Lakers intrigued by chance to play for D’Antoni

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Pau Gasol got home from the game and read about it on Twitter, while Dwight Howard got a midnight message on his BlackBerry. They shared most Los Angeles Lakers fans’ mix of surprise, trepidation and anticipation.

Just when everybody thought the Lakers were getting back together with Phil Jackson, they switched course in the middle of the night and went with Mike D’Antoni.

What a weekend in Hollywood — and the real drama isn’t over yet.

The Lakers reacted with ample excitement and a little bewilderment Monday to their front office’s surprising decision to hire D’Antoni as coach Mike Brown’s replacement over Jackson, the 11-time champion who discussed the job at his home Saturday and apparently wanted to return. D’Antoni didn’t even interview for the job in person, speaking to the Lakers over the phone.

“It has been crazy, but all this stuff will just make this team stronger,” said Howard, who has been in a Lakers uniform for about six weeks. “Everything that we’ve been through so far, it’s going to make us stronger, and we have to look at this as a positive situation.”

The Lakers’ third coach in four days won’t take over the team until later in the week. D’Antoni still hadn’t been cleared to travel Monday after undergoing knee replacement surgery earlier in the month, although the Lakers are optimistic the former Knicks and Suns coach will arrive in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

So interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff was still in charge Monday when the Lakers gathered for an informal workout ahead of Tuesday’s game against San Antonio. Just two weeks into the regular season, the Lakers (3-4) are about to start over with a new offense and another coaching staff — and a renewed certainty they’re expected to compete for a title this season.

“It’s been a zoo,” said forward Antawn Jamison, a 15-year NBA veteran who played for D’Antoni on a U.S. national team. “But as I was telling somebody, it’s just a typical day here in L.A. It’s interesting. … It should be a lot easier to adjust to than the system we were trying to get adjusted to early on in the season. We’ve got Steve (Nash) that can help us out.”

Two Lakers who supported both Brown and his two potential replacements weren’t available in El Segundo to weigh in on the hire. Nash missed the workout while getting treatment on his injured leg, while Kobe Bryant left before it ended to share a helicopter ride back home to Orange County with point guard Steve Blake, who needed an exam on his abdominal injury.

And the tall, professorial coach with all the rings wasn’t at the Lakers’ training complex at all.

Just 24 hours after Jackson seemed headed back to his oversized chair on the Staples Center bench, D’Antoni had the job.

It’s too soon to tell how the Buss family’s latest counterintuitive move will sit with Lakers fans, who chanted “We want Phil!” during the club’s weekend games, both victories after a 1-4 start.

“I think everybody had expectations about it, and they were all pretty high,” Gasol said of Jackson’s potential return. “We all understood what Phil brings to the table … and what he means to the city and the franchise. It just couldn’t work out for whatever reason.”

Jackson issued a statement to a handful of media outlets Monday, implying he was essentially offered the job after meeting with Lakers owner Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak. Jackson thought he would be able to come back to the Lakers on Monday with his decision, but instead was awakened by a midnight phone call from Kupchak.

“The decision is of course theirs to make,” Jackson said in his statement. “I am gratified by the groundswell of support from the Laker fans who endorsed my return, and it is the principal reason why I considered the possibility.”

The Lakers largely echoed the thoughts of Howard, who was looking forward to playing for Jackson: “Management had to do what they felt is best for the team, and we as players have got to find a way to win.”

The Lakers publicly offered no reason for passing over the coach with the most championships in NBA history. Although nobody could claim the Buss family is afraid of spending money, Brown is still owed well over $ 10 million for the remaining three seasons on his four-year, $ 18 million contract, while D’Antoni will make $ 4 million a season for the next three years — and their salaries together might be less than what Jackson would command.

The Lakers largely know what they would get with Jackson, but D’Antoni intrigues this older, top-heavy team with an urgency to contend for a title before Howard’s free agency next summer and Bryant’s possible retirement in a few years.

Howard and Gasol both believe D’Antoni’s up-tempo style can work well for the Lakers. Howard would seem to be a natural to partner with Nash in the pick-and-roll attacks loved by D’Antoni and Nash, although Gasol doesn’t immediately fit into the definition of a big man who can play on the perimeter and shoot 3-pointers.

