The security chief of Jeff Bezos has accused Saudi Arabia of obtaining private information from the Amazon chief executive after allegedly gaining access to his phone. Gavin de Becker, a security specialist who has worked closely with Mr Bezos for 22 years, says that he was directed by the Amazon boss to “spend whatever is needed” to find out who was responsible for leaking his messages to Lauren Sanchez, a former television anchor who is reported to have been dating the world’s richest man. “Our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos’ phone, and gained private information,” Mr de Becker wrote in an article for The Daily Beast website on Saturday. In January, US tabloid The National Enquirer published a series of messages between Mr Bezos and Ms Sanchez shortly after he announced his planned divorce from wife of 25 years, MacKenzie Bezos. The Amazon chief executive struck back in … [Read more...] about Saudis hacked Jeff Bezos’s phone, says security chief of Amazon boss
Saudi arabia cyber attack
Bezos’ Sec Advisor Claims Saudis Hacked, Leaked Amazon CEO Intimate Messages
Saudi Arabia is responsible for leaking the personal information of Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon and Washington Post, claims security advisor Gavin de Becker, who performed the duty for Bezos for 22 years. In January, the National Enquirer published Bezos's intimate messages to news anchor Lauren Sanchez. The tabloid also acquired Bezos's "intimate photos." When Bezos threatened the magazine for their "politically motivated attack," the tabloid reportedly blackmailed him with the photos, demanding he admit the threats had nothing to do with politics. According to de Becker, the company got this data from the Saudis. In an article published by The Daily Beast, de Becker said that Saudi Arabia hacked Bezos's phone in retaliation for the Washington Post's coverage of Riyadh's murder of opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi. © AP Photo / Hani MohammedYemeni Houthis Slam UK's Hunt Over Calls on … [Read more...] about Bezos’ Sec Advisor Claims Saudis Hacked, Leaked Amazon CEO Intimate Messages
Desalination produces more toxic waste than clean water
More than 16,000 desalination plants scattered across the globe produce far more toxic sludge than fresh water, according to a first global assessment of the sector's industrial waste, published Monday. For every litre of fresh water extracted from the sea or brackish waterways, a litre-and-a-half of salty slurry, called brine, is dumped directly back into the ocean or the ground. The super-salty substance is made even more toxic by the chemicals used in the desalination process, researchers reported in the journal Science of the Total Environment. Copper and chlorine, for example, are both commonly used. The amount of brine produced worldwide every year -- more than 50 billion cubic metres -- is enough to cover the state of Florida, or England and Wales combined, in a 30-centimetre (one-foot) layer of salty slime, they calculated. "The world produces less desalinated water than brine," co-author Manzoor Qadir, a scientist at the Institute for Water, Environment and Health at United … [Read more...] about Desalination produces more toxic waste than clean water
Things to watch out for in 2019? Doom and plenty of gloom
Call it coincidence if you like but years that end in a “9” have a habit of being eventful. More particularly, they tend to be years of upheaval. There’s 1789, of course, the year of the French Revolution. The Peterloo massacre, which eventually led to the launch of the Guardian, took place in 1819 and a century later there were fears that Bolshevism would spread from Russia westwards. The year 1939 requires no further explanation while 1979 encompassed the Iranian Revolution and the arrival of Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street. A decade after that, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall heralded the collapse of communism. In 2009, central banks had to pull out all the stops to prevent the deepest recession since the second world war turning into a second Great Depression. The slump against which all others are measured began with the Wall Street crash of October 1929. But it is not just history that suggests there could be trouble – and plenty of it – … [Read more...] about Things to watch out for in 2019? Doom and plenty of gloom
Friday briefing: Gatwick airport reopens after drone chaos
Top story: airport working to introduce limited flights This is Alison Rourke bringing you the final Guardian morning briefing for the year. We will return to your inbox in early January. The first flights have arrived at Gatwick airport this morning after a drone caused major disruption and forced the cancellation of hundreds of journeys. Gatwick Airport said it was “working with airlines and air traffic controllers to introduce a limited number of flights over the coming hours”. It advised passengers to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport. You can follow all the latest developments on our live blog here. Police said there had been more than 50 sightings of the drone in 24 hours from when the runway was first closed. Night-flight restrictions had been lifted at other airports, so “more planes could get into and out of the country”, the transport secretary, Chris Grayling said. Shooting down the drone was being considered as a … [Read more...] about Friday briefing: Gatwick airport reopens after drone chaos