Windows already threatening iPhone in Southern Europe

Kantar Worldpanel’s report for November came out and much has been made of the iPhone market share surge in the United States. What I find interesting in the November numbers is just how ice cold the iPhone has gone in so many international markets, from Australia to Brazil to Southern Europe. The iOS market share showed hefty declines outside in many major markets: down 5.4 percentage points in Australia to 35.9% and down 1.6 points in Brazil to 1.6%. That’s right — the iPhone market share has halved in the most important South American market over the past year. And this happened while BlackBerry and Symbian market shares absolutely caved in. This should have been the period for Apple (AAPL) to pick up points while RIM (RIMM) and Nokia (NOK) floundered. Instead, the sky-high pricing of the iPhone models has effectively started reversing Apple’s market share gains across several major markets.

[More from BGR: Fan-made tweak gives Apple a blueprint for better multitasking in iOS 7 [video]]

In November, the burden of the stiff iPhone pricing was highlighted by how rapidly Windows has started closing the market share gap in Spain, Italy and France. Because Nokia has had trouble ramping up the production of the new Lumia 920 and 820 Windows models, it chose to crank out older Windows models like 800 and 610 for remarkably aggressive Christmas promotions. As European markets are now hitting 50% smartphone market penetration, consumer demand is shifting towards cheap models, and Apple cannot compete in the budget category. The new first-time smartphone buyers have a lot lower household income than the consumers who bought smartphones in 2010. In the recession-ravaged Europe, the upgrade cycle is lengthening and prepaid smartphones are a more important part of the overall product mix.

[More from BGR: RIM’s biggest problem: It’s still scrambling to catch yesterday’s hottest mobile app]

As a result, Windows market share in Italy hit a stunning 11.8% in November despite the razor thin availability of the Lumia 920. Windows has already erased most of the market share lead iPhone had in Italy. The iOS market share slipped to 20.6% during the last month. In Spain, Windows market share vaulted to 3% from 0.4% a year earlier while iOS share faded to 4.4%. As the affordable HTC (2498) 8S ramps up and the even cheaper Lumia 620 launches at the end of January, Windows may overtake iPhone in Spain already in February.

The strong performance Apple had in France and the United Kingdom kept its overall European market share climbing by 2.5 percentage points in November. But in Southern Europe, Latin America and parts of Asia, iPhone is slipping badly due to the lack of a low-end version. This is what is driving the Google (GOOG) Play revenue surge globally as Android apps now narrow the huge lead Apple built in the app market before the year 2012. Apple may well have to reconsider its iPhone pricing strategy in a fundamental way. Maintaining $ 620 ASP level globally could lead to a scenario where Android has 10-to-1 volume lead outside the United States and Northern Europe, and Windows actually has a shot at pulling well ahead of Apple in lower income countries from Spain to Brazil to South-East Asia.

This article was originally published by BGR

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Windows already threatening iPhone in Southern Europe
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Rebel Wilson to host springtime MTV Movie Awards

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Pitch Perfect” star and “Bridesmaids” scene-stealer Rebel Wilson is taking center stage.

MTV tapped the Australian actress to host its annual movie awards, set for April 14 in Culver City, Calif. The network made the announcement late Thursday during the finale of its popular “Jersey Shore” series.

Wilson is an actress and writer who rose to fame with her role as Kristin Wiig‘s nosy roommate in “Bridesmaids.” Wilson’s other credits include “Bachelorette” and “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.”

The MTV Movie Awards have traditionally been held in June, but as the summer movie season has edged into May, the network scheduled its show earlier to give film fans a peek at the season’s blockbusters. The MTV Movie Awards has often featured exclusive film previews.

___

Online:

http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Rebel Wilson to host springtime MTV Movie Awards
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Judge denies Texas request for feds to keep funding health program

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A judge on Friday denied a request by Texas for an order requiring the federal government to continue providing money for a state health program for low-income women.

U.S. District Judge Walter Smith in Waco, Texas, denied the state’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would have prevented the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from cutting off Medicaid money for the Women’s Health Program.

