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  • Google sued in U.S. for tracking ‘private’ internet use

    The Alphabet Inc unit is accused of surreptitiously collecting information about what people view online and where they browse

    Reuters

    Google was sued on Tuesday in a proposed class action accusing the internet search company of illegally invading the privacy of millions of users by pervasively tracking their internet use through browsers set in “private” mode.

    The lawsuit seeks at least $5 billion, accusing the Alphabet Inc unit of surreptitiously collecting information about what people view online and where they browse, despite their using what Google calls Incognito mode.

    According to the complaint filed in the federal court in San Jose, California, Google gathers data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager and other applications and website plug-ins, including smartphone apps, regardless of whether users click on Google-supported ads.

    This helps Google learn about users’ friends, hobbies, favorite foods, shopping habits, and even the “most intimate and potentially embarrassing things” they search for online, the complaint said.

    ‘Unauthorised data collection’

    Google “cannot continue to engage in the covert and unauthorised data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone,” the complaint said.

    Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesman, said the Mountain View, California-based company will defend itself vigorously against the claims.

    “As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity,” he said.

    While users may view private browsing as a safe haven from watchful eyes, computer security researchers have long raised concern that Google and rivals might augment user profiles by tracking people’s identities across different browsing modes, combining data from private and ordinary internet surfing.

    The complaint said the proposed class likely includes ”millions” of Google users who since June 1, 2016 browsed the internet in “private” mode.

    It seeks at least $5,000 of damages per user for violations of federal wiretapping and California privacy laws.

  • PSA against Shah Faesal, two PDP leaders revoked

    PTI

    The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday revoked the stringent Public Safety Act against former IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal and two PDP members, including the maternal uncle of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, officials said.

    The controversial Public Safety Act (PSA) against Mr. Faesal, which was extended by three months on May 14, has now been superseded by the order on Wednesday from the Home Department of the Union Territory.

    Mr. Faesal, who was under detention after scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, was booked under the PSA in February this year, with his detention being extended barely hours before it was to come to an end.

    The Home Department also revoked the stringent act against senior PDP leaders Sartaj Madani and Peer Mansoor.

    Mr. Madani was lodged with National Conference general secretary Ali Mohammed Sagar at a government bunglow. Their detention had been extended on May 5 for a period of three months.

  • Plea for renaming India as ‘Bharat’ can go to Centre as representation: SC

    “Bharat and India are both names given in the Constitution. India is already called ‘Bharat’ in the Constitution”, sayds CJI

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that a plea to change India’s name exclusively to ‘Bharat’ be converted into a representation and forwarded to the Union government for an appropriate decision.

    “Bharat and India are both names given in the Constitution. India is already called ‘Bharat’ in the Constitution”, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde orally said in a virtual court hearing.

    The petitioner, Namah, through his counsel, said ‘India’ is a name of foreign origin. The name can be traced back to the Greek term ‘Indica’.

    Counsel said, “The word ‘Bharat’ is closely associated to our Freedom Struggle. The cry was ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’.”

    The court said the petition be transformed into a representation and forwarded to the ministries, primarily the Ministry of Home Affairs.

    The petition seeks an amendment to Article 1 of the Constitution, which says “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States…”. It wants ‘India’ to be struck off from the Article.

    “This will ensure citizens of this country to get over the colonial past and instil a sense of pride in our nationality. Will also justify the hard fought freedom by our freedom fighters”, it said.

    2016 petition

    The apex court had dismissed a similar petition in 2016. Then CJI T.S. Thakur orally remarked that every Indian had the right to choose between calling his country ‘Bharat’ or ‘India’ and the Supreme Court had no business to either dictate or decide for a citizen what he should call his country.

    “If you want to call this country Bharat, go right ahead and call it Bharat. If somebody chooses to call this country India, let him call it India. We will not interfere,” he had said.

