8.7 quake hits Indonesia, tsunami warning issued

Indonesia’s geophysical agency has registered an 8.7 magnitude earthquake in the Aceh region, off the coast of northern Sumatra. A tsunami warning has been issued, the US Geological Survey reports.

­The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre is monitoring the situation in the Indian Ocean.

The closest city to the quake’s epicenter 33 km beneath ocean floor is provincial capital Banda Aceh with a population of over 220,000, some 500 kilometers away.

Tremors from the earthquake have been felt in Singapore, Thailand and southern India, Reuters witnesses said.

Major 8.7 magnitude earthquake hits Indonesia

Jakarta: A massive earthquake on Wednesday hit Indonesia’s Sumatra Islands forcing the authorities to issue a Tsunami warning. 

According to reports, the magnitude of the earthquake was measured to be 8.9 on the Richter Scale. 

However, it was later revised to be 8.7 on the Richter Scale by the USGS. The epicenter of the earthquake is said to be in Sumatra Islands. However, there are no reports of any major casualty or any large scale destruction of the property. 

The tremors of the high intensity quake also felt in northeastern and other region of the India including West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Manipur. More details are awaited.

STUDY: Obama's health care law would raise deficit

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reigniting a debate about the bottom line for President Barack Obama's health care law, a leading conservative economist estimates in a study to be released Tuesday that the overhaul will add at least $340 billion to the deficit, not reduce it.

Charles Blahous, who serves as public trustee overseeing Medicare and Social Security finances, also suggested that federal accounting practices have obscured the true fiscal impact of the legislation, the fate of which is now in the hands of the Supreme Court.

Officially, the health care law is still projected to help reduce government red ink. The Congressional Budget Office, the government's nonpartisan fiscal umpire, said in an estimate last year that repealing the law actually would increase deficits by $210 billion from 2012 to 2021.

The CBO, however, has not updated that projection. If $210 billion sounds like a big cushion, it's not. The government has recently been running annual deficits in the $1 trillion range.

The White house dismissed the study in a statement late Monday. Presidential assistant Jeanne Lambrew called the study "new math (that) fits the old pattern of mischaracterizations" about the health care law.

Blahous, in his 52-page analysis released by George Mason University's Mercatus Center, said, "Taken as a whole, the enactment of the (health care law) has substantially worsened a dire federal fiscal outlook.

"The (law) both increases a federal commitment to health care spending that was already unsustainable under prior law and would exacerbate projected federal deficits relative to prior law," Blahous said.

The law expands health insurance coverage to more than 30 million people now uninsured, paying for it with a mix of Medicare cuts and new taxes and fees.

Blahous cited a number of factors for his conclusion:

- The health care's law deficit cushion has been reduced by more than $80 billion because of the administration's decision not to move forward with a new long-term care insurance program that was part of the legislation. The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program raised money in the short term, but would have turned into a fiscal drain over the years.

- The cost of health insurance subsidies for millions of low-income and middle-class uninsured people could turn out to be higher than forecast, particularly if employers scale back their own coverage.

- Various cost-control measures, including a tax on high-end insurance plans that doesn't kick in until 2018, could deliver less than expected.

The decision to use Medicare cuts to finance the expansion of coverage for the uninsured will only make matters worse, Blahous said. The money from the Medicare savings will have been spent, and lawmakers will have to find additional cuts or revenues to forestall that program's insolvency.

Under federal accounting rules, the Medicare cuts are also credited as savings to that program's trust fund. But the CBO and Medicare's own economic estimators already said the government can't spend the same money twice.

Blahous served in the George W. Bush White House from 2001-2009, rising to deputy director of the National Economic Council. He currently is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center.

His study was first reported late Monday by The Washington Post.

Source: yahoo.com

Sony to axe 10,000 jobs

TOKYO, JAPAN - Japan's Sony Corp is cutting 10,000 jobs, about 6% of its global workforce, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday, as new CEO Kazuo Hirai looks to steer the electronics and entertainment giant back to profit after four years in the red.

