Icetruck

Low success rate for government online ID service

A government system used to confirm the identities of citizens online is failing to work for most of those trying to register.

Gov.uk Verify is designed to prove someone's identity when they log in to access services, such as applying for universal credit or paying tax.

But Cabinet Office statistics show the system verified less than 50% of users.

Labour MP Jon Trickett has called its performance "shocking" and "inefficient".

However, the government said the success rate "compares favourably" with other online identity services and was saving the taxpayer money.

The government took six years to develop the Verify system, which went live in May 2016 – three years later than planned.

When people go to the Gov.uk website, they can pick one of a number of companies to "verify" them, giving personal details to, for example, Barclaycard or the Post Office to run a check.

• Visit the Gov.uk Verify site

Once it has verified the user's identity, the company lets the government know they are who they say they are.

Users can access 15 government services so far through Verify – if they register successfully – including personal tax accounts, checking state pensions and vehicle licensing. The plan is to increase this number in both private and public sector services.

The Government Digital Service – in charge of its development – has set a target to reach 25 million registered users by 2020 and wants it to become the default system, replacing the likes of Government Gateway.

However, 18 months after its launch, it has only 1.5 million registered users.

And a written parliamentary question by Mr Trickett revealed less than half of the users trying to register with the system were getting verified.

In its best performing month, January 2017, 49% passed through the system successfully, but this had fallen to as low as 32% in June 2016.

The last available statistics showed a success rate of only 38% for August 2017.

'Saved taxpayer money'

Parliamentary under-secretary at the Cabinet Office Caroline Nokes also published the statistics for the best performing certified company, which saw the success rate rise to between 64% and 74%, although she did not name it.

"It is just not good enough," said Mr Trickett. "It is one of the most inefficient uses of taxpayers' money you could imagine.

"This is a system using individuals' data. They are human beings, and the success rate of this system with their data is troubling."

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said it "remains confident" in its target as it continued to "innovate and improve" on the system.

"Verify has already saved the taxpayer over £110m – more than double the amount it has cost to deliver," she said.

"We are committed to rolling out Verify and continue to work towards signing up 25 million users by 2020, making it easier for people to access the services they need."

Source – bbc.com

'Anne Frank' children's costume sparks controversy

Online retailers are removing a children's costume from websites after facing a backlash over its portrayal of teenage Holocaust victim Anne Frank.

Several sites have ceased selling the outfit, while others continue to market it as a "World War Two evacuee girl".

The costume – a green beret, blue dress and brown satchel – has been criticised on social media for being insensitive.

Anne Frank's famous diary tells of her life as a German Jew in hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam in World War Two.

Its account of the two years her family spent living in a secret annexe of her father's business premises have made her a household name around the world, and she has come to symbolise courage, optimism and determination.

The Franks were eventually betrayed, arrested and transported to the Auschwitz camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.

• In pictures: World's most-read diary
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Anne and her sister Margot were later taken by train to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany in early 1945. They died just months later.

Otto Frank, Anne's father, was the only family member to survive the war.

People have been taking to Twitter to share their outrage at how such a symbolic figure could be used by fancy dress companies and advertised on websites among a catalogue of Halloween costumes.

Skip Twitter post by @Far_Right_Watch

.@funcostumes Anne Frank? You have got to be joking, right?
How in the world is this 'fun' ??? pic.twitter.com/CsWr7DV1wr

— Far Right Watch (@Far_Right_Watch) October 15, 2017

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End of Twitter post by @Far_Right_Watch

Images shared on social media show the costume was initially advertised on sites such as HalloweenCostumes.com – which uses the Twitter handle @funcostumes – as a "WW2 Anne Frank Girls Costume".

"Now your child can play the role of a World War Two hero," the original description reads. "It comes with a blue button-up dress, reminiscent of the kind of clothing that might be worn by a young girl" at the time, it adds.

Carlos Galindo-Elvira, Arizona regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted that there were better ways to commemorate Anne Frank.

"We should not trivialise her memory as a costume," he wrote.

Another user, Lola, wrote that marketing Anne Frank in such a way was "absurd".

Skip Twitter post by @lolasky2014

@funcostumes pls explain how this is a) fun & b) Halloween costume? Are the @AnneFrankTrust aware of this absurdity https://t.co/mBHej8j2nA

— Lola❤???✡ (@lolasky2014) October 15, 2017

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End of Twitter post by @lolasky2014

Halloweencostumes.com later removed the outfit and a spokesman for the retailer, Ross Walker Smith, apologised for "any offence it may have caused".

"We sell costumes… for many uses outside of the Halloween season," Mr Walker Smith wrote, adding that user feedback had been "passed along".

