Russia may target the media in countries like India and Brazil to interfere in their elections, an Oxford University social media expert has alleged before US lawmakers.

The remarks by Philip N. Howard, a statutory Professor of Internet Studies at the Oxford Internet Institute and Balliol College at the University of Oxford came during a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Foreign Influence on Social Media platforms. Howard, however, did not elaborate further about his allegations.

The situation could be more dangerous in those countries where the media is not as professional as that of the US, he said. Howard’s mention of likely Russian interference in the Indian and Brazilian elections through their media, without any further explanation, came in response to a question from Senator Susan Collins after he gave some examples of such interference in the Hungarian media.

“The United States actually has the most professionalised media in the world. It’s learned certainly to evaluate their sources and no longer report tweets as is given,” Howard said.

“I would say that the greater concern would be amongst the media institutions in our democratic allies. I believe that the Russians have moved from targeting us, in particular, to Brazil and India; other enormous democracies that will be running elections in the next few years,” Howard said.

UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN Security Council is poised to back a US proposal aimed at removing some of the hurdles that tough sanctions on North Korea have thrown up in the way of delivering humanitarian aid, according to documents obtained by AFP.

North Korea’s humanitarian crisis has left about 10 million people — nearly half of the population — undernourished, according to UN officials, who have reported a drop in food production last year.

UN resolutions specify that sanctions should not affect humanitarian aid but relief organizations argue that strict trade and banking measures are creating bureaucratic obstacles and slowing down the flow of vital supplies.

A US proposal put forward last month would provide clear instructions to aid organizations and governments to apply for UN sanctions exemptions for North Korea, according to the text seen by AFP.

After weeks of negotiations, the UN sanctions committee is expected to give final approval to the new guidelines on Monday.
Once approved, a notice will be sent to the UN’s 193 member-states by the committee “to provide a clear explanation of its comprehensive humanitarian exemption mechanism” which will “improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance to DPRK,” according to the documents.

The White House on Wednesday acknowledged that India has invited US President Donald Trump to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade in 2019, but said no decision has been taken at the moment.

“I know that the invitation has been extended, but I don’t believe a final decision has been made,” press secretary Sarah Sanders said in response to a question at the daily press briefing.

She added that defence secretary James Mattis and secretary of state Mike Pompeo will travel to India in September “and will begin the dialogue and the process and potential discussion for a presidential visit later in the year”.

Mattis and Pompeo will travel to New Delhi to September 6 for the inaugural 2+2 ministerial dialogue with defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former spy chief installed after Robert Mugabe’s removal in a coup in November, was elected on Thursday after a poll marred by the deaths of six people in an army crackdown on opposition protests.

After two days of claims and counterclaims, the 75-year-old Mnangagwa secured a comfortable victory, polling 2.46 million votes against 2.15 million for 40-year-old opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.

The election, the first since the army’s removal of 94-year-old Mugabe, passed off relatively smoothly but its aftermath revealed the deep rifts in Zimbabwean society and the instinctive heavy-handedness of the security forces.

On Wednesday, troops backed by armoured vehicles and a military helicopter were sent in to crush demonstrations by stone-throwing opposition supporters who said Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF party had rigged the elections.

Six people were killed as soldiers, some with their faces obscured by camouflage masks, opened fire with automatic weapons.

Over 43,000 inhabited villages in India are without mobile phone services, Telecom minister Manoj Sinha said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

The number of inhabited villages without mobile services stood at 43,088 as on 27 July, 2018 (based on a 2018 survey), out of 5,97,618 inhabited villages in the country, as per census data from 2011, Sinha told the lower house of Parliament.

"Wireless technologies inter-alia include 2G, 3G and 4G technology. 2G mobile network covers 97 percent of population, while 3G, as well as 4G mobile networks, cover at least 88 percent of population of the country," Sinha added.

Firstpost decodes the state of wireless connectivity in the country, across urban agglomerations and in the hinterland.

WPP has announced investments in its business in India, in line with its long-term growth objectives in this important market.

As part of this, GroupM, the world’s leading media investment group, will move to full ownership of the mobile marketing agency Madhouse, from its current 50% interest. Madhouse has offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and its clients include some of India’s leading brands.