The job cuts would be the latest downsizing in Japan Inc where companies from cellphone maker NEC Corp to electronics firm Panasonic Corp are trimming costs in the face of a strong yen and competition from rivals like Apple and Samsung Electronics.

TV makers in particular have been hit hard by the tough business climate as well as sharp price falls, with Sony, Panasonic and Sharp expecting to have lost a combined $17 billion US in the fiscal year just ended.

Investors will closely monitor a briefing on Thursday by Hirai, who formally took over this month as chief executive from Howard Stringer, for further clues on how Sony plans to revamp its business.

"Under a new CEO, it's easier to cut jobs or go in a new direction," said Yuuki Sakurai, head of fund manager Fukoku Capital, which had around $7 billion US worth of assets under management as of end-March 2011.

"One of the things I'd like to see is that they shift their resources to other areas outside TVs ... If they stick to TVs, they may have to fight a war they may not be able to win."

The Nikkei said half of the latest round of job cuts would come from consolidating the firm's chemicals and small and midsize LCD operations.

Sony said last month it was selling a chemical products division, accounting for some 3,000 people, while on April 1 it merged its Sony Mobile display unit, which had about 2,000 workers, with the small LCD panel businesses of Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Ltd into a new firm called Japan Display.

The Nikkei said it was not clear how many of the cuts would take place in Japan or overseas.

As of end-March 2011, Sony had 168,200 employees on a consolidated basis, according to the company's website.

Sony may also ask its seven executive directors who served through the fiscal year to end-March, including Stringer, who is now chairman, to return their bonuses, the Nikkei said.

Sony declined to comment on the report.

Sony announced 16,000 job cuts in December 2008 after the global financial crisis battered demand for its products, but it has not managed to make a profit since then.

The company has forecast a 220 billion yen ($2.7 billion) net loss for the fiscal year just ended, hurt in large part by its ailing TV business.

Sony said last month that Hirai would keep direct charge of the TV business as part of a structural reorganization.

Sony shares closed up 0.6%, while the benchmark Nikkei average ended 1.5% lower. The stock has dropped more than 10% in the past 3 weeks since hitting a 7-month high.

Ancient skeleton linked to Polynesia

A human skeleton formally buried almost 8000 years ago on a small strategic island off China's coast is creating excitement that it may represent a direct line to the world's youngest race - New Zealand's Maori and Polynesians. 

Genetic evidence has long suggested Polynesians - including their youngest branch the Maori - derived from Taiwan's aboriginal people. 

Now the link may be made in the skeleton found on 400 square metre Liang Island, part of Taiwan controlled Matsu islands, within shelling range of China's Fujian Province. 

The skeleton was discovered by the Taiwanese military who were building a road on the unpopulated island. 

Taiwan's Council for Cultural Affairs says more scientific investigation is need after a local archaeological team exhumed the remains, believed to be 7900 years old. 

The bones are thought to have belonged to a male, around 167 centimetres tall, who was between 30 and 35 years of age at the time of his death.

"We will send the remains to the US and Germany for more professional accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating and DNA biochemistry analysis," the Council said in a statement. 

The head of the archaeological team, Chen Chung-yu, told Agence France-Presse the clue to the Polynesian link was in the burial. 

"Judging from the way the body was buried, it could be a person from what we now call the Austronesia language family," said Chen. 

Taiwan's aborigines belong to the same language family, as do the people who migrated through Melanesia, as the Lapita people, and out across the Pacific, reaching as far as Hawaii, Rapanui and New Zealand. 

Chen told AFP the body was buried in a foetal position like the one used by Taiwan's aborigines as late as the 20th century. 

The find, if proven, could link all Polynesians and Taiwanese aboriginal people to southern China. 

"The people of the Austronesian language family lived near the ocean and were very mobile," Chen told AFP. 

"They had developed some level of shipbuilding techniques that had already enabled them to sail far away from land."

