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quinta-feira, 11 de outubro de 2012

Autoridades sírias acusam premier turco de mentir sobre armas em avião

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Autoridades sírias acusaram nesta quinta-feira o primeiro-ministro turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, de "mentir" sobre as armas encontradas a bordo de um avião sírio proveniente de Moscou interceptado nesta quarta-feira pela Turquia.

"O primeiro-ministro turco continua com sua série de declarações mentirosas com o objetivo de justificar o comportamento hostil de seu governo em relação à Síria", considerou o ministério sírio das Relações Exteriores em um comunicado, no qual desmentiu - novamente - a presença de armas a bordo do avião.

Os Estados Unidos expressaram nesta quinta-feira seu apoio à Turquia após a ação contra o avião da companhia Syrian Air.

"Apoiamos energicamente a decisão do governo turco de inspecionar o avião", disse a porta-voz do Departamento de Estado, Victoria Nuland, embora tenha informado que não podia confirmar o que foi encontrado a bordo da aeronave.

"A transferência de qualquer equipamento militar ao regime sírio neste momento é muito preocupante. E esperamos ouvir mais do lado turco quando eles forem mais a fundo sobre o que encontraram", acrescentou.

O primeiro-ministro turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, informou que o avião da Syrian Air levava "equipamento e munições" destinados ao ministério da Defesa sírio que foram fornecidos, aparentemente, pela agência russa de exportação de armas.

Erdogan acrescentou que o material confiscado - que, segundo ele, foi obtido de um fornecedor militar russo - ainda estava sendo estudado meticulosamente pelas autoridades turcas.

EUA apoiam Turquia por interceptar avião procedente da Rússia

 

WASHINGTON — Os Estados Unidos manifestaram nesta quinta-feira seu apoio à Turquia, após o surgimento de novas tensões com o principal aliado da Síria, Rússia, depois que Ancara forçou um avião de passageiros sírio proveniente de Moscou a pousar para inspeção.

Funcionários turcos disseram que o avião da companhia Syrian Air, que decolou da capital russa tendo Damasco como destino, transportava armas destinadas ao ministério sírio da Defesa.

"Apoiamos energicamente a decisão do governo turco de inspecionar o avião", disse a porta-voz do Departamento de Estado, Victoria Nuland, embora tenha informado que não podia confirmar o que foi encontrado a bordo do avião.

"A transferência de qualquer equipamento militar ao regime sírio neste momento é muito preocupante. E esperamos ouvir mais do lado turco quando eles forem mais a fundo sobre o que encontraram", acrescentou.

O primeiro-ministro turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, disse que o avião da Syrian Air levava "equipamento e munições" destinados ao ministério da Defesa sírio que foram fornecidos, aparentemente, pela agência russa de exportação de armas.

Erdogan acrescentou que o material confiscado - que, segundo ele, foi obtido de um fornecedor militar russo - ainda estava sendo estudado meticulosamente pelas autoridades turcas.

A Rússia pediu uma explicação, acusando as autoridades da Turquia de colocar em perigo a vida dos passageiros, enquanto o regime sírio exigiu energicamente a devolução do carregamento que a Turquia apreendeu no aeroporto de Ancara.

Avião sírio transportava equipamento militar

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Instabul - O avião comercial da Syrian Air interceptado por caças turcos quando voava de Moscovo a Damasco transportava equipamento militar e munições destinadas ao Ministério da Defesa da Síria, afirmou nesta quinta-feira o primeiro-ministro
da Turquia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A declaração do primeiro-ministro turco ocorreu após o governo sírio negar enfaticamente que o Airbus 320 da Syrian Air transportasse qualquer carga ilegal. A Síria afirma que a intercepção do voo comercial foi um "acto de pirataria" cometido pela Turquia.

Também nesta quinta-feira, mais de 20 pessoas foram mortas em combates e emboscadas entre tropas do presidente sírio Bashar Assad e insurgentes ao redor da Síria.

Em Damasco, uma forte explosão ocorreu no prédio da Justiça militar no final da tarde, informou o Observatório Sírio pelos Direitos Humanos, grupo sediado em Londres. A televisão estatal disse que duas pessoas ficaram feridas nesse ataque.

Mais cedo nesta quinta-feira, políticos turcos negaram as acusações feitas pela Rússia, aliada da Síria, de que o governo turco colocou em perigo a vida dos passageiros russos que estavam a bordo do avião da Syrian Air. Dos 35 passageiros, 17 eram russos. O avião ficou retido em Ancara por várias horas, mas foi liberado para prosseguir até Damasco com todos os passageiros na noite de ontem.

O porta-voz da chancelaria russa, Alexander Lukashevich, disse que Moscovo ficou preocupada com os passageiros. Segundo ele, a Turquia, sem explicações, impediu que funcionários da Embaixada russa em Ancara e um médico tivessem acesso aos passageiros, os quais durante oito horas tiveram que aguarda no avião, sem poderem descer no aeroporto, e sem receberem alimentos.

O comunicado do governo turco afirma que os passageiros receberam a permissão para sair do avião se quisessem, e que uma equipe médica estava de prontidão. A Turquia, em separado, submeteu um protesto formal à Síria, por violação das regras da aviação civil, e declarou o espaço aéreo sírio inseguro para aviões comerciais turcos.

O ministro dos Transportes da Síria, Mohammad Ibrahim, disse que o fato da Turquia ter interceptado um avião de passageiros e ter forçado a aeronave a descer em Ancara equivale a um ato de "pirataria".

Dentro da Síria, combates entre tropas de Assad e insurgentes continuaram nesta quinta-feira. O Observatório Sírio pelos Direitos Humanos informou que combates na província de Idlib, perto da Turquia, deixaram mais de 12 mortos, quando rebeldes atacaram um
posto de controle do exército. O Observatório também disse que oito pessoas foram mortas e outras oito feridas quando atiradores desconhecidos atacaram um ônibus perto da cidade de Tartous, no Mediterrâneo. A agência estatal síria Sana disse que os homens
que estavam no ônibus e foram mortos e feridos eram trabalhadores sírios que estavam no Líbano e voltavam para casa.

Na província de Deraa, no sul do país, atiradores mataram o irmão de um parlamentar sírio quando saquearam a casa do homem. Segundo a agência estatal Sana, o parlamentar em questão, Khalid al-Aboud, regularmente defende o governo sírio na televisão. O
Observatório disse que atiradores também mataram o filho de outro parlamentar, Mohammed Kheir al-Mashi, na província de Idlib.

Avião sírio carregava equipamentos militares, diz primeiro-ministro da Turquia

Airbus 320 que fazia a rota Moscou-Damasco estaria levando munição e outros equipamentos para o exército de Bashar Al-Assad

 

O primeiro-ministro da Turquia, Tayyip Erdogan, confirmou nesta quinta-feira que o avião comercial sírio interceptado pelas forças aéreas na noite de ontem carregava material militar. Segundo as autoridades locais, Airbus 320 fazendo a rota Moscou-Damasco com cerca de 30 passageiros a bordo havia sido abastecido com munição e equipamentos de comunicação destinados ao exército de Bashar Al-Assad.

"Aviões comerciais não podem carregar munição ou equipamentos militares", afirmou Erdogan em comunicado oficial à imprensa na capital turca Ankara. "Infelizmente este avião sírio tinha tais objetos a bordo", completou.

AP

Primeiro-ministro Tayyip Erdogan concede entrevista coletiva para falar sobre a crise entre Turquia e Síria

O primeiro-ministro também revelou que todos os equipamentos apreendidos estavam sendo analisados pelas forças armadas da Turquia e que tudo que pudesse ser liberado seria devolvido para os passageiros presentes no voo.

Leia também: Rússia exige explicação da Turquia sobre pouso forçado de avião sírio

Ahmet Davutoglu, ministro das Relações Exteriores da Turquia, disse que seu país está comprometido em interromper o fluxo de armas e equipamentos militares que possam servir ao exército de Assad na guerra civil da Síria.

A principal fornecedora de armamentos para a Rússia, a Rosoboronexport, emitiu um comunicado nesta quinta-feira que não tinha qualquer ligação com os equipamentos encontrados no avião sírio.

Explicações

A Rússia acusou a Turquia de ter ameaçado a vida de cidadãos russos ao obrigar um avião de passageiros da Síria a pousar, na quarta-feira, para preender supostos equipamentos militares que estariam destinados ao governo de Bashar Al-Assad.

Leia mais: Ocidentais com laços com a Síria ajudam rebeldes em revolta contra Assad

A Síria disse que a interceptação do avião da companhia Syrian Air foi um ato de pirataria, agravando as tensões entre os dois países vizinhos. Nos últimos dias, a Turquia tem reagido de forma cada vez mais incisiva ao lançamento de morteiros em seu território disparados a partir de território sírio.

A Rússia, que permanece como aliada de Assad em meio a um conflito que já matou cerca de 30 mil pessoas na Síria, exigiu uma explicação.

"As vidas e a segurança dos passageiros foram colocadas sob ameaça", disse a chancelaria russa em nota, acrescentando que 17 cidadãos seus que estavam a bordo foram impedidos de manter contato com funcionários diplomáticos russos.

