Wireless carriers seek cross-border spectrum cooperation

Telecom Italia Franco Bernabe called on governments to harmonize wireless spectrum availability to make it easier for carriers to operate globally.

(Credit:
Stephen Shankland/CNET)

BARCELONA, Spain--Mobile network operators traditionally use Mobile World Congress to call for lower taxes and more wireless spectrum. This year, a new word has entered the wish list: harmonization.

The mobile industry today must deal with a hodgepodge of electromagnetic frequencies that differ from carrier to carrier and country to country. Franco Bernabe, chief executive of Telecom Italia, wants to see not just more spectrum for wireless operators, but also spectrum that's not so fragmented.

"It's not just about having the right amount of spectrum. It's critical that the spectrum is harmonized on a global basis," Bernabe said in a speech here at the mobile.

That harmonization will increase "cost efficiencies," which is to say that the same phones and network equipment will work across a broader part of the world, he said.

Telecom Italia CEO Franco Bernabe called for fewer and better regulations for mobile network at Mobile World Congress 2013.

(Credit:
Stephen Shankland/CNET)

One cautionary tale about what's wrong was illustrated by the launch of
Apple's iPhone 5. "Europe supports three different LTE spectrum bands, so LTE is only enabled in certain countries and for certain operators," he said.

Trying to make the case that harmonization is good for consumers and not just carriers' bank accounts, he added that harmonization "ultimately will make mobile services more accessible and affordable for consumers" and that "users will be confident they will have service as they roam from country to country."

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson at Mobile World Congress 2013

(Credit:
Stephen Shankland/CNET)

But harmonization is easier said than done. Countries already have plenty of difficulties grappling with demand for radio-frequency spectrum even without trying to iron out cooperation with other countries.

Mobile World Congress is run by the GSMA, an association of mobile operators originally based in Europe but now spanning the globe. Year after year at the show, the operators call for more spectrum, less regulation, and less onerous taxation.

It may sound selfish, but the companies do indeed face tremendous challenges. They must build huge, complicated wireless networks, and often they're obsolete before they're even fully deployed. The current transition is to the 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) standard, which offers not just higher data-transfer speeds but also a snappier response because of lower communication delays.

LTE will further the explosion in mobile data traffic growth, which continues to explode. At AT&T, it's jumped by 30,000 percent over the last six years, said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. And China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua added, "In 2012, China Mobile data traffic volume increased by 187 percent."

The carriers must make these investments as earlier revenue sources -- voice communications and text messaging, for example -- dwindle. Replacing them are "over-the-top" (OTT) services from companies like Google and Facebook. Those services run over the carriers' networks, but the profits from them go to the OTT companies, and governments take a much more laissez-faire view of them.

"OTTs are not regulated in the same ways we are," said Vittorio Colao, CEO of Vodafone Group during his time on the stage.

And it's hard to find new revenue sources, Guohua said. "The growth model driven by customer net addition cannot [be] sustained," he said, even in China, where there are 1.1 billion mobile phones already in the market. At the same time, competition takes place at a higher level with more companies.

"It's no longer the competition with a single company, but an ecosystem," he said, pointing to constellations of mobile devices, app stores, and online services.

One way the carriers are fighting back is with open, ecosystem-resistant technology -- specifically Firefox OS, which 18 carriers endorsed yesterday. Telefonica CEO Cesar Alierta, the earliest
Firefox partner, called Firefox OS "the answer to make the Web the platform and break monopolies."

Each of the five carrier leaders who spoke today complained about regulations -- difficulties that incumbents face with some preferential treatment of new operators, for example, and that require operators in Europe to bid for the same wireless spectrum every 15 years.

AT&T's Stephenson said he prefers the U.S. auction approach with perpetual licenses to "big blocks" of spectrum and governmental oversight that makes it possible for carrier to sell it to one another.