China sets up rare earth body to streamline the sector

China has set up a rare earth association in a bid to streamline the sector's development, as it continues to face criticism over its policies.

Beijing has imposed quotas on exports of rare earth elements, a move which its critics say has pushed up prices. 

Last month, the US, Japan and the European Union filed a case at the World Trade Organization, challenging China's restrictions.

China produces more than 95% of the world's rare earth elements.

Hardball?

 

These elements are critical components in the manufacture of various high-tech products, including DVDs, mobile phones, flatscreen TVs and hybrid batteries. 

China's trading partners have alleged that Beijing has been trying to utilise its position as the world's biggest producer of rare earths to benefit domestic manufacturers.

They have argued that by limiting exports, Beijing has kept prices low for domestic buyers, while international firms have had to pay more.

It's also claimed that Beijing was trying to put pressure on international manufacturers to move to China.

The state new agency Xinhua said the new association was likely to help with efforts to cope with international trade frictions and disputes. 

'Clean up'

 

China has denied these allegations and said that it imposed the restrictions to ensure that excessive mining of these elements did not cause environmental damage. 

Su Bo, an industry vice minister, said Beijing is looking to further tighten its policies for the sector. 

"China will continue to clean up the rare earth industry, expand rare earth environmental controls, strengthen environmental checks, and implement stricter rare earth environmental policies," Su was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency.

According to Xinhua, the association will have 155 members, including some of the biggest producers of rare earths, and report to the Ministry of Industry and Technology which regulates production of these elements.

North Korea moves rocket into place for launch

North Korea has moved into place a long-range rocket for a controversial launch later this month - amid reports it is also planning a nuclear test.

Pyongyang says the Unha-3 rocket, which it plans to launch between 12 and 16 April, will put a satellite into orbit.

But opponents of the move fear it is a disguised long-range missile test.

Meanwhile, South Korean officials say new satellite images suggest the North is preparing to carry out a third nuclear test.

The images show piles of earth and sand at the entrance of a tunnel at the Punggye-ri site, where tests of a nuclear bomb were previously carried out in 2006 and 2009, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports.

"Recent satellite images led us to conclude the North has been secretly digging a new underground tunnel in the nuclear test site... besides two others where the previous tests were conducted," one unnamed official told the AFP news agency.

North Korea has been under close scrutiny by its neighbours and the international community since Kim Jong-un became leader of the secretive state following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in December 2011.

Pyongyang had agreed in February to a partial freeze in nuclear activities and a missile test moratorium in return for US food aid. But the deal was put on hold last month after the North announced its rocket launch plans. 

'Peaceful purposes'

 

The BBC's Damian Grammaticas was among a group of foreign journalists taken by train to the Sohae satellite station at Tongchang-ri, on the country's north-west coast, on Sunday to see the final preparations for the rocket launch.

All three stages of the rocket were visibly in position at the launch pad.

Station manager Jang Myong-jim told reporters that preparations were on track and fuelling would begin soon, without giving exact timings.

He said the 100kg (220 pound) satellite is designed to send back images and information that will be used for weather forecasts as well as surveys of North Korea's natural resources.

But should the country be putting its effort into a satellite launch when it cannot feed its own people, our correspondent asked. 

''If we don't develop our own technology, we will become slaves,'' the director of the launch site told the BBC. ''We need our own technology to be an advanced country, to be a powerful space nation.'' 

Pyongyang has previously said the launch, for "peaceful purposes", is to mark the centennial of the birth of founding leader Kim Il-sung.

But the United States and North Korea's neighbours say it contravenes UN resolutions that were imposed after a similar launch in April 2009. 

Japan and South Korea have warned they will shoot the rocket down if it strays into their territory.

The North says any of those responses would be considered hostile acts. But it seems determined to go ahead even if it sets of a dangerous cascade of events, says our correspondent.

Syrian rebels reject new demands as ceasefire nears

Rebels in Syria have rejected a last-minute demand by the government, made just 48 hours ahead of a proposed ceasefire which now looks set to fail.

