Artificial intelligence is being deployed by Facebook in an effort to stop terrorists from using its website.
The social media company said in a blog post that it will use AI to find and remove terrorist content before other users see it.
The technology is the same as that used to block child pornography on the website but, as AI and algorithms are not yet as good as people at understanding the nuances of content and language, the website still needs human reviewers as well.
One of the techniques used is image matching - comparing photos and videos uploaded by users with known terrorist images or videos.
Facebook is also working on "text-based signals" from material that has already been removed. These signals will be fed into a machine-learning system and that machine will, over time, be able to detect similar posts.
The move comes after repeated calls from authorities for social media websites such as Facebook to identify and prevent the spread of terrorist propaganda and recruitment on their platforms.
More than 150 people, including counter-terror experts, former prosecutors, ex-law enforcement, analysts and engineers, are employed at Facebook to "exclusively or primarily" focus on "countering terrorism", the company said.
Facebook's blog post, by Monika Bickert, director of global policy management, and counter-terrorism policy manager Brian Fishman, said: "In the wake of recent terror attacks, people have questioned the role of tech companies in fighting terrorism online.
"We want to answer those questions head on.
"We agree with those who say that social media should not be a place where terrorists have a voice.
"We want to be very clear how seriously we take this - keeping our community safe on Facebook is critical to our mission."
Seemingly in an effort to address criticism of their apparent slowness to act, the writers said: "We've been cautious, in part because we don't want to suggest there is any easy technical fix.
"It is an enormous challenge to keep people safe on a platform used by nearly two billion every month, posting and commenting in more than 80 languages in every corner of the globe.
"And there is much more for us to do."
Friday, June 16, 2017
Thursday, June 15, 2017
PM criticised for failing to meet Grenfell Tower fire survivors
Prime Minister Theresa May has been criticised for not meeting the residents of Grenfell Tower when she visited the scene – in contrast to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London mayor Sadiq Khan.
Mrs May made a private visit on Thursday to speak to police and firefighters dealing with the aftermath of the blaze, but was not seen speaking to any of the families or residents affected.
Image:Mrs May speaks to Dany Cotton, Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, at the scene
Former Conservative Cabinet minister Michael Portillo said her meeting with the emergency services was "a good thing" but that she "should have been there with the residents".
"She wanted an entirely controlled situation in which she didn't use her humanity," he told BBC's This Week.
"The Prime Minister would have been shouted at by the residents, but she should have been willing to take that."
Former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said it was "not okay" for her not to have met survivors at the west London site.
In a message on Twitter, Ms Harman said: "Theresa May should have met Grenfell Fire residents. She should have been prepared to listen to them Not OK to speak at them via TV."
Good Morning Britain's Piers Morgan tweeted: "If it's true Theresa May didn't meet ANY survivors or relatives of the dead on her #Grenfell visit today, that's an absolute disgrace."
Green Wing actor Stephen Mangan wrote: "If Theresa May doesn't get how appalling not meeting the Grenfell residents looks/is, you'd think an adviser would point it out to her."
Cookery writer Jack Monroe tweeted: "People have been killed and May opts for a stage managed photo op rather than to hear from survivors, trauma victims, residents."
Downing Street aides said the purpose of Mrs May's visit was to get a briefing from emergency services and ensure that they had the resources they needed.
Mrs May later appeared on TV to announce a public inquiry into the fire and promise that those left homeless would be rehoused nearby.
During her speech, she said: "I want to reassure the residents of Grenfell Tower - all of whom are in our thoughts and prayers - that the Government will make every effort to make sure that they are rehoused in London and as close as possible to home."
Image:Mr Corbyn comforts a resident at St Clement's Church
Hours after Mrs May's private visit, Mr Corbyn made a trip to a church being used as a relief centre where he was photographed with his arm around the shoulders of some of those affected.
The Labour leader later issued a statement saying: "I feel very angry that it was possible for the fire to spread in the way it did. I feel very angry that so many lives have been lost when the system didn't work.
