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Google's China plan prompts inquiry from US lawmakers, staff departures

A bipartisan group of 16 US lawmakers asked Alphabet Inc’s Google on Thursday if it would comply with China’s internet censorship and surveillance policies should it re-enter the Chinese search engine market.

The questioning added to the pressure on Google to disclose precautions it would take to protect the safety of its users if Chinese regulators allow its search engine to operate.

More than 1,000 Google employees, six US senators and at least fourteen human rights groups have written to the company expressing concern about its China ambitions.

On Thursday, Jack Poulson, a research scientist who had worked for Google for more than two years, said he resigned because he felt the company was not honouring its commitment to human rights norms in designing the search app.

Poulson told Reuters that executives would not specify to him where the company would draw the line on agreeing to Chinese demands.

“Unfortunately, the virtually unanimous response over the course of three very vocal weeks of escalation was: ‘I don’t know either,’” Poulson said.

He was among a handful who resigned, he told the Intercept online publication, which first reported on his action.

Google declined to comment directly on the lawmakers’ letter or the resignations but said in a statement it had been “investing for many years to help Chinese users” and described its “work on search” for China as “exploratory” and “not close to launching.”

Reuters reported last month that Google planned to seek government clearance to provide a version of its search engine in China that blocks some websites and search terms.

Members of the US House of Representatives, including liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans, said in their letter on Thursday they had “serious concerns” about the potential step.

The letter asked if Google would “ensure that individual Chinese citizens or foreigners living in China, including Americans, will not be surveilled or targeted through Google applications.”

Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat and signer of the letter, wrote on Twitter that “Google should not be helping China crackdown on free speech and political dissent.”

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Facebook deletes 652 fake accounts and pages targeting world politics

According to Facebook, some of the fake Pages, groups and accounts originated in Iran and some in Russia.

Facebook has removed 652 fake accounts for "coordinated inauthentic behaviour" that originated in Iran and Russia and targeted people across multiple Internet services in the Middle East, Latin America, Britain and the US.

According to Facebook, some of the fake Pages, groups and accounts originated in Iran and some in Russia.

"We're still investigating, and we have shared what we know with the US and UK governments. Since there are US sanctions involving Iran, we've also briefed the US Treasury and State Departments," Nathaniel Gleicher, Head of Cybersecurity Policy at Facebook, said in a statement on Tuesday.

These sanctions allow companies to provide people Internet services for personal communications, including the government and its affiliates.

"But Facebook takes steps to prevent people in Iran and other sanctioned countries from using our ad tools," said Gleicher.

Facebook also removed Pages, groups and accounts that can be linked to sources the US government has previously identified as Russian military intelligence services.

"While these are some of the same bad actors we removed for cybersecurity attacks before the 2016 US election, this more recent activity focused on politics in Syria and Ukraine," Facebook said.

For example, these accounts are associated with Inside Syria Media Centre, which the Atlantic Council and other organisations have identified for covertly spreading pro-Russian and pro-Assad content.

"We're working closely with US law enforcement on this investigation, and we appreciate their help. These investigations are ongoing - and given the sensitivity, we aren't sharing more information about what we removed," Facebook added.

Facebook acted on these accounts after FireEye, a global cybersecurity firm, gave it information in July about "Liberty Front Press", a network of Facebook Pages as well as accounts on other online services.

Based on FireEye's tip, Facebook started an investigation into "Liberty Front Press" and identified additional accounts and Pages from their network.

"We are able to link this network to Iranian state media through publicly available website registration information, as well as the use of related IP addresses and Facebook Pages sharing the same admins," Facebook informed.

The first "Liberty Front Press" accounts were created in 2013. Some of these attempted to conceal their location, and primarily posted political content focused on the Middle East, as well as the UK, US, and Latin America.

Beginning in 2017, they increased their focus on the UK and US.

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Kerala floods LIVE: 324 lives lost, tweets CM; Kochi metro back on track

Murderous monsoon continues to wreak havoc across Kerala. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit state today. Track LIVE updates on Kerala weather at Business Standard.

Unprecedented rains continue to wreak havoc across Kerala, and have brought the coastal state to a standstill. "As many as 324 people have lost their lives due to rains, floods and landslides," tweeted chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

According to the Home Ministry's National Emergency Response Centre (NERC), 247 people have died in Kerala, while 2,11,000 people in 14 districts have been badly hit by the rains and floods, and over 32,500 hectares of crops damaged.

