Thursday, 16 January 2020
Tuesday, 14 January 2020
Trump launches fresh attack on Apple over privacy
US President Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on Apple.
He tweeted that the company was refusing to unlock iPhones "used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements".
On Monday US Attorney General William Barr accused Apple of not being helpful in an inquiry into a shooting that is being treated as a terrorist act.
It is the latest in a series of clashes between the White House and technology giants over access to data.
Mr Trump accused Apple of refusing to co-operate with investigators despite his administration helping the company on trade and other issues.
The president's comments came a day after Mr Barr said Apple had failed to provide "substantive assistance" to unlock two iPhones in an investigation into a fatal shooting at a naval base in Pensacola, Florida.
Three US sailors were killed when a Saudi trainee at the base opened fire on 6 December.
Apple said it rejected the claim that it had failed to help officials in their investigation.
"Our responses to their many requests since the attack have been timely, thorough and are ongoing," it said in a statement.
This is not the first time Apple has clashed with the US justice department. After a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California in 2015, in which 14 people were killed and 22 others were seriously injured, Apple refused to help gain access to the gunman's iPhone.
The US government ended up paying another company a reported $1m (£770,000) to develop software to get around the device's encryption.
The disputes highlight the ongoing disagreement between the technology industry and law enforcement agencies around the world.
On one side encryption plays a crucial role in protecting people's privacy, on the other it can cause major issues for criminal investigators.
source https://www.bbc.com/
He tweeted that the company was refusing to unlock iPhones "used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements".
On Monday US Attorney General William Barr accused Apple of not being helpful in an inquiry into a shooting that is being treated as a terrorist act.
It is the latest in a series of clashes between the White House and technology giants over access to data.
Mr Trump accused Apple of refusing to co-operate with investigators despite his administration helping the company on trade and other issues.
The president's comments came a day after Mr Barr said Apple had failed to provide "substantive assistance" to unlock two iPhones in an investigation into a fatal shooting at a naval base in Pensacola, Florida.
Three US sailors were killed when a Saudi trainee at the base opened fire on 6 December.
Apple said it rejected the claim that it had failed to help officials in their investigation.
"Our responses to their many requests since the attack have been timely, thorough and are ongoing," it said in a statement.
This is not the first time Apple has clashed with the US justice department. After a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California in 2015, in which 14 people were killed and 22 others were seriously injured, Apple refused to help gain access to the gunman's iPhone.
The US government ended up paying another company a reported $1m (£770,000) to develop software to get around the device's encryption.
The disputes highlight the ongoing disagreement between the technology industry and law enforcement agencies around the world.
On one side encryption plays a crucial role in protecting people's privacy, on the other it can cause major issues for criminal investigators.
source https://www.bbc.com/
Deadly blast at chemical plant in Tarragona, Spain
One person is missing after the blast, south of Tarragona, set off a huge fire. Officials say it was probably sparked by a chemical accident.
Authorities initially urged residents to stay indoors but later said no toxic substances had been released.
Dozens of firefighters tackled the blaze late into the night.
The explosion at the Industrias QuÃmicas del Óxido de Etileno plant happened at 18:40 local time (17:40 GMT) in La Canonja municipality.
The dead person was found in a nearby building that collapsed.
At least two of the injured people had serious burns, Catalonia's civil protection service said. Rescuers are searching for the missing person, a plant employee.
Late on Tuesday Catalan leader Quim Torra told reporters: "Now we can send a message of calm and confidence to people. There is no toxicity and therefore people can carry on with their lives as normal."
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez later offered support for the Catalan authorities in dealing with the accident.
source https://www.bbc.com/
Authorities initially urged residents to stay indoors but later said no toxic substances had been released.
Dozens of firefighters tackled the blaze late into the night.
The explosion at the Industrias QuÃmicas del Óxido de Etileno plant happened at 18:40 local time (17:40 GMT) in La Canonja municipality.
The dead person was found in a nearby building that collapsed.
At least two of the injured people had serious burns, Catalonia's civil protection service said. Rescuers are searching for the missing person, a plant employee.
Late on Tuesday Catalan leader Quim Torra told reporters: "Now we can send a message of calm and confidence to people. There is no toxicity and therefore people can carry on with their lives as normal."
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez later offered support for the Catalan authorities in dealing with the accident.
source https://www.bbc.com/
Democratic debate: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren ramp up feud
The primary season begins on 3 February with the Iowa caucuses, when the Democratic voters in this state will pick who they want to take on Donald Trump in November.
