Bangladesh opposition clean sweeps key city elections

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbD0ep9A2Bu0c-2HcXw9Jc6Kxa5xqoAlOCjwT4myw3lxjNkUIGr-0-CJIpvY8U7_dN8mwwGQnTp_VcnDyxN0kx4gzhNJsA8o0RwDQHZmOPVmd_mlfVuA92Yt-9csTXmODczmpNNmFyujo/s1600/51bd5ce66df52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbD0ep9A2Bu0c-2HcXw9Jc6Kxa5xqoAlOCjwT4myw3lxjNkUIGr-0-CJIpvY8U7_dN8mwwGQnTp_VcnDyxN0kx4gzhNJsA8o0RwDQHZmOPVmd_mlfVuA92Yt-9csTXmODczmpNNmFyujo/s1600/51bd5ce66df52.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>DHAKA: Bangladesh's Islamist-backed main opposition on Sunday swept mayoral elections in four cities in a major setback for the ruling party ahead of general polls.</b><br /><br />The centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won by big margins in the major cities of Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Barisal, Election Commission spokesman S.M. Asaduzzaman told AFP.<br /><br />In the third largest city of Khulna, home to about one million people, BNP candidate Moniruzzaman Moni beat the incumbent Abdul Khaleque by a margin of 60,671 votes.<br /><br />“In mayoral elections local issues play important role but the results are a verdict against the government's poor performance,” said Ataur Rahman, a former professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.<br /><br />“Many people believe this government is anti-Islamic and they did not like the way government aggressively cracked down on the Islamists in recent months,” Rahman added.<br /><br />Leading Islamists including the entire leadership of Jamaat-i-Islami have been tried by the country's much criticised war crime court that is probing the atrocities committed during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence.<br /><br />Four Islamist leaders have already been sentenced to death since January by the court but the verdicts triggered protests which killed 150 political activists, mostly Islamists, in some of the worst political violence in the country's history.<br /><br />Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's centre-left Awami League party won the December 2008 polls by a landslide but her tenure has been hit by series of high profile graft scandals.</div>

Bangladesh opposition clean sweeps key city elections

DHAKA: Bangladesh's Islamist-backed main opposition on Sunday swept mayoral elections in four cities in a major setback for the ruling p...

Read more »

Four stabbed in British mosque attack: police

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqI-jtVFsY_vXJ3-gEkeXLwyGfOW0V9jLVI27eGLBXSnj7C7ic13lxd1c5UWqknLan_ejvyR7ajZcTP2wOIPfeG_WhaMY1czwxQFOHCa5Gp0bcLueXjBsU51EEqe3xuZJCU9tcsoexfRE/s1600/51bd2cb15e11e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqI-jtVFsY_vXJ3-gEkeXLwyGfOW0V9jLVI27eGLBXSnj7C7ic13lxd1c5UWqknLan_ejvyR7ajZcTP2wOIPfeG_WhaMY1czwxQFOHCa5Gp0bcLueXjBsU51EEqe3xuZJCU9tcsoexfRE/s1600/51bd2cb15e11e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>LONDON: Four men including a police officer were in hospital Sunday after being stabbed during an attack at a mosque in the English city of Birmingham, police said.</b><br /><br />Officers were called out to a mosque in the city's Ward End area late Saturday after reports that three men had been stabbed, said a spokesman for West Midlands Police.<br /><br />While a suspect was being arrested one of the officers was himself stabbed, the spokesman added. All four of the victims were in a stable condition in hospital, he said.<br /><br />Police are holding a 32-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder.</div>

Four stabbed in British mosque attack: police

LONDON: Four men including a police officer were in hospital Sunday after being stabbed during an attack at a mosque in the English city of ...

Read more »

Turkish police storm Istanbul protest park after PM's warning

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRGLOBul9b09CmlZDXf7oBydEVRIITQox4yCANDn60Lqlna5lIA2KjTdn06PfWM9GJ_D04KW9d31azpcyRX6KX6TRqR_nap19fnfQ8yYlWSq3mHDnTNYQLZEstT6WSCOxrATTioKMrIU/s1600/51bcb0be9f80c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRGLOBul9b09CmlZDXf7oBydEVRIITQox4yCANDn60Lqlna5lIA2KjTdn06PfWM9GJ_D04KW9d31azpcyRX6KX6TRqR_nap19fnfQ8yYlWSq3mHDnTNYQLZEstT6WSCOxrATTioKMrIU/s1600/51bcb0be9f80c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>ISTANBUL: Turkish riot police stormed a central Istanbul park on Saturday firing tear gas and water cannon to evict hundreds of anti-government protesters hours after an ultimatum from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.</b><br /><br />Lines of police backed by armoured vehicles sealed off Taksim Square in the centre of the city as officers stormed the adjoining Gezi Park, where protesters had been camped in a ramshackle settlement of tents for more than two weeks.<br /><br />After using tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in Taksim Square, police entered the adjoining Gezi Park, clearing it within minutes and leaving only protesters' empty tents behind, an AFP reporter at the scene said.<br /><br />Residents in surrounding neighbourhoods took to their balconies or leant out of windows banging pots and pans, while car drivers sounded their horns in support of the protesters.<br /><br />Erdogan had warned hours earlier that security forces would clear the square if the protesters did not withdraw before a ruling party rally in Istanbul on Sunday.<br /><br />“We have our Istanbul rally tomorrow. I say it clearly: Taksim Square must be evacuated, otherwise this country's security forces know how to evacuate it,” he told tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters at a rally in Ankara.<br /><br />A police crackdown on peaceful campaigners in Gezi Park two weeks ago provoked an unprecedented wave of protest against Erdogan, drawing in secularists, nationalists, professionals, trade unionists and students who took to the streets in protest at what they see as his autocratic style.<br /><br />The unrest, in which police fired teargas and water cannon at stone-throwing protesters night after night in cities including Istanbul and Ankara, left four people dead and about 5,000 injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association.<br /><br />The protesters, who oppose government plans to build a replica Ottoman-era barracks on Gezi Park, had defied repeated calls to leave.</div>

Turkish police storm Istanbul protest park after PM's warning

ISTANBUL: Turkish riot police stormed a central Istanbul park on Saturday firing tear gas and water cannon to evict hundreds of anti-governm...

Read more »

US ready to engage Iran 'directly' after election

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JFdhT9dxg11MSaoKuc0SqN3CxS64nu9-L9INX7qzdi2b6CP4VjVWe4LrxXjjgCyk7knFMbfWqP_2GoKK3roDRk2amzFFFcI6x5cFTnMomYcneyUaZX1b1T1hCWC98TDL5f4IOUspW2I/s1600/51bccbbc9a7b0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JFdhT9dxg11MSaoKuc0SqN3CxS64nu9-L9INX7qzdi2b6CP4VjVWe4LrxXjjgCyk7knFMbfWqP_2GoKK3roDRk2amzFFFcI6x5cFTnMomYcneyUaZX1b1T1hCWC98TDL5f4IOUspW2I/s1600/51bccbbc9a7b0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>WASHINGTON: The United States said Saturday it is prepared to engage Iran directly over its disputed nuclear program after moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani was declared the country's new president.</b><br /><br />The White House said such engagement would be aimed at reaching a “diplomatic solution that will fully address the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear program.”<br /><br />The West suspects Iran's nuclear program is aimed at building nuclear weapons, but Iran insists it is for peaceful purposed like generating energy.<br /><br />The White House said in a statement it respected the will of the Iranian people and congratulated for taking part in the election, praising “their courage in making their voices heard.”<br /><br />It said the vote Friday was held amid lack of transparency, censorship of the media, the Internet and text messages, and “an intimidating security environment that limited freedom of expression and assembly.” “However, despite these government obstacles and limitations, the Iranian people were determined to act to shape their future,” it added.<br /><br />“The United States remains ready to engage the Iranian government directly in order to reach a diplomatic solution that will fully address the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear program,” it added.</div>

US ready to engage Iran 'directly' after election

WASHINGTON: The United States said Saturday it is prepared to engage Iran directly over its disputed nuclear program after moderate cleric H...

