MONTE CARLO (Reuters) - Current anti-doping measures in tennis are a "disaster" and the introduction of biological passports can only improve matters, world number six Tomas Berdych said.

"The system right now... I don't know how it works with the others but with me, it does not work at all," the Czech told Reuters in an interview at the Monte Carlo Masters this week.

"You have to say every single day... where you are. I've done this for three or four years already and I had only two tests out of the tournaments," Berdych said.

"So why do I have to do this all the time and then they come twice in four years? It's just like complete nonsense."

Under International Tennis Federation (ITF) rules, players must give their location for at least one hour of each day in case they are required for an out-of-competition drugs test, usually by means of a urine sample.

"If some people were hired to think about that and have come up with this kind of idea, if it was me, I would have fired them straight away," Berdych said.

"This system is a complete disaster. So whatever they're going to do differently, it's going to be good, new or whatever."

The ITF said last month it would introduce biological passports for players this year, in line with measures adopted in other sports such as cycling.

The new system, under which test results are collated over time to enable testers to track any changes which might indicate doping, would involve more blood tests being done every year, the federation said.

According to their website (www.itftennis.com), the ITF carried out 21 out-of-competition blood tests in professional tennis in 2011.

By comparison, cycling's world governing body UCI conducted 3,314 in the same year.

Top players, including 17-times grand-slam winner Roger Federer, have welcomed the introduction of biological passports in tennis and Berdych added his backing.

"Sure, I'm definitely on this side. There should be more tests," Berdych said.

World number nine Richard Gasquet of France also praised the new system.

"We still have urine tests that are a bit behind the times and we know that potential cheats always are way ahead," he told Reuters.

Urine tests can detect many drugs including EPO, one of several substances taken by disgraced former Tour de France cycling champion Lance Armstrong, but only blood tests can detect human growth hormone.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) head John Fahey earlier this year called on tennis officials to increase the number of blood tests.

(Reporting by Gregory Blachier; Editing by Clare Fallon)

Amazon, which opened its Kindle e-book store in China in December, launched its Android app store over the weekend for China users to download both free and paid apps, Amazon China spokesman Billy Huang said on Monday.

Google's official app store only offers free apps in China. Google China declined to comment for this story. Android is Google's open source mobile operating system.

Amazon's app store must compete with hundreds of local rivals offering paid and free apps, some of them pirated, and users often worry about malware when downloading from these sites.

Amazon is the first Western technology company to offer a platform for paid Android apps in China and Huang said the company was working with software developers to increase the number of apps on offer.

Amazon China cornered less than three percent of China's booming 169 billion yuan ($27 billion) business-to-consumer e-commerce market in the fourth quarter last year.

The launch of the app store and the Kindle e-book store in China paves the way for Amazon to offer a range of devices including the standard Kindle e-reader and the Kindle Fire.

Huang declined to comment on the Kindle's release date in China. ($1 = 6.1556 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; editing by Miral Fahmy)

That's why the fall-winter 2013-14 show saw the Belgian designer explore his usual menswear-womenswear tailoring via the frivolity of ballroom dancing, feathers and the dancing two-some Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Wednesday's show was proof again of Van Noten's mastery when it comes to the art of clashing styles.

"I started from the menswear pants, and then the opposite is ballroom dancing ... big feathers," he said backstage at Paris' grand Hotel de Ville. "Fashion is so serious, so the hints of the Fred and Ginger story were fun."

Who better to represent the Van Noten universe, where men's and women's styles merge together, than one of the most iconic and inseparable male-female couple in Hollywood history?

Ostrich feathers in midnight blue, faded gray and tea rose billowed like 1930s boas with large vivid embroideries, vintage fur alongside men's baggy pants, club stripes and Prince of Wales check.

Some of the feathered fringing floated past wistfully, only to be reined in by the humorous juxtaposition of a menswear cut.

One fantastic look said it all: a sumptuous navy feathered skirt (Ginger), and a large tuxedo shirt (Fred.)

In Van Noten's world, like in Hollywood, there's no man without the woman, no Ginger without Fred.

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Thomas Adamson can be followed at http://Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP

IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist said researchers have made significant advances in devising a test, leaving officials hopeful a method can be approved soon for use at the Olympics and other events.

''Quite some progress has been made in terms of outlining the scientific basis for analysis of gene doping,'' Ljungqvist told The Associated Press. ''We are moving. It's promising.''