Maioria do STF absolve ex-deputado do PT e outros dois de lavagem

Julgamento do crime gerou divergência no plenário

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Maioria no STF absolve ex-deputado do PT e outros dois réus por lavagem de dinheiro

A maioria dos ministros do Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) decidiu, nesta quinta-feira, absolver três réus acusados de lavagem de dinheiro no caso do mensalão. Por 7 votos a 0, os magistrados consideraram inocentes a assessora do ex-deputado Paulo Rocha na época do escândalo, Anita Leocádia, o ex-deputado Professor Luizinho (PT-SP), e o chefe de gabinete do ex-ministro dos Transportes, José Luiz Alves. Após o voto de Antonio Dias Toffoli, a sessão foi encerrada. A análise do crime de lavagem de dinheiro será retomada na sessão de segunda-feira.
Toffoli acompanhou o revisor da ação penal, Ricardo Lewandowski, e absolveu todos os acusados. Mais cedo, Cármen Lúcia, Rosa Weber e Marco Aurélio Mello também acompanharam Lewandowski. Luiz Fux seguiu o voto do relator do processo, Joaquim Barbosa, e optou pela condenação de três e absolvição de outros três réus. Ambos julgaram culpados o ex-ministro dos Transportes Anderson Adauto e os ex-deputados Paulo Rocha (PT-PA), João Magno (PT-MG).
Nesta etapa, os magistrados analisam as acusações envolvendo réus ligados ao PT e ao PL (atual PR). De acordo com a denúncia do Ministério Público Federal (MPF), Paulo Rocha, valendo-se da intermediação dos então assessores Anita Leocádia e Charles Santos Dias, recebeu a quantia de R$ 820 mil. Já João Magno recebeu R$ 360 mil do publicitário Marcos Valério. Ainda segundo o MPF, Professor Luizinho recebeu, do esquema operado por Marcos Valério, a quantia de R$ 20 mil e o ex-ministro dos Transportes, R$ 1 milhão.
O STF analisa o processo do mensalão desde o dia 2 de agosto, quando voltou do recesso de julho. Até agora, dos sete capítulos da ação penal, quatro foram concluídos. Desde então, a Corte entendeu que houve desvio de dinheiro púbico na Câmara dos Deputados e no Banco do Brasil, gestão fraudulenta no Banco Rural, lavagem de dinheiro promovida pelo núcleo financeiro e publicitário, corrupção passiva entre os partidos da base aliada (PP, PL, PTB e PMDB) e corrupção ativa entre o antigo núcleo do PT formado pelo ex-chefe da Casa Civil José Dirceu, o ex-presidente do partido José Genoino e o ex-tesoureiro da sigla Delúbio Soares. Marcos Valério, Cristiano Paz, Ramon Hollerbach e Simone Vasconcelos também foram condenados. O ex-ministro dos Transportes Anderson Adauto e a ex-funcionária de Marcos Valério, Geiza Dias foram absolvidos desta etapa.

Maioria do STF absolve ex-deputado do PT e assessores por lavagem de dinheiro

BRASÍLIA - Principais embates do julgamento estão justamente em relação aos três réus onde houve divergência...

 

BRASÍLIA - Em mais uma inversão no curso do julgamento da Ação Penal 470, no Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), a ministra Cármen Lúcia antecipou o voto e absolveu todos os réus do Capítulo 7 da denúncia do mensalão. Este item trata do crime de lavagem de dinheiro entre integrantes do PT e o ex-ministro dos Transportes Anderson Adauto.

Com o voto de Cármen Lúcia, formou-se maioria de seis votos, unânimes até agora, pela absolvição do ex-deputado Professor Luizinho (PT-SP), da ex-assessora do deputado Paulo Rocha (PT-PA), Anita Leocádia, e do ex-chefe de gabinete de Adauto, José Luiz Alves.

Todos os ministros que já votaram entenderam que os assessores desconheciam o esquema criminoso de lavagem de dinheiro montado pelo publicitário Marcos Valério, atuando como meros intermediários do repasse do dinheiro. Em relação a Professor Luizinho, também é unânime até agora, a tese de que não há provas suficientes de que ele era destinatário final de R$ 20 mil fornecidos pela SMP&B, agência de Marcos Valério.

Os principais embates do julgamento estão justamente em relação aos três réus onde houve divergência: Rocha, Adauto e o ex-deputado João Magno (PT-MG). Para parte dos ministros, como Joaquim Barbosa, Luiz Fux e Celso de Mello, a ocultação do recebimento do dinheiro é suficiente para condenação por lavagem.

Para outra parte dos ministros, incluindo Cármen Lúcia, é preciso provar que os réus que receberam dinheiro sujo sabiam da origem ilícita, o que não ficou provado nesses três casos. Cármen Lúcia entendeu que os dois réus do PT recorreram à pessoa correta para pedir dinheiro – no caso, ao tesoureiro da legenda, Delúbio Soares. Ela disse que não é possível condenar os réus pela simples inferência de que eles conheciam o esquema montado pelo partido para obter a verba.

Em relação a Anderson Adauto, a ministra lembrou que a Corte o absolveu do crime de corrupção ativa no capítulo anterior, concluindo que ele não sabia do esquema ilegal de cooptação de dinheiro. “Se tivesse condenado por corrupção ativa, meu voto seria diferente. Mas não consigo estabelecer o nexo como uma certeza que leve à condenação”.

Cármen Lúcia pediu para antecipar o voto em relação ao ministro Antonio Dias Toffoli porque presidirá sessão no Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE) na noite de hoje. A Corte tem milhares de processos para julgar relativos a registros de candidatos que concorreram nas eleições municipais do último domingo (7).

Confira o placar parcial do Capítulo 7 – lavagem de dinheiro envolvendo PT e PL:
1) Paulo Rocha: 4 votos a 2 pela absolvição (Condenam: Joaquim Barbosa e Luiz Fux / Absolvem: Ricardo Lewandowski, Marco Aurélio Mello, Rosa Weber e Cármen Lúcia)
2) Anita Leocádia: 6 votos pela absolvição
3) João Magno: 4 votos a 2 pela absolvição (Condenam: Joaquim Barbosa e Luiz Fux / Absolvem: Ricardo Lewandowski, Marco Aurélio Mello, Rosa Weber e Cármen Lúcia)
4) Professor Luizinho: 6 votos pela absolvição
5) Anderson Adauto: 4 votos a 2 pela absolvição (Condenam: Joaquim Barbosa e Luiz Fux / Absolvem: Ricardo Lewandowski, Marco Aurélio Mello, Rosa Weber e Cármen Lúcia)
6) José Luiz Alves: 6 votos pela absolvição

Mensalão: Toffoli absolve réus acusados de lavagem de dinheiro

Antonio-Dias-Toffoli
Publicado em 11.10.2012, às 21h06

O ministro Antonio Dias Toffoli, do Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), absolveu nesta quinta-feira (11) todos os seis réus que integram o item de lavagem de dinheiro, acompanhando o ministro-revisor Ricardo Lewandowski no julgamento da Ação Penal 470, conhecida como processo do mensalão.
“Vejo a impossibilidade do dolo eventual no crime de lavagem de dinheiro. Como a pessoa que não participou do crime antecedente, e por movimentar o dinheiro de forma não ordinária, pode ser condenada por lavagem? Se na legislação anterior precisava de crime antecedente? É necessário o dolo [intenção de cometer crime], e não logrou o Ministério Público comprovar o dolo”, explicou Toffoli.
Até o momento, dois ministros divergiram de Lewandowski. O relator da ação, Joaquim Barbosa, e o ministro Luiz Fux votaram pela condenação de três réus: os ex-deputados petistas Paulo Rocha (PA) e João Magno (MG) e o ex-ministro dos Transportes Anderson Adauto.
Todos os ministros, que já votaram, entenderam que os assessores Anita Leocádia e José Luiz Alves desconheciam o esquema criminoso de lavagem de dinheiro montado por Marcos Valério, atuando como meros intermediários do repasse do dinheiro. Toffoli também absolveu o ex-ministro dos Transportes Anderson Adauto.
O julgamento foi encerrado após o voto de Toffoli. Na próxima sessão, votam os ministros Gilmar Mendes, o decano Celso de Mello e o presidente da Corte, Carlos Ayres Britto, ainda no item sobre lavagem de dinheiro.
Confira o placar parcial do Capítulo 7 – lavagem de dinheiro envolvendo PT e PL:
1) Paulo Rocha: 5 votos a 2 pela absolvição (Condenam: Joaquim Barbosa e Luiz Fux / Absolvem: Ricardo Lewandowski, Marco Aurélio Mello, Rosa Weber, Cármen Lúcia e Antonio Dias Toffoli)
2) Anita Leocádia: 7 votos pela absolvição
3) João Magno: 5 votos a 2 pela absolvição (Condenam: Joaquim Barbosa e Luiz Fux / Absolvem: Ricardo Lewandowski, Marco Aurélio Mello, Rosa Weber, Cármen Lúcia e Antonio Dias Toffoli)
4) Professor Luizinho: 7 votos pela absolvição
5) Anderson Adauto: 5 votos a 2 pela absolvição (Condenam: Joaquim Barbosa e Luiz Fux / Absolvem: Ricardo Lewandowski, Marco Aurélio Mello, Rosa Weber, Cármen Lúcia e Antonio Dias Toffoli)
6) José Luiz Alves: 7 votos pela absolvição

Relator absolve ex-assessora parlamentar de lavagem de dinheiro

Ele disse ainda ver provas de que 2 ex-deputados cometeram mesmo crime.
Sessão foi suspensa antes da conclusão do voto e será retomada quinta.

