The two top aides who resigned are Joint chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill who formed part of May's small inner circle and were blamed by many Conservatives for the party's lackluster campaign and unpopular election platform.
Theresa May's Chief of Staff resigns after election results
AFCON Qualifier: South Africa defeats Nigeria 2 - 0 (Photos)
The Bafana Bafana of South Africa defeated Gernot Rohr’s men 2-0 at the Goodswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State with goals from Tokelo Rantie and Percy Tau.
This win is officially the first time South Africa will defeat Nigeria in a competitive game in 13 attempts.
Nigeria will meet Seychelles in the next qualifier and Gernot Rohr, Nigeria's Franco-German tactician will have to motivate his team ahead of the next game if they aim to be present in the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations to be staged in Cameroun in 2019
More photos below...
WTF?? Did someone hack Amber Rose's IG page? (18+)
.
NSA leak: Russian hackers attacked US voting system
Report leaked on same day officials announced charges against US contractor for sharing classified information.
Russian hackers attacked at least one US voting software supplier days before last year's presidential election, according to a classified government intelligence report leaked on Monday that suggests election-related hacking penetrated further into US voting systems than previously known.
The "Top Secret" National Security Agency (NSA) report, which was published online by The Intercept, does not say whether the hacking had any effect on election results.
It does say, however, that Russian military intelligence attacked a US voting software company and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials at the end of October or beginning of November.
US intelligence agencies declined to comment.
The Intercept's report of the leaked document was published shortly before a government contractor was arrested on suspicion of leaking classified information to an undisclosed news organisation.
The document, according to The Intercept, said Russian military intelligence "executed cyber espionage operations against a named US company in August 2016 evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions, according to information that became available in April 2017".
The hackers are believed to have then used data from that operation to create a new email account to launch a spear-phishing campaign targeting US local government organisations, the document said.
"Lastly, the actors [sent] test emails to two non-existent accounts ostensibly associated with absentee balloting, presumably with the purpose of creating those accounts to mimic legitimate services."
The information in the leaked document seems to go further than the US intelligence agencies' January assessment of the hacking that occurred.
"Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards," an assessment said earlier this year.
The US Department of Homeland Security "assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying".
The Intercept contacted NSA and the national intelligence director's office about the document and both agencies asked that it not be published.
US intelligence officials then asked The Intercept to redact certain sections. The Intercept said some material was withheld at US intelligence agencies' request because it wasn't "clearly in the public interest".
The authenticity of the May 5 NSA document, which The Intercept said it obtained anonymously, could not be confirmed.
 |
| Reality Winner was arrested for leaking a classified report to an online news organisation [AP Photo via Instagram] |
The leaked document was reported on the same day the Justice Department announced it had charged government contractor Reality Leigh Winner, 25, with leaking a classified report containing "Top Secret level" information to an online news organisation.
The report Winner allegedly leaked is dated May 5, the same date as the document The Intercept posted online.
Winner's lawyer, Titus Thomas Nichols, declined to confirm whether she is accused of leaking the NSA report received by The Intercept.
He also declined to name the federal agency for which Winner worked.
"My client has no [criminal] history, so it's not as if she has a pattern of having done anything like this before," Nichols said in a phone interview Monday. "She is a very good person. All this craziness has happened all of a sudden."
In affidavits filed with the court, special FBI agent Justin Garrick said the government was notified of the leaked report by the news outlet that received it.
Garrick said the agency that housed the report determined only six employees had made physical copies. Winner was one of them. Garrick said investigators found Winner had exchanged email with the news outlet using her work computer.
Garrick's affidavit said he interviewed Winner at her home Saturday and she "admitted intentionally identifying and printing the classified intelligence reporting at issue" and mailing it to the news outlet.
Asked if Winner had confessed, Nichols said, "If there is a confession, the government has not shown it to me."
Former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by US President Donald Trump last month, is expected to testify before an intelligence committee this week on the issue of
Google loses more advertisers over hate videos
Google still has a major problem with extremist and hate videos.
Three advertisers -- Etihad Airways, Marriott, Deliveroo and the U.K.'s Labour Party -- have pulled their spots from YouTube after discovering they were shown alongside videos made by a hate preacher.
Google-owned YouTube has been under mounting pressure in recent months after more than a dozen organizations pulled their ads over similar complaints.
Etihad, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, said in a statement that it was "appalled" by the content of the videos.
"This content is abhorrent, deeply disturbing and the issue needs to be resolved by Google and all other media partners," it said in a statement.
Marriott (MAR) said it has stopped running ads on YouTube in Britain "for the time being" and is taking steps to make sure its ads do not appear with inappropriate content in the future.
Deliveroo said it was "extremely concerned." It said it has withdrawn its ads until YouTube takes action "to improve its content control and protect its viewers and advertisers."
The latest round of advertiser defections was first reported by The Times.
The newspaper said that Mastercard (MA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and New Balance have also pulled their ads. Those companies did not respond to requests for comment from CNNMoney.
Weight Watchers (WTW), also mentioned in The Times report, said it would "not fund this type of activity" and added that it was "not currently" running ads on YouTube.
YouTube, meanwhile, said that it has made progress in addressing the issue.
"We've been conducting an extensive review of our advertising policies -- and in recent weeks have made significant changes that give brands more control over where their ads appear," a spokesperson said.
YouTube sells ad time to companies, and their spots are slotted to play before videos. Advertisers don't directly control where their ads are placed, although they can specify the demographics they'd like to target.
YouTube relies heavily on viewers to flag content. With 300 hours of content a minute uploaded, some fall through the cracks.
The company said that while "no system will be 100% perfect," it has taken steps to "further safeguard our advertisers' brands."
The latest round of advertising suspensions included three major political parties in the U.K. The country will hold a general election on Thursday.
