Obamas Roll Out Red Carpet For Canada's PM

US President Barack Obama is hosting the first official visit by a Canadian prime minister in nearly two decades.

"It's about time, eh?" he said as he welcomed Justin Trudeau to the White House with pomp and pageantry on Thursday morning.

Canada's photogenic first couple arrived under unseasonably sunny skies with military bands blaring.

Mr Trudeau, 44, is being treated to an Oval Office meeting, a Rose Garden press conference and a coveted state dinner.

The first couples wave for the White House balcony shot

He and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, a former TV host, were greeted on the South Lawn by Mr Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

"‎There is no relationship in the entire world like the Canada-US relations," said Mr Trudeau.

The visitors came bearing gifts - a Canadian aboriginal sculpture for Mr Obama and an aboriginal beaded cape for Mrs Obama.

They also brought presents for the Obamas' daughters, designer scarves, and the US first family's pets - dog boots.

Americans sometimes tend to overlook their northern neighbour, but Canada is the United States' largest trading partner.

More than $2bn worth of goods and services cross the border every day, and about 75% of Canada's exports go to the US.

Mr Obama, 54, saluted the young liberal leader as an ideological soulmate who shares his views on tackling climate change and inequality.

"From my perspective, what's not to like?" Mr Obama said on Thursday.

Before their bilateral, the two nations pledged to jointly implement an international agreement in Paris on curbing global warming.

They committed to reducing methane emissions by 40% to 45% from 2012 levels over the coming decade.

Mr Trudeau, the son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, aims to reboot relations that were strained during the time of his conservative predecessor, Stephen Harper.

The two countries' administrations clashed over the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, which Mr Obama rejected last year.

Ties soured to such an extent that the US ambassador to Canada could not get a meeting with Mr Harper or his Cabinet ministers for months.

Thursday's state dinner will be the 10th hosted by Mr Obama during his time in the White House.

It is also the first state visit accorded to a Canadian prime minister since 1997 when Bill Clinton hosted Jean Chretien.

Facebook buys selfie face-swap app Masquerade

Facebook has bought photo-editing app Masquerade, which lets people change their appearance in real-time.

The app can transform faces - often in a cartoon-like fashion - and overlay make-up, animal features or accessories on live video.

Masquerade's filters have been compared to those in rival Snapchat, which Facebook tried to buy in 2013.

One expert said Facebook was responding to competition from Snapchat, which streams millions of videos daily.

Face-changing apps gained popularity after instant messaging app Snapchat added live filters called lenses in 2015.

he face-swap filter, which switches two people's faces with often alarming results, has become a particular favourite on social media.

"I think Facebook has realised Snapchat has something it doesn't," said David Wilkinson, managing partner at digital consultancy Soho Strategy.

"A lot of people share filtered selfie videos, so I think we can expect to see this integrated into Facebook's Messenger platform.

"Snapchat has its own USP as an ephemeral messaging platform, but for the novelty factor people might just use Facebook's built-in filters."

In 2013, Facebook tried to take over Snapchat for $3bn, but the instant messaging firm rejected the offer, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Facebook has not disclosed how much it has paid for Belarus-based Masquerade, but said it would keep the app running as a standalone program, as well as integrating features with its social network.

"Masquerade has great technology to help us bring even more creative tools to Facebook, and help extend this work to video," the company said in a statement.

Al-Shabab denies top leaders killed in US air strikes

Al-Shabab is fighting Somalia's internationally-recognised government [File pic: Mohamed Sheikh Nor/The Associated Press]

Mogadishu, Somalia - A senior al-Shabab commander has made a public appearance to deny claims that he and another group leader were killed in US air strikes last week at a training camp in southern Somalia.

Washington said on Monday it had carried out several strikes in Somalia's Hiiraan region, in which it claimed more than 150 of the al-Qaeda-linked group's fighters had been killed.

Somali officials said later on Monday that five al-Shabab commanders had been killed in Saturday's attack, including Mohamed Mire, the group's Hiiraan governor, and Yusuf Ali Ugas, al-Shabab's former Hiiraan chief.

But Mire appeared on Thursday in the village of Buqa Qabe - in the same province the air strikes took place - to dismiss the claims.

"It is all lies. They said I was among those killed. But I'm here and doing well as you can see," he told a crowd that had gathered to see the public execution of a man the group accused of being a Somali government soldier.

Air strikes 

Al-Shabab, which is fighting Somalia's internationally recognised government, has recently attacked and overrun military bases belonging to the African Union peacekeeping mission, AMISOM.

The US air strikes occurred at 14:00 GMT on Saturday at a camp about 130km from Belidogle airport in the Lower Shabelle region - a major base for AMISOM troops. American soldiers are also present at the Belidogle base.

The al-Shabab fighters were training for a large scale attack and posed an imminent threat to US and African Union forces in Somalia, according to the Pentagon.

"It is all propaganda. America is losing this war and that is why they now have to resort to guerrilla tactic," Mire added, in reference to a Wednesday morning raid on the town of Awdhegle - 50km south of the capital Mogadishu - by joint US and Somali special forces.

Somali officials said more than a dozen al-Shabab fighters were killed in the raid which involved two helicopters. Al-Shabab said only one of its fighters was killed.

There was no way of independently verifying both claims.

Crack Phone Fingerprint Tech Using Printer

Cracking the fingerprint sensor technology on an Android phone can be done using a printer and some glossy paper, it has been claimed.

A 300dpi scan of a fingerprint can be printed on the paper using special conductive ink, and placed on the end of your finger.

Researchers at Michigan State University said the DIY workaround is then able to unlock the phone.