Skip Twitter post by @RossWalkerSmith

pic.twitter.com/IdoB15TpRZ

— Ross Walker Smith ? (@RossWalkerSmith) October 16, 2017

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End of Twitter post by @RossWalkerSmith

The product has also disappeared from the Walmart website.

However the costume is still available on sites such as Amazon, where it is described by the seller as "perfect for carnivals, theme parties and Halloween".

The latest controversy is not the first to involve a Halloween costume.

In 2015, US supermarket Walmart caused outrage for stocking an Israeli army Halloween outfit for children at a time of spiralling violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

In 2014, tens of thousands of people took to social media to debate whether an Ebola-themed Halloween costume was making light of the tragic health epidemic afflicting West African countries.

Source – bbc.com

Afghanistan Taliban suicide attacks kill dozens

Suicide bombers and gunmen have stormed a police training centre in the eastern Afghan city of Gardez, killing at least 41 people.

Some 110 civilians and 48 police were injured. The interior ministry said the local police chief was among the dead.

The Taliban said it was behind the attack, and is being blamed for a second assault in neighbouring Ghazni province.

The violence there left 30 people dead, most of them security personnel.

At least 10 others were wounded.

Casualty numbers from both attacks could yet rise further.

A bloody day for Afghan police

The violence at the Gardez police headquarters in Paktia province began when a suicide bomber detonated a car filled with explosives, before a number of gunmen launched an assault on the building.

Security forces battled the militants for several hours. At least five of the assailants were killed, the interior ministry said in a statement.

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The compound contains the headquarters of the national police, border police and Afghan National Army.

The victims included "women, students and police", Gardez public health director Hedayatullah Hamidi told AFP news agency.

Many were civilians who had gone to the site to get their passports and national IDs, the Paktia governor's office said.

The local hospital has called on people to donate blood, saying it is "overwhelmed".

University students queued at the medical centre to answer the plea, a photographer at the scene reported.

About 100km (62 miles) away, Ghazni police chief Mohammad Zaman said "dozens of Taliban" had died in the assault there.

There is no independent confirmation of the claim. The pattern was similar to the Gardez attack.

Armoured Humvee vehicles filled with explosives were detonated near the provincial governor's office, before gunmen moved in.

The bloodshed comes just days after police in the capital, Kabul, said they had arrested a would-be suicide truck bomber, averting a major incident.

The truck was carrying almost three tonnes of explosives and two bombs, which had been hidden under boxes of tomatoes.

Afghanistan's army and police have suffered heavy casualties this year at the hands of the Taliban, who want to reimpose their strict version of Islamic law in the country.

In April, then Defence Minister Abudullah Habibi and Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim both resigned after a devastating Taliban assault on an army base outside the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif.

About 10 Taliban insurgents dressed in Afghan military uniforms made their way into the base and opened fire. Around 170 Afghan soldiers are believed to have died.

The country suffered another bloody assault just a month later in May, when a truck bomb killed more than 150 people in Kabul.

Source – bbc.com

AI used to detect breast cancer risk

US scientists are using artificial intelligence to predict whether breast lesions identified from a biopsy will turn out to cancerous.

The machine learning system has been tested on 335 high-risk lesions, and correctly diagnosed 97% as malignant.

It reduced the number of unnecessary surgeries by more than 30%, the scientists said.

One breast cancer specialist said that the research was "useful".

The machine learning system was trained on information about such lesions, the system looks for patterns among a range of data points, such as demographics, family history, biopsies and pathology reports.

"Because diagnostic tools are so inexact, there is an understandable tendency for doctors to over-screen for breast cancer," said Regina Barzilay, MIT's Delta Electronics Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and a breast cancer survivor herself.

"When there's this much uncertainty in data, machine learning is exactly the tool that we need to improve detection and prevent over-treatment."

First study

In the US alone, 40,000 women die from breast cancer each year, but when cancers are found early enough they can often be cured.

Mammograms play a crucial role in detecting such cancers but they also throw up false positives, such as lesions that appear suspicious.

Once operated on, many such lesions turn out to be benign.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to apply machine learning to the task of distinguishing high-risk lesions that need surgery from those that don't," said Constance Lehman, professor at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Breast Imaging Division at MGH's Department of Radiology.

"We believe this could support women to make more informed decisions about their treatment, and that we could provide more targeted approaches to health care in general."

Debashis Ghosh, a consultant breast surgeon based at the Royal Free London hospital, said the technology was good but may be of more use in the US than in the UK.

"Here we have less than 5% of patients who have these surgeries, whereas it is 30% in the US.

"We try to make a definite diagnosis before we operate but this technology is definitely useful where there is a lack of expertise."