 

Fabiano Costa, Mariana Oliveira e Nathalia Passarinho Do G1, em Brasília

Comente agora

O relator do processo do mensalão, ministro Joaquim Barbosa, absolveu nesta quarta-feira (10), durante julgamento no Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), a ex-assessora parlamentar Anita Leocádia do crime de lavagem de dinheiro. Anita trabalhava para o ex-deputado federal Paulo Rocha (PT-PA).

Barbosa disse também ver provas de que Rocha e João Magno (PT-MG) cometeram o mesmo crime, mas não chegou a oficializar condenação ou absolvição.

Sobre Anita Leocádia, o ministro afirmou que não há provas de que a acusada sabia da origem ilícita do dinheiro que ajudou a ocultar.

“Anita Leocádia aderiu à conduta de ocultar. [...] Entendo não haver elementos para afirmar que ela tinha conhecimento dos crimes antecedentes. Não se pode esquecer o fato de que ela era uma mera subordinada ao Paulo Rocha, sem acesso à cúpula do PT.”

A sessão foi encerrada antes de Barbosa concluir o voto sobre o item, que envolve seis pessoas ligadas ao PT e acusadas de ocultar a origem do dinheiro recebido das agências de Marcos Valério - veja o que diz a defesa e a acusação de cada réu. Na quinta (11), o Supremo retomará o julgamento da ação penal para a conclusão de voto de Barbosa.

Além de Anita Leocádia, Paulo Rocha e João Magno, também são acusados no tópico o ex-deputado Professor Luizinho (PT-SP), o ex-ministro Anderson Adauto, que já havia sido inocentado de corrupção ativa (oferecer vantagem indevida), e o chefe de gabinete dele José Luiz Alves.

Para que haja condenação ou absolvição de um réu, são necessários os votos de seis dos dez ministros da corte. As penas para os condenados só serão definidas ao final do julgamento.

Ao todo, 25 dos 37 réus do processo do mensalão já sofreram condenações na análise de cinco itens: desvio de recursos públicos, gestão fraudulenta, lavagem de dinheiro, corrupção entre partidos da base e corrupção ativa.

Argumentação de Barbosa
Joaquim Barbosa afirmou que os ex-deputados petistas Paulo Rocha e João Magno, além do ex-ministro dos Transportes Anderson Adauto, foram beneficiados por repasses do PT. Segundo o ministro, os três réus indicaram uma terceira pessoa para buscar o dinheiro, como mecanismo para ocultar e dissimular recebimento dos recursos.

“Paulo Rocha, João Magno e Anderson Adauto foram beneficiados pelo esquema de repasses de recursos. Indicaram terceiros para o recebimento dos valores em espécie.”

O ministro destacou ainda que a SMP&B aparecia nos registros oficiais como a beneficiária dos saques feitos no Banco Rural e não os parlamentares.

De acordo com Barbosa, Paulo Rocha recebeu R$ 820 mil por intermédio de duas pessoas: Anita Leocádia e Charles dos Santos Dias, que, segundo a denúncia, é representante do PSB no Pará.

“Do total de R$ 820 mil obtidos por Paulo Rocha, R$ 620 foram recebidos por Anita Leocádia e R$ 200 foram recebidos por meio de Charles dos Santos Dias”, afirmou. A utilização de terceiros teve como objetivo dissimular a obtenção dos valores, segundo o relator.

O ministro disse que não se sustenta a alegação do réu de que os repasses foram feitos pelo PT para o diretório regional do PT no Pará. “Ao contrário do sustentado por Paulo Rocha,não se trata de simples transferências de recursos do Diretório Nacional para o diretório regional do Pará. Os recursos não foram pagos diretamente pelo PT, foram pagos por meio do núcleo de Marcos Valério.”

O relator destacou ainda que Paulo Rocha tinha conhecimento da origem ilícita dos valores recebidos. “Ele sabia que os recursos eram provenientes de crime contra a administração pública e contra o sistema financeiro, tanto que Paulo Rocha se valeu não só de mecanismos de lavagem de dinheiro oferecidos pelo Banco Rural, como de terceiras pessoas para o recebimento dos recursos."

Com relação a João Magno, Barbosa afirmou que o ex-parlamentar utilizou de duas pessoas - Charles Ribeiro e Paulo Vieira, ex-assessores de João Magno, para ocultar o recebimento de R$ 360 mil.

“Todos esses fatos são admitidos por João Magno em depoimento prestado à polícia federal, o qual foi confirmado em juízo”, ressaltou o relator.

Segundo a Procuradoria, o ex-deputado Professor Luizinho obteve, "de forma dissimulada, através de interposta pessoa", o valor de R$ 20 mil. Na época, Professor Luizinho era líder do governo na Câmara.

O ex-ministro Anderson Adauto teria recebido R$ 1 milhão do grupo de Valério, sendo auxiliado pelo chefe de gabinete José Luiz Alves, aponta o Ministério Público. Conforme a denúncia, Alves "agia profissionalmente como intermediário de Anderson Adauto".

Maioria do STF absolve três réus acusados de lavagem de dinheiro

O relator Joaquim Barbosa considerou que não há provas de que o ex-deputado do PT Professor Luizinho tenha agido com intenção criminosa ao pedir R$ 20 mil do esquema, e o absolveu.

Sete ministros do Supremo Tribunal Federal julgaram, nesta quinta-feira (11), réus do mensalão acusados de lavagem de dinheiro. Houve divergências.

O relator Joaquim Barbosa considerou que não há provas de que o ex-deputado do PT Professor Luizinho tenha agido com intenção criminosa ao pedir R$ 20 mil do esquema, e o absolveu. Para o relator, ficou comprovado que o ex-ministro dos Transportes do governo Lula, Anderson Adauto, recebeu R$ 800 mil do esquema. Algumas parcelas foram recebidas por um assessor de Adauto, José Luiz Alves. O relator absolveu o assessor, mas condenou Anderson Adauto por considerar que ele sabia da origem criminosa dos recursos.

“A afirmação de que os recursos recebidos teriam sido utilizados no pagamento de dívidas de campanha não obsta a caracterização do crime de lavagem de dinheiro”, avaliou o ministro.

O relator também condenou os então deputados do PT Paulo Rocha e João Magno, como já indicara nesta quarta. Rocha recebeu R$ 820 mil, e João Magno, R$ 360 mil. Nesta quarta, Joaquim Barbosa já havia absolvido a ex-assessora de Paulo Rocha, Anita Leocádia.

Em seguida, o revisor Ricardo Lewandowski absolveu os seis réus. Para ele, os três condenados por Joaquim Barbosa não sabiam da origem ilícita do dinheiro.

“Nenhuma prova de que ele tivesse conhecimento de que se tratava de dinheiro sujo. Também não se demonstrou que eles tinham a intenção de lavá-lo”, disse.

O ministro Marco Aurélio Mello antecipou o voto dele e também absolveu os seis réus. Para o ministro, é preciso distinguir a lavagem de dinheiro - quando há intenção clara de ocultar ou dissimular a origem criminosa do dinheiro - do delito de corrupção passiva. Segundo ele, esses réus receberam os repasses presumindo que o dinheiro era realmente do PT.

“Os fatos não são típicos sob o ângulo da lavagem do dinheiro”, reforçou.

O ministro Luiz Fux entrou no debate. Ele considera que as circunstâncias dos repasses caracterizam a lavagem de dinheiro.

“No momento em que a pessoa coloca esse dinheiro ilícito no mercado formal de dinheiro lícito, não se consegue se distinguir o que é lícito e o que é ilícito”, afirmou Fux.

O ministro Luiz Fux adiantou o voto: absolveu Anita Leocádia, José Luiz Alves e Professor Luizinho; e condenou Paulo Rocha, João Magno e Anderson Adauto.

Na segunda parte da sessão, três ministros votaram, e todos acompanharam o revisor e absolveram os seis réus. Eles argumentaram que, para condenar, seriam necessárias provas de que os réus sabiam da origem ilícita do dinheiro.

A ministra Rosa Weber considerou que não há provas contra os réus. “Eu não consigo visualizar nos elementos de prova constante nos autos nem indícios que afastem de mim uma dúvida razoável”, disse.

A ministra Cármen Lúcia disse que pedir recursos para o então tesoureiro de partido não é uma irregularidade, e que não ficou claro se eles sabiam que o dinheiro vinha de crime.

“Eles não têm, nos autos, do que posso apurar, qualquer certeza a respeito disso, qualquer convicção do crime antecedente”, afirmou ela.

Dias Toffoli comparou o caso com o de alguém que recebe um dinheiro, sem saber que veio de um assalto a banco.

“Há uma suposição do relator de que ele deveria saber, mas não há prova disso. Não há prova. Não podemos condenar com base em suposições ou em deduções”, ressaltou Toffoli.

Dos dez ministros, sete já votaram, e absolveram por unanimidade Anita Leocádia, José Luiz Alves e Professor Luizinho. Para os outros três réus - Paulo Rocha, João Magno e Anderson Adauto - a situação ainda está indefinida, com um placar de cinco a dois pela absolvição.

Maioria do Supremo absolve Professor Luizinho e dois assessores por lavagem

Ministros do STF analisam sétimo item da denúncia da Procuradoria; placar sobre Paulo Rocha, Anderson Adauto e João Magno está em 5 x 2 a favor da condenação

A maioria dos ministros do Supremo Tribunal Federal absolveu três réus acusados de lavagem de dinheiro pertencentes ao chamado "núcleo político" do esquema. Na lista, está o ex-deputado Professor Luizinho (PT-SP), ex-líder do PT e um dos principais expoentes do partido na região do ABC Paulista. Além dele, a então assessora do ex-deputado Paulo Rocha, Anita Leocádia, e José Luiz Alves, na época chefe de gabinete do ex-ministro Anderson Adauto, também já têm votos suficientes para serem absolvidos.   

