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JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Cisco Systems will invest $15 million in Israeli venture capital funds as part of a broader plan to expand its operations in Israel and outside the United States, the company said on Wednesday.

The investment will be made in funds that support integration of Israelis and Arabs and the development of innovative security technologies.

Cisco, which last year bought Israeli pay-TV smartcard maker NDS for $5 billion, also said it would establish a development centre in Israel that will sponsor research on cyber security and analyze security in the financial, health and industrial sectors.

Cisco is building a network of consulting services to assist and provide answers to security needs, and is recruiting 100 strategic workers in Israel. It already has 2,000 employees in Israel.

"No country has start-ups like Israel does and I go where the start-ups are," Chief Executive John Chambers told a news conference during a trip to Israel.

Israel "will be the first country in the world to go end-to-end digital," he said, noting it will be boosted by an ambitious project to build a super-fast fibre optics network.

A group led by Sweden's Viaeuropa was chosen to build the network along with state-run utility Israel Electric Corp using Cisco's technology.

Cisco said the project, which will cost billions of shekels, is expected to be completed in 7-10 years but Chambers said he was pushing for full deployment in 18-36 months. Cisco, he said, is financing $140 million of the project.

Global tech spending remains positive, Chamber said, with the United States and most of Europe showing improvement in recent quarters. Emerging markets, particularly India, have turned the corner.

"If the U.S. and China don't lead us out of this slowdown, no matter how effective we are in other parts of the world, you won't see the global economy coming around," he said.

Chambers, though, said it would continue to invest mostly outside of the United States due to the U.S.'s high taxes.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cisco-invest-israeli-venture-capital-funds-162230307.html

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President Obama is shown digital learning programs during a visit to Mooresville Middle School in Mooresville, N.C., June 6, 2013.

Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

If you visit one of the public schools in Mooresville, N.C., you can get a glimpse into what the classroom of tomorrow might look like. A high-speed broadband network, personalized software, and laptops for every student allow each member of the class to learn at his or her own pace while teachers receive real-time feedback about their learners? progress. That?s why President Barack Obama went to Mooresville in early June to launch a new initiative called ConnectED, which aims to bring similar next-generation connectivity to classrooms across America in the next five years.

?In an age when the world?s information is just a click away, it demands that we bring our schools and libraries into the 21^st century,? Obama declared in his speech at Mooresville Middle School. ?We can't be stuck in the 19^th century,? he said, referring to the sad state of broadband connectivity at most of America?s schools. It?s a great idea. But Obama?s proposal leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The biggest unknown is perhaps the most important: funding. How the money is spent and where it comes from will determine not only whether the program meets its benchmarks but also whether it really helps ensure that ?every child in America?s classrooms has access to the fastest Internet and the most cutting-edge learning tools.?

The administration has indicated that it will let the FCC figure out those details. ConnectED would be part of the commission?s E-Rate program, which provides subsidies to broadband providers to offer discounted service to schools and libraries. E-Rate, in turn, is part of the Universal Service Fund, which administers several programs to bring better access to telecommunications services across the country, especially in low-income, rural, insular, and high-cost areas.

In the past two decades, E-Rate has helped connect thousands of schools and libraries, but the program is now struggling to meet growing demand. Currently, most of the schools that receive E-Rate funding have connection speeds that are similar to those of the average home broadband user?a far cry from what they need to support large numbers of students using the next generation education applications being developed for classrooms. (It?s an even farther cry from ConnectED?s stated goal of providing 99 percent of America?s schools and libraries with minimum speeds of 100 Mbps per 1,000 students and a target of 1 Gbps by 2018.) In fact, in a survey of E-Rate subsidized schools, nearly 80 percent reported that they did not even have the bandwidth to meet their current needs, let alone to account for future growth. As FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said recently, ?The problem now is not connection, it?s capacity.?

One challenge is that the program needs to ensure that schools upgrade to technology that won?t become obsolete in just a few years, like cable or wireless. Fiber is the only option that remains largely future-proof: It?s already capable of gigabit speeds and more readily scalable than other technologies to meet future demands.

The FCC should also carefully consider who would be the best stewards of E-Rate dollars. Large phone companies haven?t always proven themselves reliable in that regard, charging some schools up to 325 percent more than they charged others in the same region for essentially the same services. And the cable companies don?t even think gigabit speeds are necessary (a convenient perspective when your service relies on technology that is incapable of actually achieving those speeds). In reality, projects like Google Fiber and community networks in Chattanooga, Tenn.; Lafayette, La.; and Santa Monica, Calif.; where cities have invested in fiber infrastructure that can then be leveraged by area school districts, tend to have the fastest speeds?and these sorts of alternative models should be supported. E-rate ought to be used primarily to support substantial upgrades to infrastructure?the high investment costs that most broadband providers use to justify what they charge per month?and in return require that the network providers offer free or heavily discounted services to the schools..

