EBay’s PayPal to accept Bitcoin payments |
- EBay’s PayPal to accept Bitcoin payments
- Canadian porn actor trial begins
- Euro 2016 qualifiers: Welbeck, Busquets help teams start on winning note
- Nik Aziz: PKR, DAP just hangers-on to PAS
- WSJ: 1MDB said to delay market listing of energy assets
- Wills ‘thrilled with great news’ of coming second child
| EBay’s PayPal to accept Bitcoin payments Posted: 08 Sep 2014 05:54 PM PDT
"Today we're announcing PayPal's first foray into bitcoin," Bill Ready, the chief of EBay's Braintree unit, said at Techcrunch's Disrupt SF conference today. "Over the coming months we'll allow our merchants to accept bitcoin. On the consumer side it will be a sleek experience." EBay, as the world's biggest Web marketplace and operator of a global payments service, is the most significant business to date that's embraced bitcoin. The move could potentially enable PayPal's 152 million registered accounts to transact using the virtual currency, spurring wider use and acceptance of bitcoin, according to Gil Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc. "PayPal integrating bitcoin into Braintree is a very substantial development," Luria said. "Not only will it make it possible for some of the fastest-growing apps to integrate bitcoin seamlessly, it opens the door for PayPal to integrate bitcoin into its main wallet functionality. If that happens millions of retailers will de facto be accepting bitcoin overnight." Braintree provides payment capabilities on websites and in mobile apps such as mobile car-booking service Uber Technologies Inc. and Airbnb Inc., the short-term home rental service for travelers. EBay acquired Braintree for US$800 million (RM2.539 billion) in cash last year to expand its mobile-transactions business. PayPal and Braintree will work with bitcoin payment-service provider Coinbase Inc. to enable payments in the virtual currency, Ready said. Goods, Services Ready said that tens of thousands of PayPal merchants using Braintree will be able to accept bitcoins if they choose to do so. "We're at the right time for this, and to see how to propel it forward," Ready said. He said he expects to announce which merchants will accept Bitcoin in the coming months. EBay would join other companies in accepting bitcoin, a digital currency that started to enter the mainstream in 2013. Dell Inc. began accepting bitcoins for for good such as computers in July. Dish Networks Corp., Overstock.com Inc. and Expedia Inc. also accept the virtual currency. In total, about 63,000 businesses handle bitcoins, and users have set up more than 5 million digital wallets to keep their holdings at the end of June, according to CoinDesk, a website tracking the digital money's use. Bitcoins emerged from a 2008 paper written by a programmer or group of programmers under the name Satoshi Nakamoto, becoming the most popular virtual currency. It relies on a public ledger and cryptography to record transactions and protect ownership. Uncertain Future A Bloomberg Global Poll of financial professionals in July indicated that there's still skepticism of the virtual currency even as technology entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and hedge funds plow money and effort into building it into a global payment system. Bitcoin prices have swung between more than US$900 to as low as US$341 this year as enthusiasts try to address the digital currency's weaknesses, persuade consumers to embrace it and overcome governments' concerns that it could be misused by criminals. Fifty-five per cent of those surveyed said the virtual currency trades at unsustainable, bubble-like prices, according to the quarterly poll of 562 investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers. Another 14 per cent said it's on the verge of a bubble. — Bloomberg  |
| Canadian porn actor trial begins Posted: 08 Sep 2014 05:48 PM PDT
Luka Rocco Magnotta, wearing a gray-blue polo shirt, sat in silence with his eyes mostly closed at what is expected to be a lengthy jury selection for his trial in Montreal. The 32-year-old is accused of using an ice pick to stab his 33-year-old victim Lin Jun to death in May 2012 before carving up his body, sexually abusing the corpse, filming the act and posting the video online. Days after the killing, Montreal police discovered the victim's torso in a suitcase by the trash outside an apartment along a busy highway. Lin's severed hands and feet were sent through the mail to federal political parties in Ottawa and to two schools in Vancouver. The head was found in a Montreal park months later. Magnotta was arrested in Germany in June 2012 and extradited following a dramatic international manhunt after he fled Canada. Judge Guy Cournoyer told potential jurors that they would be confronted with evidence that was likely to be "shocking and disturbing, which could be upsetting". Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to five charges including first-degree murder; committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material. A total of 1,600 potential jurors gathered at the court for a process expected to last several days and see them whittled down to 12 jurors with two alternates. The trial judge also warned jurors they would be required to be bilingual, with proceedings to be conducted in French and English. Magnotta's lawyer Louis Leclair told reporters the jury selection was the "most important" stage of the trial. "Mr Magnotta has his ideas, I have mine—do we choose men, do we choose women? It's not easy," Leclair said, adding that he was looking for "intelligent, open-minded" jurors who were capable of listening to his client. 'Canadian Psycho' The lurid nature of Magnotta's alleged crimes have set up the prospect of one of the most sensational criminal trials in Canadian legal history. Born Eric Clinton Newman, he changed his name to Magnotta in 2006, after years of swapping aliases, such as Vladimir Romanov, or Angel. The media, however, crowned him "Canadian Psycho" because of the soundtrack from the movie "American Psycho," which was playing in the background of the video showing him allegedly butchering his victim. For years Magnotta built a profile through blogs and escort adverts in which he searched online for sex partners and posted photographs showing himself as a trim, pouty-lipped model whose travels included Paris and other cities. At the same time, profiles he reputedly posted on online dating websites conveyed an altogether different persona—on one site he listed beach volleyball as a hobby and said he was looking for a long-term relationship. His lawyers questioned in pre-trial hearings whether he was fit to stand trial on mental health grounds. Canadian media have reported that Magnotta was treated for paranoid schizophrenia—a condition he has long suffered—in 2005, when he was convicted of fraud. Lawyers attempted unsuccessfully to have Magnotta charged with a lesser charge after claiming there was insufficient evidence that Lin's murder was premeditated. — AFP |
