Month: August 2013

No lifting of YouTube ban in Pak till blasphemous material filter blocking mechanism in place

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YouTube will remain blocked in Pakistan unless a mechanism is to permanently block blasphemous material on the website, the Ministry of Technology has told the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

A Peshawar High Court division bench comprising Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Manzoor was hearing a petition filed by Mina Muhibbulah Kakakhel challenging the on YouTube.

According to the Express Tribune, the video-sharing website was blocked in September 2012 former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

Ex-Goldman Sachs trader Fabrice Tourre found liable in $1bn fraud case

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A former Goldman Sachs trader nicknamed ‘Fabulous Fab’ has been found liable in a fraud case brought by federal regulators in response to the 2007 mortgage crisis that pushed the country into recession. A jury gave the verdict at the civil trial in Manhattan federal court against Fabrice Tourre.

According to CBS News, Touree is a French-born Stanford graduate described by Securities and Exchange Commission lawyers as the face of ‘Wall Street greed’. Tourre’s attorneys portrayed him as a scapegoat in a downturn caused by larger economic forces.

Cryptographer reveals sim card bug that puts million phones at hacking risk

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A German cryptographer publically revealed the sim card flaw that leaves million of phones vulnerable to hacking at the Hackers’ convention called Black Hat in Las Vegas.

According to the Guardian, Karsten Nohl revealed his findings at the convention and said that the flaw allowed hackers to obtain a sim card”s digital key, a 56-digit sequence that exposes the chip to manipulation making the attacker able to redirect calls, rewrite numbers, listen in on calls and also potentially make a payment fraud remotely controlling the phone.

Obama nominates woman to lead Air Force

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US President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated Deborah Lee James, a defense industry executive and former assistant secretary of defense, as Secretary of the Air Force.

The White House announced the nomination in a statement, in which Obama praised James” “strong record of public service and leadership in the private sector makes her uniquely qualified to be my nominee for Secretary of the Air Force.”

Kashmir, Delhi, Punjab and Himachal rocked by quake

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Several parts of Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab were rocked by tremors a little after 8 a.m. on Friday.

The meteorological office in Shimla confirmed news of the tremors and added that its epicentre was in Himachal Pradesh”s Kangra District. Officials said the tremors measured an estimated 5.4 on the open-ended Richter Scale.

The tremors were felt in Jammu and Kashmir”s Kishtwar District, Punjab”s Jalandhar District and nearby areas, and in Shimla, Chamba, Lahaul and Spiti and Kullu and Kangra districts of Himachal Pradesh.

Kerry expresses optimism over ending US drone strikes ‘very soon’ in Pakistan

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US Secretary of State John Kerry has suggested that controversial drone strikes on Pakistani soil could end soon. He told Pakistani TV that the US would end drone strikes on Pakistan in the near future, adding that they were on good track as the US has eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it.

Kerry and his Pakistani counterpart, Sartaj Aziz, said that the two countries will also resume high-level negotiations over security issues.

Indian-origin man charged with sons’ murder in Ireland

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An Indian-origin man has been charged with the murder of his two sons, who were found dead in the boot of his car in Ireland. Sanjeev Chada, 43, was brought before a special sitting of Swinford District Court in County Mayo on Thursday after being accused of killing his sons Eoghan and Ruairi.

According to Sky News, the boys had gone with Chada after leaving the family home on Sunday evening. The bodies of the 10-and-five-year olds were discovered the next day in the boot of Chada”s crashed car. Chada was arrested after being treated in hospital for injuries from the crash.

Apple to issue software update for ‘apps and charger hack’ prone iPhones

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Software giant Apple is planning to issue a software update to its iPhones which were found to be ‘hack-prone’ with certain applications and use of peripherals like chargers.

According to the BBC, Apple’s software update would help its products avoid falling victim to booby-trapped chargers in response to research that created malicious chargers that could upload code onto devices plugged into them.

Climate shift to be 10 times quicker than past 65 million years over next century: Study

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Scientists have found that the likely rate of change in the climate will be at least 10 times quicker than any climate shift in the past 65 million years.

According to a study conducted by researchers from the Carnegie Institution, the rapid climate shift will place significant stress on terrestrial ecosystems around the world, and many species will need to make behavioral, evolutionary or geographic adaptations to survive.

Google announces ‘always listening’ MotoX phones which can be ‘custom-designed’

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Google owned Motorola has reportedly come up with its latest smartphone which is ‘always listening’ and can be ‘custom-designed’ with a choice of colours and materials.

The MotoX which functions much like the controversial Google Glass listens for instructions when the user says ‘OK Google now…’ prompting the touchless control system to function.

According to Stuff.co.nz, the MotoX allows customers to personalize with a choice of colours and materials including unusual phone materials such as wood.

Man U planning 80 million pounds swoop for Ronaldo

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remier League Champions Manchester United and Real Madrid have spent the last 12 days trying to negotiate an 80 million pounds package for star player Cristiano Ronaldo and the Old Trafford giants are increasingly confident of getting their man.

According to the Daily Star, David Moyes made his move two weeks ago when the club heard through the grapevine Madrid had stepped up their interest in signing Gareth Bale.

Hollywood’s pact of pandering to Hitler’s whims prior to WW2 revealed

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Nazi diplomats threatened to ban American-made movies from the German market if they were depicted negatively in the flicks, it has been revealed.