Especial: Confira a cobertura completa do iG sobre o julgamento do mensalão

Leia também: Ministros divergem sobre crime de lavagem de dinheiro

A maioria em favor da absolvição dos três réus se deu com o voto da ministra Carmén Lúcia, que seguiu o relator Joaquim Barbosa em seu voto. Mais cedo, Barbosa havia votado pela condenação de Paulo Rocha, do também ex-deputado João Magno (PT-MG), e de Anderson Adauto. O relator absolveu, em seu voto, Anita, Alves e Professor Luizinho. Já o revisor, Ricardo Lewandowski, votou em favor da absolvição de todos os seis réus. 

Todos os sete ministros do STF que se posicionaram até agora sobre o caso de Professor Luizinho votaram por sua absolvição. O mesmo placar marcou a análise das acusações contra os dois ex-assessores.

Agência Brasil

Ministros participam da sessão desta quinta-feira, no plenário do Supremo

Professor Luizinho, na época considerado um dos principais parlamentares do PT na região do ACB paulista, chegou a ter envolvimento no esquema do mensalão submetido ao Conselho de Ética da Câmara, que votou em favor de sua cassação. Ele acabou sendo absolvido no plenário da Casa e conseguiu preservar os direitos políticos diante das denúncias. Na época, votaram a favor da cassação 183 deputados, contra 253 que pediram sua absolvição. 

Segundo a acusação, foram repassados R$ 20 mil ao então deputado, por intermédio do funcionário José Nilson dos Santos. A transferência teria sido feita por orientação do ex-tesoureiro Delúbio Soares, apontado pela Procuradoria como um dos operadores do esquema. A defesa do ex-parlamentar sustenta que o dinheiro foi entregue sem o conhecimento de Luizinho. "Tendo em vista o material probatório não se sabe se os R$ 20 mil foram solicitados pelo Professor Luizinho", disse Joaquim Barbosa.

Ao pronunciar sua absolvição dos três réus, o revisor Lewandowski disse concordar "inteiramente com o relator". "Eram pessoas secundárias e subalternas e não tinham poder de mando neste caso. Não tinham consciência de que estavam praticando o crime de lavagem de dinheiro", afirmou, em referência aos dois assessores.

Saiba mais: Barbosa condena ex-ministro e dois ex-deputados por lavagem de dinheiro

Nos casos de João Magno, Anderson Adauto e Paulo Rocha, o placar até agora é de cinco votos a favor da condenação, contra dois pela absolvição. Na próxima sessão, marcada para segunda-feira, devem se pronunciar Gilmar Mendes, Celso de Mello e Ayres Brito.

Professor de matemática no ensino público, Luizinho foi diretor da Associação de Professores do Ensino Oficial do Estado de São Paulo (Apeoesp) e da Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT). Um dos fundadores do PT, foi vereador em Santo André e depois deputado estadual. Em seu mandato na Câmara, em Brasília, foi líder do PT na oposição, em 1992 e 1993, e depois líder do governo federal na Câmara, durante o governo do ex-presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 

Fishermen 'attacked by French' call for navy's help

The French claim British vessels are taking advantage of local conservation measures

 

Fishermen are calling for Royal Navy protection after claims they were attacked by French vessels.

 

Kevin Lochrane, from East Sussex, said he was surrounded by seven or eights boats in international waters 15 miles off Caen in a dispute over scallops.

One Scottish fisherman, Andy Scott, said he feared for his crew's safety during the incident.

Other crewmen, including from Devon, said they were also surrounded by the French fishermen.

They said the French fishermen had tried to damage their gear.

'Called for assistance'

Clinton Powell, from Devon, said: "Something has got to be done and we need naval protection."

Anton Bailey, from Brixham, claimed four French boats "threw rocks and tried to ram us".

Anton BaileyAnton Bailey claims four French boats "threw rocks and tried to ram us"

Mr Lochrane, from Newhaven, said he had to call his crew off the deck "as it was unsafe".

"I called other vessels for assistance and when they arrived they had ropes fired at them too, and nets and ropes were put in the water to disable us."

He said a French fishing protection vessel refused to intervene.

"I've been at sea for 20 years and never seen anything like it," Mr Lochrane said.

"Our worry is if this all kicks off again then we're not getting any help from anybody.

"Maybe we could have our own naval vessel to assist us if this should ever happen again."

Mr Scott, of Dumfries-based Scott Trawlers, said three French fishermen eventually boarded his vessel and spoke to the skipper.

"He was able to satisfy them that he was legally entitled to fish there," said Mr Scott.

'Looks like premeditation'

French fisherman Claude Millinaire, who was among the protesters in the Baie de la Seine, told French television station TF3: "It's robbery. We work intelligently to preserve fish stocks.

"We leave them to grow during the summer and then it's others who come and reap the benefits. We are not OK with that."

Liberal Democrat Transport Minister Norman Baker, who is MP for Lewes, said: "So far unverified reports suggest that up to 40 French boats surrounded five British vessels who appeared to be fishing legally, albeit in French waters.

Kevin Lochrane said one of his crew was hit by a rockKevin Lochrane said in 20 years at sea he had "never seen anything like it"

"That looks like premeditation and attempt to intimidate. Clearly we have to establish the facts."

Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon said: "UK vessels have a legitimate right to fish in these waters and France must continue to provide adequate protection to UK fishermen.

"We are monitoring the situation and will continue to keep an open dialogue with our French counterparts."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency contacted French coastguards, who sent a patrol vessel to the area and said the French authorities were "continuing to monitor the situation".

The French Government says there is nothing it can do to stop the British boats, because they are in French waters perfectly legally.

Mr Powell, who was fishing on board The Golden Fleece Two, said: "None of our skippers could get away with it: we'd be locked up and legal action taken right away."

Tanzania investigates fake HIV drugs

 

The fake ARV drug displayed to the media on Wednesday in Dar es Salaam
Out of a batch of 12,000 bottles, so far 9,750 have been recalled
 
An investigation into the circulation of fake HIV drugs in Tanzania could lead to criminal prosecutions, the health minister has told the BBC.
 
Dr Hussein Mwinyi has suspended three top officials and stopped local production of the anti-retrovirals (ARVs) while the probe takes place.
He told the BBC Swahili Service he would "not allow people to play around with the lives of Tanzanians".
He said the police force and security services were involved in the probe.
Analysts say there is concern about the quality of locally made drugs given widespread corruption in political circles in the East Africa nation.
Earlier this year, a body overseeing public finances exposed rampant misuse of public funds, including in the health ministry. The scandal led to the sacking of seven ministers.
'Nothing to fear'
Dr Mwinyi said the health ministry was alerted in August to problems with a batch of ARV drugs at the Tarime District Hospital.
The batch, produced by the Tanzania Pharmaceutical Industry (TPI), was immediately recalled and subjected to further testing, which revealed that it was sub-standard.
The officials who were suspended on Wednesday work at the Medical Stores Department (MSD) and the production of all drugs by TPI has been halted while investigations are under way, the government-owned paper Tanzania Daily News reports.
An HIV positive mother and her child at a clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - April 2011
HIV-positive patients are entitled to free ARV treatment in Tanzania

The minister said out of 12,000 bottles in the fake ARV batch, 9,570 had so far been successfully recalled.
In an interview with the BBC's Focus on Africa programme, Dr Mwinyi said health professionals had been ordered to contact all patients taking ARVs to check their medication and do further testing in case anyone had been affected.
He said the early detection of this problem and the recall of the drug should ease patients' concerns.
"The remaining anti-retrovirals are of good quality - and we are certain of that - and we want to assure them that they should not fear anything," he said.
He said the investigation may show that more people are involved in the case.
"This investigation is not only [being] done by the Tanzania Food and Drug Authority but by the police force and the other security organs - the reason is that if there is a criminal element in it they should take legal action," he told the BBC.
According to UN statistics, an estimated 1.4 million Tanzanians are HIV positive out of a population of 45 million.
They are entitled to free ARV treatment, with donors helping fund the government scheme.

Egypt's President Mursi removes prosecutor general

 

Protesters wave the Egyptian national flag as they perch on top of a street lamp in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt (July 2011)
Hosni Mubarak stood down in February last year following a popular uprising

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi has removed Prosecutor General Abdel Maguid Mahmoud from his post.
 
Mr Mahmoud was instead appointed ambassador to the Vatican, with no official reason given for the switch.
But the move comes a day after 24 people loyal to ousted President Hosni Mubarak were acquitted of organising an attack on protesters during last year's uprising.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Cairo against the acquittals.
Battle of the Camels
Demonstrators accused the judges of "complicity" with the former Egyptian leadership and said they wanted to "purify justice".
The group on trial had been accused of sending men on camels and horses to break up a protest in Cairo in 2011.
In the incident, later called the Battle of the Camels, Mubarak supporters charged protesters in Tahrir Square.
It became one of the most notorious incidents of the anti-Mubarak uprising and left nearly a dozen people dead.
Some senior members of the old regime were among those accused.
They included Fathi Srur and Safwat al-Sherif, former speakers of Egypt's two houses of parliament.
Prosecutors said Mr Sherif, who was also the secretary general of Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NPD), had "contacted MPs, members of the NDP and financiers of the party, inciting them to disperse the protests in Tahrir Square by force and violence".
Mr Mahmoud was appointed in July 2006.
Officials quoted by Reuters said that an assistant to the general prosecutor would take up the responsibilities until a new prosecutor general was appointed.

