Sec 57 being kept in Digital Security Act in one way or the other

The draft of the ‘Digital Security Act’, which has incorporated certain provisions of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act’s controversial Section 57, is likely to be placed before the cabinet meeting today, Monday.

ICT secretary Subir Kishore Choudhury confirmed this to Prothom Alo.

In the face of widespread criticism from different quarters, the government has decided to abolish Section 57 of the ICT act.

According to the proposed Digital Security Act, once the draft act will come into effect, the sections 54, 55, 56, 57 and 66 of the ICT act will stand abolished.

But for all practical purposes, the much-criticised Section 57 is not going to be abolished as the “crimes” defined by the much-criticised Section 57 of the ICT act is being kept in the Digital Security Act in one way or the other.

The draft of the Digital Security Act shows that the crimes as defined by the Section 57 has been divided and kept separately in four sections of the Digital Security Act.

With this, the draft of the Constitution (17th amendment) Act 2018 is also likely to be placed before the cabinet meeting in order to keep the seats reserved for women for 20 years in parliament. 

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Google displays smiling pictures of users

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Photo sharing and storage service Google Photos is rolling out short video collages called "Smiles of 2017" that displays smiling pictures of the users accompanied by a song in the background.

"With Google Photos, you can even make sure that every one of those happy moments is saved and backed up online. And now you can enjoy looking back at all those happy moments over the last year in a new 'Smiles of 2017' movie," Android Police reported on Tuesday.

The videos has been reportedly rolled out for some users.

However, it is not known if the feature will make its way for all users.

Users can open the Google Photos app and tap the "Assistant" icon at the bottom of their screen to check whether the feature is available or not.

Google Photos service was announced in May 2015 and spun out from Google+ -- the company's social network.

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Fake news should be tackled collectively: Facebook

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Although Facebook is doing its job to tackle the fake news and polarised ads on its platform, the world needs a collective take on bad actors, be it state or non-state, to ensure the flow of high-quality information on social media, a top company executive said on Thursday.

Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit, Alex Hardiman, head of News Product at Facebook, said that there are several aggressive bad actors with sophisticated ways who are spreading misinformation and both traditional media outlets and social media platforms must come together to devise increasingly smart methods to deal with them.

"At Facebook, we are spending tremendous amount of time and energy to identify fake news. We are now sharing information with other big tech companies to find out the root cause. Facebook is going to increase head counts and investments to counter fake news in 2018," Hardiman told the gathering.

"All stakeholders, governments, third-party players, traditional media houses and social media giants, need to come under one umbrella to eliminate bad actors," emphasised Hardiman who has worked as vice president of News Product at The New York Times.

Facebook along with tech giants like Twitter and Google is facing intense scrutiny in the US after the company disclosed details about the presence of Russian political ads, tweets and posts on their platforms during the presidential election in 2016.

The Kremlin-linked Russian organisations purchased more than $100,000 of ads on social media platforms during the US election. Facebook told US Congress this month that 126 million of its users in the US might have seen ads produced and circulated by Russian operatives.

Not just the US, Facebook and Twitter have also agreed to share details with British authorities on Russia's interference in the Brexit referendum by using their platforms.

"Facebook is fully cooperating with the governments. I can't comment on the specifics but we are regulated, be it in the EU or the US. We will abide by the laws of the land. Back at the company, we are recalibrating efforts and will make sure that inclusive news goes out," she noted.

According to her, Facebook is identifying and blocking misinformation in myriad ways.

"Our Machine Learning (ML) tools are constantly eliminating fake accounts. Human reviewers are helping us spot nuanced information in sensenalised posts and ads. We are also doing third-party fact-checking to understand what is real and what is not," Hardiman said.

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ML techniques, Facebook is removing Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda-related terror content from its platform before anyone flags it, the social media giant said this week.

In its bid to help readers identify trustworthy news sources, Facebook along with Google, Twitter and several media organisations have joined the non-partisan "The Trust Project".

"The Trust Project" is led by award-winning journalist Sally Lehrman of Santa Clara University's Markkula Centre for Applied Ethics.

As part of the project, an icon will appear next to articles in Facebook News Feed. When you click on the icon, you can read information on the organisations' ethics and other standards, the journalists' backgrounds, and how they do their work.