The federal government pays for most of the cost of the $ 40-million-a year-program but has told Texas that it will stop at the end of the year because a state decision to exclude Planned Parenthood from the program violates federal law.

Texas decided to enforce a state law that had been on the books for several years barring funding for abortion providers and affiliates.

The program, which does not pay for abortions, provides care such as breast and cervical cancer screenings and birth control, and Planned Parenthood says it serves nearly half the 115,000 Texas women who participate.

The state plans to launch a nearly identical program using only state money.

“Today’s decision doesn’t change our plans,” said Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. “We’ll move forward with launching the state program on January 1.”

She added: “Our goal remains the same. We’re going to continue providing women with family planning services and enforce state law.”

But Ken Lambrecht, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, said Texas has embarked on a political crusade that has cost Texas women and taxpayers.

“There is no sound reason Texas should jeopardize this important program by cutting off access to the health care provider relied on by nearly half of the women receiving basic, preventive health care through the program,” Lambrecht said in a statement.

(Reporting By Corrie MacLaggan; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Seniors/Aging News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Judge denies Texas request for feds to keep funding health program
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Nike shares jump 6.2% on results

21 December 2012 Last updated at 16:56 ET

Sportswear giant Nike shares closed with a sharp gain on Friday after it reported a strong rise in demand in its home North American market.

Shares rose 6.2% after the company’s third quarter figures suggested steady demand for its products around the world.

Orders for delivery of its shoes and clothing for the coming months were up 14% in the home market.

Worldwide orders for the December-April period were up 6%,

Nike’s chief executive, Mark Parker, said the level of home demand was a welcome boost: “In North America, we created great momentum. This is somewhat counterintuitive to some, given this market size and assumed maturity.

“But I see tremendous growth potential in North America.”

The company’s past reported orders were lower than expected.

Profit margins were down by 30 basis points on the second quarter, but Nike said it expects margins to grow in the fourth quarter.

The company made profits of $ 384m in the third quarter, 14% higher than analysts were expecting with revenue up 7%.

Despite the positive figure, Nike’s global performance was weak in certain areas, such as China, where it had excess stock and faces strong competition from local brands.

However, the picture there is improving with inventory levels rising 9% in the quarter, a far smaller build-up of excess stock than the 35% it saw in the same quarter a year ago.

BBC News – Business

Title Post: Nike shares jump 6.2% on results
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Kenya police: 28 people killed in clashes

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A police official says 28 people have been killed in clashes between farmers and herders in south-eastern Kenya.

Anthony Kamitu, who is leading police operations to prevent the attacks, said Friday that the Pokomo tribe of farmers raided a village of the Orma herding community, called Kipao, at dawn in the Tana River Delta.

The latest deaths in a tit-for-tat cycle of killings may be related to a redrawing of political boundaries and next year’s general elections, according to the U.N.

At least 110 people were killed in clashes between the Pokomo and Orma in September and October.

Animosity between the two communities over land and water resources has existed for decades.

Africa News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Kenya police: 28 people killed in clashes
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Nintendo’s amazing triumph in Japan may doom the company

According to Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, Nintendo 3DS sold 333,000 units in the week ending December 16. Sony’s PS Vita limped along at 13’000 units. The new Wii U did an OK 130,000 units and PS3 managed 46,000 units.  The utter hardware domination of the 3DS is reshaping the Japanese software market. Franchises that were thought to be fading have been revitalized in their portable versions. The 3DS version of the ancient “Animal Crossing” series, famed for being the game where nothing happens, hit a staggering 1.7 million units last week in Japan. “Inazuma Eleven” sold 170,000 units in its launch week, up from 140’000 units its DS version managed in 2011.

[More from BGR: RIM, HTC and Nokia could all be headed the way of Palm]

Nintendo’s portable console 3DS had a muted start in its home market in the spring of 2011. Many thought that Sony would have a fair shot at competing with Nintendo once Playstation Vita launched at the end of 2011. But once Nintendo executed an aggressive price cut for 3DS in the summer of 2011 and then launched a large-screen version of the console in mid-2012, the gadget has grown into a godzilla in Japan, demolishing both Sony Vita and aging tabletop console competition.