“It’s a great system, (but) I don’t think he ever had a defender such as myself or a defender such as Dwight Howard on those teams,” Metta World Peace said. “I don’t think he ever coached those type of players, so his defense should be self-explanatory, and his offense is amazing, so it should be fun for Laker fans.”

The rest of the NBA sat back and watched the Lakers’ drama with amusement over the past two days, with Dallas owner Mark Cuban weighing in gleefully on the mess: “I hope they have to do it again and again and again.”

Jackson’s flirtation with the job is the strongest indication yet that he’s interested in coaching again, which makes him a prime candidate for another franchise. Yet D’Antoni also received praise around the league — even from New York, where he resigned last March after failing to win a playoff game in four years with the Knicks.

“Despite all the hoopla … that was going on about me and Mike, we actually have a pretty good relationship, especially behind closed doors,” Carmelo Anthony said. “We actually talked a lot, talked basketball. Hopefully he brings some positive energy over there. Anytime guys are losing like that, there’s always negativity, a lot of negative energy. So sometimes change is better.”

Added Dwyane Wade, who has played for D’Antoni on the U.S. national team: “He has a tough job ahead of him, but I’m sure he’s excited about the opportunity that he gets to be with America’s team.”

___

AP Sports Writers Brian Mahoney and Chris Duncan contributed to this report.

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‘Sesame Street’ Elmo puppeteer takes leave amid sex scandal

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The puppeteer and voice behind the character Elmo on “Sesame Street” has taken a leave of absence from the children’s television show following allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy, producers said on Monday.

New York-based Sesame Workshop said in a statement that its own inquiry concluded that the claim of underage sexual conduct was unsubstantiated, and that puppeteer Kevin Clash has denied any wrongdoing and called the allegation “false and defamatory.”

But the company said Clash, 52, was disciplined after an internal investigation showed he “exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding Internet usage.”

The Sesame Workshop statement said the puppeteer was “taking actions to protect his reputation” and that Sesame Workshop has “granted him a leave of absence to do so.”

Neither Clash nor his personal publicist was immediately available for comment.

CNN quoted a statement from Clash acknowledging a relationship with his accuser but denying he had sexual contact with a minor.

“I am a gay man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it,” it quoted him as saying. “I had a relationship with the accuser, it was between two consenting adults, and I am deeply saddened that he is characterizing it as something other than what it was.”

The statement went on to say, “I’m taking a break from Sesame Workshop to deal with this false and defamatory allegation.”

Sesame Workshop said the matter came to its attention when it received a communication in June from accuser, now aged 23, alleging that he had a relationship with Clash beginning when he was 16 years old.

“We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action,” the company said, adding that it met with the accuser twice and had “repeated communications with him.” The company said it also discussed the matter with Clash, who denied the allegations.

A spokeswoman for the show said she did not know whether law enforcement authorities were looking into the allegations.

Clash officially joined the “Sesame Street” cast in 1984, assuming the Elmo role that year.

Elmo’s character had debuted on the show in 1979, and though Clash was the third performer to animate the child-like shaggy red monster, Sesame Workshop credits him with turning Elmo into the international sensation he became.

For now, producers promised that Elmo would remain on the show despite the absence of Clash, saying “Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of ‘Sesame Street.’”

(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Cynthia Osterman)

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Nesquik Recall Q and A: Are Your Kids Safe?

Nestlé announced late last week a recall of Nesquik for possible Salmonella contamination. Promoted by the Nesquik Bunny, the chocolate milk flavoring is consumed primarily by children. Here’s what you need to know to make sure your kids are safe from this Salmonella risk.

How Do I Know If My Nesquik Is Part of the Recall?

The Nesquik recall covers only chocolate powder in 10.9, 21.8 and 40.7 ounce canisters manufactured during October 2012. Any other Nesquik products are not subject to recall. According to CNN, 200,000 canisters of Nesquik are included in the recall.

Nesquik subject to the recall bears a Best Before date of October 2014. The applicable UPC codes and production codes include: for 40.7 ounce containers UPC 0 28000 68230 9 with production codes 2282574810 or 2282574820; for 21.8 ounce size, UPC 0 28000 68090 9 and production codes 2278574810, 2278574820, 2279574810, 2279574820, 2284574820, 2284574830, 2285574810, 2285574820, 2287574820, 2289574810, or 2289574820; and, for 10.9 ounce canisters, UPC 0 28000 67990 3 and product code 2278574810.

What About Ready-to-Drink Nesquik Served at My Kid’s School?

