09/19/14 ~ CROSS RIVER UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Friday, 19 September 2014

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: David Bowie exhibition lands in Chicago for only U.S. visit

CHICAGO (Reuters) - David Bowie has been best-known throughout his five-decade career as a prolific musician and songwriter, with hits like "Changes" and "Space Oddity" in constant radio circulation.

But he is also an actor and artist who helped design his own album covers, stage sets and costumes.

Now, 400 objects, from the multi-colored jumpsuit he wore as "Ziggy Stardust" to a cocaine spoon, are going on display in Chicago at the exhibit "David Bowie Is," running from Sept. 23 to Jan. 4, 2015 at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Tens of thousands of tickets already have been sold for the MCA show, the only U.S. venue for an exhibit that has drawn huge crowds in London, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Berlin.

"This exhibition repatriates David Bowie, the musical innovator, into the territory of cutting-edge visual and performing art that is his natural home," said Michael Darling, MCA chief curator.

The multi-media exhibit was originally organized for London's Victoria and Albert Museum by curators Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh. Visitors wear headphones that play clips of Bowie interviews and music, which change depending on which object is being looked at.

Speaking to reporters in Chicago on Friday, Marsh said the show reveals Bowie's "degree of obsession" with the creation of culture.

"That's really what we really wanted to bring out - is the nature of creativity," Marsh said. He said people leaving the exhibit say they feel inspired to create something of their own.

"One of the things David always says is 'Don't copy me, don't look at me. Look inside yourself,'" Marsh said.

One fan who plans a trip to Chicago for the show is Darrell Miller, 49, of Denver, who said he views Bowie as "like a living god, and I mean this with all sincerity. He's outerworldly."

Scott Furtwengler, 50, a Houston musician, who also plans to see the Chicago show, said he is inspired by the diversity of Bowie's style.

"To see all his work in one place, the costumes, the lyrics, the set designs, his notebooks - that's pretty amazing," said Furtwengler.

Bowie himself hasn't attended the show. This doesn't surprise Marsh - the show is called "David Bowie Is" because Bowie is always evolving, and doesn't want to get stuck in the past.

"I'm sure he's working now on what interests him, which is hopefully something we'll see in the future," Marsh said.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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ENTERTAINMENT The horror of genocide needs to be shown: UK film director

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LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The surviving prisoners didn't know what to expect when British troops entered the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen in northwest Germany on April 15, 1945.

Nor did the soldiers - until the sight of the naked corpses piled high unfolded before their eyes.

Scenes of the living and the dead in the notorious camp, captured on tape by ordinary soldiers and newsreel cameramen at its liberation, are as relevant now as they were nearly 70 years ago, according to the director of a new documentary.

"The cameramen weren't really there thinking about creating documentary film-making, they were there in a state of trauma and shock just filming what they saw," director Andre Singer told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview.

Sidney Bernstein, a British producer and later founder of Granada Television, was commissioned at the time to assemble the footage into a film that would be a record of the atrocities.

It was to serve both as evidence to show the Germans the extent of the industrialized slaughter, and as timeless testimony to ensure that such crimes against humanity could never be repeated.

More than six million people died during the Holocaust, the genocidal killing of Jews, gypsies and others during the Nazis' rule over Germany and much of Europe.

Ultimately, the footage from Bergen-Belsen was consigned to the archives and the film project was shelved because of changes in the international situation after communist rule was imposed on eastern Europe.

In the documentary Night Will Fall, Singer tells for the first time the history of the planned film using archive footage and eyewitness testimony.

CHRONICLING ATROCITIES

A black and white frame shows human hair carefully sorted in dusted burlap sacks. Piles of spectacles with cracked lenses and mountains of clothes succeed it.

The remaining prisoners at Bergen-Belsen navigate a course between the corpses strewn around the camp, lying in different states of putrefaction.

A typhus epidemic killed nearly 14,000 of the 60,000 prisoners alive when the camp was liberated.

Scenes of battle were filmed from a distance during World War Two, so the close-ups captured by the soldiers at Bergen-Belsen were seen as different, even unique.

Visually explicit images such as those shown in the film become relevant in the broader context of how we document atrocities, Singer said.

Although using atrocity footage in film-making poses a different level of dilemma, it is the only way to have a new public understand what genocide means and why this was the worst genocide in history, he added.

"If you don't (use) atrocity footage it becomes more of an intellectual exercise. You don't shock people enough to take notice," he said.

In April 1994, the world witnessed the death of 800,000 men, women and children in the Rwandan genocide. The United Nations estimated that the three months of genocidal killing was accompanied by the rape of 150,000 to 250,000 women.

"There will always be places and circumstances where mankind will lose any kind of moral compass and will cause more genocide, more trouble, more deaths," Singer said.

"I think the hope is that at least by seeing documentaries like this, by putting them across, every generation will pause before moving onto something else."

Singer also emphasized the need to put atrocity images into context and humanize a story, moving away from "just piles of corpses".

The backbone of Night Will Fall is built on witness testimony that adds depth to the credibility of the archive footage.

"To me by far the most important feature in the film is the characters telling their stories. The documentary should be more than just a history lesson. It should be very much a story about the horror of genocide and mechanisms that we could put in place in the future to stop them," he said.

Night Will Fall opens in cinemas across Britain on Sept. 19.

(Editing by Tim Pearce; Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, covers underreported humanitarian, human rights, corruption and climate change issues. Visit www.trust.org)

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: Critics enamored with Broadway revival of 'Love Letters'

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - In an age of instant messaging, digital communication and fleeting relationships, the revival of "Love Letters," a play about an enduring friendship recorded with pen and paper, is still capturing hearts on Broadway.

A.R. Gurney's play about two friends who shared their thoughts, emotions and lives by writing letters to each other for five decades debuted on Broadway in 1989, before the advent of cell phones and text messages.

But critics said a noteworthy revival that opened on Thursday night is as touching as it was more than two decades ago.

"After all these years, Gurney's bittersweet love letter to an oddly matched couple who maintain an epistolary friendship for half a century can still tug at the old heartstrings," said Variety, the trade magazine.

The Hollywood Reporter concurred, calling it "a rare work whose emotional richness requires no embellishment in order to become a full-bodied theatrical experience."

Dual Tony winner Brian Dennehy ("Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "Death of a Salesman") and Mia Farrow, best known for films such as "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "The Great Gatsby" play the two well-heeled friends whose lives, although apart, remained intertwined.

They are the first in a rotating cast of actors to appear in the limited-engagement play. Carol Burnett, Alan Alda, Candice Bergen, Stacy Keach, Diana Rigg, Angelica Huston and Martin Sheen will take on the roles in later performances.

Dennehy, 76, is Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, a conservative, upright, studious boy whose Ivy League education leads him to a career in law and politics.

Farrow, 69, plays Melissa Gardner, a wealthy, rebellious, free spirit, whose parents divorce when she is young. While Andy grows up in a tight-knit family, which she envies, Melissa is raised by an alcoholic mother and shuffled off to camp and her grandmother's house during school holidays.

The two actors are seated side-by-side at a table facing the audience on a stark stage as they read the love letters that began when they were seven-year-old classmates.