[More from BGR: BlackBerry 10 browser smokes iOS 6 and Windows Phone 8 in comparison test [video]]

3DS is doing well also in America, where its lifetime sales are moving close to the 6 million unit mark this holiday season. According to NPD, the 3DS sales in the US market topped 500,000 units in November. That’s a decent number, though far from the torrid volume the portable is racking up in its home market. The US November video game software chart was dominated by massive home console juggernauts: new installments of Call of Duty, Halo and Assassin’s Creed franchises  shifted more than 13 million units in retail. At the same time, the Japanese software chart remains in a Nineties time warp,  dominated by Nintendo’s musty masterpieces: Super Mario Brothers, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, etc.

Japanese and American tastes have always been different. But what we are witnessing now is a particularly fascinating divergence. American consumers are spending more of their time and money on smartphone and tablet games, while console game spending is increasingly focusing on massive, graphically stunning blockbuster titles on Xbox360 and PS3. The casual gamers are shifting to mobile games, while hardcore gamers remain attracted to sprawling epics on home consoles. The overall video game spending in America keeps declining month after month, as casual titles and mid-list games slide. But the Triple A whales like Call of Duty series are doing better than ever.

In Japan, Nintendo has been able to battle back iPhone and Android game invasion with a nostalgic series of portable games that basically recycle the biggest hits of Eighties and early Nineties. Mario, Pokemons and other portable heroes are slowly losing their grip on US and European consumers. But in Japan, some form of national nostalgia is keeping Nintendo on track.

The problem here is that the Japanese success of the 3DS may now be convincing Nintendo that it does not have to rethink its business strategy. The smartphone and tablet game spending continues growing explosively across the world. Unlike console games, mobile game sales in China are legal. The global gaming spending is shifting towards new hardware platforms even as console mammoths like Halo still reign in America. At this critical juncture, Nintendo has managed to cocoon its home market in a web of nostalgia, turning the 3DS console and its Eighties left-over franchises into epic bestsellers yet again.

This means that there is no sense of urgency to push Nintendo into rethinking its long-term plans. The company may continue simply ignoring the smartphone and tablet challenge, designing new portable consoles and the 28th Mario game to support it. 20 years ago, Japan’s insularity doomed its chances to succeed in the mobile phone business. Ithe idiosyncratic nature of Japan may now be leading its biggest entertainment industry success astray.

This article was originally published by BGR

Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Nintendo’s amazing triumph in Japan may doom the company
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Michael Kors replaced by Zac Posen as “Project Runway” judge

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Michael Kors is out at “Project Runway.”

Fashion designer Kors will not be a judge on the Lifetime reality competition when it returns for its 11th season on January 24, Lifetime said Tuesday. Instead, designer Zac Posen will join Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia and Tim Gunn as a featured judge.

Lifetime told TheWrap that Kors is vacating his judge‘s position due to scheduling conflicts.

“Due to the back-to-back film schedule for seasons 10 and seasons 11 this summer, Michael was not able to commit to all the dates required for filming season 11,” a Lifetime spokeswoman said in a statement. “Always part of the ‘Project Runway‘ family, Michael will be seen in the future on the show, and we are excited to confirm that Michael will be back as a judge for the season 11 finale.”

Kors’ departure isn’t the only change that’s coming to “Project Runway” for its upcoming season. This cycle, the competing designers will be made to work together for every challenge, where they will have to work together while ensuring that their creations stand out on the runway. It’s hoped this will lead to riveting combination of collaboration and backbiting.

Guests judges for the upcoming season include Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Miranda Lambert, John Legend, Emmy Rossum, Kristin Davis and others.

TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Michael Kors replaced by Zac Posen as “Project Runway” judge
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Nutra Pharma Introduces Nyloxin(TM) Military Strength

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., Dec. 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nutra Pharma Corp. (NPHC), a biotechnology company that is developing treatments for Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), HIV and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), has announced today that it will be introducing a stronger version of its over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever, Nyloxin(TM). The new product will be called Nyloxin(TM) Military Strength.

