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Archives for September 2018

US police ‘using Tiger Text app to conceal evidence’

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Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit has discovered that a self-deleting messaging app called Tiger Text has been adopted by at least one US police department, which may have used it to share sensitive and potentially incriminating information that they wouldn’t want disclosed to a court.

Current and former officers from the Long Beach Police Department in Southern California have told Al Jazeera that their police-issued phones had Tiger Text installed on them.

The Tiger Text app is designed to erase text messages after a set time period. Once the messages have been deleted, they cannot be retrieved – even through forensic analysis of the phone.

The police officers who spoke with Al Jazeera said the confidential messaging system was used to share details of police operations and sensitive personnel issues.

Two of the officers claimed that they were also instructed by their superiors to use the app to “have conversations with other officers that wouldn’t be discoverable”.

They said they understood this to include exculpatory evidence that could be potentially helpful to attorneys in both civil and criminal proceedings against the department.

It’s a claim that the Long Beach Police Department denies.

But the officers say they were not surprised by the instructions, claiming that the discovery process within the police department was never on the “up and up”.

“I find it odd that we have a communication system that circumvents everything that we are supposed to be doing,” said one officer who is still with the department.

But “nothing surprises me working there”.

‘Institutional cover-up’
According to the research group Mapping Police Violence, the Long Beach Police Department ranked fifth in the nation for officer-involved shootings per capita in 2015.

Civil rights lawsuits have resulted in the city of Long Beach paying out tens of millions of dollars to the families of those shot.

One former police officer said he suspects this is what motivated the department to adopt the application.

“There have been a number of officer-involved shooting cases that have hurt the department,” he said.

“This is a way for them to conceal and get away with some of the negative things that affect their liability with these cases.”

Mohammed Tajsar, a lawyer with the ACLU, told Al Jazeera that he was shocked by the officers’ claims.

“If the department brass instructed members of the force to use Tiger Text to shield from the public the disclosure of sensitive messages about investigations into police killings, then this is an institutional cover-up of the highest order, designed to protect a department that is notorious for killing people,” Tajsar said.

Al Jazeera obtained financial records from the Long Beach Police Department that indicate that the Tiger Text system has been in place since at least 2014, with over 100 police personnel using the app.

More than 100 police personnel at the Long Beach Police Department have been using Tiger Text since 2014 [Al Jazeera]
One document from the City of Long Beach Purchasing Division describes the app as “a secure messaging platform for criminal investigations and confidential communications.”

All the officers Al Jazeera spoke to asked that their identity be kept confidential for fear of reprisals from the police department.

They say that the Tiger Text app was set to delete messages after a few days and that it was distributed to officers in specialised details and to all senior officers above the rank of lieutenant.

The ACLU believe that by using the app, the Long Beach Police Department could be breaking laws that require the preservation of records and the rules that require their disclosure during legal cases, potentially putting thousands of court verdicts at risk.

Al Jazeera’s investigation into the use of Tiger Text found that the Georgia Department of Corrections also began using the application in 2013.

But lawyers for the department quickly decided that its use would likely violate Georgia law, possibly breaching the state’s records retention legislation and most likely leading to court discovery violations.

Insufficient evidence
One Long Beach police officer told Al Jazeera that while he was working within the Department, he witnessed Tiger Text being used during an investigation into the police shooting of Jason Conoscenti in the Alamitos Beach neighbourhood in 2014.

The officers involved in the shooting were cleared of any wrongdoing after prosecutors found insufficient evidence to bring charges.

Al Jazeera spoke to several lawyers who have litigated against Long Beach. None were aware of the police department’s use of the Tiger Text app.

Nikhil Ramnaney, a deputy public defender with the Law Offices of the Los Angeles County Public Defender said his office might now be forced to review all Long Beach cases since 2014, adding: “I don’t know what information is in those Tiger Texts, it could be exculpatory, it could lend to practices that are unconstitutional or even illegal.”

In response to AJ Jazeera’s investigation, Long Beach Police Department said it “complies with all laws related to discovery, and any information relevant to a specific investigation would be documented and provided according to legal requirements”.

The department said it uses the Tiger Text application “to communicate confidential crime scene information, victim information, and personnel matters between department management personnel, as well as employees in specialised details”.