In June, Nestlé went after the school lunch market by offering eight-ounce ready-to-drink Nesquik. If your child’s school is serving ready-to-drink Nesquik, there’s no cause for concern. The recall covers only the powder variety of Nesquik, not the ready-to-drink type.

What Led to the Nesquik Recall?

Nestlé identifies a supplier of calcium carbonate used in the drink powder as the culprit. The recall notice says Omya, Inc., notified Nestlé of its own product recall due to Salmonella concerns. There have been no reports of illness associated with the Nesquik recall, Nestlé says.

What Is Calcium Carbonate?

Calcium carbonate is an additive included in powdered products to prevent caking and/or to increase calcium content, according to Self.

If My Child Gets Sick, How Will I Know Whether or Not It’s from Salmonella?

Salmonella infection symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. These normally develop within 72 hours of consuming contaminated food or drink. Most people who do contract salmonellosis get better in about a week without treatment. For infants, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems, salmonellosis can be life threatening and medical treatment is advised.

Can I Get a Refund?

Yes. Return recalled Nesquik to the store where you bought it for a refund, or call Nestlé Consumer Services at (800) 628-7679.

Carol Bengle Gilbert writes about consumer issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.

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Thompson takes helm at NYTimes, faces stiff challenges

(Reuters) – Mark Thompson reported to work as the New York Times Co chief executive on Monday, confronting challenges ranging from making the publisher less dependent on advertising to trimming costs and figuring out what to do with its pile of cash.

Thompson is also dealing with questions pertaining to a series of scandals at the BBC, where he served as director-general from 2004 until September this year.

George Entwistle, who succeeded Thompson at the British broadcaster, resigned on Saturday and two of its top news directors stepped aside on Monday.

The BBC has come under fire for its handling of two investigations at its flagship news show, “Newsnight”. One is a massive sexual abuse scandal involving the late Jimmy Savile, a former presenter at the network. The other is a news story of an allegation that a former top politician sexually abused children, which was later proven to be false.

The latter report occurred after Thompson left the BBC. However, an unaired program about Savile was produced while Thompson was director-general of the broadcasting company.

In a staff memo obtained by Reuters, New York Times Chairman Arthur Sulzberger welcomed Thompson but sidestepped addressing the BBC scandals.

“We welcome him at a time of tremendous change and challenge, which must be met with equal focus and innovation,” Sulzberger said in the memo distributed on Monday.

“Mark will lead us as we continue our digital transformation, bolster our international growth, drive our productivity and introduce new technologies that will help us become better storytellers and enrich the experience for our readers and viewers.”

British ITV filmed Thompson as he arrived at the New York Times headquarters on Monday near Manhattan’s Times Square. “I’m looking forward to starting work there right now,” said Thompson, who was dressed in a navy blue suit, red tie and had a backpack slung over his right shoulder.

Asked if the BBC saga would be a distraction, he said: “I believe it will not in any way affect my job, which I’m starting right now as chief executive of the New York Times Company.”

Still, the volley of news about the turmoil at BBC has been coming fast across the Atlantic since a rival British broadcaster aired a bombshell investigation about Savile in October.

There is little to suggest the pace will slacken as the chairman of the BBC Trust called for a “thorough structural radical overhaul” of the organization, and police and parliament have opened inquiries.

Ken Doctor, an analyst with Outsell Research, said the BBC scandals will replace “hackgate” – the phone hacking controversy that shook News Corp’s British newspaper arm – in the UK popular press and in parliament.

Indeed, News Corp founder, Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, who has criticized the publicly funded BBC in the past, tweeted on Saturday, “BBC getting into deeper mess. After Savile scandal, now prominent news program falsely names senior pol as pedophile.”

Thompson said in a letter to British lawmakers he would be happy to appear in front of the parliamentary committee or any other inquiry in the future.

The British investigations into the BBC could prove to be a distraction for Thompson if they are drawn out.

“It’s clearly a distraction,” Doctor said, who added that he believes Thompson should have stepped aside over the weekend.

“How big, how long this is going to last is unknown. For anybody who cares about the New York Times and its journalism this is an unneeded distraction.”

Doctor is another voice in a growing chorus to question whether Thompson is fit to serve as CEO.

New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan wrote on Monday a second column about Thompson.

She praised the coverage in Times about the BBC saga and Thompson, saying it “pulled no punches in reporting,” and noted that the scandal is being felt in New York.