The Times reported that the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats had asked for their ads to be removed from the site. The Labour Party confirmed it had taken similar action.
"We will be raising this issue with YouTube and have paused all adverts until we are satisfied Google have taken steps to make sure this does not happen again," the party said in a statement.
In March, Google (GOOGL, Tech30) faced an advertiser exodus after spots from major brands and the U.K. government ran alongside content from extremist groups.
At the time, the British government summoned the tech firm to explain why taxpayer-funded ads were used on content including videos from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
Google and Facebook (FB, Tech30) own huge chunks of the digital advertising business, and major brands are spending an increasing share of their ad budgets on their platforms.
Companies are becoming cautious about where their advertisements appear, however. Vodafone (VOD) announced plans on Tuesday to prevent its ads from running on sites that carry hate speech and fake news.
Comey: White House spread 'lies, plain and simple'
Ousted FBI director says he was fired to undermine probe into Russia-Trump collusion in 2016 presidential campaign.
Former FBI Director James Comey has accused President Donald Trump of firing him to undermine his investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election and its ties to the Trump campaign.
"It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation," Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.
Testifying under oath in a hearing watched worldwide, the former FBI boss said he believed he was dismissed "to change, or the endeavour was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted".
Comey also accused the Trump administration of spreading "lies, plain and simple" about him and the FBI after his abrupt sacking, by claiming the bureau was in disorder under his leadership.
"Those were lies, plain and simple," he said.
But in more than two hours of testimony, Comey would not say whether he thought the president sought to obstruct justice.
Marc Kasowitz, Trump's personal attorney, said Comey's testimony "finally confirmed publicly" that the president was not under investigation.
He also denied that Trump had asked Comey for loyalty or to drop a FBI probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn's links with Russia.
'Stunned'
In his testimony, Comey said he was "confused and increasingly concerned" by Trump's shifting explanations for his dismissal, saying Trump had repeatedly told him he was doing a "great job".
Comey said it was not for him to decide whether the president's actions amounted to an obstruction of justice, a serious crime that could lead to impeachment. However, he called the president's pressures "a very disturbing thing, very concerning".
It was a Democrat, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who asked the question that many Republicans have raised in the weeks since Comey's firing, as one media leak followed another revealing Comey's claims about Trump's inappropriate interactions with him.
Alluding to an Oval Office meeting during which Comey says Trump asked him to pull back the Flynn probe, Feinstein asked: "Why didn't you stop and say, 'Mr President, this is wrong'?"
Comey responded: "That's a great question ... Maybe if I were stronger I would have. I was so stunned by the conversation I just took it in."
He also described his concerns that Trump was trying to create a "patronage" relationship with him at a dinner during which Trump asked if he wanted to keep his job.
In a startling disclosure, Comey also revealed that he gave one of his memos about Trump to a friend of his to leak to the press in the hope that it might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.
"My judgment was I need to get that out into the public square," Comey said.
He told senators he had decided he must document every meeting he had with Trump, with a written record because he was "honestly concerned that he [Trump] might lie about the nature of our meeting.
"I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened, not only to defend myself but to protect the FBI."
Kasowitz, Trump's lawyer, seized on the admission, accusing Comey of "unauthorised disclosures" of "privileged communications" with the president.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, also hit back, telling reporters: "I can definitely say the president’s not a liar."
In his testimony, Comey said he leaked memos of his conversations after a tweet by the president suggested he may have taped the conversations.
Comey said he did not know if there were tapes of his conversations with Trump, but that they should be made public if they existed.
"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey said.
 |
| The hearing was watched all over the world [Justin Sullivan/AFP] |
The former FBI director also stressed the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia did indeed meddle in the 2016 election.
"There should be no fuzz on this. The Russians interfered," Comey said firmly. "That happened. It's about as unfake as you can possibly get."
Russia has denied such interference and the White House has denied any collusion.
Trump stayed off social media while the drama played out in Congress, but his son, Donald Trump Jr, fired off a series of tweets attacking Comey.
Taylor Swift to Spotify: You belong with me
So much for never, ever, ever getting back together.
Taylor Swift has returned to Spotify and other streaming services.
Swift shook off Spotify in 2014, after the release of her "1989" album, because she said streaming services didn't pay artists enough.
"I'm not willing to contribute my life's work to an experiment that I don't feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists and creators of this music," she said at the time.
She announced her return in an Instagram post late Thursday. Her music will also appear on Tidal and Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) Music.
"In celebration of 1989 selling over 10 Million Albums Worldwide and the RIAA's 100 Million Song Certification announcement, Taylor wants to thank her fans by making her entire back catalog available to all streaming services tonight at midnight," the caption to a photo of Swift read.
Swift's decision means Apple Music loses its exclusive access to her tunes.
She has taken that service to task, too. In 2015, she criticized Apple Music for not paying artists for songs streamed during a customer's three-month trial. Apple (AAPL, Tech30) reserved the decision, and Swift later appeared in ads for Apple Music.
Some fans found the timing of Swift's return interesting. Her rival Katy Perry released her new album, "Witness," on the same day.
The pair have had "Bad Blood" for years. In fact, fans have long believed Swift wrote the song about Perry.
Perry has spoken out about the tension with her former friend.
"There's a situation," Perry told "Late Late Show" host James Corden last month while appearing with him on "Carpool Karaoke." "Honestly, it's really like she started it, and it's time for her to finish it."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
Davido has gone back to basics and it is paying off big time. Just a few hours ago he released his second single of the year – “ Fall ...
-
The National Park Service will drain the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool this weekend after approximately 80 ducklings were found dead,...
-
November 21, 2017 6:15pm GMT caiphus jnr @mkaydacaiphus #MugabeResigns Proud to announce that ..am finally going back home...S...