"In the U.S., you've seen over the last three years spectrum changing hands at a very fast pace," which means it ends up used very efficiently, Stephenson said. "The term of licensing is critical. Regulators can help spectrum be fluid and liquid." Short-term licenses mean that mobile operators can't be sure it's worthwhile to invest in network infrastructure, investments that take years to pay off.

Stephenson also called for lower taxation to encourage expensive capital equipment purchases.

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Michelle Obama makes surprise Oscars appearance

First lady Michelle Obama, on a video screen, announces the winner for best picture along with actor Jack Nicholson at the 85th annual Academy Awards on Feb. 24, 2013, in Hollywood, Calif. / Getty

First lady Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance at the Oscars, opening the envelope that contained the name of the best-picture winner, "Argo."

51 Photos

Oscars 2013: Show highlights

Appearing via streaming video from the White House, Mrs. Obama said all of the nominees demonstrated that "we can overcome any obstacle."

15 Photos

Oscars 2013: Press room

She said that message is "especially important for our young people" and thanked Hollywood for encouraging children "to open their imaginations."

The first lady was introduced by Jack Nicholson, who noted that the best picture trophy is usually announced solo.

Mrs. Obama wore a silver, art deco-inspired gown by Indian-born American fashion designer Naeem Khan. It was the same dress she wore for the Obamas' dinner with the nation's governors at the White House on Sunday night.

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Oscars 2013: 'Argo' Wins Best Picture

"Argo" took home the top prize as best picture at the Oscars Sunday night, with first lady Michelle Obama announcing the winner from the White House.

"You directed a hell of a film," co-producer Grant Heslov told director and fellow producer Ben Affleck. "I couldn't be more proud of the film and more proud of our director."

Affleck was snubbed in the directing category but humbly accepted the best picture Oscar as one of the three producers on the film. George Clooney was the third.

Affleck thanked Steven Spielberg and the other best picture nominees and his wife Jennifer Garner for "working on our marriage."

"It's good, it's work," he said, adding, "but there's no one I'd rather work with."

For Full List of Winners

Acknowledging his last Oscar win, as a screenwriter for "Good Will Hunting," Affleck said, "I was really just a kid. I never thought I would be back here."

In the acting categories, Daniel Day-Lewis won the Oscar for best actor, being the first actor to three-peat in that category. As he accepted the award from Hollywood's greatest actress, Meryl Streep, he joked, "I had actually been committed to play Margaret Thatcher. ... Meryl was Stephen's first choice for Lincoln."

He also thanked his wife, Rebecca Miller, for "living with some very strange men," with each new role that he takes on.

"She's the versatile one in the family and she's been the perfect companion to all of them," he said.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Daniel Day-Lewis Gets Laughs With Oscars Speech Watch Video

Jennifer Lawrence won the award for best actress. She tripped on the stairs on her way to accepting her award but picked herself up and made her way to the stage, earning a standing ovation.

"You're just standing up because you feel bad that I fell and that's embarrassing," she said, before rattling off a list of thank-yous and leaving the stage looking slightly stunned.

Watch Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar Tumble

"Life of Pi," which had a total of 11 nominations, was another big winner of the night. Director Ang Lee took home the Oscar for best director over Steven Spielberg and David O. Russell.

"Thank you, movie god," Lee said, accepting his award.

As expected, the film took home the first technical awards of the night for cinematography and visual effects. "Life of Pi" also won for best original score.

The first big acting awards of the night went to Christoph Waltz and Anne Hathaway in the supporting actor categories.

In one of the biggest tossups, Waltz claimed the award for supporting actor for his role in "Django Unchained." It was his second Oscar for a Quentin Tarantino film; his first was for Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."

PHOTOS: Stars on the Red Carpet

As expected, Hathaway took home the award for best supporting actress for her role as Fantine in "Les Miserables."

"It came true," she said, launching into a breathy speech, in which she thanked the cast and crew, her team and her husband. "The greatest moment of my life was when you walked into it," she said.

Tarantino won the Oscar for best original screenplay for his slave revenge western "Django Unchained." He thanked his cast.