Through a correspondence that starts with birthday party invitations, thank you notes and valentines they bolster each other through lonely stints at boarding school, challenges in college, failed romances, accomplishments and disappointments, marriages and children with other people, and their own brief affair.

"The performances of both actors deepen and evolve as their characters do," said the New York Times. But the newspaper reserved special praise for Farrow.

"Ms. Farrow gives a remarkable performance, so vividly felt and fully realized that you forget that she is merely reciting notes and letters," it said. "Her portrayal cast a heartbreaking spell as Melissa's fragility slowly emerges."

The New York Daily News said that with less able actors "Love Letters" could have ended up a pity party.

"With this duo, though, the play emerges as sweet, elegant and touching, as two lives come together in vibrant focus. The evening also makes the case for the value of letter-writing."

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

ENTERTAINMENT A Minute With: Jane Fonda on learning from the young comic set

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Jane Fonda says one of the blessings of growing older is that "you learn what you can and can't do" and she freely admits she doesn't have what it takes to do comedy improv.

Fonda has 55 years in the business and two best actress Oscars on her shelf for 1978's "Coming Home" and 1972's "Klute."

But in her new comedy film "This is Where I Leave You," she was in awe of co-stars Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Adam Driver and Ben Schwartz when it came to going off script.

Fonda spoke to Reuters about playing the vivacious mother of a dysfunctional family, the chemistry with her cast and her new favorite actor.

Q: What drew you to the role of Hilary?

A: Well, I am 76 and it is unusual to find a character that is multidimensional, funny, sassy and still has some libido going for her. People don't write those kind of roles for older women very often.

I liked the fact that it was a very well written film that had many different parts to it. It was funny, but it was also poignant. That doesn't happen often enough and I am so proud of Warner Bros that they stood behind a film like this. A big studio these days, they go for the tent poles and special effects, so I really want the movie to do well so that it will encourage more studios to do more films like this.

It spoke to family dysfunction which is universal and it showed that in spite of those issues we can heal and forgive.

Q: You say dysfunction, but I wouldn't mind being a part of this family.

A: Well it shows where you are coming from! Fortunately, Jonathan Tropper (author of the novel that inspired the film) found a way of writing about this kind of dysfunction that makes it kind of lovable. But it must be kind of hard if it was in real life.

They are all very wonderful, wonderful actors saying great words and some times it is their own words. I mean Tina and Jason were improvising. Really great, funny stuff that came out of their mouths.

Q: What was the chemistry like on set?

A: We got along really well. We shot it at a house on Long Island and we just got to the house to work in the morning and stayed and got to know each other. We looked forward to coming to work.

Q: Did you feel like the elder stateswoman of this cast?

A: No, I felt like a student because I can't do what they do. I can improvise. I improvised most of "Coming Home." But I don't know how to improvise comedy. I've done like Neil Simon comedies, but you say the words that were written and you don't improvise.

They have a whole other gift. When the film was over, Ben Schwartz got me into Upright Citizens Brigade and I tried. You either were born with that gene, and you can hone it and make it better. But if you weren't born with it, you can't do it. I don't have that kind of brain.

So, I just watched in awe and paid close attention and paid a lot of attention to Adam Driver. I mean this guy you could watch him forever and be fascinated. He is so interesting. His choices, his energy, his instincts as an actor are peerless.

I thought 'What's big deal?' Yeah, I saw him once, Adam Driver, in 'Girls.' And then from the very first table read, I thought 'Oh my God, I've never seen this before.' He is just unique and he is my new favorite actor.

Q: Are you looking for more comedy roles?

A: I am making a series right now with Lily Tomlin for Netflix that, like this film, has drama as well.

I love doing comedy. I would also love to do a drama again. You go for the word. You follow the good word. If it's written well, you go there.

(Reporting by Mary Milliken; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Cynthia Osterman)

ENTERTAINMENT Fey, Bateman improv sibling love in 'This is Where I Leave You'

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tina Fey and Jason Bateman called mutual friends when they learned they would co-star as siblings in the drama-infused comedy "This Is Where I Leave You," just to do a little reconnaissance on each other.

"We had never worked together," Fey said. "Well, we owned a restaurant together for 10 years. We owned an Arby's."

"But that's not really work," shot back Bateman. "That is pure pleasure."

And with that sibling-like familiarity, Fey and Bateman, two of the most popular comic actors of their generation, banter on for minutes - their way of promoting the Warner Bros. film that opens in U.S. theaters on Friday.

They play Wendy and Judd, the close middle siblings of the Altman family, brought together by the death of their father and asked by their mother to follow the Jewish ritual of "sitting shiva" for the seven days of mourning.

Judd has found his wife cheating on him with his womanizing boss and has only shared the news with Wendy, herself troubled by a lifeless marriage to a workaholic husband.

Jane Fonda plays the mother, Hilary, a vivacious, breast-enhanced, best-selling author who overshares her children's lives with readers. Fonda jumped at the chance to play a woman who is "sassy and still has some libido going for her."

Rounding out the clan are the eldest, Paul (Corey Stoll), who has stayed to run the family business and is struggling to conceive a child with his wife, and, the youngest, wild child Phillip (Adam Driver).

Phillip may bring home a much older girlfriend but acts like an adolescent, such as when he repeatedly touches the private parts of the young rabbi and childhood friend Boner (Ben Schwartz).

As the Altmans sit in a row greeting mourners, all the siblings' angst over their messy adult lives comes pouring out.

"ANY SCRIPTED LINES TODAY?"

"Rare is the family that doesn't have crazy dynamics," said Shawn Levy, who directed the film based on the best-selling book by Jonathan Tropper.

"Most of us can relate to siblings who drive us nuts but who also love us fiercely and parents who fail to live up to our childhood idealizations of them."

Levy, who has directed "Night at the Museum" movies, said he always allows for improvisation and that Fey and Bateman are "as good as it gets" at coming up with ideas.

"They don't do silliness funny, they do grounded funny, and so that told me they would mesh well," Levy said.

Fey not only improvised her own lines, he said, but offered up lines to other actors, even insults of herself. "Nobody else working would do that," Levy said.

Fonda, who claims to have little talent for comedic improvisation, said she was in awe of the cast's dexterity, particularly with the unscripted moments.

But one day, according to Fey, Fonda turned to Schwartz and asked: "Will you be saying any of the scripted lines today?"

(Editing by Eric Kelsey and Leslie Adler)

CAMPAIGN NEWS Former Connecticut Governor Rowland found guilty of campaign law violations

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NEW HAVEN Conn. (Reuters) - Former Connecticut Governor John Rowland violated U.S. election laws by taking under-the-table payments from a business owned by the husband of a candidate whose campaign he secretly advised, a federal jury found on Friday.

Rowland, a Republican who resigned from office a decade ago after admitting to taking gifts from people who did business with the state, was found guilty of seven criminal counts including two of falsifying records in a federal investigation.

Prosecutors had charged Rowland, 57, with negotiating a ruse deal for a nursing home company owned by Brian Foley to pay him $35,000 that was intended to compensate him for advising the 2012 congressional campaign of Foley's wife, Lisa Wilson-Foley.

They said the two worked out the back-channel deal to try to avoid linking the candidate with Rowland, who served 10 months in prison after the earlier corruption plea.