Harvard post-doctoral fellow Ben Urwand reveals how movies were threatened to be banned from the German market if they didn’t follow orders in his controversial book, ‘The Collaboration: Hollywood’s Pact with Hitler,’ the New York Daily News reported.

More weapons in arsenal though star batsman retired hurt: lagadapati

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Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal said they knew how to obstruct the Telangana declaration and keep the state united, as they still have more weapons in their arsenal.

Congress MPs Rajagopal, Sai Pratap, Undavalli Arun Kumar, Harsha Kumar and Ananta Venkatarami Reddy submitted their resignations to the Speaker on Friday.

Speaking to the media later, Lagadapati said they had many more weapons to keep the state united and were prepared to anything to prevent bifurcation.

Kapil Sibal defends govt’s RTI move

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The government Friday defended the cabinet decision to keep political parties outside the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, arguing that they have to reveal the donations they receive to the Election Commission.

“There seems to be an impression that political parties are not accountable. We get elected by the people. We have to reveal whatever donations we receive to the Election Commission. It is not as if donations to parties are unaccounted for,” Law Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters here.

AIIMS reservation issue likely to rock Monsoon Session

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Political opposition to a recent Supreme Court order on the question of reservation in AIIMS could hamper the smooth functioning of the Monsoon Session of Parliament with non-Congress and non-BJP parties planning to make it a big issue.

Talking to reporters, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav said, “We want government to act on this issue. Otherwise Opposition will raise it in a big way in the coming session.”

The Monsoon Session of Parliament begins on August 05.

About 50 kids ill after drinking water in Bihar

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About 50 children were taken ill Friday after drinking water from a handpump at a school in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district, officials said.

On Thursday, 30 children had fallen sick after drinking water from handpumps at two separate schools of Saran and Gopalganj districts.

The Friday incident took place at the government middle school in Runnisaidpur of Sitamarhi, a district police officer said.

The sick children were first admitted to a primary health centre (PHC) in Runnisaidpur and later over a dozen, who were critically ill, were shifted to the district hospital for treatment.

Imran Khan prefers arrest to apologizing in contempt of court case

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has said he will he appear in person before the Supreme Court after being summoned for contempt of court, but will not apolgise under any circumstances. Khan said that he will stand by his stance, even if it meant he is sentenced and disqualified from being elected into the assemblies. He added that under no circumstance will he apologise for his comments as he has committed no mistake, adding that he is fighting for democracy in Pakistan.

Chinese Navy sails through island chain in Pacific

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The Chinese Navy has claimed to have fulfilled a long-held dream of gaining access to the Pacific Ocean after its vessels for the first time sailed though major East Asian archipelagos closely guarded by the US and Japan.

“The Chinese navy has the capability to cut the first island chain into several pieces,” said Du Wenlong, a senior researcher at the PLA’s Academy of Military Science.

“Now the chain is fragmented,” Du told state-run China Daily.

UN not to reveal details of weapons experts’ visit

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The UN Secretariat has cited security reasons for not disclosing the details of the upcoming investigation of the purported use of chemical weapons in Syria for security reasons.

However, one of the places to be visited by the UN experts is already known. It is Aleppo’s suburb of Khan Al-Asal. The other two have not been revealed.

Japan orders Fukishima-1 operator to report situation

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Japan has called on the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant’s operating company, Tokyo Electric Power, to inform the public immediately on the situation at the power plant.

“We are sorry, there are still various problems there,” Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshimitsu Motegi told a news conference.

“We insist on prompt revealing of necessary information,” he said following the situation, where the company had not published immediately the information on water leaks to the ocean.

Joint project with Japan for IIT-Hyderabad gets CCEA nod

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A joint project which aims at value addition for the newly-created IIT at Hyderabad has been approved by the government along with an academic and industry interface between the institute and Japan.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which met here yesterday, approved the ‘collaboration of IIT, Hyderabad, and Japan’, to be executed via an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan from the Japanese government and the Union HRD Ministry.

Zimbabwe polls: Mugabe ahead in early results

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Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s party claimed Friday it was headed for victory in crunch elections branded a “sham” by his rivals as international observers prepared to hand down their verdict.

A leading opposition figure called for “passive resistance” over the outcome of Wednesday’s presidential and parliamentary elections, which the opposition and local monitors charge was riddled with flaws.

Iran’s Ahmadinejad warns Israel will be ‘uprooted’

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Iran’s outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned arch-foe Israel today in one of his last public speeches that a regional storm was brewing that would “uproot” the Jewish state.

“I will inform you with God as my witness, a devastating storm is on the way that will uproot the basis of Zionism,” Ahmadinejad said in Quds (Jerusalem) Day remarks broadcast on state television.

In a parting shot against Israel, which he has consistently targeted in public comments during eight years in power, Ahmadinejad said it “has no place in this region”.

US air strike accidentally kills five Afghan police: NATO

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A US air strike killed five Afghan policemen during a joint operation against insurgents, officials said on Thursday, in an incident likely to further strain ties between the allies.

Afghan and US troops called for aerial support while fighting in the eastern province of Nangarhar, the US-led NATO coalition said, with local officials reporting special forces were reacting to a Taliban attack on a police post.