"I have to cast the right people," he said. "And boy this time did I do it."

Chris Terrio won the award for best adapted screenplay for "Argo," which also won for film editing.

For only the sixth time in Academy history, there was a tie at the Oscars. "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Skyfall" tied for sound editing.

See Other Ties in Academy History

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Frustrated Italians vote in crucial election for euro zone

ROME (Reuters) - Italians voted on Sunday in one of the most closely watched and unpredictable elections in years, with pent-up fury over a discredited elite adding to concern it may not produce a government strong enough to lead Italy out of an economic slump.

The election, which concludes on Monday afternoon, is being followed closely by investors; their memories are still fresh of the potentially catastrophic debt crisis that saw Mario Monti, an economics professor and former bureaucrat, summoned to serve as prime minister in place of Silvio Berlusconi 15 months ago.

A weak Italian government could, many fear, prompt a new dip in confidence in the European Union's single currency.

Opinion polls give the center-left a narrow lead but the result has been thrown completely open by the prospect of a huge protest vote against the painful austerity measures imposed by Monti's government and deep anger over a never-ending series of corruption scandals. Berlusconi's centre-right has also revived.

"I'm not confident that the government that emerges from the election will be able to solve any of our problems," said Attilio Bianchetti, a 55-year-old builder in Milan, who voted for the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement of comic and blogger Beppe Grillo.

The 64-year-old Grillo, heavily backed by a frustrated generation of young Italians hit by record unemployment, has been one of the biggest features of the last stage of the campaign, packing rallies in town squares up and down Italy.

"He's the only real new element in a political landscape where we've been seeing the same faces for too long," said Vincenzo Cannizzaro, 48, in the Sicialian capital Palermo.

Italians started voting at 8 a.m. (0700 GMT). Polling booths will remain open until 10 p.m. on Sunday and open again between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Monday. Exit polls will come out soon after voting ends and official results are expected by early Tuesday.

Snow in northern regions is expected to last into Monday and could discourage some of the 47 million people eligible to vote in Italy to head out to polling stations, though the Interior Ministry has said it is fully prepared for bad weather.

Monti and his wife cast their votes at a polling booth in a Milan school on Sunday morning and centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, the leader opinion polls suggest will have to form a new government, voted in his home town of Piacenza.

A small group of women's rights demonstrators greeted former prime minister Berlusconi when he voted in Milan. They bared their breasts in protest at the conservative leader, who is on trial at present for having sex with an underage prostitute.

Whichever government emerges from the election will have to tackle reforms needed to address problems that have given Italy one of the most sluggish economies in the developed world for the past two decades.

But the widespread despair over the state of the country, where a series of corruption scandals has highlighted the stark divide between a privileged political elite and millions of ordinary Italians, has left deep scars.

"It's our fault, Italian citizens. It's our closed mentality. We're just not Europeans," said Luciana Li Mandri, a 37-year-old public servant in Palermo.

"We're all about getting favors when we study, getting a protected job when we work. That's the way we are and we can only be represented by people like that as well," she said.

FRUSTRATION

Final polls published two weeks ago showed center-left leader Bersani with a 5-point lead, but analysts disagree about whether he will be able to form a stable majority that can make the economic reforms they believe Italy needs.

While the center left is still expected to gain control of the lower house, thanks to rules that guarantee a strong majority to whichever party wins the most votes nationally, a much closer battle will be fought for the Senate, which any government also needs to control to be able to pass laws.

The euro zone's third-largest economy is stuck in deep recession, struggling under a public debt burden second only to Greece in the 17-member currency bloc and with a public weary of more than a year of austerity policies.

Bersani is now thought to be just a few points ahead of media magnate Berlusconi, the four-times prime minister who has promised tax refunds and staged a media blitz in an attempt to win back voters.

Think-tank consultant Mario, 60, who was on his way to vote in Bologna, said Bersani's Democratic Party was the only serious grouping that could help solve the country's economic woes.

