doctor from a leading city-based hospital received a call from his friend, asking if he required financial assistance ‘since he was stuck in Spain’

When a doctor from a leading city-based hospital received a call from his friend, asking if he required financial assistance ‘since he was stuck in Spain’, the doctor seated in a suburban hospital thought it was a simple case of miscommunication. However, when several friends called up offering


to help him based on an e-mail he had sent them, he suspected something was amiss.
When he tried signing into his e-mail account, he realised that his password had been changed. Following this, he approached the cyber police. During investigations, the police found that an unidentified accused had hacked into his e-mail account and had sent mails to everyone on his contact list.

“The mail contained a plea to help him financially as he was stuck in Spain and had run out of money. He asked his friends to send him $1,000 to a bank account number he provided to bail him out. He added that he had lost his cell phone and hence could not be contacted over the phone,” said an officer from the cyber police requesting anonymity. Fortunately in this case, the fraud came to light before any monetary losses were incurred.

“Earlier victims would get e-mails from strangers asking them for monetary help. However, over a period of time, cyber criminals have begun hacking personal accounts and sending mails, since the chances of someone helping out a friend are much more than helping a stranger,” said an officer from Cyber Crime police station.

“The technique is called ‘speared phishing’ wherein a cyber criminal sends out personalised emails to a select group of people. Earlier, there would be general emails sent out to lakhs of people but were impersonal in nature,” said cyber expert Vijay Mukhi.

Joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy said, “Cyber criminals have refined their modus operandi over a period of time making their identity appear more genuine.” 

Pankaj Bafna, a lawyer dealing with cyber crime cases said, “Of late, there have been varied methods employed by cyber criminals. Another prevalent trend is e-mails carrying the signature of law enforcement agencies such as CBI and Interpol.” He added that the e-mails ironically warn people against online fraud while simultaneously asking them to feed in their personal details on the link attached to the mail for safety purposes.

There have also been posts on social networking profiles of victims asking friends to provide provide them with bank details. The criminals have also hacked into networking profiles and made requests to those present on the victims’ contact list.

In addition to this, people who have fed in their details on certain job portals are also targeted. “They receive e-mails promising them high flying jobs. They are asked to pay a ‘nominal fee’ if they are interested. Needless to say, once the criminal pockets the ‘fee’ there is no trace of them,” added an officer from cyber police.

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Thailand's outgoing defence minister has said the army will not intervene after supporters of exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra swept to another resounding general election victory.

Thaksin's younger sister Yingluck, who fronts the Puea Thai party, announced she had agreed a coalition deal with four minor parties that would give the new government 299 seats.

Puea Thai won an absolute majority with 264 seats in the 500-seat parliament, according to preliminary election commission results that could still shift somewhat. But by moving fast to cement its triumph with outside support has made it harder for opponents to intervene.

It paves the way for Yingluck to become the country's first female prime minister.

Thaksin was toppled by a military coup in 2006 and now lives in Dubai as a fugitive due to an abuse of power conviction that he says was politically motivated. His Thai Rak Thai party and its successor were also disbanded and many of their leaders banned from politics – yet he continued to command massive popular support, as the electoral landslide showed. Puea Thai campaigned on the promise: Thaksin thinks – Puea Thai does.

Yingluck said her first task was the "roadmap to reconciliation" after years of unrest. She also cited the need to tackle high prices, improve international relations and curb corruption.

Meanwhile, outgoing Democrat prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he had decided to step down as party leader — although his right-hand man Surichoke Sopha, also a Democrat MP, said he believed the party still wanted Abhisit.

Surichoke added: "I don't think this [Puea Thai] government will last long...They will have to compromise with the ruling class and at the same time satisfy the grassroots."

The country has become polarised between Thaksin supporters – particularly the rural poor and new money – and the old elites that sought to keep him from power with the support of the urban middle classes.

The split became even more entrenched when more than 90 people died as the military cracked down on Thaksin-supporting protesters in the centre of Bangkok last year. While redshirt leaders were jailed over the demonstrations, the government refused to acknowledge that the army had caused any deaths.

General Prawit Wongsuwan, a former army chief close to leaders involved in the ousting of Thaksin, said the military would not intervene or stop Yingluck forming a government.

"I can assure you that the military has no desire to stray out of its assigned roles," he told Reuters.

"The army accepts the election results."

Political analyst Chris Baker cautioned: "They always say they have nothing to do with politics and then they keep interfering."

But he added: "They are obviously feeling quite sensitive after the last five years. They know they made a mess of it.

"They are going to be very reluctant to make a move that puts them in the public eye in politics. They are going to pull the strings of the [anti-Thaksin, conservative and monarchist] yellowshirts and that sort of thing. I think we are more likely to see a formula of street demonstrations and judicial action [than coups]."

Activist and former senator Jon Ungpakorn believed the scale of the Puea Thai win should offer protection against a coup even in the long term.

"I'm not so concerned about the army now and more that the [anti-Thaksin] People's Alliance for Democracy and ultra-nationalist and monarchist sections of society may cause trouble."

He predicted attempts to disband the party, perhaps because of the involvement of Thaksin, who is banned from political activity in Thailand.

Democrats have made it clear they will challenge Puea Thai wins in particular constituencies on legal grounds, but the sheer number of seats Puea Thai won means that may not have much impact on the overall outcome.