As the six White House hopefuls took to the debate stage in Des Moines, the Republican US president they have in their sights was mocking them at a rally 400 miles east in Wisconsin.
Here are some key moments from the debate - and the Trump rally.
What was the biggest moment?
The body language between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders at the conclusion of the debate - when they spoke heatedly and did not shake hands - told its own story.
The non-aggression pact between the two candidates could be over just as the voting is set to begin.
The biggest news story in campaign politics over the past few days had been the growing tensions between the two most liberal candidates.
Warren had alleged that Sanders told her in December 2018 that a woman couldn't win the presidency - something Sanders denied.
Asked about this during the debate, Sanders denied it again - saying he has long supported the idea of a woman president.
Then Warren had her turn, and in a set-piece response she clearly spent time crafting, she hit a number of political targets almost in one breath.
She started by essentially implying that Sanders was lying. She then pivoted her response into a shout-out for the electoral success that she and Amy Klobuchar, the other woman candidate on the stage, have had. They've won every election they've been in, she said to thunderous applause, while the three male politicians debating have lost 10 between them.
She ended by pitching herself as the unity candidate with a broad coalition.
"The real danger we face as Democrats is picking a candidate who can't pull party together or someone who takes for granted big parts of constituency," she said. "We need to excite all parts of party, bring everyone in and give everyone a Democrat to believe in."
Given that Sanders has been criticised for being too divisive, Pete Buttigieg for not being able to draw significant minority support, and Biden for a lack of enthusiastic support, it was a roundhouse kick at the three candidates vying with her at the top of the polls.
What issue divided the candidates?
Due to the last week's Iran crisis, foreign policy for the first time opened the debate - and the candidates fell into two broad categories.
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders called for US forces to be withdrawn from the Middle East.
Warren said that US generals had been saying for years that the US was "turning a corner" in the Middle East and Afghanistan, but they could never detail exactly how and when the US could get out.
"We've turned the corner so many times we're going in circles in these regions," she quipped, before saying that the US had to stop asking the US military to solve problems that could not be addressed militarily.
oe Biden, Amy Klobuchar and - somewhat obliquely - Pete Buttigieg came down in support of extending scaled-down US deployments in Iraq. Biden warned that without US troops in the region, the Islamic State might regain strength.
"They'll come back if we do not deal with them and we do not have someone who can bring together the rest of the world to go with us, with small numbers of special forces we have, to organise the effort to take them down," he said.
When the topic turned to trade, similar divides formed - with a twist. Sanders said he opposed the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement negotiated by the Trump administration, while Warren said she reluctantly supported it as a "modest improvement".
There haven't been to many cracks between Warren and Sanders on policy, but this was one.
The irony, of course, is that recent polls show that a majority of Americans - and Democrats - are in favour of trade deals.
Americans tend not to vote on foreign policy issues outside of times of war or national crisis - but as last week showed, there's no telling when such a moment could arise.
How did Joe Biden do?
Warren may have had the standout moment during the debate, but the candidate who could end up emerging the biggest beneficiary of the evening is the one who has bumped and grinded through the months and still seems in the best position heading into primary season.
If there's a real break forming between Warren and Sanders, it is nothing but good news for the former vice-president. He can keep his head down while his fellow front-runners duke it out - and keeping his head down was exactly what he did on Tuesday night.
Over the course of the evening, Biden once again showed that he's never going to be a master debater. He wasn't when he was in his prime and he seems to have lost a step in recent years. Nevertheless, the smaller debate stage has benefited him. Where he tended to get lost and tired in the lengthy double-digit candidate scrums, he has been more engaged in the past two contests.
When the topic turned to impeachment, he noted that Republicans have "savaged my surviving son" - a subtle reference to the fact that he has buried two children and a wife, a source of sorrow that could generate public sympathy if Hunter Biden gets pulled into Trump's upcoming Senate trial.
After Warren had her moment, Biden got the last word before the commercial break, noting that he has "the broadest coalition of anyone running up here in this race".
That was a theme he returned to when asked whether he could go toe-to-toe with Trump in a general-election debate.
"I have support across the board," he said, touting his support from black and working-class voters. "I'm not worried about taking on Donald Trump at all."
Then it was time for more commercials.
Once again, Biden got the last word. And his competitors missed out on yet another opportunity to ding the former vice-president before the campaign moves from places like Iowa and New Hampshire to more diverse states, where the breadth of Biden's coalition could give him the upper hand.
Biden's far from a lock for the nomination, but he's keeping his ship afloat - which is more than many thought after his first few rocky debates.