Mobile marketing and media consumption is exploding with the growing access to devices, driven by a lower cost of devices and data plans. This acquisition will provide GroupM clients enhanced access to innovative mobile solutions, ad products and targeting technology. In addition, WPP companies Sudler, Wunderman and Y&R, which now operate as joint venture agencies with Rediffusion, will be developed as wholly-owned agencies, with WPP selling its stakes in the current Rediffusion joint ventures. There will be no change to Wunderman's existing India businesses.

Amidst tensions in bilateral ties, the US Congress has passed a defence spending bill capping its security-related aid to Pakistan at USD 150 million, significantly below the historic level of more than USD one billion per year.

The National Defense Authorisation Act-2019 (NDAA-19), however, removes certain conditions – like action against Haqqani Network orthe Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) -- as was the case in the past few years for disbursement of US aid to Pakistan.

The Senate passed the conference report on NDAA-19 by 87 to 10 votes yesterday afternoon. The House of Representatives had passed the conference report last week. It now heads to the White House for President Donald Trump's assent.

"The legislation reduces the total amount of funds provided for reimbursement to Pakistan to USD 150 million. This is a significant reduction from the USD 700 million that was authorised through Coalition Support Fund (CSF) last year," Anish Goel, who was part of Barack Obama's White House National Security Council, told PTI.

Akshay Venkatesh, a renowned Indian-Australian mathematician, is one of four winners of mathematics' prestigious Fields medal, known as the Nobel prize for math.

The Fields medals are awarded every four years to the most promising mathematicians under the age of 40.

New Delhi-born Akshay Venkatesh, 36, who is currently teaching at Stanford University, has won the Fields Medal for his "profound contributions to an exceptionally broad range of subjects in mathematics."

France's parliament Wednesday signed into law a controversial asylum and immigration bill despite opposition on the left which decried an effort to limit arrivals while the far right saw the measure as not going far enough.

The bill is designed to accelerate asylum procedures by cutting the maximum processing time to 90 days after entering France from 120 currently.

The text was adopted on a final reading by 100 votes in favour to 25 against with 11 abstentions.

The senate had rejected the bill on Tuesday, but the lower house passed the text as President Emmanuel Macron's La Republique En Marche party holds a large majority, even if the law has exposed divisions within his own camp.

As well as slimming down the time taken to overcome administrative hurdles the text cuts to six months, from 11, the time limit to make an asylum claim while facilitating both the expulsion of those rejected and the acceptance of those whose bid succeeds.

"We are giving ourselves the means of preserving a right to asylum which, had nothing been done, could rapidly have been called into question as one fears may happen in a number of European countries," Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told parliament.

Rajasthan has become the first Indian state to implement the national policy on biofuels unveiled by the centre in May this year. High-power Biofuel Authority approved this implementation.

Soon, the State Government will release Biofuel Rules for 2018.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BIOFUEL NATIONAL POLICY:

The State Government will be putting emphasis on increasing production of oilseeds
Further, the State Government is promoting research in the fields of alternative fuels and energy resources
Biodiesel plant with a capacity of eight tonnes per day has already been installed in the state
There would be further emphasis on biofuel advertisements by the state government to create awareness about the same
Women's self-help groups (SHGs) will be created by the State Rural Livelihood Development Council to encourage the use of biofuels.

If would also help farmers to dispose off their surplus stock in an economic manner and would also reduce the country's dependence on oil imports.

Also read: Seaweed energy could help save the world more than solar or wind energy

It encourages setting up of supply chain mechanism for biodiesel production from non-edible oilseeds, used cooking oil and short gestation crops.

WHAT IS BIODIESEL?
Biodiesel is an alternative fuel which can be used in place of fossil fuels
It is manufactured from vegetable oils, recycled grease, algae, and animal fat
USES OF BIODIESEL:
It can be used in diesel-powered cars, trucks, tractors, boats, shipping equipment, irrigation systems, mining equipment, electrical generators and all those applications where diesel is typically used.

Representational Image
SOME MORE FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BIODIESEL:
Biodiesel can be used in diesel engines with little or no modification
It is a renewable fuel
It can be produced locally
It is produced through a chemical process called transesterification, in which glycerine is separated from the fat or vegetable oil
The process of transesterification leaves behind two products -- methyl esters and glycerine -- which can be sold for the preparation of soaps and other products.

It is biodegradable
It is non-toxic
While burning, it emits 60 per cent less carbon dioxide
The energy that biodiesel produces is approximately 90 per cent of the energy produced by petroleum diesel
It is also used in non-engine applications such as to remove paint
Also read: How are fuel prices calculated in India and why are they sky high?

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