| Euro 2016 qualifiers: Welbeck, Busquets help teams start on winning note Posted: 08 Sep 2014 05:44 PM PDT
The brace by Welbeck—who was considered surplus to requirements by Louis van Gaal at Manchester United and offloaded to Arsenal last week—saw England to a 2-0 win over Switzerland in Zurich while Busquets' effort came in a 5-1 humbling of Macedonia. There was however, not to be a memorable evening for Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he failed to mark his 100th appearance for his country with a goal in the 1-1 draw with Austria—his only notable contribution a booking. David Alaba opening the scoring for the hosts from the penalty spot—his seventh goal for his country at the age of just 22 — only for Turkish-born forward Erkan Zengin to level. Russia were another side like Spain and England to fail to fire at the World Cup—just four years before they host them—but they too secured three points with a 4-0 home win over minnows Liechtenstein. However, Fabio Capello's side hardly convinced as two of their goals were own-goals and another came from the penalty spot. Capello's former charges England, though, were far more impressive against a side that succeeded in reaching the second round at the World Cup and only lost 1-0 to Argentina thanks to an Angel di Maria goal late in extra-time. It was Welbeck, who departed United the same day di Maria arrived for a British record fee of £59 million (RM302.7 million), who executed the chances set up for him as England manager Roy Hodgson celebrated victory over a team he coached and took to the 1994 World Cup finals. It was Switzerland's first competitive home defeat since a 3-1 loss to England in October 2010 and meant that new coach Vladimir Petkovic began his tenure in losing fashion. "I thought the way we approached the game from the first minute was exactly what we wanted, and we got our reward," Hodgson told ITV. "We pressurised the ball well, but you need that first goal to get people to come out and attack you. "From then I thought we looked dangerous and we had several chances to aggravate the scoreline before Danny Welbeck's second." Petkovic, who has the unenviable task of trying to fill the void left by the German coaching great Ottmar Hitzfeld after he retired from the game following the World Cup, said his players would be stronger for the defeat. "It's a good lesson and we'll try to make up for it in the next game," said the 51-year-old handler, Bosnian-born but who emigrated to Switzerland aged 24. Spain had begun life after the World Cup debacle with a friendly defeat to France last week. However, they made short work of the Macedonians with aside from Busquets another notable scorer on the night being Paco Alcacer on his competitive international debut. It left their lugubrious coach Vicente del Bosque—who survived the World Cup reverse—licking his lips at the thought of a new beginning. "We have started the competition with three points and the performance was very good. That is the most important thing," said the 63-year-old, who coached the Spanish to the World Cup title in 2010 and the Euro 2012 trophy. "We have taken a step forward. We are starting a new era and hopefully there is much more to come." Capello—who faced calls from Russian supporters to step down after they failed to progress through the group stage losing out to Belgium and Algeria—was not as upbeat and called for more time with the players if he is to sharpen them up. "We've created a lot of chances but unfortunately we've also missed too many of them," said the Italian. "Many of our players looked really good but I think we need more days together to progress as a team." — AFP |
| Nik Aziz: PKR, DAP just hangers-on to PAS Posted: 08 Sep 2014 05:41 PM PDT
According to a report in Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia, the former Kelantan mentri besar said the two Pakatan Rakyat (PR) allies have no right to coerce PAS into going along with the plan to install PKR's president as Selangor mentri besar. He also insisted that they have no standing to insist that PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang retract his decision to unilaterally nominate three candidates for the post in accordance with the Selangor Sultan's request. "We are three parties that banded together to oppose Umno, and PAS is the 'old bird' (elder); PAS was brought into Kelantan in 1951 by (the late) Ustaz Amaluddin Darus, and I entered PAS in 1957 and became active. "The others are hangers-on, DAP came later, PKR latched on later; PAS members have so much experience with others before that and faced all manner of challenges, so [Hadi] made a statement and this statement is from the decisions of various meetings prior to that," Nik Aziz was quoted as saying in the Utusan report. The PAS spiritual leader has been fiery in his criticism towards the party's allies over the Selangor crisis, and yesterday dubbed PKR "spoiled brats" for attempting to foist the choice of Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail on its partners. Two days ago, Hadi openly said the PKR president was not qualified to become mentri besar. The senior PAS leadership has consistently stood apart from its PR allies in PKR's intricate bid to replace Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim with Dr Wan Azizah, leading to growing questions over its commitment to the pact and open calls for its exit. The situation grew more intractable after Hadi unilaterally named three nominees for the post in accordance with the Sultan of Selangor's request; PKR and DAP were adamant in naming only Dr Wan Azizah. The Selangor ruler yesterday accused the two parties of disobedience for failing to comply with the request for at least three names to be presented by each party for his selection, and said he will now also consider those not named by the pact in the search for a new mentri besar. |