So where will the money come from? President Obama?s remarks in Mooresville last Thursday and a supplemental fact sheet are notably light on details. There may be a temporary increase in the surcharge that you pay on your monthly phone bill (or bills, since it?s applied to both landline and mobile plans) to pay for the ?one-time investment.? Commissioner Rosenworcel has also suggested that savings from recent reforms in the Lifeline program (which is part of the Universal Service Fund and provides discounts for telephone service for eligible low-income households) should be used to support her version of the proposal called E-Rate 2.0, while several news articles refer to ?rechanneling? funds from Lifeline. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has even called for eliminating the Lifeline program entirely and moving all funds to the E-Rate program.

However, none of these ideas are very promising, and the call to reduce or eliminate Lifeline entirely is particularly troubling. Finding the money under the existing USF system will be difficult, and even a small increase on monthly phone bills that are already steadily rising could be problematic. And while the Lifeline program has faced some criticism, many of the problems have already been addressed by FCC reforms. Importantly, the program is currently underutilized by eligible users, and any restrictions in funding will hinder its ability to support broadband access in the future.

But ConnectED?s success will also depend on home access. Obama recognizes that students? connectivity needs to extend beyond school walls. In his remarks, he imagines ?a young boy with a chronic illness that means he can't go to school [who now] can join his classmates via Skype or FaceTime and fully participate in what's going on??a scenario that would require robust connectivity at the student?s home as well as his school. Mooresville has addressed the problem of home broadband access by convincing a local, community-owned cable company to offer broadband access to students? families for $9.99 a month, plus free Wi-Fi connections in parks, local libraries, and municipal buildings. If the Lifeline program were updated to support stand-alone broadband service, it could mean that low-income students could have broadband access in schools and other public areas, as well as complementary access at home. Simply moving funds from one Universal Service Fund program to another could cripple Lifeline?s ability to support existing service and make it much more difficult for it to support home broadband service in the future.

The ConnectED program has the potential to dramatically improve broadband access for schools across the country, but its goals won?t be achieved by tinkering at the edges of existing programs, or relying on models that have already proven inadequate.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/06/connected_plan_for_school_broadband_sounds_great_but_we_need_more_details.html

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CAIRO (AP) ? Clashes erupted between supporters and opponents of Egypt's president and his Muslim Brotherhood Tuesday over his appointment of new Islamist governors, some in areas where opponents are strong.

The protests signaled increasing tension in the deeply polarized nation ahead of mass protests demanding the ouster of the president, Mohammed Morsi, who marks his first year in power June 30.

On Sunday, Morsi appointed 17 new governors, including seven members of the Brotherhood and one from an ex-militant group to rule the ancient city of Luxor. That appointment outraged Luxor residents, as the governor's group claimed responsibility for a 1997 massacre of dozens of tourists there.

Egypt's Minister of Tourism was considering resignation over the Luxor appointment, according to Tourism Ministry spokeswoman Rasha el-Azzazzi.

Demonstrators sealed off gates of governors' offices around the country.

Security forces fired tear gas to separate the two sides in the Nile Delta city of Tanta. Fighting broke out after opposition protesters chained the gate to the new governor's office in a symbolic rejection of his appointment. Dozens were injured, including journalists, according to the deputy health minister in Tanta, Mohammed Sharshar.

The new governor, Ahmed el-Baylie, a leading Muslim Brotherhood member and chief recruiter, managed to enter his office after supporters, armed with homemade guns, swords and knives, clashed with rock-throwing protesters to clear them away. Witnesses said an activist took off her shoes and hit the governor in the head, prompting his supporters to attack her.

Protesters then tried to set fire to the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood's party in the city, hurling firebombs and smashing the building's doors, as well as damaging vehicles believed to belong to Brotherhood members, according to witnesses.

A private daily, Al-Masry Al-Youm, reported that protesters chased Muslim Brotherhood supporters in the streets, snatched three of them and dragged them down.

The Freedom and Justice party, the political arm of the Brotherhood, posted on its Facebook page that Brotherhood members detained 15 rioters and handed them to the governor's security contingent. The Brotherhood accused the local security chief of "collaborating" with the protesters.

Other places, including the northern city of Menoufia, Beni Suef in the south and the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya witnessed similar scenes as protesters locked the gates of the governors' offices.

Luxor was especially restive as protesters continued their sit-in for a second day at the governor's office, sealing off the gates and hanging signs reading, "The terrorist governor is not allowed." Some foreign tourists joined the protest and held up a sign reading, "thanks to Gamaa Islamiya for the massacre."

