Under the new arrangement, British soldiers are being placed under NATO’s command “if needed, to address the current situation”. They will form part of the KFOR peacekeeping force, which consists of about 4,500 troops from about 27 NATO and partner countries.
NATO is beefing up its presence in Kosovo with UK troops, amid concerns about a build-up of Serbian forces along the border.
Hundreds of soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment have now been made available to a peacekeeping force.
Tensions rose last weekend after a deadly siege at a monastery in northern Kosovo, with masked gunmen and local police engaging in a standoff.
The assailants barricaded themselves inside with priests and visiting pilgrims – and an officer was killed along with three of the gunmen in a 12-hour shootout.
It one of the worst incidents since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, with the White House National Security Council claiming it was a “well-coordinated and planned” attack.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has accused Serbia of orchestrating the attack – allegations that have been denied.
Mr Kurti has welcomed NATO’s decision and claims last Sunday’s attack suggests Serbia, which doesn’t recognise Kosovo’s sovereignty, wants to destabilise the country with Russia’s help.
He said: “They are in search of a time machine. They want to turn the clock back by 30 years. But that is not going to happen.”
US officials are monitoring a large deployment of Serbian troops along the border with Kosovo, with Mr Murti claiming “they have a lot of military equipment” from Russia and China.
Under the new arrangement, British troops are being placed under NATO’s command “if needed, to address the current situation”.
Daniel Khalife is shown in a police mugshot released by Metropolitan Police Service on September 6, 2023. Courtesy of Metropolitan Police Service/Handout via REUTERS
Britain vowed on Thursday a former army soldier suspected of terrorism offences who escaped from a prison by hiding under a food delivery van, would be found, as it promised an urgent inquiry into how he had been able to go on the run.
Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, is believed to have escaped from London’s HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday morning by slipping out of the prison kitchen where he was working and strapping himself to the bottom of the van.
A major manhunt is under way to track him down, with enhanced security checks at ports and airports which have led to delays for passengers.
As of Thursday evening, there had not been any confirmed sightings of Khalife, police said.
“Daniel Khalife will be found and he will be made to face justice,” Alex Chalk, the justice minister, told parliament.
Khalife, who is 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) and was wearing a chef’s outfit of a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel toe cap boots, was being held in prison ahead of trial on offences relating to terrorism and the Official Secrets Act.
Police said he was not thought to pose a risk to the wider public but advised people not to approach him.
His military experience could make him more aware of efforts to catch him, police added.
Khalife, who was discharged from the army in May, is accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism while he was based at barracks in central England in 2021, and also making a bomb hoax by placing three canisters with wires on a desk.
Farmers from flood-affected areas and members of Samyukt Kisan Morcha blocked a road during a protest against Punjab government near the residence of APP MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, in Patiala on Saturday (PTI Photo)
Farmers Protest Chandigarh: Around 4,500 cops have been deployed in Punjab to ensure the law and order situation in the wake of a call for protest by 16 farm unions in Chandigarh on Tuesday. This comes a day after a farmer died amid clashes between protestors and police personnel in the state’s Sangrur district. The protest has been called by Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee along with other unions against non-payment of relief to the flood-affected in the state.
Farmers have claimed that several protestors have been “detained” ahead of their planned demonstration today. Meanwhile, security has also been stepped up at the inter-state borders of Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh in the wake of protest call.
SAD CONDEMNS FARMERS’ ARREST
The Siromani Akali Dal (SAD) has condemned the “arrests” and called action against farmer leaders as “totally un democratic.”
“SAD strongly condemned the arrest of various Kissan leaders in different parts of Punjab who wanted to stage a protest in Chandigarh to demand compensation for the victims of devastating floods. This action is totally un democratic,” SAD leader Daljit S Cheema said in a post on X (formally Twitter).
Cheema claimed that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led state government has miserably failed to provide relief to affected farmers and farm labourers, adding that their condition is worsening day by day.
“At most places they have suffered twice but govt has not paid compensation even for the first loss. There is no immediate help for those who had to leave their houses and are sitting in open. All their household is washed away. No help is coming for the cattle. But inspite of all this if they want to protest peacefully to highlight their sufferings, they have been arrested. This is inhumane. All of them should be released immediately,” the SAD leader added.