    With inputs from The Hindu

  • Kashmir witnessed 3000 days of lockdown in over two decades: Trade bodies

    ‘We are struggling to sustain, Kashmiri traders excluded from GoI’s Rs 20,000 Cr package, want measures for revival of our businesses, education of students comes to grinding halt without 4G, despite losses, no businessman become Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi in Kashmir’

    Srinagar: In last over two decades, an amalgam of 30 trade bodies in the Valley on Wednesday said that Kashmir has witnessed 3000 days of lockdown, thus simultaneously deteriorated the situation of business community here, which they claim are struggling to survive amid the prevalent situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

    However, the traders also stated that the special package of Rs 20, 000 Crore announced by the government has been announced for the people excluding the business community of Kashmir.

    Over 30 trade bodies including Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCC&I), Kashmir Traders & Manufacturing Federation (KTMF), Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK), PHD Chamber of Commerce (Kashmir Chapter), Kashmir Hotel & Restaurant Owners Federation (KHAROF), Jammu & Kashmir Hotelier Club (JKHC), Jammu & Kashmir Association of Hajj & Umrah Companies (JKAHUC), Kashmir Industrial Revival and Development Forum.(KIR&DF), Kashmir Joint Co-ordination Committee of Chemists & Druggists, All Kashmir Transport Welfare Association, Jammu & Kashmir Fruit & Vegetable Processing and Integrated Cold Chain Association (JKPICCA), Kashmir House Boat Owners Association (HBOA), Beopar Mandal (Maharaj Gunj), J&K Private School Coordination Committee, Shopian Fruit Mandi Association, Artisans Rehabilitation Forum, Kashmir Economic Form, Shehri-Khass Traders Coordination Committee, Jammu & Kashmir Hotels & Restaurant Association (JKHARA), Tourist Taxi Stand Federation, Travel Agents Society of Kashmir (TASK),

    Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Alliance (JKTA), Pilgrim and Leisure Tour Operators Forum(PILTOF), Tourist Trade Interest Guild.(TTIG), Urban Travel Agents Association.(UTAA), Kashmir Association of Retailers(KAR), Restaurant and Café Association of Kashmir (RAK), Association of Kashmir Tour Operators (AKTO), Kashmir Carpet Association. Kashmir Youth Entrepreneurs Federation (KYEF) and Kashmir Artists Welfare Foundation (KAWF) addressed the joint presser today at SKICC.

    Sheikh Ashiq, president of KCC&I as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) Correspondent said that the traders who have suffered in past several decades in Kashmir demand measures for the revival of their respective businesses. “The only aim to hold a joint presser today is to raise our voice for the business fraternity across the Valley who have suffered huge losses due to the time to time situation witnessed here,” he said.

    “In particular, our businesses are suffering from last ten months and we have never come out of the lockdown. Though, we have met the Union Home Minister and Union Finance minister and MoS PMO regarding the losses faced by the traders. We have brought into their notice about the challenges being faced by the business community in Kashmir,” he said, adding that they were expecting a good result from the meetings but the COIVD situation that occur following the meetings spoiled it all.

    He said that the situation of business has got further deteriorated after the COVID pandemic in Jammu and Kashmir. “In India, our businesses friends in India have raised voice over the losses suffered by them. The government later announced a package for the people who got affected. We have been excluded from the package as the package was announced for those only who have suffered losses in last two months. But, the businessmen in Kashmir are facing the losses from last ten months,” he added.

    “As the government has announced the phase one of unlock, the business fraternity here is facing yet another challenge i.e. lack of cash flow,” he said, adding that such a situation is the outcome of the lockdown from last ten months

    He added that as the unlock 0.1 has been declared, they have got disappointing feedback from the tourism sector, who are expecting no tourist flow in the Valley this year (2020) while are also doubtful about the next year.

    Similarly, he said horticulture sector has also suffered huge losses. “Although the sector managed to transport the stuff in the month of August-September last year, but now, they too are struggling. Handicraft industry is also on decline up to 50-60 per cent from past several years,” he said.

    About transport sector, Ashiq said that they are on the mercy of God as only Allah knows how they are feeding their families because they have not earned even single penny post August 5 decision. Besides, the general traders including shopkeepers are also worried about their future.

