mlnews

mlnews

Turkey's Wikipedia ban ends after almost three years

Turkey is restoring access to Wikipedia after a ban that lasted almost three years.
The country's Constitutional Court ruled that the ban violated freedom of expression, the pro-government newspaper Milliyet reported. The online encyclopaedia was blocked in Turkey in April 2017, after it refused to delete articles critical of the country's government. The ban lasted 991 days, said internet-monitoring organisation NetBlocks.org.The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs the service, had refused to remove articles that said Turkey's government had cooperated with the so-called Islamic State (IS) group and al-Qaeda in Syria.

mlnews

White House 'broke law' by withholding Ukraine aid, says watchdog

The White House broke the law by withholding aid to Ukraine that had been approved by the US Congress, a government watchdog has said.
The ruling from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a blow to President Donald Trump as he faces an impeachment trial in the Senate. He is accused of freezing aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate a political rival. Ukraine has opened a probe on separate allegations linked to the impeachment."Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the decision by the GAO said. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) "withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA)," the ruling continued.

mlnews

Trump launches fresh attack on Apple over privacy

US President Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on Apple.
He tweeted that the company was refusing to unlock iPhones "used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements". On Monday US Attorney General William Barr accused Apple of not being helpful in an inquiry into a shooting that is being treated as a terrorist act. It is the latest in a series of clashes between the White House and technology giants over access to data. Mr Trump accused Apple of refusing to co-operate with investigators despite his administration helping the company on trade and other issues.

mlnews

What happened in the Democratic debate?

There have been nine official Democratic debates but this one had a real sense of urgency - in less than three weeks the candidates will face their first test.
The primary season begins on 3 February with the Iowa caucuses, when the Democratic voters in this state will pick who they want to take on Donald Trump in November. As the six White House hopefuls took to the debate stage in Des Moines, the Republican US president they have in their sights was mocking them at a rally 400 miles east in Wisconsin. Here are some key moments from the debate - and the Trump rally. The biggest news story in campaign politics over the past few days was the growing tensions between the two most liberal candidates, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Warren had alleged that Sanders told her in December 2018 that a woman couldn't win the presidency - something Sanders denied.

mlnews

Grindr and Twitter face 'out of control' complaint

Dating app Grindr and a Twitter-owned advertising-tech firm have been accused of unlawfully sharing users' data.
It is part of a wider investigation by the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) into the "out of control" advertising industry and profiling of customers. Along with four other ad-tech companies, they face huge fines if found to be in breach of EU data laws. Grindr has yet to respond but Twitter said it had temporarily disabled the relevant account. "We are currently investigating this issue to understand the sufficiency of Grindr's consent mechanism. In the meantime, we have disabled Grindr's MoPub account," it told BBC News.

mlnews

Iran nuclear deal: European powers trigger dispute mechanism

European powers have triggered a formal dispute mechanism over Iran's breaches of key parts of the 2015 nuclear deal - a move that could spell its end.
Iran has gradually lifted all limits on its production of enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons. It has said it is entitled to do so in response to sanctions reinstated by the US when it abandoned the deal in 2018. France, Germany and the UK said they did not accept Iran's argument. The mechanism, set out in article 36 of the deal, involves the dispute being referred to a Joint Commission that will have a minimum of 15 days to resolve the issue.

mlnews

Microsoft ends Windows 7 support: What should you do?

Cyber-security experts are urging Windows 7 users to upgrade their operating system.
Microsoft is going to stop supporting Windows 7 from Tuesday so that it can focus on "newer technologies". As a result, Windows 7 users will no longer receive the all-important security updates and patches that keep their machines safe. One in four Windows users is running Windows 7, according to statistics website StatCounter. It means that Microsoft is ending the cat-and-mouse game with hackers seeking to exploit software bugs in the Windows 7 operating system. If perpetrators find a flaw in Windows 7, Microsoft will not fix it. Without continued software and security updates, Windows 7 machines are more likely to be infected with viruses and malware, Microsoft wrote on its website.

mlnews

US reverses China 'currency manipulator' label

The US has reversed its decision to brand China a currency manipulator as the two countries prepare to wind down their trade war.
The US said it made the change because China had agreed to refrain from devaluing its currency to make its own goods cheaper for foreign buyers. Washington and Beijing are expected to sign that "phase one" pact this week. The deal is aimed at de-escalating the tit-for-tat tariff war the two countries have engaged in since 2018."China has made enforceable commitments to refrain from competitive devaluation, while promoting transparency and accountability," US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said. President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused China of allowing the value of the yuan to fall, making Chinese goods cheaper.

mlnews

CES 2020: Segway’s prototype wheelchair crashes at tech show

Segway's prototype wheelchair crashed during a demonstration at the CES tech show.
The S-Pod - a self-balancing electric wheelchair - was being tested by a journalist at the time. The rider had accelerated the vehicle before accidently crashing into a wall. Its maximum speed is 24mph (38km/h). The company said no one was injured. The crash made the S-Pod unavailable for further demos, but analysts say the company should not face lasting damage. "In no way is a [malfunction] a total loss. It is still a sign to the public that the company is close to the finished product," said Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research. The S-Pod is designed to be driven in enclosed spaces such as airports, theme parks and work campuses.

mlnews

Boeing 737 Max: Worker said plane 'designed by clowns'

The release of a batch of internal messages has raised more questions about the safety of Boeing's 737 Max.
In one of the communications, an employee said the plane was "designed by clowns". The planemaker described the communications as "completely unacceptable". The 737 Max was grounded in March 2019 after two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed almost 350 people in total. Boeing said it had released the hundreds of redacted messages as part of its commitment to transparency. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and US Congress were given unredacted versions of the communications last month.