And the Democrats were on Trump's mind
At the rally - Holly Honderich, BBC News, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
"What these people are doing, they will destroy our nation."
President Trump made fleeting - though biting - references to his Democratic challengers on Tuesday night, speaking at a campaign rally in Milwaukee just as his opponents took the debate stage in Iowa.
Bernie Sanders is "a nasty guy" "surging" in the polls, Trump said to jeers and boos, as he addressed a state that voted for Sanders over Hillary Clinton by a 13-point margin in the 2016 Democratic primary.
Trump resorted to well-worn insults to address the other frontrunners: "Elizabeth Pocahontas Warren" and "Sleepy Joe Biden", poking fun at the former vice-president for past gaffes.
And with just these short swipes, Mr Trump said more about the Democratic field than most of his supporters lined up outside, waiting to hear the president speak.
When asked, those in line commented on the Democrats collectively, calling them "fools", buffoons" or "jokes", wasting time on impeachment. But none, they said, pose any real challenge to the president.
"No one can stand up to Trump," Vicky Francis said as she waited in line top attend her 10th Trump rally.
"Everything he said he would do, he has done. He's speaking the truth."
source https://www.bbc.com/
As the six White House hopefuls took to the debate stage in Des Moines, the Republican US president they have in their sights was mocking them at a rally 400 miles east in Wisconsin.
Here are some key moments from the debate - and the Trump rally.
What was the biggest moment?
The body language between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders at the conclusion of the debate - when they spoke heatedly and did not shake hands - told its own story.
The non-aggression pact between the two candidates could be over just as the voting is set to begin.
The biggest news story in campaign politics over the past few days had been the growing tensions between the two most liberal candidates.
Warren had alleged that Sanders told her in December 2018 that a woman couldn't win the presidency - something Sanders denied.
Asked about this during the debate, Sanders denied it again - saying he has long supported the idea of a woman president.
Then Warren had her turn, and in a set-piece response she clearly spent time crafting, she hit a number of political targets almost in one breath.
She started by essentially implying that Sanders was lying. She then pivoted her response into a shout-out for the electoral success that she and Amy Klobuchar, the other woman candidate on the stage, have had. They've won every election they've been in, she said to thunderous applause, while the three male politicians debating have lost 10 between them.
She ended by pitching herself as the unity candidate with a broad coalition.
"The real danger we face as Democrats is picking a candidate who can't pull party together or someone who takes for granted big parts of constituency," she said. "We need to excite all parts of party, bring everyone in and give everyone a Democrat to believe in."
Given that Sanders has been criticised for being too divisive, Pete Buttigieg for not being able to draw significant minority support, and Biden for a lack of enthusiastic support, it was a roundhouse kick at the three candidates vying with her at the top of the polls.
What issue divided the candidates?
Due to the last week's Iran crisis, foreign policy for the first time opened the debate - and the candidates fell into two broad categories.
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders called for US forces to be withdrawn from the Middle East.
Warren said that US generals had been saying for years that the US was "turning a corner" in the Middle East and Afghanistan, but they could never detail exactly how and when the US could get out.
"We've turned the corner so many times we're going in circles in these regions," she quipped, before saying that the US had to stop asking the US military to solve problems that could not be addressed militarily.
oe Biden, Amy Klobuchar and - somewhat obliquely - Pete Buttigieg came down in support of extending scaled-down US deployments in Iraq. Biden warned that without US troops in the region, the Islamic State might regain strength.
"They'll come back if we do not deal with them and we do not have someone who can bring together the rest of the world to go with us, with small numbers of special forces we have, to organise the effort to take them down," he said.
When the topic turned to trade, similar divides formed - with a twist. Sanders said he opposed the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement negotiated by the Trump administration, while Warren said she reluctantly supported it as a "modest improvement".
There haven't been to many cracks between Warren and Sanders on policy, but this was one.
The irony, of course, is that recent polls show that a majority of Americans - and Democrats - are in favour of trade deals.
Americans tend not to vote on foreign policy issues outside of times of war or national crisis - but as last week showed, there's no telling when such a moment could arise.
How did Joe Biden do?
Warren may have had the standout moment during the debate, but the candidate who could end up emerging the biggest beneficiary of the evening is the one who has bumped and grinded through the months and still seems in the best position heading into primary season.
If there's a real break forming between Warren and Sanders, it is nothing but good news for the former vice-president. He can keep his head down while his fellow front-runners duke it out - and keeping his head down was exactly what he did on Tuesday night.
