Briefsfromshittu

Monday, March 7, 2016

Islamic State: may be plotting huge attacks' in UK

The so-called Islamic State group may be planning a "spectacular" attack in the UK, the national head of counter-terrorism policing has warned.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said there was evidence IS - also known as Daesh - was "trying to build bigger attacks" globally, including in the UK.

He said a large-scale attack was the "natural next step" for IS.

A number of attacks, including last year's gun and bomb attacks in Paris, are believed to be inspired by IS.

Who are Britain’s jihadists?

Speaking at a briefing in London, Mr Rowley revealed the number of terrorism-related arrests hit record levels last year.

There were 339 arrests in England, Wales and Scotland - the highest yearly figure.

Scotland Yard - which published the data - said there had been a 57% increase in the last three years compared with the previous three.

Although he would not be drawn on specific plans or operations, Mr Rowley said IS had expanded its ambitions from smaller-scale targets - often military personnel or police.

"In recent months we've seen a broadening of that. Much more plans to attack Western lifestyle, and obviously the Paris attacks in November.

"Going from that narrow focus on police and military as symbols of the state to something much broader," he said.

"And you see a terrorist group which has big ambitions for enormous and spectacular attacks - not just the types that we've seen foiled to date."

Mr Rowley said psychologists were being deployed to work with counter-terrorism units because of increasing concern that people with mental health problems were being radicalised.

The use of psychologists was becoming "increasingly standard" he said, adding: "Having that insight is critical."

Dead May Outnumber Living On Facebook By 2098

Facebook could become the world's biggest virtual graveyard by the end of the century, a statistician claims.

The social network has around 1.5bn users around the world, but by 2098 the number of dead users could outnumber the living.

This is due to plateauing numbers of new users, and Facebook's policy of not automatically deleting the profiles of the dead.

The prediction was made by statistician Hachem Sadikki, from the University of Massachusetts.

Close to one million Facebook users are expected to die this year alone - up from 385,000 in 2010 when Facebook had a much smaller user base.

Facebook's current policy means that when a user dies, their page is automatically turned into a memorial.

The only way to delete the page is to have someone login using their password and delete it.

Given that most people do not share their password at all, it is unlikely that most people will be able to close the account of a dead loved one.

The problem can often be upsetting - with some dead people still appear as having birthdays in users' news feeds and alerts.

Facebook has started to ask people to appoint a 'Legacy Contact' before they die.

The contact has the power to write one last post after a person's death, as well as updating their cover and profile photo.

Women Could Boost UK Economy By £170bn

There is a simple way to boost the UK economy: get more women into work, according to the latest research by ‘big four’ accountancy firm PwC.

The economy could benefit to the tune of £170bn - or a 9% increase in gross domestic product - if female employment in the UK rose to match Sweden’s.

Sweden is the best performing country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) across a number of factors, according to PwC’s Women in Work Index.

The UK has improved its position, up to 16th place from 21st last year, thanks to a lower female unemployment rate, and progress narrowing the gender pay gap.

But that gap is still far higher than the average among members of the OECD, and it ranks 21st out of 33 countries.

Currently women’s average salary is 18.3% behind men’s; closing the gender pay gap would result in an £80bn boost to overall female earnings in the UK, or an average pay rise of £5,500 for every working woman.

PwC finds that the Nordic countries are leading the way, with the highest level of female board membership and female workforce participation- around 80% for most of the states.

One of the main areas for improvement highlighted by the survey is in getting mothers back into work in Britain.

Gaenor Bagley, head of people and executive board member at PwC, said: "One of the main reasons why there is a gender pay gap in the UK is due to the low number of women in senior positions.

"If we want to close the gap, businesses need to help women back into the workplace and make sure that opportunities to progress are equal for all. Businesses and the economy are still losing out due to the low number of women in full-time employment and mothers in employment."

Drivers Vote In Favour Of Night Tube Pay Deal

London Underground drivers have voted nine to one in favour of accepting a new pay deal allowing the night tube to go ahead.

After months of negotiations, 88% of members of the Aslef union backed the four-year wage deal.

The four-year deal includes above-inflation pay-rises backdated from April last year, and a £500 bonus to drivers and other staff connected with the introduction of the night service.

The night tube was due to start running last September, but ground to a halt with a series of strikes over pay and conditions.

It will roll out on the Central, Piccadilly, Jubilee, Victoria and Northern lines first.