| WSJ: 1MDB said to delay market listing of energy assets Posted: 08 Sep 2014 05:41 PM PDT
According to the US newspaper, 1MDB has also not applied for regulatory approval to proceed with the listing. Malaysia would have become the top regional destination for IPOs in terms of raised funding had the 1MDB listing proceeded on schedule; the country last year hosted 16 such listings that saw US$2.6 billion (RM8.252 billion) in market capital generated. 1MDB initially eyed a June listing, but deferred this to gather more assets and put forth a stronger candidate for listing. The firm was under pressure to push ahead with the listing as a RM6.17 billion bridging loan was due in November, but the WSJ said that 1MDB was now in negotiations to secure more credit to pay off the previous loan and fund the IPO. The fund has been dogged by negative publicity over massive fees paid for bond sales, the near one-year delay in publishing its financial accounts, and most recently, changing auditors. 1MDB, a brainchild of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was set up to help drive Putrajaya's strategic investments. |
| Wills ‘thrilled with great news’ of coming second child Posted: 08 Sep 2014 05:40 PM PDT
Kate cancelled an official engagement yesterday because she is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, the same condition that caused her to be hospitalised in 2012 when she was pregnant with her first child Prince George. William attended the public event in Oxford without her and told reporters: "It's been a tricky few days, a week or so, but obviously we're immensely thrilled, it's great news." He said it was still "early days, but I'm hoping things will settle down and she feels a bit better," adding: "I'm going to go back to look after her now." Kate, 32, is being treated by doctors at the couple's London home Kensington Palace, a spokesman said. The pregnancy was announced earlier yesterday in an official statement from the palace, which said that Queen Elizabeth II, William's grandmother, was "delighted" at the news. "Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting their second child," the palace said. "The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news." The announcement made headlines across the world, reflecting the star status of William and Kate. The birth of their first child, George Alexander Louis, on July 22, 2013, sparked a media frenzy and prompted messages of goodwill from around the world. Yesterday, the BBC's 24-hour news station cut away from Cameron's statement to parliament on last week's NATO summit to carry William's remarks live. But the prince urged a sense of perspective. "It's important that we all focus on the big news, and the big international and domestic things going on at the moment. That's where my thoughts are," William said. Cameron said: "On behalf of the whole country, I am sure the House will join me in congratulating them on this fantastic news and wishing them well in the months ahead." 'Heir and spare' Prince George is third in line to the throne and his new sibling will be fourth in line, pushing William's younger brother Prince Harry down to fifth place. Harry joked that it was "great" that he would have less of a chance of becoming king. "I can't wait to see my brother suffer more," Harry said, adding that he would love to see William "try and cope" with a girl. "I think George will be over the moon. I think he will be thrilled having another small younger brother or sister," the prince said. William and Kate made no secret of wanting another child, and it is the convention in aristocratic and royal families to have at least two — an heir and a "spare" who can inherit the family title and estate in case the heir dies. "I hope it's a girl," one woman wellwisher told AFP outside Kensington Palace. "An heir and a spare! So he's sorted, isn't he?" British bookmakers said the announcement had caused a flood of bets to be placed on the baby's name and gender. Coral said 70 per cent of bets were on the baby being a boy, and that James, Alexander and Louis were the favourite names. For a girl, Elizabeth, Diana and Victoria were the favoured names. Bookmaker Ladbrokes was offering odds of 20 to 1 for Kate to have twins. Severe sickness The extent of Kate's morning sickness raises questions about whether she will be able to fulfil her first official solo trip abroad to Malta, scheduled for September 20-21. She was due to represent the queen as the Mediterranean islands celebrate the 50th anniversary of their independence from Britain. A Kensington Palace spokesman said the duchess's plans would be decided on a "case by case" basis. Kate has been increasing her public profile since she married William in a lavish ceremony in April 2011. A "commoner" by birth who met the prince at university in Scotland, she appears to have moved effortlessly into her royal role and has become hugely popular with the public, as well as a global style icon. But the couple have worked hard to keep their family life private after the press interest in William's mother Diana, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 as her car was chased by paparazzi. Kensington Palace did not say when the new baby was due, although experts say hyperemesis gravidarum usually occurs in the first three months of pregnancy. It affects around one in 200 pregnant women, according to Britain's National Health Service (NHS), and symptoms can include persistent vomiting, tiredness and dizziness. Hospitalisation may be needed in severe cases to treat dehydration with intravenous fluids for a few days, and Kate was admitted for three nights during her last pregnancy. The couple currently live in London but William, a helicopter pilot, is due to begin a full-time role next year with an air ambulance charity based in Cambridge, eastern England. — Reuters |
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