging for these issue."
The Mona Lisa is a constant source of mystery. However unlocking her secrets could be a mystery that is never solved.
Death toll mounts from flooding in Rio de Janeiro state
More than 250 people have died in towns near Rio de Janeiro as heavy rains continue to cause flooding and mudslides in south-eastern Brazil.
Overnight downpours triggered landslides in the mountain town of Teresopolis, where 130 were reported to have died.
At least three firefighters were among 107 people killed in mudslides in Nova Friburgo.
Brazil has seen severe flooding this year, leaving thousands homeless.
The death toll has been steadily climbing as rescuers reached remote villages in the mountains, some of which have been destroyed.
Civil defence officials in Nova Friburgo originally said seven people had died there, before increasing the figure several times.
Presidential visitA state of emergency has been declared in Teresopolis, 100km (62 miles) north of Rio Janeiro, where more than 1,000 people have been left homeless. Another 20 people died in the nearby town of Petropolis.
With many people still reported missing it is feared the death toll could rise even further and there is concern about water-borne diseases.
More than 800 rescue workers are conducting searches in the area. The Brazilian navy has offered helicopters to fly in equipment and personnel.
Witnesses said rescue teams were using heavy machinery, shovels and bare hands to dig through tons of mud and debris.
President Dilma Rousseff is due to fly over the area on Thursday to inspect the damage.
Earlier this week, torrential rains in neighbouring Sao Paulo state left 13 people dead and brought traffic chaos to Brazil's biggest city.
In Teresopolis, a river burst its banks, submerging buildings, while the rainfall set off several mudslides.
"It's a huge catastrophe, a major disaster," Teresopolis Mayor Jorge Mario told Globo television.
TV footage showed homes destroyed and cars submerged.
"I saw six bodies on my street," 53-year-old resident Antonio Venancio told Reuters news agency.
He said his house was inundated with mud but still standing.
"We just don't know what to do in the face of something so horrible," he added
Civil defence officials in Teresopolis said that in 24 hours it rained 144mm - more than the usual amount for the whole of January.
Sea of mud
Power and telephone lines are down in the three towns, and there is no drinking water, officials say.
Major roads have been cut by floods and landslides, adding traffic chaos to the challenges facing state officials.
One resident described the situation just outside Petropolis as a "sea of mud".
"I've lived here 25 years and never seen anything like it," Manoel Candido da Rocha Sobrinho told Folha website.
"I live in a higher spot but when I look down I just see a sea of mud. Most people saved themselves by scrambling up trees or fleeing to higher ground."
Obama attends memorial service for Arizona shootings
President Barack Obama is attending a memorial service in Arizona to pay tribute to six people killed and 13 injured in a shooting in Tucson.
Mr Obama is speaking at the service for the victims of the attack being held at the University of Arizona.
Suspected gunman Jared Loughner has been charged with several offences and could face the death penalty if guilty.
Mr Obama visited US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was injured by a shot to the head during the shooting.
Thousands have gathered for the service at the University of Arizona's basketball arena, the McKale Memorial Center, in Tucson, where Mr Obama will speak.
The memorial began with a Native American blessing.
Addressing the crowd of about 14,000, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said: "We will go forward unbending and unbowed."
"We know that the violence that occurred Saturday does not represent this community, this state or this country," Homeland Security Secretary and former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano said during the service.
Mr Obama, accompanied by First Lady Michelle as well as Democratic and Republic lawmakers, was greeted at the airport by Ms Brewer.
The first stop for the president after arriving in Tucson was at the hospital where Ms Giffords and others are being treated.
"The president wanted to begin this solemn trip by stopping first at the hospital where Congresswoman Giffords and others continue to recover," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Mr Obama spent 10 minutes with Ms Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, in the intensive care unit at University Medical Center before meeting four others injured in the shooting, including two of Ms Giffords' staff members.
The president then moved to the site of the memorial where he held private meetings with the families affected by the shooting, which claimed the lives of six people and left 13 wounded.
His speech on Wednesday evening would aim to "reflect on how all of us might best honour their memory in our own lives", Mr Gibbs said.
House resolutionMs Giffords, a Democrat, remains in critical condition after being shot through the head in the attack outside a grocery store where she was holding a constituent event.
As many as 15,000 people are likely to attend the memorial service in Tucson Among those who died in the shooting were a nine-year-old girl, a prominent judge and one of Ms Gifford's aides, who was engaged to be married.
Mr Loughner, 22, has been jailed pending trial. The case has been assigned to California federal Judge Larry Burns.
All judges in Arizona were recused from Mr Loughner's trial because federal Judge John Roll of Arizona was among those killed in the shooting.
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday took up a resolution honouring Ms Giffords and other victims of the attack, with House Speaker John Boehner fighting back tears as he spoke about his ailing colleague.
"Our hearts are broken but our spirit is not," the Ohio Republican said.
The resolution declares the House "stands firm in its belief in a democracy in which all can participate and in which intimidation and threats of violence cannot silence the voices of any American".
Suspect: Jared Loughner
- Aged 22; lives with parents in Tucson
- Described by former class-mates as "disruptive" drug-user and a loner
- Reportedly posted series of rambling messages on social networking websites
- Online messages show deep distrust of government and religion, calling US laws "treasonous" and calling for creation of a new currency
- Was rejected by the US Army for drug use
Meanwhile, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has attacked as a "blood libel" suggestions that political rhetoric contributed to the fatal shootings in Arizona.