Damascus on Sunday called for written guarantees from rebel fighters to end attacks and a promise from foreign states not to fund them.

The Free Syrian Army said it backed the UN-Arab League truce, but refused to meet the government's demands.

Violence has risen ahead of Tuesday's deadline for the ceasefire to start.

Activists said nearly 70 people were killed on Sunday, bringing the weekend death toll over the weekend to at least 180, most of them civilians.

On Monday, Turkey said a Turkish translator and two Syrian nationals were wounded overnight at the Kilis refugee camp by shots fired from the Syrian side of the border.

Also on Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem is visiting Russia - Syria's key ally - for what may now be crucial talks on the crisis.

'Unacceptable' 

Syria's opposition says the new demands are a ploy by President Bashar al-Assad to derail the peace plan mediated by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

The Free Syrian Army's Col Riyad al-Asaad told Associated Press news agency that while his troops were "committed" to the plan, they did not recognise the Assad government "and for that reason we will not give guarantees".

The ceasefire is due to come into effect on Tuesday after government troops pull back from populated areas.

But on Sunday, the Syrian foreign ministry cast new doubt on the agreement, saying it did not want the rebels to exploit any troop withdrawal to reorganise and rearm themselves.

"To say that Syria will pull back its forces from towns on April 10 is inaccurate, Kofi Annan having not yet presented written guarantees on the acceptance by armed terrorist groups of a halt to all violence."

It said that the regime was also awaiting written guarantees from the governments of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey "on stopping their funding to terrorist groups".

"Syria is not going to repeat what happened in the presence of Arab observers when armed forces left towns," the foreign ministry said, referring to a monitoring mission by the Arab League earlier this year which failed to end the violence.

Foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said: "Syria has a plan for military pullback already in place and being implemented, but completing and achieving the main goal would definitely require the guarantees from the other side and those supporting them."

Meanwhile, Mr Annan called the recent escalation of violence "unacceptable" and appealed to the Syrian government to abide by its commitments. 

"This is a time when we must all urgently work towards a full cessation of hostilities, providing the space for humanitarian access and creating the conditions for a political process," he said.

The shooting into the Kilis refugee camp is the first such attack since Turkey began housing refugees. Turkey called in the Syrian charge d'affaires to protest.

Mr Annan will reportedly visit Syrian refugees on the Turkish border on Tuesday.

A Turkish diplomatic source told AFP: "The visit will only last a few hours, ahead of Annan's trip to Iran."

The BBC's Jonathan Head, on the Turkey-Syria border, says this is a necessary move by Kofi Annan as there is a diplomatic need for him to show his concern for those who have fled.

Mr Muallem is scheduled to travel to Moscow on Monday for talks and correspondents say the focus may now fall on Russia to try to salvage the Annan plan.

On Monday Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin called on the government and opposition in Syria to "honour their commitment of ceasefire and withdrawal of troops".

However, the violence showed no sign of abating on Monday, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group reporting that at least six members of the Syrian security forces had been killed in clashes close to the Turkish border.

The UN says more than 9,000 people have been killed in the uprising against Mr Assad's rule which began more than a year ago.

The Syrian government says 2,000 security personnel have been killed in the uprising and blames the violence on "armed gangs" and "terrorists".

Winner Of Record US Lottery Prize Claims Cash

One of three winners of the biggest lottery jackpot in history - the $656m Mega Millions prize in the US - has come forward to claim their share of the cash.

Lottery officials have said the lucky ticketholder from Kansas, who has chosen to remain anonymous, made themselves known on Friday.

Opting for a lower cash prize rather than a higher pre-tax amount of $218.6m (£137.7m) paid out over 26 years, the winner will pocket $110.5m (£69.6m) after taxes and fees.

Cara Sloan-Ramos, from the Kansas Lottery said: "They checked their ticket on Monday and realised that, 'holy cow, we think we have the winning ticket'.

