BlackBerry Passport gets blinged up, comes in luxury limited edition |
- BlackBerry Passport gets blinged up, comes in luxury limited edition
- Shiite militias killed more than 70 civilians fleeing from IS clashes, say Sunni officials
- Pinterest adds new search by gender option
- Africa Nations Cup: Exit for Cape Verde, Zambia out after 0-0 draw
- Apple adds free downloads on iTunes
- Africa Nations Cup: DR Congo scrape through but coach not worried
| BlackBerry Passport gets blinged up, comes in luxury limited edition Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:58 PM PST
In addition to a gold back cover and gold sides, this luxury edition of the Passport comes with a cover in Valextra leather. Each device is numbered. The limited edition is available at the manufacturer's US website for US$899 (RM3,249). Goldgenie, a third-party company that customises high-tech products with high-end materials, already offers the BlackBerry Passport in gold, rose gold or platinum versions, which are priced around US$1,000 each. Previously available in white, black and red, the BlackBerry Passport has a 4.5-inch square HD touchscreen (1440x1440 pixels) that breaks with current industry trends. Powered by the BlackBerry 10.3 OS and a 2.2GHz quad-core processor, the 4G-ready smartphone has a 13MP camera with optical image stabilization and 1080p video recording, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The device is marketed primarily to business professionals and has a price tag of US$699.99 (unlocked). — AFP/Relaxnews   |
| Shiite militias killed more than 70 civilians fleeing from IS clashes, say Sunni officials Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:56 PM PST
Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan denied the claims, saying IS was trying to undermine the reputation of Iraqi security forces. A local Shiite official said it was too soon to draw conclusions and suggested IS could have been behind the deaths in the eastern village of Barwanah. The accusations followed a three-day offensive in which Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias captured two dozen villages from Islamic State fighters in Diyala. The assault, which began on Friday, enabled Shiite militias, the Iraqi army and Sunni tribesmen to push the militants out of the Muqdadiya area, the closest Islamic State outpost to the Iranian border 40km (25 miles) to the east. Iraq's Shiite-led government, backed by US-led air strikes, has been trying to push back Islamic State since it swept through northern Iraq in June. Diyala's governor, Amir Salman, and Nahida al-Daini, an MP from nearby Baquba, called on Baghdad to intervene in Barwanah, 5 km (3 miles) northwest of Muqdadiya where pro-government militias and some security forces took control of about two dozen villages from IS fighters earlier yesterday. "This evening the militias entered the village of Barwanah and executed more than 70 residents. This is a real massacre by the militias," Daini told Reuters. Sagar al-Jabouri and Ahmed Ibrahim, Sunni sheikhs from Muqdadiya, confirmed the reports. "The militias are acting above the law. The security forces are unable to restrain them," Jabouri said. "We will defend ourselves. We are afraid we will be next." Reuters was unable to independently verify these claims due to the security situation in the area. "Daesh terrorists might have killed those people because they refused to fight with them," said Amal Omran, a Shiite member of the Diyala provincial council, using a derogatory acronym to refer to Islamic State. Villages Hadi al-Amri, head of the Shiite paramilitary group Badr Organisation, told a news conference broadcast on state TV at least 58 soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed in the Muqdadiya offensive and 247 wounded. "We managed on January 25 and after three days' tough battle to defeat the terrorists in northern Muqdadiya and we cleansed all the villages of Daesh," Amri said. About 65 Islamic State fighters were killed, Sadiq al-Hussaini, chairman of the security panel of Diyala's provincial council, said, adding other militants had fled but did not specify where. Mountainous terrain could make it difficult to eliminate Islamic State from the area. Previous seizures have often been followed by a counter-offensive. Residents and security sources said Shi'ite militias had destroyed several mosques and set fire to dozens of houses in the village of Shirween, even some belonging to Sunni fighters who had participated in the offensive. "After liberating some villages in northern Muqdadiya, a group of militias assaulted us and accused us of being IS members. After they restricted our movement, they began to blow up the large houses," said Salam Abdullah al-Jobouri, a Sunni tribal fighter. An army major, a local official and a Sunni tribal leader confirmed the reports. The major said security forces were unable to stop the militias. The Interior Ministry spokesman denied government forces had intentionally destroyed residents' homes. He accused IS of planting bombs as they retreated in order to ambush the troops and undermine their reputation. While Islamic State's advance has forced thousands of people from their homes, government attempts to regain territory have also displaced many. ― Reuters  |
| Pinterest adds new search by gender option Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:49 PM PST
To some, it will always be inextricably linked to recipe sharing, interior design ideas and wedding planning tips, but be that as it may, Pinterest is starting to prove a hit with men in the US and beyond, a state of affairs that the site really wants to build on. According to the latest data from the Global Web Index published in November 2014, Pinterest is currently the world's second-fastest growing social media destination. Between June and November it saw its membership rise by 55 per cent and achieved a 111 per cent rise in active users too. The only social media site to experience more aggressive growth over the same period was Tumblr. Pinterest's own data shows that one third of new sign-ups in the US are men and that over the course of 2014 the number of active users of the masculine persuasion doubled, making men the site's fastest growing demographic group. And looking beyond the US to its newest markets, namely India, South Korea and Japan, Pinterest is proving equally popular with both sexes, with active user