Read more »

In the wake of PRISM, should we give up on online privacy?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1VjN7iBq3TAXRHwxw6oJZnHKMaTMwGREfz387XefQJHIaHuY17QZFVHfqlhxlTtlSTEFAwWid2ZNYIiae5IpvMim7IoBqCUpNK1-hDm7Nl913zev1ATDh-Em8zIq3JE-Bbtu5Aokl9E/s1600/2014-05-01-image-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1VjN7iBq3TAXRHwxw6oJZnHKMaTMwGREfz387XefQJHIaHuY17QZFVHfqlhxlTtlSTEFAwWid2ZNYIiae5IpvMim7IoBqCUpNK1-hDm7Nl913zev1ATDh-Em8zIq3JE-Bbtu5Aokl9E/s1600/2014-05-01-image-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /> Depending who you ask, the scandal over PRISM, the NSA's secret data mining program, is either mere confirmation of what we already knew, or a shocking revelation that should drive people onto the streets in protest. It's certainly true that many people suspected internet services, such as Google and Facebook, were open houses to government agents, but there's a difference between suspicions and hard evidence.<br /><br />Now we know the US government doesn't need to enact legislation such as CISPA in order to ride roughshod over civil liberties, it really does beg the question: Is online privacy a lost cause and is online anonymity impossible to achieve? Well, if you ask me, there's good reason to be cynical over the concept of online privacy.<br /><br /><b>Email and social</b><br />If you want to take privacy seriously then you'll have to make sacrifices -there's no way around it. This means many of the most convenient online services, such as web-based email and social networks, need to be purged from your online life. While this distrust of major providers such as Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft could extend to all email providers, you could argue that smaller companies, which are not behemoths heavily reliant on government lobbying and co-operation, could offer better privacy protection.<br /><br /> You could also ditch Google and Bing, and start using a more privacy-oriented search engine like DuckDuckGo. But as long as your IP is obscured (which we'll get onto later), you can still use Google privately if you employ a cookie blocker like Ghostery and don't log into your account.<br /><br />When it comes to social networks it's interesting that Twitter was not on the PRISM's list of compromised companies – especially since Twitter has a track record of defending users.<br /><br /><b> VPNs and TOR</b><br />If you want to browse the web anonymously then the most common, secure, and easy-to-use tools, are The Onion Router (TOR) and commercial VPN services (I2P is also worth looking into for peer-to-peer sharing). But VPN services and TOR both bring different problems to the table.<br /><br />TOR is generally a very effective tool to keep your IP address private and hidden from surveillance. It's also free and used successfully by journalists, dissidents and privacy-conscious citizens. But it does have vulnerabilities. The most obvious being the ability to passively monitor the connection of both a sender and receiver of data over the TOR network and therefore correlate traffic. This is doable because anyone can run a TOR exit node.<br /><br /> Commercial VPN services don't suffer from these vulnerabilities, but they do suffer from potentially much worse flaws. The problem with VPN services – providing they use a secure standard like OpenVPN – is that you have to trust the company providing your service. A cursory look at many VPN privacy policies will reveal that such trust is easily misplaced - policies often either explicitly state they log data in the same way as an ISP, or they’re so vague that you don't know either way.<br /><br />There are some good resources to get around this problem such as TorrentFreak's round-up of VPNs that don't log data and my own company's ongoing guide on understanding VPN privacy policies. Of course, a good way of mitigating the vulnerabilities of TOR and VPN services is to combine both services to achieve security in depth.<br /><br /><b> The biggest barrier</b><br />So to summarise; yes, you can achieve a high degree of anonymity online without any specialist knowledge, but regaining your online privacy is not a simple task. It requires some work and a few sacrifices.<br /><br />Perhaps herein lies the biggest problem. While many of us were up in arms over the PRISM revelations, how many have since changed their online behaviour in the last few days? How much of that outrage translated into closed Gmail accounts and TOR installations? Maybe it’s still too early to assess the fallout, but my suspicion is the main barriers to online privacy – other than the illegitimate behaviour of law enforcement - is our own apathy.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>

Security In the wake of PRISM, should we give up on online privacy?

 Depending who you ask, the scandal over PRISM, the NSA's secret data mining program, is either mere confirmation of what we already kne...

Read more »

Secret court makes refusing government data requests tricky for companies

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGW60VigoeoWWgqA2z0rqgtZfi0UGN4SBWhspqHGAXvugxgSYjjQkjKP_pt60UJhyphenhyphentP-6pvKqSesmsSyBq6vnyGiD70AACJeSsDrIhV1kOc4eR2MBC_eXb-zcUe2a3PYx2f0O0uMJ7js/s1600/nsa+security.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGW60VigoeoWWgqA2z0rqgtZfi0UGN4SBWhspqHGAXvugxgSYjjQkjKP_pt60UJhyphenhyphentP-6pvKqSesmsSyBq6vnyGiD70AACJeSsDrIhV1kOc4eR2MBC_eXb-zcUe2a3PYx2f0O0uMJ7js/s1600/nsa+security.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />Sources in touch with the New York Times purport that Yahoo was one of the companies with enough brass to try to resist national security data requests before its indoctrination into PRISM. In a secretive court though, the company was given the choice to either cooperate with federal agencies or submit to breaking the law. Yahoo, along with several other companies, chose the former.<br /><br />If you've managed to somehow miss it, PRISM is an NSA-led effort to indiscriminately vacuum up all electronic communications into a central, searchable database. From there, authorized agents are able to sift through enormous sets of data, using methods like software-based heuristics to gather information which the agency argues is vital to foiling future terrorist plots. Details of PRISM's existence were exposed by Edward Snowden, an ex-government contractor who is now on the run for publishing classified documents.<br /><br />"The petitioner suggests that, by placing discretion entirely in the hands of the Executive Branch without prior judicial involvement, the procedures cede to that Branch overly broad power that invites abuse." the court continued. "But this is little more than a lament about the risk that government officials will not operate in good faith. That sort of risk exists even when a warrant is required."<br /><br />FISC, the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Court is the product of FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The bill, amongst other things, grants feds the freedom to spy on foreigners and "their agents" without the need for a traditional warrant. Instead, the FISA court has its own process by which it issues warrants -- a process which is reportedly entirely non-transparent and less rigorous. Worst yet, the FISC has been accused of being a "rubber stamp" for federal authorities.</div>

Security Secret court makes refusing government data requests tricky for companies

Sources in touch with the New York Times purport that Yahoo was one of the companies with enough brass to try to resist national security da...