    Ashiq further stated that the students have got badly affected in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that it is the only place across the country where students are being deprived of the 4g internet services, which is a vital tool at present to get the education. “The restoration of 4G internet services seems a far off dream. Our students are suffering. The nation can’t go forward without education, which has got badly affected in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

    “We need to get the attention of the government at present as the ten months of suffering needs to be mitigated. The people at helm should take comprehensive measures for revival of Kashmir’s business,” he said. He also expressed concern over the alarming increase in the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir.

    Iqbal Ahmad, Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA) Vice-Chairman while talking to the media men said that the Valley has witnessed 3000 days of lockdown in over two decades. “Whenever the valley witnessed lockdown, the business fraternity got badly affected. Since 1999, Kashmir has witnessed 3000 days of lockdown. Despite witnessing such a situation, none from the traders here become Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. The Kashmiri’s trader who has borrowed money from the banks here is repaying the amount in instalments and on apt time,” he said, adding that “We do deserve the package.”

    “We have approached the State governments in past, they heard us; many packages were given in the past. I will not deny that but when Rs 8000 Crore were announced for Jammu and Kashmir after floods, a meagre amount was given to the business community here,” he said.

    He further stated that the situation that arose across the globe due to COVID has made it clear to the countries that what consequences the economy face due to the shutdown—(KNO)

  • Uneasy frontier robs Ladakh’s herders of pastures

    Flocks of prized Pashmina goats hit as the LAC conflict has cut off crucial feeding grounds

    The Chinese Army’s intrusion in Chumur and Demchok since January has left Ladakh’s nomadic herding Changpa community cut off from large parts of summer pastures.

    The People’s Liberation Army has taken over 16 kanals (two acres) of cultivable land in Chumur and advanced around 15 km inside Demchok, taking over traditional grazing pastures and cultivable lowlands. This has destabilised the movement of over 2,000 members of the nomadic community. In a cascading effect, this has resulted in a sharp rise in deaths of young Pashmina goats this year in the Korzok-Chumur belt of Changthang plateau in Ladakh.

    “Over 16 kanals of cultivatable land in Chumur’s Chabiji pasture has been inaccessible since January this year due to the aggression and incursions of Chinese Army there, destablising the annual seasonal migration of our livestocks, including yaks and Pashmina goats (also known as Cashmere). Timely migration is essential for their survival,” Gyurmet Dorjey, councillor from Korzok constituency bordering China, told The Hindu over the phone.

    The much-valued wool from the Ladakh herds is essential for the prized Pashmina shawls woven in Kashmir and famous for their intricate hand work.

    Since 2017, the vital winter grazing grounds of Guntcsay Phu-Tagapank Nak low-lying belt has witnessed heightened tension between the Indian and Chinese armies.

    “Already 35 metres of grazing range has been encroached in the belt by the Chinese Army this year,” said Mr. Dorjey. The PLA, according to the villagers, has already stopped the centuries old nomadic movement to low-lying winter pastures on the otherwise fluid border or Line of Actual Control (LAC).

    “The Chinese army used helicopters to maintain a vigil on grazers in Chuchol-Gunso belt. Even the food stocks kept in shelters for seasonal migration was taken away. There is already a motorable road constructed opposite Chumur with a nallah (stream) in between,” he added.

    The villagers claim the shrinking of grazing pastures is impacting their prized Pashmina herds this year and the mortality among the newborns has gone up. “Around 70-80% of the kids are finding it hard to survive,” Mr. Dorjey said.

    The Chushol-Demchok-Chumur belt border areas are home to the maximum number of Pashmina goats, which graze at altitudes above 13,000 feet, and the belt contributed 25 to 30 tonnes out of 45-50 tonnes of the finest wool produced annually in Ladakh.

    With inputs from The Hindu

  • PLA holds ‘infiltration drills’ in Tibet amid border stand-off

    The Chinese military in Tibet has held night-time high-altitude ‘infiltration exercises behind enemy lines,’ says the Communist Party-run Global Times

    China’s official media reported on Wednesday that the Chinese military in Tibet has held night-time high-altitude “infiltration exercises behind enemy lines” amid on-going border tensions with India.

    The Communist Party-run Global Times reported that the “PLA Tibet Military Command recently sent troops to a high-altitude region at an elevation of 4,700 metres at night for infiltration exercises behind enemy lines and tested their combat capability under a harsh environment.”

