Society's ChildS


Cell Phone

Russian smartphone hacker ring busted after stealing 50 million rubles from bank customers


RT
Mon, 22 May 2017 15:00 UTC
computing
© Michael Weber / Global Look Press
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) has announced the arrest of a hacker group, which installed viruses on smartphones to steal money from customers' bank accounts.

To steal the money, the hackers used the SMS-banking system, with money transfers taking place without notification. The police did not specify which banks were involved but said over a million smartphones were hacked smartphones and over 50 million rubles (about $900,000) stolen.

Twenty people have been detained, and four have been arrested. The alleged ringleader is a 30-year-old man living in Ivanovo, an industrial city 300 km northeast of Moscow.

Reuters reported that the banks which came under cyber attack were Russia's largest bank Sberbank and the country's largest private bank, Alfa Bank along with the Qiwi payment system.
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Arrow Up

Bitcoin soars: $100 investment now worth almost $73 million


RT
Mon, 22 May 2017 14:36 UTC
bitcoin
© Pawel Kopczynski / Reuters
After soaring nearly 65 percent in the last month, the digital currency bitcoin smashed the historic $2,000 mark on Saturday. The total market cap of the asset has likewise climbed to $32.92 billion.

The cryptocurrency has reached a new high on Monday, trading at $2,167.24 as of 10:15 am GMT.

The world's most popular virtual currency first broke the $1,000 valuation four years ago, but later dropped in price as a result of factors, including the implosion of the major exchange Mt. Gox.

Since then bitcoin has regained lost ground, more than doubling its value since the beginning of the year partly due to global political uncertainty and increased interest in Asia. Investors turned to the asset as a "safe haven" against geopolitical risks.

Early investors in bitcoin would stand to benefit the most if they held on to the currency. Those who bought $100 of bitcoin at the 0.003 cent price on May 22, 2010, would now be sitting on around $72.9 million.

While some market observers think the rally will continue, others express concerns the asset may have entered a speculative bubble.
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Books

Will they deliver? Labour Party promises to waive first year university tuition fees

Graeme Demlanyk
Huffpost UK
Sun, 21 May 2017 14:22 UTC
Jeremy Corbyn and Angela Rayner
© PA Wire/PA ImagesLabour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Angela Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary
Students starting university this September will have their first year fees written off if Labour wins the election, the party has announced.

Jeremy Corbyn's party's pledge goes further than its existing promise to scrap tuition fees from 2018 under a Labour government.

Corbyn, launching the policy in tandem with Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner, says the plan will save 400,000 students an average of around £27,000.

The move, to discourage students deferring until after tuition fees are abolished, is part of a £38 billion promise on fees, which is to be paid for by increasing income tax paid by the wealthiest and reversing Tory cuts to corporation tax.

The Conservative Party pointed to Brexit negotiations having the biggest impact on students, and warned their future would be "under threat" if Corbyn was leading the talks.
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Bullseye

Indonesian police arrest 141 people in gay party raid; private details leaked online


RT
Mon, 22 May 2017 14:12 UTC
Indonesian police
© Antara Foto Agency / Reuters
A police raid on a suspected gay party in Indonesia's capital Jakarta on Sunday resulted in dozens of men being arrested. A dozen are facing criminal charges for prostitution and pornography, while others were allegedly harassed and humiliated.

The party was targeted after an undercover investigation tipped off police about an upcoming event at the Atlantis Gym and Sauna in the northern part of Jakarta, police spokesperson Argo Yuwono told journalists on Monday.

Called "the Wild One," it featured strip dancing and other entertainment for gay guests, the head of one of Jakarta's Police Crime Investigation Units said, as cited by the local Merdeka.

According to Yuwono, police "detained 141 people who violated pornography laws," with most of them wanted as potential witnesses.

Ten people, including the club's owner and staff, as well as several exotic dancers, have been charged with crimes related to prostitution and pornography, for which they are facing prison terms or heavy fines.

Gay sex itself is not criminalized in Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim nation, except for in the province of Aceh, which adopted Sharia Law in 2014. However, LGBT activists say the country's authorities persecute gay people, creating a hostile environment and exposing gays to vigilantism.

Comment: Indonesia: Couple faces 100 cane strokes in Sharia court for having gay sex

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Info

Exposed: Facebook's internal rulebook on sex, violence and terrorism

Nick Hopkins
The Guardian, UK
Sun, 21 May 2017 13:00 UTC
Facebook's internal rulebook
© Guardian
Facebook's secret rules and guidelines for deciding what its 2 billion users can post on the site are revealed for the first time in a Guardian investigation that will fuel the global debate about the role and ethics of the social media giant.