Read more »

Hezbollah will stay involved in Syria war: Nasrallah

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJmIF2jzWP_5fgL2ApI4iCFM_O41Jt1I7l1Ph4mJEkdHDU2pFruI7glAT8gIuUK63dKtQoas_rUC2T5Y05DrtvNiMgmFsdCD0Jewy7BgoSYhVI9DJRoIpYH8RVlFa4CF6jS_zc_0Ctjs/s1600/51bb5365ad074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJmIF2jzWP_5fgL2ApI4iCFM_O41Jt1I7l1Ph4mJEkdHDU2pFruI7glAT8gIuUK63dKtQoas_rUC2T5Y05DrtvNiMgmFsdCD0Jewy7BgoSYhVI9DJRoIpYH8RVlFa4CF6jS_zc_0Ctjs/s1600/51bb5365ad074.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>BEIRUT: Lebanon's Shia movement Hezbollah will stay involved in the Syrian conflict, after having helped government forces recapture the key town of Qusayr from rebels, its leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday.</b><br /><br />“Before Qusayr is the same as after Qusayr. Nothing has changed,” he said in a televised speech.<br /><br />“Isn't the conspiracy the same?... Have the facts changed? On the contrary, the other side is stirring up this conflict even more,” said the leader of the powerful Iranian-backed group.<br /><br />“Where we need to be, we will be. Where we began to assume our responsibilities, we will continue to assume our responsibilities,” he added.<br /><br />“To defeat this very, very dangerous conspiracy (against Syria) we will bear any sacrifices and all the consequences.”<br /><br />Hezbollah, a staunch ally of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has become increasingly embroiled in the conflict in neighbouring Syria, which is now in its third year.<br /><br />“The details will depend on the requirements on the ground,” Nasrallah said in the address, which came on the Day of the Wounded, honouring Hezbollah casualties from different conflicts.<br /><br />Lebanon has been drawn into the Syrian conflict, despite an officially neutral stance on the fighting, by Hezbollah's involvement as well as the flow of rebel fighters and weapons across its borders.<br /><br />The involvement has raised tensions in the country, where many Shias back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the Alawite offshoot of Shia Islam, and Sunnis are more likely to support the mostly Sunni opposition.<br /><br />Nasrallah insisted Hezbollah was against increased sectarian tension in Lebanon, and urged his supporters and others to keep the calm in the country.<br /><br />Hezbollah and its supporters have regularly made reference to the takfiri or extremist Islamist elements among the opposition to justify their involvement on the side of the Syrian regime.<br /><br />But Hezbollah's intervention has been condemned internationally, and regionally by the Arab League and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which announced sanctions against the group in response.</div>

Hezbollah will stay involved in Syria war: Nasrallah

BEIRUT: Lebanon's Shia movement Hezbollah will stay involved in the Syrian conflict, after having helped government forces recapture the...

Read more »

US accuses Syrian govt of using chemicals, decides to arm rebels

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnh5Ttaal6rOJqjOFkgv0F-VTtaSkva9m5i2Mag9j-JqLo2AoPEWgOz4kfsDGICCxCVR9F6TfGTSCKFh4IGWorUeeTnZd0Csqn80Nf2uUYPOPKbpd1q7_yz6TRHk_GQ9oU-9qtcjTYeUo/s1600/51bbe73d5c640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnh5Ttaal6rOJqjOFkgv0F-VTtaSkva9m5i2Mag9j-JqLo2AoPEWgOz4kfsDGICCxCVR9F6TfGTSCKFh4IGWorUeeTnZd0Csqn80Nf2uUYPOPKbpd1q7_yz6TRHk_GQ9oU-9qtcjTYeUo/s1600/51bbe73d5c640.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>DAMASCUS, June 14: The United States on Friday sharply toughened its line on Syria, promising rebels weapons for the first time, after saying it had evidence the regime had used chemical weapons, a charge Damascus dismissed on Friday as “lies.”</b><br /><br />However, US officials ruled out imposing a no-fly zone, an idea they said earlier was under consideration.<br /><br />The harder US line dismayed Moscow, which had been working with Washington to organise a peace conference to try to end the 27-month conflict, and which described as “unconvincing” the intelligence on alleged use of the nerve agent sarin.<br /><br />It also prompted expressions of concern from neutral countries such as Sweden, which warned of the risks of an arms race between the rival foreign supporters of the regime and the rebels.<br /><br />President Barack Obama’s administration announced late on Thursday that it had reviewed intelligence reports and concluded that Syrian regime forces had used banned weapons, including sarin, in attacks that killed up to 150 people.<br /><br />But Damascus dismissed Washington’s accusation as “a statement full of lies” and asked how it could continue to be regarded as an honest broker in UN-backed preparations for the proposed peace conference.<br /><br />“The American decision to arm armed terrorist groups demonstrates... the direct involvement of the United States in the Syrian bloodbath,” state news agency SANA quoted a foreign ministry official as saying. It “raises serious questions about their good faith when it comes to finding a political solution in Syria”, the official added.<br /><br />The New York Times cited US officials it did not identify as saying that shipments to the rebels would include small arms and ammunition, and anti-tank but not anti-aircraft weapons.</div>

US accuses Syrian govt of using chemicals, decides to arm rebels

DAMASCUS, June 14: The United States on Friday sharply toughened its line on Syria, promising rebels weapons for the first time, after sayin...

Read more »

Three Libyan soldiers killed in Benghazi clashes: army

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBXJ9wgR_GQ2f4GQUIT-QOGSvo1koBxZUF_MwSEFV12lslcelXUQNeqi_8Xj5DQUxd9y9nfP7h4I7yJkBoYkasNyLuzWR2THpxdYhpdahgsfbPDc7fXc3GH8-pJGUCGxpNEs9foSlius/s1600/51bbfa7b342e5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBXJ9wgR_GQ2f4GQUIT-QOGSvo1koBxZUF_MwSEFV12lslcelXUQNeqi_8Xj5DQUxd9y9nfP7h4I7yJkBoYkasNyLuzWR2THpxdYhpdahgsfbPDc7fXc3GH8-pJGUCGxpNEs9foSlius/s1600/51bbfa7b342e5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>BENGHAZI: At least three soldiers were killed as special forces clashed with armed activists in the eastern port city of Benghazi early Saturday, the army reported.</b><br /><br />The interim leader of Libya's army warned of the danger of a “bloodbath” as the unrest in the city flared up again a week after clashes there killed more than 30 people.<br /><br />At around 4:00 am heavy gunfire and explosions could be heard near the headquarters of the special forces, not far from the city centre, an AFP journalist and witnesses reported.<br /><br />The clashes came just hours after dozens of protesters forced a brigade of former rebel fighters from their base in Benghazi on Friday evening.<br /><br />The protesters had burned two vehicles belonging to the First Infantry Brigade, before moving on the barracks, said a Libyan army officer.<br /><br />The brigade was set up by former rebel fighters who helped overthrow the regime of Muammar Qadhafi in 2011. It says it takes its orders from the defence ministry.<br /><br />Following that first attack, Salem al-Konidi, the interim head of the army said on the Al-Aseema television channel late Friday: “If the special forces are attacked, there will be a bloodbath...<br /><br />“There could be a catastrophe in Benghazi.”<br /><br />He said he did not know who had launched the attack or what their motive was, but appealed to the city's elders and dignitaries to act to try to head off the unrest.<br /><br />Konidi is the interim replacement for General Yusef al-Mangoush, who resigned last Sunday, a day after fighting in Bengazhi killed 31 people and left dozens more wounded.</div>

Three Libyan soldiers killed in Benghazi clashes: army

BENGHAZI: At least three soldiers were killed as special forces clashed with armed activists in the eastern port city of Benghazi early Satu...