“It’s safe to say that everyone here – from the Times’ board of directors to the mail clerks — hopes that Mr. Sulzberger’s faith in Mr. Thompson will be rewarded,” she wrote.

“What happens in London reverberates in New York. And the chaos at the BBC – in which many of the people Mr. Thompson has supervised stepped aside as recently as this past weekend — feels uncomfortably close to home.”

Thompson did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Entwistle’s resignation. Earlier, he declined to be interviewed about his plans for the New York Times.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

Thompson took the helm at the New York Times just weeks after the company reported that it missed third-quarter revenue and profit expectations, which sent its stock tumbling 22 percent.

His arrival on Monday marks the first time the company has had a CEO since the abrupt ouster of Janet Robinson last December.

In addition to the business challenges, Thompson must also manage the desires of the Ochs-Sulzberger family, which has controlled The New York Times for more than 100 years. The company’s business issues have forced the family to forego a dividend since 2009.

“The first thing he will have to focus on is the balance sheet,” Barclay’s analyst Kannan Venkateshwar said of Thompson’s priorities.

Analysts widely expect the company to reinstate a dividend since it will end the year with about $ 1 billion in cash, due in part to sales of some of its newspapers and its digital group About.com. Debt is about $ 700 million and therefore is very manageable in the context of cash, Venkateshwar said.

Beyond the balance sheet, Thompson will have to tackle the declining advertising revenue in both print and digital while convincing readers to pay more for its products.

While the company’s circulation revenue – which includes both print and digital subscribers – makes up 52 percent of total revenue, that percentage must increase to offset persistent advertising losses.

“I think there are a lot of hurdles to the NYTimes.com pay model,” Morningstar analyst Jocelyn Mackay said. “I do wonder if their price point is too expensive.”

(Reporting by Jennifer Saba; Editing by Peter Lauria, Maureen Bavdek and Richard Chang)

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BBC must reform or die, says Trust chairman

LONDON (Reuters) – The BBC could be doomed unless it makes radical changes, the head of its governing trust said on Sunday, after its director general quit to take the blame for the airing of false child sex abuse allegations against a former politician.

Chris Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, said confidence had to be restored if the publicly funded corporation was to withstand pressure from rivals, especially Rupert Murdoch‘s media empire, which would try to take advantage of the turmoil.

“If you’re saying, ‘Does the BBC need a thorough structural radical overhaul?’, then absolutely it does, and that is what we will have to do,” Patten, a one-time senior figure in Prime Minister David Cameron‘s Conservative Party and the last British governor of Hong Kong, told BBC television.

“The basis for the BBC’s position in this country is the trust that people have in it,” Patten said. “If the BBC loses that, it’s over.”

George Entwistle resigned as director general on Saturday, just two months into the job, to take responsibility for the child sex allegation on the flagship news programme Newsnight.

The witness in the report, who says he suffered sexual abuse at a care home in the late 1970s, said on Friday he had misidentified the politician, Alistair McAlpine. Newsnight admitted it had not shown the witness a picture of McAlpine, or approached McAlpine for comment before going to air.

Already under pressure after revelations that a long-time star presenter, the late Jimmy Savile, was a paedophile, Entwistle conceded on the BBC morning news that he had not known – or asked – who the alleged abuser was until the name appeared in social media.

The BBC, celebrating its 90th anniversary, is affectionately known in Britain as “Auntie”, and respected around much of the world.

But with 22,000 staff working at eight national TV channels, 50 radio stations and an extensive Internet operation, critics say it is hampered by a complex and overly bureaucratic and hierarchical management structure.

THOMPSON’S LEGACY

Journalists said this had become worse under Entwistle’s predecessor Mark Thompson, who took over in the wake of the last major crisis to hit the corporation and is set to become chief executive of the New York Times Co on Monday.

In that instance, both director general and chairman were forced out after the BBC was castigated by a public inquiry over a report alleging government impropriety in the fevered build up to war in Iraq, leading to major organisational changes.

One of the BBC’s most prominent figures, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman, said since the Iraq report furore, management had become bloated while cash had been cut from programme budgets.

“He (Entwistle) has been brought low by cowards and incompetents,” Paxman said in a statement, echoing a widely-held view that Entwistle was a good man who had been let down by his senior staff.