"They're not perfect," he said. "But they've got the organization and the union backing that will help them push through the structural reforms."

A strong fightback by Berlusconi, who has promised to repay a widely hated housing tax, the IMU, imposed by Monti last year, saw his support climb during a campaign that relentlessly attacked the "German-centric" austerity policies of the former European Union commissioner.

"I won't vote for Monti, and I don't think a lot of people will. He made a huge blunder with IMU," said 35-year-old hairdresser Marco Morando, preparing to vote in Milan.

But the populist frustration Berlusconi's campaign tapped into has also benefitted Grillo and many pollsters said his 5-Star Movement, made up of political novices, was challenging the center-right for the position as second political force.

"I'm very worried. There seems to be no way out from a political point of view, or from being able to govern," said Calogero Giallanza, a 45-year-old musician in Rome, who voted for Bersani's Democrats.

"There's bound to be a mess in the Senate because, as far as I can see, the 5-Star Movement is unstoppable."

(Additional reporting by Cristiano Corvino, Lisa Jucca, Jennifer Clark, Matthias Baehr and Sara Rossi in Milan, Stephen Jewkes in Bologna, Wladimir Pantaleone in Palermo, Stefano Bernabei and Massimiliano Di Giorgio in Rome; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Alastair Macdonald)

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Pope celebrates emotional last Sunday prayer

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI delivered an emotional last Sunday prayer in St Peter's Square, saying God had told him to devote himself to prayer but assuring supporters he would not "abandon" the Church.

Tens of thousands of supporters turned out for the historic prayers ahead of the pope's formal resignation on Thursday, often interrupting the pope with their clapping, cheering and chanting.

"The Lord is calling me to climb the mountain, to dedicate myself even more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning the Church," the pope told the crowd from the window of his residence in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

"If God is asking me to do this, it is precisely so I can continue to serve with the same dedication and love as before but in a way that is more appropriate for my age and for my strength."

The 85-year-old leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics has said he will step down because he no longer has the strength of mind and body to carry on.

His shock resignation ended an eight-year pontificate dominated by the priest child sex abuse scandal and efforts to counter rising secularism in the West.

He thanked the crowd with a final unscripted call, telling them: "We will always be close!"

The Vatican and Rome police estimated the numbers at more than 100,000 people -- many times more than usually attend the traditional Sunday prayer.

"Holy Father, We Love You", read one banner seen in the crowd. One read: "Thank You, Your Holiness" and another said: "Dear Father, We'll Miss You".

"I have come to support the pope and to ask for his blessing," said Joao-Paulo, a 26-year-old trainee priest from Brazil who came with fellow seminarians.

Birgit Marschall, 37, a teacher from Germany, said: "He is an intellectual who speaks in simple language, who writes what we have in our hearts."

Claire Therese Heyne, a 34-year-old theology student from the United States, said the pope "must have had a very strong reason" to leave.

"It is an act of courage and humility," she said.

Benedict will be only the second pope to resign of his own free will in the Church's 2,000-year history, and the first to do so since the Middle Ages.

But Gianpaolo, 33, said Benedict had been "less courageous" than his predecessors, and many people looked ahead to the pope's successor and stressed the need for major reforms.

"The Church has to have a major reflection after this resignation. Something has changed inside the Church and this decision reflects this," said Gianpaolo, who came with his two sons.

Forty-five-year old Linda came from Wales in Britain for the event, saying: "He was not so open as the last popes before him. A new pope should be more open to people, to new ideas."

There was tight security in and around the Vatican, with more than 100 police officers and snipers on surrounding buildings, as well as two field clinics and hundreds of volunteers to help pilgrims.

The security is being seen as preparation for the pope's final general audience in St Peter's on Wednesday where around 200,000 people are expected.

Some Italian media have speculated his health may be far worse than the Vatican revealed, and others have said an explosive report into the "Vatileaks" scandal may be to blame.