numbers split almost exactly 50/50. In order for this new demographic to navigate the site and find what they want more easily, Pinterest users can now filter search results via gender so, for example, a search for luxury watches will throw up results for men's rather than women's timepieces. That feature will also be useful when looking for inspiration for a new short haircut, which, according to Pinterest's own data, is currently the leading search term for male users. However, all users will be able to search for both men's and women's products and pins — Pinterest is fully aware of the role it serves in helping people find gift ideas. In a blog post announcing the changes, Pinterest engineer Pei Yin promises that the change is "just the tip of the iceberg" and that many more improvements are on their way. Many of the improvements will also make the network more attractive to advertisers. Pinterest's head of operations, Don Faul, told the Wall Street Journal that the network is actively looking to boost its profile with advertisers and is considering offering more data, such as users' 'intent' data — ie the things that they want to buy. "Pinterest is not a traditional user-generated content platform, it's a place where people are coming to discover new businesses, new brands and new products," Faul told the Journal. "Our users are expressing their future intent. It's not the shoes they bought last week, or where they went on vacation six months ago." — AFP/Relaxnews  |
| Africa Nations Cup: Exit for Cape Verde, Zambia out after 0-0 draw Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:46 PM PST
Tunisia won Group B and the Democratic Republic of Congo came second after they drew 1-1 in port city Bata at the same time. Cape Verde finished level on points and goal difference with DR Congo, but lost out because they scored only one goal in three matches while the Congolese managed two. Torrential rain, thunder, lightning and a swirling wind made good football impossible and when Zambia got a stoppage-time chance to snatch victory and a last-eight place, Mukuka Mulenga shot wide. It was the second consecutive first-round exit for the Zambian Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) after lifting the trophy in 2012 against all the odds. Elimination proved a bitter blow for the Cape Verde Blue Sharks, who reached the quarter-finals in their Cup of Nations debut two years ago. A scrappy first half ended goalless with neither team creating a clear-cut scoring chance at Estadio de Ebebiyin in the north-east corner of Equatorial Guinea. Zambia had an opportunity to trouble Cape Verde just past the half hour after Carlitos was yellow-carded for fouling Evans Kangwa just outside the penalty area. But in keeping with the generally uninspiring standard of football, Lubambo Musonda struck the free-kick straight at the defensive wall. Rodrigues, getting his first start of the tournament for Cape Verde, was involved in two close shaves for Zambia just before half-time. His free-kick found Toni, who should have done better than heading over from point-blank range on 44 minutes. And in the second minute of stoppage time, a Rodrigues free-kick flew low across the goalmouth and just wide of the far post. Conditions deteriorated considerably during the break and the second half began with puddles dotting a pitch created only this month with grass imported from Spain. Fortunately, by the time the game reached the hour mark, the rain eased, but the match had become a lottery with water spraying each time there was a tussle for possession. Cape Verde substitute Djaniny got a sight of goal just inside the box midway through the half, but slipped on the treacherous surface and the ball was cleared. Zambia had a good chance to end the stalemate 12 minutes from time only for substitute Patrick Ngoma and Kangwa to miss a low Chisamba Lungu cross. — AFP  |
| Apple adds free downloads on iTunes Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:40 PM PST
It's not yet clear if the new section, which went live yesterday, will be rolling out beyond the US. 'Free on iTunes' has been added to the US site without any prior promotion and Apple has been its usual secretive self about any plans to bring the feature to other countries. So for the moment at least the section is a US exclusive and US visitors to iTunes are able to download a choice of 16 tracks including "Eyes" by Rouge Wave and "How We Die" by Machine Head plus 24 full-length TV episodes such as the pilot for the SyFy Channel-made adaptation of the Terry Gilliam film "12 Monkeys." Notably all of the audio-visual goodies on offer are parts of larger, paid-for wholes — each of the tracks that can be downloaded free of charge are taken from albums that are not free. Likewise, all of the TV shows are part of larger seasons, which can be purchased in their entirety from iTunes. — AFP/Relaxnews  |
| Africa Nations Cup: DR Congo scrape through but coach not worried Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:31 PM PST
The Leopards, who only made it to the finals in the first place as the best third-placed side in qualifying, scraped through in second place in Group B thanks to a 1-1 draw with Tunisia in Bata. The result combined with a goalless draw between Cape Verde and Zambia in Ebebiyin saw DR Congo go through on goals scored to a last-eight showdown with Congo Brazzaville this weekend. "We have qualified for the quarter-finals with some difficulty, just as we had difficulties qualifying for this tournament as the 16th team," said Ibenge. "We have not qualified for this stage since 2006 so this is great for us." Of the upcoming clash with Claude Le Roy's Congo Brazzaville, Ibenge added: "They will be tough opponents with an established coach. It will be more than a derby and it will be very difficult for us, and hopefully for them too. "But we won't look any further ahead, only teams like Algeria and Tunisia can do that." Captain Youssouf Mulumbu, who dropped out of the Leopards' line-up yesterday due to injury, said: "It is a fantastic feeling. We worked for it and we deserved it. But we need to score goals and were lucky because Cape Verde and Zambia only drew. "Qualification too was difficult because we were in the same group with the Ivory Coast and cameroon. "But it would have been a big loss had we not qualified from this group." — AFP  |
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