"We are now deeply involved with media houses to identify false news as bringing both sides together will ensure high-quality news," the Facebook executive said.

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'Cigar-shaped asteroid came from another solar system'

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A rocky cigar-shaped object detected in space last month came from another solar system, astronomers said Monday as they confirmed an unprecedented observation.

The discovery may provide clues as to how other solar systems formed, said the researchers, who published their study in the British journal Nature.

The asteroid, named Oumuamua by its discoverers, is one-quarter mile (400 meters) long and highly elongated --perhaps 10 times as long as it is wide.

That odd shape is unprecedented among the some 750,000 asteroids and comets observed in our solar system where they formed, said the researchers.

They concluded that the cigar-shaped thing is from another solar system due to data on its orbit.

Asteroids like Oumuamua enter our solar system about once a year, these scientists said.

But they are hard to trace and had not been detected until now, thanks to stronger telescopes.

The detection suggests this object had been wandering through our galaxy, the Milky Way, unattached to any star system for hundreds of millions of years before it ran into ours.

"For decades we've theorized that such interstellar objects are out there, and now -- for the first time -- we have direct evidence they exist," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

"This history-making discovery is opening a new window to study formation of solar systems beyond our own," he added.

The asteroid was detected by a telescope in Hawaii. Oumuamua means messenger in Hawaiian.

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Researchers develop novel motion sensors

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Researchers have developed new motion sensors that could herald a near future of ubiquitous, fully integrated and affordable wearable technology.

"For sensor technology, you need it to be flexible, you need it to be affordable and you need it to be scalable," said Richard Liang, director of the High-Performance Materials Institute and professor at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in the US.

"This new technology is versatile and the sensors are affordable to print. It's a big innovation that presents many possibilities down the road."

In a paper, published in the journal Materials and Design, engineers from FSU's High-Performance Materials Institute, in collaboration with scientists from Institut National des Sciences Appliquées in Lyon, France, detail the properties and cost-effective manufacturing process of an advanced series of motion sensors made using buckypaper -- razor thin, flexible sheets of pure, durable carbon nanotubes.

The low-profile design could be integrated into bedsheets to monitor quality of sleep, shoes to track step count and posture or workout clothes to measure intensity of exercise.

Researchers also foresee potential applications beyond the realm of wearable technology. In the field of soft robotics, the material could facilitate advances in the production of responsive, self-correcting artificial muscles, the researchers said.

Moreover, the scalable sensors represent another step toward the long-predicted future of an "internet of things," where virtually all of an individual's computers, devices, garments, furniture and appliances are digitally connected to freely exchange information in the cloud.

"Most projects don't have this many possible applications. This material could be used in structural health monitoring, wearable technology and everything in between. I'm excited because this is something that can affect a lot of people in their everyday lives," said the lead author of the study Joshua DeGraff.

The novel sensor structure combines a strip of seven micron-thin buckypaper with silver ink electrodes printed from a common, commercially available ink-jet printer.

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While the technology might not be ready for prime time quite yet, researchers are energised by its promising future.

These new buckypaper sensors represent a marked improvement on current industry standards, with most sensors being either too crude or too inflexible to reliably monitor complex structures like the human body, the researchers added.

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Nearly 400 disappear in 9 yrs

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Some were at home and some were on their way to work when they were abducted by unidentified persons who introduced themselves as law enforcers. Some of them later were found dead, some returned alive, while most remain missing.

According to the Hong Kong based AHRC (Asian Human rights Comission) and the Bangladeshi human rights organization Odhikar, from January 2009 to September 2017, about 395 persons have disappeared in the country.

The dead bodies of 52 person among them were found, while 195 returned, and 148 still traceless.

The families of the disappeared persons allege the law enforcers are the abductors.

Read more: Aniruddha’s letter says nothing about his whereabouts

There are instances of murder and abduction for money, like the seven murders at Narayanganj.

Sheepa Hafiza, executive director of ASK (Ain o Salish Kendra), says, “The increasing number of abduction indicates that the state is no longer law abiding. Life is insecure. Anyone anywhere at any time - can be abducted.”

The government continues to deny the allegations. The home minister claimed, “There is no such thing as abduction. These people are in hiding to avoid arrest while their families term these as abductions.”