Up to 40 experts from around the world will meet in Beijing on June 5-6 to discuss recent findings and how to move forward in combatting the threat of athletes manipulating their genes to boost sports performance.

The meeting is being organized by the World Anti-Doping Agency in conjunction with China's national anti-doping agency. It will be the Olympic movement's fourth symposium on gene doping, following previous conferences in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, in 2002; Stockholm in 2005; and St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2008.

''There have been scientific studies which are quite promising,'' said Ljungqvist, also a WADA vice president. ''We feel it's time to review this within the context of a small symposium of specialists.''

Gene doping, which is prohibited by the IOC and WADA, involves transferring genes directly into human cells to blend into an athlete's own DNA to enhance muscle growth and increase strength or endurance. It is an illegal offshoot of gene therapy, which typically alters a person's DNA to fight diseases like muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis.

''We want to continue the momentum that we've got so we can get to a scenario where the detection methods can be approved,'' WADA director general David Howman told the AP. ''It's close.''

In 2010, two groups of scientists - one in Germany and a U.S.-French research team - said they developed gene doping tests in what WADA described at the time as a major breakthrough. One was a blood test that would detect doping as far back as 56 days, while the other was for detecting genetic doping in muscles.

However, the tests have not been validated and hopes they could be used at the 2012 London Olympics were not realized.

''When you have a scientific method, that is one thing, but you need to develop a technique and make good use of it,'' Ljungqvist said. ''We have a reasonably good scientific basis and we'll have to discuss how to develop this further now.''

How soon could a test be ready for use?

''You can never predict when,'' Ljungqvist said. ''Science is full of surprises and obstacles.''

The IOC and WADA say there is no evidence that athletes are gene doping, but warn that it may be only a matter of time. Scientists working on potential genetic cures for muscle diseases and blood disorders have been contacted by sports figures asking about enhancing performance.

''We know that those who wish to take a chance and cheat are ready to do anything,'' Ljungqvist said. ''We've had people who are researching into this and they have been approached by coaches and the like. But we don't have any evidence suggesting this is yet in place.''

Howman said WADA has received information about people looking on the black market for access to gene doping methods.

''Nothing has amounted that is sufficient to be able to put together a case,'' he said. ''We don't discount the fact that people are fiddling around with it. Certainly, that possibility exists.''

The prospect of genetic manipulation comes as drug cheats continue to turn to more traditional forms of doping, including steroids, EPO and blood transfusions.

Ljungqvist said the Lance Armstrong scandal, in which the American cyclist acknowledged doping during his seven Tour de France victories, shows that cheaters may not be as far ahead of the scientists as feared.

''The Armstrong case is very informative, that such an advanced doping cheat was using usual stuff,'' Ljungqvist said. ''The wonder drugs are not there. It is still the same ones. That is interesting to us.''

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Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stevewilsonap

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Monday to give states the power to enforce their sales tax laws on online purchases, but the legislation faces a tougher fight in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 69 to 27 to back the measure, which pits brick-and-mortar stores like Wal-Mart Stores Inc and cash-hungry state governments against such Web retailers as eBay Inc and Republicans wary of new tax measures.

"Call me a conservative, but I believe the right approach to tax fairness is to reduce rates not force higher rates onto others," said Tom Graves, a House Republican from Georgia.

House Speaker John Boehner plans to send the bill to the House Judiciary Committee, a senior Republican aide said. That will mean hearings ahead. The Senate uncharacteristically bypassed this step.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte, a Republican, has reservations about the legislation, including its complexity and potential impact on small businesses, a spokeswoman said.

Goodlatte has yet to schedule any hearings on it, she said.

Backers of the measure include major traditional retailers Wal-Mart and Best Buy Co Inc, as well as e-tailing giant Amazon.com Inc, which wants to simplify its U.S. state sales tax payments.

Opponents include many other online merchants such as eBay, Overstock.com Inc and anti-tax activist Grover Norquist. Lawmakers from states without sales taxes - like Montana, Oregon and New Hampshire - largely oppose the measure.

States that charge sales tax have largely been unable to require e-tailers to collect it from purchasers unless the e-tailer had a physical presence in the state. Otherwise, consumers are supposed to pay the tax, but very few do.

Some states have made separate arrangements with Amazon on the issue, while others have not.

The bill would let states require out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax on purchases made over the Internet, even if the e-tailer has no physical presence in the purchaser's state.