"Then the winner checked it over and over and over, just to make sure, and then they contacted us."
The only detail that has been released is that the ticket was purchased at a Casey's General Store on Main Street in Ottawa. The shop is to be awarded $10,000 (£6,300).


Lottery officials have said that three winning tickets were bought - one in Kansas, one in Illinois and one in Maryland - but neither of the other winners have been confirmed.

A row has broken out in Maryland after a member of staff at a McDonald's in Baltimore claimed to have bought a winning ticket outside of a syndicate with 14 colleagues.

Mirlande Wilson, a 37-year-old woman of Haitian descent, has said she has no plans to share the jackpot - and also claims to have hidden the winning ticket.

However, lottery officials in the state have said that so far no one has presented a valid winning ticket to their offices.

The Mega Millions jackpot became the largest in history on March 30 when it reached $656m (£409m).

The lottery is one of the biggest multi-state games in America and is played in 42 states, plus Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands.

The odds of winning were one in about 176 million, according to the official Mega Millions website.

More Than 100 Killed In Pakistan Avalanche

A devastating avalanche that engulfed a Pakistan army base in the Himalayas has left 135 feared dead, the Pakistan army says.

A security official told Sky sources more than 15 bodies have been recovered from the Gayari sector of Siachen in the country's north.

More than 12 hours after the disaster at the entrance to the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram mountain range, no survivors had been found.

Troops with sniffer dogs, aided by helicopters, have been trying to find signs of survivors in the snow.

But snow left by the avalanche was up to 80 feet (25 metres) deep over an area a kilometre wide, state television quoted army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas as saying.

A team of doctors and paramedics has also been sent to the mountainous area, a security official said.

Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan told Sky News that a huge rescue operation is underway.

"It is a very horrendous tragedy," he said.

"Attempts are being made to rescue as many [soldiers] as possible. The terrain is most difficult... it is the highest battlefield in the world."

State-run Pakistan television said rescuers were facing difficulties getting heavy machinery to the far-flung area.

Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said: "At six o'clock this morning this avalanche hit... over 100 soldiers and personnel are trapped.

"We are waiting for news and keeping our fingers crossed."

In a statement, Pakistan prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed his shock at the incident, which he said "would in no way would undermine the high morale of soldiers and officers."

The Kashmir region - of which Siachen is a part - is divided between fierce rivals Pakistan and India, and is claimed by both in full.

Thousands of Pakistani and Indian troops are based on the Siachen Glacier, which is 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) above sea level.

More soldiers have died from natural disasters than actual fighting in the region.

Avalanches and landslides frequently block roads and leave communities isolated in the mountains of Pakistan, neighbouring Afghanistan and Kashmir.

In February, at least 16 Indian soldiers on duty in the mountains of Kashmir were killed when two avalanches swept through army camps.

Most of the time on Siachen, the bad weather prevents any troop movement and despite the heavy deployment, clashes are generally low-level skirmishes involving a few dozen troops.

Exclusive - Egypt's Islamist candidate says IMF deal unlikely

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has warned the government it will not support an IMF loan unless the terms are changed or it moves aside and allows a new administration to oversee how the funds are spent, its candidate for president said on Sunday.

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The government has been negotiating a $3.2 billion (2.0 billion pounds) loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it avert a balance of payments crisis caused by the political and economic turmoil of the last year, and an IMF technical team is now in Cairo.

The IMF has said that before it agrees to a loan, the government must first sell the plan to the country's political groupings, especially the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, which won nearly half the seats in the new parliament.

"We told them (the government), you have two choices. Either postpone this issue of borrowing and come up with any other way of dealing with it without our approval, or speed up the formation of a government," Khairat al-Shater said in an interview.

He said he realised the country's finances were precarious and a severe crunch could come by early to mid-May as the end of the fiscal year approached, but that this was the government's problem to resolve. Egypt's fiscal year runs to June 30.

"It is not logical that I approve a loan that the transitional government would take for two or three months, then demand that I, as a permanent government, repay," he told Reuters.

The government has been financing much of its fiscal deficit by borrowing from domestic banks, which are reaching the limits of their ability to lend.

