08/21/18

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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

Two soldiers, police officer, civilian killed by gunmen during kidnap attempt in Rivers

On Monday, August 20th, unknown gunmen gunned down two soldiers, one police officer and a civilian in a failed attempt to kidnap expatriates at Sterling oil exploration site at Ogbemakoku/Iyak in Abua-Odual Local Government Area of Rivers state.

See the graphic photos below...



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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

A new lawsuit accusing Google of tracking people’s locations against their will has served as a reminder that every movement of most smartphone users is being recorded, often without their knowledge.

The California man who filed the suit claims that the tech behemoth continued to track the whereabouts of Android smartphone users even after they turned off “location history”.

But the history of geolocation and the privacy issues it raises are as old as the mobile phone itself.

Early days

Before smartphones arrived more than a decade ago, it was still possible to use geolocation. Mobile phones constantly connect to local antenna towers, and by triangulating the signals the user can be found — as Jeff Goldblum illustrated in the 1996 movie “Independence Day”.

However smartphones brought about a far simpler way to track people: GPS.

GPS revolution

After the release of the first iPhone revolutionised the industry in 2007, GPS — Global Positioning System using satellites — became prevalent, and it is now included on all smartphones.

Most apps now use location tracking, and not just for obvious purposes like maps and transport. It’s also used for dating, food delivery and gaming, such as Pokemon Go, which became hugely if briefly popular across the world in 2016.

Trackers on 75% of apps

As the popularity of apps using geolocations grows, so does their money-making potential.

For example, when tourists use their phone to explore, they can be targeted with advertising not just from the country they are in but also the city and even the street they are standing on.

A 2014 study by CNIL, the French government’s techonology consumer protection body, showed that between a quarter to a third of apps had access to the phone’s location.

By 2017, a study by Yale University found that three-quarters of Android apps contained trackers — usually containing advertising.

The CNIL study also found that some apps tracked the phone’s location more than a million times over a three-month period — accessing the informamation about once per minute.


Even flashlight apps

The new Google lawsuit is far from the first time privacy concerns have been raised over geolocation. In 2011 fellow tech giant Apple faced a lawsuit over location tracking on its ubiquitous iPhones and iPads.

And there are also national security concerns.

In July of this year, researchers found that the fitness app Polar had revealed sensitive data on military and intelligence personnel from 69 countries. The app later disabled the function.

Just months before another health app, Strava, was found to have showed potentially sensitive information about US and allied forces around the world.

But the problem includes apps that don’t even need to track the users’ location.

Some simple flashlight apps have been discovered to have been secretly sharing location information.