    Reports indicated that the drills were held in the Tanggula Mountains, which is not close to the border but in the central Tibetan plateau, near the eastern border of Tibet and Qinghai province.

    The newspaper’s report noted, “China and India share borders at the high-altitude area, and incidents have recently occurred between the two countries’ troops, and both sides reportedly reinforced deployments.”

    On Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh acknowledged for the first time that China had moved troops in “significant numbers” in the ongoing standoff at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). He said both sides would hold talks on June 6 to resolve the tensions.

    Stand-offs and heavy deployments have been reported in at least four locations along the LAC in both Ladakh and Sikkim. Talks held on Tuesday at the Major General level appeared to be inconclusive.

    While the Chinese media has been largely silent on the tensions in a contrast from the 2017 Doklam stand-off, there has been similar signalling from the PLA as was the case three years ago, such as on military exercises and drills held near the border.

    The Global Times reported on the drill citing the official China Central Television, the State-run broadcaster.

    The report said: “At 1.00 a.m. at an undisclosed date, a PLA scout unit began to mobilise toward its target in the Tanggula Mountains. During the march, vehicles turned off their lights and used night vision devices to avoid hostile drone reconnaissance. After encountering defensive obstacles built by the enemy, the scouts sent drones and dropped explosives to clear them. They engaged in combat when approaching the target, for which they sent a sniper unit to crack enemy spotlights and a fire strike team to destroy enemy light armoured vehicles with anti-tank rockets. After neutralising the defences, the scout unit successfully launched the final assault on the enemy headquarters, in which commanders used a vehicle-mounted infrared reconnaissance system and guided the troops to lock in on targets and deliver fire strikes.”

    Ma Qian, commander of the scout battalion involved in the drills, told CCTV “more than 2,000 munitions, including mortar shells, rifle grenades and rockets were fired during the mock battle” and “the exercises not only tested the results of the troops’ training with newly commissioned equipment, but also placed them in an extremely complicated situation”.

    The Global Times quoted “a retired PLA officer who was deployed in high-altitude regions” of Tibet as saying “infiltrating behind enemy lines and launching an attack at a hostile command centre at night can effectively win a small-scale conflict with only one battle” and that “the surprise factor would play a significant role.”

    With inputs from The Hindu

  • Police Suspects Top JeM Commander To Be Among 3 Militants Killed in Pulwama

    Srinagar: A top Jash-e-Mohammad commander is suspected by police to be among the three militants killed in a gunfight in Kangan area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday. An army soldier was injured during the course of gunfight, official sources said.

    Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told GNS that three JeM militants have been killed in the encounter. However, he said, the identity of the slain militants was yet to be ascertained.

    A police officer told GNS that a top commander of the outfit, active in south Kashmir for quite some time now, was suspected to br among the slain.

    “We are ascertaining the identity and suspected that the foreigner with expertise in IED making and linked to recent attempted bid (averted Pulmawa car bomb) is among the slain,” he said.

    Sources said that arms and ammunition were also recovered near the gunfight site even as searches are going on.

    Earlier, according to the reports reaching GNS, a joint team of Police, Army’s 53 Rashtriya Rifles and 183 battalion CRPF launched the joint cordon-and-search-operation in Astan Mohalla following specific inputs about the presence of the militants.

    As the joint team approached the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon them. The fire was retaliated by the joint team, triggering off the encounter eventually leading to the killing of the three militants and injuries to an army soldier. (GNS)

  • After Facebook staff walkout, Zuckerberg defends no action on Trump posts

    Reuters

    San Francisco: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees on Tuesday that he stood by his decision not to challenge inflammatory posts by U.S. President Donald Trump, refusing to give ground a day after staff members staged a rare public protest.

    A group of Facebook employees – nearly all of them working at home due to the coronavirus pandemic – walked off the job on Monday. They complained the company should have acted against Trump’s posts containing the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

    Zuckerberg told employees on a video chat that Facebook had conducted a thorough review and was right to leave the posts unchallenged, a company spokeswoman said.

