Twitter whistleblower raises security concerns
A former security chief for Twitter has turned whistleblower and testified that the company misled users and US regulators about gaps in its security, BBC reported.
Peiter Zatko also claimed that Twitter underestimated how many fake and spam accounts are on its platform.
The accusations could affect a legal battle between Twitter and billionaire Elon Musk, who is trying to cancel his $44bn (£37bn) deal to buy the company.
Twitter says Mr Zatko's allegations are inaccurate and inconsistent.
It says he was sacked in January for ineffective leadership and poor performance. In Mr Zatko's damning revelations, first revealed by CNN and The Washington Post, he accused Twitter of failing to maintain stringent security practices and "lying about bots to Elon Musk".
He filed his complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission in July. The BBC has seen a redacted copy of the complaint shared via CBS news.
In it, Mr Zatko also criticised the way in which Twitter handled sensitive information and claimed that it has failed to accurately report some of these matters to US regulators.
Twitter has faced a number of high profile hacks with Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Kanye West all targeted.
Among his concerns Mr Zatko alleges that Twitter suffered from an usually high rate of security incidents - "approximately one security incident each week serious enough that Twitter was required to report it to regulators".
He said that so-called insider threats - security risks posed by people with malicious intent from within the company - went "virtually unmonitored".
The former security chief revealed his concern about how Twitter handled data, alleging that too many employees had access to sensitive systems and user data, according to BBC.
On fake and spam accounts, he said that "deliberate ignorance was the norm" at the tech company, and accused Twitter executives of having little incentive to accurately identify how many there really are on its platform.
However in the view of The Washington Post, he "provides little hard evidence" to back up these assertions.
Nevertheless, Elon Musk's lawyers have jumped on the comments. His legal team are currently trying to get the Tesla boss out of the deal, by arguing that Twitter has no way of verifying how many of its 229 million daily active users were actually human.
Following the publication of Mr Zatko's revelations, Mr Musk tweeted screenshots of The Washington Post's story, and tweeted an image carrying the phrase "give a little whistle".
Mr Zatko's lawyer told CNN that his client started the whistleblowing process before the takeover bid became public, and had not made contact with Elon Musk.
A former hacker, Peiter Zatko is a well-known figure in computer security circles.
Nicknamed Mudge, he was a member of computer security think-tank L0pht (pronounced "loft"), and took part in congressional hearings on cyber-security in 1998.
He has also held senior positions with Google and the US government's research and development agency, DARPA.
A Twitter spokesperson said: "What we've seen so far is a false narrative about Twitter and our privacy and data-security practices that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context, BBC reported.
"Mr Zatko's allegations and opportunistic timing appear designed to capture attention and inflict harm on Twitter, its customers and its shareholders.
"Security and privacy have long been company-wide priorities at Twitter and will continue to be."
John Tye, of Whistleblower Aid, which is assisting Pieter Zatko, described him as a "hero" and called on agencies to investigate the allegations quickly, according to BBC.
Najib Razak: Malaysia's ex-PM starts jail term after final appeal fails
Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been sent to jail to begin serving a 12-year sentence, after the top court rejected his appeal, BBC reported.
The 69-year-old's charges relate to a corruption scandal involving state-owned wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
He was convicted in July 2020, but had been out on bail during the appeal.
The court also denied Najib's request to delay his sentence. He has continued to deny any wrongdoing.
In 2020, a court had found him guilty on seven counts - centred on a total of 42m ringgit ($9.4m; £8m) which was transferred from SRC International - a former unit of 1MDB - into his private accounts.
He was sentenced to 12 years' jail and a fine of 210m ringgit ($46.8m; £39.7m).
They also claimed he was misled by financial advisers, particularly fugitive financier Jho Low - who has been charged in both the US and Malaysia but also maintains his innocence.
In his final push for freedom on Tuesday, Najib's lawyer requested the removal of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat from the panel presiding over the case - in what was seen as a bid to forestall a final verdict, according to BBC.
They claimed she could be biased as her husband had made a Facebook post in 2018 which was critical of Najib.
However, the chief justice declined the request as she said the post was before the charges were brought against Najib.
In her verdict, the chief justice said the five-judge panel unanimously found that the conviction of Najib on all seven counts was safe and the appeal "devoid of any merits".
The charges addressed on Tuesday make up only the the first of five trials relating to 1MDB.
Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, also faces money laundering and tax evasion charges - to which she has pleaded not guilty.
She separately faces corruption charges related to a solar hybrid project, and the High Court is set to deliver her verdict for this case on 1 September, BBC reported.
Ukraine war: Kyiv counts cost of fragile independence
Few know the cost of challenging Russian influence better than Viktor Yushchenko, BBC reported.
The former Ukrainian president was poisoned with a toxic chemical while campaigning in 2004 against a Moscow-preferred candidate. He then led protests against a rigged election before taking office the following year.
Sitting in his timber-framed home on the outskirts of Kyiv, Mr Yushchenko praises the "power of national spirit" as the key to Ukraine's independence.
"Today I can say with confidence that 42 million Ukrainians speak in one voice. And that allows us to face any enemy, including Russia."
You can still see the scarring on the former president's face from when he was poisoned. Ukraine's day of independence falls six months to the day since Vladimir Putin launched an invasion from the north, east and south. In that time, almost 9,000 members of the Ukrainian military have been killed and some 5,500 civilian deaths have been confirmed by the UN.