AFP/LR News

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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has urged Nigerians to resist the temptation of voting,  in the 2019 elections, for those who will return the country into throes of massive looting.
Mohammed made the appeal on Tuesday in a Sallah message delivered at a media briefing at his home town, Oro, near Ilorin in Kwara.
“The year 2019 is the year of decision for Nigeria.
“It is the year that the critical decision will be made as to whether Nigeria will continue along the path of development, in all ramifications (social, economic, political, etc), that this administration has embarked upon since 2015, or the country will retrogress and backslide to the throes of massive and primitive looting and lack of development.”
Mohammed appealed to Nigerians to be vigilant and not yield the space to naysayers, adding that the gains made by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in the past three years must be preserved.
“Nigeria must continue on its present trajectory to sustainable growth and development. Never again must we go back to Egypt.”
The minister thanked Nigerians for their perseverance support for the administration and gave an assurance that their sacrifice for the nation would not be in vain.
He expressed optimism that with the support of the people, the 2019 elections would be a walkover for Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“As we approach this critical fork on the road, I have no iota of doubt that the good people of Nigeria will choose the path of development, having seen the commitment, sincerity and patriotism of this administration.
“It is clear, from all indications, that Nigerians are not going back to Egypt.
“Because of the support of the people, our party will win, even with a wider margin in 2019, thus sealing the fate of the naysayers.”
Mohammed noted that the fear of Buhari’s impending victory in the forthcoming elections explained why naysayers and looters had been running from pillar to post and desperate to thwart the victory of the APC.
On why Buhari should be returned to power, the minister said that the administration had done what no other Administration had done in the history of Nigeria.
He said the APC government was putting the country firmly on the path of sustainable growth and development in all areas, including infrastructure, economy, agriculture and the fight against corruption.
“While the trend in Nigeria had been to put money in the pocket of a few to the detriment of the masses, this administration has embarked on a massive redistribution of the nation’s wealth.
“Never again will a privileged few corner the nation’s commonwealth! The nation’s resources are being spent for the benefit of the people.”
He said the administration had embarked in unprecedented massive infrastructural development.
“The whole country is one huge construction site. Roads are being constructed in all the six geo-political zones.
He said the administration had built over 700 kms of roads, rehabilitated about 650 kms and delivering many rail projects.
The minister said the administration championed a huge revolution in agriculture, especially with one of national staples, rice.
“His Administration has employed 500,000 unemployed graduates under its Social Intervention Programme (SIP). No government in our country’s history has ever done that.
“This administration has been daily feeding 8.5 million school children in 23 states and providing N10,000 every two months to over 300,000 families as social security for the most vulnerable.
He said the administration had recorded unprecedented feat in the power sector, generating to 7,000 megawatts and distributing 5,000 megawatts.
On the fight against corruption, he said the Buhari government had been unrelenting and driving corruption under the table.
Furthermore, he said that the administration was confronting the security challenges with uncommon determination.
“From Benue to Zamfara, the spate of killings has fallen drastically, though this is not making the kind of headlines made by the killings that were mostly orchestrated by those who are mortally opposed to the administration.
Our gallant troops are scoring victory after victory against the vestige of Boko Haram, which has been massively degraded and put on the run,” he said.
NAN reports that the minister earlier joined other Muslim faithful to observe the Sallah prayers at the Oro Central Eid ground.
The Oro monarch, Oba AbdulRafiu Ajiboye and the Vice-Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem, were among the dignitaries at the prayer ground.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
Asia Argento
Italian actress and sexual abuse campaigner Asia Argento denied Tuesday having had a sexual relationship five years ago with an underage teen, calling the allegations part of “a long-standing persecution”.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Argento, 42, a Harvey Weinstein accuser and leading figure in the #MeToo movement, had paid actor and rock musician Jimmy Bennett $380,000 over the alleged 2013 incident at a Los Angeles hotel.
Bennett was two months past his 17th birthday at the time of the alleged encounter, while Argento was 37. The legal age of consent in California is 18.
Jimmy Bennett
“I strongly deny and oppose the contents of the New York Times article… as circulated also in national and international news,” a statement issued by her agent said.
“I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false. I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett,” it goes on.
Argento says that she was linked to Bennett “during several years by friendship only”.