"Clearly, this is a sad day, but the jury made the right decision and sent a strong message to politicians who believe they're above the law," said Michael Gustafson, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for Connecticut. "The public wants and deserves transparency from its elected officials."

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton set a Dec. 12 sentencing date. Rowland could face up to 57 years in prison, though the longest sentence associated with any one charge is up to 20 years for falsifying records.

Federal prosecutors also accused Rowland of attempting to work as a paid, secret consultant to the 2009 Republican congressional campaign of Mark Greenberg.

After the verdict was read, the former governor left court, surrounded by weeping members of his family, and stepped into a waiting vehicle without answering reporters' questions.

His attorney, Reid Weingarten, vowed to appeal the verdict.

"We always believed the prosecution made a very large mountain out of a very small molehill," Weingarten told reporters.

Foley, the businessman, was the star witness during the two-week trial at U.S. District Court in New Haven, Connecticut, testifying that he had worked out the sham deal with Rowland.

Rowland did not take the stand and the one witness his attorneys presented, a top executive at Foley's Apple Health Care, said that while Rowland did offer some advice about the business, the deal to pay him was a "ruse" to disguise his role with Wilson-Foley's campaign.

Both Wilson-Foley and Greenberg lost their congressional bids.

Foley and Wilson-Foley pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges earlier this year.

Rowland served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 1991 and as governor of Connecticut from 1995 until his resignation in 2004, after pleading guilty to a conspiracy charge for accepting gifts from people who did business with the state.

The jury found Rowland guilty after about five hours of deliberations over two days. Weingarten, the defense attorney, said he was not concerned how quickly the jury acted.

"It's the verdict that matters, not how long it took," he said.

(Reporting by Richard Weizel; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Sandra Maler, Bill Trott and Jim Loney)

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: Angelina Jolie to direct Richard Leakey biopic 'Africa'

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress and filmmaker Angelina Jolie has been hired to direct "Africa," a feature film about paleoanthropologist and conservationist Richard Leakey and his campaign against ivory poachers that threaten Africa's elephants.

The film, Jolie's fourth directorial effort, is from Skydance Productions, the company behind recent "Terminator" and "Mission: Impossible" films. The screenplay is from Eric Roth, who won an Oscar for "Forrest Gump."

"I've felt a deep connection to Africa and its culture for much of my life," said Jolie in a statement.

Leakey, she said, emerged from the violent conflict with elephant poachers "with a deeper understanding of man's footprint and a profound sense of responsibility for the world around him."

Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison, son of Oracle Corp founder Larry Ellison, said: "It is very close to my heart, and I know that it will exceed my expectations in Angelina's hands."

Jolie will be joined by cinematographer Roger Deakins, who also worked on her next release "Unbroken," a Universal Pictures biopic of Louis Zamperini, the Olympic runner turned war hero that opens in December.

Universal said in July that it acquired worldwide rights to Jolie's "By the Sea," a drama in production, written and directed by the actress who is also co-starring with husband Brad Pitt.

(Reporting by Mary Milliken; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Tom Brown)

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CELEBRITY NEWS: Judge dismisses wig lawsuit against rapper Nicki Minaj

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ATLANTA (Reuters) - A judge has dismissed a $30 million federal lawsuit by a celebrity hair stylist who accused rapper and former "American Idol" judge Nicki Minaj of stealing his designs for the colorful wigs that helped boost her career.

Although the wigs Minaj wore are "unique and distinctive in the ordinary sense of the word," they were not recognizable by the public as having been designed by Terrence Davidson, the stylist who brought the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy ruled Thursday.

Davidson, whose celebrity clients include singers Patti LaBelle and Jennifer Hudson, began working for Minaj in 2010 and designed her wigs for high-profile events worldwide, said the suit filed in Atlanta last February.

The rapper also wore Davidson-designed wigs in a music video for the song "Super Bass," according to the lawsuit. One of Minaj's best-known wigs is called the "Pink Upper Bun." When Davidson stopped working for Minaj more than a year ago, the pop star began copying his wig designs and selling them online, he alleged.

Davidson's representatives claim it is the first-ever intellectual property lawsuit over wigs. They did have an immediate comment Thursday on the suit's dismissal.

(Editing by David Adams. Editing by Andre Grenon)

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CAMPAIGN NEWS: White House anti-assault campaign uses stars, sports to reach campuses

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who have long talked about the need to curb sexual assault at universities, got some help on Friday from the people many young adults actually listen to: celebrities and athletes.

In its latest effort to help college campuses confront the issue, the White House is relying on a combination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, social media and star power to spread its message aimed at preventing and coping with such assaults.

Television actors Jon Hamm and Kerry Washington, hip-hop artist Common and NBA basketball player Kevin Love are among those promoting the public awareness campaign, called "It's On Us."

At a star-studded event at the White House's East Room, Obama called rape and sexual assaults "unacceptable" and asked coaches, teachers and bystanders - especially men - to step up to prevent such violence.

"It's not just OK to intervene, it is your responsibility," he said.

The celebrities are featured in videos set to air at college sporting events and across the Internet, the White House said. Companies including videogame maker Electronic Arts Inc and media giant Viacom Inc are also on board to spread the message through Facebook, Twitter and cable television.

Almost one in five women have been victims of sexual assault, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among those, nearly 40 percent were first assaulted between the ages 18 and 24. In comparison, one in 71 men have reported being raped at some point in their lives, CDC data showed.

The campaign comes as the National Football League grapples with a series of alleged assaults by players. The furor has touched college sports as well, with Florida State University this week benching its top quarterback - for half a game - after he shouted an obscene sexual phrase.

"There's no doubt that colleges and universities need to step up their game," said Biden, who as a senator successfully championed the Violence Against Women Act that celebrated its 20th anniversary this month.

On Friday, thousands of Twitter posts began circulating from the stars involved, retweeted by their fans. "Join the fight+help stop sexual assault," Washington wrote.

One video on the campaign website includes actor Mayim Bialik, comedian Joel McHale, and musician Questlove. Biden and Obama also speak at the end of the clip.

(Editing by Doina Chiacu, G Crosse and Mohammad Zargham)

CELEBRITY NEWS: Angelina Jolie surgery sparks surge in female cancer tests: study

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LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Hollywood star Angelina Jolie's decision to make public her double mastectomy more than doubled the number of women in Britain seeking to have genetic breast cancer tests, according to a study released on Friday.

Jolie, 39, who has become a high-profile human rights campaign, announced her surgery in May last year, saying she acted after testing positive for a mutation of the BRCA1 gene that significantly increases the risk of breast cancer.

She said she was going public with news of her surgery as she hoped her story would inspire other women to fight the life-threatening disease.

Researchers studied 21 clinics and regional genetic centers and found there were 4,847 referrals for testing in June and July last year compared to 1,981 in the same period of 2012

The study of the so-called "Angelina effect", published in the journal Breast Cancer Research, credited Jolie's glamorous appearance and relationship with Hollywood actor Brad Pitt for helping to lessen women's fears about surgery.

"Angelina Jolie ... is likely to have had a bigger impact than other celebrity announcements, possibly due to her image as glamorous and strong woman," researcher Gareth Evans of the charity Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention said in a statement.

"This may have lessened patients' fears about a loss of sexual identity post-preventative surgery and encouraged those who had not previously engaged with health services to consider genetic testing."

