German mass data attack 'known for weeks' by cyber officials

Germany's cybersecurity authorities have been criticised after it emerged they knew about a mass data attack on hundreds of politicians for weeks, but did not tell the police.

(Angela Merkel, Greens leader Robert Habeck and TV satirist Jan Böhmermann have all been targeted by the attack)

• Journalists, celebrities and politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, are among those whose personal data was published online.
• The attacks took place throughout December, but did not become public knowledge until Friday.
• It is unclear who was responsible.
• The contacts, private chats and financial details of figures from every political party - except the far-right AfD - were posted on Twitter.
• The interior ministry says there is no evidence that parliamentary or government systems have been compromised - and it is not clear whether the attack was the result of hacking - or someone with access leaking the data.
• The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has come under fire after it emerged that they knew about the leak since December, while the Federal Crime Office was only notified on Friday, news agency DPA and newspaper Bild report.
• BSI president Arne Schoenbohm told broadcaster Phoenix that his team "had already held corresponding talks very early in December with certain members of parliament who were affected", and launched a "mobile incident response team".
• However, Dietmar Bartsch, parliamentary head of the left-wing Die Linke party, called the secrecy "completely unacceptable" and asked if the office had "something to hide".
• Meanwhile, lawmaker André Han said: "It makes me unbelievably cross that yet again I've found out about such things from the media - even though I'm a member of the parliamentary monitoring group... the federal government's duty to keep parliament informed still applies between Christmas and the new year."

Who exactly was targeted?

National and local political figures as well as some TV personalities had their details stolen:

• Chancellor Angela Merkel: her email address and several letters to and from the chancellor appear to have been published
• The main parliamentary groups including the ruling centre-right and centre-left parties, as well as The Greens, left-wing Die Linke and FDP. Only AfD appears to have escaped
• Greens leader Robert Habeck, who had private chats with family members and credit card details posted online
• Journalists from public broadcasters ARD and ZDF as well as TV satirists Jan Böhmermann and Christian Ehring, rapper Marteria and rap group K.I.Z, reports say

• The true extent of damage caused by the leak is not yet known although Justice Minister Katarina Barley said it was a "serious attack".
• "The people behind this want to damage confidence in our democracy and institutions," she said.
• It is not clear who was behind the attack, although suspicion has fallen on right-wing groups in Germany, as well as Russia.
• Russia has been accused of cyber-attacks in Germany before, including an attack on the government's IT network last year.

 

Alert: WhatsApp will not work on these phones from today.

 

• The Facebook-owned messaging app, WhatsApp had a few years ago announced the end of support for a number of mobile devices including those running on BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry OS, Nokia Symbian S60, Windows Phone 8.0, Nokia S40, Android versions 2.3.7 and older, iPhone iOS 7 and older.
• And today is the last day of service for sets operating on Nokia S40.
  
• “When we started WhatsApp in 2009, people's use of mobile devices looked very different from today. The Apple App Store was only a few months old. About 70 percent of smartphones sold at the time had operating systems offered by BlackBerry and Nokia. Mobile operating systems offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft – which account for 99.5 percent of sales today – were on less than 25 percent of mobile devices sold at the time,” it said in a blog post.
• By the end of 2016, it ended support for phones running on BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60, Android 2.1 and Android 2.2, Windows Phone 7, and iPhone 3GS/iOS 6.
• In another update the company announced dates for the closure of services on the following platforms:
• Nokia Symbian S60 after June 30, 2017
• BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10 after December 31, 2017
• Windows Phone 8.0 and older after December 31, 2017
• Nokia S40 after December 31, 2018
• Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020
• iPhone iOS 7 and older after February 1, 2020

 

China scientist claims world´s first gene-edited babies

China scientist claims world´s first gene-edited babies.

 

Hong Kong: A scientist in China claims to have created the world´s first genetically-edited babies, a move that would be a ground-breaking medical first but which has generated a barrage of criticism.

• Chinese university professor He Jiankui posted a video on YouTube saying that the twin girls, born a few weeks ago, had had their DNA altered to prevent them from contracting HIV.

• The professor, who was educated at Stanford in the US and works from a lab in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, said their DNA was modified using CRISPR, a technique which allows scientists to remove and replace a strand with pinpoint precision.
• The development emerged Sunday in an article published by industry journal the MIT Technology Review, which referenced medical documents posted online by He´s research team to recruit couples for the experiments.
• He´s video then went online, prompting a heated debate among the scientific community, including from experts who cast doubt over the claimed breakthrough, and others who decried it as a modern form of eugenics.
• He said the babies, known as "Lulu" and "Nana" although they are not their real names, were born through regular IVF but using an egg which was specially modified before being inserted into the womb.
• Gene editing is a potential fix for heritable diseases but it is extremely controversial because the changes would be passed down to future generations and could eventually affect the entire gene pool.
• The MIT Technology Review warned "the technology is ethically charged".
• The claims come ahead of a conference of world experts in Hong Kong this week, with He expected to speak on Wednesday and Thursday.
• But there is as yet no independent verification of his claims, which have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal -- an omission that the scientist´s critics have seized on

 

Instagram's accidental update test leaves users wondering

Instagram's accidental update test leaves users wondering.