"I have to agree to a loan, somebody else gets to spend it, then I have to pay it back? That is unjust."

The Brotherhood could also accept a loan if the size of the initial disbursement were reduced so that most of the funds were paid out after the completion of a presidential election in June, when a new government is scheduled to take power, Shater said.

"We are not opposed in principle. We are opposed to the timing and the method of implementation," he said.

"If it were $500 million instead of a billion and a bit, and there was a clear plan on how it would be spent, we might take another look at it," Shater said.

FOREIGN RESERVES

Planning Minister Faiza Abu El-Naga said on April 2 that she expected the government to sign a memorandum of understanding with the IMF within a few weeks and seal a final agreement by June, when half of the loan would be disbursed.

Egypt has spent more than $20 billion in foreign reserves since last year's uprising to prop up its currency, limiting its slide to only 3.65 percent against the dollar since January 2011 despite the loss of some of the country's main sources of foreign exchange.

Egypt's reserves fell another $600 million in March to $15.12 billion. This is equivalent to less than three months worth of imports and includes $4 billion in gold bullion the government would be reluctant to draw down, economists say.

Shater, a businessman, said he strongly supported a market economy. He added that a lack of government resources would force Egypt to rely almost exclusively on private investment to build infrastructure over the coming two to three years.

The formation of a permanent coalition government would benefit Egypt in this regard as well, Shater said.

"When we met with lots of investors around the world, all of them said they would not begin investing until there was a permanent government or presidential elections. But in this current situation, nobody wants to enter the country," he said.

President unconscious after heart attack

Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika was unconscious in hospital Thursday after suffering a heart attack. The 78-year-old vowed two weeks ago that he would govern until his term ends in 2014, despite demands for his resignation.

Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika was unconscious in hospital after suffering a heart attack Thursday, amid mounting discontent with his leadership and demands for his resignation. 

State radio said the 78-year-old president, who is in critical condition, would be airlifted to South Africa for specialist treatment later Thursday, as officials called for the people of Malawi to pray for his recovery. 

A senior official at Kamuzu Central Hospital in the political capital Lilongwe said Mutharika collapsed at his official residence and was rushed to the hospital where he is being treated in an intensive care unit. 

"He had a cardiac arrest, he is still unconscious since 9:00 am (0700 GMT)," the official said on condition of anonymity, describing his condition as critical. 

Mutharika has been visited by senior politicians from his cabinet, as well as his wife and children, hospital sources said. 

"When I first heard the state president had been taken ill, I quickly wished him quick recovery," said Vice President Joyce Banda, who is currently at odds with Mutharika. 

"I wish to ask all Malawians to pray for the quick recovery of our state president," said Banda, who fell out of favour with the president a year after being elected as his running mate in 2009. 

She was the first official to make any announcement about the president's health, and earlier state media had not broadcast any news about his condition in an information blackout that lasted most of the day. 

But later state radio said he would be flown to South Africa "to receive further specialist attention".

South African foreign affairs spokesman Clayson Monyela declined to comment on Mutharika's treatment in the country. 

The constitution stipulates that the vice president assume executive power in the president's absence, but it's not yet clear if that will happen given the tensions between Mutharika and Banda, who was kicked out of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2010. 

The president had also apparently been grooming his brother, foreign minister Peter Mutharika, as a successor. 

Mutharika, a former World Bank economist who first came to power in 2004, was re-elected with a sweeping majority in 2009 as president of the poor southern African country. 

But his second term has been marred by anti-government protests, with activists accusing him of mismanaging the economy and trampling on democratic freedoms. 

Two weeks ago he vowed to govern until his term ends in 2014 after a leading rights group threatened unrest if he did not resign or call a referendum on his leadership. 

"I would like to say that Bingu doesn't run away from work, Bingu doesn't desert responsibility even if the going gets tough," the president told a rally. 

Last month, the Public Affairs Committee (PAC), made up of religious groups, rights activists and the opposition, demanded that Mutharika quit office or call the referendum within three months. 

