The assault launched late March 31 by jihadi fighters on the northern Mali town of Timbuktu reflects the changing security scenario in West Africa. On the one hand, the Franco-African military intervention against groups allied with al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has inflicted considerable losses on Islamist militias — including within their leadership — and forced extremists who previously occupied the northern half of Mali to retreat to the mountainous border with Algeria to escape further fatalities from ground and air assaults. That progress allowed French President François Hollande on March 28 to outline his planned withdrawal schedule for France's forces. But Sunday's infiltration and attack on Timbuktu by a small unit of radicals not only demonstrates that the otherwise battered extremists are determined to continue waging jihad despite the setbacks they've suffered. It also suggests Islamist militias are already reverting to traditional methods of using the vast, ungovernable Sahel region to avoid enemy forces as they orchestrate regular strikes against military, government and civilian targets in Mali, Mauritania, Algeria and Niger. (MORE: French Officials Warn 'Success' in Mali Won't End Islamist Threat) "The military intervention has decimated Islamist forces and killed key leaders, but no one ever believed it would eradicate jihadi groups in the Sahel," says a senior French counterterrorism official who cannot be quoted by name. "Surviving commanders and fighters are now regrouping and gradually resuming operation, and will seek to regain some of the influence they had before they made the mistake of taking over the entire northern half of Mali. They're reverting back from being a terrifying occupation force to being a more elusive force of terrorism." As that happens, the official says, Islamist groups are expected to increase kidnapping, attacks on military outposts and, throughout the Sahel, suicide strikes on targets that they staged before teaming up with Tuareg militants to seize control of northern Mali in April 2012. Though that activity — which never entirely ceased during their domination of northern Mali — will remain a threat, it's a far cry from the(http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&blog=19871253&post=79024&subd=timeglobalspin&ref=&feed=1)
Via: TIME GlobalSpin
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.
(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/04/aw6413lead.jpg) (http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/06/alt-week-4-7-13-skylab-ii-reading-your-dreams/)
Evolution, devolution, review-lution. Okay, so we made that last one up. But if they ever do invent a machine that can re-view your dreams in full HD, we're betting that's what they'll be calling it. The even better news is that that's possibly not as crazy as it sounds as we learn this week. What week? Why, alt-week of course.
Filed under: Science (http://www.engadget.com/category/science/), Alt (http://www.engadget.com/category/alt/)
Comments (http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/06/alt-week-4-7-13-skylab-ii-reading-your-dreams/#comments)
Via: Engadget
Hidden amidst the winding pathways of Llewelyn Park, New Jersey, America's oldest gated community, steampunk designer Will Rockwell is building a future that never was. He began his career as a TV producer but he always loved to tinker with metals, leather, and wood – the three components of good steampunk. After building a set of Rocketeer-style USB keys, friends turned him on to Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/WillRockwell). He opened a shop and almost immediately was flooded with orders (http://www.etsy.com/shop/WillRockwell).
These designs are a labor of love for Rockwell who scours the junkyards of New Jersey for cool odds and ends. He has two workshops, one in Pennsylvania and one in the basement of his 1912 home.
Rockwell doen't expect to get rich with his hobby but he's doing well, nonetheless. His unique style, nautical-themed designs, and electronic additions to his devices meld the modern and the mysterious in a quirky way. My favorite project? His electric guitar outfitted with wild effects and knife switches, although his handmade USB keys are still amazing (http://www.etsy.com/listing/118707242/monarch-2-walnut-and-brass-16gb?ref=shop_home_active).
Will is definitely following the maker spirit and is even making a little money. His world is one of the imagination, full of undersea starships and steaming hard drives run by pistons. It's enough to make you think you've stumbled upon the world of Captain Nemo via the Jersey Turnpike.
TechCrunch Makers (http://techcrunch.com/tag/makers/) is a video series featuring people who make cool stuff. If you'd like to be featured, email us! (john+makers@techcrunch.com).
Via: TechCrunch
MARGARET Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke. She was 87.
Britain's only woman prime minister, the unyielding, outspoken Thatcher, according to Reuters, led the Conservatives to three election victories, governing from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous period in office by a British premier since the early 19th century.
A grocer's daughter with a steely resolve, she was loved and loathed in equal measure as she crushed the unions, privatized vast swathes of British industry, clashed with the European Union and fought a war to recover the Falkland Islands from Argentine invaders.
She struck up a close relationship with U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the Cold War, backed the first President George Bush during the 1991 Gulf War, and declared that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was a man she could do business with.
"We've lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton," Prime Minister David Cameron said.
"Her legacy will be the fact that she served her country so well, and she saved our country and she showed immense courage in doing so, and people will be learning about what she did and her achievements in decades, probably centuries to come."
Cameron cut short a visit to Europe to return to Britain after the death was announced and British flags at Cameron's official residence, 10 Downing Street, were lowered to half mast.
Mourners began to lay flowers outside her house in Belgravia, one of London's most exclusive areas. One note said: "The greatest British leader."
Thatcher died peacefully on Monday morning, said Lord Bell, a spokesman for the family. She had been in poor health for months and had declined into dementia in her final years.
"I think she will be remembered as one of the greatest prime ministers this country has ever had," Bell said.
"I'm sure she will be remembered in the context of other great men like Winston Churchill. She made a real difference to the way we live our lives," Bell said.