The National Human Rights Commission website mentions that 52 abductions took place from January to June of 2017.

Sheepa Hafiza said that the law enforcers claim that the people are disappearing on their own. She demanded an independent commission to provide details of these ‘mysterious abductions’.

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan told Prothom Alo that he did not receive any formal requests for investigations into these incidents. He says he will give the issue due consideration.

Concerning the allegations against the police, the home minister said, “If the law enforcers arrested anyone, they would present them before the court within 24 hours. Moreover, such allegations are always investigated.”

Who are the abducted?

Statistics show that the highest number of abducted persons are political activists or alleged militants.

Rickshaw pullers, truck drivers, as well as political leaders’ car drivers are on the list. Also on the list are labour union leaders, entrepreneurs, businessmen, bank officials, physicians, lawyers, technicians, NGO officials, law enforcers, university teachers, publishers, journalists and other professionals.

Very recently 12 persons, including university teacher Mubashar Hasan, journalist Utpal Das, assistant vice president of a bank Shamim Ahmed, and seven-time CIP Belarus honorary consul Aniruddha Roy, had disappeared.

Among the abducted, Shamim and Aniruddha returned, while two BJP (Bangladesh Janata Party) leaders were later declared ‘arrested’.

Mizanur Rahman, former chairman of NHRCB (National Human Rights Commission in Bangladesh), told ProthomAlo, “Giving the disappearances impunity has proven to be a curse for the state. If a state fails to provide secuirty to its citizens, public mistrust grows. The consequences are grim.”

At least six politically elected persons went missing from 2009 to 2017. A BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) member and ward councillor of Dhaka went missing in 2010. The other three are from Awami League including Benapole mayor Tariqul, Siddhirganj mayor Nazrul Islam and Jamalpur’s Sarishabari municipality mayor Mohammad Rokonuzzaman Rukon. Dead bodies of the seven persons abducted along with Nazrul were found in a river. Rukon was rescued from Srimangal while the others did not return.

About four persons associated with sensational murder cases were missing. Zamal Ahmed, witness to the murder ofAhsan Ullah Master in 2011, disappeared.

Tanvir Ahmed, administrative officer of Scholastica School went missing in 2012. A few days later he was shown as ‘arrested’ in the Sagar-Runi murder case.

Another accused of Sohagi Jahan Tonu murder case, Mizanur Rahman, was forcefully picked up from his residence in 2016. Two weeks later blindfolded Mizanur was rescued from the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.

In the same year, Kamrul Sikder Musa, prime suspect of SP (police super) Babul’s wife Mahmuda’s murder, went missing. His wife claimed that he was abducted.

Mostly political activists

On 11 July BNP published the names of 25 of its activist  who were abducted in Dhaka. Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir claimed 29 of its members were missing.

The abduction of BNP leader Ilias Ali and Salahuddin Ahmed created a sensation. Prior to that, Chhatra Dal leaders Iftekhar Ahmed Dinar and Junaid Ahmed had disappeared too. Dinar’s sister Tamanna termed the Dinar-Junaid abduction as a rehearsal for a series of abductions and commented it made Ilias Ali’s abduction easy.

From the end of 2013 to the national election in 2014, about 50 BNP activists were abducted.

RAB-11 (Rapid Action Batallion) allegedly abducted Laksham upazilla BNP leaders Saiful Islam, Humayun Kabir and Jasim Uddin from an ambulance in 2013. Though Jasim was handed over to Laksham police, Saiful and Humayun were not.

Humayun Kabir’s wife Shahnaz Akhter told Prothom Alo, “I don’t know whether my husband will return or not. My father-in-law filed a case, but died before seeing justice done. I hope I receive justice in my lifetime.”

Tejgaon thana BNP leader Sajedul Islam was abducted on 4 December 2013 from Dhaka’s Bashundhara residential area while two more were abducted from Shaheenbagh.

At least six activists of Awami League and affilialted organisations along with former leader of Chhatra Union Shamim Ahmed are also missing.

Awami League leader Mahfuzur Rahman was abducted in 2012 while the abductors introduced themselves as DB (Detective Branch) police. After three months he was shown ‘arrested’ in a theft case at Dhaka New Market police station.