The pair had acted together in the 2004 film “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things”, in which Argento plays Bennett’s troubled mother.
Argento said the friendship “ended when, subsequent to my exposure in the Weinstein case, Bennett… unexpectedly made an exorbitant request of money from me”.
Argento became a powerful voice for the #MeToo movement after accusing Hollywood producer Weinstein of raping her when she was 21 in his hotel room in 1997 during the Cannes film festival.
Argento goes on to say that her boyfriend, the late chef Anthony Bourdain, “was afraid of the possible negative publicity that such a person, whom he considered dangerous, could have brought upon us”.
“We decided to deal compassionately with Bennett’s demand for help and give it to him. Anthony personally undertook to help Bennett economically, upon the condition that we would no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life,” the statement said.
“This is, therefore, the umpteenth development of a sequence of events that brings me great sadness and that constitutes a long-standing persecution,” Argento said, before pledging to take “all necessary initiatives for my protection before all competent venues”.
Bennett’s legal action was launched a month after Argento’s accusations against Weinstein were made public, according to the New York Times report, which added that his lawyer claimed his client recalled the hotel encounter after seeing Argento present herself as a victim of sexual assault.
Argento made an emotional speech at this year’s Cannes festival, telling the audience: “Things have changed. We are not going to allow you to get away with it.”
Weinstein’s lawyer Ben Brafman has sought to capitalise on the allegations against Argento, accusing her of “duplicity” and “a stunning level of hypocrisy”.
On Monday police in California said that Argento was not currently under active investigation over the Times report but that “enquiries will be made”.
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Hackers linked to Russia’s government tried to target the websites of two right-wing U.S. think-tanks, suggesting they were broadening their attacks in the build-up to November elections, Microsoft said.
The software giant said it thwarted the attempts last week by taking control of sites that hackers had designed to mimic the pages of The International Republican Institute and The Hudson Institute. Users were redirected to fake addresses where they were asked to enter usernames and passwords.
There was no immediate comment from Russian authorities, but the Kremlin was expected to address the report later on Tuesday. It has regularly dismissed accusations that it has used hackers to influence U.S. elections and political opinion.
Casting such allegations as part of an anti-Russian campaign designed to justify new sanctions on Russia, it says it wants to improve not worsen ties with Washington.
“We’re concerned that these and other attempts pose security threats to a broadening array of groups connected with both American political parties in the run-up to the 2018 elections,” Microsoft said in a blog post overnight.
The International Republican Institute has a roster of high-profile Republican board members, including Senator John McCain of Arizona who has criticised U.S. President Donald Trump’s interactions with Russia, and Moscow’s rights record.
The Hudson Institute, another conservative group, has hosted discussions on topics including cybersecurity, according to Microsoft. It has also examined the rise of kleptocracy, especially in Russia and has been critical of the Russian government, the New York Times reported.
“They (the Russians) are pursuing attacks that they perceive in their own national self-interest,” Eric Rosenbach, the director of the Defending Digital Democracy project at Harvard University, told the New York Times.
“It’s about disrupting and diminishing any group that challenges how Putin’s Russia is operating at home and around the world.”
Microsoft’s report comes amid increasing cyber-tensions between Moscow and Washington ahead of the congressional votes in November.
A federal grand jury in the U.S. indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers in July on charges of hacking the computer networks of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russia’s role in the 2016 election and whether Trump’s campaign team colluded with Russians during the vote. Russia denies meddling in the elections while President Trump has denied any collusion.
Microsoft said its digital crimes unit (DCU) had acted on a court order to take control of six internet domains created by a group known variously as Strontium, Fancy Bear and APT28, which it said was associated with the Russian government.
As well as the two think-tanks, other home pages had been set up to mimic the websites of the U.S. Senate and Microsoft’s own Office software suite, it added.
The type of attack is known as “spear fishing,” in which the hackers trick victims into entering their username and password into the fake site in order to steal their credentials.
“To be clear, we currently have no evidence these domains were used in any successful attacks before the DCU transferred control of them, nor do we have evidence to indicate the identity of the ultimate targets of any planned attack involving these domains,” Microsoft said on the blog.
Facebook said late last month it had removed 32 pages and fake accounts from its platforms in a bid to combat foreign meddling ahead of the U.S. votes.
The company stopped short of identifying the source of the misinformation. But members of Congress who had been briefed by Facebook on the matter said the methodology of the influence campaign suggested Russian involvement.
Reuters/LR News
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