Read more »

Killzone 4: Shadow Fall review

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDDFIHxX63MyuyXDp3Eoc24pwLCbwI_my9_hUvFzLP2N4SKdlxbXze5W7Z1nbvpabWUq637GGtJTLcvRmXGeT6d2_rXsgUBPSyEPtFoIEATiyGQ40no3vZfNoDFNIHda77mVbRivv-fM/s1600/Killzone-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDDFIHxX63MyuyXDp3Eoc24pwLCbwI_my9_hUvFzLP2N4SKdlxbXze5W7Z1nbvpabWUq637GGtJTLcvRmXGeT6d2_rXsgUBPSyEPtFoIEATiyGQ40no3vZfNoDFNIHda77mVbRivv-fM/s1600/Killzone-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>Killzone 4: Shadow Fall - first impressions from E3 2013</b><br />Is Killzone 4 the killer title that the PS4 needs at launch? Well, based on its showing at E3, it certainly won't hurt the console's chances. Like the previous titles in the series, it's a gritty sci-fi shooter charting the continuing conflict between the people of Vekta and their brutal, quasi-fascist neighbours, the Helghast.<br /><br /><b> Killzone 4: Shadow Fall trailer</b><br />This includes the Owl, a small drone device, which works in three different modes. Sweep right on the DualShock 4 touchpad and it hovers to give you a portable airline - perfect for traversing the game's larger environments. Sweep up, and it becomes your comrade in combat, defending you against the Helghast troops or sweeping the area for hostiles should you direct it to. It can also be asked to call up a handy shield. You can shoot out, but the Helghast can't shoot in.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2wvL-0-FVKX0NMjhLB3ZmSYKywRilf73lS8K3_RUtzWwMsb6EyLr4XX5FjRdKemvbWQFHVvhcKSl1RkY0mXqd89hOx88bWHei_ETbaG0rtyW6KR1-APhm6j4Y_EUcQg5-VRsXLGpQc4/s1600/Killzone-ShadowFall5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2wvL-0-FVKX0NMjhLB3ZmSYKywRilf73lS8K3_RUtzWwMsb6EyLr4XX5FjRdKemvbWQFHVvhcKSl1RkY0mXqd89hOx88bWHei_ETbaG0rtyW6KR1-APhm6j4Y_EUcQg5-VRsXLGpQc4/s1600/Killzone-ShadowFall5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Your weapons prove equally versatile. You can still scavenge a wide range of guns from the battlefield, but your default arm, a sort of futuristic carbine, can also be set to work as a sniper rifle, its barrel extending and a scope appearing for firing at range. In this mode it's much more powerful, but shots need to be charged up before you can fire, making it less ideal when confronting several targets a little closer up.<br /><br />The forest is dotted with ruined buildings, Helghast guard towers and encampments, and we we're free to wander where we chose. We're promised that many of the game's levels will have a choice of objectives that can be completed in any order, and while the director made it plain that Killzone wasn't going open world, the team did want to give the player more freedom. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVb_8oLLKvIK6OttEzF39GM1KvwVTfMfzbXrnUNaO9szOF9s1KThZ4MXXPot1FUYOTIPhbQFXBBjQ_hfsGnDBPlAxVQ696hmUhNGrcRiLvVIZO__d_6knLqCwd6yCdqTeywEie5SUgoUY/s1600/Killzone-ShadowFall6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVb_8oLLKvIK6OttEzF39GM1KvwVTfMfzbXrnUNaO9szOF9s1KThZ4MXXPot1FUYOTIPhbQFXBBjQ_hfsGnDBPlAxVQ696hmUhNGrcRiLvVIZO__d_6knLqCwd6yCdqTeywEie5SUgoUY/s1600/Killzone-ShadowFall6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />To make this work, Guerilla has ramped up the Helghast AI, making the little orange-goggled devils more aggressive and more inquisitive. They certainly pose a challenge in numbers, and you're encouraged to take a stealthier approach than in earlier Killzones, using tools like a handy sonar locator to spot your enemies and gain the advantage.<br /><br />At this point we should probably mention the graphics, which are… astonishing. If ridiculously detailed, natural looking rocks, realistic rushing water and gorgeous mist and light effects are the benchmark of next-gen excellence, then Killzone 4: Shadow Fall might be the current leader of the pack. It's a truly stunning looking game. The Helghast have never looked so mean or menacing, or died in so many impressively unpleasant ways.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYUcsSB3Fsd5DgwKb2kGKjSLSf7QmkIKOCt1L4JAEtG-laTXE-s7J2-kITDLet7P-ubpe29BxtjJqKtabWcQIaDI_bsZqoVpeDAuaF2p7usXqJjD6pHUzqO4VFi911DwWfJHAWSoIINI/s1600/Killzone-ShadowFall7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYUcsSB3Fsd5DgwKb2kGKjSLSf7QmkIKOCt1L4JAEtG-laTXE-s7J2-kITDLet7P-ubpe29BxtjJqKtabWcQIaDI_bsZqoVpeDAuaF2p7usXqJjD6pHUzqO4VFi911DwWfJHAWSoIINI/s1600/Killzone-ShadowFall7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Overall, though, this is a powerful statement of intent from Sony and Guerilla, that intent being to build a sci-fi shooter capable of standing up with the best of the genre, and showing them how it's done on next-gen hardware. We can't wait to see more.</div>

Reviews Killzone 4: Shadow Fall review

Killzone 4: Shadow Fall - first impressions from E3 2013 Is Killzone 4 the killer title that the PS4 needs at launch? Well, based on its sho...

Read more »

