Phonebloks: The smartphone for the rest of your life

London, England (CNN) -- What if you could buy a smartphone that would last you for the 

rest of your life?

This is the dream of Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, whose 'Phonebloks' concept has 

captured the public imagination and received celebrity endorsement from the most unexpected quarters.

Phonebloks is a radical cell phone idea that aims to dramatically reduce global electronic waste 

('e-waste') by offering users the opportunity to upgrade parts -- or bloks -- of their cell phone 

rather than having to replace the entire device. 

Hakkens says that he came up with Phonebloks as a response to the accelerating pace of technological waste: "I don't like the direction electronics are heading. They get more 

disposable and get a shorter life with every model. This gives a lot of e-waste." 

The environmental campaign organisation Greenpeace estimates that global e-waste now 

amounts to between 20 and 50 million tons a year. Put into perspective, they say that quantity 

of waste, loaded onto container trains, would stretch all the way around the world.

Speaking at the CleanUp 2013 conference in Melbourne Australia, Professor Ming Wong, 

director of the Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences at Hong Kong Baptist University, described the growing problem of e-waste as a "timebomb."

"[It] is the world's fastest growing waste stream, rising by 3 to 5% every year," said Wong.

The Phonebloks concept aims to decrease e-waste by offering consumers the opportunity to 

replace individual components of their phone, while retaining the device's basic frame.

Once constructed, Hakkens hopes that the Phonebloks handset will be built from components 

that can be 'clicked' together like Legos. Each component will have its own function 

e.g. Bluetooth, WiFi, battery, or camera. When a component stops working or needs to be 

upgraded, it can be quickly replaced with a new 'blok'.

In theory, Hakkens believes that choosing separate components could enable users to 

personalize their cell phone to their own specifications, adding an improved camera, increased storage or a larger battery.

Phonebloks will be composed of modular pieces or 'bloks' which click together like Lego

"The idea is to set up a platform which, if used correctly, can reduce the amount of waste significantly," Hakkens says.

At present, Phonebloks is still a long way from reaching the market -- indeed its inventor hasn't even asked for any money   to begin developing it. 

                                                                                                                                          For now, Hakkers has simply been gathering support for the concept through the "crowd-speaking" platform Thunderclap.

At the time of writing, the Phonebloks concept video has       received more than 12 million views on YouTube and been     shared on social networks more than 650,000 times. The         project has also received support from the actor Elijah Wood       and television correspondent Jessica Northey.

The Phonebloks concept is not without its critics. Some argue       that making a device that can more easily be upgraded will   increase e-waste rather than reducing it. Others suggest that it would beimpossible to build a functional smartphone in a       modular way.

Hakkens says that at the very least his campaign has shown        that there is an appetite for an environmentally friendly cell     phone and that even though the concept was only officially launched a week ago "we are already having conversations         with some serious players."

Tom Dowdall, a Climate and Energy spokesperson for   Greenpeace, says that the interest in Phonebloks may be        useful in underlining the growing prooblem of e-waste:           "Hopefully the popularity of the Phonebloks concept will spark     more action from the major manufacturers. It should not be     beyond the innovative phone companies to make products           that are upgradable and designed to last."

Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, says he suspects Phonebloks will not make it to market

Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, told CNN that while the      Phonebloks concept is 'well-meaning'           he suspects it will never become a       reality: "the main reason that the     Phoneblok will not hit the market is it          will cost more, be bigger and heavier,      and be less reliable ... By the time it      could be brought to market, the         problem that engendered it will be gone."

Andy Redfern, co-founder of the 'ethically-conscious                 online retailer' Ethical Superstoresays he thinks Phonebloks is       an excellent concept, but agrees with Cooper that it will be      difficult  to produce:

"Phonebloks seems such an obvious idea that it makes you   wonder why no one has ever taken this approach before ...  However it faces two significant challenges - one technical and   one cultural," Redfern says.

"To reduce cost and increase battery life as much of the phone functionality as possible is crammed on to a single piece of      silicon ... So the technical challenge is meeting the current     battery life and size requirements if we are going to benefit         from easy upgrades.

"And culturally? Well we want the lightest phone with longest   battery life. The Phoneblok is likely to have to compromise on      that and we will have to change our expectations and our    thinking."

"However," Redfern says "creating a phone that feeds our     appetite for upgrades without having to throw away the whole  phone would seem to make great sense."

$400 million Powerball winner to stay anonymous

(CNN) -- There is a man in South Carolina who has been keeping a big secret for the past five days.Well, he did tell his dog. And, we assume, his wife.

He's probably hoping his recent good fortune stays a secret, but this will be one mighty hard 

life-changing event to keep under wraps.

South Carolina lottery officials said a man showed up at their office Monday with the winning 

ticket to last Wednesday's $399.4 million Powerball jackpot.