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. The World Health Organization estimated that more than 521,000 women died of breast cancer in 2012.

Oscar-winning Jolie has in recent years drawn nearly as much attention for her globe-trotting work on behalf of refugees and victims of sexual violence in conflicts as for her acting.

Jolie was named a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR in 2001 and promoted to be Special Envoy to High Commissioner Antonio Guterres in 2012. Since 2012 she has also led a campaign against sexual violence in conflict zones.

(Reporting by Laura Onita, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

TOP NEWS Alibaba surges 38 percent on massive demand in market debut

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's (BABA.N) shares soared 38 percent in their first day of trading on Friday as investors jumped at the chance for a piece of what is likely to rank as the largest IPO in history, in a massive bet on China's burgeoning middle class.

It was an auspicious debut for the Chinese e-commerce company, which was founded by Jack Ma in his apartment in 1999 and now accounts for 80 percent of online sales in China.

About 100 people gathered outside the New York Stock Exchange at Wall and Broad Streets, many of them Chinese tourists with cameras, and they cheered and snapped photos when Ma exited the building with the kung fu star Jet Li.

The stock opened at $92.70 shortly before noon ET and quickly rose to a high of $99.70, before paring gains to close at $93.89. Some 271 million shares changed hands, more than double the turnover on Twitter Inc's (TWTR.N) first day last year, although still short of volume for the General Motors Co (GM.N) and Facebook Inc (FB.O) IPOs.

"This is the most anticipated event I've ever seen in my 20-year career on the floor of the NYSE," said Mark Otto, partner with J. Streicher & Co, who trades on the NYSE floor. "I think today's move is sustainable: The company is profitable, unlike some of its competitors, and it is a way for traders to tap into the Chinese growth story."

The pricing of the IPO on Thursday initially raised $21.8 billion for Alibaba. Scott Cutler, head of the New York Stock Exchange's global listing business, told CNBC that underwriters would exercise their option for an additional 48 million shares, to bring the IPO's size to about $25 billion, making it the largest initial public offering in history.

But a source close to the matter said the underwriters would make a final decision on whether to exercise the option over the next week or two, based on how the shares trade over the next few sessions.

Alibaba is nearly unknown to most Americans but is ubiquitous in China. The company, which operates China's largest Internet shopping destination, Taobao, and retail site Tmall.com, earned $3.7 billion in the 12 months ended March 31, 2014, up about $2 billion from the prior 12-month period.

At its closing share price on Friday, Alibaba has a market value of $231 billion, exceeding the combined market capitalizations of Amazon (AMZN.O) and eBay (EBAY.O), the two leading U.S. e-commerce companies.

Alibaba is valued at 39 times its estimated earnings per share for its current fiscal year, which ends in March. That is right in line with Facebook's (FB.O) valuation of 39 times forward earnings but nowhere near the lofty valuation of Amazon.com's (AMZN.O) multiple of 264, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine data.

TRYING TO CHART THE STOCK'S FUTURE

The future path of Alibaba's shares is truly uncharted territory.

"It's very difficult to predict," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Equity Management LLC in San Francisco. "Is it going to trade based upon its true fundamental value, or is it going to become one of these cult stocks a la Tesla or Solar City, or some of these names where there really isn't a fundamental grounding to the valuation?

"And it's very difficult to see what bucket these guys are going to fall into," Massocca added. "My guess is there's a very high likelihood it does fall into this bucket, which would lead you to believe it does trade higher. But if you were to base it on a fundamental valuation, I would call it slightly overvalued at this price."

Morningstar analyst RJ Hottovy said that while he expected Alibaba to further grow revenues, it was entering an aggressive new investment stage that would likely pinch margins over the next couple of quarters.

Ma, a former English teacher who is now the company's executive chairman, boasts a personal fortune of more than $14 billion on paper, vaulting him into the ranks of such tech billionaires as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. The deal is also expected to make millionaires out of a substantial chunk of Alibaba's managers, software engineers and other staff.

The rise in the stock exceeds the average gain by new IPOs on U.S. exchanges of late. In the second quarter, the average first-day gain was 9.2 percent, according to Renaissance Capital IPO Intelligence. Underwriters usually aim for a gain of 10 percent to 15 percent on the first day.

Twitter last year saw its shares surge 73 percent on their first trading day

Demand was intense among retail investors. J.J. Kinahan, chief market strategist at retail brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp (AMTD.N), said the company received customer orders amounting to about 70 percent of what it saw for Facebook and about three times the customer orders it had for Twitter's IPO.

Assuming underwriters elect to sell additional shares, the company's initial public offering will become the largest in history, surpassing listings by Agricultural Bank of China Ltd's (601288.SS) in 2010 and by ICBC (601398.SS), another Chinese lender, in 2006.

WHAT HAPPENED IN HONG KONG

Alibaba Group's orange banners were festooned around the exchange, with its logo on NYSE computer screens. Ma watched several long-time customers ring the opening bell at 9:30 a.m.

"I don't want disappointed shareholders, I want to make sure they make money," Ma said of the pricing, on CNBC, adding that he worries most about keeping customers happy.

Similar euphoria greeted Alibaba.com when its stock debuted on the stock exchange in Hong Kong in November 2007 on the eve of the global financial crisis. The stock more than tripled on day one, but five years later Ma delisted the company at the IPO price after failing to impress investors.

The NYSE held extensive tests ahead of the hotly anticipated offering to ensure it would be able to handle heavy trading volume. A call on Friday with periodic updates on order matching and trading continued until about noon ET.

"We've had a lot of major IPOs, and when you have one it's always the biggest until the next biggest one comes along," said Ted Weisberg, floor trader with Seaport Securities in New York, who has been a member of the NYSE for 45 years.

The deal allows cornerstone Alibaba investors such as Japan's Softbank Corp (9984.T) and Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) to profit from getting in on the ground floor at the company. Yahoo sold some $8 billion worth of shares in the offering, leaving it with a 16.3 percent stake. Shares of Yahoo were hit on Friday, dropping 2.7 percent.

Softbank is not selling for now and will be left with a 32 percent stake, making it the largest single shareholder.

In a measure of the mystique the Alibaba name carries with investors, shares in advertising company Chinanet Online Holdings Inc (CNET.O) soared 92 percent to $1.96 after it announced discussions were under way with Alibaba to offer digital advertising services to its online shopping site Taobao.

(Reporting by Liana Baker, Ryan Vlastelica and Jessica Toonkel; additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; writing by David Gaffen and Dan Wilchins; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Leslie Adler)

TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Sony hopes for PlayStation profit boost as smartphones struggle

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TOKYO (Reuters) - The head of Sony Corp's PlayStation division hopes to raise its profit outlook for this year, in stark contrast to the Japanese electronics firm's mobile business which has forecast deep losses and sent Sony's stock reeling.

With Sony's three core electronics businesses - the third is imaging - looking increasingly lopsided, the company is having to shrink and restructure in mobile, and focus its growth hopes on image sensors and the 20-year-old PlayStation games console.

Buoyed by strong sales of the latest PlayStation 4 and the rollout of games and content for its network services, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House hopes he can again raise the division's profit forecast for the year to end-March. Sony pushed up that forecast in July to 25 billion yen ($230 million) from 20 billion yen.