Nokia Lumia 925 review

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhorGn2fIcs6QLN3StHAeBHsUZCoXgFgghZnztuvpO5dTho8FONmWdIleTN_4Ztol5I53AVkLkVRafy2d3KyuUnv_vI6QW5i2tOXpiDflTSU0UFiZp1aI6VnmwN923ueRXkAb7S-B6jsrc/s1600/IMG-0215-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhorGn2fIcs6QLN3StHAeBHsUZCoXgFgghZnztuvpO5dTho8FONmWdIleTN_4Ztol5I53AVkLkVRafy2d3KyuUnv_vI6QW5i2tOXpiDflTSU0UFiZp1aI6VnmwN923ueRXkAb7S-B6jsrc/s1600/IMG-0215-1.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br /><b>What is the Nokia Lumia 925?</b><br />To date, the top Nokia Lumia series phones have all used smooth and seamless polycarbonate bodies. The Nokia Lumia 925 is the first to introduce metal to the family. It’s a renegade.<br /><br />In ditching the integrated wireless charging of the Lumia 920, Nokia has also produced a slimmer, more accessible phone. Yet it benefits from the same advanced camera features of that mobile. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xpopx-1fFsR5ONwqrYzTtncLjxhX2Vrs2Ao6vUZ5OUs89KUM03vAMNIPRL19peYUw5XD-26dG4fvHMO0SguMmQ5eFpl7nsRuTUH7wVfjY5J2rLyP76B9eBGGBQpmE_8Zh7tVyqkPyvs/s1600/IMG-0185-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xpopx-1fFsR5ONwqrYzTtncLjxhX2Vrs2Ao6vUZ5OUs89KUM03vAMNIPRL19peYUw5XD-26dG4fvHMO0SguMmQ5eFpl7nsRuTUH7wVfjY5J2rLyP76B9eBGGBQpmE_8Zh7tVyqkPyvs/s1600/IMG-0185-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Nokia Lumia 925 - Design</b><br />Internally, the core of the Nokia Lumia 925 is fairly similar to the Lumia 920, but externally it’s a completely different proposition. Rather than a chunky, heavy and colourful curvy block of glossy plastic, it is a non-unibody monochrome device.<br /><br />This is all down to the phone’s anodised aluminium edge. A strip of metal runs around the Lumia 925’s sides, and there’s no attempt to hide the seam between these sides and the contoured polycarbonate (plastic) plate on the rear.<br /><br />The two parts are intended to complement each other, and that’s why Nokia has opted for white, black and grey rear parts, rather than colourful ones. After having been lauded for the curvy polycarbonate bodies of phones like the Lumia 800, this new style is a risk. But it works.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfuYmbBE8BwnbBIjNQFtBlMEEkPlweC1JRl8WZnt3vgGMBPGUM8oNzZMdU2YmUBKeoBaeZ51GInBsw3JLoxGmQwBetNWv8HbZ5KGv5do3mCc1zfL98L14pJnKIjHiEhACS5ARJli713M/s1600/IMG-0191-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfuYmbBE8BwnbBIjNQFtBlMEEkPlweC1JRl8WZnt3vgGMBPGUM8oNzZMdU2YmUBKeoBaeZ51GInBsw3JLoxGmQwBetNWv8HbZ5KGv5do3mCc1zfL98L14pJnKIjHiEhACS5ARJli713M/s1600/IMG-0191-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In-hand comfort is great, thanks to the curves of the aluminium sides and that the Lumia 925 is a good deal less wide than top phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 - mainly due to its mid-size 4.5-inch screen.<br /><br />There are some hardware inflections that some won’t like, though. The camera lens housing is large, a bit too easy to obstruct with a hand, and it sticks out ever-so-slightly from the Lumia 925’s back. This is because of the mechanical image stabilisation components that have to fit in – the phone is just 8.5mm thick, so too skinny to avoid this. The Lumia 920’s camera doesn’t poke out, but that phone is 2mm thicker - a lot in mobile terms - and 40g heavier.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAd8jPgQn7xF97nlyrvVRulzFRmbv4IpjCscE3Q3xqk04V9U2X9PgAC4wf-RpcKorEwgfNVjVAGFQ_vRBwuSlhYnMt4lSs_44W6QOE3ZEDqyuCugqH-VCHv8H7P06sfEjd6LWM41utUOk/s1600/IMG-0192-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAd8jPgQn7xF97nlyrvVRulzFRmbv4IpjCscE3Q3xqk04V9U2X9PgAC4wf-RpcKorEwgfNVjVAGFQ_vRBwuSlhYnMt4lSs_44W6QOE3ZEDqyuCugqH-VCHv8H7P06sfEjd6LWM41utUOk/s1600/IMG-0192-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The Lumia 925 is a departure from Lumia series norms in some respects, but other design elements remain. On the top edge of the phone is a microSIM slot accessed using a paperclip-like tool included in the box – classic Lumia. There is also no memory card slot in the phone, just 16/32GB of internal memory (32GB exclusive to Vodafone), so the only sockets on show are the headphone jack and microUSB port – which sit next to each other up top. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggL2w95QLP7yfI6vdmxiF2Ep0WYTOFr2mDEnjxkWasMbnlwDrMfbbCHrffnLFcCq6qZPhuAqeDW_XLaXY53-APevXqyLeGXnLqgesU7FL3wlNlUj94BFyhx3TwD_X-94zBl21T2os1FLc/s1600/IMG-0200-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggL2w95QLP7yfI6vdmxiF2Ep0WYTOFr2mDEnjxkWasMbnlwDrMfbbCHrffnLFcCq6qZPhuAqeDW_XLaXY53-APevXqyLeGXnLqgesU7FL3wlNlUj94BFyhx3TwD_X-94zBl21T2os1FLc/s1600/IMG-0200-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />All other edges are left blissfully free of ports. It’s good for the look and feel of the Lumia 925. There’s just the Lumia-standard trio of buttons on the right edge – volume, power and the Windows-mandated shutter button.<br /><br />As only the edges of the Nokia Lumia 925 are made of metal, it doesn’t have quite the hard, cool impact of holding an HTC One. But it is one of the more attractive, recognisable phones of the year. <br /><br /></div>

Reviews Nokia Lumia 925 review

What is the Nokia Lumia 925? To date, the top Nokia Lumia series phones have all used smooth and seamless polycarbonate bodies. The Nokia L...

Read more »

Panasonic TX-L55WT65 review

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>What is the Panasonic TX-L55WT65?</b><br />The 55-inch Panasonic TX-L55WT65 is Panasonic’s flagship LCD TV for 2013, and as such includes features like local dimming, passive 3D playback, powerful motion processing, and most immediately obviously, a truly striking design.<br /><br />With Panasonic’s other 2013 3D LCD TVs only doing reasonably well rather than brilliantly, though, there’s a lot of pressure on the L55WT65’s shoulders. Especially as it retails for the fairly princely sum of £2,600, putting it squarely in the same territory as the outstanding Sony KDL-55W905 and Samsung UE55F8000.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4DQYFP1N4rXMCLNuIeawPlBq7BL_Hl6a6PjDRxsZTznNaDwS6K43I6Tp2N9ej7usdLLhS8K0hDi2d9PVIK2pLAmlqJLJ33xkqRPzVPg58s6QAjYrkYWWyYqtnMu8tUkwkKkW-cF3auM/s1600/PanasonicL55WT65angled-with-stand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4DQYFP1N4rXMCLNuIeawPlBq7BL_Hl6a6PjDRxsZTznNaDwS6K43I6Tp2N9ej7usdLLhS8K0hDi2d9PVIK2pLAmlqJLJ33xkqRPzVPg58s6QAjYrkYWWyYqtnMu8tUkwkKkW-cF3auM/s1600/PanasonicL55WT65angled-with-stand.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Panasonic TX-L55WT65 - Design</b><br />The Panasonic L55WT65 loses absolutely nothing to those rivals where design is concerned, though. In fact, for us it’s the most attractive TV we’ve seen so far this year: the spectacularly slim silver metallic bezel; gorgeously slender rear; stunning gloss white rear panel; and the illuminated transparent panel protruding from the TV’s bottom edge, all combine to make to create a gorgeous whole. It’s almost impossible to equate this supermodel with the sort of dour bodies clad around Panasonic TVs as little as three generations ago.<br /><br />The rear panel is home to a solid set of connections, most positioned for side access to aid wall-hanging if you don’t want to attach the TV to its equally gorgeous glass and chrome stand. Three USBs are on hand for multimedia playback and recording from the built-in Freesat HD and Freeview HD tuners, there’s built-in Wi-Fi and a LAN port for streaming from networked PCs or joining Panasonic’s Viera Connect online service, plus there’s a roster of v1.4 HDMIs to support the TV’s 3D features. <br /><br /><b>Panasonic TX-L55WT65 - Interface</b><br />We can’t possibly discuss the L55WT65’s operating system, either, without mentioning its inspired My Homescreen interface. This provides three different preset hub screens delivering shortcuts to different content types, or even better, it lets you set up your own hubs, containing their own set of shortcuts. And since you can set up multiple customised hubs, each member of your family can establish one of their own.<br /><br />The L55WT65 even has a built-in camera with face recognition so that it can automatically call up the correct hub for whichever family member it detects is using the TV.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnWdgbg0X4RWW-SVPU9f9Q6Qgx4dgPGsUW0lnlZS2GYG7A9n4xGb3wWrziULMtSMqZ4XAJPXFUkg7zXxlbIhxEoF5uSAhHNfaBu5dl3ii9n-TClBqANXvJkj9WyI5CIoq3jSIbICGKpc/s1600/PanasonicL55WT65Apps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnWdgbg0X4RWW-SVPU9f9Q6Qgx4dgPGsUW0lnlZS2GYG7A9n4xGb3wWrziULMtSMqZ4XAJPXFUkg7zXxlbIhxEoF5uSAhHNfaBu5dl3ii9n-TClBqANXvJkj9WyI5CIoq3jSIbICGKpc/s1600/PanasonicL55WT65Apps.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />You can read our full Panasonic 2013 Smart TV review for the full detail on this system, but we should also quickly add here that Panasonic’s Viera Connect online platform is a solid rather than brilliant effort. The recently improved interface is a joy, but  slightly let down versus rivals by not having enough top-line video streaming platforms. </div>