"Due to a bug, some users saw a change to the way their feed appears today. We quickly fixed the issue and feed is back to normal. We apologize for any confusion," said a  Instagram in a statement on Thursday.

• Some users have been wondering amid Christmas holidays as to what happened to  their Instagram app which suddenly started showing their timeline  feature vertical scroll switched to a horizontal feed.    
• Although not every user  saw the change, a large number of people took to   Twitter asking the photosharing app about the  horizontal interface.

 

'World's first' smartphone with 7 cameras

Nokia 9 Pureview: 

''World's first' smartphone with 7 cameras''

 

The smartphone makers are engaged in fierce competition to keep the users intact with new and advanced features.

Nokia, which re-entered the market, is making hectic efforts to establish itself as a brand to reckon with where Chinese companies are flooding global markets with new and advanced products.
With its latest, 'seven-camera' Nokia 9 Pureview, HMD has taken on Samsung Galaxy A9, which was launched recently as world's first 4 Camera phone.
 “It’s not for sure how many megapixels will each of the five rear lenses will hold but it is expected to be around that of what Huawei Mate 20 Pro or P20 Pro,” according to reports.
“At the front, there might be two cameras for a better selfie experience”

As per the leaked promo video and previous reports, Nokia 9 Pureview is expected to feature Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, which has been there in other flagship smartphones as well.

Prime Minister Of Pakistan Imran Khan's visit to Turkey

PM Imran Khan's visit to Turkey.

At the invitation of President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 
Prime Minister Imran Khan, paid an official visit to Republic of Turkey on 3-4 January 2019.

PM Imran Khan was accompanied by a high-level delegation on the occasion.

President Erdogan and PM Khan held a tete-a-tete meeting followed by delegation level talks on 4 January 2019.

Having exchanged views on the entire spectrum of Turkey - Pakistan bilateral "heart-to-heart" relationship as well as on issues of regional and international importance, the leaders of the two countries:
Re-affirmed that the unparalleled fraternal relations between the peoples and the governments of the two countries date back centuries and are embedded in a common cultural and religious heritage, as well as a shared vision for the future, based on complete mutual understanding and trust;
Noted with great satisfaction that the relationship between the two brotherly countries has over the years transformed into a strong strategic partnership in all areas of mutual interest, that has withstood the tests of time;
Reiterated their determination to continue extending strong mutual support to one another on all issues of core national interest;
Expressed their commitment to further enhance their bilateral relations in every field to the benefit of their peoples;
Reiterated the importance of the Turkey-Pakistan High Level Strategic Cooperation Council mechanism that also includes several working groups in further strengthening bilateral relations;
Noted with satisfaction their ever-expanding defense and defense industry cooperation;
Expressed their resolve to further strengthening the existing economic, trade and commercial relations between the two countries;
Agreed to initiate mechanisms for collaboration in health and agriculture sectors;
Decided to further enhance people-to-people contacts through increased exchanges and cooperation in education, culture, tourism and youth fields;
Underlined their abiding commitment fighting the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations;
Reiterated their resolve to fight against the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization;
Expressed satisfaction at the ongoing cooperation between the two countries at the multilateral forums including at the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation; Economic Cooperation Organization; Developing 8 Countries; as well as other relevant forums;
Reaffirmed their commitment for achieving and sustaining peace, security and stability in their respective regions as well as internationally;
Underscored the need for resolution of the issue of Jammu and Kashmir through a sustained dialogue process and in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions;
Recognized the Turkish support for Pakistan's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) based on non-discriminatory criteria, and reaffirmed that Pakistan's adherence to the NSG Guidelines and participation in the NSG would strengthen the global non-proliferation objectives;
Acknowledged that sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan could be achieved through reconciliation of all segments of the Afghan society with support of the regional countries and the international community;
Reiterated their full and resolute support to the efforts for the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue on the basis of the political equality of the two communities on the Island, with a view to building peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean;
Emphasized the centrality of the cause of Palestine, rejected any attempt to alter the legal status and historical character of Al Quds; called on the international community to increase their support to the Palestinian people in realizing their quest for the establishment of an independent, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine on the basis of the borders of 1967 with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital;
Agreed to increase collaboration to uphold the true values of Islam at the international forums as well as to work closely against any attempts to malign, distort or vilify the historical image of Islam, its revered personalities, and its fundamental beliefs;
Expressed their strong resolve to further increase the frequency of bilateral contacts at the highest level;
Reiterated their determination to continue taking steps in all areas of mutual interest for mutual peace and prosperity, especially by transforming the historic Turkey-Pakistan relationship into an increasingly stronger trade, investment and economic relationship for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries; and agreed to convene the 6th Session of the Turkey-Pakistan High Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Pakistan at mutually convenient dates for further discussion on these areas.