June 08, 2012
June 05, 2012
Syrian rebels kill 100 Assad troops after repudiation of UN ceasefire plan
Damascus, June 5 (ANI): Syrian rebels have claimed that they have killed at least 100 soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad regime, as they announced a formal repudiation of the UN-backed ceasefire plan.
The Free Syrian Army said that it was no longer bound by a ceasefire plan brokered by Kofi Annan, the UN and Arab League special envoy to Syria.
Rebel leaders said they had authorised the resumption of full-scale military operations after the Syrian leader ignored their ultimatum to comply with the terms of Annan's plan by last Friday.
"We have decided to end our commitment to this (plan)," The Telegraph quoted Major Sami al-Kurdi, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, as saying.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition watchdog said that the attacks killed at least 80 soldiers over the weekend alone.
The organisation's death toll was based on reports from local doctors.
Meanwhile, Annan conceded that his plan is not being implemented by either side and may have to adjusted.
"The time may have to come to review the situation and the international community has to decide what measures it can take to ensure implementation of the plan," the paper quoted his spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, as saying.
PlayStation certified HTC One phone coming this year
Sony has announced extension of PlayStation Certified program by partnering with HTC for Android smartphones.
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) has formally announced HTC's entry into the PlayStation Certified program. Under the PlayStation Certified program, HTC will bring Android-based smartphones that will deliver the PlayStation mobile gaming experience. Sony has also renamed PlayStation Suite to PlayStation Mobile for the hardware partners, game publishers and third party content developers.
Sony's PlayStation Certified Program was announced last year to bring cross-platform games to the Android powered devices with intuitive on-screen controls and PlayStation like experience. Games can be developed or ported using the PlayStation Mobile Software Development Kit.
The Mobile Indian reported in mid-February that HTC might be joining hands with Sony to join the PlayStation Certified Licencing Program and bring out first PlayStation Certified smartphone later this year. The latest announcement by Sony has now confirmed the same.
Kouji Koderla, chief product officer for HTC, said "HTC is focused on delivering innovative mobile experiences for people everywhere and SCE's immersive world of gaming will bring compelling entertainment to HTC One customers across the globe."
HTC has already added One V, One X and One S smartphones for the PlayStation Certified program. More smartphones bearing official Sony PlayStation logos and the games developed using PlayStation Mobile SDK will be released later this year.
HTC had entered into similar deal last year with Beats Audio and introduced the first Beats Audio technology based smartphone last year itself. With that track record, we can expect to see the first HTC One smartphone with PlayStation Certified logos before end of this year. One thing is for sure that these PlayStation Certified HTC One smartphones will mostly come with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich unless HTC has big plans to release it with Android 5.0 Jelly Bean.
Sprint introduces ad campaign for HTC phone launch
Sprint has introduced an advertising campaign to launch the HTC EVO 4G LTE smartphone. The theme of the campaign, which began airing from 3 June, is 'Unlimited Love Unlimited EVO.' Unlimited Love Unlimited EVO is a fully integrated campaign created by Sprint in collaboration with 'Team Sprint' – integrated brand agency Digitas and ad agency Leo Burnett – designed to demonstrate the combination of the EVO smartphone on Sprint's LTE network. The campaign will be featured across TV, online, digital out of home, mobile and print, along with sweepstakes on Facebook. The national TV spot, 'EVO Live,' is a love song sung by EVO fans with their phones. The spot is a 130-person 'mobile chorus' and the ad highlights HTC EVO 4G LTE's features, including its camera technology, audio and voice quality enhancements, and the red-line design detail and kickstand on the back of the phone. Sprint introduces the 'Win What You Love' sweepstakes, an socially interactive campaign on Facebook. In addition to the 'Win What You Love' grand prize, 40 additional lucky EVO users will get the HTC EVO 4G LTE devices as runner-up winners in the sweepstakes. Sprint is also giving fans the opportunity to have their tweets featured on a digital billboard in New York's Times Square. The Times Square interactive billboard launches in early June.
June 04, 2012
A Suicide car bomb kills 23 in central Baghdad
BAGHDAD—A suicide bomber detonated an explosive-rigged car outside Iraq's main religious affairs office for Shiite Muslims on Monday, shearing off the facade of the three-story building and killing at least 23 people in the deadliest single attack in the country in three months, officials said.
More than 70 people were wounded in the explosion that shattered nearby windows and damaged cars in Baghdad's central Bab al-Muadham area, two police officials said. Firefighters searched the debris for survivors.
