Justice Talks With Rivals, Clients of Yahoo, Google

Justice Department staff reviewing Google Inc.'s online-advertising deal with Yahoo Inc. met this week with customers and competitors and scheduled a final round of meetings with the two companies next week, amid signs the government may be preparing to recommend an antitrust challenge to the deal.

Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general for antitrust, hasn't made a final decision and still could allow the deal to proceed. But he recently hired a special counsel, the veteran litigator and former Walt Disney Co. Vice Chairman Sanford Litvack. Mr. Litvack has been asked to review evidence and build a case if a decision is made to challenge the deal.

Photo illustration by Getty Images

Last week, authorities in Canada hired David Kent, a Toronto litigator and an antitrust expert, lawyers close to the matter said. Canadian officials declined to comment. A U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman also declined to comment.

Google and Yahoo expect to hear back from the Justice Department by early October, according to people familiar with the matter.

This week, 10 members of Congress weighed in, sending a letter to the Justice Department, expressing concern and urging a careful review.

David Hantman, Yahoo's vice president of global public policy, in a letter Thursday to Rep. Steve Chabot (R., Ohio), a signer of the letter, said the agreement would "in no way result in one company controlling 90 percent of any part of the online advertising market," as critics of the deal had claimed. "In fact, since our plan and intent is to increase our search-advertising share over time -- not cede any of it to Google -- this deal will make us a stronger competitor in search and display advertising."

Apple quells Steve Jobs health rumour

A false internet report that Apple's Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack briefly slammed his company's stock and raised fresh questions about the delicate relationship between traditional and new media.

The posting on iReport.com - a citizen journalist site owned by Time Warner's CNN - is the most recent incident in which a faulty online report created brief, but wrenching, confusion among investors.

Apple quickly denied the report about its chief executive, but not before its stock dropped more than 2 percent, hitting a 17-month low of $US94.65. It later recovered, climbing as much as 4 percent, before closing at $US97.07, down 3.03 percent for the day.

The report claimed Jobs was rushed to the emergency room after suffering "a major heart attack." CNN later removed the posting from iReport.com and disabled the user's account.

"iReport.com is an entirely user-generated site where the content is determined by the community," CNN said in a statement. "Content that does not comply with Community Guidelines will be removed. After the content in question was uploaded to iReport.com, the community brought it to our attention."

A spokeswoman added that CNN attempted to reach the user - based on information that was provided at registration - but was unsuccessful. The iReport.com site carries a disclaimer stating: "CNN makes no guarantees about the content or the coverage on iReport.com."

The incident highlights the risks involved with mainstream media organisation tapping into what is often referred to as "citizen journalism," the unedited and unfiltered presentation of news by non-professional reporters such as bloggers and eyewitnesses to events. Reuters is among those that have undertaken efforts in the area of citizen journalism.

While more news outlets are welcoming contributions from their audience, so far there has been little agreement about standards, and they often rely on trust. To be sure, mainstream media has reported its share of incorrect news, and media experts said that it would be unfair to tarnish a vibrant movement in journalism based on one high-profile incident.

"Are we going to let one bad apple besmirch the entire orchard? That's ludicrous," said media consultant and Buzzmachine.com blogger Jeff Jarvis.

The report comes about a month after Jobs, who is often perceived as irreplaceable as Apple's leader, appeared thin, but jaunty as he introduced new iPod digital music players.

Mugabe, Tsvangirai in stalemate

Nelson Banya, Reuters

Published: Tuesday, September 30, 2008

HARARE - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have failed to break a deadlock on forming a unity government despite direct talks, the opposition MDC party said on Tuesday.

Movement for Democratic Change spokesman Nelson Chamisa said Tsvangirai and Mugabe met for about an hour but remained far apart after the veteran president suggested the MDC would be a junior government partner with minor ministries.

"He wants to grab all the resource ministries like finance, home affairs, information, justice and make the MDC a peripheral player. We will end up in but out of government," Chamisa said.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai (above) and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe met for about an hour, but remained far apart after the veteran president suggested the MDC would be a junior government partner with minor ministries.

There was no immediate comment from Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.

Chamisa called for renewed mediation to break the stalemate.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki mediated an outline power sharing deal two weeks ago to end a long political crisis in Zimbabwe.

But Mbeki has since been ousted by his own ruling party. It is not clear whether he could remain as mediator for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or would be replaced by another official.

Chamisa also called for intervention from the African Union.

"We are trapped in this deadlock," he said.

Mugabe told supporters of his ZANU-PF party on Monday that he hoped a unity government would be formed by the end of this week, ending a two-week deadlock since the framework deal was signed on September 15.

The stalemate over cabinet posts has dashed Zimbabweans' hopes that the country could start to climb out of economic chaos marked by the world's highest rate of hyperinflation.

MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti said a constitutional amendment still had to be drafted to give legal effect to the power-sharing deal.

Tsvangirai, who is set to become prime minister under the deal, called on Saturday for the formation of a power-sharing government "in the next few days" to help end the crisis.

The framework government deal was supposed to end a political crisis caused by Mugabe's unopposed re-election in a presidential poll in June after Tsvangirai withdrew, citing systematic violence against his followers.

Mugabe will retain the presidency and chair the cabinet, while Tsvangirai heads a council of ministers supervising the cabinet.

Arthur Mutambara, leader of a small breakaway MDC faction, is set to be one of two deputy prime ministers.

The opposition will have a combined cabinet majority, with Tsvangirai's main MDC faction controlling 13 cabinet posts in the new government, Mugabe's ZANU-PF 15 and Mutambara's breakaway MDC faction three.

The MDC says it does not oppose Mugabe taking charge of the army but is against him keeping control of all key ministries, including home affairs - in charge of the police - finance, foreign affairs, justice, information and local government which oversees local councils.

In another sign of the depth of the economic crisis, the central bank introduced higher denomination banknotes on Monday to keep pace with the devaluation of the currency because of inflation of 11 million per cent.

With files from Michael Georgy

Like mountains that stole Fossett, mystery looms

By EVELYN NIEVES and SCOTT SONNER

The Associated Press
Saturday, October 4, 2008; 8:18 PM

RENO, Nev. -- The sky was clear that morning, the wind light. Steve Fossett took off alone from hotel magnate Barron Hilton's ranch about 70 miles southeast of Reno in a blue and white stunt plane with orange stripes and blue sunbursts on the wings.

It was supposed to be a short pleasure ride before lunch.

The two-seater was Hilton's, but Fossett could fly anything. He had circumnavigated the globe without refueling, had flown around the world in a balloon. Two months earlier, he had been inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

"I'm hoping you didn't give me this award because you think my career is complete," he said at the time, "because I'm not done."

Just over a year after the 63-year-old Fossett vanished during his jaunt from the Flying M Ranch, a lingering mystery has been solved, with discovery last week of his plane's wreckage and possible remains in the wilds of California's Sierra Nevada. He slammed into a mountainside at about 10,000 feet and probably died instantly.

But a larger question remains: What caused such an accomplished aviator to crash in a place he knew well, on a fine September day?

Finding the answer may take many months. On Friday, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board began hauling debris from the crash site by helicopter. They plan to reassemble the plane at a Sacramento warehouse piece by tiny piece to look for mechanical failures. Gathering archival weather records, including winds, clouds and turbulence for the day of his flight, also is not simple, officials said. With luck, radar data will help determine Fossett's path and pinpoint the time of the crash.

For now, speculation runs the gamut. Ralph Obenberger, undersheriff of Mono County, Calif., thinks Fossett might have run into unexpected weather. He remembers large storm clouds over the peaks around Mammoth Lakes on Sept. 3, 2007.

But Bill Manning, the director of Mammoth-Yosemite Airport, said that day was generally clear and calm in the Mammoth Lakes region. He wondered whether Fossett ran into other trouble.

The high Sierra is always a dangerous and unforgiving area to fly, he said. There's little room for error, he reasoned, for pilots who like to fly low and slow, "yanking and banking" through the region's spectacular granite peaks and canyons.

Joe Sanford, the undersheriff of Lyon County, Nev., had more ideas.

"There are so many things that could have gone wrong," he said. "Was it a medical problem? Did the aircraft fail? He had flown that aircraft before but not a whole lot. Did he know the area? The wind shears, the down drafts? Did he just get into a compromised position where he couldn't get out?"

Palin makes Obama terrorist claim

US Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin has accused the Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, of associating with terrorists.

She said he had been "palling around" with an ex-member of US-based militant group Weather Underground, which opposed the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

Mr Obama once served on a charity board with a member of the group, but he has denounced its activities.

A Democratic spokesman accused the Republicans of gutter politics.

"What's clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy," Hari Sevugan said.

Commentators say Mrs Palin's attack forms part of a broader Republican strategy to attack Mr Obama's character.

Denunciation

Speaking to supporters in Colorado and later in a Los Angeles suburb, Alaska Governor Palin said the time had come to take the gloves off.

The White House candidates face their second debate on Tuesday

Quoting a New York Times article, she attacked Senator Obama over his link to Bill Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground, which waged a violent campaign against the Vietnam War.

The group was blamed for a number of bombings in the US in the 1960s.

Mrs Palin described Mr Obama as someone who saw the US "as being so imperfect... he is palling around with terrorists who would target their own country".

Mr Obama served on a charity board several years ago with Mr Ayers, who is now a professor at the University of Illinois.

The White House hopeful, who was a child when Weather Underground was active, has denounced Mr Ayers' radical past.