While few here predicted the war, Mr Yushchenko largely blames what he sees as the West's historic inability to combat Russian aggression: notably the 2008 conflict in Georgia and the annexation of Crimea six years later.
However, he thinks Ukraine's ultimate test has changed its standing in the world.
"Today, when more than 50 countries have expressed solidarity with the ideas of our fight. They're providing all kinds of support - military, financial and humanitarian."
Carpentry now occupies most of the former statesman's time. We are surrounded by dozens of sculptures, and the former president tells me of his absolute belief that Ukraine can carve out a victory in this war, according to BBC.
The more Russia tries to pull Ukraine into its orbit, the stronger its people's sense of national identity becomes.
At a small factory on the left bank of Kyiv's Dnieper river, Nataliia's business used to make hotel uniforms, but now produces Ukrainian flags.
She started getting requests from military checkpoints early on in the invasion, now she gets more than 2,500 orders a month - not just from the army, but businesses too.
"These are very dear colours to us," she tells me over the whirring sound of sewing machines.
"Every Ukrainian feels these colours and we see them in everything - in the sky, in wheat. This gives us pleasure, joy and positive emotions, because our work is useful."
Six months into the war, Ukraine is presented with some uncomfortable realities.
After weeks of talking about it, Ukraine's planned counter-offensive in the south, on the occupied city of Kherson, has yet to materialise.
Yes, there have been longer range missile strikes deeper into Russian-held territory, but this war is now dominated by artillery along an almost static front line, BBC reported.
A way towards educational equity through the digitization of career roadmaps and soft skills
Kailash Raj Pandey and Himal Raj Pandey shared their ongoing work and plans to democratize information on career prospects in various fields in the event held on August 19 in Kathmandu. These experiences are shared by executives from leading Tech ventures around Kathmandu while developing a method to teach soft skills through interactive in-person games (Train-the-Trainer Model). Through this, they hope that each student in Nepal from an under-resourced background will be able to get the same information to become successful in their career ahead. Through this program, all the students involved showed a lot of progress in soft skills which as well enhanced their confidence. They were also able to get a clear picture of the career opportunities in Nepal and were able to dream of a better future for themselves. Reflecting on their own personal experiences, Kailash and Himal recognized that "soft skills" and information on various career opportunities are critical to achieving job/grant/college outcomes after having passed the hurdle of developing core knowledge in a particular subject. They also realized that role models were also crucial in providing them with the right guidance and confidence required at various crossroads of life. During the past months, these two young men conducted a successful pilot program that taught valuable soft skills to 17 higher secondary students at Kankali Secondary School, a government school located in the western hilly suburb of Kathmandu valley. After some sufficient classroom sessions, they connected the students to executives at leading tech companies in Kathmandu (F1Soft, GrowByData, and Bhoos). Kailash and Himal are currently institutionalizing these efforts to contribute to educational equity by focusing particularly at the high school level and will be sharing their plan at the event. Kailash graduated from Middlebury College in the US with a degree in Computer Science and Economics. He will be joining Harvard Kennedy School in the near future for his graduate study. He has been working at Precision Development, a non-profit led by a Nobel laureate and other experts at the forefront of behavioral economics, where he spearheaded both technical and strategic fronts on the applications of satellite remote sensing for large-scale Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs). His experience also includes investment due diligence for a multimillion-dollar revolving fund that aims to enable thousands of smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods through climate adaptation. Himal is currently a second-year student at Williams College, MA with an interest in the intersection between Neuroscience and Computer Science. He has worked in microbiology research with a Nobel laureate during his high school, and chronobiology research at college. Both Kailash and Himal are passionate about making systems-level changes in education equity.
Nepal logs 634 new Covid-19 cases, one death on Tuesday
Nepal reported 634 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 757 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 343 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 192 people underwent antigen tests, of which 291 were tested positive. The Ministry said that 417 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 4, 221 active cases in the country.
Nepse surges by 1. 85 points on Tuesday
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 1. 85 points to close at 2,054.98 points on Tuesday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0. 58 points to close at 397. 69 points. A total of 4,031,025 unit shares of 222 companies were traded for Rs 1. 33 billion. Meanwhile, Ru Ru Jalbidhyut Pariyojana Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10 percent. Siddhartha Equity Fund was the top loser as its price fell by 6. 88 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 94 trillion.
Govt revokes decision not to allow foreign nationals to travel to third countries from Nepal
The government has decided to revoke its earlier decision not to allow foreign nationals to travel to third countries from Nepal except for transit at the airport. The Cabinet meeting held on Monday made 16 decisions including the same. The meeting also decided to form a salary commission under the headship of former Chief Secretary Lilamani Paudel. Information and Communications Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, who is also the government spokesperson, made public the decisions by organizing a press conference at the Communication Ministry.
Monitoring Committee to be formed to facilitate waste management of Kathmandu
The government has decided to form a Facilitation and Monitoring Committee to facilitate the waste management of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. A meeting held on Monday under the coordination of Urban Development Minister Metmani Chaudhary decided to form the committee. The committee will comprise the members of the House of Representatives of Kathmandu, Nuwakot and Dhading. Informing about forming the committee, Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa said that the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has started collecting garbage and sought help of all the people for the long-term management of the waste. Writing a status on Facebook, he said that continuous facilitation and monitoring are necessary for the waste management of Kathmandu Valley. He was of the opinion that the Kathmandu Metropolitan City is working at its best to manage the waste.