    She said Zuckerberg also acknowledged the decision had upset many employees and said the company was looking into “non-binary” options beyond either leaving up such posts or taking them down.

    One Facebook employee, who tweeted criticism on Monday, posted again on Twitter during the all-hands meeting to express disappointment.

    “It’s crystal clear today that leadership refuses to stand with us,” Facebook employee Brandon Dail wrote on Twitter. Dail’s LinkedIn profile describes him as a user interface engineer at Facebook in Seattle.

    On Friday, Twitter Inc affixed a warning label to a Trump tweet about widespread protests over the death of a black man in Minnesota that included the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

    Twitter said the post violated its rules against glorifying violence but was left up as a public interest exception, with reduced options for interactions and distribution.

    Facebook declined to act on the same message, and Zuckerberg sought to distance his company from the fight between the president and Twitter. He maintained that while he found Trump’s remarks “deeply offensive,” they did not violate company policy against incitements to violence.

    Twitter last week also put a fact-checking label on two Trump tweets containing misleading claims about mail-in ballots. Facebook, which exempts politicians’ posts from its program with third-party fact-checkers, took no action on that post.

    Timothy Aveni, a junior software engineer on Facebook’s team dedicated to fighting misinformation, announced his resignation in protest over that decision.

    “Mark always told us that he would draw the line at speech that calls for violence. He showed us on Friday that this was a lie. Facebook will keep moving the goalposts every time Trump escalates, finding excuse after excuse not to act,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

    Civil rights leaders who attended an hour-long video call on Monday night with Zuckerberg and other top Facebook executives called the CEO’s defense of the hands-off approach to Trump’s “incomprehensible.”

    “He did not demonstrate understanding of historic or modern-day voter suppression and he refuses to acknowledge how Facebook is facilitating Trump’s call for violence against protesters,” said a joint statement from leaders of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Color of Change.

    Some critics posted calls on Twitter for Facebook’s independent oversight board to weigh in. But the board will not review any cases until early fall, and users initially will only be able to appeal to the board about removed content, not content that Facebook has decided to leave untouched. The board, which can overrule Zuckerberg, will only review a small slice of content decisions.

    Zuckerberg spoke with Trump on Friday, as first reported by news website Axios.

  • IUST to promote students on internal assessment basis

    Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) has decided to promote students on basis of their performance in the internal assessments.

    The decision to promote the odd semester students to even semester was taken in a meeting chaired by Vice Chancellor (VC) IUST, Prof Mushtaq Ahmad Sidique, with the faculty.

    The decision was taken amid the continuous closure of educational institutions owing to COVID19 lockdown.

    “The process of conducting internal assessments for the current odd semester after completion of syllabus shall be completed in June,” read the minutes of the meeting. “The methods of internal assessments may include Open Book Examination, Open Choices and assignment/ presentation-based assessments.”

    The varsity has also decided that the class work for next semester shall be started after conduct of internal assessments.

    “The practical courses of the odd semester or the courses which couldn’t be completed online like some open electives shall be adjusted in the following semester and completed after the restrictions are eased and campus teaching is resumed,” read the minutes.

    The varsity administration has asked the heads of the Departments (HoDs) to issue the schedule of the online classes for next semesters and resume the class work for even semester.

  • Maharashtra | COVID-19-infected man attends marriage function; booked

    PTI

    Jalna: Police on Tuesday filed a case against a COVID-19-infected man for violating home quarantine rules and attending a marriage function here in central Maharashtra, an official said.

    According to Sadar Bazar police inspector Sanjay Deshmukh, on May 27 an employee of a private hospital here tested positive for coronavirus and his family members, including the accused, were put under home quarantine.

    On May 29, his throat swab was taken for testing and the same day, he violated home quarantine norms and attended a marriage function at Kranti Nagar, Deshmukh said.

    The matter came to light when people spotted him with home quarantine stamp on his hand and complained to officials concerned, the inspector said.

    Later, his swab sample tested positive for COVID-19, he said.

    Following this, the police registered a case against him under the Disaster Management Act and relevant sections of other laws, Deshmukh said.

    Health workers are tracing people who came in contact with the infected man, he said.