Prime Minister Cameron appeared ready to give the BBC the benefit of the doubt, believing that “one of the great institutions of this country” could reform and deal with its failings, according to sources in his office.

Patten, who must find a new director general to sort out the mess, agreed that management structures had proved inadequate.

“Apparently decisions about the programme went up through every damned layer of BBC management, bureaucracy, legal checks – and still emerged,” he said.

“One of the jokes I made, and actually it wasn’t all that funny, when I came to the BBC … was that there were more senior leaders in the BBC then there were in the Chinese Communist Party.”

Patten ruled out resigning himself but other senior jobs are expected to be on the line, while BBC supporters fear investigative journalism will be scaled back. He said he expected to name Entwistle’s successor in weeks, not months.

Among the immediate challenges are threats of litigation.

McAlpine, a close ally of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, has indicated he will sue for damages.

Claims for compensation are also likely from victims who say Savile, one of the most recognisable personalities on British television in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, sexually abused them as children, sometimes on BBC premises.

INQUIRIES

Two inquiries are already under way, looking at failures at Newsnight and allegations relating to Savile, both of which could make uncomfortable reading for senior figures.

Police have also launched a major inquiry into Savile’s crimes and victims’ allegations of a high-profile paedophile ring. Detectives said they had arrested their third suspect on Sunday, a man in his 70s from Cambridgeshire in central England.

Funded by an annual licence fee levied on all TV viewers, the BBC has long been resented by its commercial rivals, who argue it has an unfair advantage and distorts the market.

Murdoch’s Sun tabloid gleefully reported Entwistle’s departure with the headline “Bye Bye Chump” and Patten said News Corp and others would put the boot in, happy to deflect attention after a phone-hacking scandal put the newspaper industry under intense and painful scrutiny.

He said that “one or two newspapers, Mr. Murdoch’s papers” would love to see the BBC lose its national status, “but I think the great British public doesn’t want to see that happen”.

Murdoch himself was watching from afar.

“BBC getting into deeper mess. After Savile scandal, now prominent news program falsely names senior pol as paedophile,” he wrote on his Twitter website on Saturday.

It is not just the BBC and the likes of Entwistle and Patten who are in the spotlight.

Thompson, whom Entwistle succeeded in mid-September, has also faced questions from staff at the New York Times over whether he is still the right person to take one of the biggest jobs in American newspaper publishing.

Britain’s Murdoch-owned Sunday Times queried how Thompson could have been unaware of claims about Savile during his tenure at the BBC as he had told British lawmakers, saying his lawyers had written to the paper addressing the allegations in early September, while he was still director general.

(Editing by Kevin Liffey and Sophie Hares)

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China’s Alibaba Group Q2 net profit doubles: SEC filing

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China‘s Alibaba Group more than doubled its April-June net profit and grew sales by 71 percent for the period, proving the country’s largest e-commerce firm has shrugged off intensifying competition in the sector.

Yahoo Inc which sold a partial stake in Alibaba back to the privately-owned group in September, still holds 24 percent of Alibaba.

According to a Yahoo filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Alibaba Group’s net attributable income for the quarter was $ 273 million, up 129 percent from a year ago. Revenue rose 71 percent to $ 1.1 billion.

Based on the second-quarter results, Alibaba Group is the second-largest Chinese Internet company by revenue, behind Tencent Holdings and ahead of Baidu Inc. It is the last large China Internet firm that is still private and not required to publicly disclose financial statements.

Alibaba, which runs the Taobao Marketplace, China’s largest business-to-consumer e-commerce website, and Alibaba.com, China’s largest business-to-business platform, has a business model that revolves around online advertising and subscription fees.

Alibaba’s profit for the first nine months of the year was up more than 300 percent to $ 730.4 million, while revenue was up 74 percent to $ 2.9 billion.

Alibaba’s soaring growth reflects the underlying boom in China’s e-commerce industry that was worth 278.84 billion yuan ($ 45 billion) in gross transaction value in the second quarter.

However, the rise in e-commerce has led to intensifying competition in the sector with e-commerce firms launching price wars and sales events to lure consumers to their platform.

On Sunday, China’s e-commerce players such as 360buy, Ecommerce China Dangdang Inc and Alibaba launched a “11.11″ sale, a massive online sale akin to Cyber Monday in the United States. The “11.11″ sale offered big discounts on electronics and apparel to tempt users to shop.