The Vatican's Secretariat of State -- effectively the government of the Catholic Church -- took the unusual step on Saturday of issuing a formal statement condemning "completely false news stories".

The Panorama news weekly and the Repubblica daily said a report by a committee of cardinals into the leaks of confidential papal papers last year had uncovered allegations of intrigue, corruption and blackmail in the Vatican.

No clear favourite has emerged to succeed Joseph Ratzinger. But many observers say the cardinals, who make the choice, may plump for a much younger candidate who is a more pastoral figure than the academic Benedict.

A series of meetings of cardinals starting Friday will determine the date of the start of the conclave to elect a new pope. The Vatican has hinted that it could be brought forward to early March since there is no papal funeral.

Conclaves can last for days before a candidate wins a two-thirds majority.

The Vatican has said Benedict will retire to the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome for the next two or three months while a former monastery inside the Vatican is renovated.

Benedict has said he will live "hidden from the world" but Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi has said he could provide "spiritual guidance" to his successor and will likely continue to publish his theological research.

- AFP/fa

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Samsung HomeSync is a Jelly Bean-powered Apple TV rival

Samsung's not content with just making smart TVs, taking another lunge into your living room with HomeSync, an Android-powered media hub.

The glossy black box, announced today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, has an HDMI connection, but also hooks up to other gadgets over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The HomeSync streams
Android movies, TV shows and games, but Samsung promises the system will also work with Galaxy smart phones, giving smart phone owners the power to beam their home movies or photos onto the big screen.

Samsung says the HomeSync will feature a 'Jelly Bean media player', so while there's no detail yet on the HomeSync's interface, it should be broadly familiar to anyone who's toyed around with Android before. Access to the Google Play store is also confirmed.

You get up to eight separate accounts on one device, so each family member or flat-mate can create their own space on the HomeSync's 1TB hard drive. You can share stored files with another account, or if you're concealing footage you'd rather keep private, there's the option to lock your data down with file encryption and user IDs.

Powering the system is a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, while other hardware niceties include USB 3.0, micro USB and an optical audio connection.

Homesync goes head-to-head with
Apple TV, which is currently a popular choice if you're looking for a box to sit next to your gogglebox and stream movies and TV. HomeSync's appeal will depend greatly on how many movie options there are available, and it'll need a comprehensive selection of flicks if it wants to compete with Apple's own device.

There's no word on pricing yet, but Samsung's touting an April release date. Stay tuned, and let me know if you'd buy this box by dropping a note in the comments.

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Daytona crash sends car parts flying, injuring fans

Updated at 9:35 p.m. ET

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. At least 33 fans were injured Saturday during a NASCAR race when a car flew into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, hurling a tire and large pieces of debris into the stands.

The accident happened on the last lap of the second-tier Nationwide Series race on the eve of Sunday's Daytona 500, which officials said would go on as scheduled.

The crash began as the field approached the checkered flag and leader Regan Smith attempted to block Brad Keselowski to preserve the win. That triggered a chain reaction, and rookie Kyle Larson hit the cars in front of him and went airborne into the fence.

The entire front end was sheared off Larson's car, and his burning engine wedged through a gaping hole in the fence. Chunks of debris from the car were thrown into the stands, including a tire that cleared the top of the fence and landed midway up the spectator section closest to the track.

The 20-year-old Larson stood in shock several yards away from his car as fans in the stands waived frantically for help. Smoke from the burning engine briefly clouded the area, and emergency vehicles descended on the scene.

Ambulance sirens could be heard wailing behind the grandstands at a time the race winner would typically be doing celebratory burnouts.

"It was freaky. When I looked to my right, the accident happened," said Rick Harpster of Orange Park, Fla., who had a bird's-eye view of the wreck. "I looked over and I saw a tire fly straight over the fence into the stands, but after that I didn't see anything else That was the worst thing I have seen, seeing that tire fly into the stands. I knew it was going to be severe."

Daytona International Speedway released a statement from speedway President Joie Chitwood Saturday evening saying 28 people were injured in the accident in the race held the day before the season-opening Daytona 500.

