A 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker, Anojan Sivarasa, faces execution in Saudi Arabia after an appellate court found him guilty of blasphemy for a Tamil comment about the Prophet Muhammad made during a heated social-media exchange. The dispute began after video of a Muslim man kicking a dog at a Hindu pilgrimage circulated online; in the ensuing exchanges Anojan posted an insulting remark, then deleted it and issued an apology video. Screenshots reached his Saudi employer and authorities, leading to his arrest in July, seizure of his devices and deletion of his accounts. Al-Ahsa Criminal Court initially sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment and a 3 million riyal fine; on 17 September prosecutors successfully asked that he be tried under Sharia rather than cybercrime laws, and the appellate court upgraded the punishment to death. Family contact has been cut off since 28 September.
The case has triggered nationwide concern in Sri Lanka, with cross-religious leaders, political parties and the president urging clemency and coordinating diplomacy. A four-member legal delegation is travelling to Saudi Arabia to meet local defence lawyers; two Saudi firms are handling the case. Human-rights groups warn that severe penalties for online speech, the vulnerability of low-wage migrant workers, language barriers and opaque Saudi practices - including executions carried out without prior family or embassy notice - raise urgent protection concerns.
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Asos app users in the UK received pop-up messages claiming their data storage provider Snowflake was fully compromised by hackers. Experts suggest the attackers may have gained access to multiple systems, including notification platforms, indicating a broader breach. (bbc.co.uk)
ASOS app users in the UK received pop-up messages from hackers claiming to have compromised the company's Snowflake data platform. The hackers demanded engagement or threatened to leak data, marking a rare and brazen public extortion attempt. (bbc.co.uk)
Germany has arrested a former spy chief on charges of espionage. The arrest highlights ongoing concerns about intelligence security in the country. (dw.com)
The German military intelligence agency MAD has implemented an AI system to screen Bundeswehr applicants for right-wing extremism by analyzing their online activities. Tens of thousands of applicants have been examined, with a small number filtered out due to extremist content. (news.osna.fm)
UK MPs are calling for an investigation into the treatment of whistleblower Simon Andriesz, who died in Thailand last month. Andriesz had exposed links between US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein, raising concerns about retaliation by financial regulators. (bbc.co.uk)
Adding a specific entry to the /etc/hosts file can restore iChat's audio and video call functionality on older Macs running Leopard. The process involves configuring NAT settings and troubleshooting network traffic to reconnect with Apple's servers. (blog.pipetogrep.org)
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