"We raised our profit prediction and I hope that's a trend we can continue, even within this fiscal year," House told Reuters in an interview on Thursday, adding his unit's profits looked certain to increase next year from this year's levels.

Sony has sold 10.3 million PlayStation 4 consoles as of Sept. 6, almost double the sales of Microsoft Corp's XBox One, and well ahead of the 7.2 million WiiU's sold by Nintendo Co Ltd, according to market research firm VGChartz.

House's upbeat comments came a day after Sony's struggling smartphone division announced a 180 billion yen impairment charge, triggering the company's sixth profit warning in two-and-a-half years. It also said it would not pay a dividend this year - the first such move since its 1958 listing.

SHARES ROCKED

While Sony had warned in July of a potential charge, the axing of the dividend stunned investors and sparked an 8.6 percent drop in Sony shares to 1,940 yen. That ended a 25 percent rally in the share price over the past six weeks as confidence grew in Sony's restructuring plans and its prospects in growth markets such as automotive sensors.

Sony will cut another 1,000 jobs, around 15 percent of its headcount, in its smartphone business, where it's up against fast-growing Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi Inc as well as established names such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

"If the company were to go through further restructuring, it needs cash, so from this perspective it makes sense that the company's not paying dividends," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Asset Management.

Sony's move also sparked a surge in the price of insuring its debt against default, with its 5-year credit default swaps rising 40 percent compared with levels prior to the profit warning.

And Standard & Poor's, the only leading credit ratings agency to retain an investment-grade rating on Sony debt, put the company's credit on review for a possible downgrade to junk status. "We believe it will not be easy for Sony to maintain brand recognition and generate stable profitability in this competitive market," S&P said of Sony's smartphone business.

NETWORK SPENDING

The mobile unit's woes will mean greater scrutiny of the PlayStation's profit performance, which has typically been erratic - swerving from steep losses as Sony spent heavily to develop new consoles to strong profits when those consoles reached peak popularity.

Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai - House's predecessor - has said he hopes the PlayStation 4 can recapture the profit levels of the PlayStation 2, the best-selling game console which at its peak earned Sony more than $1 billion in annual operating profit.

While House declined to be drawn on specific numbers, he touted bright profit prospects at the game division, which brings in 10-12 percent of Sony's revenue, and aims to boost monthly revenue per user from services such as online games, which offer a steadier stream of income than one-off purchases of hardware and software.

"I do feel we have a higher opportunity to build a higher ARPU (average revenue per user) than with the PS3, and that should make a very strong profit contribution over the life-cycle," he said.

He warned, however, that profitability of the game division, which had been combined with network services such as streaming video and music as well as games, would be constrained in the near term as Sony needs to invest in its network infrastructure over the next 12-18 months.

He denied there was pressure for the games division to take up the slack for the mobile business, and noted that both Hirai and CFO Kenichiro Yoshida's background in games and networking was favorable for his business.

"Kaz obviously comes out of the games business. He was in that for 10 years in the States and has a deep understanding of what a healthy ecosystem looks like and what we have to do," said House, a 49-year-old Briton who has worked at Sony for more than two decades. "I think Yoshida coming in as CFO has been hugely beneficial for us. He comes from a network services business."

House said Sony's cloud-based TV service, due to launch in the United States this year, was an opportunity to expand the user base of its network services, now at 52 million - a fraction of Apple's 800 million or so iTunes users. Sony is also looking for more content providers after signing a deal with Viacom to stream 22 of its channels.

For some analysts, the contrasting fortunes of Sony's business pillars was not necessarily a bad thing.

"This has shown that a sensible CFO is able to control the expansionary aspirations of business heads, which if unchecked, would lead to larger losses for Sony," said Atul Goyal, analyst at Jefferies.

(Additional reporting by Reiji Murai in TOKYO and Umesh Desai in HONG KONG; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Ian Geoghegan)

TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Ericsson to shut modem business, 1,000 jobs to go

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STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Ericsson, the world's biggest mobile network equipment maker, is winding down its modem business, shutting a loss-making unit with the departure of about 1,000 staff.

The decision comes amid falling prices of modems, rising demands on research and development and a shrinking market as more smartphone makers buy modems and processors, which Ericsson does not make, together.

The Swedish company had said it would evaluate the future of the business within 18 to 24 months of taking it on in 2013 when joint venture partner STMicroelectronics pulled out.

Ericsson's chief executive said on Thursday the rapidly changing market meant the company had concluded it would be too expensive for the business to succeed.

"In addition, we believe we can use this money in a better way," Hans Vestberg told Reuters.

The Swedish company said the decision to end the development of modems would mean it could shift resources to developing radio networks.

Ericsson had targeted a top three market position for its modems business, which employs around 1,600 people, alongside U.S. firms Qualcomm and Intel.

The move to stop developing new modems would mean around 1,000 staff leaving Ericsson, Vestberg said.

Some of the other employees would find work at a new research and development unit within Ericsson's core radio networks business that will be set up in Sweden's Lund and employ 500 in total.

Some would also continue working with the M7450 modem which was launched in August, Vestberg said, although it was hard to say for how long Ericsson would go on making it as that would depend on the success of the smartphones in which it sits.

In total, Ericsson employed slightly more than 115,000 at the end of the second quarter.

Ericsson said it expected the move to lead to significant cost savings, without specifying. In the three quarters since the modems business was integrated in Ericsson, it had racked up 1.7 billion Swedish crowns (238 million) in operating losses.

"Modems will have no impact on Group P&L (profit and loss account) from the second half of 2015," it said in a statement.

Ericsson shares were up 2 percent at Swedish 92.60 crowns by 0925 GMT (5.25 a.m. EDT), outperforming the STOXX Europe 600 technology index which was up 0.85 percent.

(Reporting by Sven Nordenstam; Editing by Pravin Char and Mark Potter)

TOP NEWS French jets strike in Iraq, expanding U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State

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BAGHDAD/PARIS (Reuters) - French jets struck a suspected Islamic State target in Iraq for the first time on Friday, expanding a U.S.-led military campaign against militants who have seized a third of the country and also control large parts of neighboring Syria.

President Francois Hollande said Rafale jets hit "a logistics depot of the terrorists" near the city of Mosul, which has been held by Islamic State for more than three months. It promised more operations in coming days.

The French military action, which follows U.S. air strikes in northern Iraq and near the capital Baghdad, appeared to win qualified endorsement from Iraq's top Shi'ite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

In a Friday sermon, delivered by one of his aides, the elderly cleric acknowledged Iraq needed foreign help but said Iraq must not become subservient to outside powers.

"Even if Iraq is in need of help from its brothers and friends in fighting black terrorism, maintaining the sovereignty and independence of its decisions is of the highest importance," Sistani's spokesman Sheikh Abdul Mehdi Karbala'i said.

Sistani speaks for millions of Iraq's majority Shi'ites and has a worldwide following.

Islamic State fighters, who have controlled much of Syria's eastern oil and agricultural provinces for more than a year, swept through mainly Sunni Muslim regions of north Iraq in mid-June, seizing cities including Mosul and Tikrit and halting only a few dozen miles (km) north of the capital Baghdad.