Over the course of the evening, Biden once again showed that he's never going to be a master debater. He wasn't when he was in his prime and he seems to have lost a step in recent years. Nevertheless, the smaller debate stage has benefited him. Where he tended to get lost and tired in the lengthy double-digit candidate scrums, he has been more engaged in the past two contests.
When the topic turned to impeachment, he noted that Republicans have "savaged my surviving son" - a subtle reference to the fact that he has buried two children and a wife, a source of sorrow that could generate public sympathy if Hunter Biden gets pulled into Trump's upcoming Senate trial.
After Warren had her moment, Biden got the last word before the commercial break, noting that he has "the broadest coalition of anyone running up here in this race".
That was a theme he returned to when asked whether he could go toe-to-toe with Trump in a general-election debate.
"I have support across the board," he said, touting his support from black and working-class voters. "I'm not worried about taking on Donald Trump at all."
Then it was time for more commercials.
Once again, Biden got the last word. And his competitors missed out on yet another opportunity to ding the former vice-president before the campaign moves from places like Iowa and New Hampshire to more diverse states, where the breadth of Biden's coalition could give him the upper hand.
Biden's far from a lock for the nomination, but he's keeping his ship afloat - which is more than many thought after his first few rocky debates.
And the Democrats were on Trump's mind
At the rally - Holly Honderich, BBC News, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
"What these people are doing, they will destroy our nation."
President Trump made fleeting - though biting - references to his Democratic challengers on Tuesday night, speaking at a campaign rally in Milwaukee just as his opponents took the debate stage in Iowa.
Bernie Sanders is "a nasty guy" "surging" in the polls, Trump said to jeers and boos, as he addressed a state that voted for Sanders over Hillary Clinton by a 13-point margin in the 2016 Democratic primary.
Trump resorted to well-worn insults to address the other frontrunners: "Elizabeth Pocahontas Warren" and "Sleepy Joe Biden", poking fun at the former vice-president for past gaffes.
And with just these short swipes, Mr Trump said more about the Democratic field than most of his supporters lined up outside, waiting to hear the president speak.
When asked, those in line commented on the Democrats collectively, calling them "fools", buffoons" or "jokes", wasting time on impeachment. But none, they said, pose any real challenge to the president.
"No one can stand up to Trump," Vicky Francis said as she waited in line top attend her 10th Trump rally.
"Everything he said he would do, he has done. He's speaking the truth."
source https://www.bbc.com/
Saturday, 11 January 2020
Iran says it 'unintentionally' shot down Ukrainian jetliner
TEHRAN: Iran announced on Saturday that its military "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 aboard , after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible. The plane was shot down early Wednesday, hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing US troops in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Iranian General. Qassem Soleimani in an American airstrike in Baghdad. No one was wounded in the attack on the bases.
"Iran "deeply regrets" accidental shooting down of Ukrainian airliner," President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday.
A military statement carried by state media said the plane was mistaken for a "hostile target" after it turned toward a "sensitive military center" of the Revolutionary Guard. The military was at its "highest level of readiness," it said, amid the heightened tensions with the United States. "In such a condition, because of human error and in a unintentional way, the flight was hit," the statement said. It apologized for the disaster and said it would upgrade its systems to prevent such "mistakes" in the future. It also said those responsible for the strike on the plane would be prosecuted. The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran shortly after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport. Iran had denied for several days that a missile caused the crash. But then the US and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believed Iran shot down the aircraft.
The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. The Canadian government had earlier lower the nation's death toll from 63.
"Iran "deeply regrets" accidental shooting down of Ukrainian airliner," President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday.
A military statement carried by state media said the plane was mistaken for a "hostile target" after it turned toward a "sensitive military center" of the Revolutionary Guard. The military was at its "highest level of readiness," it said, amid the heightened tensions with the United States. "In such a condition, because of human error and in a unintentional way, the flight was hit," the statement said. It apologized for the disaster and said it would upgrade its systems to prevent such "mistakes" in the future. It also said those responsible for the strike on the plane would be prosecuted. The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran shortly after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport. Iran had denied for several days that a missile caused the crash. But then the US and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believed Iran shot down the aircraft.
The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. The Canadian government had earlier lower the nation's death toll from 63.