The Guardian has seen more than 100 internal training manuals, spreadsheets and flowcharts that give unprecedented insight into the blueprints Facebook has used to moderate issues such as violence, hate speech, terrorism, pornography, racism and self-harm.

There are even guidelines on match-fixing and cannibalism.

The Facebook Files give the first view of the codes and rules formulated by the site, which is under huge political pressure in Europe and the US.

They illustrate difficulties faced by executives scrabbling to react to new challenges such as "revenge porn" - and the challenges for moderators, who say they are overwhelmed by the volume of work, which means they often have "just 10 seconds" to make a decision.
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Robot

Dubai: World's first 'robocop' to begin patrolling the streets


RT
Mon, 22 May 2017 13:56 UTC
robot cop
© Ruptly
The world's first robot policeman has officially joined Dubai's police force. While it's not exactly the Robocop from the movie, officers in the United Arab Emirates may want to get used to them, as the bots may soon account for a quarter of their colleagues.

The autonomous Robocop entered the line of duty on Sunday by greeting guests and patrolling the halls at the three-day Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC). Plans are in place to have the machine on the streets in popular Dubai areas when the expo ends on Tuesday evening.


Comment: They've done it. Dubai to put 'robocops' on the streets in two years

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Bullseye

Professional hunter crushed to death by falling elephant


RT
Mon, 22 May 2017 11:12 UTC
elephant
© Thomas Mukoya / Reuters
A professional South African hunter was killed by a falling elephant while on a safari in Zimbabwe. It comes just weeks after his missing friend was found to have been eaten by crocodiles.

Theunis Botha, 51, was on a game hunt in Gwai, Zimbabwe with a group of hunters on Friday when they stumbled upon a herd of breeding elephants, according to Netwerk24.
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USA

The U.S. economy has left behind and forgotten the lives of millions

Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse
Sun, 21 May 2017 00:00 UTC
left behind
The evidence that the middle class in America is dying continues to mount. As you will see below, nearly half the country would be unable "to cover an unexpected $400 expense", and about two-thirds of the population lives paycheck to paycheck at least part of the time. Of course the economy has not been doing that well overall in recent years. Barack Obama was the only president in all of U.S. history not to have a single year when the economy grew by at least 3 percent, and U.S. GDP growth during the first quarter of 2017 was an anemic 0.7 percent. During the Obama era, it is true that wealthy enclaves in New York, northern California and Washington D.C. did thrive, but meanwhile most of the rest of the country has been left behind.

Today, there are approximately 205 million working age Americans, and close to half of them have no financial cushion whatsoever. In fact, a new survey conducted by the Federal Reserve has found that 44 percent of Americans do not even have enough money "to cover an unexpected $400 expense"...
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People

Dozens of cities worldwide join 'March Against Monsanto'


RT
Sun, 21 May 2017 22:29 UTC
Demonstrators holding posters reading
© Ivan Alvarado / Reuters Demonstrators holding posters reading "Monsanto Out" attend a protest against seeds company Monsanto in Santiago.
Hundreds of activists around the globe joined an international march against the multinational biotech and agribusiness corporation Monsanto. The demonstrations were held under the slogan, "Keep GMOs out of your genes."

"We will not stand for cronyism. We will not stand for poison. That's why we March Against Monsanto," the organizers of the 6th annual march said in a statement. http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/home/

The activists argue that "research studies have shown that Monsanto's genetically-modified foods can lead to serious health conditions such as the development of cancer tumors, infertility and birth defects."
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Bad Guys

Docs found in Mosul show ISIS conducted 'Nazi-style' chemical experiments


RT
Sun, 21 May 2017 22:23 UTC
remains of the University of Mosul
© Marko Djurica / ReutersA woman walks in front of the remains of the University of Mosul, which was burned and destroyed during a battle with Islamic State militants, in Mosul
Islamic State tested poisonous chemicals on prisoners in a bid to produce easily-obtainable chemical weapons for local use and potential terrorist attacks in the West, records recovered from Mosul by Iraqi soldiers and obtained by The Times show.

Arabic-language notes detailing experiments with thallium sulfate and "a nicotine-based compound" were reportedly discovered hidden inside the University of Mosul by an Iraqi special forces unit during the current operation to recapture the city, which has been under the control of the radical Islamist group since 2014.

The UK newspaper reports that British and US forces verified the papers as those belonging to Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS/ISIL).
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