Alibaba said it recorded its highest one-day gross transaction value, at 19.1 billion yuan ($ 3.06 billion), on Sunday. ($ 1 = 6.2450 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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BBC head says broadcaster must reform or die

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain‘s BBC could be doomed unless it makes radical changes, the head of its governing trust said, after its director general quit to take the blame for the airing of false child sex abuse allegations against a former politician.

BBC Trust chairman Chris Patten said on Sunday confidence had to be restored if the publicly funded corporation was to withstand pressure from rivals, especially Rupert Murdoch‘s media empire, which would try to take advantage of the turmoil.

“If you’re saying, ‘Does the BBC need a thorough structural radical overhaul?’, then absolutely it does, and that is what we will have to do,” Patten, a one-time senior figure in Prime Minister David Cameron‘s Conservative Party and the last British governor of Hong Kong, told BBC television.

“The basis for the BBC’s position in this country is the trust that people have in it,” Patten said. “If the BBC loses that, it’s over.”

George Entwistle resigned as director general on Saturday, just two months into the job, to take responsibility for the child sex allegation on the flagship news programme Newsnight.

The witness in the Newsight report, who says he suffered sexual abuse at a care home in the late 1970s, said on Friday he had misidentified the politician, Alistair McAlpine. Newsnight admitted it had not shown the witness a picture of McAlpine, or approached McAlpine for comment before going to air.

Already under pressure after revelations that a long-time star presenter, the late Jimmy Savile, was a paedophile, Entwistle conceded on the BBC morning news that he had not known – or asked – who the alleged abuser was until the name appeared in social media.

The BBC, celebrating its 90th anniversary, is affectionately known in Britain as “Auntie”, and respected around much of the world.

But with 22,000 staff working at eight national TV channels, 50 radio stations and an extensive Internet operation, critics say it is hampered by a complex and overly bureaucratic and hierarchical management structure.

THOMPSON’S LEGACY

Journalists said this had become worse under Entwistle’s predecessor Mark Thompson, who took over in the wake of the last major crisis to hit the corporation and is set to become chief executive of the New York Times Co on Monday.

In that instance, both director general and chairman were forced out after the BBC was castigated by a public inquiry over a report alleging government impropriety in the fevered build up to war in Iraq, leading to major organizational changes.

One of the BBC’s most prominent figures, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman, said since the Iraq report furore, management had become bloated while cash had been cut from programme budgets.

“He (Entwistle) has been brought low by cowards and incompetents,” Paxman said in a statement, echoing a widely-held view that Entwistle was a good man who had been let down by his senior staff.

Prime Minister Cameron appeared ready to give the BBC the benefit of the doubt, believing that “one of the great institutions of this country” could reform and deal with its failings, according to sources in his office.

Patten, who must find a new director general to sort out the mess, agreed that management structures had proved inadequate.

“Apparently decisions about the programme went up through every damned layer of BBC management, bureaucracy, legal checks – and still emerged,” he said.

“One of the jokes I made, and actually it wasn’t all that funny, when I came to the BBC … was that there were more senior leaders in the BBC than there were in the Chinese Communist Party.”

Patten ruled out resigning himself but other senior jobs are expected to be on the line, while BBC supporters fear investigative journalism will be scaled back. He said he expected to name Entwistle’s successor in weeks, not months.

Among the immediate challenges are threats of litigation.

McAlpine, a close ally of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, has indicated he will sue for damages.

Claims for compensation are also likely from victims who say Savile, one of the most recognizable personalities on British television in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, sexually abused them as children, sometimes on BBC premises.

INQUIRIES

Two inquiries are already under way, looking at failures at Newsnight and allegations relating to Savile, both of which could make uncomfortable reading for senior figures.

Police have also launched a major inquiry into Savile’s crimes and victims’ allegations of a high-profile paedophile ring. Detectives said they had arrested their third suspect on Sunday, a man in his 70s from Cambridgeshire in central England.

Funded by an annual license fee levied on all TV viewers, the BBC has long been resented by its commercial rivals, who argue it has an unfair advantage and distorts the market.

Murdoch’s Sun tabloid gleefully reported Entwistle’s departure with the headline “Bye Bye Chump” and Patten said News Corp and others would put the boot in, happy to deflect attention after a phone-hacking scandal put the newspaper industry under intense and painful scrutiny.