A mob breaks into police armoury and stole weapons. The incident took place at the battalion headquarters of the 2nd India Reserve Battalion at Naranseina in Bishnupur district.
Manipur Weapons Armoury | Representational pic
A mob broke into a police armoury and stole weapons, including AK and ‘Ghatak’ series of assault rifles, and more than 19,000 bullets, officials said.
The incident took place at the battalion headquarters of the 2nd India Reserve Battalion at Naranseina in Bishnupur district. A crowd had gathered there to march towards Churachandpur where tribals were planning to carry out a mass burial of their people killed in ethnic clashes that broke out in the state on May 3, they said. The mass burial programme by the tribals had sparked fresh tension in the strife-torn state with the majority community opposing the move.
The Manipur Police, meanwhile, said joint forces have conducted search operations in vulnerable and fringe areas of the strife-torn state and destroyed seven illegal bunkers after fresh violence broke out across various districts.
Manipur government relaxed curfew in Imphal
The state government, however, relaxed the curfew in Imphal East and West districts for seven hours from 5 am so that common people can purchase essential items, officials said.
“Security forces conducted search operations in the vulnerable and fringe areas of the state. Joint security forces conducted operation in Koutruk hill range and destroyed 07 (seven) illegal bunkers,” the state police said on Twitter.
Manipur violence causes uproar in Parliament
The situation in Manipur again led to the uproar in Parliament. A day after protests were paused in the Lok Sabha for the debate on the Central Bill on Delhi administration, members of Opposition parties again raised the issue of violence Manipur in both Houses of Parliament, forcing their adjournment to the next working day on Monday.
PM Modi and Egypt’s President discussed ways to further deepen the partnership between the two nations, including in trade, investment, defence, security, renewable energy, cultural and people-to-people ties.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during which they signed an agreement to elevate the bilateral relationship to a “Strategic Partnership”.
Both the leaders discussed ways to further deepen the partnership between the two nations, including in trade, investment, defence, security, renewable energy, cultural and people-to-people ties.
The two sides signed an agreement to elevate the bilateral partnership to a “strategic partnership.” In addition, three Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the fields of agriculture, archaeology and antiquities and competition law were also signed between India and Egypt.
Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted, “PM @narendramodi held a productive meeting with President @AlsisiOfficial in Cairo on 25 June 2023 The leaders discussed ways to further deepen the partnership between the two countries, including in trade & investment, defence & security, renewable energy, cultural and people to people ties. An agreement to elevate the bilateral relationship to a “Strategic Partnership” was signed by the leaders. Three MoUs in the fields of Agriculture, Archaeology & Antiquities and Competition Law were also signed.”
Imparting new momentum to 🇮🇳-🇪🇬 relations!
PM @narendramodi and President @AlsisiOfficial held fruitful talks in Cairo. They deliberated on ways to deepen the multi-faceted partnership between both the nations.
Earlier, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi conferred PM Modi with the highest state honour of Egypt, the ‘Order of Nile. Arindam Bagchi tweeted, “A mark of abiding friendship between & ! PM @narendramodi was conferred with the highest civilian honour of Egypt, the ‘Order of the Nile’, by President @AlsisiOfficial in Cairo on 25 June 2023.”
PM Modi also visited the Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, “Honored to visit the historic Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo. It’s a profound testament to Egypt’s rich heritage and culture.”
Legal experts warn ther is an urgent need for employers to understand how staff are using this new generation of AI-based software
ChatGPT, launched last November, has gained millions of users but concern is growing over how it is being used (Image: Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
Thousands of employees are pasting confidential data into ChatGPT, prompting companies to ban or restrict access to the software amid warnings that material submitted to powerful internet chatbots is at risk of leaking into the public domain.
Figures show that more than one in 20 people using ChatGPT in the workplace have submitted data owned by their company to the Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence software.
According to internet security company Cyberhaven, the proportion of workers pasting internal data to ChatGPT more than doubled in less than a month from 3.1 per cent to 6.5 per cent, with material submitted including regulated health information and personal data.