The bill would allow states to do this but not require them to do so. It would also exempt merchants with online annual out-of-state sales of $1 million or less.

"We place a 30 percent probability that the bill is signed into law by the end of the year" primarily due to opposition in the House, said Guggenheim Securities analyst Chris Krueger.

"Our odds will increase following passage of this bill in the Senate provided it receives a big vote of support," he said.

The online sales tax bill debate is moving on a separate track from efforts in Congress on a broader tax overhaul.

The main obstacle on that front remains the dispute between Republicans who refuse to consider new federal revenue from ending tax breaks that would be part of tax reform, and Democrats who insist that such new revenue is vital.

(Reporting By Kevin Drawbaugh, Patrick Temple-West, Kim Dixon and Nanette Byrnes; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Steve Orlofsky and Eric Walsh)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Clorox said Wednesday that its fiscal third-quarter net income climbed slightly as price hikes helped amid bad weather conditions that hindered sales of its Kingsford brand charcoal.

The consumer products company's performance missed Wall Street estimates. It also lowered the high end of its full-year revenue forecast, due to the lower charcoal sales and other issues.

Shares slipped in morning trading.

Clorox earned $133 million, or $1 per share, for the three months ended March 31. That compares with $132 million, or $1.01 per share, in the first three months of 2012.

Analysts, on average, were looking for earnings of $1.05 per share, according to FactSet.

Revenue edged up 1 percent to $1.41 billion from $1.4 billion. Wall Street expected $1.43 billion in revenue.

Charcoal sales fell by more than 20 percent in March because of unusually cold weather across most of the U.S. Elsewhere in the household segment, cat litter shipments fell as prior price increases continued to hurt volume. Prices hikes benefited the unit which also includes Glad bags, wraps and containers but were somewhat offset by unfavorable mix and increased promotional spending.

In the lifestyle division, which includes Hidden Valley Ranch brand dressings and sauces, Brita water filtration and Burt's Bees natural personal care, sales rose 2 percent, mostly because of price hikes.

Overseas sales climbed 2 percent primarily on price increases and lower promotional spending. This was somewhat offset by unfavorable currency exchange rates.

Clorox Co. now expects fiscal 2013 revenue will rise 3 percent to 4 percent, but believes its results will likely be toward the lower end of the range. Its prior guidance was for 3 percent to 5 percent growth. Based on 2012's $5.47 billion in sales, the revised guidance implies revenue of about $5.64 billion to $5.69 billion.

The Oakland, Calif. company still anticipates earnings in a range of $4.25 to $4.35 per share.

Analysts predict full-year earnings of $4.34 per share on revenue of $5.69 billion.

For fiscal 2014, Clorox foresees earnings between $4.55 and $4.70 per share. Revenue is expected to climb 2 percent to 4 percent.

Wall Street expects earnings of $4.69 per share.

Clorox's stock shed 51 cents to $85.74 in morning trading. The shares have traded between $66.72 and $90.10 in the past 52 weeks.

LONDON (Reuters) - Some of Google's clients have questioned its assertion that it does not sell to customers from its London office, a key plank in its ability to operate almost tax-free in Britain, a poll said on Friday.

Meanwhile, the company began amending advertisements for London-based jobs on its website, which previously said that candidates would have to achieve "sales quotas" and "drive revenues".

Google Inc says it sells all advertising in the UK, France and Germany from its Dublin office.

The Drum, a magazine for marketing professionals, asked 80 ad buyers and digital agencies - companies that purchase advertising products on behalf of clients - about their dealings with Google's London office and their interaction with the office in Dublin.

Of the 29 that replied to the survey, "Almost 80 percent of respondents said they dealt with London when buying Google advertising. Around 14 percent said they used Dublin, the remainder said they did not know," an article posted on The Drum's website said.

(http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/05/03/google-tax-row-80-media-buyers-say-they-deal-london-when-buying-advertising-google)

Google declined to comment on Friday on the details of the survey.

Corporate tax avoidance has become a hot political issue in Britain amid austerity measures to pay for the banking crisis.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he is working to address the problem and plans to put it on the agenda for the G8 meeting of the world's largest economies to be held in Northern Ireland in June.

From 2006 to 2011, Google generated $18 billion in revenues from Britain, according to statutory filings, and Google UK paid just $16 million in taxes, its accounts show.