Their study paper said: "We have proposed a simple, fast and effective method to generate 2D fingerprint spoofs that can successfully hack built-in fingerprint authentication in mobile phones.

"Once the printed 2D fingerprints are ready we can then use them for spoofing mobile phones."

A perfect fingerprint scan is needed to breach the security system

They using Samsung's Galaxy S6 and Huawei's Honor 7 phones in their tests.

The left index finger of one of the report's authors was validated on each of the phones, before another researcher used the technique to unlock it with their own hand.

Researchers Kai Cao and Anil Jain said: "This experiment further confirms the urgent need for anti-spoofing techniques for fingerprint recognition systems, especially for mobile devices which are being increasingly used for unlocking the phone and for payment."

The risk to a typical user is small, as the system needs a high-resolution scan of a fingerprint.

However for law enforcement agencies it could provide a way to unlock phones without having to rely on software back doors.

A Samsung spokesperson said: "It takes specific equipment, supplies and conditions to simulate a person’s fingerprint including being in possession of the fingerprint owner’s phone to unlock the device."

A Huawei spokesperson said: "Honor takes data integrity very seriously and we are committed to protecting customer privacy through the constant updating of new technologies, including fingerprint sensor technology."

At the Mobile World Congress last month it was also demonstrated that fingerprint sensors on iPhones - seen as having one of the more secure fingerprint systems - could be tricked using dental mould and a small amount of Play-Doh.

Donald Trump: ‘I Think Islam Hates Us’

Donald Trump accused Islam of hating the western world in an interview Wednesday, the latest in the GOP Presidential candidate’s attacks on the religion.

“I think Islam hates us,” Trump told Anderson Cooper on CNN, after the host asked him whether Islam was at war with the West. “There is a tremendous hatred there. We have to get to the bottom of it.”

Cooper then asked whether Trump believed the hatred was in the Islamic religion itself.

“You’re going to have to figure that out,” Trump replied. “You’ll get another Pulitzer.”

“We can’t allow people who have this hatred coming into the United States and of people who are not Muslim.”

Trump argued that “it’s very hard to separate” radical Islam from the mainstream practice of the religion. “It’s very hard to define,” he said. “Because you don’t know who’s who.”

The GOP frontrunner has previously come under fire from people across the political spectrum for his comments on Islam. Trump has previously suggested a ban on Muslims from entering the U.S. until “our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

'Hot Convict' Jeremy Meeks Released From Jail

The convicted Californian criminal whose "handsome" mugshot went viral has walked out of prison - and he's ready for his close-up.

Jeremy Meeks, 32, was sentenced to more than two years' jail for possession of a firearm in 2015, but he has been released early.

After his arrest, his mugshot drew thousands of admiring comments when it was posted on Stockton Police Department's Facebook page.

He was dubbed the "Hot Convict" and "Hot Felon", with social media users focusing on his high cheekbones, chiselled face and blue eyes. 

"Ralph Lauren better sign him lol," wrote one user.

The convicted Californian criminal whose "handsome" mugshot went viral has walked out of prison - and he's ready for his close-up.

Jeremy Meeks, 32, was sentenced to more than two years' jail for possession of a firearm in 2015, but he has been released early.

After his arrest, his mugshot drew thousands of admiring comments when it was posted on Stockton Police Department's Facebook page.

He was dubbed the "Hot Convict" and "Hot Felon", with social media users focusing on his high cheekbones, chiselled face and blue eyes. 

"Ralph Lauren better sign him lol," wrote one user.

another Instagram post, Meeks is pictured on a boat with the caption: "Looking forward to time on the lake with my kids."

His agent is also excited about the former prisoner's future.

"We have a lot in store regarding Jeremy's new career," Mr Jordan said in a statement.

"There are a multitude of offers on the table.

"Jeremy is humbled and grateful and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers for him and his family."

Police have previously described Meeks as "one of the most violent criminals in the Stockton area".

Democratic Debate Shifts To Immigration

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clashed over their records on immigration in the eighth Democratic presidential debate ahead of the Florida primary.

The two candidates faced off in Miami just six days before the state decides as both accused the other of letting Hispanics down.

Mrs Clinton attacked her rival for repeatedly voting against a 2007 comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Mr Sanders responded by criticising her for opposing a 2007 measure which would have allowed people in the country illegally to obtain a driver's licence.

The two Democrat candidates are bidding to seize momentum in the contest after Mr Sanders scored an upset victory in the Michigan primary on Tuesday.

Florida is home to nearly 1.8 million Hispanic people, who include around 15% of the state's Democrats.

So far, Hispanic voters have made up around 10% of voters in the Democratic primaries and Mrs Clinton has won around two-thirds of their votes.

Both candidates mocked Republican front runner Donald Trump's plan for a wall on the Mexican border to stem immigration.

Mr Sanders said: "We do not, as Donald Trump  and others have done, resort to racism and xenophobia and bigotry."

The former Secretary of State accused Mr Sanders of supporting legislation that would have led to the indefinite detention of people facing deportation.

The Vermont Senator called that claim "ridiculous" and accused Mrs Clinton of distorting his voting record.

Missouri, Illinois, Ohio and North Carolinaare also voting to select their nominee on 15 March.

At this stage, Mrs Clinton has won 762 pledged delegates, compared to 549 for Mr Sanders.

When superdelegates are included - delegates who are free to choose whom they want to support including sitting Democratic governors and members of the House and Senate - Mrs Clinton leads by 1,223 to 574.

Candidates need 2,383 to win the Democratic nomination.

A total of 691 delegates are up for grabs, including 99 in Florida which awards all of its delegates to the winner rather than dividing them out.