Ungpakorn added: "At the same time we need a lively criticism of the new government and not allow Puea Thai to behave like the old Thaksin government trying to stifle political opposition and criticism."

Experts say much will also depend on how carefully Puea Thai plays its hand. They campaigned in part on an amnesty for Thaksin, but know that bringing him back too quickly could galvanise opposition.

Speaking from Dubai, Thaksin told reporters: "In Thailand, things are changing.

"I don't think a coup d'etat will happen again soon."

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Two British men have died while climbing in the French Alps, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

The unnamed pair, aged 22 and 24, were near the town of Chamonix on Friday when they fell more than 2,500ft, according to reports.

Their families have been told and are receiving consular assistance, a Foreign Office spokesman said.

It comes less than four weeks after Scottish medical student Robbie Cammack, 19, died in the same region.

Mr Cammack, from Moray, died on the Massif du Mont Blanc on 10 June.

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Frying high as Thomson Airways uses cooking oil to power planes

As the travel industry tries to reduce its carbon footprint, one airline is chipping in with an unusual new fuel.

Thomson Airways is set to become Britain's first airline to use biofuel when it launches a service to Spain next month - powered by that kitchen cupboard staple, cooking oil.

The used oil will be given a new lease of life, fueling flights between Birmingham and Palma, Mallorca, from July 28, just as soon as final safety clearance is received.


Thomson Airways will become Britain's first airline to fly customers on biofuel -- cooking oil -- when it operates a service to Spain


Flights will operate on a 50/50 blend of Jet A1 fuel and hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) fuel -- made from used cooking oil

After that weekly flights to Spain using biofuel will begin in September for a year, on the same route initially and switching to Birmingham-Alicante during the winter schedule.

 


 


The strike begins: Hundreds of thousands walk out as minister urges public sector staff to show 'Dunkirk spirit' and work through day of action
While airlines are keen to use biofuels as a way of cutting down on pollution, the use of food crops, such as palm oil, in their production has come under fire for taking land that could be used to feed people.

Thomson said the fuel for its maiden biofuel-powered flight would be supplied by Dutch company, SkyNRG, which is advised by an independent sustainability board.

Sustainable biofuels costs significant more than regular jet fuel and is a premium that the airline industry cannot sustain today.

'The British government believes that sustainable biofuels have a role to play in efforts to tackle climate change, particularly in sectors where no other viable low carbon energy source has been identified -- as is the case with aviation,' aviation minister Theresa Villiers said.

Using biofuels will help Thomson meet owner TUI Travel's plan to reduce the carbon emissions from its airlines by 6 per cent from 2008-14.

 

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Two journalists held hostage by the Taliban for 18 months in Afghanistan have arrived home in France to an emotional welcome.

Television reporter Hervé Ghesquierè, 47, with tears in his eyes, described being confined indoors "23 and three-quarters hours a day" and repeatedly having his hopes raised of an imminent release – and then dashed.

Cameraman Stéphane Taponier, 46, said: "We're doing really, really, really well."

Both looked quite pale but otherwise healthy, and were visibly moved by the huge crowd of journalists gathered at a military airbase outside Paris for the long-awaited homecoming.

Their plight was one of France's longest-ever hostage ordeals, and had become a national cause. President Nicolas Sarkozy, first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and France's defence and foreign ministers met the two men as they left the plane from Kabul.

The two journalists and three Afghan associates were kidnapped in December 2009 while working for France 3 television on a story about reconstruction on a road east of Kabul. They had been embedded with French troops in Afghanistan, and decided to take off to report on their own but were captured.

They were freed on Wednesday along with their Afghan translator, Reza Din. Two others were freed earlier.

French officials insist no ransom has been paid, though the circumstances of the release remained unclear.

The journalists insisted that they had not been beaten or mistreated by their Taliban captors, just suffered "very very difficult" living conditions. They said they were separated after the first three months and spent the rest of the time isolated and confined.

"We represented something important for the Taliban," Taponier said, which he said gave him hope they would eventually be freed.

In April 2010, after posting a video of the hostages on the web, the Taliban said it had submitted a list of prisoners to French authorities it wanted freed in exchange.

Last week, the French defence minister, Gérard Longuet, said the announcements of staggered French and American troop withdrawals might help the cause of freeing Ghésquierè and Taponier. US president Barack Obama announced the withdrawal of 33,000 troops by September 2012, and France followed suit, announcing it will pull out a quarter of its force of 4,000.

The Taliban gave each journalist a radio at some point, they said. Taponier was able to listen to Radio France International, which was broadcasting regular messages of support to the two men in the hope they were listening.

"That warmed our hearts," Taponier said.

But Ghesquierè was only able to get a BBC signal, and said he was largely unaware of the large support campaign in France.

He described battling boredom and discouragement by exercising in the small room where he was isolated for months, and writing.

And he exclaimed in dismay in recalling that a year-and-a-half of notes he took were taken away before his liberation, because his captors didn't want any document released.

Ghesquierè specialised in war reporting, covering the Balkans conflict and investigative reports around the globe, from Cambodia to the disputed Western Sahara territory. Taponier had filmed in Afghanistan, notably a 2000 report on the northern commander Massoud, who was later killed.

Ghesquierè said he wanted to get back to a "normal life" as soon as possible, and not "play the role of an ex-hostage".

For the past 547 days, banners bearing their photos hung in city halls around France – banners taken down in jubilation after their release.

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