In 2014, Jubo League leader Rakibul Islam was picked up from his Munsef quarters in Comilla. His family witnessed the scene. Rakibul’s father Abdul Matin, former army officer, freedom fighter and bodyguard to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, told ProthomAlo that his wife is on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Chhatra League leader Sheikh Moazzem Hossain was abducted from Bashundhara residential area in 2016. The abductors introduced themselves as law enforcers.

Law enforcers blamed

According to the Human Rights Commission statistics, RAB has been accused of involvement in 148 of the 395 abductions. The police allegedly abducted 46 while RAB and DB jointly 11, DB 106, industrial police 1, Ansar 1, and other law enforcing agencies 2.

Advocate Chandan Sarkar along with his driver were abducted as they witnessed mayor Nazrul’s abduction scene on 27 April 2014 at Narayanganj. On 27 April their floating corpses were found in the Sitalakhya River. The court sentenced 15 persons to death including the RAB Commander in connection with this horrific murder.

Dr Riyad Nasser Chowdhury was abducted from Mirpur in 2016. His family claimed he was abducted due to this relationship with the ex-wife of a former RAB official. CCTV footage of his abduction appeared in media. Riyad returned three weeks later and just like other returned persons he did not say anything about the abduction.

RAB's Legal and Media Wing Director Mufti Mahmud Khan told ProthomAlo, “There are no allegations against RAB. We are nabbing fake DB and RAB members every day. Our patrol cars are monitored from the headquarters. There is no chance for RAB to be involved in this.”

Human rights activist Nur Khan says, “Several law enforcers are accused of abduction. We do not know whether there has been any investigation.”

The National Human Rights Commission said that the commission sent letters to the home ministry concerning 35 occurrences since 2012. The ministry did not acknowledge 22 and replied only to 13 without any reference to the measures taken.

Advocate Shahdeen Malik told ProthomAlo, “The courts that indirectly help in abduction cannot mete out justice. So people lose faith in the state’s judiciary. This results in a rise in crime.”

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UK aims for driverless cars by 2021

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British finance minister Philip Hammond is to announce £75 million ($99 million, 84 million euros) funding for Artificial Intelligence and plans to put driverless cars on UK roads by 2021, in his budget speech on Wednesday.

Hammond will announce regulation changes to allow Britain’s driverless car industry, which the government estimates will be worth £28 billion by 2035, to get cars on the road within as little as three years, according to extracts of the budget released by his office on Sunday.

“Some would say that is a bold move, but I believe we have to embrace these technologies if we want to see Britain leading the next industrial revolution,” he told BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

The minister, who is under pressure to deliver an eye-catching budget following Brexit spats with cabinet colleagues, will also announce a £400 million fund for companies hoping to roll out electric-car charge points across the country.

People who want to buy a battery-electric vehicle will also be able to access funding as Britain attempts to move towards zero-emission transport.

With a focus on tech industries, the government is also planning to spend £75 million supporting companies developing AI and £160 million in developing 5G technology, which it believes will be necessary for the mass rollout of driverless cars.

However, the Conservative minister is likely to be judged more on his social spending policies, particularly on his housing policy in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster that killed 71 people.

He is expected to announce plans to build 300,000 homes every year, telling the Sunday Times that he will do “whatever it takes” to meet the target.

“That’s a big step up from where we are now,” he told Andrew Marr.

“There is no single magic bullet and it’s certainly not just about pouring money in, because if you pour money in without fixing the other elements of supply, you will simply create more house price inflation, that makes the problem worse, not better.”

Critics accuse the chancellor, nicknamed “spreadsheet Phil”, of being obsessed by facts and figures and lacking a grand vision.

“I recognise that I can’t use this budget just to trail a bunch of numbers, but must tell a story about where Britain is going,” he told the newspaper.

He has also come under fire for not using Britain’s low interest rates to borrow money and increase public spending, particularly on wage increases for public servants.

It was a key issue in June’s general election campaign, and helped Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pull off a stunning result that saw the Tories lose their parliamentary majority.

As a result, Hammond is set to announce a pay rise for NHS nurses, while an increase announced for police and prison officers was announced in September, signalling a shift away from the austerity policies that have dominated since the 2008 financial crash.

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