Joanna Schwartz, an expert on police litigation at the UCLA School of Law believes it is difficult to predict the legal problems that the use of a self-deleting app will bring for the Long Beach Police Department.

“The use of Tiger Text by the police makes it more difficult to bring winning civil cases against them and effectively to defend criminal cases. The immediate question is; is this the kind of police department that the City of Long Beach wants to have?”

Aljazeera

PKL: Puneri Paltan announces online ticket sales for home leg

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Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) franchise Puneri Paltan on Monday announced opening of online ticket sales for their home leg, starting from October 18 for the upcoming season.

The tickets can be obtained from BookMyShow and franchise’s official website. The offline ticket sales counter will start their sales two days prior to the beginning of the matches at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, according to a statement.

The first match in the home leg will be against Gujarat Fortune Giants.

Commenting on the occasion, CEO of Puneri Paltan Kailash Kandpal said: “We are privileged that we have such strong fan base who turn up in the stadium, in huge numbers, season after season.

“Puneri Paltan is ‘their’ team and we are a family of 1 million plus and growing. Last season, all the matches in Pune were houseful.

“We recognise their love and thank them for the unrivalled and solid support. As Vivo PKL has grown bigger and grander, the Paltan’s home matches would be one of the major sporting events that Pune would witness this year,” he added.

The sixth edition of the league will begin from October 7 in Chennai.

(IANS)

Asia Cup — India-Pakistan will be a 50-50 contest: Ganguly

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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday predicted that the high-voltage Asia Cup clash between India and Pakistan would be an even contest.

“It will be a 50-50 contest between India and Pakistan,” Ganguly said on the sidelines of a promotional event here.

India have a 6-5 win loss ratio at the Asia Cup and on Wednesday the Rohit Sharma led side would look to continue the momentum.

Asked if regular captain and star batsman Virat Kohli’s absence would be a factor, Ganguly said, “Virat Kohli’s absence won’t be a factor, they are a better side.”

India are the most successful side in the Asia Cup, having won the title a total of six times, while Pakistan have won twice.

The men in blue begin their campaign against Hong Kong on Tuesday, while Pakistan beat the same opponents by eight wickets on Sunday.

(IANS)

Brazil clinch spot in 2nd round of volleyball championship

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Brazil has defeated previously unbeaten Canada 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18) to guarantee themselves a berth in the second round of the Volleyball Men’s World Championship.

After losing 3-1 to the Netherlands on Sunday, the reigning Olympic gold-medallists rebounded in spectacular fashion in front of 3,000 people at the Ruse Arena on Monday.

The first set was fairly even and Canada led 12-10 at one stage before succumbing 25-22 to a Brazil side powered by Wallace’s nine points, reports Efe news.

Canada reacted in the second set, dominating throughout to prevail 25-19 before falling 25-23 in the hard-fought third set.

The Brazilians cruised to a 25-18 decision in the fourth set to seal the victory.

Wallace led all scorers with 24 points. Canada’s most effective player was John Gordon Perrin, who scored 18 points.

With Monday’s outcome, the Dutch continue to lead Pool B with 11 points, followed by Canada (9) and Brazil (8).

Sixteen of 24 teams (four from each of the four pools) will advance to the second round of the championship, which runs through September 30 at venues in Italy and Bulgaria.

(IANS)

India surpasses US and Japan in automation, AI adoption: Study

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Automation arrived long back in India and the country is now driving Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based technologies globally — even ahead of the US and Japan — a new study said on Tuesday.

According to “Augmented Human Enterprise” — an academic study conducted by Goldsmiths (University of London) and enterprise software provider Automation Anywhere — 71 per cent of Indian respondents said their employees used RPA and AI-based augmentation to its full potential — the highest proportion for any of the four markets surveyed.

While 66 per cent Indians said that they are empowered to take risks, 77 per cent said that their organisation prioritised employee development.

India also outscored other markets on employee engagement and (with an impressive 84 per cent) on employee listening.

“Think of the human body breathing. It’s a complex and critical mechanism but automated so our brains are freed to power everything else we do. I think for many organisations, all they can do is ‘breathe.’ It’s so important, it’s all the employees can focus on,” said Mihir Shukla, CEO at Automation Anywhere.