"When asked what they considered they were doing when dealing with Google's London team, 76 percent said they considered they were buying from them. 17 percent said they were receiving general advice in order to buy through Dublin," the Drum report added.

When asked what they considered to be the primary role of Google's London advertising team, 80 percent said "sales", while 17 percent said "support", the report said.

CHANGING THE ADVERTS

Earlier this week British lawmakers said they planned to call Google back to testify to a parliamentary committee after Reuters revealed the company advertised for UK staff to "negotiate" and "close" deals. A Google executive told the committee in November that UK staff did not sell to clients.

Google said: "We accept that the wording of some job adverts may have been confusing and we are working to make it clearer."

On Friday, Google had begun amending UK-based job advertisements on its website, which referred to sales activities.

A reference to "Acquire new strategic medium-sized clients" was removed from an advertisement for an "acquisition manager (UK/Ireland)". Prospective candidates are now told they need to "Approach prospects with tailored presentations and industry data".

All adverts for jobs based in Paris and Germany, which last month carried sales-related role descriptions, were amended by Friday afternoon.

Reuters also found that profiles of around 150 London-based employees on the LinkedIn networking website said they were involved in formulating sales strategy, managing sales teams, closing deals or other sales work.

Google has denied misleading lawmakers and said it complied with UK tax law. Google says it employs around 1,000 London-based "digital consultants" who educate customers about the benefit of Google products.

It said these people did "encourage" clients to buy but said all selling was done by "a couple of hundred" staff in Dublin.

The company declined to say specifically how the process of selling was divided between Dublin and London or whether this involved London staff negotiating contracts, which were then rubber-stamped by Dublin.

Under international tax law, companies are allowed to engage in promotional work in a country without creating a tax residence, but lawyers and academics said negotiating on British soil could mean Google's UK revenues became assessable for income UK tax purposes.

Currently, Google UK receives fees from Google Ireland that are intended to cover Google UK's costs, plus a small premium.

(Editing by David Cowell and Jane Baird)

The shooting took place on a July morning in 1974, as invading Turkish forces pushed forward in the wake a failed coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece. The friendship took root once the two men, now in their 60s, met in 2009, an encounter made possible by the checkpoint openings. Akinci had discovered from a book Maratheftis wrote that the soldier he'd shot was alive and sought out his onetime enemy.

The story of Maratheftis and Akinci was one of the many signs of reconciliation that emerged after the barriers were opened, allowing crossings after three decades of complete separation. The number of crossings has now reached into the millions. But these flickers of hope for reunification are at risk of being snuffed out as the island confronts what could be its worst economic crisis, making prospects for reconciliation appear dimmer than ever.

With its once-robust banking sector decimated and unemployment soaring amid harsh EU-imposed austerity, Greek Cypriots seem to have little appetite for any radical and potentially expensive change that would add to their overwhelming sense of uncertainty about their future. The island joined the European Union in 2004, but membership benefits only extend to residents in the south. The Turkish Cypriots, on the other hand, have had a close-up look at the financial chaos that EU membership can bring, and may be in no hurry to join the club.

"It worsened the prospect for settlement," says Hubert Faustmann, political science professor at the University of Nicosia. "A solution is costly, and there is less money now or hardly any money if any money left to finance that."

There's been no 10th anniversary commemoration this week. That early euphoria amid scenes of a crush people eager to cross over and see homes and properties that belonged to families for generations then left hastily left behind is now a faded memory.

Turkish Cypriots were first to rebel in the early 2000s against their isolation, angry at seeing their future drying up amid a collapsing economy. That compelled Turkish Cypriot authorities to loosen restrictions on crossings and to open checkpoints, putting an end to the Turkish Cypriots' nearly complete isolation on a sliver of territory recognized by no other country than Turkey.

"The opening of the gates, had opened a big door for ... the Turkish Cypriots because we were in a sort of enclave" said Turkish Cypriot Hassan Cirakli, sitting with his former Greek Cypriot schoolmate and close friend, Andreas Paralikis, in the shadow of a 12th-century cathedral converted into a mosque in the northern part of Nicosia. "We didn't have any relations with the outside world."

But the lack of a deal after so many failed attempts has sapped all optimism that reunification is possible, says Ahmet Sozen, chair of the political science department at Eastern Mediterranean University in the north.

Sozen said without real political progress, all the crossing points appeared to do was to bestow a kind of strange "normality" to the status quo.

