Jul242017

Afghanistan: UN condemns attack on civilians in Kabul

United Nations

24 July 2017 – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned today’s bomb attack in the Afghani capital of Kabul, warning that attacks on civilians may constitute a war crime.

In a statement from his spokesperson, Mr. Guterres expressed his deepest sympathy to the families of those killed, and reaffirmed the UN’s solidarity with the people and Government.

He also stressed that &#8220the deliberate targeting of civilians constitutes a grave violation of human rights and international humanitarian law and may constitute a war crime.&#8221

Also today, a senior official from the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called the attack &#8220cowardly.&#8221

&#8220I am personally outraged by all attacks against civilians,&#8221 said Pernille Kardel, the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan. &#8220The detonation of another large suicide device in a busy, civilian-populated area is egregious, cowardly and bereft of humanity.&#8221

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in the Ghulayee Dawa Khan area of Kabul, which killed more than 20 civilians and injured more than 40, the UN Assistance Mission (UNAMA) said.

The attackers targeted a bus carrying civil servants to work during morning rush hour in the city.

Suicide attacks are the leading cause of civilians casualties this year, according to UNAMA’s midyear report on civilian protection released last week.

Today’s attack came amid planned commemorations for the 23 July 2016 Dehmazang square attack which killed and injured hundreds of people, many from the so-called Enlightened Movement, a coalition of civil society activities, protesting for Hazara minority rights.

&#8220In the context of so much suffering and death, I wish to commend members of the Enlightenment Movement for choosing to address their grievances resulting from last year’s attack through dialogue, not violence,&#8221 said Ms. Kardel, who is the acting chief of UNAMA.

Jul242017

Guangdong police crackdown on illegal online wild animal trade

East Asia

Police in south China’s Guangdong Province have seized more than 10,000 wild animals and nearly 1,000 kilograms of products derived from wild animals, they announced Monday.

The provincial police department launched a crackdown on the illegal online trading of wild animals in April after police in the capital Guangzhou received a report that rare wild animals were being sold via WeChat, a popular massaging app in China.

Over the past three months, police have monitored major social media platforms, including messaging apps WeChat and QQ, Twitter-like Weibo, and some live broadcasting websites, said Li Wenjiang, deputy director of the provincial forest police bureau.

Li said they found a total of 5,380 messages related to illegal animal trading during the crackdown.

In one case, police used WeChat messages to locate and arrest three suspects. They seized 146 wild animals including rhesus monkeys, gold pythons, and African spurred tortoises in a rented house in Zengcheng District, Guangzhou.

Police also seized the remains of 120 dead state-protected animals in another house in the city of Huizhou.

Police in Shaoguan seized 74 cobras and a Tibetan macaque after they received a report of video showing suspects poaching the animals on a live broadcasting platform.

In another case, police seized a vehicle, 32 cobras and more than 1,000 other live wild animals in a market in Guangzhou.

Chinese law on the protection of wild animals bans the hunting, sale, purchase, and use of state-protected animals or derived products.

Guangdong police said they will continue tough measures to combat the illegal poaching, trading, purchasing, transporting and storing of wild animals.

Jul242017

Press release: Major new cyber security innovation centre for London

HM Government
  • Will see established firms working alongside cutting-edge startups
  • Big boost for capital’s booming tech sector which has had £5.6bn investment this year
  • London is also home to newly created National Cyber Security Centre

Major new cyber security innovation centre for London

London will cement its place as a world-leader in the fight against cyber attacks and threats with an investment of up to £14.5 million in a new innovation centre to develop the next of generation of cyber security technology to help keep the nation safe.

A competition to develop and design the new centre has been launched by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The investment will be made over the next three years to bolster the UK’s cyber security defences and help make the UK the best place to start and grow a digital business and the safest place to be online.

The innovation centre will see government bringing together large firms to work hand in hand with innovative startups and industry experts to develop the new technologies businesses will need to protect themselves. This will help make sure the UK’s entrepreneurs are creating the solutions the market needs and securing crucial investment.

It will give startups access to expert technical mentoring, business support and advice to help them to grow in their early stages and contribute to the UK’s thriving £22 billion cyber security sector.

Minister for Digital Matt Hancock said:

London is one of the world’s most important tech sectors, with a record £5.6 billion investment in the industry in the past six months and a new tech firm formed every hour in the capital.

Our investment in a new cyber innovation centre will not only cement the city’s position as a world leader but also boost the whole country by giving UK firms access to the latest cyber technology and allowing start-ups to get the support they need to develop.

The new centre will build on London’s thriving digital start-up scene with one tech company estimated to be formed every hour in the capital. The city is also home to the headquarters of the newly created National Cyber Security Centre – a part of GCHQ – which opened earlier this year.

It is one of two new centres being developed to help make sure UK firms have access to the latest cyber technology to secure their businesses.

An innovation centre in Cheltenham opened earlier this year with the launch of the GCHQ Cyber Accelerator programme. Seven start-ups have so far graduated from the GCHQ Accelerator with a competition to find the next cohort due to close on 9 August.

In the last few weeks London has also been confirmed as leading a host of new research projects to exploring how society can benefit from the power of interconnected devices while remaining safe, secure and resilient.

The projects are part of a £25m national investment over three years and are funded by the PETRAS Research Hub (led by UCL), as part of the Government-funded IoT UK research and innovation programme, as well as Lloyds Register Foundation, industry and public sector organisations.

Notes to editors

Media enquiries – please contact the DCMS News and Communications team on 020 7211 2210 or out of hours on 07699 751153.

DCMS has published an Invitation to Tender for a cyber innovation centre in London.

The innovation centre is expected to open in early 2018.

This initiative is part of the Government’s £1.9 billion investment to significantly transform the UK’s cyber security. The 2016-2021 National Cyber Security Strategy sets out how the UK Government will deliver a UK that is secure and resilient to cyber threats; prosperous and confident in the digital world. The National Cyber Security Programme managed by the Cabinet Office coordinates the work undertaken to implement the UK’s National Cyber Security Strategy.

Sources: Tech Nation 2017 and PitchBook data sourced by London and Partners.