Jimmy Savile: Hospitals investigate abuse claims

 

Sir Jimmy Savile
Savile had a lifelong association with the Leeds General Infirmary as a fundraiser and volunteer

Hospitals are investigating allegations that TV presenter Sir Jimmy Savile preyed on children during visits to wards as part of a catalogue of abuse.
Leeds General Infirmary has received two complaints of sexual assault by Savile dating back to the 1970s.
It is also claimed he groped patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Bucks, where he was a volunteer fundraiser.
 
Meanwhile a newspaper report that Savile abused a patient at Broadmoor is being investigated by its NHS trust.
The Sun claimed he assaulted a 17-year-old patient during a visit as a hospital fundraiser in the 1970s.
But West London Mental Health NHS Trust said it had not been approached by police or any former patients or their representatives with any allegations.
The Metropolitan Police is now leading an inquiry into claims of abuse against the Leeds-born presenter and is pursuing 120 separate lines of inquiry.
A further two forces have referred a total of three new complaints to Scotland Yard, it has emerged.
The BBC will also hold an inquiry into allegations Savile abused girls while working for the corporation after the police investigation is completed.
A figure from outside the corporation will chair it.
'Nasty, horrible man'
Savile had a long-association with the Leeds General Infirmary which included him volunteering during the 1960s and 70s and undertaking charity work until his death in October 2011.
At one time he also worked as a porter at the hospital.

June Thornton said she saw Jimmy Savile kiss a patient who could not defend herself
 
Former patient June Thornton said that when she was recovering from an operation there in May 1972 she saw Savile molest a brain-damaged girl.
"I thought at the time that he was a relative but then he started kissing her neck, running his hands up and down her arms and then started to molest her," she said.
"Now I just need him to be seen for what he is, a nasty, horrible man to a very vulnerable young lady. She couldn't fight back, couldn't give her consent to anything could she?"
The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said it had not received any complaints about Savile during that period.
Andrew Bannister, trust spokesman, said: "Two individuals have contacted the hospital to share their concerns about things that happened with Jimmy Savile in the 70s but these contacts have only come to light in the last few days since the upsurge of publicity.
"Clearly we will be liaising closely with the police because we also want to know what, if any, evidence they might have about any wrong behaviour in Leeds."
Mr Bannister said the hospital was surprised by the allegations.
"We did know him over a long period of time and there was nothing in his behaviour that would have given us cause for concern," he said.
"We are shocked and upset at the nature of the allegations and the apparent conviction of the police that they need to be taken seriously. We wouldn't quarrel with that."
Another hospital with a long connection to the presenter, Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, has also been contacted by the police as part of the investigation.
A former patient at the hospital has told the BBC she was abused by Savile in 1971 when she was 13.
'Feel cheated'
Caroline Moore, 53, from Clarkston near Glasgow, was in a wheelchair being treated for spinal injuries at the time.
She said: "I was outside a ward or a gym and he came out and just rammed his tongue down my throat... I was 13 and didn't know anything about that kind of thing.
"I told my family at the time but they didn't take it seriously because he was so high-profile. I tried to raise it a few years ago when a documentary was being made but they wouldn't entertain me either."
Ms Moore said she wished Savile was alive to face the allegations made against him.
Stoke Mandeville hospital
Stoke Mandeville hospital was another organisation that received support from Savile

"I feel cheated. After 40 years he still upsets me," she added.
A retired detective has told the BBC he reported concerns about Savile's behaviour at Stoke Mandeville in the 1970s but was not believed.
The former Thames Valley police officer, from Milton Keynes, said he was told by nurses that they tried to keep young girls away from Savile when he visited.
On Wednesday Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said it had been shocked to hear allegations and had never received any complaints about Savile.
Savile had been a regular visitor to the hospital, raising millions of pounds for its spinal injuries unit.
Roger Holt, a former music executive who worked with Savile's team in the late 1960s, said he was told that he "gets these young girls in his Rolls", adding "I think he had a caravan when he was travelling around".
'Vivid memories'
Mr Holt said: "I heard through his office, just in conversation, 'Jimmy's at it again' because he used to travel the country with his colleagues at the BBC."
The Metropolitan Police investigation, Operation Yewtree, aims to produce a report by the end of November.
The force said Savile's alleged victims were mainly girls who were aged between 13 and 16 at the time, and the allegations spanned four decades.
North Yorkshire Police has said it has received a report of a sexual offence by the presenter involving a girl in Scarborough in the 1980s.
A further two allegations against Savile have been received by Lancashire Police, one about a girl then aged 14 in the 1960s in West Yorkshire, and one about a 15-year-old girl in the 1980s in Bedfordshire.
All three allegations have been referred to the Metropolitan Police.
A solicitor representing 42 victims of child abuse in Jersey has said Savile was named "several times" in his investigations.
Alan Collins said the memories of Savile had been "very vivid" but said he believed he escaped attention on the island because he was just one part of "a wide ranging inquiry spanning decades and dealing with numerous alleged abusers".













































WWI centenary remembrance plans given £50m by government

 

David Cameron pictured in 2009 looking at commemorative crosses
David Cameron, seen here in 2009 looking at commemorative crosses, says he wants the WWI centenary to create an "enduring legacy" for future generations

More than £50m has been allocated for a "historic" commemoration of the centenary of the start of World War I, David Cameron has announced.

Speaking at the Imperial War Museum, the prime minister said he wanted a truly national commemoration.
He also announced an advisory board, which includes Culture Secretary Maria Miller, to oversee the events.
It comes as a survey for a think tank suggests 69% of people want Remembrance Day 2014 to be a special national day.
Mr Cameron says the commemorations in 2014 will comprise "three vital elements".
  • A "massive" transformation of the Imperial War Museum "to make it even more incredible"
  • A major programme of national commemorative events "properly funded and given the proper status they deserve"
  • An educational programme "to create an enduring legacy for generations to come"

David Cameron: "Our duty towards these commemorations is clear. To honour those who served"
 
The prime minister went on to say that these will be overseen by a "world class advisory board" chaired by the Ms Miller and supported by "my own special representative" Andrew Murrison.
Other members of the board will include former defence secretaries Tom King and George Robertson, former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, former chief of the defence staff Jock Stirrup and former chief of the general staff Richard Dannatt.
Historian Hew Strachan and author Sebastian Faulks, who wrote the World War I novel Birdsong, will also be on the board.
Contemporary significance
"It is absolutely right that these commemorations should be given such priority," Mr Cameron said.
"Our duty with these commemorations is clear. To honour those who served. To remember those who died. And to ensure that the lessons learnt live with us for ever. And that is exactly what we will do."
During his speech, the prime minister said that Heritage Lottery Fund was announcing an additional £6m to enable young people working in their communities to conserve and share local heritage of WWI.
It has already given £9m to projects marking the centenary, including community heritage projects.
Mr Cameron said the fund, which distributes a share of the income from the National Lottery, is also calling for more applications for WWI-themed ideas.
"The centenary will also provide the foundations upon which to build an enduring cultural and educational legacy to put young people front and centre in our commemoration and to ensure that the sacrifice and service of 100 years ago is still remembered in 100 years' time."
And Mr Cameron also said the £50m funding included a further £5m being given to the project to redevelop the Imperial War Museum in London, adding to the £5m already awarded. This matches contributions from private, corporate and social donors, he added.
Also, £5.3m is being given to schools in England to pay for trips to the battlefields for "thousands" of children from 2013 to 2019.
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson says that while Mr Cameron wanted to use his speech to talk to young people about commemorating the past, the year 2014 also has a contemporary significance.
It is when the referendum on Scottish independence will be held, so a reminder of what the nations of the UK have achieved together is seen as not unhelpful to the unionist cause, our correspondent says.
Sporting postponements
Meanwhile, British Future is calling for shops to close and flags to fly at half-mast out of respect for the fallen soldiers.
It also wants sporting fixtures such as Premier League football matches to be postponed and a longer period of silence to be observed.
The YouGov online poll on behalf of the think tank British Future asked more than 1,700 British adults whether they believed Remembrance Sunday 2014 should be commemorated differently.
More than 80% of respondents thought bells should be rung across the UK and flags should fly at half-mast, and just over half thought major sports events should be moved to another day.
But the survey showed people were divided over whether shops should be closed - with 45% for and 45% against the proposal.
British Future director Sunder Katwala said: "We all need to decide if Remembrance Sunday in 2014 is going to feel pretty much like any other Sunday... or should this be a special Sunday where we close the shops and have a football-free day and find ways to bring us together and understand our history and the country we have become?"

Clovelly flooding damages homes

 


The flooding followed an hour of heavy rain

Heavy rain has caused flash floods in a Devon coastal village, damaging homes and pulling up cobbles in the street.