Aslef officer Finn Brennan said: "Aslef members on London Underground have voted by a huge majority to accept the improved offer on pay and night Tube.

"Last year management tried to force through changes to rosters that would have meant unlimited increases in weekend and night shifts with a pay rise of just 0.5%.

"[Our members] have achieved an above-inflation pay rise and real improvements in conditions that will give drivers, and other grades, much more flexibility and control over their work/life balance in the future."

Last week, 84% of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) also voted in favour of the offer.

Steve Griffiths, London Underground's chief operating officer, said: "I'm pleased that Aslef members have voted to accept our offer. This is a fair and affordable pay deal, which includes complete protection of employee work/life balance.

"We continue to focus on the recruitment and training of part-time drivers to deliver the night Tube for London as quickly as possible."

Porn ring behind Kenya Project X 'sex party'

An international pornography ring was behind a controversial sex party that was planned for Saturday in Nairobi, Kenya's film board has said.

The party, called Project X, has attracted attention after a publicity poster was circulated, declaring "no one goes back home a virgin".

Film board head Ezekiel Mutua said the party was organised so people people could make pornographic films.

The organisers have now cancelled the event following the social media storm.

They blamed journalists for labelling it a sex party and called "some media houses... narrow minded", according to a statement quoted in several reports.

It adds that the party was supposed to be a place "where young adults can meet up, socialise and have a good time".

The raunchy publicity material showed half-naked women with the promise that it would be "one night to lose your mind".

The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) said there had been a rise of young people being blackmailed after being filmed having sex.

At a press conference in the capital, Nairobi, Mr Mutua said the party had been cancelled following "immense public pressure" from "Kenyans of goodwill", police and politicians.

'Decadent'

He called it a "decadent event" and said the "KFCB took up the matter after getting a tip-off that the party was to be used by unscrupulous business people to promote drugs, illicit sex and the making of pornographic films".

The police are investigating whether the organisers were breaking the law.

The planned party has led to Project X trending on Twitter in Kenya, with many social media users wondering what was wrong with the event, though there has also been some criticism.

Kenya's growing youthful population, and its exposure to a global youth culture through social media, is challenging some of the more traditional values in the country, the BBC's Ruth Nesoba in Nairobi says.

Project X takes its name from a 2012 Hollywood film that showed a group of teenagers organising a party which gets out of control.

Royals Hit Slopes For First Family Holiday

Prince George and Princess Charlotte got to enjoy playing in the snow for the first time when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took them on a short skiing holiday.

The trip to the French Alps last week was the first time the family have been on holiday together, and they have released six photographs to mark the event.

The images show a relaxed William and Kate holding their two children and engaging in a snowball fight.

One picture captures the moment a snowball hurled by Kate hits William in the chest.

Determined not to be caught out a second time, the Duke is seen in another image playfully grappling with his wife and knocking a snowball from her hand.

Charlotte is seen smiling broadly as she is held up by her father, with a wintry backdrop to the image.

The family are also pictured together with the Duke and Duchess crouching down as they hold their children, while another image shows William putting his arm around Kate.

A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "This was their first holiday as a family of four and the first time either of the children had played in the snow.

"It was very special and fun short holiday for the family, and they are grateful that John Stillwell (Press Association royal photographer) was able to capture the moment so well.

"The Duke and Duchess hope people enjoy the photos."

Facebook Addiction 'Result Of Brain Evolution'

Thousands of years of brain evolution have left people prone to Facebook and Twitter addiction, a psychologist has said.

Since the beginning of the human race, our brains have gradually increased in size over countless generations.

But that hit a wall around 20,000 years ago when the pattern started to reverse. Professor Bruce Hood believes it is due to our increased domestication.

He says our predecessors were geared up for a constant survival battle, but we are now "natural gossips" whose brains craze constant engagement with others.

Social media allows us to indulge this urge on a larger scale, the American academic says.

"The fact that many people have a compulsion to engage with lots of people via social media isn't really that surprising," he said.

"Our brains have evolved for us to be social animals.

"What's interesting is that you might assume that the wider exposure to differing views that social media brings would make us all much more open-minded.

"What we see in reality of course is the opposite. People seem more likely to slot into niche groups of thought online than in real life."

He makes the claim in his latest book, Domesticated Brain.

He says that as people settled into fixed communities their brains relaxed as they did not need to outwit everyone around them.

This opened up opportunities for higher thinking, he said.

It also marked the start of "group intelligence" in which knowledge is passed down through generations.