Alarm is growing among corporations at the dramatic growth in use of the chatbot and the commercial and security implications of potentially sensitive information routinely “escaping” to external databanks.
Amazon has already warned staff not to paste confidential data to ChatGPT, while banking giant JPMorgan and US-based mobile phone network Verizon have banned workers from using the software altogether.
Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, this week became the latest conglomerate to find itself embroiled in concerns over how staff use ChatGPT, after Korean media reports claimed employees at the company’s main semi-conductor plants inputted confidential information, including highly-sensitive “source code” to iron out programming flaws.
Source code, the fundamental underpinnings of any operating system or software, is among the most closely-guarded secrets of any technology company. Samsung did not respond to a request to comment but has reportedly placed limits on staff access to ChatGPT and is now developing its own AI chatbot for internal use.
Millions of people have used ChatGPT since its mainstream launch last November. Alongside its ability to answer questions or turn datasets into useable material using natural, human-like language it can also check and generate computer code at phenomenal speed as well as interrogate images.
Legal experts have warned of an urgent need for employers to understand how staff are using this new generation of AI-based software such as ChatGPT, produced by San Francisco-based company OpenAI, and rivals such as Google’s Bard.
There are particular concerns, shared by bodies including Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency, that information inputted into AI systems could eventually return to the public domain, either as a result of hacking or data breaches, or via the use of submitted material to “train” chatbots.
OpenAI acknowledges that it uses data pasted into ChatGPT to “improve our models”. But the company insists it has safeguards in place, including the removal of information that could make an individual identifiable.
In an online statement, OpenAI said: “We remove any personally identifiable information from data we intend to use to improve model performance. We also only use a small sampling of data per customer for our efforts to improve model performance. We take great care to use appropriate technical and process controls to secure your data.”
Experts argue that the sudden spike in the use of the chatbots, otherwise known generative AI, could leave companies and other organisations in breach of rules such as the GDPR data protection regulations, as well as being liable for information that could subsequently appear in future searches or any hacking operation by criminal or state-sponsored groups.
Richard Forrest, legal director of Hayes Connor, a firm specialising in law surrounding data breaches, said workers should “assume that anything entered [into AI chatbots] could later be accessible in the public domain”.
Describing regulations around the AI software as “unchartered territory”, Mr Forrest said: “Businesses that use chatbots like ChatGPT without proper training and caution may uknowingly expose themselves to GDPR data breaches, resulting in significant fines, reputational damage and legal action.”
Concern is mounting about the ability to regulate and shape the use of tools such as ChatGPT. Italy last week became the first Western country to block ChatGPT after its data-protection authority raised privacy concerns.
A video showed a man running towards PM Modi’s motorcade during an election road show but he was intercepted by the police before he could reach the convoy. This was the second attempted security breach after a similar incident in the BJP-ruled state’s Hubballi district.
PM Modi held roadshow in Karnataka’s Davangere yesterday. Photo : IANS
Bengaluru: Suspicions of breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security were raised on Saturday after a man was seen running towards the PM’s convoy when it was through Karnataka’s Davangere yesterday. However, the Karnataka Police clarified shortly after the inicident that there was no breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security.
A video showed a man running towards PM Modi’s motorcade during an election road show but he was intercepted by the police before he could reach the convoy. This was the second attempted security breach after a similar incident in the BJP-ruled state’s Hubballi district.
Senior police officer Alok Kumar on seeing the man try to breach the barricade ran towards him and intercepted him. A Special Protection Group (SPG) commando also ran after him.
Alok Kumar denied the reports of security breach and termed it an unsuccessful attempt. He tweeted, “As being reported in a section of media, there was no breach in security as such of Hon’ble PM at Davangere today. It was an unsuccessful attempt He was caught immediately by myself and SPG at a safe distance Appropriate action is being taken in this regard.”
As being reported in a section of media, there was no breach in security as such of Hon’ble PM at Davangere today. It was an unsuccessful attempt
He was caught immediately by myself and SPG at a safe distance