Reviews Panasonic TX-L55WT65 review

What is the Panasonic TX-L55WT65? The 55-inch Panasonic TX-L55WT65 is Panasonic’s flagship LCD TV for 2013, and as such includes features li...

Read more »

DualShock 4 review

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejHBG_vUwsU-vtMTPSgdV0CjMLFOsid7gbMM-mnIDwxTUkBOEOUW_784f911zHgJDFWd1CeIrKYaJKzIGSBzZ6IqDqSiEDU1hbxoWwx2es52rjOuuXfmTdg38jcx9WM-Os283sAZ18xQ/s1600/Dual-Shock-43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejHBG_vUwsU-vtMTPSgdV0CjMLFOsid7gbMM-mnIDwxTUkBOEOUW_784f911zHgJDFWd1CeIrKYaJKzIGSBzZ6IqDqSiEDU1hbxoWwx2es52rjOuuXfmTdg38jcx9WM-Os283sAZ18xQ/s1600/Dual-Shock-43.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>First impressions of the new PS4 controller from E3 2013</b><br />If the new Xbox One controller is an exercise in refinement, the PS4's new DualShock 4 controller is more a wholesale reinvention - certainly the biggest leap forward for Sony since the introduction of the original DualShock on PS One, and arguably the most interesting and innovative controller on any console since the Wii remote.<br /><br />It's a controller that's been designed from the ground up to support everything Sony's new console can do, with the more conventional analogue sticks and face buttons joined by a touchpad, Sixaxis tilt controls and built-in Move functionality through the glowing bar at the rear. As they used to say about PS3, it only does everything.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefyZvBrNFT5FZHCt8hCF-IymqmtZLi9P_Hc4mY8mWq79GOBczECSpk1YbexrmC99JmRNucTt8Mu_HYZhtzPxcCNNAaER9W4eQruqAKfbGtvM6rOV76ABIFpBUWi_umtA6FBKAempbw7M/s1600/IMG-6795-20130613022100009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefyZvBrNFT5FZHCt8hCF-IymqmtZLi9P_Hc4mY8mWq79GOBczECSpk1YbexrmC99JmRNucTt8Mu_HYZhtzPxcCNNAaER9W4eQruqAKfbGtvM6rOV76ABIFpBUWi_umtA6FBKAempbw7M/s1600/IMG-6795-20130613022100009.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>DualShock 4: New Pad, New Sticks</b><br />The most exciting aspect of the DualShock 4 for many of us will be the reworking of the analogue sticks. With their loose feel and large central dead-spot, the Dual Shock 3's analogue sticks have never been quite as good as their Xbox 360 or Nintendo equivalents, leaving FPS fans in particular feeling that they're not quite playing at their best.<br /><br />From what we've played, the sticks on the DualShock 4 are a big improvement. They feel a little tighter, they're more responsive near the centre and they seem more sensitive in general. The raised ring around the circumference also makes them easier to grip during long periods of gaming - the old DualShock 3 sticks felt a bit slippery after a while.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOF-Ehyphenhypheney-Jw0Wm5tb70PfbLA4YtpG0-8Hg4oSNMTUgTL86hU512yilgIKz8QymYhw-tQwe799d6nOYP7KLR1YHrQzhVZKhZXYYsu_KwIkRaE97ZJm53xvREW-usmKYYfr4F3Edsh88a4/s1600/Dual-Shock-45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOF-Ehyphenhypheney-Jw0Wm5tb70PfbLA4YtpG0-8Hg4oSNMTUgTL86hU512yilgIKz8QymYhw-tQwe799d6nOYP7KLR1YHrQzhVZKhZXYYsu_KwIkRaE97ZJm53xvREW-usmKYYfr4F3Edsh88a4/s1600/Dual-Shock-45.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><b>DualShock 4 triggers and buttons</b><br />As with the DualShock 3, the analogue triggers are light and very springy, but they now curve slightly outwards, which feels odd at first but soon becomes very natural. As before, the triggers have a fair amount of travel and seem very responsive, so they should work well with those driving games where you don't want the pedal on the metal every time. The L1 and L2 buttons also seem easier to grab in a hurry, but still work very smoothly.<br /><br />The position of the face buttons hasn't changed - it's a focal part of the PlayStation brand - but they have lost their analogue capabilities. Bearing in mind how few developers used these that isn't much of a loss, and the feel is light and precise. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsLRKbcWSYa9xEQ0OndOQZPhtO1DLJ2oQXscEQuZOs453OZiA7g71p038uluYzuuAe1cvZ3usCealpReQajHzSYp8ynFqrvhIyLU70Hy3gP4zWKCNCNnulrMCRNtnAh0IKr2F58xOhVU/s1600/IMG-6796-20130613022430107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsLRKbcWSYa9xEQ0OndOQZPhtO1DLJ2oQXscEQuZOs453OZiA7g71p038uluYzuuAe1cvZ3usCealpReQajHzSYp8ynFqrvhIyLU70Hy3gP4zWKCNCNnulrMCRNtnAh0IKr2F58xOhVU/s1600/IMG-6796-20130613022430107.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>DualShock 4 Touchpad</b><br />We're still getting to grips with the touchpad, not least because it's only supported by a handful of games at E3, with some of them developer-led rather than hands-on demos. It does seem to be very sensitive - easily sensitive enough to handle the PS4 UI and in-game menus - and we're seeing it deployed in Diablo III to control the inventory screens and in inFamous: Second Son to move and hold specific large objects through a kind of telekinesis. It's also being used in Sony's brilliant Playroom demo to flick objects and characters out into the augmented-reality room on the TV screen.<br /><br />The Playroom demo also gives the new glowing bar a bit of a workout. The new PlayStation Eye camera offers a lot more resolution, better low light performance and more lifelike colours than the old, and it has no problem using the bar at the back of each controller to track the DualShock 4 in a 3D space. We've had water gushing out of the controller and robot minions rattling around within it, all controlled through the DualShock 4's tilt sensors, and it's clear that it all works very well. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvmTG2woDIq6nRIDeo5xdOmUJ05Tm5tipzAtVYykcMc-YC7aEddwtXCt8Rt5wE4H367l4t9T41G7QcgNyy-fcikizpD02NIMP036EQwrspuw51WmhomeqlONIsZsJTVbbT5oYqBzVodc/s1600/Dual-Shock-42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvmTG2woDIq6nRIDeo5xdOmUJ05Tm5tipzAtVYykcMc-YC7aEddwtXCt8Rt5wE4H367l4t9T41G7QcgNyy-fcikizpD02NIMP036EQwrspuw51WmhomeqlONIsZsJTVbbT5oYqBzVodc/s1600/Dual-Shock-42.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>First Impressions</b><br />There's always a challenge in adding new functionality to a controller, in that you can compromise comfort and the core controls for features that only a subset of games might use. With the DualShock 4, however, Sony has got things right. It's going to be a revelation for PlayStation FPS fans, and we suspect that the touchpad will see a lot of action across a wide range of titles. </div>