Iraq's army and Shi'ite militia forces have battled the Islamic State and other Sunni militants, but failed to make significant territorial gains.

Car bombs, some of them claimed by Islamic State, have been a near daily occurrence in the capital. On Friday, two car bombs killed nine people in Baghdad and a bomb in the majority Kurdish city of Kirkuk in the north killed eight people, security sources said.

Washington launched air strikes for the first time in August to halt an IS advance on the Kurdish autonomous capital Arbil. Since then it has tried to build an international coalition to destroy the radical Sunni Muslim group, saying more than 40 countries, including Arab nations, have offered assistance.

The air strikes have helped Kurds claw back lost territory. This week they retook ground in the northern province of Nineveh including villages in the Khazer area and several others further west around the town of Zummar, which remains under IS control.

Elsewhere in Nineveh, Islamic State offered another sign of its growing authority over Iraqis, creating a police force "to implement the orders of the religious judiciary" , according to a well-known militant Islamist website.

French officials said Friday's mission involved two Rafale fighter jets, a supply plane and a Navy reconnaissance plane. Four air strikes were carried out in the space of half an hour, destroying a storage facility containing vehicles, arms and fuel, a spokesman for Defense Minister Jean-Yves LeDrian said.

Hollande has said French military action would be limited to Iraq and no ground troops would be sent.

KURDISH EXODUS

In neighboring Syria, Western powers are more reluctant to launch military strikes which could be seen to bolster President Bashar al-Assad after they repeatedly called for his departure over his military response to popular protests in 2011.

But U.S. President Barack Obama said last week he had authorized air strikes in Syria too and would not hesitate to take action, although he also stressed plans to arm "moderate" Syrian rebel fighters to help them take on Islamic State.

Exploiting the security vacuum in the north of the country, Islamic State fighters have expanded their reach, attacking mainly Kurdish villages near the border with Turkey over the last two days, driving out a wave of refugees.

Several thousand Syrian Kurds began crossing into Turkey on Friday, fleeing IS fighters who are besieging the mainly Kurdish town of Ayn al-Arab, known as Kobani in Kurdish.

Turkey is already sheltering more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees and fears hundreds of thousands more, waiting in the mountains on the Syrian side of the 900-km (560-mile) border, could seek to cross as fighting escalates.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks developments in the civil war, said on Friday IS had seized three more villages near Kobani, bringing to 24 the number it has taken.

The attack on Kobani prompted a Kurdish militant call to the youth of Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast to join the fight against IS and came days after the U.S. military said the help of Syrian Kurds would be needed against the Islamist militants.

The president of Iraq's Kurdistan region also called for international action. "I call on the international community to use every means as soon as possible to protect Kobani," President Masoud Barzani said.

(Addition reporting by Isabel Coles in Arbil and Raheem Salman in Baghdad; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

TOP NEWS North Korea says imprisoned American tried to become 'second Snowden'

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SEOUL (Reuters) - An American recently sentenced to six years hard labor by a North Korean court pretended to have secret U.S. information and was deliberately arrested in a bid to become famous and meet U.S. missionary Kenneth Bae in a North Korean prison, state media said on Saturday.

Matthew Miller, 25, of Bakersfield, California, had prepared his story in advance and written in a notebook that he was seeking refuge after failing in an attempt to collect information about the U.S. government, state media said.

"He perpetrated the above-said acts in the hope of becoming a 'world famous guy' and the 'second Snowden' through intentional hooliganism," KCNA said, referring to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, wanted by the United States for leaking secrets of its surveillance programs.

"This is an intolerable insult and mockery of the DPRK and he therefore, deserved punishment," KCNA said, using the North's official DPRK acronym.

Miller was arrested when he tore up the tourist visa he used to enter the isolated country in April, state media said at the time. He was sentenced to six years hard labor by a North Korean court last Sunday.

"The results of the investigation made it clear that he did so not because of a simple lack of understanding and psychopathology, but deliberately perpetrated such criminal acts for the purpose of directly going to prison," state media said.

Miller's case was exacerbated by the fact his actions followed "reckless remarks" by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that described reclusive North Korea as a "country of evil," state media said.

Kerry in February criticized North Korea as an "evil place" following the publication of an extensive human rights report by United Nations investigators who said North Korean security officials should be tried for crimes related to the systematic starvation, torture and imprisonment of North Koreans.

DELIBERATELY SOUGHT ARREST

State media said Miller had deliberately sought his arrest so he could investigate North Korean prison and human rights conditions, and meet with and negotiate the release of U.S. missionary Bae, who is serving a hard labor sentence after being convicted of crimes against the state last year.

Unlike the two other Americans held in Pyongyang, relatively little is known about Miller and his family has not spoken publicly about him.

Reuters reported this week that he spent months in South Korea pretending to be an Englishman named "Preston Somerset" and invested time and money hiring artists to help create his own anime adaption of Alice in Wonderland, the Lewis Carroll fantasy with which he seemed fascinated, according to acquaintances.

He did not seem to have close friends, a regular job or means of support during the months he spent in Seoul over a period of at least two years, they said. He gave no inkling of any interest in nuclear-capable and unpredictable North Korea.

He is one of three U.S. citizens now being held by North Korea. A third American, Jeffrey Fowle, was arrested for leaving a Bible in the toilet of a sailor's club in the port city of Chongjin and is currently awaiting trial.

The United States has said Pyongyang is using its citizens as "pawns" to win a high-level visit from Washington, which has repeatedly offered to send special envoy for North Korean Human Rights Robert King to negotiate the release of Miller, Bae and Fowle.

North Korea has so far rejected those offers.

(Reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Tony Munroe and Lisa Shumaker)

TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Ericsson CEO says around 1,000 staff to leave as firm quits modems

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STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Top mobile telecoms gear maker Ericsson's decision to quit the modems business will mean around 1,000 staff will have to leave the company, its chief executive said on Thursday.

The business, which Ericsson took sole ownership of from joint venture partner STMicroelectronics a year ago, employs around 1,600, some of whom will be transferred to research and development within radio networks, Ericsson said.

"This of course means a large part of staff will have to leave Ericsson," Chief Executive Hans Vestberg told Reuters, adding roughly 1,000 people would have to leave, although it was too early to give an exact figure.

In total, Ericsson employed slightly more than 115,000 at the end of the second quarter.

(Reporting by Sven Nordenstam; Editing by Simon Johnson)

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TECHNOLOGY NEWS: China approves plan to combat climate change

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The Chinese central government on Friday approved a plan that maps out major climate change goals to be met by 2020.

This was contained in a statement released on the website of the country's National Development and Reform Commission.

The State Council, China's cabinet, gave a green light to the plan which was proposed by the NDRC, the country's economic planner.

China has pledged to reduce its carbon emission intensity, namely emissions per unit of GDP, by 40 per cent to 45 per cent by 2020 from the 2005 level.

It will also aim to bring the proportion of non-fossil fuels to about 15 per cent of its total primary energy consumption.

According to the statement, other targets include increasing forest coverage by 40 million hectares within the next five years.

It also said that the government would speed up efforts to establish a carbon emission permit market, under the plan, which also calls for deepened international cooperation.

The State Council said local governments and departments at all levels should recognise the significance and urgency in dealing with climate change and give higher priority to action on the issue.

