Zero Point By Javed Chaudhry

Melania Trump readies unforgettable birthday card for husband

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBjdspqsgM8ASPdneWnqBaEDxTkPqKO6qNUNNEpL3Pqsd8C_-nZa4gn8C2UWB5hwVid0YhwEFnXgQQWfV6AkW41ABDGcOFAEqNWBB9B2ydFVzSMzeCe87WQdaWFh6lgqeQr7a5lgVcXEq/s1600/Melania+Trump+readies+unforgettable+birthday+card+for+husband.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Melania Trump " border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="826" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBjdspqsgM8ASPdneWnqBaEDxTkPqKO6qNUNNEpL3Pqsd8C_-nZa4gn8C2UWB5hwVid0YhwEFnXgQQWfV6AkW41ABDGcOFAEqNWBB9B2ydFVzSMzeCe87WQdaWFh6lgqeQr7a5lgVcXEq/s320/Melania+Trump+readies+unforgettable+birthday+card+for+husband.jpg" title="Melania Trump readies unforgettable birthday card for husband" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">WASHINGTON: On the same day as President Donald Trump’s actions were under intense and unflattering scrutiny in the US Senate, his wife Melania urged supporters to sign a birthday card for her husband that he will “never forget.”</strong></h2>
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“I need your help to make it a birthday my husband will never forget,” Melania Trump wrote in an email to supporters. Her husband turns 71 on Wednesday.</div>
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“Our celebrations always include family and close friends. You have certainly proven yourself to be a loyal friend of my husband through your support of his positive vision to Make America Great Again and your unwavering commitment to the Republican Party,” the first lady’s email added.</div>
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“Friend, Donald will be glad to hear from friends like you who have meant so much to his and our Party’s success.”</h3>
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Former first lady Michelle Obama also used to ask supporters to help celebrate her husband Barack’s birthday.</div>
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But the first lady’s appeal came just as ousted FBI chief James Comey was accusing her husband’s administration of lies and defamation at a hearing into Russian interference in the US elections.</h4>

Melania Trump readies unforgettable birthday card for husband

WASHINGTON: On the same day as President Donald Trump’s actions were under intense and unflattering scrutiny in the US Senate, his wife ...

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Trump's defence of Paris agreement withdrawal fuels criticisms

Trump's defence of Paris agreement withdrawal fuels criticisms

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Hackers steal 17 million users' data from Indian restaurant app Zomato

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<span style="font-family: lato, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">NEW DELHI: India's largest restaurant and food delivery app Zomato announced on Thursday (May 18) that the data of 17 million users had been stolen from its database, including names, email addresses and protected passwords.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "lato" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The startup said the "hashed" passwords could not be decrypted but recommended users change their login details if they use the same password for other services.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "lato" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Zomato's chief technology officer Gunjan Patidar said customers' financial information was stored separately from the stolen data and was not compromised by the hack.</span>"No payment information or credit card data has been stolen/leaked," he said in a statement on Zomato's website, adding they were scanning all possible breaches in their system. "Your credit card information on Zomato is fully secure, so there's nothing to worry about there."</h4>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lato" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Those affected had been logged out of the website and app and had their passwords changed "as a precaution", he added.</span></div>
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A report on an online hacker news website carried in local media said the trove of personal data was being auctioned on the dark web for roughly US$1,000 by a hacker using an alias.</div>
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The hack of the internationally popular e-commerce startup comes on the heels of the "WannaCry" cyberattack, the world's biggest ransomware attack to date.</div>
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The culprits demanded payment in virtual currency and threatened to delete files on compromised computers, which numbered in the hundreds of thousands worldwide.</div>
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Zomato, which boasts 120 million user visits a month, said it was "plugging any security gaps" and would further enhance its security measures after the database breach.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The company - a so-called "unicorn" startup because it is valued at more than US$1 billion - was founded in 2008 and it now operates in 23 nations.<span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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Hackers steal 17 million users' data from Indian restaurant app Zomato

NEW DELHI: India's largest restaurant and food delivery app Zomato announced on Thursday (May 18) that the data of 17 million users had...

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7 arrested for London attack

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LONDON: Seven people have been arrested in the wake of a <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/four-victims-killed-in-uk-parliament-terrorist-attack/3617136.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #665e80; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">terrorist attack in Westminster, London</a> which killed four people and injured 29, Britain's top anti-terrorism officer said on Thursday (Mar 23).</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The Metropolitan Police's Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley said six addresses were searched and inquiries for the incident are continuing in Birmingham, London and other parts of the country.</span></div>
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7 arrested for London attack

LONDON: Seven people have been arrested in the wake of a terrorist attack in Westminster, London which killed four people and injured...