Reviews DualShock 4 review

First impressions of the new PS4 controller from E3 2013 If the new Xbox One controller is an exercise in refinement, the PS4's new Dual...

Read more »

Microsoft to open 600 Windows stores inside Best Buy this summer

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nwDfisGsW8L45j3m0tZggsKr8LJRojk38TeHIzUT1Q7yVQ_xqsQLbxZFQYwc9dXSnzpcbbPu_avUF_9McKUMDzHqDeDXdOiOD8K1tPQxWUZkClQMe30RpaGXNLm2lF-M5_qeWjPmz5o/s1600/2014-06-13-image-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nwDfisGsW8L45j3m0tZggsKr8LJRojk38TeHIzUT1Q7yVQ_xqsQLbxZFQYwc9dXSnzpcbbPu_avUF_9McKUMDzHqDeDXdOiOD8K1tPQxWUZkClQMe30RpaGXNLm2lF-M5_qeWjPmz5o/s1600/2014-06-13-image-11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /> Best Buy and Microsoft have come to an agreement that will see the retailer install mini Windows stores in more than 500 locations in the US and 100 across Canada starting this summer. Dubbed the Windows Store, the areas will fill existing space used to showcase computers and will range in size from 1,500 to 2,200 square feet, Microsoft said.<br /><br />Chief marketing officer and chief financial officer for Windows Tami Reller said it’s a big deal for Microsoft to make sure customers have a hands-on experience which is exactly what the store-within-a-store will offer.<br /><br />The retail chain plans to staff the Windows Store with more than 1,200 employees that will be trained specifically to sell Microsoft’s products.<br /><br />All sounding a bit familiar, you say? Well, you’d be correct as just Samsung partnered with Best Buy just two months ago to open 1,400 mini stores of their own. The Samsung Experience Shop, which are already set up in a number of locations, consume up to 460 square feet of floor space and are also staffed with employees that have been trained to sell Samsung’s latest and greatest.</div>

Microsoft Microsoft to open 600 Windows stores inside Best Buy this summer

 Best Buy and Microsoft have come to an agreement that will see the retailer install mini Windows stores in more than 500 locations in the U...

Read more »

Microsoft releases Office Mobile for iOS, available to 365 subscribers only

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Following many months of speculation and even a few leaked screens, Microsoft has finally launched a version of Office for iOS. The suite will be offered as a free download, though before you get too excited there are a couple of caveats: it’s optimized for the iPhone only and is limited to Office 365 subscribers.<br /><br />Although that certainly thins down the potential user base for the apps, those who have already bought into Microsoft's vision for Office in the cloud will certainly appreciate the addition. Much like the Office Mobile suite that Microsoft preloads on Windows Phone, the iOS version allows users to access, view and edit any file previously saved in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint while keeping all the content and formatting intact.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUu1XQu3i_xJLLIdJtZdWQlKNN1P0uPwVTSGav_Najc-mgyBasg5MzSFgJBOv1hZABU0Zqrk_iD-DeO7eFdhwC-xL8qvPbaMmh3dKnyy07ST2ctCPF6ll6kfLNnJy5aaQSaB6gFDdHMBQ/s1600/13.06.14-Office_Mobile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUu1XQu3i_xJLLIdJtZdWQlKNN1P0uPwVTSGav_Najc-mgyBasg5MzSFgJBOv1hZABU0Zqrk_iD-DeO7eFdhwC-xL8qvPbaMmh3dKnyy07ST2ctCPF6ll6kfLNnJy5aaQSaB6gFDdHMBQ/s1600/13.06.14-Office_Mobile.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Naturally, the mobile client is still a bit limited compared to its desktop counterpart, but it nevertheless supports rich media content such as charts, animations, SmartArt graphics and shapes. The app is tied to Microsoft’s cloud services so it pulls all of the users’ files from the cloud (SkyDrive, SkyDrive Pro or SharePoint) and any changes you make on mobile end up synced with your work on the desktop version of the software.<br /><br />Moreover, Office Mobile can be used on up to five iPhones, and just like the Windows Mobile counterpart these devices won't count against the five-device usage rights that come as part of an Office 365 subscription.<br /><br />Office Mobile comes in at 58MB on the App Store and is compatible with the iPhone 4 and up running iOS 6.1 or later. While it will work as a companion app for both Windows and Mac versions of the productivity suite, some newer features like recent documents and resume reading only work with Microsoft Office 2013 for PC.</div>

Microsoft Microsoft releases Office Mobile for iOS, available to 365 subscribers only

Following many months of speculation and even a few leaked screens, Microsoft has finally launched a version of Office for iOS. The suite wi...

Read more »

Planning de la semaine du 17 au 21 juin 2014

<br /><br /><h2><strong><span style="color: #005c9b; line-height: 113%;">Permanences</span></strong><br /></h2><ul><li>Le <strong>Conseil Général du Loiret</strong> sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans<br />- le lundi 17 juin de 9h à 12h30,<br />- le mardi 18 juin de 9h à 12h30 et de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le mercredi 19 juin de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le jeudi 20 juin de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le vendredi 21 juin de 13h30 à 17h.</li><br /><li><b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.fr/2007/11/boutique-de-gestion.html">Boutique de Gestion</a></b> (sur rendez-vous) <br>- lundi 17 juin de 13h30 à 17h <br>- vendredi 21 juin de 9h à 12h30</li><br /><li><b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.fr/2007/11/solidarits-nouvelles-face-au-chmage.html">Solidarités Nouvelles face au Chômage</a></b> - mercredi 19 juin de 10h à 12h30</li></ul><br /><h2><strong><span style="color: #005c9b; line-height: 113%;">Ateliers</span></strong></h2><ul><li><b>CV</b> - mardi 18 juin de 09h à 12h30</li><br /><li><b>Lettre de Motivation</b> - mardi 18 juin de 13h30 à 17h</li><br /><li><b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.fr/2014/09/simulations-dentretien-assistees-par.html">Préparation à l'entretien/Simulation Vidéo</a></b> - jeudi 20 juin de 9h à 17h</li><br /><li><strong>Pôle-emploi.fr</strong> - vendredi 21 juin de 10h à 11h30</li><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2009/07/atelier-situtilises-tu-trouves.html">Sit'Utilises tu trouves</a></strong> - vendredi 21 juin de 14h à 16h</li></ul>

Planning de la semaine du 17 au 21 juin 2014

Permanences Le Conseil Général du Loiret sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans - le lundi 17 ju...