Tuesday, 7 January 2020
Meet the new breed of 'super angel' investors
1.Jitendra Gupta Cofounder, Citrus Pay (acquired by PayU); Founder, Jupiter Money
KEY INVESTMENTS: KhataBook, Mobile Premier League (MPL), , Open , Bira 91
2.Kunal Shah Cofounder, FreeCharge; Founder,
KEY INVESTMENTS: Go-Jek, Zilingo, Unacademy, Razorpay, Rupeek, KhataBook, BharatPe, Avail Finance.
3.Sujeet Kumar Cofounder, Udaan. Early Flipkart staffer, built supply chain & logistics
KEY INVESTMENTS: Grofers, Nestaway, Third Wave Coffee Roasters, Unacademy
4.Kalyan Krishnamurthy CEO, Flipkart group Earlier, investor at Tiger Global
KEY INVESTMENTS: Curefit, Urbanclap, Unacademy, Moglix
5.Raghunandan G Cofounder, TaxiForSure (sold to Ola)
KEY INVESTMENTS: Bounce, Shop101, NinjaCart, Vedantu, Spinny, Perpule, Sporthood
6.Vaibhav Domkundwar Founder, Better Capital
KEY INVESTMENTS: , Khata Book, Rupeek, Jupiter Money, Shop Kirana, Yulu
7.Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal Founded Snapdeal and currently investing through Titan Capital
KEY INVESTMENTS: Ola, Razorpay, Housing, Shadowfax and OfBusiness
8.Amrish Rau MD, Citrus Pay (acquired by PayU), Former CEO, PayU India
KEY INVESTMENTS: One of the most active angel investors in the ecosystem, Rau has made about 25 investments so far, a list that includes, Open, Cred, MPL, Khatabook, Jupiter Money, Load-Share, Leverage Edu, DotPe, Dunzo, Bira91 and Nuo Network.
9.Amit Ranjan Cofounder of SlideShare Inc Architect at National DigiLocker Project Ranjan is a rare example of an Indian entrepreneur working with the government. He is currently spearheading the National Digital Locker Project, which is building a national federated document network for the country’s citizens.
KEY INVESTMENTS: Lets Venture, Tracxn, Khatabook, Open Financial Technologies, Sheroes, Lucideus Tech.
10.Binny Bansal Cofounder Flipkart (Acquired by Walmart) Cofounder xto10x Technologies
KEY INVESTMENTS: Acko, SigTuple, Blackbuck, GreyOrange
Source:https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/
KEY INVESTMENTS: KhataBook, Mobile Premier League (MPL), , Open , Bira 91
2.Kunal Shah Cofounder, FreeCharge; Founder,
KEY INVESTMENTS: Go-Jek, Zilingo, Unacademy, Razorpay, Rupeek, KhataBook, BharatPe, Avail Finance.
3.Sujeet Kumar Cofounder, Udaan. Early Flipkart staffer, built supply chain & logistics
KEY INVESTMENTS: Grofers, Nestaway, Third Wave Coffee Roasters, Unacademy
4.Kalyan Krishnamurthy CEO, Flipkart group Earlier, investor at Tiger Global
KEY INVESTMENTS: Curefit, Urbanclap, Unacademy, Moglix
5.Raghunandan G Cofounder, TaxiForSure (sold to Ola)
KEY INVESTMENTS: Bounce, Shop101, NinjaCart, Vedantu, Spinny, Perpule, Sporthood
6.Vaibhav Domkundwar Founder, Better Capital
KEY INVESTMENTS: , Khata Book, Rupeek, Jupiter Money, Shop Kirana, Yulu
7.Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal Founded Snapdeal and currently investing through Titan Capital
KEY INVESTMENTS: Ola, Razorpay, Housing, Shadowfax and OfBusiness
8.Amrish Rau MD, Citrus Pay (acquired by PayU), Former CEO, PayU India
KEY INVESTMENTS: One of the most active angel investors in the ecosystem, Rau has made about 25 investments so far, a list that includes, Open, Cred, MPL, Khatabook, Jupiter Money, Load-Share, Leverage Edu, DotPe, Dunzo, Bira91 and Nuo Network.
9.Amit Ranjan Cofounder of SlideShare Inc Architect at National DigiLocker Project Ranjan is a rare example of an Indian entrepreneur working with the government. He is currently spearheading the National Digital Locker Project, which is building a national federated document network for the country’s citizens.
KEY INVESTMENTS: Lets Venture, Tracxn, Khatabook, Open Financial Technologies, Sheroes, Lucideus Tech.
10.Binny Bansal Cofounder Flipkart (Acquired by Walmart) Cofounder xto10x Technologies
KEY INVESTMENTS: Acko, SigTuple, Blackbuck, GreyOrange
Source:https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/