21 Photos

Daytona racecar loses control

According to the statement, emergency medical personnel transported 14 people off the property and 14 others were treated at the on-track care center.

"We are in the process of repairing the facility, and we will be ready to go racing tomorrow," Chitwood said.

Nathan Kimpel, 24, who works at a concession stand near where the crash happened, told CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz that he saw 10 to 15 fans being carried out on stretchers.

"As soon as I saw the accident I just turned my head because I didn't want to get injured or anything," Kimpel told Diaz. "I saw the fence separate and more pieces of car parts flying up."

Meghan Willams, 20, who also works at a concession stand, told Diaz the crash sounded like an "earthquake." She saw people running and crying and a girl completely covered in engine oil.

Byron Cogdell, a spokesman for Halifax Health Medical Center, told CBS News that one of the 11 patents taken to the hospital was in critical condition and five more were listed as "trauma" patients.

Lindsay Rew, a spokeswoman for Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center, said its Daytona Beach hospital had one fan there who was in good condition. She said they were expecting three more people who were coming by ambulance, but she didn't yet know their conditions.

"There obviously was some intrusion into the fence and fortunately with the way the event's equipped up, there were plenty of emergency workers ready to go and they all jumped in on it pretty quickly," NASCAR President Mike Helton said. "Right now, it's just a function of determining what all damage is done. They're moving folks, as we've seen, to care centers and take some folks over to Halifax Medical."

As emergency workers tended to injured fans and ambulance sirens wailed in the background, a somber Tony Stewart skipped the traditional post-race victory celebration.

Stewart, who won for the 19th time at Daytona and seventh time in the last nine season-opening Nationwide races, was in no mood to celebrate.

"The important thing is what going on on the frontstretch right now," said Stewart, the three-time NASCAR champion. "We've always known, and since racing started, this is a dangerous sport. But it's hard. We assume that risk, but it's hard when the fans get caught up in it.

"So as much as we want to celebrate right now and as much as this is a big deal to us, I'm more worried about the drivers and the fans that are in the stands right now because that was ... I could see it all in my mirror, and it didn't look good from where I was at."

The accident spread into the upper deck and emergency crews treated fans on both levels. There were five stretchers that appeared to be carrying fans out, and a helicopter flew overhead. A forklift was used to pluck Larson's engine out of the fence.

"It's a violent wreck. Just seeing the carnage on the racetrack, it's truly unbelievable," driver Justin Allgaier said.

It was a chaotic finish to a race that was stopped for nearly 20 minutes five laps from the finish by a 13-car accident that sent driver Michael Annett to a hospital, where his Richard Petty Motorsports team said he would be held overnight with bruising to his chest.

The race resumed with three laps to go, and the final accident occurred with Smith trying to hold off Keselowski through the final turn.

"I tried to throw a block. It's Daytona, you want to go for the win here," Smith said. "I don't know how you can play it any different other than concede second place, and I wasn't willing to do that today. Our job is to put them in position to win, and it was, and it didn't work out."

As the cars began wrecking all around Smith and Keselowski, Stewart slid through for the win, but Larson plowed into Keselowski and his car was sent airborne into the stands. When Larson's car came to a stop, it was missing its entire front end. The 20-year-old, who made his Daytona debut this week, stood apparently stunned, hands on his hips, several feet away from his car, before finally making the mandatory trip to the care center.

He said his first thought was with the fans.

"I hope all the fans are OK and all the drivers are all right," Larson said. "I took a couple big hits there and saw my engine was gone. Just hope everybody's all right."

"Honestly, the race itself pales in comparison to the injuries sustained by the fans," said Chip Ganassi, the team owner who has Larson in his driver development program. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the fans that were injured as a result of the crash. As for Kyle, I am very happy that he is OK."

Keselowski watched a replay of the final accident, and said his first thoughts were with the fans. As for the accident, he agreed he tried to make a winning move and Smith tried to block.