"The many residents I met today are very angry too; their concerns about the building were not responded to and their questions were not answered."
Mrs May made a private visit on Thursday to speak to police and firefighters dealing with the aftermath of the blaze, but was not seen speaking to any of the families or residents affected.
Image:Mrs May speaks to Dany Cotton, Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, at the sceneFormer Conservative Cabinet minister Michael Portillo said her meeting with the emergency services was "a good thing" but that she "should have been there with the residents".
"She wanted an entirely controlled situation in which she didn't use her humanity," he told BBC's This Week.
"The Prime Minister would have been shouted at by the residents, but she should have been willing to take that."
Former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said it was "not okay" for her not to have met survivors at the west London site.
In a message on Twitter, Ms Harman said: "Theresa May should have met Grenfell Fire residents. She should have been prepared to listen to them Not OK to speak at them via TV."
Good Morning Britain's Piers Morgan tweeted: "If it's true Theresa May didn't meet ANY survivors or relatives of the dead on her #Grenfell visit today, that's an absolute disgrace."
Green Wing actor Stephen Mangan wrote: "If Theresa May doesn't get how appalling not meeting the Grenfell residents looks/is, you'd think an adviser would point it out to her."
Cookery writer Jack Monroe tweeted: "People have been killed and May opts for a stage managed photo op rather than to hear from survivors, trauma victims, residents."
Downing Street aides said the purpose of Mrs May's visit was to get a briefing from emergency services and ensure that they had the resources they needed.
Mrs May later appeared on TV to announce a public inquiry into the fire and promise that those left homeless would be rehoused nearby.
During her speech, she said: "I want to reassure the residents of Grenfell Tower - all of whom are in our thoughts and prayers - that the Government will make every effort to make sure that they are rehoused in London and as close as possible to home."
Image:Mr Corbyn comforts a resident at St Clement's ChurchHours after Mrs May's private visit, Mr Corbyn made a trip to a church being used as a relief centre where he was photographed with his arm around the shoulders of some of those affected.
The Labour leader later issued a statement saying: "I feel very angry that it was possible for the fire to spread in the way it did. I feel very angry that so many lives have been lost when the system didn't work.
"The many residents I met today are very angry too; their concerns about the building were not responded to and their questions were not answered."
Up to 17 dead in Somali bomb and hostage attack
Up to 17 people have been killed and others are being held hostage after a car bomb attack in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
A suicide bomber rammed his car into the gate of the Posh Treats Hotel before gunmen posing as soldiers stormed the Pizza House restaurant next door.
The militants took hostages in the restaurant.
Two of the gunmen have been shot dead by security forces and 10 hostages have been rescued, including Asians, Kenyans and Ethiopians.
However, five other attackers are thought to still be inside the restaurant with the electricity cut off, complicating attempts by the security forces to end the siege.
Captain Mohamed Hussein said heavy gunfire could be heard at the scene.
He added that many of the 17 victims were young men who had been entering the restaurant when the car exploded.
It is not clear how many hostages remain inside.
Ambulance spokesman Khalif Dahir said 26 people had been injured.
Mohamud Abdi survived the attack with slight injuries and said: "Many young men did not survive.
"I saw at least eight bodies and many more are still trapped in the fighting.
"I had the chance to get out, along with two people from the attack, when I gave them a helping hand."
Extremist group al-Shabaab has said it is behind the attack.
The Somalia-based extremists recently vowed to increase attacks after the government of Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who was elected as president in February, launched a new military offensive against them.
The group has lost large amounts of territory to the government-backed African Union peacekeepers in recent years.
A suicide bomber rammed his car into the gate of the Posh Treats Hotel before gunmen posing as soldiers stormed the Pizza House restaurant next door.
The militants took hostages in the restaurant.
Two of the gunmen have been shot dead by security forces and 10 hostages have been rescued, including Asians, Kenyans and Ethiopians.