Villagers in Clovelly said about 2in of rain had fallen in an hour earlier.
The worst of the flooding was said to be in the main part of the village - a popular tourist destination - where one villager described the scene as a "brown river".
Devon and Somerset fire service was expected to be in the village late into the evening.
Gary Hanger, who lives in Clovelly, said: "People who have lived here all their lives, 50 years or more, have never seen anything like this.
"It's about 2in deep. It's just pouring into some houses, in one door and out the other."
Clean-up operation
Resident Sally Stevens said: "The water swept down the street and a few houses are flooded. The heavy rain has gone now, but the damage has been done."
Paula Cook, another resident in the privately owned village, said: "It was like the high street had been turned into a river. I have never seen anything like it."
Residents and volunteers are expected to spend much of the night helping those whose properties have been damaged.
Bysha Beani, from Clovelly Lifeboat Station, said: "We have been making an effort along with everyone else in Clovelly to help those most in need.
"The floodwater has caused a lot of damage, mostly to people's homes, and it seems the whole village is trying to do what it can to clean up."
The fishing village is traffic-free and popular with tourists for its tranquillity and its donkeys, which traditionally carry goods up the hill in the centre.

Resident Ellie Jarvis said the "street was like a river"
Clovelly has been privately owned by the same family since 1738. About 1,600 people live in the village and Clovelly Bay.
Other parts of Devon have also been affected by the heavy rain.
The A39 at Parracombe in Devon was shut both ways in the late afternoon due to flooding at Broadoak Hill.
Low-lying parts of Tiverton have been flooded, with the river Lowman bursting its banks.
Kevin Martin, who runs the Inn on the Green pub, said: "We can't open the front door at all. People are having to come in around the back."
The county council said the A388 outside Southcott Garage, Holsworthy, had flooded.
The A3072 between Bude in north Cornwall and Holsworthy was blocked in places.
David Quance, who lives at Sutcombe Mill, between Holsworthy and Bradworthy, said: "The water has come over a wall our neighbour had built.
"It's coming out of the entrance to their drive at tremendous force."

Malala Yousafzai: Shot Pakistan girl moves hospitals

 


The BBC's Aleem Maqbool reports from Malala's school in Pakistan, where he says students have been left "traumatised"
 
A 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen has been transferred to a new military hospital with better facilities.

Malala Yousafzai, in critical condition two days after being attacked in the north-western Swat Valley, arrived by helicopter in Rawalpindi from Peshawar.
The Taliban, who accuse the young activist of "promoting secularism", have said they will target her again.
There have been widespread protests in Pakistan against the shooting.
Malala Yousafzai was being treated in an intensive care unit in Peshawar before doctors decided to move her to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology critical care unit in Rawalpindi.
One of the medical team treating her said "neurologically she has significantly improved" but that the "coming days... are very critical".
Another doctor, Mumtaz Khan, told AFP news agency that she had a 70% chance of survival.
"Her condition is not yet out of danger despite improvement," Masood Kausar, the governor of the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was also quoted as saying.
'Barbaric mindset'
Pakistani officials have offered a 10m rupee ($105,000; £66,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the attackers.
Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who visited Malala in hospital in Peshawar on Wednesday, said it was time to "stand up to fight the propagators of such barbaric mindset and their sympathisers".
Malala gained attention aged 11, when she started writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban.
Using the pen-name Gul Makai, she wrote about suffering caused by militants who had taken control of the Swat Valley in 2007 and ordered girls' schools to close.
The Taliban were ousted from Swat in 2009, but her family said they had regularly received death threats.
They believed she would be safe among her own community, but on Tuesday, she was stopped as she returned home from school in Mingora, in north-western Swat, and shot in the head.

Malala Yousafzai spoke to the BBC in November 2011
Two other girls were injured.
Schools in the Swat Valley closed on Wednesday in protest at the attack, and schoolchildren in other parts of the country prayed for the girl's recovery.
Protests were held in Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan and in Malala's hometown of Mingora and in Lahore.
Those taking part praised the girl's bravery, while many condemned the attack as un-Islamic.
The attack has also drawn international condemnation.
Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, now the UN special envoy for global education, said Malala Yousafzai had become an "icon for courage and hope" for more than 30 million girls worldwide who are denied primary schooling.
Mr Brown said he had accepted an invitation from President Asif Ali Zardari to lead a delegation to Pakistan in November "to talk about how he can improve opportunities for children".

Amnesty: China forced evictions in 'significant rise'

 


The BBC's Martin Patience says some residents have reported being attacked by "thugs"
 
Forced evictions in China have risen significantly in recent years as local officials sell off land to property developers, Amnesty International says.

Many cases involve violence and harassment, in what the group called "a gross violation of human rights".
Pressure on local officials to meet economic goals and vested interests were behind the coercion, it said.
These evictions are a rumbling cause of social discontent and have led to protests across the country.
All land in China is effectively controlled by the state, and laws allow local governments to claim land for urban development projects.
Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty's senior director of research in Hong Kong, told the BBC that seizing and selling off land was how local authorities were paying back funds borrowed to finance stimulus packages during the economic downturn.
"The Chinese Communist Party promotes officials who deliver growth seemingly at any cost, and land development for roads, factories, residential complexes and so on is seen as the most direct path to visible results," she said.
Amnesty said the system was open to abuse and evictees often received little notice, no consultation and only a fraction of the value of their home in compensation.
Such cases have led to violent clashes between residents and police or private security guards on several occasions, the report said.
'Sudden and violent'
Amnesty interviewed lawyers, housing rights activists and academics, both in China and abroad, for its 85-page report entitled Standing Their Ground.
It looked at 40 cases of forced eviction from January 2009 to January 2012, nine of which it said culminated in deaths of people who opposed their evictions.
"The forced eviction of people from their homes and farmland without appropriate legal protection and safeguards has become a routine occurrence in China, and represents a gross violation of human rights obligations on an enormous scale," Amnesty said.
Many cases are "sudden and violent, sometimes resulting in death", harassment and in one instance, someone being buried alive.
Ms Duckworth said self-immolations caused by evictions were also on the rise. "We documented 41 reports of self-immolations from 2009 to the end of 2012," she said.
Wukan villagers protesting over illegal land grabs and the death of a local leader, 19 December 2011Protests in Wukan village resulted in the punishment of some local officials
Amnesty cited the example of Wukan village in Guangdong province in 2011, where residents demonstrated on the streets after a village negotiator protesting against local officials over a land grab died in police custody.
As a result of protests, two local officials were removed from their posts and others punished in 2012. The villagers also won the right to fresh local elections as part of the deal.
But "optimism might be premature" on the Wukan case, Amnesty said.
"To this day, there has been no independent investigation into [village negotiator] Xue Jinbo's death. The villagers still have not got any of their land back. And there are now reports that authorities have been harassing and spying on activists in Wukan."
The group called on China to put an immediate stop to all forced evictions and ensure safeguards were put in place in line with international law.
It also urged China to implement new regulations it adopted in 2011 providing for proper land compensation and outlawing the use of violence in these cases.
China does have laws in place to protect farmers and local residents, but these are often ignored at local level. Leaders in Beijing have acknowledged the problems and pledged to improve the situation.
Premier Wen Jiabao, in his report to the National People's Congress in March, said that problems related to land expropriation and housing demolition "are still very serious and the people are still very concerned about them".

Nigeria oil spills: Shell rejects liability claim

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell has rejected claims by four Nigerian farmers that it should pay compensation for damage to their land.
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The Nigerian farmers and their legal team argue that Shell could have prevented the spills

The farmers are suing the company in a civil court in The Hague, claiming oil spills ruined their livelihoods.

Shell's lawyers told the court it could not be held liable because most spills were caused by criminal damage.
They said repairs were hard to carry out because of insecurity in the Niger Delta.
Shell lawyer Jan de Bie Leuveling Tjeenk told the court that sabotage and oil theft were widespread in the region.
The case is being brought against Shell by the farmers and the Dutch arm of the environmental group Friends of the Earth.
If their case is successful it could pave the way for thousands of other compensation claims, says the BBC's Anna Holligan in The Hague.
It is the first time a Dutch multinational has been taken to a civil court in the Netherlands in connection with damage caused abroad.
The case is linked to spills in Goi, Ogoniland; Oruma in Bayelsa State and a third in Ikot Ada Udo, Akwa Ibom State.
'Sabotage'
Earlier, Channa Samkalden, lawyer for the Nigerians, told the court that Shell had failed to maintain its pipelines, clean up leaks and prevent pollution.
"Shell knew for a long time that the pipeline was damaged but didn't do anything. They could have stopped the leaks," she said.
Judges are now considering the evidence and a ruling is expected early next year.
Speaking to the BBC before the hearing, one of the plaintiffs, Friday Alfred Akpan from the village of Ikot Ada Udo, said the oil leaks in his village had badly damaged his 47 fish ponds.
"Fish died as a result of the oil spill, making it difficult for me to live and put my children through school."
He told the BBC's Newsday programme he wanted compensation for the loss, and for Shell to clean up the spill.
Shell official Allard Castelein told the BBC the spills in question "were all caused by sabotage".
"I mean, there's video evidence. There's signed testimonies by joint investigation teams that are constituted of the local municipality, the company, the government."
In a statement, the company said: "The real tragedy of the Niger Delta is the widespread and continual criminal activity, including sabotage, theft and illegal refining, that causes the vast majority of oil spills.
"It is this criminality which all organisations with an interest in Nigeria's future should focus their efforts on highlighting and addressing."
Shell says it has cleaned up pollution at the three locations in question and this has been certified by relevant Nigerian authorities.
Militant groups have for years waged a violent campaign in the Niger Delta, demanding that local people see more of the benefits of the region's oil wealth - there is also a huge problem of oil theft in the area.
Last year, a report by the United Nations Environment Programmesaid that over half a century of oil operation in the region, by firms including Shell, had caused deeper damage to the Ogoniland area of the Niger Delta than earlier estimated.
The company has accepted responsibility for two specific spills in the region in 2008, saying it would settle the case under Nigerian law.