"He felt like that's what he had to do, and that's his right. The chaos comes with it," Keselowski said. "I made the move and he blocked it, and the two of us got together and started the chain events that caused that wreck. First and foremost, just want to make sure everyone in the stands is OK and we're thinking about them."

Keselowski said the incident could cast a pall on the Daytona 500.

"I think until we know exactly the statuses of everyone involved, it's hard to lock yourself into the 500," Keselowski said. "Hopefully, we'll know soon and hopefully everyone's OK. And if that's the case, we'll staring focusing on Sunday."

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Las Vegas Strip Shooting Suspect ID'd

Las Vegas police identified a suspect today in a shooting on the strip that caused a Maserati to hit a taxi and burst into flames, killing three people.

Ammar Harris, 26, has been named a suspect in the Thursday skirmish that killed three people, including rapper Kenny Clutch.

The altercation between Harris and Clutch, 27, whose legal name was Kenneth Cherry Jr., is believed to have originated in the valet area of a Las Vegas hotel, police said.

Police said Harris fired several rounds into a Maserati that was being driven by Cherry as both vehicles continued northbound on glitzy Las Vegas Boulevard.

The rapper's expensive sports car careened out of control after he was shot, slamming into several cars, including a taxi. The impact caused the cab to burst into flames, killing the driver, Michael Boldon and a female passenger. Witnesses said it looked like the car exploded.

"He was a number one guy," Carolyn Jean Trimble, Boldon's sister, told ABC News.

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"I looked out my window and I could see one vehicle down here on the corner of the intersection totally engulfed in flames," witness John Lamb told ABC News.

Boldon, 62, and his passenger, who has not yet been identified, were both killed, as was Clutch.

Timble said her brother loved driving his taxi around Vegas.

"He came to live with me in Las Vegas last year to help take care of our mother, and the first day he got here he said, 'I have to get a job.' The second day, I came home from work, and he said he got a job," she recalled.

"He says, 'You'll never guess what it is,' and I said, 'what,' and he said, 'taxi cab driver,' and we both fell out laughing," Trimble said. "He loved that job. He never complained. He'd come home and tell me stories about what happened, who he picked up."

Boldon was a single father who raised a 36-year-old son and was a new grandfather. His grandson was named after him, Trimble said.

"Of all the people to take from this earth," she said. "But I guess the Lord needed him."

A passenger in the Maserati was hit and sustained only a minor injury to his arm. Clutch died at University Medical Center.

His father, Kenneth Cherry Sr., expressed his grief for the loss of his son while speaking with ABC News.

"This is something you never really, really ever want to experience as a parent, to lose a child before you go," he said.

Harris is described as 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Las Vegas Metro Police Department's homicide division.

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Abe vows to revive Japanese economy, sees no escalation with China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Americans on Friday "I am back and so is Japan" and vowed to get the world's third biggest economy growing again and to do more to bolster security and the rule of law in an Asia roiled by territorial disputes.

Abe had firm words for China in a policy speech to a top Washington think-tank, but also tempered his remarks by saying he had no desire to escalate a row over islets in the East China Sea that Tokyo controls and Beijing claims.

"No nation should make any miscalculation about firmness of our resolve. No one should ever doubt the robustness of the Japan-U.S. alliance," he told the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"At the same time, I have absolutely no intention to climb up the escalation ladder," Abe said in a speech in English.

After meeting U.S. President Barack Obama on his first trip to Washington since taking office in December in a rare comeback to Japan's top job, he said he told Obama that Tokyo would handle the islands issue "in a calm manner."

"We will continue to do so and we have always done so," he said through a translator, while sitting next to Obama in the White House Oval Office.

Tension surged in 2012, raising fears of an unintended military incident near the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. Washington says the islets fall under a U.S.-Japan security pact, but it is eager to avoid a clash in the region.

Abe said he and Obama "agreed that we have to work together to maintain the freedom of the seas and also that we would have to create a region which is governed based not on force but based on an international law."

