10/01/2016 - 11/01/2016 - G25 Publications

Kenya hold first Mr & Miss albinism pageant

By Gadiola Emanuel - 2:14:00 AM

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Yahoo 'secretly scanned customer emails' for the US government

By Gadiola Emanuel - 5:18:00 AM

The tech company allegedly searched hundreds of millions of email accounts for a specific phrase to help a US intelligence agency.

Yahoo secretly created a custom piece of software which searched its customers' emails for specific information requested by US intelligence officials, Reuters reports.

Former employees at the tech company claim hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts were being scanned following a request from either the National Security Agency or FBI.
All arriving messages from other email addresses were affected, and it is not known what phrases were being searched for.
Yahoo's decision to comply with the request is said to have infuriated some of the company's top executives - especially as the tech giant's security team was not involved in building the secretive program which scoured messages.
When the security team discovered the software, they thought it had been created by hackers, and reportedly found a programming flaw which meant a hacker could have accessed the emails flagged up as including the phrase intelligence officials had specified.
It is not clear whether Yahoo handed over any of the data obtained through the searches, which began last year, to intelligence agencies.
In a statement, the company said: "Yahoo is a law-abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States."

Security experts say it is likely that the intelligence agency behind the request also made similar demands to other email providers.
In a statement, Google said: "We've never received such a request, but if we did, our response would be simple: 'No way'."
A Microsoft spokesperson did not comment on whether it had received a request, but added: "We have never engaged in the secret scanning of email traffic like what has been reported today about Yahoo."
Albert Gidari of Stanford University said it would have been "really difficult" for Yahoo to create computer software which searched many millions of messages for a specific phrase in real time - and claimed such a request from intelligence agencies was unprecedented.
It is legal for intelligence agencies to ask internet companies to provide customer data for many reasons, including the prevention of terror attacks.
Companies can challenge an agency's request in court - and earlier this year, Apple refused an FBI demand to break into a locked iPhone which was used by one of the attackers in the San Bernardino shootings.
Patrick Toomey of the American Civil Liberties Union said it was "deeply disappointing" that Yahoo declined to challenge the order, adding: "Customers are counting on technology companies to stand up to novel spying demands in court."
Last month, Yahoo revealed that the details of 500 million users had been stolen by what it described as a "state-sponsored actor", with eight million Britons among those affected.
There was speculation that the fallout from the hack could have implications for Verizon's $4.8bn (£3.7bn) purchase of Yahoo - and Verizon is yet to respond to these latest claims.

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LIFESTYLES

Barack Obama told to 'go to hell' by Philippines President Duterte

By Gadiola Emanuel - 5:10:00 AM

Rodrigo Duterte once again lashes out at the US president over America's criticism of his deadly anti-drugs campaign.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has told US President Barack Obama to "go to hell" over America's condemnation for his crackdown on suspected drug dealers.

During his latest tirade at the US, Mr Duterte also lashed out at the European Union, which has criticised his brutal clampdown too.
The brash-speaking leader said the block "better choose purgatory, hell is filled up".
He has been sensitive to the response over his clampdown, which has left more than an estimated 3,000 suspected drug dealers dead in three months.
In three fiercely worked speeches in the country's financial hub in Manila, Mr Duterte outlined his disappointments with the US.

He described Washington as an unreliable ally, saying Filipino forces have not benefited from joint combat exercises with American troops.
Mr Duterte also warned he may decide to "break up with America" in his most serious threat so far to push relations back with Washington.
He claimed the US did not want to sell weapons to the Philippines, but he does not care because Russia and China are willing suppliers.
The White House downplayed Mr Duterte's comments, saying they were "at odds" with the two countries' decades-long alliance.
Officials also said they have not received any formal communications from Mr Duterte about changing the relationship.
Mr Duterte also apologised to the Jewish community for making a "terribly wrong" comparison between his anti-drug campaign and Hitler.
He had previously mentioned the Holocaust and that he would be "happy to slaughter" an estimated three million Filipino drug addicts.
His remarks drew shock and outrage across the world
"I would like to apologise and it comes from the heart," he told members of the Jewish Association of the Philippines.
He added: "I mentioned the word Jewish and that was what was terribly wrong. But I'm not one of the racist members of this republic."
Last month, President Obama cancelled a planned first meeting with Duterte on the sidelines of an Asian summit in Laos.
It was after the Filipino leader blurted "son of a bitch" in a warning to the US leader not to lecture him on how he handles his country's drug problem.
Mr Duterte later expressed regrets over his remarks.

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LIFESTYLES

World Teachers’ Day: UN speaks about Valuing them and improve their Status

By Gadiola Emanuel - 4:59:00 AM

Message from the Heads of UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF, UNDP and Education International on the occasion of World Teachers’ Day, 50th anniversary of the 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, 5 October 2016

Every year on World Teachers Day we celebrate the limitless contributions made by teachers around the world. Day after day, year in and year out, these dedicated women and men guide and accompany students through the world of learning, helping them discover and fulfill their potential. In doing so, teachers not only help shape the individual futures of millions of children; they also help shape a better world for all.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development makes this critical connection between education and development. By adopting Sustainable Development Goal 4, world leaders pledged to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” This goal cannot be achieved unless we increase the supply of qualified teachers and empower them to be agents of educational change in the lives of the students they teach.

The situation is urgent. To achieve universal primary education by 2030, we need 24.4 million more teachers. The number is even greater for secondary education with 44.4 million secondary school teachers needed.

How can we recruit these new teachers and attract them to the vital profession of teaching when around the world, so many teachers are undertrained, underpaid and undervalued?

Many teachers still work with inadequate contracts and pay. They often live in difficult conditions, and lack appropriate initial training, continuous professional development, and consistent support. They are sometimes victims of discrimination and even violent attacks.

Teaching could be an attractive, first-choice profession – if teachers were valued commensurate with the immense value they provide to our children, and if their professional status as educators reflected the enormous impact their profession has on our shared future.

That means providing them with continuing training and development to support them in their critical role of educating all children, in all contexts – including the poorest, most remote communities, and in communities in crisis. It means compensating them properly and giving them the tools they need to do their indispensable jobs. It means putting in place policies that safeguard and reinforce the status of teachers – beginning by giving teachers a place at the table and an active role in decision-making that affects their work. And it means improving the efficiency and effectiveness of education systems at every level.

Fifty years ago today, these principles were laid down in the landmark 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which resulted in the first international standard-setting instrument on teachers. Since that day, we have made tremendous progress in elevating the status of teachers – but far more work remains to be done.

We dedicate World Teachers’ Day 2016 to celebrating this milestone by reaffirming our commitment to the standards and aspirations it represents – and by redoubling our efforts to achieve them. The teachers of the world – and the children of the world – deserve nothing less.

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G25 Publications

Kenya hold first Mr & Miss albinism pageant

Yahoo 'secretly scanned customer emails' for the US government

Barack Obama told to 'go to hell' by Philippines President Duterte

World Teachers’ Day: UN speaks about Valuing them and improve their Status

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