When that breathing is automated within the organisation, then employees can focus on so many creative and strategic issues and opportunities.

“It’s perhaps why this unique research shows that augmented organisations outperform non-augmented enterprises and have more ‘human’ workplaces,” Shukla added.

For the study, the research team surveyed senior business leaders from major enterprises in India, the UK, the US and Japan.

The team also interviewed leading automation and AI subject-matter experts, including technologists, CEOs, scientists and engineers.

They found that in global augmented workplaces, workers are 38 per cent more engaged than those in non-augmented workplaces.

Nearly 70 per cent of respondents said augmentation had improved the well being of their team while 80 per cent of those using AI and 78 per cent using RPA said it frees employees from repetitive work.

“While the hyped potential of AI generates endless headlines, technologies such as RPA are quietly being rolled out in many of the most productive companies around the world — humans and bots are already working alongside each other across the globe and in every sector,” informed Dr Chris Brauer, Director of Innovation in the Institute of Management Studies (IMS) at Goldsmiths, University of London.

The team highlighted that automation must be used to enhance employee skills and complement their working styles to derive the maximum benefit.

“India leads the way in reaping the benefits of augmentation, with 86 per cent of the respondents saying that automation has increased employee productivity,” said the study.

(IANS)

Typhoon Mangkhut toll reaches 74 in Philippines

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The death toll in the Philippines due to super typhoon Mangkhut increased to 74 on Tuesday as rescue teams continued to search for dozens of people buried in an abandoned mine due to landslides.

According to the latest figures provided by the National Police, 55 people were missing and 74 injured due to the strongest typhoon of the season, which lashed parts of Luzon island on the northernmost tip of the Philippines on Saturday, reports Efe news.

The highest number of casualties was reported from the mining town of Itogon in Benguet province, where massive floods and landslides buried a gold mine and four barracks where some miners and their families had been living illegally.

President Rodrigo Duterte visited the families of the victims in Itogon on Monday and handed over a cheque for 45,000 pesos ($832) to each of them, apart from providing material for basic necessities and aid for the last rites of the victims.

Three days after the passage of the devastating Mangkhut, more than 20,000 people remained displaced from their homes while an estimated 590,000 people have been affected by the storm.

Currently the four worst-hit provinces Abra, Benguet, Cagayan and Ilocos Norte have been declared to be in a state of calamity due to the scale of the damage caused by the typhoon.

Varun, Anushka signed as ambassadors of Skill India Campaign

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Actors Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma have been signed on to promote and endorse the Skill India Mission, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The actors through their film “Sui Dhaaga – Made in India” are saluting India’s entrepreneurs and skilled workforce, especially homegrown artisans, craftspeople and weavers.

The film highlights the untapped potential of India’s talented craftsmen and skilled workers at the grassroot level and the challenges and issues faced by them.

Varun and Anushka, the star cast of the film, have partnered with Skill India and will dedicate time to promote India’s skilled talent and their fine work by engaging with them in different parts of the country.

“Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, through this unique film ‘Sui Dhaaga – Made in India’, are bringing to focus the incredible skills and talent of our homegrown artisan and craftsmen community,” Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a statement.

“I wish this endorsement by both actors encourages and influences the youth to take up skill training and earn a better livelihood for themselves and help us in creating the New India envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Pradhan added.

Led by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Skill India aims to standardise vocational training — both new-age and traditional skills, and helps in the creation of the latest infrastructure, ensures industry partnerships to extend technology support to make the youth more employable and assists in creating opportunities of employment for the youth of the country.

Varun, who plays a tailor named Mauji, also said: “Our Prime Minister Modi has displayed incredible vision and genuine foresight in aiming to organise, skill, train and give financial support and backing to our craftsmen, artisans and similar workmen. We are proud to be promoting this campaign that we feel extremely close to like our movie ‘Sui Dhaaga…’ that celebrates self-reliance and entrepreneurship.”

To this, Anushka, who plays his wife and embroiderer Mamta, added: “Skill India Campaign reflects the government’s determination to include and support the talented skilled force of the country. While making ‘Sui Dhaaga…’, we came across so many stories of talented, skilled crafts people and artisans who don’t get a fair chance to showcase their talents.”

The film, directed by Sharat Katariya, is set to release on September 28.