The group accused him of mismanaging the economy and trampling on democratic freedoms, saying the country was on the brink of becoming a failed state. 

Critics have lambasted new laws to restrain the media, limit protests, and restrict lawsuits against the government. 

Political tensions erupted into rioting in July, when police shot 19 people dead. 

Ahead of the riots, alarmed by his restrictions on political freedoms, donors had already begun suspending aid, with former colonial power Britain slashing its financial support. 

The leader presided over steady economic growth but has struggled to manage foreign currency reserves, which have also been hit by a drop in earnings from the country's main export tobacco. 

His refusal to listen to criticism, whether from civil society or the International Monetary Fund, has earned him the moniker "Mr Know-it-All".

Put your data-hungry gadget on a diet

Put your data-hungry gadget on a diet

A friend and I were having lunch last week. She's an Angry Birds fanatic, so I asked if she had downloaded the new Angry Birds Space.

"I will tonight," she said, "when I get home." 

I wondered if my friend had been taken over by an alien life form. She's the type who's always reaching for her Android smartphone faster than Billy the Kid to get directions or look up a bit of trivia online.'

I must have looked puzzled, because she added, "I've put my phone on a data diet." 

"Ah," I said, getting the picture. She didn't want to download the game while on her cellular network. She was waiting until she could connect to a Wi-Fi network. 

To avoid hefty cellular overage charges and data throttling, millions of smartphone and tablet users are keeping close eyes on what their gadgets are eating. 

Like weight-loss diets, the key to a successful data diet is replacing bad habits with good ones, while not getting too restrictive. After all, what's the point of having a smartphone if all you do is use it like a dumb phone? 

The first step involves getting a handle on how much data you actually consume. Most people don't know - or greatly underestimate - what common activities cost them in terms of data use. 

What's a typical day like in the life of your 4G Android? Let's say it's sending 25 emails, visiting 25 Web pages, streaming one hour of music and 10 minutes of video. That will add up to about 3.75GB of data in a month - not good if you're on Verizon's 2GB tier or AT&T's 3GB tier. For every 1GB you go over, you're charged an extra $10. 

Each of the four major wireless carriers - AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile - has a data calculator on its site that will help you determine how much data you need. Once you know that, it's time to get smarter about how you use your smartphone. 

The simplest and most effective way to trim cellular data calories is to use Wi-Fi whenever possible. You can set any Android or iOS gadget to automatically connect to known Wi-Fi networks. 

Try to confine all streaming and downloading to when you're on a free Wi-Fi connection. You can watch downloaded video and music while you're on the go. 

Did you know that you can download portions of Google Maps and refer to them offline? Navigate to the Labs section of Google Maps on your Android phone and enable the feature called Pre-cache map area. Now you can download 10-square-mile sections of maps. In addition to being a money-saver, that can be a real time-saver if you're going somewhere unfamiliar and aren't sure if you'll even have cellular coverage. 

These tips will curb the appetites of the major data hogs in your life, but you probably have a few data nibblers lurking on your phone that could deal you an unpleasant surprise. 

Do you use a lot of free ad-supported apps? If so, you need to know that they're constantly connecting to the Internet to download fresh ads. It might actually save you money in the long run to instead choose the paid version of these types of apps.

Your email and social networking apps are probably also connecting to the Internet in the background so you can stay in the loop. In Settings, you can choose to turn off automatic syncing and check for updates manually. Likewise, you can stop the camera and other apps from constantly using the phone's GPS to track location. 

Finally, sign up to get your carrier's overage alerts and get in the habit of checking your data usage two or three times a week. If your carrier doesn't offer a data-monitoring app or you'd like a more full-featured third-party app, look at My Data Manager and Onavo for Android. For iPhone, consider My Data Usage Pro or Onavo's innovative data-compressing app. 

With just a little proactive monitoring, it can become almost easy to keep the hungry beast under control.