In apparent retaliation, a mortar shell hit close to Iraq's main office for Sunni Muslim religious affairs in northeastern Baghdad later Monday, but caused no damage or injuries.
Violence has dropped sharply in Iraq in recent years, but attacks on government offices and members of the security forces, aimed at undermining the Shiite-led ruling coalition, are still common. Monday's explosion came at a time of a prolonged political paralysis caused by sectarian tensions.
Adel Ahmed, an employee in the Baghdad Health Department, said he was reading a newspaper in his office near the religious affairs building when the blast went off around 11 a.m.
"The ceiling fell on my head and I was slightly wounded in the head and fell down," Ahmed told The Associated Press by phone. He said he later walked to the scene of the explosion and saw wounded people on the ground screaming for help. "The scene was horrific," he said.
The damaged building housed the so-called Shiite endowment, or department that supervises Shiite religious affairs, including holy sites and mosques across Iraq.
Police officials said the blast was set off by a suicide bomber. A doctor in a nearby hospital confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
Monday's attack was the deadliest in Iraq since March 5, when assailants waving the battle flag of al-Qaida gunned down 25 policemen in the western Iraqi town of Haditha. Last week, a string of bombings killed 17 people in Baghdad and one in the northern town of Mosul.
The violence is adding to Iraq's sense of instability. A unity government headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has been largely paralyzed since the withdrawal of the U.S. troops in December.
There is mounting criticism of al-Maliki within the ruling coalition over complaints that he is shutting out Iraq's two main minorities—Kurds and Sunni Muslims—in decision-making. However, his opponents appear to fall short of a needed majority in parliament to bring down him down.
Officials: US Drone Strike in Pakistan Kills 8
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani officials say a suspected drone strike in Pakistan has killed eight suspected militants.
Three Pakistani intelligence officials say four missiles were fired at a suspected militant hide-out in a village near the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan early Monday morning.
North Waziristan is one of the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan that has become a hub of al-Qaida and Taliban activity.
It was the seventh drone attack in two weeks in Pakistan, demonstrating that the U.S. has no intention of letting up on the controversial drone campaign.
A Plane Crashes In Nigeria, All 153 Aboard Killed
LAGOS, Nigeria - An aviation official said that all passengers on board the plane that crashed in Nigeria's largest city have been killed.
Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority Harold Denuren confirmed that all the passengers on Sunday's Dana Air flight died. He did not say how many were on the flight. However, the Lagos state government said in a statement that 153 people were on the flight going from Abuja to Lagos.
The plane crashed in a densely-populated neighborhood near the airport. Rescue officials said Monday they fear many people may have perished on the ground too.
Several thousand gathered at the site as firefighters tried to put out flames and carry out survivors.
Yushau Shuaib, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, said they were still trying to get an official manifest on the flight. Sometimes flights in Nigeria issue paper tickets and don't record all passengers via computer.
"I don't think there will be any survivors," said witness Praise Richard. "It would take a miracle."
Many dead in Baghdad car bomb blast
A car bomb has exploded near two government offices in central Baghdad, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 50.
Two police officials say the car was parked near an office for Shiite Muslim religious affairs and the city's health department in the Bab al-Muadham area.
The explosion at 11am local time damaged nearby buildings and cars.
A doctor in a nearby hospital confirmed the casualty figures.
The powerful car bomb tore the facade off of Iraq's main religious affairs office for Shiite Muslims and the death toll was raised to at least 18 - making it the deadliest single attack in the capital in three months.
The blast came at a time of prolonged political paralysis in Iraq caused by sectarian tensions. It followed a series of attacks that killed 17 people in Baghdad last week.
Adel Ahmed, an employee at the nearby Baghdad Health Department, said he was reading a newspaper in his office when he heard the blast.
"The ceiling fell on my head and I was slightly wounded in the head and fell down," he said. He added that he walked to the scene of the explosion and saw wounded people on the ground screaming for help. "The scene was horrific," he said.
Two police officials said the explosives-rigged car was parked near the religious affairs building and the health department. The front of the three-story religious affairs office collapsed from the impact of the blast.
Firefighters were searching the debris for survivors. The blast also shattered nearby windows and damaged cars in the area. The damaged building housed the so-called Shiite endowment, or department that supervises Shiite religious affairs, including holy sites and mosques across Iraq.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)