(IANS)

Indian-American researcher awarded $6.5Mn to identify cancer biomarkers

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The US National Cancer Institute has give the “Outstanding Investigator Award” to Professor Arul Chinnaiyan, from the University of Michigan, and $6.5 million in funding over seven years, to identify cancer biomarkers to improve diagnosis and develop new targeted therapies.

“The field of precision oncology continues to evolve with the overarching goal of providing cancer patients with enhanced diagnostic and prognostic capabilities and better treatments,” Chinnaiyan, said in a statement, late on Monday.

“This grant will help us identify new biomarkers and understand their biological roles in cancer progression,” he added.

A pioneer in precision oncology, Chinnaiyan in 2010, launched the Michigan Oncology Sequencing (Mi-ONCOSEQ) programme.

Mi-ONCOSEQ is a research protocol for sequencing the DNA and RNA of metastatic cancers and normal tissue to identify alterations that could help drive treatment.

The programme includes a precision medicine tumour board in which experts discuss each case.

Chinnaiyan’s lab has also analysed the global landscape of a portion of the genome that has not been previously well-explored — long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs).

Earlier, considered as the dark matter, new evidence suggests that lncRNAs may play a role in cancer and that understanding them better could lead to new potential targets for improving cancer diagnosis, prognosis or treatment.

Chinnaiyan’s lab has also identified and explored several lncRNAs that could be promising targets for future therapy.

“We want to further characterise the dark matter of the genome. Some of these lncRNAs will certainly be very useful as cancer biomarkers and we think a subset are important in biological processes,” Chinnaiyan noted.

“We hope to make it commonplace for patients to have a molecular blueprint of their tumour to guide treatment choices.”

Mumbai-born Mahesh Bindra hopes for 2nd term in NZ parliament

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With his first three-year term as a Member of Parliament in New Zealand behind him, Mumbai-born Mahesh Bindra is biding his time for the next phase of his engagement in his adopted country’s public life.

“With some luck I might get a second term, but irrespective of that I enjoy being part of politics in a democratically vibrant country,” Bindra told IANS on the sidelines of the recently-concluded World Hindu Congress in Lombard near here where he was a special invitee.

Travelling to New Zealand with his wife and three children in 2002, Bindra has attained a position of political prominence after becoming an MP in 2014. From being a principal correctional officer at the Mount Eden prison, which then had 400 inmates, Bindra’s career took a political turn when he asked a tough question of Winston Peters, leader of the controversial New Zealand First party who is also the country’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, at a public gathering.

Peters and his party had the reputation for race-baiting and Bindra being an outspoken man wanted to find out the truth for himself. A candid exchange with Peters prompted the latter to invite Bindra to join the party and consider politics. “I come from a political family. My father was an active member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. When Peters asked me to consider a political career it seemed like a natural progression,” he said.

He became a member of NZ First in 2006 over cautions of fellow Indian immigrants, many of whom thought Peters and his party were racist. “I studied the party’s policies closely. In fact, Peters even asked me to make policy suggestions over immigration. My many interactions told me that the perceptions of NZ First being racist were unfounded and in fact Peters and others were open to suggestion,” he said.

When he first contested for parliament from the Mount Roskill constituency in the city of Auckland in 2011, he got 419 votes and was placed 21st on the party list. It was only after he began rising steadily that in 2014 he was elected to parliament under New Zealand’s rather complex electoral system. Although his first term ended last year, there are strong expectations that he will return in 2020.

During his term as MP, Bindra was appointed spokesman for Corrections, Customs, Ethnic Affairs and Land Information New Zealand.

In a country where the aboriginal Maori population constitutes about 15 percent of the total of 4.74 million people, Bindra won their hearts when he took his oath in the Maori language apart from English. He said the Maori members were “overcome” by his gesture. “I told them it was my way of respecting and acknowledging the original inhabitants of New Zealand,” he said.

Bindra said he is conscious of the fact that the Maori make up more than 50 per cent of the prison population and wants to continue his engagement to address the often unjust legal system. “Race relations in New Zealand are, by and large, healthy, but we have our own challenges. As an immigrant, I feel it is my duty to play my part in improving them, especially for the Maori people,” he said.