However, five other attackers are thought to still be inside the restaurant with the electricity cut off, complicating attempts by the security forces to end the siege.
Captain Mohamed Hussein said heavy gunfire could be heard at the scene.
He added that many of the 17 victims were young men who had been entering the restaurant when the car exploded.
It is not clear how many hostages remain inside.
Ambulance spokesman Khalif Dahir said 26 people had been injured.
Mohamud Abdi survived the attack with slight injuries and said: "Many young men did not survive.
"I saw at least eight bodies and many more are still trapped in the fighting.
"I had the chance to get out, along with two people from the attack, when I gave them a helping hand."
Extremist group al-Shabaab has said it is behind the attack.
The Somalia-based extremists recently vowed to increase attacks after the government of Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who was elected as president in February, launched a new military offensive against them.
The group has lost large amounts of territory to the government-backed African Union peacekeepers in recent years.
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
President Trump Is Under Investigation for Obstruction of Justice
A spokesman for President Donald Trump's personal attorney hit back against a Washington Post report that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the president for possible obstruction of justice.
The Post reported Wednesday evening that Mueller has widened his investigation to include whether Trump obstructed justice, citing five people briefed on the requests and noting that the investigation began after Comey was fired last month.
Mark Carallo, a spokesman for Trump's attorney Marc Kasowitz, questioned the legality of the leaking information about the investigation, calling it " outrageous, inexcusable and illegal" in a statement to TIME. He did not deny the Post report.
According to the Post, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, Director of National Security Agency Mike Rogers, and Rogers' former deputy Richard Ledgett agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's team. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller, a former FBI director, to handle the Russia investigation.
Obstruction of justice is essentially defined as intentionally intervening or tampering with an ongoing investigation. However, the key to proving obstruction of justice is that the intervention was done for corrupt purposes.
"If it's a threat, that makes it a crime. If it's not a threat — but a request — it could still be a crime if the threat is motivated by a corrupt purpose,"Robert Weisberg, a law professor at Stanford, told TIME last month.
Comey had confirmed during a congressional testimony in March that the FBI was investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 election, which included possible collusion between the country and Trump associates.
The Post reported June 6 that Coats had told associates Trump had asked him to intervene with Comey when he was still FBI Director to reduce focus on former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
The New York Times reported last month that Trump himself had asked Comey to halt any investigation into Flynn, an interaction Comey confirmed during his congressional testimony earlier this month, but Kasowitz denied.
The Post reported Wednesday evening that Mueller has widened his investigation to include whether Trump obstructed justice, citing five people briefed on the requests and noting that the investigation began after Comey was fired last month.
Mark Carallo, a spokesman for Trump's attorney Marc Kasowitz, questioned the legality of the leaking information about the investigation, calling it " outrageous, inexcusable and illegal" in a statement to TIME. He did not deny the Post report.
According to the Post, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, Director of National Security Agency Mike Rogers, and Rogers' former deputy Richard Ledgett agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's team. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller, a former FBI director, to handle the Russia investigation.
Obstruction of justice is essentially defined as intentionally intervening or tampering with an ongoing investigation. However, the key to proving obstruction of justice is that the intervention was done for corrupt purposes.
"If it's a threat, that makes it a crime. If it's not a threat — but a request — it could still be a crime if the threat is motivated by a corrupt purpose,"Robert Weisberg, a law professor at Stanford, told TIME last month.
Comey had confirmed during a congressional testimony in March that the FBI was investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 election, which included possible collusion between the country and Trump associates.
The Post reported June 6 that Coats had told associates Trump had asked him to intervene with Comey when he was still FBI Director to reduce focus on former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
The New York Times reported last month that Trump himself had asked Comey to halt any investigation into Flynn, an interaction Comey confirmed during his congressional testimony earlier this month, but Kasowitz denied.