Over the past few years, the U.S. Department of Defense has been reporting an increase in the use and abuse of prescription medications, particularly opiates. In 2009, close to 3.8 million prescriptions for pain relievers were written in the military. This staggering number was more than a 400% increase from the number of prescriptions written in the military in 2001. But prescription drugs are not the only issue. The most common and seemingly harmless way to treat pain is with non steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). But there are risks. Overuse can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, heartburn, ulcers and internal bleeding. In severe cases chest pain, heart failure, kidney dysfunction and life-threatening allergic reactions can occur. It is reported that approximately 7,600 people in America die from NSAID use and some 78,000 are hospitalized.

Ibuprofen, also an NSAID has been of particular concern in the military. The terms “Ranger Candy” and “Military Candy” refer to the service men and women who are said to use 800mg doses of Ibuprofen to control their pain. But when taking anti-inflammatory Ibuprofen in high doses for chronic pain, there is potential for critical health risks; abuse can lead to serious stomach problems, internal bleeding and even kidney failure. There are significantly greater health risks when abuse of this drug is combined with alcohol intake.

“Our hope is that with Nyloxin, we can greatly reduce the instances of opiate abuse and overuse of NSAIDS in high risk groups like the US military,” said Rik J Deitsch, Chairman and CEO of Nutra Pharma Corporation. “Our goal for Nyloxin over the next several years is to be the number one choice that people turn to for chronic pain relief,” he concluded.

Nyloxin(TM) is an over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever clinically proven to treat moderate to severe (Stage 2) chronic pain. Nyloxin(TM) is currently available in the United States as an oral spray for treating back pain, neck aches, headaches, joint pain, migraines, and neuralgia, and as a topical gel for treating joint pain, neck pain, arthritis pain, and pain from repetitive stress. In addition to its everyday strength formulation, Nyloxin(TM) is also offered in an extra strength formula for more advanced, Stage 3, chronic pain. The new Nyloxin(TM) Military Strength represents the strongest version of Nyloxin(TM) available.

About Nutra Pharma Corp.

Nutra Pharma Corporation operates as a biotechnology company specializing in the acquisition, licensing, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products and technologies for the management of neurological disorders, cancer, autoimmune, and infectious diseases, including Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) and Pain. Additionally, the Company markets several drug products for sale for the treatment of pain under the brands Cobroxin(R) and Nyloxin(TM). For additional information about Nutra Pharma, visit: http://www.NutraPharma.com

SEC Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The words or phrases “would be,” “will allow,” “intends to,” “will likely result,” “are expected to,” “will continue,” “is anticipated,” “estimate,” “project,” or similar expressions are intended to identify “forward-looking statements.” Actual results could differ materially from those projected in Nutra Pharma’s (“the Company”) business plan. The introduction of Nyloxin(TM) Military Strength should not be construed as an indication in any way whatsoever of the future value of the Company’s common stock or its financial value. The Company‘s filings may be accessed at the SEC’s Edgar system at www.sec.gov. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. The Company cautions readers not to place reliance on such statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, we do not undertake, and we specifically disclaim any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement.

Contact:
Nutra Pharma Corp.
Nina Goldstein
877-895-5647
[email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com
http://www.cisionwire.com/nutra-pharma-corporation/r/nutra-pharma-introduces-nyloxin–military-strength,c9350866

Sexual Health News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Nutra Pharma Introduces Nyloxin(TM) Military Strength
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Asian shares slide as U.S. budget impasse creates anxiety

TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares slid on Friday after a Republican proposal to deal with a U.S. fiscal crunch failed to get enough support, deepening uncertainty over the U.S. can avert the “fiscal cliff” of automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to start January 1.

“Markets disliked signs of further delay in talks, with the risk that a deal may not be reached by the end of the year deadline,” said Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole in Tokyo. “It clearly hit risk sentiment.”

The U.S. House of Representatives will adjourn until after Christmas, Republican Representative Peter Roskam said on Thursday, after House Speaker John Boehner‘s proposed tax bill designed to avert the fiscal cliff failed to pass.

U.S. stock index futures fell sharply. S&P 500 stock futures slipped 1.7 percent, while Dow Jones stock futures and Nasdaq futures both lost 1.5 percent.