The British government said Thatcher would have a ceremonial funeral with military honors at London's St Paul's Cathedral, which falls short of a full state funeral, in accordance with the wishes of her family.
The abiding images of her premiership will remain those of conflict: huge police confrontations with the miners' union, her riding a tank in a white headscarf, and flames rising above Trafalgar Square in the riots over an unpopular local tax which ultimately led to her downfall.
"It's very sad to hear of her death but her legacy and death are two different things. Politically, she did not leave a good legacy for the working class," Kevin Robertson, a 39-year-old garage manager, told Reuters in Edinburgh.
To those who opposed her she was blunt to a degree. "The lady's not for turning", she once famously informed members of her own Conservative Party who were urging her to moderate her policies.
Others who crossed her path, particularly in Europe, were subjected to withering diatribes often referred to as "handbaggings", named after the black leather bag she invariably carried.
Queen Elizabeth said she was sad to hear the news of Thatcher's death and sent a message of sympathy to her family.
"Her memory will live long after the world has forgotten the grey suits of today's politics," said London Mayor Boris Johnson.
The Guardian
TIME's Rania Abouzeid has been an intrepid chronicler of the war in Syria, journeying at great personal risk to the frontlines of the conflict to cover the rebel advances in ravaged locales like Idlib and the ancient, historic city of Aleppo. Following PBS's airing of a special Frontline broadcast about the grueling civil war—"Syria Behind the Lines"—Abouzeid joins filmmaker Olly Lambert and Syria Deeply co-founder Lara Setrakian in a live web Q&A that you can watch here starting at 12:30 p.m. ET and start leaving your questions for the panel now in the space below.(http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&blog=19871253&post=80794&subd=timeglobalspin&ref=&feed=1)
Via: TIME GlobalSpin
(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/04/ds3metallicgray619pxhedimg.jpg) (http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/metallic-gray-dualshock-3/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget)
Tired of how much your PlayStation 3 doesn't look like a Terminator robot? Us too, especially given that hilariously mechanical new top-loading disc drive cover (http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/08/playstation-3-review-late-2012/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget). Thankfully, Sony sympathizes with our plight, announcing this week that its "Metallic Gray" DualShock 3 controller for the PlayStation 3 will arrive in the United States in a few months (it's been available in Japan for some time). On June 3rd, the controller becomes available for the standard DS3 price of $54.99, and interested parties can pre-order right this second (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00BWBTJOE/ref=nosim/6553221-rg1864-00-20?s=merchant) if they so choose. Of course, we don't anticipate a shortage when they arrive this June, but it's always possible that a T-800 will be sent back from the future to accessorize. In which case, you pre-order folks end up looking pretty good.
Filed under: Gaming (http://www.engadget.com/category/gaming/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget), Handhelds (http://www.engadget.com/category/handhelds/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget), Peripherals (http://www.engadget.com/category/peripherals/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget), Sony (http://www.engadget.com/category/sony/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget)
Comments (http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/metallic-gray-dualshock-3/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments)
Via: Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/sparkly-silver-dualshock-3-comes-to-north-america-this-june/)
Source: Sony (http://us.playstation.com/ps3/accessories/dualshock-3-metallic-gray-ps3.html)
Via: Engadget
Job Title: Administrative Assistant
Reference: NGA1261
Recruiter: Adexen Recruitment Agency / Adexen Nigeria
Sector: Distribution & FMCG – Nigeria – Western Africa
Function: Administration / Support / Secretarial
Our client: Adexen Recruitment Agency is mandated by a leading FMCG company into the distribution of fresh fruits to recruit an Administrative Secretary/ Assistant for its operations in Nigeria.
Job description:
• The Administrative Secretary/Assistant will be responsible for providing high-level administrative support for the company and performing a wide variety of clerical functions as well as other related duties as required.
• He/She will report to the National Sales Manager.
• The position is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Responsibilities:
The responsibilities for this office shall include but is not limited to the following:
• Produce correspondence and documents and maintain presentations, records, spreadsheets and databases
• Screen incoming telephone calls in order to provide assistance or refer call to appropriate staff member
• Maintaining and updating simple books of accounts
• Provides clerical and procedural support as needed
• Scheduling appointments and meetings
• Review and proofread a variety of information to ensure accuracy of information, consistency with administrative policy and grammatical correctness
• Establish, update and maintains manual filing systems and computer software programs to track information
• Prepares typed copy from written or oral information in order to produce error free documents
• Be a cheerful representative of the company and relay a helpful and accommodating environment
Qualifications and Experience:
• OND/HND in Accounts, Economics or any other management related course
• At least 2 years experience in a similar role
• Must be fluent in English – both written and spoken
• Some bookkeeping knowledge and familiarity with Pastel (Partner) would be an advantage
• Should be good with figures
• Reliable, fast learner and can use own initiative when required
• High proficiency in MS Office applications
• Must be familiar with Internet and web- based applications
• Meticulous/ Accurate/ Able to work under pressure
What is on offer? Attractive package
If your experience, personal characteristics and qualifications meet the position specifications and your personal objectives are to seek such a challenge, then we would like to hear from you with details of your current earnings, up to date CV and explanation as to why your achievements to date fit you for consideration.
Apply to this job (http://www.jobnavy.com/job/16736/administrative-assistant-job-at-adexen-nigeria/)