Death toll to rise after Glenfell Tower fire
London's Mayor Sadiq Khan said the death toll from Wednesday's fire is expected to rise [Toby Melville/Reuters] The death toll from a tower block fire in West London is expected to rise as rescue workers continue to tackle the blaze a day after it started.
At least 12 people died and more than 70 were injured after a fire broke out inside Grenfell Tower just after midnight on Wednesday with the number of dead expected to jump, according to the city’s mayor.
"Sadly, it has been confirmed that 12 people are now known to have died as a result of the horrific fire at Grenfell Tower, a figure which I am afraid is expected to increase," said Sadiq Khan in a statement published on his website.
Khan also confirmed that checks would also be carried out on other similar tower blocks to ensure they were not at risk.
Emergency services battled throughout the day to put the fire out but late into Wednesday the blackened husk of the building, where up to 600 people are believed to have lived, continued to glow orange because of the flames inside.
As many as 600 people are believed to have lived in the building [Natalie Oxford/AFP]
Details are still emerging about the desperate attempts made by residents to escape the high-rise, as well as questions about whether safety regulations were neglected by local authorities in the run-up to the fire.
Sarmad Ismail, a resident of a nearby building, told Al Jazeera he saw a man in the tower trying to get the attention of those outside.
"I remember one Chinese or Asian man still stuck and he was just waving his trousers out the window," Ismail said. "Nobody was helping him.. It was shocking and it still hasn't sunk in."
By Wednesday morning, police had cordoned off the area and crowds of people gathered outside trying to get word about friends and family members who are missing.
NIGERIA: The Hope, Aspirations and Expected “Change”
Nigeria is a federal republic in West Africa. It comprises of 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory. The Nigerian state originated from British colonial rule in 19th century. Nigeria became formally independent in 1960 and plunged into civil war 1967 which ended 1970.
After many trials, the country achieved a stable democracy in 1999, with the presidential elections of that year. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giants of Africa with population of approximately 180 million and over 500 ethnic groups of which the three largest are Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. Nigeria can be divided into two halves: between Christians who live mostly in the southern part and Muslim in the Northern part.
According to Wikipedia in 2015, Nigeria is the world’s 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP. Political corruption is a persistent phenomenon in Nigeria which makes President Mohammadu Buhari define corruption as the greatest form of human rights violation and many cases of misuse of founds and resources. The government has tried to contain corruption through the enactment of laws and the enforcement of integrity systems, but success has been slow in coming, Over $400 billion estimated to have been lost to corruption since independence.
Nigeria has one of the worlds highest economic growth rates, averaging 7.4% according to the Nigeria economic report released in July 2014 by the world Bank. Poverty still remains significant in Africa biggest economy. For a country with massive wealth and huge population to support commerce, a well-developed economy and plenty of natural resources, the level of poverty remains unacceptable. However, poverty may have been overestimated due to the lack of information on the extreme huge informal sector of the economy, lack of stringent regulatory and monitoring system has allowed for rampant corruption. This has hindered past poverty alleviation efforts to a large extent, since resources which could pay for public goods or directed towards investment and so create employment and other opportunities for citizens are being misappropriated.
Government programmes at poverty alleviation, like National Accellerated Food Production Programmes and the Nigerian Agricultural and Co-operative Bank, Feed the Nation, Green Revolution Programme, Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure, Family Support Programme and the Family Economic Advancement Programme, National Poverty Eradication programme, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, and the N-Power Programme are good development programmes in tackling the poverty even though Nigeria’s economy suffered its first annual contraction in 25 years as growth in Africa’s top oil producer shrank into a technical recession in the first half of the year as it finances were hit by low oil prices.
Business executives and analysts complain that the government reacted too slowly to the crises and has pursued policies that have deepened the turmoil. As government seeks solution to the twin problem of Boko Haram and militant activities that gave rise to kidnapping in the oil producing zones, agitation for secession by Southeast youths seem to have further intensify the call to restructure the federation with an ultimatum dealt by youths of the north calling the bluff of the southeast Biafra agitators to leave the north latest by October 1st 2017, which the nations national independence anniversary.