Chinese author Mo Yan wins Nobel Prize for Literature

Chinese author Mo Yan has been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for literature.
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Mo Yan is the author's pen name, which means 'don't speak'

A prolific author, Mo has published dozens of short stories, with his first work published in 1981.

The Swedish Academy praised his work which "with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary".
The 57-year-old is the first Chinese resident to win the prize. Chinese-born Gao Xingjian was honoured in 2000, but is a French citizen.
Mo is the 109th recipient of the prestigious prize, won last year by Swedish poet Tomas Transtroemer.
Presented by the Nobel Foundation, the award - only given to living writers - is worth 8 million kronor (£741,000).
"He has such a unique way of writing. If you read half a page of Mo Yan you immediately recognise it as him," said Peter Englund, head of the Academy.
He said Mo had been told of the award, adding: "He was at home with his dad. He said he was overjoyed and terrified."
Born Guan Moye, the author writes under the pen name Mo Yan, which means "don't speak" in Chinese.
He began writing while a soldier in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and received international fame in 1987 for Red Sorghum: A Novel of China.
Made into a film which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1988, the novella was a tale of the brutal violence in the eastern China countryside where he grew up during the 1920s and 1930s.

Secretary of the Swedish Academy, Peter Englund, announced the award
Favouring to write about China's past rather than contemporary issues, the settings for Mo's works range from the 1911 revolution, Japan's wartime invasion and Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution.
"He has a very impressive oeuvre," Michel Hockx, Professor of Chinese at the University of London, said.
"He has a large readership and he addresses the human condition in a way in which the Nobel Committee likes to see."
Mo's other acclaimed works include Republic of Wine, Life And Death Are Wearing Me Out and Big Breasts and Wide Hips.
The latter book caused controversy when it was published in 1995 for its sexual content and depicting a class struggle contrary to the Chinese Communist Party line.
The author was forced by the PLA to withdraw it from publication although it was pirated many times.
After it was translated into English a decade later, the book won him a nomination for the Man Asian Literary Prize.

Chinese people react to the news that writer Mo Yan has won the 2012 Nobel Prize for literature
Despite his social criticism Mo is seen in his homeland as one of the foremost contemporary authors, however critics have accused him of being too close to the Communist Party.
"A writer should express criticism and indignation at the dark side of society and the ugliness of human nature," the author said in a speech at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2009.
"Some may want to shout on the street, but we should tolerate those who hide in their rooms and use literature to voice their opinions."
His latest novel, Frog, about China's "one child" population control policy, won the Mao Dun Literature Prize - one of his country's most prestigious literature prizes - last year.
Mo and the other Nobel laureates for medicine, physics, chemistry and peace, will receive their prizes at formal ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo on 10 December - the anniversary of the death of prize creator Alfred Nobel in 1896.

US Navy funds 'MacGyver' robot that can create tools

A US team aims to build a robot that can work out how to use nearby objects to solve problems or escape threats.
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The US Navy said its MacGyver Bot project could create a first-of-its-kind team-mate for its personnel

The machine has been dubbed a MacGyver Bot, after the TV character who cobbled together devices to escape life-threatening situations.

The challenge is to develop software that "understands" what objects are in order to deduce how they can be used.
The US Navy is funding the project and says the machines might ultimately be deployed alongside humans.
It is providing $900,000 (£562,000) to robotics researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology to carry out the work.
"Our goal is to develop a robot that behaves like MacGyver, the television character from the 1980s who solved complex problems and escaped dangerous situations by using everyday objects and materials he found at hand," said project leader Prof Mike Stilman.
"Researchers in the robot motion planning field have traditionally used computerised vision systems to locate objects in a cluttered environment to plan collision-free paths, but these systems have not provided any information about the objects' functions."
Rescue bot
Mr Stilman said he planned to create software that first identified an object, then determined potential things that could be done with it, before turning it into "a simple machine" that could be used to complete an action.
Examples given include stacking boxes to climb over something, building a bridge out of debris or climbing on a chair to grab an object out of reach.
By the project's end, the software should be able to combine such tasks when necessary.
To test whether this is the case, the researchers hope to load the code onto Golem Krang - a robot already developed by Mr Stillman's laboratory - to see if it works in action.
The researchers ultimately envisage a situation in which the machine might be deployed to rescue trapped officers without needing to risk anyone else's life.
Perception problem
One UK-based artificial intelligence (AI) researcher said the challenge was harder that it sounded.
"For example, vision alone is not enough to tell you if an object can support your weight or be used as a lever - you need to interact with it physically to understand its physical possibilities," Prof Barbara Webb, from the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics, told the BBC.
"This is probably a harder problem for current robotics than making a plan to solve the task."
Another AI expert suggested the project might like to draw on existing research into how animals use tools.
"A monkey will use a stick to reach a longer stick to reach an out-of-reach banana," said Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield.
"A crow will bend a piece of wire to get a trapped food.
"I have seen this kind of work with robots, but it is a very difficult project and like all research may not work as planned, but it is well worth the effort and will advance the field."

Samsung announces Galaxy S3 Mini smartphone

Samsung has unveiled a smaller version of its Galaxy S3 smartphone, reducing the screen size by 0.8 of an inch to 4 inches, bringing it in line with Apple's iPhone 5.
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The smartphone can track a user's eyes to remain illuminated when being looked at

The handset runs on Jelly Bean, the latest version of Google's Android operating system.

Samsung has not yet shared details of when the device will go on sale.
The announcement comes at a time Apple are expected to launch a 7-inch iPad, although that has yet to be confirmed.
The Galaxy S3 Mini, details of which had been widely leaked prior to Thursday's announcement, comes just six months after the launch of the well-received larger model.
The Mini has a five megapixel camera on its rear, with a lower quality VGA camera on its front.
It retains some key features of the larger model, such as an Near Field Communication (NFC) chip, which enables contactless payments.
Sacrificed in the downsize is some processing power - the model drops from the big S3's quad-core chip to a dual-care - and some screen clarity.
The S3 Mini's display offers fewer pixels - 800x480 - compared to the higher definition 720p display of the original.
While obviously smaller in size, the S3 Mini is a millimetre thicker.
'Just too big'
Stuart Miles, editor of UK gadget website Pocket-lint, told the BBC he thinks Samsung are playing a shrewd move to react to the demands of the market.
"I think from Samsung's point of view its about offering breadth and depth of choice.
"There's lots of people out there who thing the Galaxy S3 is an amazing phone, but there's a lot who think it's just too big."
He said the impressive early sales of the iPhone 5 will have spurred the need for a smaller competing device.
"If you see that there's a massive demand for a 4-inch screen device, and you have the capability to make it, then you're going to make it, aren't you? I think it will do really well."
Simon Stanford, vice president of Samsung UK's telecommunications and networks division, said in a statement: "We will continue to develop smartphones to cater for a variety of customer needs and this latest release demonstrates our ongoing commitment to offering our customers more choice at every price point."

Mozilla Firefox browser upgrade taken offline due to vulnerability

The latest version of Mozilla's Firefox browser has been taken offline after a security vulnerability was discovered.
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The Firefox browser is used by millions worldwide
Users who had upgraded to version 16 were advised to downgrade to the previous safe release until Firefox developers released a fix.

The vulnerability allowed "a malicious site to potentially determine which websites users have visited", Mozilla said.
The non-profit company said that only a "limited number of users are affected".
The download had been taken offline within a day of its initial release, the organisation's UK spokesman said.
He added that no users had been upgraded automatically to the new version.
Automatically upgraded
In a blog post, Mozilla's director of security assurance Michael Coates said a fix was being worked on and should be expected on Thursday.
"At this time we have no indication that this vulnerability is currently being exploited in the wild," he added.
"Firefox 16 has been temporarily removed from the current installer page and users will automatically be upgraded to the new version as soon as it becomes available.
"As a precaution, users can downgrade to version 15.0.1 by following these instructions. Alternatively, users can wait until our patches are issued and automatically applied to address the vulnerability."
Firefox was one of the three leading web browsers, with more than 450 million users worldwide, Mozilla said.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer and relative newcomer Google Chrome are its key competitors.
In recent months, various figures suggested Chrome had overtaken Firefox's market share, pushing the Mozilla Foundation's flagship product into third place in the browser race.

Senator Opens Investigation of Data Brokers

The multibillion-dollar data brokerage industry, a growing force in online marketing, is drawing intensified government scrutiny.