European shares will likely drop also, with financial spreadbetters predicting London’s FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris’s CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt’s DAX <.gdaxi> will open down as much as 0.6 percent. <.l><.eu></.eu></.l></.gdaxi></.fchi></.ftse>

The worrying U.S. political news sparked selling in Asian shares, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> wiping out earlier gains to tumble 0.7 percent. The index was on track to end the week down 0.6 percent, the first weekly loss in five weeks.</.miapj0000pus>

Markets broadly had been supported by optimism that U.S. lawmakers would avoid the fiscal cliff, which threatens to derail the U.S. economy and drag down global growth with it.

Boehner’s proposal was aimed at extracting concessions from the White House, which had threatened to veto it, and advance talks closer to a deal.

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives, which abruptly recessed on late Thursday, may return as soon as December 27 with a yet-to-be-decided new plan, said a senior party aide.

“This is a major setback for a Fiscal Deal compromise between the two parties. I would say that chances of a deal are down to maybe 40 percent from 65 percent — despite the dysfunction in Washington D.C,” said Douglas A. Kass, founder of hedge fund Seabreeze Partners Management Inc.

Risk assets were sold off, from shares, oil to currencies such as the Australian dollar and the euro. The yen firmed slightly, though it was pinned near multi-month lows versus the dollar and the euro on expectations for more aggressive Bank of Japan easing next year to drive the economy out of deflation.

“The delay in resolving the U.S. fiscal cliff problem is raising concern as the market expected some sort of positive direction out of the talks by the end of the year,” said Fujio Ando, a senior managing director at Chibagin Asset Management.

Safe-haven government bond prices rose, with U.S. 10-year Treasury yields moving away from an 8-week high hit this week, falling about 6 basis points to 1.74 percent. Benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yields also ticked down half a basis point to 0.765 percent.

Inflows into U.S. Treasuries underpinned the U.S. dollar, which inched up 0.1 percent against a basket of major currencies <.dxy>.</.dxy>

Jim Barnes, senior fixed income manager at National Penn Investors Trust Co. in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, saw Treasuries continuing to gain once U.S. markets open later, but expected a correction by the end of the day.

“Treasury yields will likely fall Friday morning and will begin to reverse course in the afternoon as investors become more optimistic a deal will be reached,” Barnes said.

“So far, the market has been handling setbacks in negotiation talks very well. With still a little bit of time left on the clock, this time around will be no different.”

Asset performance in 2012: http://link.reuters.com/muc46s

U.S. GDP: http://link.reuters.com/guw34t

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

Along with uncertainties surrounding the future of U.S. budget talks, a firmer dollar also weighed on dollar-based commodities.

The euro fell 0.3 percent to $ 1.3206, off an 8-1/2-month high of $ 1.33085 touched on Wednesday.

U.S. crude futures dropped more than $ 1 to $ 89.10 a barrel, but oil was still on track for its biggest weekly gain since August.

Spot gold extended losses to near a four-month low touched on Thursday, and was last down 0.1 percent to $ 1,644.90 an ounce. Gold remained on course for a 12th annual growth on rock-bottom interest rates, concerns over the euro zone financial stability and diversification into bullion by central banks.

YEN GAINS SLIGHTLY

Anxieties over the U.S. budget negotiations also took their toll on Japan’s Nikkei average <.n225>, which had been supported by a weaker yen. The Nikkei gave up all of earlier gains to close down 1 percent and below the key 10,000 mark it reclaimed for the first time since early April on Wednesday. <.t></.t></.n225>

The dollar was down 0.4 percent to 84.02 yen, moving away from a 20-month high of 84.62 yen hit on Wednesday.

The euro slumped 0.7 percent to 110.91 yen also off a 16-month high of 112.59 yen reached on Wednesday.

The yen was kept under pressure after the Bank of Japan further eased monetary policy as expected on Thursday, with investors anticipating that the central bank will be persuaded to pursue more drastic measures next year.

The incoming prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has called for bolder action by the central bank to help bring Japan out of decades-long deflation.