President Mohammadu Buhari is out of the country on extended medical leave and his VP Yemi Osinbajo appears to be moving on quickly with economic reforms. Can there be hope for it citizens? The 2017 budget signed as the Appropriation Act for the year seem to hold the answers to this puzzle and expectations and millions of Nigerians and restive youths, many of whom have taken to all forms of criminality and or joining the drove of emigrants searching for greener pastures in Europe and America. As Nigerians watch with higher expectation of a better tomorrow, the masses are praying and hoping that the war on corruption will help to sanitize the nation’s Augean stable to achieve the expected change agenda of the government.
After many trials, the country achieved a stable democracy in 1999, with the presidential elections of that year. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giants of Africa with population of approximately 180 million and over 500 ethnic groups of which the three largest are Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. Nigeria can be divided into two halves: between Christians who live mostly in the southern part and Muslim in the Northern part.
According to Wikipedia in 2015, Nigeria is the world’s 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP. Political corruption is a persistent phenomenon in Nigeria which makes President Mohammadu Buhari define corruption as the greatest form of human rights violation and many cases of misuse of founds and resources. The government has tried to contain corruption through the enactment of laws and the enforcement of integrity systems, but success has been slow in coming, Over $400 billion estimated to have been lost to corruption since independence.
Nigeria has one of the worlds highest economic growth rates, averaging 7.4% according to the Nigeria economic report released in July 2014 by the world Bank. Poverty still remains significant in Africa biggest economy. For a country with massive wealth and huge population to support commerce, a well-developed economy and plenty of natural resources, the level of poverty remains unacceptable. However, poverty may have been overestimated due to the lack of information on the extreme huge informal sector of the economy, lack of stringent regulatory and monitoring system has allowed for rampant corruption. This has hindered past poverty alleviation efforts to a large extent, since resources which could pay for public goods or directed towards investment and so create employment and other opportunities for citizens are being misappropriated.
Government programmes at poverty alleviation, like National Accellerated Food Production Programmes and the Nigerian Agricultural and Co-operative Bank, Feed the Nation, Green Revolution Programme, Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure, Family Support Programme and the Family Economic Advancement Programme, National Poverty Eradication programme, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, and the N-Power Programme are good development programmes in tackling the poverty even though Nigeria’s economy suffered its first annual contraction in 25 years as growth in Africa’s top oil producer shrank into a technical recession in the first half of the year as it finances were hit by low oil prices.
Business executives and analysts complain that the government reacted too slowly to the crises and has pursued policies that have deepened the turmoil. As government seeks solution to the twin problem of Boko Haram and militant activities that gave rise to kidnapping in the oil producing zones, agitation for secession by Southeast youths seem to have further intensify the call to restructure the federation with an ultimatum dealt by youths of the north calling the bluff of the southeast Biafra agitators to leave the north latest by October 1st 2017, which the nations national independence anniversary.
President Mohammadu Buhari is out of the country on extended medical leave and his VP Yemi Osinbajo appears to be moving on quickly with economic reforms. Can there be hope for it citizens? The 2017 budget signed as the Appropriation Act for the year seem to hold the answers to this puzzle and expectations and millions of Nigerians and restive youths, many of whom have taken to all forms of criminality and or joining the drove of emigrants searching for greener pastures in Europe and America. As Nigerians watch with higher expectation of a better tomorrow, the masses are praying and hoping that the war on corruption will help to sanitize the nation’s Augean stable to achieve the expected change agenda of the government.
ICC has called for the immediate arrest Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
The ICC has called for the immediate arrest and surrender of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who was freed in Libya last week. The International Criminal Court prosecutor said that Libya -- and any other state or entity with relevant information -- was obliged to detain Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and hand him over to the court, as the warrant for his arrest was still valid. The son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is accused of crimes against humanity. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was freed from jail several days ago in the town of Zintan, where he has been held by a militia since the end of the revolution against his father.
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