The new governor, Adel el-Khayat, is a member of the Construction and Development party, the political arm of former militant group Gamaa Islamiya, which waged Islamist insurgency during 1990s and was behind the terror attack in Luxor that left 58 tourists dead in 1997.

Gamaa Islamiya later renounced violence and turned to politics. The party is a top ally of Morsi, and its leaders have threatened an "Islamic revolution" if liberals try to unseat the Islamist president. The appointment was seen as a reward for the group's support.

Tourism Ministry spokeswoman el-Azzazzi told the private ONTV channel that the minister, Hesham Zazou, is considering resignation because of "the heavy impact of the decision internationally and locally." She said that the minister was meeting with prime minister to "reconsider the appointment."

In Beni Suef, Muslim Brotherhood supporters formed human chains to enable the governor, the Brotherhood's Adel el-Khouli, to enter his office.

The country's largest opposition grouping, The National Salvation Front, denounced the appointments in a statement and said the Muslim Brotherhood was pushing Egypt toward more confrontations.

"The new appointments clearly show the Muslim Brotherhood's real intentions to consolidate power and control state institutions," the opposition group said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/clashes-erupt-egypt-over-islamist-governors-193031435.html

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More than 200,000 Brazilians demonstrated in the streets in more than 20 cities last night in a show of frustration over public services, transportation, the country's role in hosting multiple international sporting events, and the harsh response by public officials and police to previous protests.

Protests started as early as April in the southern city of Porto Alegre, largely over the close to 10 cent increases in bus fares. But as the protests spread to cities around Brazil in recent weeks, often met with police repression and contempt from elected officials, the demonstrations morphed into a sweeping bitterness over the government?s responsiveness to citizens? demands.

?Those who govern earn so much and they have no respect for us,? says Lucas Alves, a young protester in Rio de Janeiro. ?Ten cents isn?t an excuse [for us to come to the streets]. It?s just one more thing.?

The nationwide protests are believed to be the largest in two decades. Brazil had a military dictatorship until 1985, and it's still rare to see spontaneous expressions of discontent by civil society. Demonstrations are more routinely organized by unions or political parties, but the recent uprisings ? coordinated through social media and without a specific leader ? may be part of a shift in how Brazilians express their frustrations and demands in a changing economy and growing democracy. Just last year nationwide protests developed in a similar way over proposed changes to a forestry code that would have amnestied illegal deforestation.

RECOMMENDED: How well do you know Brazil? Take our quiz and find out!

"Peaceful protests are legitimate and intrinsic to democracy," said President Dilma Rousseff, according to her spokeswoman. More demonstrations are scheduled for this week.

The current protests come right as Brazil hosts the FIFA Confederations Cup, a year before it will hold the World Cup and then, in 2016, the Summer Olympics. On Sunday, dressed as soccer fans and even carrying Turkish flags in solidarity with anti-government protests taking place there, hundreds of protesters in Rio initiated a demonstration near the Maracan? stadium. They were quickly dispersed with tear gas and rubber bullets from police, who then chased bands of demonstrators down nearby busy streets and into a public park, where families with children were subjected to tear gas alongside demonstrators.

Though demonstrations were largely peaceful, incidents of violence both by and against police arose in several cities. In Rio, at least 20 police officers were reported injured Monday in a confrontation over the occupation by protesters of the State Assembly. Four protesters were also reported wounded by gunshots, and a video by the Rio newspaper Extra reportedly shows a plainclothes officer firing into the streets during the protest.

The ?stance of opposition and the use of police? in earlier protests galvanized demonstrators for Monday?s protests who may not have come simply over the bus fare hike, says Renata Florentino, a researcher who studies mega-events and a doctoral student in social sciences at the University of Campinas in S?o Paulo.

?These manifestations are about the general malaise on a series of issues,? says Ms. Florentino, adding that before Brazil became an international success story as an emerging economy, it was mired in debt, and demonstrators might not have so forcefully reacted against a raise in bus fare.

?Maybe in [the] ?80s the population would even accept that we don?t have enough money, but after you construct 12 stadiums that look like they are from the time of the Pharaohs, they don?t accept that the mayor doesn?t have the money? to keep bus services affordable.

Ane Vallin came to Sunday?s protest near the Maracan? stadium wearing a Brazil jersey and covered in striped face paint, as though she were one of the soccer fans. ?Taxes go up, but we don?t get anything,? Ms. Vallin says, complaining about government corruption and the sense that more police arrived to break up a protest next to a soccer stadium than are out keeping the streets safe on any given day. Gesturing toward the game, she says, ?Brazil is not a country for Brazilians.?

RECOMMENDED: How well do you know Brazil? Take our quiz and find out!

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Cisco to invest in Israeli venture capital funds

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Clashes erupt in Egypt over Islamist governors

Brazilians stage largest protests in 20 years, bearing a multitude of complaints

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