For all the fears of a fiscal cliff debacle to come, several data series showed the United States remained on a recovery track, helping to underpin the dollar.

(Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in Singapore, Jennifer Ablan in New York and Ayai Tomisawa in Tokyo; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Business News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Asian shares slide as U.S. budget impasse creates anxiety
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

State Department security chief leaves post over Benghazi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday its security chief had resigned from his post and three other officials had been relieved of their duties following a scathing official inquiry into the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi.

Eric Boswell has resigned effective immediately as assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a terse statement. A second official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Boswell had not left the department entirely and remained a career official.

Nuland said that Boswell, and the three other officials, had all been put on administrative leave “pending further action.”

An official panel that investigated the incident concluded that the Benghazi mission was completely unprepared to deal with the attack, which killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

The unclassified version of the report, which was released on Tuesday, cited “leadership and management” deficiencies, poor coordination among officials and “real confusion” in Washington and in the field over who had the authority to make decisions on policy and security concerns.

“The ARB identified the performance of four officials, three in the Bureau of the Diplomatic Security and one in the Bureau of (Near Eastern) Affairs,” Nuland said in her statement, referring to the panel known as an Accountability Review Board.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accepted Boswell’s decision to resign effective immediately, the spokeswoman said.

Earlier, a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Boswell, one of his deputies, Charlene Lamb, and a third unnamed official has been asked to resign. The Associated Press first reported that three officials had resigned.

PANEL STOPS SHORT OF BLAMING CLINTON

The Benghazi incident appeared likely to tarnish Clinton’s four-year tenure as secretary of state but the report did not fault her specifically and the officials who led the review stopped short of blaming her.

“We did conclude that certain State Department bureau-level senior officials in critical positions of authority and responsibility in Washington demonstrated a lack of leadership and management ability appropriate for senior ranks,” retired Admiral Michael Mullen, one of the leaders of the inquiry, told reporters on Wednesday.

The panel’s chair, retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering, said it had determined that responsibility for security shortcomings in Benghazi belonged at levels lower than Clinton’s office.

“We fixed (responsibility) at the assistant secretary level, which is, in our view, the appropriate place to look for where the decision-making in fact takes place, where – if you like – the rubber hits the road,” Pickering said after closed-door meetings with congressional committees.

The panel’s report and the comments by its two lead authors suggested that Clinton, who accepted responsibility for the incident in a television interview about a month after the Benghazi attack, would not be held personally culpable.

Pickering and Mullen spoke to the media after briefing members of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee behind closed doors on classified elements of their report.

Clinton had been expected to appear at an open hearing on Benghazi on Thursday, but is recuperating after suffering a concussion, dehydration and a stomach bug last week. She will instead be represented by her two top deputies.

Clinton, who intends to step down in January, said in a letter accompanying the review that she would adopt all of its recommendations, which include stepping up security staffing and requesting more money to fortify U.S. facilities.

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2013, which is expected to go to Congress for final approval this week, includes a measure directing the Pentagon to increase the Marine Corps presence at diplomatic facilities by up to 1,000 Marines.

Some Capitol Hill Republicans who had criticized the Obama administration’s handling of the Benghazi attacks said they were impressed by the report.

“It was very thorough,” said Senator Johnny Isakson. Senator John Barrasso said: “It was very, very critical of major failures at the State Department at very high levels.” Both spoke after the closed-door briefing.

Others, however, took a harsher line and called for Clinton to testify as soon as she is able.

“The report makes clear the massive failure of the State Department at all levels, including senior leadership, to take action to protect our government employees abroad,” Representative Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

Senator Bob Corker, who will be the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the new Congress is seated early next year, said Clinton should testify about Benghazi before her replacement is confirmed by the Senate.

Republicans have focused much of their firepower on U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who appeared on TV talk shows after the attack and suggested it was the result of a spontaneous protest rather than a premeditated attack.

The report concluded that there was no such protest.

Rice, widely seen as President Barack Obama’s top pick to succeed Clinton, withdrew her name from consideration last week.

(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria and Susan Cornwell; Editing by Christopher Wilson)

World News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: State Department security chief leaves post over Benghazi
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..