In a news release, lottery officials said the man was from the Columbia area. And that's it. 

They didn't say how old he was or give his name. 

South Carolina doesn't divulge the identities of lottery winners to the public if they don't 

want it to be known.

Officials did say he told them he was driving home when his wife called and told him they 

needed hot dog buns. So he pulled into a Murphy USA convenience store but there were no buns. There was a sign for the lottery, so -- for only the second time -- he played, 

putting down a $20.

On Thursday, he was at home with just his dog when he checked the numbers. And he had 

the ticket with the winning numbers: 7, 10, 22, 32, 35 and Powerball 19.

One that flies in the face of the formidable 1-in-175,223,510 odds.

Powerball trio strikes it rich with $448 million jackpot

The Murphy store will receive a cool $50,000 for selling the ticket. The release didn't say 

whether the man chose a 29-year annuity plan or took a cash prize of $223 million.

Wednesday's haul was the fourth largest lottery price in U.S. history, the biggest prize ever 

in South Carolina.

The biggest payload in American history was $665 million in the Mega Millions game in 

March 2012. The greatest Powerball jackpot was the $590.5 million won with a single ticket 

in Florida this past May.

So now people in Columbia might be a whole lot nicer to each other. After all, you never know 

if that guy you just served dinner to is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Adoptive parents sentenced in the rapes of their two children

A Massachusetts husband and wife were each sentenced to prison Monday after being found guilty last month of raping their two adopted children.

Joseph Mayotte, 50, sexually abused his daughter over a five-year span, starting when         she was 8, according to a news release from prosecutor Joseph D. Early Jr.

Mayotte was convicted in August on 11 charges -- including rape of a child aggravated           by age difference -- and was sentenced Monday to 16 to 20 years in prison.

His wife, Linda Mayotte, was convicted on 19 charges -- including three counts of rape            of a child -- and sentenced from 18 to 22 years behind bars.

The 49-year-old became pregnant with her adopted son's child when he was only 15, according to Paul Jarvey of the Worcester County District Attorney's Office. It was a       pregnancy she carried to term, Jarvey said.

"Let them burn in hell," is what the son, now 21, said of his former parents in an impact statement read in court today, according to Jarvey.

The Mayottes, who lived in the central Massachusetts town of Northbridge, were arrested in 2009. The two adopted children -- along with the child to whom Linda Mayotte gave birth -- were adopted by other families.

"Their trust was broken by these two predators," Early's statement said. "Now, justice has   been served."

From CNN

Cameroon's president orders Pentecostal churches closed

Cameroon's President Paul Biya has ordered the closure of nearly 100 Christian churches in key cities.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• President Paul Biya has ordered 100 churches closed throughout Cameroon
• The illegal Pentecostal churches are security threats, the government argues
• Pentecostal congregants say criticism of the government is behind the shutdown

Yaounde, Cameroon (CNN) -- Cameroon's President Paul Biya has ordered the closure of nearly 100 Christian churches in key cities, citing criminal practices organized by Pentecostal pastors that threaten the security of the West African nation.

But Pentecostal pastors said the move is evidence of Biya's insecurity about the churches' criticism of the government.

Biya is using the military to permanently shut down all Pentecostal church denominations in the nation's capital, Yaounde, and the North West Regional capital, Bamenda, which have the largest Christian populations in Cameroon.

More than 50 churches have now been closed, with the government targeting nearly 100 in eight other regions.

"We will get rid of all the so-called Christian Pentecostal pastors who misuse the name of Jesus Christ to fake miracles and kill citizens in their churches. They have outstretched their liberty," Mbu Anthony Lang, a government official in Bamenda, told CNN Wednesday.

Nearly 500 Pentecostal churches operate in Cameroon, but fewer than 50 are legal, he added.

On Sunday, a 9-year-old Christian girl collapsed and died during a prayer session in Winners' Chapel, a Pentecostal church in Bamenda. The girl's mother, Mih Theresa, told CNN Wednesday that the pastor intended to cast out the numerous demons that were in control of her daughter's life.

"I want the government to stop these pastors who use mysterious powers to pull Christians and kill then for more powers. All my children have ran away from the Catholic Church in search for miracles, signs and wonders," she told CNN while holding back tears.

Another Christian, Mveng Thomas, said his marriage ended abruptly when a Pentecostal pastor ordered his wife to dissolve their union. He said the pastor described him as "an unrepentant devil."

Pastors marched against the government's decision Wednesday in Bamenda and Douala. Pastors said the Biya government sees the mass proliferation of churches as a threat.

Boniface Tum, a bishop of the Christian Church of God in Yaounde, said that Biya, who has been president since 1982, is becoming insecure about the freedom of speech within these churches.