Pope Francis will meet victims of clergy sexual abuse during his trip to Ireland this weekend, the Vatican said on Tuesday, as scandals in several countries mire the Catholic Church in its worst credibility crisis in more than 15 years.
Last week a grand jury in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania released the findings of the largest-ever investigation of sex abuse in the U.S. Church, finding that 301 priests in the state had sexually abused minors over the past 70 years.
The damning U.S. report, combined with scandals in Australia and Chile, have coalesced to form what one Vatican official called “a perfect storm” not seen since the first abuse crisis erupted in Boston in 2002.
On Monday, Francis wrote an unprecedented letter to all Catholics, asking each one of them to help root out “this culture of death” and vowing there would be no more cover-ups.
Spokesman Greg Burke told reporters at a briefing on the Aug. 25-26 trip that details of the meeting would not be announced until after it was over and it would be up to the victims if they wanted to speak afterwards.
This is normal procedure for when the pope meets victims of clergy abuse during his trips outside Rome.
The main purpose of the trip to Ireland, the first by a pope in nearly 40 years, is to close a week-long international Catholic gathering on the theme of the family that takes place every three years in a different city.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

The Presidency said President Muhammadu Buhari has demonstrated his fitness to run for a second term by trekking 800 metres from the Eid-praying ground in Daura to his private residence.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports after the Eid-prayers, President Buhari shunned protocol and opted to trek some 800 metres, acknowledging cheers from Nigerians, who lined up on his home route to catch a glimpse of him.
One of the aspirants interested in the president’s office is Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state. He said last week that President is “too old’’ to continue to rule the country beyond 2019.
According to Tambuwal, President Muhammadu Buhari is just too old to be Nigeria’s leader, despite his integrity and impeccable character. Tambuwal stated this during a solidarity visit of students and youth in Sokoto, last week.
Tambuwal said: “We love President Buhari and that was why we supported him in 2015 unconditionally, and while doing that, we are too sure that he will seek re-election after his first term, but when things are wrong we have to tell him.
“We still believe in his integrity, patriotism and courage but these are not enough for a leader.
“We all know that there is a vacuum in the government occasioned by his disposition probably because of his old age or health condition.
“That is why Nigerians are yearning for younger ones to lead this country.’’
However, Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said the trekking by the president was a positive response to Tambuwal’s diatribe.
“I think there are two things here; one is to say that the President is responsive to the enormous support and commitment of his own people that had come out in their numbers to see him and he just decided that he couldn’t go on riding in a black vehicle and he came out and walked to the distance.
“The second thing, he is curious that these days, one or two people who are aspiring to be president are campaigning on their youthfulness and good health.
“I think the president has done one thing today – that the issue is not how old one is but how fit he is ; how healthy he is. Now that the president has proven his fitness and well-being to continue in office is a settled matter
“I think that if people want to campaign against him they should do so on issues that are of significance to Nigerians. The President is fit, he is healthy; he is good to go for second term,’’ he said. LR News
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has given the Oyo State Government an ultimatum of seven days to begin repairs on Fresh FM’s building which was demolished on Sunday or face legal action.

SERAP in an open letter to the state government asked it to “immediately halt all further eviction and demolition of the Fresh FM building and to show full respect for the safety and dignity of residents and the owner of Fresh FM”.

The letter was dated August 21, 2018, and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Timothy Adewale.

“We also urge you to immediately begin repairs of the Fresh FM building and to adequately compensate the radio station and its owner and publicly guarantee non-repetition,” SERAP added.

The group called on the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, to ensure full and effective respect for the rights to freedom of expression and media freedom in the state.

It said, “We request that you take this step within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter, failing which SERAP will take national and international legal actions to compel your government to act in the public interest and the overall interest of the rule of law.”

SERAP’s statement comes a day after the state government insisted that the demolition of the building followed due process.


The Special Adviser to the governor on Physical Planning and Development Control, Waheed Gbadamosi, said the building contravened the planning laws of the state, and the owner was duly informed through various means.

Although the state government rejected claims that politics led to the demolition, SERAP insists that it had information that suggests that the action was based on “political considerations”.

“The demolition was neither done in the public interest nor carried out to achieve a legitimate aim,” it said.

It added that the demolition had “created a high level of uncertainty and anxiety among many radio stations and other media organisations in Oyo State about the future because of the likelihood of their buildings being demolished when they are deemed to broadcast views which the Oyo State authorities may consider too critical or ‘defamatory’”.
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