The research is being conducted by scientists at Harvard Medical School, the Massachusetts Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Source – bbc.com

Patent battle pits iPod father v Android creator

A legal battle over use of a smartphone technology has pitted two Silicon Valley leaders against each other.

Keyssa – a start-up funded by Tony Fadell – has claimed its wireless data-transfer tech was stolen by Essential – a smartphone manufacturer founded by Andy Rubin.

Mr Fadell co-developed the original iPod and Nest's smart home kit, while Mr Rubin helped create and develop the Android operating system.

Essential has yet to comment.

Neither of the two entrepreneurs are named in the legal papers filed so far, but their links to the companies involved are likely to ensure the case has a high profile.

The two men briefly overlapped at Google in 2014, where both served as senior executives.

Keyssa was founded in 2008 and has developed a new way to transmit data at high speeds from one device to another.

Its metal-free solution, called Kiss Connectivity, is marketed as being more secure and power-efficient than Bluetooth and wi-fi, and less prone to wear and tear than a wired connection.

Keyssa alleges that it discussed and shared information about its tech with Essential over a 10-month period before the phone-maker opted to use a rival company's chip to connect a camera accessory and dock to its handset.

In doing so, Keyssa alleges, Essential made use of its trade secrets and breached a non-disclosure agreement.

"Keyssa has not been compensated for Essential's use of this guidance and know-how," it said in a statement.

"We are pursuing this action because our attempts to resolve this matter through discussions with Essential have not been successful."

Essential told the Reuters news agency it had yet to receive the legal paperwork and would not comment before doing so.

The development coincides with news that Apple faces a $440m (£334m) payout in a separate patent dispute over communications technologies used in its Facetime video chat app and other software.

The sum claimed by Virnetx is about $140m more than last reported but less than the initial award. The latest sum takes account of the fact that a judge has ruled that Apple's infringement was "wilful".

Apple told the Techcrunch news site that it planned to appeal.

Source – bbc.com

Petr Pavlensky: Russia artist held over Paris bank fire

A controversial Russian artist who was granted political asylum in France has been arrested after setting fire to a bank in central Paris, police say.

Petr Pavlensky was held early on Monday as firefighters tackled two blazes on the facade of Banque de France, in Place de la Bastille.

Pavlensky, 33, first gained notoriety by nailing his scrotum to Moscow's Red Square in 2013.

He fled Russia in January over sexual assault allegations, which he denies.

Last year he was found guilty of criminal damage for dousing the doors of the headquarters of Russia's powerful security service, the FSB, in petrol and setting them on fire.

After being handed a half-a-million rouble (£5,400; $7,850) fine and released, he hit out at surveillance in Russia, saying society was being controlled by "uninterrupted terror".

Pavlensky's latest project left the Banque de France branch with minor damage and closed until further notice, a bank spokesman told AFP news agency.

Read more

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It is not clear what his intention was, but the self-proclaimed political artist was quoted as saying that "the bankers taken the place of monarchs".

He was taken into custody along with his partner Oksana Shalygina for causing "damage by fire", AFP quoted police as saying.

Previous projects have seen him wrapping himself in barbed wire, sewing his lips together and leaping naked onto the wall of a psychiatric institute to lop off his earlobe.

Source – bbc.com

Catalonia: Spain detains two separatists

A Spanish judge has jailed two key members of the Catalan independence movement.

Jordi Sánchez and Jordi Cuixart, who lead prominent separatist groups, are being held without bail while they are under investigation for sedition.

The men were leading figures in the 1 October independence vote, which the Madrid government regards as illegal.

A protest over the detentions has begun in Barcelona and other demonstrations across Catalonia are expected later.

Mr Sánchez, who heads the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), a pro-independence organisation, and Mr Cuixart, leader of Omnium Cultural, appeared before the High Court in Madrid on Monday.

They are being investigated over a protest on 20 September in which a crowd blocked Civil Guard officers inside a building in Barcelona, Catalonia's regional capital.

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How the Spanish press sees it

El Periódico (Barcelona, unionist): "The 'process' had been having an incredibly quiet few days. That was until the news of the detention without bail for the presidents of the two main pro-independence civil society organisation, Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart, which has shaken up the landscape in a way that should have been registered by seismographs."

Ara (Barcelona, pro-independence):"With separatists and the Spanish government looking to see who moves the next piece, the National Court turned over the table yesterday".

La Vanguardia (Barcelona, moderate pro-independence): "The decision of the magistrate adds a new, inopportune and worrying element of tension to the conflict that opposes the Catalan government and the Spanish government. Now it will be more difficult to reach agreement through dialogue."

El Mundo (Madrid, unionist): "The rule of law continues its struggle against secessionist claims, which suffered important blows yesterday."

Following the referendum, Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont signed a declaration of independence, but halted its implementation to allow negotiations.