Mandel Ngan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Senator John D. Rockefeller
 
On Wednesday, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia, opened an extensiveinvestigation of nine leading information brokers. Because Americans now conduct much of their daily business online, the senator said he was concerned that “an unprecedented amount” of personal, medical and financial information about people could be collected, mined and sold, to the potential detriment of consumers.
“An ever-increasing percentage of their lives will be available for download, and the digital footprint they will inevitably leave behind will become more specific and potentially damaging, if used improperly,” Mr. Rockefeller, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, wrote in letters to the data brokers. “It is critical that we understand what information companies like yours are already collecting and selling.”
Linda A. Woolley, the acting chief executive of the Direct Marketing Association, a trade group, called the senator’s investigation “a baseless fishing expedition.”
“I hope Senator Rockefeller understands what he’s tampering with,” she said in an e-mailed statement.
The Senate investigation represents the second Congressional inquiry into the industry’s practices this year. In July, Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Representative Joe L. Barton, Republican of Texas, co-chairmen of the Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, began a House inquiry into data compilers, which is ongoing. And the Federal Trade Commission has been looking into the practices of about a dozen major data brokers.
Data brokers collect a wide variety of information from public sources and third parties, including details like consumers’ financial status, race or ethnicity, buying history, hobbies, health concerns, travel preferences, Internet providers and social networks.
The companies often use the information for a practice called “database marketing” — that is, using data mining to help clients like retailers, banks and airlines tailor marketing pitches to their best customers or identify potential new ones.
Collecting, analyzing and selling such information for marketing purposes is perfectly legal. Indeed, it’s a huge business. Some data brokers have said they maintain several thousand details on the majority of adults in the United States.
But some legislators and regulators say they are concerned that neither they nor consumers know the extent of the material that data brokers collect; whom they disclose or sell it to; and exactly what they are doing with it.
Unlike consumer reporting agencies, which are required by federal law to show people their own credit reports and allow them to correct errors, data brokers are not required to show consumers information collected about them for marketing purposes.
Earlier this year in a report on protecting consumer privacy, the F.T.C. urged the industry to create a centralized Web portal where consumers could learn about companies’ practices and their options for controlling information collected about them. The agency also recommended that Congress pass legislation giving people access to information that data brokers hold about them. Underlying regulators’ efforts is their concern that some information brokers could create financial dossiers about individuals that are akin to credit reports and use them to unfairly exclude individual consumers from certain offers or charge some people higher prices than others.
“There are data brokers whose marketing lists may not cross the line into credit reports but come very close,” said Julie Brill, a member of the F.T.C. “The question is whether the lists are being used for marketing purposes or for something very close to credit purposes.”
Industry representatives say that data-based marketers use consumer marketing data for legitimate commercial practices, not for regulated purposes like making offers of credit or insurance.
They add that collecting marketing data benefits consumers because it allows companies to send people offers for products and services they are interested in. It also increases efficiency because companies know ahead of time not to send pitches for, say, lawn mowers to people who live in apartments.
“Consumers love getting what they want — information, products, benefits, upgrades — when they want it,” said Ms. Woolley of the Direct Marketing Association. “There is no evidence that data-driven marketing harms consumers in any way.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Rockefeller sent letters of inquiry to established database marketers like Acxiom, headquartered in Little Rock, Ark.; credit reporting agencies like Experian and Equifax, which have separate marketing arms; and newer companies, like Rapleaf and Datalogix, that specialize in helping companies pursue online and mobile consumers.
Mr. Rockefeller asked each company to provide extensive business details about its data collection operations since Jan. 1, 2009.
Scott Howe, the chief executive of Acxiom, said the company looked “forward to continuing to work with the Congress to help the members gain a deeper understanding of Acxiom’s business and how people and the economy benefit from the appropriate use of data.”
In an e-mail, Demitra L. Wilson, a spokeswoman for Equifax, said the company is not a data broker and that the only a small portion of its business involves unregulated, aggregated data about consumers.
And Gerry Tschopp, a spokesman for Experian, said the company welcomed the opportunity to discuss “the benefits of the appropriate use of consumer data” with legislators.
Representatives of Datalogix and Rapleaf did not immediately respond to e-mail and phone requests for comment.
Mr. Rockefeller asked the companies to respond by Nov. 2.























Even Small Players Can Seize the Day With an App Strategy

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Sheri Gurock, co-founder of Magic Beans, a store that specializes in toys and baby gear, first used a mobile app in 2010.

 

In the summer of 2010, Sheri Gurock, co-founder of Magic Beans, a retailer specializing in toys and baby gear, decided to join the mobile app craze. But her timing may have been a little off.

Ms. Gurock deployed an app that allowed in-store customers to bypass the cash registers and check out their purchases themselves, on their mobile devices. Magic Beans got the app at no charge by working with its creator and agreeing to be a retail testing ground.

The app also allowed customers to scan a bar code to get product information, descriptions and reviews that had previously been available only to customers shopping online. When a customer bought an item usingAisleBuyer, the app would automatically recommend two related products in the store and offer discounts and coupons. That resulted in an 8 percent increase in sales to those who used the app, Ms. Gurock said.

But the app has been used by just 5 percent of customers, Ms. Gurock said. Although she contends mobile self-checkout represents the future of retail, Magic Beans, which has five stores in the Boston area and 50 employees, was “very early to the party,” she said. “This app was on a mission to change 100 years of shopping habits, where the in-store experience is bringing your items to a cashier.”

As a result, she said Magic Beans was phasing out AisleBuyer, but she expected to try again — and with good reason. By the end of this year, according to the digital marketing firm eMarketer, there will be 116 million smartphone users in the United States.

At that point, reports Cisco, the number of mobile-connected devices globally will exceed the number of people. That is a large and expanding canvas for apps when consumers have come to expect one for almost everything, said Noah Elkin, an analyst with eMarketer. “It’s getting to the point where apps are similar to search,” he said. “If you don’t get any results for a brand, that brand doesn’t exist.”

That puts growing pressure on small businesses to create and publish their own apps. This guide looks at the experiences of several companies that have tried.

BUILDING IT: THE BASICS There are essentially two kinds of apps. Native apps are written for specific operating systems — Apple’s iOS, for example, or Google’s Android — and are installed directly on a device. They are available through online stores like iTunes or Google Play. Mobile Web apps run on a device’s Web browser — and because of that can be slower — but they work on a variety of systems. There is no app store for the mobile Web so those apps can be harder for consumers to find.

Small businesses can build native and mobile Web apps using do-it-yourself tools or by hiring a developer to custom-design one. Tiggzi, a development platform made by Exadel, offers drag-and-drop tools for building apps and integrates services like Facebook andOpenTable.

Titanium from Appcelerator does not require developers to have deep programming experience, but they do need to know JavaScript, HTML or CSS. EachScape, which also uses drag-and-drop tools, lets users build and manage apps that are delivered to a device as a native app.

Most platforms allow the builder to add features like push notifications (alerts that can announce sales, for example) and the ability to connect to social networks.

The cost depends on the scope and complexity of the app, Mr. Elkin said. For example, using Tiggzi, which is a cloud-based subscription service, the cost ranges from free for one app to $50 a month for 50. Custom designing an app can cost several thousand dollars.

MARKETING TOOL PrimeGenesis, an executive consulting firm in Stamford, Conn., created an iPad app last year to encourage users to buy the firm’s book, “The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan,” written by three of the company’s founders.

The firm has 13 partners and about $2 million in annual revenue, and it used Mobile Distortion, an app developer in San Diego. The app, which cost about $35,000, provides executives entering a new company with an interactive, mobile template for creating and carrying out a 100-day action plan.

PrimeGenesis sells the full app for $9.99 (a basic version is free), but George Bradt, managing director, says the firm measures the app’s success by the number of clients it produces. “The app is there to drive people to the book, which markets our firm,” he said.

Each new client it attracts represents about $50,000 in revenue. “If we sell 10,000 books a year and convert five buyers into consulting assignments,” Mr. Bradt said, “that’s a quarter of a million dollars.”

SUPPLYING INFORMATION In June, Zeitlin & Company Realtors in Nashville introduced an app that puts updated Multiple Listing Service data at the fingertips of its agents, clients and potential clients. Zeitlin has 130 employees and about $8 million in annual revenue.

Its app takes a user’s location and creates a map of all the homes for sale in the immediate vicinity. It gives information about each house, including lot size and price, as well as school zoning and nearby restaurants, banks and grocery stores, said Sam Averbuch, a co-owner and the company’s chief financial officer.

A house hunter can mark a particular house as a favorite and that preference is stored in the cloud, so the agent can see it and then suggest other, similar homes in the neighborhood. Users can get information on any house they see and like, even if the house does not have a “for sale” sign out front.

Created by Virtual Properties, a developer in Madison, Wis., that specializes in the real estate industry, the app has been downloaded more than 1,500 times since it was introduced a few months ago. It costs $25,000 annually, which covers both the initial development fee and the expense of keeping the information up-to-date.

DEEPEN BRAND LOYALTY Carpe Diem Private Preschool, which has 120 employees, $5.8 million in annual revenue and four preschools in suburban Dallas, created an app in August 2011 to let parents observe their children through a classroom webcam.

The app, which cost about $5,000, was developed by one of the school’s founders, Tim Murphree, who happens to be a Web developer. Mr. Murphree wrote the most recent version using PhoneGap, a free, open-source framework for creating apps.

Ashley Murphree, a co-founder who is Mr. Murphree’s wife, wanted the app to reinforce the brand’s image as an innovative preschool that embraces new technology. “I think it sets us apart and has helped us gain new customers,” Ms. Murphree said. “The app says we are making a commitment to always improving.”

BE SURE YOU ARE READY Salumeria Biellese, which produces a variety of handmade cured salami and sausage, had the advertising firm Quinn Fable redo its Web site and create an app for customers, largely restaurants and wholesalers.

Salumeria Biellese has 20 employees spread among its Hackensack, N.J., production plant, its Manhattan retail store, and a Manhattan restaurant called Biricchino.

Fouad Alsharif, one of three owners, said the company is eager to introduce the app, which will allow customers to place and review orders using mobile devices, but it is waiting until it has the back-end infrastructure in place to support the app’s functions.

“We are in the process of expanding our production facility, adding drying rooms and refrigeration,” Mr. Alsharif said. “If I advertise that we have 100 pieces of a product available, it has to be available. So we can’t launch until we are really ready for it.”