China's release of the action plan came just before a climate summit is to be held at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

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TOP NEWS $9.3m: SERAP demands sanctions against FG

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Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has petitioned Mr. Roger Wilkins, President, the Financial Action Task Force, urging him to "urgently use your good offices and leadership to investigate admission by the government of Nigeria that it hired a private jet to convey $9.3m in cash to procure arms from South Africa."

The organisation also asked Wilkins to "consider this admission in light of FATF standards on transportation of cash across borders, and to consider applying any appropriate sanctions and measures to deter this practice in the future."

In the petition dated September 19, 2014 and signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni, it said, "Under the mandatory FATF Special Recommendation IX, jurisdictions including Nigeria are required to implement measures to detect and prevent the physical cross-border transportation of currency. The FATF has considered this as one of the main methods used to move illicit funds, launder money and finance terrorism.

"The FATF has considered the act of concealing/smuggling currency in order to evade crosses reporting requirements as a widely recognised red flag indicator for illicit activity which is worthy of independent criminal sanctions."

According to SERAP, "As the global standard setting body for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, FATF is best positioned to look into the matter. Nigeria is also a member of FATF.

"We believe that this action by the government poses a risk to the integrity of the international financial system. Therefore, your prompt action in this matter would help to protect the international financial system from money laundering and financing of terrorism risks and to encourage greater compliance with the anti-money laundering standards.

"Should the government fails and/or neglects to do comply with the FATF standards, we urge the FATF to subject it to a targeted follow-up process and require the government to report back to the FATF on a regular basis until these recommendations are fully implemented."

It quoted the FATF as saying, "the Special Recommendation IX aims to ensure that terrorists and other criminals cannot finance their activities or launder the proceeds of their crimes through the physical cross-border transportation of currency and BNI. Thus, the FATF has set some minimum thresholds and requirements for states such as Nigeria to comply with, including the disclosure/declaration obligations. This applies to all physical cross-border transportations of currency from one jurisdiction to another."

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POLITICAL NEWS: FG moves to prevent Ebola in schools

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The Federal Ministry of Health on Friday said it had taken adequate steps in collaborating with other stakeholders to ensure safety in schools ahead of the Sept. 22 resumption date.

Mr Dan Nwomeh, Special Assistant on Media and Communications to the Health Minister, made this known in a text message to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

He said the Ministry of Education was responsible for the reopening of schools but the Ministry of Health provided advice to the education authorities to ensure safety in schools.

Nwomeh added that the ministry had provided the same support to all relevant bodies, groups and agencies of government in tackling any possible spread of the Ebola Virus Disease.

"The Federal Ministry of Health has done its job by providing expertise advice to the Federal Ministry of Education just the same way it does to those holding rallies and mass gatherings as the NBA conference.

"The Federal and State Ministries of Education and owners of private schools are supposed to act on our recommendations by making the necessary arrangements for the reopening of schools," the text read.

In a related development, investigation by NAN revealed that some schools in the Federal Capital Territory were making arrangements ahead of their resumption on Sept. 22.

In some of the schools visited by NAN their administrators said in separate interviews that preventive measures were being adopted in compliance with the directive by the federal government.

Mrs Grace Enoyi, the Principal of Madonna Model School, a privately owned primary and secondary school in Garki Area 3, Abuja, said the school would put in place preventive measures against Ebola.

Enoyi said, "The school is doing its best to put preventive measures in place against the EVD as well as sensitise both students and their parents about the deadly virus.

"We have Infrared thermometers, buckets with water and disinfectants, soaps; one each in every classroom and another with a teacher.

"Students are checked for temperatures before entering the school, those with temperatures above 38 degrees are not allowed to come in, parents are advised to seek medical help for children with fever.

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RELIGION NEWS: Nigeria will overcome its security challenge -Kumuyi

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Pastor William Kumuyi
The General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi, has said Nigeria will overcome all its problems including insecurity challenge posed to it by the Boko Haram.

Kumuyi said this at a press conference he addressed in Osogbo on Thursday night upon his arrival for the crusade of the church which started on Friday and to end on Monday morning.

The cleric said the problems facing Nigeria were not peculiar ones, adding that with fervent prayers all the problems would be solved by God and with right attitude of the people of the country.

Kumuyi said, "Many nations have problems similar to Nigeria's but with prayers to God, all the problems would be solved.

"The crusade we are holding is part of solution to the problems of the nation. We are going to pray for individuals and the nation. God is interested in this country and all our problems will be solved."

Kumuyi also advised Nigerians to vote wisely in the 2015 general election, saying Nigerians should vote for candidates they believe would take the nation and their states to where they were supposed to be.

He said, "I can't say that kind of leader is A, B or C but we should cast our votes intelligently. We know what the country should be and we should vote for a leader who would take us there.

"Obviously, you don't expect me to say you should vote for a particular party or anybody because I am not a politician. But I pray God will give us the wisdom to vote for the right persons to take us there."

The pastor, who was a mathematics lecturer at the University of Lagos before starting the church in 1973 appealed to Nigerians to repent from their sins and turn to God who he said had solutions to all problems confronting mankind. The overseer of the DLBC in Osun State, Pastor John Adeniran, had earlier said the military onslaught against the Boko Haram sect could not end the crisis except God intervenes to save Nigeria.

He said, "The government and security agents are doing their best but except God brings solution to the problem, all their efforts cannot win the war against the insurgents.

"Government is labouring, but except God intervenes there can't be solution to the problem. We need God to come and intervene in the affairs of our nation. We will pray for God's intervention in Nigeria's problems during this crusade and we believe God will help us."

Adeniran, who had worked as a pastor in Chibok, Borno State where over 200 female students were abducted about five months ago said believers should intensify their prayers for the nation.

The cleric, who said the problem of terrorism was not limited to Nigeria noted that the act was one of the signs of the end time. He urged Christians to be steadfast while calling on unbelievers to repent from their sins and begin to live a godly life.

Adeniran, while speaking on the challenge which Ebola posed to Nigeria said the devil was at the root of the disease.

He said, "Challenges have always been in this world. There are challenges in every generation and there will always be challenges till the end of every generation. Great events that made history passed through very tough challenges. So, what we are experiencing today should not be strange to us."

He urged anybody with Ebola symptoms to visit hospitals where they could be tested and treated.

TOP NEWS Yamal, Russia's gas megaplan, becomes symbol of sanctions defiance

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Dozens of Russian energy ventures are in jeopardy due to Western sanctions on technology and funding. Looming over them all, a giant project the Kremlin is bent on saving no matter what.

The Yamal plan, a $27 billion investment to tap vast natural gas reserves in northwest Siberia, aims to double Russia's stake in the fast-growing market for liquefied natural gas. If it stays on track, it will also show the West that the world's largest energy industry is not cracking under sanctions.

Russia has said it will make sure Yamal has the resources it needs to keep building. But that pledge will be tested: Yamal's gas is so far in the Arctic North that it requires specialised technology often provided by Western partners - many of which will not be able to operate because of the restrictions.

And while Yamal's shareholders have already invested $6 billion in it, U.S. and EU action has now effectively cut off the Russian energy firm's access to Western lending.