He has called for talks to take place over the next two months.

However, the Spanish government has warned that Catalonia must revoke the declaration or face direct rule from Madrid.

Mr Puigdemont has also angered Madrid by refusing to clarify whether or not he declared independence last week.

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Mr Puigdemont, who has been given until Thursday to clarify his position, hit out at the government on Twitter following news of Mr Sánchez and Mr Cuixart's detention.

"Spain jails Catalonia's civil society leaders for organising peaceful demonstrations. Sadly, we have political prisoners again," he wrote.

In a video recorded before his court appearance and released on his Twitter account after his detention, Mr Cuixart instructs separatists to "never lose hope because the people of Catalonia have earned their future".

Pro-independence supporters have called for further protests, demanding the men's release.

Just hours before the ruling, the High Court freed the head of Catalonia's police force, Josep Lluis Trapero.

His force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, is accused of failing to help Spain's Guardia Civil police tackle thousands of pro-independence protesters in Barcelona during the run-up to the referendum.

Prosecutors had called for him to be held in detention.

Source – bbc.com

Raqqa: IS 'capital' falls to US-backed Syrian forces

A US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters says it has taken full control of so-called Islamic State's one-time "capital" of Raqqa.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman Talal Sello said the fighting was over after a four-month assault.

Clearing operations were now under way to uncover any jihadist sleeper cells and remove landmines, he added.

A formal declaration of the city's "liberation" and the end of three years of IS rule is expected made soon.

Earlier on Tuesday, the SDF cleared the last two major IS positions in Raqqa – the municipal stadium and the National Hospital.

Reuters news agency reported that fighters raised the flag of Popular Protection Units, a Kurdish militia that dominates the SDF, inside the stadium and celebrated in the streets and chanted slogans from their vehicles.

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Dozens of foreign militants were believed to have made their last stand in the stadium, while 22 were reportedly killed in the final attack on the hospital.

Up to 300 militants were thought to be holding out on Sunday, after Syrian jihadists and their families were evacuated under a deal negotiated by tribal elders.

"Everything is finished in Raqqa, our forces have taken full control of Raqqa," Mr Sello told AFP news agency on Tuesday afternoon.

"The military operations in Raqqa have finished, but there are clearing operations now under way to uncover any sleeper cells there might be and remove mines."

IS seized Raqqa in early 2014, months after it became the first Syrian provincial capital to fall to the rebels in the civil war, and made it the headquarters of its self-styled "caliphate".

Raqqa was transformed by the group, which implemented an extreme interpretation of Islamic law and used beheadings, crucifixions and torture to terrorise residents who opposed its rule.

At the same time, Raqqa became home to thousands of jihadists from around the world who heeded a call to migrate there by IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

About 15,000 SDF fighters, supported by US-led coalition air strikes and special forces on the ground, began an operation to capture Raqqa last November.

The encircled the city before breaching IS defences on the outskirts in June.

Source – bbc.com

Google removes cupcake calorie counter from Maps

Google has decided to remove an update to Maps that shows users how many calories they would burn if they walked to their destination.

It follows what the search giant described as "strong user feedback" with many criticising the feature as patronising, shaming and a possible trigger for eating disorders.

The pink cupcake calorie counter was also lambasted as being unscientific.

It will be removed by the end of the day, Google has confirmed.

The experimental feature was rolled out on the iOS version of Google Maps, beneath walking directions.

It told people how many calories they would burn if they walked and what that was in terms of cupcakes.

Image Copyright @sandhya__k @sandhya__k Report

Twitter user Taylor Lorenz summed up the attitude of many when she tweeted that the feature could be "extremely triggering" for someone with eating disorders.

She also criticised it because it could not be turned off, and for being "wildly inaccurate" because it failed to take into account general health information.

Skip Twitter post by @TaylorLorenz

Do they realize how extremely triggering something like this is for ppl who have had eating disorders? Not to mention just generally shamey

— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) October 17, 2017

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End of Twitter post by @TaylorLorenz

Skip Twitter post 2 by @TaylorLorenz

Also these "calorie estimates" take nothing about you or ur health into account so they're just wildly inaccurate and useless in general imo

— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) October 17, 2017

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End of Twitter post 2 by @TaylorLorenz

Priya Tew, a member of the Association of UK Dietitians said: "Although it is good to encourage people to walk more, having the calories used on Google Maps does not seem to be the best way to do this.

"Firstly it encourages competition, trying to burn more calories each day which could be triggering for some people who have a tendency to over-exercise. Secondly it could make people feel shamed that they have not walked far enough or burned enough calories.

"If people want to count their calories then they should be given the option to do this, rather than it being enforced."

Source – bbc.com