"Unfortunately the crossing openings failed to make a huge positive difference as to how people on both sides of the divided perceive each other," says Sozen. "People in their subconscious have been reconciled with the idea that this is perhaps the best arrangement."

That pessimism doesn't faze Maratheftis or Akinci.

"Now we're fighting for peace in the same trench," said Akinci.

Maratheftis still has the bullet fragments embedded in his skull but bears no grudges. These days, the two men recount their story to schoolchildren on both sides of the divide, part of a personal quest to erase the mistrust that the barriers sustained.

Philly Tech Week 2013 (April 20-28) began with a high tech pong game that lit up the Cira Centre, and Day 3 of Startup Weekend will , according to the PTW 2013 Events Calendar. Startup Weekend registration begins at today, and , kicking off the PTW 2013 closing weekend, according to Startup Weekend Philly.

What is Startup Weekend?

Startup Weekend is a 54-hour long event that runs every year . The event brings together web designers, business people, writers, marketers, coders, tech junkies, and the not so technically minded, to network and generate business ideas. Essentially, those who attend Startup Weekend will get a complete andoff the ground within those 54 hours, according to StartupWeekend.org.

Friday: Startup Day 1 Schedule

event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, which is when, according to the events calendar, by drinks and networking begin at Two Liberty Place at 50 South 16th Street. Those who managed to register will begin pitching ideas for the startup they want to create during Day 2 and 3 at 8 p.m., and from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m., attendees will vote on the best and most viable startup ideas. At 10:30 p.m., attendees will put together teams for the weekend while talking about the ideas in more details, and decide how to proceed until 11:45 p.m., when the evening ends.

Saturday: Startup Weekend Day 2

Startup Weekend Day 2 begins with coffee and breakfast at 9 a.m., and at 9:30 a.m., the teams will get together to set up for the day. At 9:45, coaches arrive to help the attendees work with their business ideas.

event include Loren Brichter, Yasmin Mustafa, Jared Shockcor, Alex Hillman, Tracet Welson-Rossman, Brandon Hilkert, Ted Mann, Michael Raber, Nick Hilem and Leslie Jump, according to Startup Weekend Philly. Coaches mentor the attendees, helping them work out any issues they have during the weekend. Lunch begins at 11:45 a.m., and afterward, attendees will work with their coaches again until 6:30 p.m., when dinner is served.

At 7:30 p.m., Startup Weekend teams will attend a meeting of sorts to discuss their projects with the other teams at the mid-weekend checking. This is when teams can ask for and receive help with any issues they may be having regarding their startup projects. Work on the startups will continue until 11:45 p.m., when Day 2 of Startup Weekend ends.

Day 3 begins promptly at 9 a.m. on Sunday with breakfast and coffee, followed at 9:30 a.m. by setup, and work begins at 9:45 when the coaches arrive. Teams are encouraged to ask for help from their coaches if they need it.

Lunch is at noon, and at 1:30, preparations begin for the startup presentations. A "tech-check" is at 3 p.m. and a 4 p.m. dinner is served, while presentations begin at 5:30 p.m., where each team will show off their creations.at 8 p.m., with Apu Gupta, Georgia Guthrie, and Brett judging, according to Startup Weekend Philly. For more information about Startup Weekend, visit the event website.

Jessica (JC) Torpey is an IT specialist with more than 10 years of experience in the field. JC's passion is studying the various political and business aspects of the technology industry. JC combines her IT experiences and knowledge with her love of computers and uses it to influence her writing.

English folk-punk singer Frank Turner delivers his most personal work to date on his fifth solo album, "Tape Deck Heart."

The 12 tracks expose his breakups and heartache, and "Recovery," an upbeat tune with a dark undertone, kicks off the proceedings. It's a familiar tale of a night of debauchery with friends after a breakup.

"Anymore" is an honest, acoustic account of leaving someone with lyrics like: "The single hardest thing that I ever had to do is take those arms from around me and walk away from you."

"Plain Sailing," underneath all the expletives and crashing guitars, is a catchy recounting of falling in love and then messing it all up. The lead single, "Four Simple Words," is perfect for moshing, and "Broken Piano" brings the album to a nice close with the help of a backing choir.

The only downfall is that some of "Tape Deck Heart" feels rushed. The singer-songwriter, who nicely blends folk and punk, is an acquired taste: Though his songs may be heartfelt, they're not always earth-shattering.

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Follow Reetu Rupal on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/R2Today