"Authorizing only the Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Muslim, and a few other churches, is a strict violation of the right to religion," Tum added.

Targeted Pentecostal Christians in Bamenda are transforming their private homes into churches.

North West Regional governor Adolphe Lele L'Afrique said Wednesday that police had discovered the abduction of 30 children under age 18 by a pastor in Bamenda. The pastor said he wanted to remove the children from a bad society, Lele added.

Government officials also say that some pastors convince congregants that they do not need professional medical treatment for their ailments.

"How can a pastor say the sick needs no medical doctor? We need sanity in our Christian lives," Nyang Blaise, a youth leader for Biya's ruling party, CPDM, told CNN.

One woman said her mother was refusing cancer treatments because of her pastor.

"My mother's condition is worsening after doctors confirmed she had cancer. She is dying silently, and yet we cannot persuade her to see a doctor for proper treatment, against her pastor's wish," Deborah Tanyi said.

Credits: CNN

Kenyan police vow to 'finish and punish' Westgate Mall terrorists

 

 

 

 

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- Several gunmen remain inside a besieged mall in Nairobi, Kenya, two senior officials said, as a deadly standoff between Kenyan forces and terrorists stretches into a fourth day.

Kenya's Interior Ministry tweeted late Monday that authorities were in control of the Westgate Shopping Mall -- the latest in a series of social media posts from officials reassuring a nervous public that there was little chance of escape for any surviving Al-Shabaab gunmen who had terrorized the mall, killing at least 62 people.

"Taken control of all the floors. We're not here to feed the attackers with pastries but to finish and punish them," Kenyan police Inspector General David Kimaiyo said on Twitter.

But even as police stressed on Twitter that they were in charge of the situation, two senior Kenyan officials told CNN that gunmen -- including snipers -- were still inside the four-story mall.

It wasn't clear whether any hostages remained. The Kenya Red Cross said 65 people were missing after the attack.

Gunfire echoed from the mall sporadically during the day, sending journalists and aid workers scrambling for cover. Thick heavy smoke -- from a fire set by terrorists, according to Kenyan authorities -- billowed into the air much of the afternoon.

Kenya assault raises new fears about Somali recruitment

Three terrorists have been confirmed killed since Saturday, the Interior Ministry said Monday. Eleven Kenyan soldiers have been wounded, according to the Kenya Defence Forces. More than 200 civilians have been rescued, the military said.

Away from the mall, Kenyan authorities said they had arrested more than 10 people for questioning in connection with the attack, including at least four taken into custody at an airport.

Authorities urged law enforcement officers to closely scrutinize travelers' documents, and the country's Immigration Department said in a tweet that it had increased security at entry and exit points.

Surviving the Nairobi mall massacre: 'Just lucky'

Americans involved?

Cell phone video shows Kenya mall attack

Photos: Kenya mall attack

See CNN anchor react to Kenya gunfire

Shooting witness: We crawled under cars

Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed told "PBS NewsHour" that some of the attackers had come from the United States. She said they were originally from Minnesota and Missouri, PBS reported Monday.

"As you know, both the victims and the perpetrators came from Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States," she said. "From the information that we have, two or three Americans, and I think so far I've heard of one Brit" as being among the attackers.

"The Americans, from the information we have, are young men, about between maybe 18 and 19, of Somalia origin or Arab origin," Mohamed told PBS. She offered no other specifics.

Her comments seemed to expound on those of Gen. Julius Karangi, chief of Defense Forces.

"We have an idea who these people are and they are clearly a multinational collection from all over the world," he told reporters in Nairobi. "This is not clearly a local event. We are fighting global terrorism here."

Before its Twitter account was suspended, Al-Shabaab issued a list of the names of nine people it said were among the attackers. It said three were from the United States, two from Somalia and one each from Canada, Finland, Kenya and the United Kingdom.

Sources within Al-Shabaab also told CNN that the nine names published on Twitter were among the alleged hostage-takers, but CNN has not been able to independently confirm that.

U.S. officials don't have any confirmation of Americans having been involved in the attack, according to Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes and another senior official.

Intelligence analysts are poring over electronic intercepts in an effort to verify the terror group's claims, two law enforcement sources told CNN.

The FBI also was looking into the claims, law enforcement officials told CNN.

"At this point we have no definitive evidence of the nationalities or identities of the perpetrators," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday.

In the past, federal officials and Somali-American leaders in Minneapolis have reported that Al-Shabaab has recruited young men there to go to Africa to fight.

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed condolences over the attack after a meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly Monday. He didn't specify whether Americans had been involved, but he pledged U.S. support and described the situation as a matter of global concern.

"This, I think, underscores the degree to which all of us as an international community have to stand against the kind of senseless violence that these kinds of groups represent," Obama said.