Personnel of the three services, besides the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) resumed the gigantic task of evacuating people stranded on rooftops and highlands where hills came crashing down blocking roads and cutting them off the rest of the world, and those marooned in villages that have turned into islands.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reach the state Friday evening and is likely to undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas on Saturday.

ALSO READ: Kerala floods: Death toll rises to 164, PM Modi to visit the state today

Here are the latest updates and developments on the Kerala flood situation

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New JBL portable speaker in India for Rs 21,999

HARMAN International, a Samsung Electronics' subsidiary, on Thursday launched JBL "Xtreme 2" portable speaker in India for Rs 21,999.

The device -- available in midnight black, forest green and ocean blue colours -- comes with powerful audio performance, up to 15 hours of playtime and an "IPX7" rating for weather-proofing.

"The new JBL 'Xtreme 2', with its powerful sound, is the perfect choice for anyone looking for an all-weather companion," Sumit Chauhan, Vice President-Lifestyle Audio, HARMAN India, said in a statement.

The device with a newly-designed 3D bass radiators and upgraded drivers has a built-in rechargeable 10,000mAh battery.

Additionally, the "JBL Connect+" feature can be used to wirelessly connect over 100 "Connect+" enabled JBL speakers, thus, amplifying the sound experience through a connected ecosystem, the company added.

The speaker's Bluetooth streaming capability allows up to two users to connect to the same speaker.

The speaker is available at JBL's online store and other retail channels, which include 350 Samsung brand stores across the country.

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Go for Gold (Movie Review **** ½)

Gold: Starring, Akshay Kumar, Kunal Kapoor, Amit Sadh, Mouni Roy, Vineet Kumar Singh; Directed by Reema Kagti: Rating: **** ½ (4 and a half stars)

There is something to be said about motivational sports films. They make you stand and cheer even when you know the predictable path invariably taken by the genre.

Gold starts off rather roughly, unsure of who the hero of this game-plan is. It is certainly not the boozing Bengali Tapan Das, played in broad strokes bordering on Bong caricature, by Akshay Kumar. So is it Imitiaz Shah, chosen as the first captain of the Indian cricket team? Imtiaz, played with a very peculiar accent by Vineet Kumar Singh, soon crosses the border to Pakistan but is there to cheer for the Indian hockey team in the grand finale in England.

No. Imtiaz isn't the hero. So it is the royal arrogant hockey champ Raghubir Pratap Singh, a man of stange aristocratic contradictions who donates all his clothes to a street side pauper but is excruciatingly selfabsorbed on the hockey field.

Then there is the hotheaded Punjabi player Himmat Singh, played with choleric credibility by Sunny Kaushal. Himmat's temper issue keeps him off the game until the climax when he bursts on the field like a smothered meteor taking India to its predictable yet exhilarating victory.

Is Himmat the hero, then? As I searched for a formal hero to this sprawling uneven yet fascinating and eventually gripping saga of India's first gold medal at the Olympics after independence, I realized that the beauty of this sports drama is that it wisely allows every character space to grow. This is indeed a rare occurrence in a film helmed by an A-list star.

Even the villain, Mehta in the sports committee, played brilliantly by Atul Kale, grows oh-so-slightly as the narrative develops. In the end we see Mehta umbrella over Tapan Das's head as the skies open up in England to bless the Indian team.

Akshay gamely allows the plot to acquire a pulsating predponderance. This is in keeping with the film's theme: country before self or state. Writer Rajesh Devraj and director Reema Kagti begin on a shaky ground. The opening match in pre-Independence India in Berlin presided by a Hitler lookalike who looks like a very poor country-cousin of the original, is a near-disaster... for the hockey players and for us.

But hang on. Don't be in a hurry to write off the losing team. Gold shows us the glimmer that underscores every defeat. Much of the plot is predictable. But the fault therein lies with history. The film could also be faulted for its uneven pace. At least two song breaks with Akshay Kumar doing tipsy trapeze at social gatherings are more embarrassing for us than for his on-screen wife, played as a squeaky Bengali by Mouni Roy. Mouni is only watching her husband Tapan Das make a fool of himself in public.

We are witness to a much greater calamity as Akshay Kumar slips into the slush of the slosh and gives his weakest performance in recent years. The endearing goofy mannerisms are now becoming annoying. Or as Tapan Das would say, "Okshoi Babu kooch godbod chol roha hoi."

But here is the heartening news. Gold succeeds in turning its weaknesses into its strengths. The flaws in the actors' performances frequently contribute to the film's theme of triumph-against-all-odds. We just can't help cheering for the underdogs, can we? Especially when they are out there to bring glory to the country. Read More