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Exclusive: Tillerson plans to skip NATO meeting, visit Russia in April

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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to skip a meeting with NATO foreign ministers next month in order to stay home for a visit by China's president and will go to Russia later in April, U.S. officials said on Monday, disclosing an itinerary that allies may see as giving Moscow priority over them.</h2>
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Exclusive: Tillerson plans to skip NATO meeting, visit Russia in April

us-usa-trump-tillerson U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to skip a meeting with NATO foreign ministers next month in order...

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UK parliament gives final approval for Brexit bill

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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">LONDON: Parliament gave its approval on Monday (Mar 13) for Prime Minister Theresa May to start Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, even as Scotland signalled its opposition by announcing plans for a fresh independence vote.</span></h2>
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The House of Lords rejected a last-ditch attempt to amend a bill empowering May to begin Brexit, paving the way for it to become law as early as Tuesday.</div>
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The prime minister could then trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty at any time, starting two years of talks that will end with Britain becoming the first country to leave the bloc.</div>
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May's spokesman sought to play down speculation that she would send her notification letter to the European Council on Tuesday, when the bill is expected to receive royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II.</div>
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"We have been clear that the prime minister will trigger Article 50 by the end of March," her spokesman said ahead of the vote, heavily emphasising the word "end".</div>
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But the prospect of an imminent start to Brexit was enough to push the nationalist devolved government in Scotland into calling for a new independence referendum.</div>
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May has said Britain will leave Europe's single market in order to cut immigration, a move that the Scottish National Party (SNP) in power in Edinburgh has warned would be highly damaging to jobs and growth.</div>
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SNP First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said since the June referendum vote for Brexit that Scotland, where a majority wanted to stay in the EU, sought a different future.</div>
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On Monday, she made good on her warning, promising to give Scotland "a choice at the end of this process" by early 2019 - before Britain leaves the EU.</div>
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The European Commission, however, quickly responded saying that Scotland would have to reapply to join the EU rather than inheriting Britain's membership.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit;">COUNTDOWN TO BREXIT</span></h3>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit;">May has the power to block the vote and said that another referendum, after Scots voted by 55 per cent to reject independence in 2014, would only cause "uncertainty and division".</span></div>
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But Sturgeon's call pushes to centre stage one of the prime minister's biggest concerns about Brexit - that it could lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom - as she prepares to fire the starting gun.</div>
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The other 27 European leaders are prepared for Britain to trigger Article 50, which begins a two-year countdown to Brexit, this week.</div>
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However, speculation is growing that it may now be delayed until after a Mar 25 summit in Rome to mark the EU's 60th birthday - timing that would likely be welcomed in Brussels.</div>
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Once May has notified the EU of her decision by letter, the bloc will take just 48 hours to issue its first draft proposal for the negotiations, with a follow-up meeting planned on Apr 6.</div>
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The actual talks are not expected to begin for months.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">The bill empowering May to begin Brexit was forced on the government by a Supreme Court ruling and was held up when the House of Lords voted for amendments </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">demanding guarantees for EU nationals' rights and a parliamentary vote on the final withdrawal deal.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit;">Brexit minister David Davis successfully urged MPs to overturn the changes earlier Monday, saying: "We will not enter the negotiations with our hands tied."</span></div>
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The House of Lords then conceded, passing the bill unamended late on Monday.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit;">'SHAME ON YOU'</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit;">The Lords amendment demanding protections for more than three million Europeans living in Britain was defeated by 335 votes to 287 by MPs - prompting shouts of "shame on you" from protesters outside.</span></div>
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Around 150 people had gathered to urge MPs to back the change, including Karin Templin, a 39-year-old architect who was born in the US but is now British.</div>
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"I'm appalled at the UK government, at this stupid ridiculous game that means they won't guarantee the rights of everybody who wants to stay in their home and in their jobs. I'm disgusted," she said.</div>
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May's government says it wants to guarantee Europeans' rights to stay in Britain, but cannot until EU leaders offer similar rights to British expatriates.</div>
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The other amendment that was overturned would have given parliament the right to decide whether to accept the final Brexit deal.</div>
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May has promised lawmakers a vote on the deal but only if she accepts it - insisting her ability to walk away will strengthen her hand in negotiations.</div>
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                                                                                                               <span style="color: #333333;"> <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/uk-parliament-gives-final-approval-for-brexit-bill/3592790.html">AFP/de</a></span><span id="goog_1036866565"></span><span id="goog_1036866566"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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