Facebook Permanently Deletes the Accounts of NSO Workers Slashdotby BeauHD on facebook at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at October 30, 2019, 11:50 pm)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A day after Facebook-owned WhatsApp sued NSO Group, the social media platform has permanently deleted the accounts of employees who work at the Israel-based spyware maker, according to message boards and a security researcher who spoke to one worker. "Your account has been deleted for not following our terms," said a message sent to one employee by Facebook-owned Instagram. "You won't be able to log into this account, and no one else will be able to see it. We're unable to restore accounts that are deleted for these types of violations." A message board popular in Israel indicated that the deletion was widespread. "I had just personally verified it (I have friends working there)," one person wrote. "Ninety-eight percent of the company employees were blocked." Another person who claimed to work at NSO responded to say he or she hadn't been blocked. Another person claiming to be an NSO employee complained bitterly on LinkedIn. An Israel-based security researcher who spoke to an NSO employee said the deletions affected a much smaller percentage of the company's employees and didn't involve WhatsApp accounts.

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Facebook suspends Russia-linked accounts for meddling in Africa AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 11:26 pm)

Company says accounts targeted people in Madagascar, CAR, Mozambique, DRC, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Sudan and Libya.
Trump impeachment probe: John Bolton asked to testify AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 11:17 pm)

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has openly sparred over the administration's approach to Ukraine.
Brazil president threatens to cancel Globo TV over report AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 11:07 pm)

Bolsonaro made the threat after a report raised his name in connection with the murder investigation of Marielle Franco.
Intel Launches Core i9-9900KS 8-Core CPU At 5GHz Across All Cores Slashdotby BeauHD on intel at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at October 30, 2019, 11:04 pm)

MojoKid writes: As the "S" in its name implies, the new Intel Core i9-9900KS that launched today is something akin to a Special Edition version of the company's existing Core i9-9900K 8-core CPU. The processors are built from the same slab of silicon -- an 8-core, Coffee Lake-refresh based die and packaged up for Intel's LGA1151 socket. What makes the Core i9-9900KS different from its predecessor are its base and turbo boost clocks, which are rated for 4GHz and 5GHz across all-cores, respectively, with enhanced binning of the chips to meet its performance criteria. The Core i9-9900KS is arguably the fastest processor available right now for single and lightly-threaded workloads, and offers the highest performance in gaming and graphics tests. In more heavily-threaded workloads that can leverage all of the additional processing resources available in a 12-core CPU like the Ryzen 9-3900X, however, the 8-core Intel Core i9-9900KS doesn't fare as well. It did catch AMD's 12-core Threadripper 2920X, which is based on the previous-gen Zen+ architecture, on a couple of occasions, however. Intel's new Core i9-9900KS desktop processor is available starting today at $513 MSRP.

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Khamenei says US stoking 'chaos' amid Iraq, Lebanon protests AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 11:04 pm)

Iran's supreme leader says protesters in Iraq and Lebanon should seek changes lawfully.
Twitter Is Banning Political Ads Slashdotby BeauHD on twitter at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at October 30, 2019, 10:34 pm)

Twitter is planning to ban political ads from its service, the company announced Wednesday via a series of Tweets from its CEO Jack Dorsey. The ban will go into effect November 22. BuzzFeed News reports: Dorsey said the ban will cover ads about specific candidates and issues -- the broadest possible ban. The ban will also be global in nature, and not limited to the US. Some ads will be allowed to remain, including those encouraging people to vote. According to a Twitter spokesperson, news organizations are currently exempt from its rules on political advertising, and the company will release full details on exemptions next month. In his Twitter thread, Dorsey took a swipe at Facebook's policy, noting that it is not credible to say "We're working hard to stop people from gaming our systems to spread misleading info, buuut if someone pays us to target and force people to see their political ad... well... they can say whatever they want!" He also poked at Facebook's argument that banning tweets will favor incumbents, giving challengers less voice. "Some might argue our actions today could favor incumbents," Dorsey said. "But we have witnessed many social movements reach massive scale without any political advertising. I trust this will only grow."

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Bangladesh opposition stalwart jailed for threatening PM AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 10:31 pm)

Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury's party says the move is another example of government critics being muzzled.
African swine fever keeps spreading across Asia AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 10:26 pm)

World Organisation for Animal Health says no country is immune from being hit by the deadly animal virus
Facebook a 'megaphone for hate' against India's minorities AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 10:19 pm)

Campaign group accuses Facebook of failing to rein in hate speech inflaming ethnic tensions in India's Assam.
New Delhi pollution prompts call to shut schools, sporting events AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 10:16 pm)

Farm fires in nearby states have sent clouds of smoke over the city, posing a health risk to its 20 million residents.
Can Hariri's resignation defuse Lebanon's crisis? AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 10:09 pm)

After nearly two weeks of popular protests, Prime Minister Saad Hariri has resigned.
UAE withdraws troops from Yemen's southern port city of Aden AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 10:08 pm)

Move is part of deal with Riyadh to end infighting between southern separatists and internationally recognised gov't.
NHS Pagers Are Leaking Medical Data Slashdotby BeauHD on security at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at October 30, 2019, 10:05 pm)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: An amateur radio rig exposed to the internet and discovered by a security researcher was collecting real-time medical data and health information broadcast by hospitals and ambulances across U.K. towns and cities. The rig, operated out of a house in North London, was picking up radio waves from over the air and translating them into readable text. The hobbyist's computer display was filling up with messages about real-time medical emergencies from across the region. For some reason, the hobbyist had set up an internet-connected webcam pointed at the display. But because there was no password on the webcam, anyone who knew where to look could also see what was on the rig's computer display. Daley Borda, a security researcher and bug bounty hunter, stumbled upon the exposed webcam. The live stream was grainy, and the quality of the images so poor that it was just possible to make out the text on the display. "You can see details of calls coming in -- their name, address, and injury," he told TechCrunch. TechCrunch verified his findings. Messages spilling across the screen appeared to direct nearby ambulances where to go following calls to the 999 emergency services. One message said a 98-year-old man had fallen at his home address. A few moments later, another message said a 49-year-old male was complaining of chest pains at a nearby residence. One after the other, messages were flooding in, describing accidents, incidents and medical emergencies, often including their home addresses. "The hobbyist was picking up and decoding pager communications from a nearby regional National Health Service trust," adds TechCrunch. These devices remain a fixture in UK hospitals and "allow anyone to send messages to one or many pagers at once by calling a dedicated phone number, often manned by an operator, which are then broadcast as radio waves over the pager network." While the NHS still uses about 130,000 pagers, according to the UK government, it's not clear how many trusts are exposing medical information -- if at all.

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Trump pick for Russia envoy grilled by senators on Ukraine AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at October 30, 2019, 10:05 pm)

State Department official says he knew Trump lawyer, Giuliani, was involved in campaign against ambassador to Ukraine.