Scientists dispute cellphone study that says use doesn't increase brain tumor risk

A group of scientists from the Environmental Health Trust (EHT) are refuting a study from last summer, which said cellphones do not lead to an increase of brain cancer in children and teenagers, according to a letter published Friday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

According to the study, published in July 2011, "the absence of an exposure-response relationship either in terms of the amount of mobile phone use or by localization of the brain tumor argues against a causal association." 

However, in the journal's "Letters to the Editor," the EHT scientists said there is a serious risk of brain tumors associated with using cellphones, and the peer review was flawed. 

Last summer's study, conducted by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, said regular users of cellphones were not more likely to be diagnosed with brain tumors, compared to non-users, and children who started to use cellphones at least five years ago did not have more of a risk of developing a tumor compared to those who never used cellphones. 

The letter's authors said the study's data actually indicates a 115 percent increase in brain tumor risk for children after more than two years of having a cellphone subscription. The authors said there was also an indication that the more a cellphone is used, the higher the risk becomes. 

When the study first appeared last summer, Dr. Joel Moskowitz, from the School of Public Health at the University of California-Berkeley, said, "In my opinion, the interpretation of the results from this study and the accompanying editorial were biased in an attempt to reduce concerns that cellphone use increases brain tumor risk among children and adolescents." 

In December, a commentary in the journal Environmental Health , said, "Yet, in spite of low exposure, short latency period and limitations in study design, analyses and interpretation, there are nevertheless indications of increased risk … In any case, it is to go far beyond the findings of the study to say that the results are reassuring of no significant increased risk." 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer - an arm of the World Health Organization –  last year reviewed dozens of published studies regarding cellphones as carcinogenic and said cellphones are cancer-causing agents. 

Shortly thereafter,  Dr. Suvi Larjavaara from the University of Tampere in Finland, wrote in the American Journal of Epidemiology that people who had used cellphones for a long period of time and used them frequently were not more likely to experience brain tumors; however, he did say the findings were not conclusive.

Couples and Dufner lead Masters by one as Woods slips back

Former Masters champion Fred Couples fired a five-under par round of 67 to cl

aim a share of the lead with fellow American Jason Dufner at the Masters on Friday.

The 52-year-old, whose only major win came at Augusta National in 1992, helped himself to seven birdies including a run of three at the 7th, 8th and 9th holes.

A superb back nine which included birdies at the 15th and 16th saw Couples shoot the lowest score of the day and finish five-under par after two rounds.

"It was a very, very magical day. I'm going to be right there with everybody on the weekend," Couples said.

"If I come out here and play my game the best I can, I'll have a shot," he added.

Dufner, runner-up at the PGA Championship last August, carded a two-under 70, go with his opening round 69.

The pair lead by one a chasing pack that includes overnight leader Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy.

Westwood was heading for a one-under par round of 71 but a double bogey at the 18th spoilt a steady round after his impressive showing on Thursday.

McIlroy compiled a composed 69, which included five birdies, but dropped shots at the 10th and the 17th took a little bit of the shine off his round. Nevertheless, the Northern Irishman was satisfied with his progress.

"I'm right where I want to be. I put myself in position to have a chance to win this tournament again," McIlroy said.

South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen is also one shot off the lead after an even-par round of 72 as is Spain's Sergio Garcia, who shot a four-under par 68, and America's Bubba Watson who carded a 71.

But Tiger Woods' challenge for a fifth Green Jacket faded on Friday as he struggled to a three-over par round of 75, eight shots off the lead.

The current world No.1 Luke Donald may also struggle to mount a challenge at the weekend. With three holes left to play of his second round he was also three-over par.

Reigning champion Charl Schwartzel is on the same score after completing a disappointing round of 75.

But an exciting weekend is guaranteed with 16 players within three shots of Couples and Dufner, including Phil Mickelson whose four-under par 68 lifted him to two-under par.

One shot ahead on three under par is a group of four players including America's Matt Kuchar (70) and Scotland's Paul Lawrie who shot a 72 to go with his opening 69.