He said that “one or two newspapers, Mr. Murdoch’s papers” would love to see the BBC lose its national status, “but I think the great British public doesn’t want to see that happen”.

Murdoch himself was watching from afar.

“BBC getting into deeper mess. After Savile scandal, now prominent news program falsely names senior pol as paedophile,” he wrote on his Twitter website on Saturday.

It is not just the BBC and the likes of Entwistle and Patten who are in the spotlight.

Thompson, whom Entwistle succeeded in mid-September, has also faced questions from staff at the New York Times over whether he is still the right person to take one of the biggest jobs in American newspaper publishing.

Britain’s Murdoch-owned Sunday Times queried how Thompson could have been unaware of claims about Savile during his tenure at the BBC as he had told British lawmakers, saying his lawyers had written to the paper addressing the allegations in early September, while he was still director general.

(Editing by Kevin Liffey and Sophie Hares)

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Protective eye gear cuts field hockey injuries

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Fewer high school field hockey players get head and face injuries when they’re required to don protective eyewear, according to a new comparison of states with and without those policies in effect.

Researchers were looking into worries that the equipment, while preventing eye injuries, might encourage players to get more physical and violent overall – which they termed “the gladiator effect” – leading to an increase in injuries.

“There’s often this concern… that if we provide additional protection in the way of some type of equipment or padding that players will then be more aggressive and actually create more injuries because of the increased aggression,” said Andrew Lincoln, head of sports medicine research at MedStar Health Research Institute at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore.

However that did not appear to be the case, and concussion rates, for example, were similar in states where eyewear was and was not required during the study.

Lincoln, who was not involved in the new research, said that in addition to concerns about athletes becoming more aggressive, some administrators were worried about the negative effects of adding more equipment for athletes to buy and more rules for referees to enforce. Cages used for eye protection run about $ 25 to $ 80.

When a similar mandate was introduced in high school girls’ lacrosse, he added, veteran athletes were not fans.

“There was a strong negative reaction among players who had played the game for a number of years and were not used to using it and thought it affected their vision negatively,” Lincoln told Reuters Health.

He said it was reassuring that the new analysis didn’t find an increase in concussions or other collision-related injuries in states that had protective eyewear rules.

“We have very few of these formal evaluations of a safety intervention or a policy change in various sports,” Lincoln said. Even though it made sense that eyewear would reduce at least certain kinds of injuries, “We’re never quite sure how things are going to work out in real life.”

The new research covers 180 high schools during the 2009 and 2010 fall field hockey seasons. In 2009, six states had policies mandating protective eyewear for their athletes: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island.

As of 2011-2012, the National Federation of State High School Associations now requires all field hockey players wear the equipment.

At high schools included in a sports-injury database, there were 212 eye, face and head injuries during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons. Those types of injuries are most often due to athletes being struck by a wooden field hockey stick or a ball, researchers led by Dr. Peter Kriz from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, said.

In states that required protective eyewear, the average 20-athlete team had one of those injuries for every 106 practices and games. In states without those requirements, that rate was one injury for every 72 practices and games for each team.

There was one eye injury among 39 schools with equipment requirements during those seasons, compared to 21 eye injuries in 141 teams in states without the mandate, according to findings published Monday in Pediatrics.

“This study adds to an accumulating body of evidence, most recently demonstrated in high school women’s lacrosse, that mandated protective eyewear effectively and significantly reduces the incidence of head and facial (including eye) injuries in female athletes where injury from player contact and playing equipment pose risk,” Kriz told Reuters Health in an email.

“We encourage players to adopt protective eyewear early, at a young age, regardless of the contact/collision sport they play. Wearing this gear will become second nature, and they will transition easier to other sports requiring facial protection.”

Lincoln agreed that it’s easiest for younger players to adopt the new gear, before they’re used to playing without it.

“I hope different sport governing bodies look at these studies and will be more open to protective equipment for games,” he said.

SOURCE: http://bitly.com/kSEGVh Pediatrics, online November 12, 2012.

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Asian shares held back by weak Japan GDP, U.S. fiscal cliff

TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares were capped on Monday as investors’ concerns about the fiscal crisis in the United States and Greece’s bailout program dented optimism over the growth prospects of the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China.

Adding to the uncertainty, Japan reported that its economy shrank 0.9 percent in July-September from the previous quarter, the first contraction in three quarters, suggesting faltering global demand and weak consumer spending may push the world’s third-largest economy into a mild recession.