Bindra sees himself as a long-term politician dedicated to represent New Zealand in “the best possible way I can”. He believes that Indians in their adopted countries around the world must get involved in politics at all levels “because that is the best way to assimilate and get heard”.

(IANS)

Migration from Kerala declined 11% in 5 years: Study

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Factors like the declining population in the 19-25 age-group and stagnant wages in the Gulf countries could be responsible for migration from Kerala declining 11 per cent between 2013 and 2018, a new study says.

“Of the 2.1 million emigrants (from Kerala in the Gulf and elsewhere), 15.8 per cent are females. However, there is a reduction of 3 lakhs migrants, which is one-tenth of the number of migrants in 2013. In 2018, we reached a stage where migrants figures shown a negative growth of 11.6 per cent,” S. Irudayarajan, who led the Kerala Migration Survey (KMS) 2018 told reporters here on Monday.

The survery is the eighth in a series of studies on migration undertaken by the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) since 1998. CDS is an internationally renowned, self-governing institution known for its cutting edge research in applied economics and topics germane to socio-economic development. It was established in 1971 by the late Professor K.N. Raj, considered the archistect of India’s First Five-Year Plan (1951-56), and a former Vice Cancellor of Delhi University, with whom he was associated for 18 years.

Explaining the reason for the decline Irudayarajan said it could be due to the cumulative effects of the demographic advances which have decreased the population in the migration-prone age-group (15-29 years) as Kerala attained replacement fertility level in around 1987.

“Wages in the Gulf economies have not improved after the global economic crisis. This has led to lower savings, de-motivating them to migrate. Another reason is wages in the domestic economy have increased compared to other states,” said Irudayarajan.

Explaining further he said the price of oil, on which the Gulf economy is based has been declining since 2010.

“Although the last one year has seen a slight increase in oil price, the growth of the Gulf economy has suffered a major setback. Due to nationalisation policies such as Nitaqat and recently introduced family taxes in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies appear to be not that conducive for current and prospective migrants,” Irudayarajan noted.

The study was conducted through a survey of 15,000 households from January 1-March 31 and was funded by the Kerala government’s Department of Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs.

The study notes that 89.2 per cent of the total migrants from Kerala are in the Middle East countries.

In 2013 while there were 20.70 lakh migrants in the Middle East, the figure fell to 18.93 lakh in 2018.

The remaining 10 per cent of the emigrants are concentrated in the other countries like the USA, the UK, and Australia.

In 2013 there were 8.9 lakh in the UAE while in 2018 it stands at 8.30 lakh, followed by 5.22 lakhs in Saudi Arabia and falling to 4.87 lakh in 2018.

In Qatar, there has been an increase from 1.06 lakhs in 2013 to 1.86 lakhs in 2018 but in Bahrain there has been a fall from 1.49 lakhs in 2013 to 0.81 lakhs in 2018.

The study found that one in every fifth household in Kerala has a migrant, while among religious groups, one in every third household is a Muslim, one in five household is a Christian and one in 10 households is a Hindu.

The estimated total annual remittances to Kerala have been placed at 85,092 crore.

“Of the total remittances at state level, Malappuram district receives 21 per cent, followed by Kollam (15 per cent), and Thrissur (11 per cent),” added Irudayarajan.

Concluding his findings, he said the long history of migration from Kerala to the Gulf is in its last phase.

“However, remittances to the state have increased. This is due to the fact that Keralites’ in the Gulf have climbed the social ladder and are earning higher wages, allowing them to remit more. Thanks to the weakening rupee, families remit more. The KMS 2018, has also confirmed that the migration from Kerala is falling and return of migrants is on the rise,” added Irudayarajan.

On the study of return migrants as estimated by KMS 2018, it is 1.29 million, which is about 60 per cent of the number of emigrants.

“The KMS 2018, would be an invaluable pointer for further policy formation in terms of international migration and also employment schemes of the government. The last 20 years of KMS proved that almost 40 per cent of total remittances to the state were used by emigrants in land, housing and its assets.

“With the recent devastating floods, and the massive loss of physical capital and land value, migration can be conjectured to increase at least in the short run. We expect the trend will change after the floods as migration will play major role as a livelihood option for the New Kerala, where we expect further migration and remittances. This requires another quick assessment by the Government of Kerala,” said Irudayarajan.

(IANS)

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