Read more »

Planning de la semaine du 14 au 17 juin 2014

<BR><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Permanences<br /></span></strong></h2><ul><br /><li>Le <strong>Conseil Général du Loiret</strong> sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans<br />- le mardi 14 juin de 9h à 12h30 et de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le mercredi 15 juin de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le jeudi 16 juin de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le vendredi 17 juin de 13h30 à 17h.<br /><br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2007/11/solidarits-nouvelles-face-au-chmage.html">Solidarités Nouvelles face au Chômage</a></span> - mercredi 15 juin de 10h à 12h30<br /><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2007/11/boutique-de-gestion.html">Boutique de Gestion</a></strong> (sur rendez-vous)<br />- vendredi 17 juin de 09h à 12h30</ul><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Ateliers</span></strong><br /></h2><br /><ul><li><strong>CV</strong> - mardi 14 juin de 9h à 12h30 et mercredi 15 juin de 13h30 à 17h<br /><br /><li><strong>Lettre de Motivation</strong> - mardi 14 juin de 13h30 à 17h<br /><br /><li><strong>Pôle-emploi.fr</strong> - vendredi 17 juin de 10h à 11h30<br /><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2009/07/atelier-situtilises-tu-trouves.html">Sit'Utilises tu trouves</a></strong> - vendredi 17 juin de 14h à 16h</ul>

Planning de la semaine du 14 au 17 juin 2014

Permanences Le Conseil Général du Loiret sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans - le mardi 14 ju...

Read more »

Portes Ouvertes Spéciales Bâtiment : 20 juin 2014

<br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxx30G5cGJnGHFcvoY1_yyELfuO47Sw2t5x1tUDzww4C_p-aoccn-OD3Z3dbp0VE-nLhwyXNmvNBVXqo4E9AVUDWESSL83uMhODY4Mmp79cJzsbBqOVZrsbulgH8n-fUfTZHl2kuLy6W5Y/s1600/2130777+Affiche_CENTRE.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxx30G5cGJnGHFcvoY1_yyELfuO47Sw2t5x1tUDzww4C_p-aoccn-OD3Z3dbp0VE-nLhwyXNmvNBVXqo4E9AVUDWESSL83uMhODY4Mmp79cJzsbBqOVZrsbulgH8n-fUfTZHl2kuLy6W5Y/s320/2130777+Affiche_CENTRE.jpg" /></a><br><br>L’<a href="http://www.centre.afpa.fr/">AFPA</a> organise le <b>jeudi 20 juin 2014</b> des <b>Portes Ouvertes dédiées aux métiers du bâtiment, du développement durable et énergies renouvelables</b>. Ces Portes Ouvertes sont organisées en partenariat avec Pôle emploi et les Missions Locales. <br><br>Le Centre AFPA d'Olivet ouvrira ses portes :<ul><li><b>de 9h30 à 12h30</b><li>Adresse : <b>Propriété de l'Archette - rue Basse Mouillère - 45160 OLIVET</b> (<a href="https://maps.google.fr/maps?q=afpa+olivet&ll=47.876073,1.907458&spn=0.011989,0.01929&fb=1&gl=fr&hq=afpa&hnear=0x47e4e453f3a37ba7:0x9a0418a7c71cb244,Olivet&cid=0,0,7242529431160647186&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A">Plan</a>)</ul><br><br>

Portes Ouvertes Spéciales Bâtiment : 20 juin 2014

L’ AFPA organise le jeudi 20 juin 2014 des Portes Ouvertes dédiées aux métiers du bâtiment, du développement durable et énergies renouvela...

Read more »

Signature de convention avec le Conseil Général du Loiret

<BR><br />Mercredi 8 juin, la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans et le Conseil Général du Loiret ont signé une convention de partenariat concernant la mise en oeuvre des clauses d'insertion dans ses marchés.<br /><br />Pour le Conseil Général, l'objectif est d'utiliser la commande publique comme levier d'action pour le développement de l'insertion et de l'accès à l'emploi des personnes en difficulté sociale et professionnelle en favorisant l’inscription des clauses de promotion de l’emploi dans les marchés de travaux, de services et de fournitures du Conseil Général. <br /><br />Dans le cadre de cette convention, la Maison de l’Emploi du bassin d'Orléans met à la disposition du Conseil Général son <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2008/04/mise-en-uvre-des-clauses-dinsertion.html">ingénierie</a>, notamment : <ul><br /><br /><li>l'animation du dispositif (assistance technique aux maîtres d’ouvrage, appui, conseil et accompagnement des entreprises attributaires, mobilisation du réseau des prescripteurs et des structures de l’Emploi et de l’Insertion)<br /><br /><li> et le suivi de la bonne exécution de la clause de promotion de l’emploi.</ul><br />Depuis 2008, la Maison de l’Emploi porte le dispositif de gestion des clauses d’insertion sur le bassin d'Orléans.<br /><BR>

Signature de convention avec le Conseil Général du Loiret

Mercredi 8 juin, la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans et le Conseil Général du Loiret ont signé une convention de partenariat c...

Read more »

Planning de la semaine du 10 au 14 juin 2014

<br /><br /><h2><strong><span style="color: #005c9b; line-height: 113%;">Permanences</span></strong><br /></h2><ul><li>Le <strong>Conseil Général du Loiret</strong> sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans<br />- le lundi 10 juin de 9h à 12h30,<br />- le mardi 11 juin de 9h à 12h30 et de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le mercredi 12 juin de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le jeudi 13 juin de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le vendredi 14 juin de 13h30 à 17h.</li><br /><li><b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.fr/2007/11/boutique-de-gestion.html">Boutique de Gestion</a></b> (sur rendez-vous) <br>- lundi 10 juin de 13h30 à 17h <br>- vendredi 14 juin de 9h à 12h30</li></ul><br /><h2><strong><span style="color: #005c9b; line-height: 113%;">Ateliers</span></strong></h2><ul><li><b>CV</b> - mardi 11 juin de 09h à 12h30</li><br /><li><b>Lettre de Motivation</b> - mardi 11 juin de 13h30 à 17h</li><br /><li><b>Préparation à l'entretien</b> - jeudi 13 juin de 13h30 à 17h</li><br /><li><strong>Pôle-emploi.fr</strong> - vendredi 14 juin de 10h à 11h30</li><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2009/07/atelier-situtilises-tu-trouves.html">Sit'Utilises tu trouves</a></strong> - vendredi 14 juin de 14h à 16h</li></ul><br /><h2><strong><span style="color: #005c9b; line-height: 113%;">Information collective</span></strong></h2><ul><li><b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.fr/p/plan-local-pour-linsertion-et-lemploi.html">PLIE</a></b> - vendredi 14 juin à 14h</li></ul>

Planning de la semaine du 10 au 14 juin 2014

Permanences Le Conseil Général du Loiret sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans - le lundi 10 ju...

Read more »