India’s industrial output undershot forecasts in September.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 0.1 percent after ending last week down 0.7 percent at a one-week low. Energy <.MIAPJEN00PUS> and materials <.MIAPJMT00PUS> underperformed, weighing on resources-reliant Australian shares <.AXJO> which eased 0.3 percent.

South Korean shares <.KS11> were off 0.2 percent and India’s BSE index <.BSESN> slipped into negative territory while Southeast Asian stocks were mixed. Hong Kong <.HSI> shares were up 0.1 percent but Shanghai <.SSEC> equities fell 0.2 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average <.N225> fell 0.8 percent to a four-week low. <.T>

“Investors remain consumed by U.S. fiscal cliff consequences, and this is capping market enthusiasm with such a significant obstacle remaining in the path of financial markets,” Tim Waterer, senior trader at CMC Markets said.

A 0.1 percent rise in U.S. stock futures suggested a firm Wall Street open, but European shares will be mixed, with financial spreadbetters expecting London’s FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, Paris’s CAC-40 <.FCHI> and Frankfurt’s DAX <.GDAXI> to open between up 0.1 percent and down 0.1 percent. <.L> <.EU> <.N>

President Barack Obama on Friday invited congressional leaders to the White House, kicking off negotiations to avoid the “fiscal cliff” by finding a compromise to cut the U.S. deficit before nearly $ 600 billion worth of spending cuts and tax increases kick in early 2013.

Analysts say the fiscal cliff could derail the U.S. economy, which has shown signs of a modest recovery.

Markets are also eyeing the debt ceiling, which needs to be raised to avoid a government shutdown.

Commodities were mixed, with U.S. crude inched up 0.1 percent to $ 86.12 a barrel while Brent fell 0.2 percent to $ 109.23. Gold was up 0.2 percent to $ 1,734.20 an ounce and London copper rose 0.1 percent to $ 7,580 a ton.

“Commodities in general will be weighed down as November and December mark the bookclosing season for hedge funds,” said Naohiro Niimura, a partner at research and consulting firm Market Risk Advisory.

Base metals such as copper face limited upside as improving Chinese data means less need for further stimulus while the timing of expected infrastructure spending is unclear, he said.

“Since these public spendings will likely come from bank loans, sluggish loan data suggests investment may not have begun,” Niimura said.

Data on Monday showed Chinese banks extended 505.2 billion yuan ($ 81.5 billion) of new local currency loans in October, below market expectations of 600 billion yuan.

US, CHINA IMPROVE

The dollar steadied against the yen at 79.48, hovering near Friday’s three-week low of 79.07 yen.

The euro inched up 0.2 percent to $ 1.2730, off a two-month low against the dollar of $ 1.2690 touched on Friday. The euro inched up after Greece on Sunday won a parliamentary approval for the 2013 budget law, vital for reviving its stalled international aid and avoid insolvency.

But euro zone finance ministers were unlikely to release a new tranche of loans to Greece at their meeting on Monday.

“Worries about Greece still remain, but at least some uncertainties have been removed, so we are unlikely to see a big euro selloff,” said Masashi Murata, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in Tokyo.

U.S. September wholesale inventories and sales, as well as November consumer sentiment rose while China‘s trade surplus ballooned to its biggest in 45 months in October, reinforcing other indicators that have suggested the need for new economic stimulus measures had become less urgent.

China is also taking steps which may affect global capital flows. It plans to boost foreign investment in mainland stock and bond markets by raising quotas for the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme, which allows approved investors to channel offshore yuan funds into mainland markets.

It also eyes raising the quotas for the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme, the original, dollar-denominated program that allows institutional investors to buy stakes in Chinese-listed stocks or bonds.

For outside investment, the sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation said it will focus more of its $ 482 billion firepower on Asia.

Sentiment steadied in Asian credit markets, with the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index barely moved from Friday.

(Additional reporting by Narayanan Somasundaram in Sydney and Lisa Twaronite in Tokyo; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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Twin explosions strike southern Syrian city

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria‘s state-run news agency says two large explosions have struck the southern city of Daraa, causing multiple casualties and heavy material damage.

SANA did not immediately give further information or say what the target of Saturday’s explosions was.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the blasts went off near a branch of the country’s Military Intelligence in Daraa.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, says the explosions were followed by clashes between regime forces and rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.

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