Abe, whose troubled first term ended after just one year when he abruptly quit in 2007, has vowed to revive Japan's economy with a mix of hyper-easy monetary policy, big spending, and structural reform. The hawkish leader is also boosting Japan's defense spending for the first time in 11 years.

"Japan is not, and will never be, a tier-two country," Abe said in his speech. "So today ... I make a pledge. I will bring back a strong Japan, strong enough to do even more good for the betterment of the world."

'ABENOMICS' TO BOOST TRADE

The Japanese leader stressed that his "Abenomics" recipe would be good for the United States, China and other trading partners.

"Soon, Japan will export more, but it will import more as well," Abe said in the speech. "The U.S. will be the first to benefit, followed by China, India, Indonesia and so on."

Abe said Obama welcomed his economic policy, while Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said the two leaders did not discuss currencies, in a sign that the U.S. does not oppose "Abenomics" despite concern that Japan is weakening its currency to export its way out of recession.

The United States and Japan agreed language during Abe's visit that could set the stage for Tokyo to join negotiations soon on a U.S.-led regional free trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

In a carefully worded statement following the meeting between Obama and Abe, the two countries reaffirmed that "all goods would be subject to negotiations if Japan joins the talks with the United States and 10 other countries.

At the same time, the statement envisions a possible outcome where the United States could maintain tariffs on Japanese automobiles and Japan could still protect its rice sector.

"Recognizing that both countries have bilateral trade sensitivities, such as certain agricultural products for Japan and certain manufactured products for the United States, the two governments confirm that, as the final outcome will be determined during the negotiations, it is not required to make a prior commitment to unilaterally eliminate all tariffs upon joining the TPP negotiations," the statement said.

Abe repeated that Japan would not provide any aid for North Korea unless it abandoned its nuclear and missile programs and released Japanese citizens abducted decades ago to help train spies.

Pyongyang admitted in 2002 that its agents had kidnapped 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s. Five have been sent home, but Japan wants better information about eight who Pyongyang says are dead and others Tokyo believes were also kidnapped.

Abe also said he hoped to have a meeting with new Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who takes over as president next month, and would dispatch Finance Minister Taro Aso to attend the inauguration of incoming South Korean President Park Geun-hye next week.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Doug Palmer; Editing by David Brunnstrom and Paul Simao)

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Maldivain ex-leader exits Indian embassy: New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed left the Indian embassy in the capital Male on Saturday, an Indian official said, 10 days after he sought refuge in the mission in a bid to avoid arrest.

Nasheed's exit came after a Maldivian court earlier this week postponed his trial for abuse of power when he was in office and India sent an envoy to the nation of 330,000 Sunni Muslims to try and end the political standoff.

"He (Nasheed) entered India's mission on February 13th of his own volition and decided to leave on his own," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said in New Delhi.

Nasheed, 45, is accused of abusing his powers after he won the first free elections in 2008 in the Indian Ocean holiday destination. The pro-democracy campaigner was ousted last year following a mutiny by police and troops.

"He is not planning to go back (to the embassy). He has ended seeking refuge there," Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party spokeswoman Shauna Aminath told AFP.

Nasheed, a famed global warming activist, has condemned the charges of abuse of power against him as a "politically motivated sham".

The Maldivian court postponed the hearing scheduled for last Wednesday after police said they were unable to arrest the former president and bring him before the magistrate, according to Nasheed's party.

Presidential spokesman Masood Imad had confirmed the hearing had been cancelled but said that the case was still pending.

Nasheed's taking refuge at the Indian embassy in Male had strained relations between India and its tiny neighbour.

The Maldivian foreign ministry last weekend summoned Indian High Commissioner (ambassador) D.M. Mulay and accused India of allowing Nasheed to use its embassy for political activities.

India had appealed to its neighbour to guarantee "the integrity of the electoral process" before the presidential election set for September, but had strongly denied interfering in politics in the Maldives.

-AFP/fl

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