Some commentators have suggested that increasingly vitriolic political rhetoric in the US may have played some role in the attack, with some specifically criticising Ms Palin for using an online graphic containing crosshair symbols that marked targeted Democratic districts in the recent US mid-term elections.
Police stopNew details also began to emerge on Wednesday about the hours before the shooting took place.
Police have said Mr Loughner was stopped in his car for running a red light hours before he allegedly opened fire on the crowd outside the supermarket.
The Arizona wildlife officer who stopped the suspected shooter on Saturday morning took his name and vehicle registration, and released him with a verbal warning after learning he was not wanted on any warrants.
Investigators have also said they found a handwritten note among Mr Loughner's effects where he lived in Tucson bearing the words "Die, bitch", which they believe was a reference to Ms Giffords.
Mr Loughner's parents issued an apologetic statement on Tuesday, stating that they did not understand why "the heinous events of Saturday" had occurred.
"We care very deeply about the victims and their families," they added. "We are so very sorry for their loss."
Google turns Android smartphones into interpreters
AFP - Google on Wednesday began turning Android-powered smartphones into interpreters with experimental software that lets the handsets translate conversations in real time.
An in-the-works version of "Conversation Mode" was made available as the California-based Internet giant updated a text translation feature it added to Android smartphones a year ago.
"In conversation mode, simply press the microphone for your language and start speaking," product manager Awaneesh Verma said in a blog post.
"Google Translate will translate your speech and read the translation out loud. Your conversation partner can then respond in their language, and you'll hear the translation spoken back to you."
Conversation Mode only translates between English and Spanish for now, and factors such as regional dialects, background noise, or fast talking could vex translations, he warned.
"Even with these caveats, we're excited about the future promise of this technology to be able to help people connect across languages," Verma said.
"As Android devices have spread across the globe, we've seen Translate for Android used all over."
The majority of people using Translate are outside the United States, with daily use of the feature taking place in more than 150 countries, according to the Google product manager.
Translate supports 53 languages in text and Android devices handle voice recognition in 15 languages, Verma said.
PC sales growth slows in fourth quarter: Gartner
AFP - Worldwide personal computer sales grew just over three percent in the fourth quarter, less than forecast, as new tablets such as Apple's iPad and game consoles took a bite out of the market, research firm Gartner said Wednesday.
Gartner said worldwide PC shipments, which do not include sales of tablet computers, totaled 93.5 million units in the fourth quarter, up 3.1 percent from a year ago but lower than the 4.8 percent growth forecast previously.
"Holiday PC sales were weak in many key regions due to the intensifying competition in consumer spending," Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa said in a statement.
"Media tablets, such as the iPad, as well as other consumer electronic devices, such as game consoles, all competed against PCs," Kitagawa said.
"The bright side of the PC market during the fourth quarter of 2010 was a steady growth in the professional market driven by replacement purchases," she said.
"For all 2010, the results indicate the PC market recovered from the recession, as it returned to double-digit growth, compared to low single-digit growth in 2009," she added.
Gartner said worldwide PC shipments totaled 350.9 million units in 2010, up 13.8 percent over last year.
US computer giant Hewlett-Packard held on to the top position in worldwide PC sales in the fourth quarter with an 18.8 percent share of the market followed by Taiwan's Acer with 12.7 percent and Dell with 11.6 percent.
China's Lenovo was next with a 10.1-percent market share followed by Japan's Toshiba with 5.7 percent.
Lenovo and Toshiba posted the most improved growth in the quarter. Lenovo's worldwide market share grew 21.4 percent while Toshiba's was up 12.1 percent.
Kitagawa said US holiday sales "were not fantastic for most PC vendors, but the professional market did show healthy growth during the quarter.
"Media tablets undoubtedly intensified the competition in the consumer market," she said.
"These devices do not replace primary PCs, but they are viewed as good enough devices for these who want to have a second and third connected device for content consumption usage.
"Mini-notebook shipments were hit the most by the success of media tablets," the Gartner analyst said.
Global economy to slow in 2011: World Bank
AFP - The World Bank Wednesday forecast that the global economy will slow in 2011, and warned that rising commodity prices could spur a return to the sky-high inflation of 2008.
The Washington-based development lender estimated the world economy will grow 3.3 percent this year compared with 3.9 percent in 2010, a year of rebound from the 2009 recession.
Emerging and developing countries were expected to expand 6.0 percent, more than double the 2.4 percent annual rate of high-income countries, the bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report.
Overall, the pace of growth is too weak to give the recovery solid traction, it said.
"Unfortunately these growth rates are unlikely to be fast enough to eliminate unemployment and slack in the hardest-hit economies and economic sectors."
In addition, "serious tensions and pitfalls persist in the global economy, which in the short run could derail the recovery to differing degrees," it warned.
The World Bank expressed particular concern about rising commodity prices, including food and fuel, driven by loose monetary policies in the developed countries and solid demand in the emerging economies.
"Although real food prices in most developing countries have not increased as much as those measured in US dollars, they have risen sharply in some poor countries," it said.
"And if international prices continue to rise, affordability issues and poverty impacts could intensify."
"We are very concerned about the rise in the food prices... we see some similarities with the situation in 2008, just before the financial crisis," Hans Timmer, the bank's director of development prospects, said at a news conference at the bank's Washington headquarters.
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