 

 

 

 

The siege

The terrorist attack began at midday Saturday, Nairobi time, with an estimated 10 to 15 gunmen taking over the mall in what hospital volunteer Abiti Shah said witnesses told her was "like a Hollywood action scene."

"They just started firing in the air," Shah said, retelling the witness accounts.

Witnesses said the gunmen went from store to store, shooting people, and then took hostages.A youth cooking competition was taking place at the mall at the time, and terrified shoppers fled for their lives as gunfire echoed through the building.

Survivor Bendita Malakia, a North Carolina woman who moved to Nairobi in July, told CNN affiliate WAVY that she took refuge behind the closed metal gates of a store with dozens of others.

The Kenyan spirit cannot be broken, says eyewitness resident

"While we were back there, you could hear them methodically going from store to store, talking to people and asking questions," she said. "They were shooting, screaming. Then it would stop for a while and they would go to another store."

Al-Shabaab has claimed that the attackers targeted non-Muslims and vowed they would not negotiate for the hostages' lives. CNN security analyst Peter Bergen said the terrorists apparently took hostages only to prolong the siege and win more media attention.

The dead

Most of the dead were said to be Kenyans.

Six British citizens, two French nationals, two Indians and two Canadians, including a diplomat, also died, their governments said.

Those killed include:

• Elif Yavuz, a senior vaccines researcher for the Clinton Health Access Initiative based in Tanzania. Yavuz, a Dutch national, was pregnant and expecting her first child in October, according to Julio Frenk, dean of faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Elif was brilliant, dedicated, and deeply admired by her colleagues, who will miss her terribly," the Clinton family said in a statement. The Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed a 33-year-old Dutch woman had been killed.

• A major African poet, author and Ghanian statesman, Kofi Awoonor, Ghana's president said. Awoonor received his Ph.D. from New York's Stony Brook University and was a professor of literature there in the 1970s.

• The nephew of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and the man's fiancee.

• A Peruvian doctor, Juan Jesus Ortiz, who had previously worked for the United Nations Fund for Children and lived in Kenya doing consulting work, the country's Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

• Sridhar Natarajan, 40, an Indian national and employee of a local pharmaceutical firm, and 8-year-old Paramshu Jain, the son of a bank branch manager, CNN sister network CNN-IBN reported, citing government officials in New Delhi.

The wounded

Al Qaeda-linked group claims attacks

Kenya president: Cowards will be punished

A deeper look at Al-Shabaab

How safe are America's malls?

Kenyatta said more than 175 people had been wounded. Five were Americans, the State Department said Sunday.

Elaine Dang, 26, a University of California, Berkeley, graduate from San Diego, underwent surgery to her chest, arms and legs.

"I'm OK, I'm very grateful to be alive," she told CNN affiliate KFMB-TV

She said two friends died in the attack.

Al-Shabaab breaks new ground with complex Nairobi attack

The terrorists

The Somalia-based Al-Shabaab terror group had said on Twitter that it had sent the gunmen to the mall in retaliation for Kenya's involvement in an African Union military effort against the group, which is al Qaeda's proxy in Somalia.

Last year, the Kenyan military was part of a peacekeeping force that defeated Al-Shabaab forces to liberate the key Somali port of Kismayo.

Since Kenya launched attacks against Al-Shabaab in Somalia in 2011, the group has hurled grenades at Kenyan churches, bus stops and other public places.

The mall attack is the deadliest terror attack in Kenya since al Qaeda blew up the U.S. Embassy there in 1998, killing 213 people.

On Monday, Kenya's foreign minister told CNN it's clear that Al-Shabaab was not acting alone.

"This bares the hallmarks of al Qaeda. This is not just Al-Shabaab. In fact, the leaders are not Somali, as you may have heard. This was al Qaeda. It was a very well-coordinated effort, it was very well planned," Mohamed said.

But the attackers' national origins are irrelevant, she said.

"It doesn't matter where they come from. There are some Americans. There are some Brits. There are some others. It has nothing to do with the nationality of people," Mohamed said. "They are all evil and we must deal with them as such."

Al-Shabaab grew amid Somalia's lawlessness

 

 

 

 

 

The investigation

Lenku said that Monday's effort to roust the terrorists was a Kenyan operation, but government sources told CNN that Israeli special forces also were at the scene.

Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, vowed Sunday to punish those responsible for the attacks.

"They shall not get away with their despicable, beastly acts. Like the cowardly perpetrators now cornered in the building, we will punish the masterminds swiftly and indeed very painfully," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry promised an American investigation.

Kenya bloodshed: World leaders react

"Obviously, it's an enormous offense against everybody's sense of right and wrong," Kerry said. "It represents the seriousness and the breadth of the challenge we face with ruthless and completely reckless terrorists, and we're going to pursue them."

Culled from CNN