Nonetheless, bankers and analysts returning from a recent trip to Yamal said they were impressed by the project's status.

Some said it was hard to tell that Yamal's controlling shareholder, gas firm Novatek, and its billionaire co-owner Gennady Timchenko were subject to some of the most severe U.S. and EU sanctions targeting Putin after he annexed Crimea in eastern Ukraine and lent backing to pro-Russia separatists.

"I was astonished by the pace and amount of work that has been done," said Maxim Moshkov, oil analyst at UBS.

Some 6,000 people are currently working on the project and the number will rise to 15,000 next year.

"They work day and night... Having been there, I realised the project will most likely become a reality," Moshkov said.

Andrey Polishchuk from Raiffeisen bank said: "They are building a new airport, storage tanks. Ships are coming to a nearby port one after another. Some are unloading goods, some are waiting to unload".

POWERFUL PARTNERS

Yamal has powerful partners - French oil major Total and China's CNPC.

Total said this week that despite the sanctions it would not be stopping work on Yamal and has suggested that, given Europe relies on Russia for a third of its gas, it would be risky to slow down the project.

Yamal will start exports from 2018 and has already pre-sold most of its future output to buyers in Europe and Asia. It will ultimately export 16.5 million tonnes of LNG a year - equal to 6 months of French gas consumption.

Novatek, along with gas monopoly Gazprom, has so far escaped European sanctions, but the fact that it is on the U.S. sanctions list makes it almost impossible for it to raise money for the project.

So Total is still clear to participate in Yamal. But its ability to finance its share in it through U.S. or European banks has been drastically limited.

"Can we live without Russian gas in Europe? The answer is no. Are there any reasons to live without it? I think - and I'm not defending the interests of Total in Russia - it is a no," Total boss Christophe De Margerie told Reuters.

Timchenko, co-owner of Novatek, is also a force to be reckoned with - his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin giving him heft even as it makes him a target for sanctions.

In March 2014, the United States slapped the first round of sanctions on him, explaining: "Timchenko's activities in the energy sector have been directly linked to Putin".

Putin subsequently made Timchenko Russia's point person for business relations - including the development of key gas projects - with China.

Timchenko has said China, which has a 20 percent stake in Yamal through CNPC, has agreed to lend $20 billion before the end of 2014.

But there is still work to do to win that loan.

"We have had communications from higher management over compliances that we shall strictly follow international rules," a Chinese banking executive told Reuters on condition of anonymity given the delicate nature of the negotiations.

"Basic principles are - we shall not deal with entities that are sanctioned...We don't want the U.S. to find excuses to give us trouble."

SUPPORT FROM HOME

If China can't put up the money, Putin is likely to.

The Russian government, which has accumulated the world's third largest forex reserves of $460 billion, has said it will invest money in profitable projects which can guarantee hefty payouts to state coffers in the future.

Various officials have pledged support to Gazprom, state oil firm Rosneft and pipeline and railway monopolies Transneft and RZhD.

And Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told Novatek's chief and co-owner Leonid Mikhelson that Russia would support other companies too, irrespective of their ownership structure.

"Should (their Chinese lending) plan fail, they can count on state support. The government has made it clear it will not allow it to fail," said a Western oil executive close to the project.

The crunch point for Yamal will come next year when France's engineering firm Technip needs to deliver the core liquefaction plant - technology that Russia is lacking.

Technip told Reuters this week it was moving forward with the project. It had earlier warned about the risks to its income from sanctions on Russia.

If Technip should run into difficulties - the pace at which sanctions have evolved in the past months suggests more could yet be in the offing - Russia might be able to source the technology from China, which has in recent years become able to design and build large LNG plants.

"There might be an opportunity lurking in terms of supplying our own gas liquefaction technology," said an engineering executive at CNPC.

(Additional reporting by Aizhu Chen, Vladimir Soldatkin, Denis Pinchuk and Sandrine Bradley; Editing by Sophie Walker)

TOP NEWS U.S. Treasury's Lew calls for euro zone, Japan to do more on growth

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CAIRNS Australia (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Friday called on the euro zone and Japan to do more to spur growth as the global economy continues to disappoint, highlighting what is sure to be a bone of contention as Group of 20 ministers gather in Australia.

While lauding the strength of the U.S. economy, Lew said more work was needed to achieve faster and more balanced economic growth and to boost demand.

"The United States continues to be a source of strength in the global economy," Lew said in remarks with his Australian counterpart Joe Hockey.

"But overall, the global economy continues to underperform. This is particularly true in the Euro Area and Japan, while a number of emerging market economies are also slowing," Lew said at the start of a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in the northern Australian city of Cairns.

His call is likely to get a cool reception from the Europeans. Speaking during a stopover in Hong Kong, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said his country's economy was robust and that it was important for Europe to stick with the tough path of fiscal reform.

"We are in the global economy and in Europe in a situation, in which we seem to have too much liquidity and too much public debt," Schauble told reporters.

PRESSURE ON BERLIN, TOKYO

"That means the room to stimulate growth from the demand side and the monetary-policy side is - with regional differences - small‎," the German minister said.

Berlin has been under intense pressure to allow the euro zone to ease back on fiscal austerity and to stimulate its economy through more government spending or tax cuts.

U.S. and other G20 officials have previously flagged concerns about Europe's tepid economic growth and want Germany to do more to help its neighbors by spending and importing more.

The OECD slashed its growth forecasts for major developed economies on Monday, urging Europe to do more to ward off the risk of deflation.

Lew also told Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso that Tokyo must remain committed to calibrating all three "arrows" of its economic policy to sustain healthy domestic growth, according to a U.S. Treasury official at the meeting.

The comment came amid fears that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to generate a revival through the three arrows of massive monetary easing, spending and reform looked to be faltering in the face of sluggish consumer demand and poor exports.

But Aso contested the view that Japan, like the euro zone, was seen as a potential drag on global growth.

"We agreed that with the European economy stagnating, it's extremely important for Japan and the United States to achieve sustainable growth," Aso told reporters after his meeting with Lew.

YEN'S SIX-YEAR TROUGH

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has vowed to stick with the easing part of the plan as long as necessary, but is under pressure to ease policy yet further.

As he arrived at Cairns, Kuroda said he saw no problem with the latest slide in the yen, which hit a six-year trough against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as it reflected growing expectations of higher interest rates in the United States.

"What's undesirable is for exchange rates to move in a way that deviates from economic fundamentals. From this perspective, I don't see any major problem with current moves," he said.

European Central Bank officials have been keen to talk down the euro to stave off the risk of deflation. Kuroda's remarks suggest that Japan, too, hopes to reap the benefits from a weak yen, which helps lift exports and pushes up consumer inflation.

Financial policymakers of Japan, China and South Korea gathering in Cairns separately held their first trilateral meeting in two years, a move that may lay the grounds to mend Tokyo's strained diplomatic ties with its Asian neighbors.

Along with boosting growth, G20 members are working towards finalizing regulations aimed at avoiding a repeat of the global financial crisis.

Both Lew and Hockey expressed confidence in achieving breakthroughs on some key issues, including the additional capital requirements for banks deemed "too big to fail".

(Additional reporting by Gernot Heller in Hong Kong; Writing by Wayne Cole; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

CROSS RIVER UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

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