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Security researcher Ramazan (r0hack) discovered a Bind (time-based) SQL injection in https://city-mobil.ru website due to the unsafe usage of the GET parameter for which he was awarded $15000 So far, this is the largest awarded vulnerability disclosed in Mail.ru and the second biggest bounty awarded on the bug bounty platform Hackerone after just one bug bounty award of $20000 Time-based SQL Injection is an SQL Injection technique that relies on sending an SQL query to the database which forces the database to wait for a specified amount of time (in seconds) before responding. The response time will indicate to the attacker whether the result of the query is TRUE or FALSE which will allow the attacker to figure out if the payload used true or false Full details of the vulnerability have not been yet polished by the researcher and more information can be found at https://hackerone.com/reports/868436 Mail.Ru is a major Russian internet company whose sites reach approxima...

Slack’s snippet feature allows users to quickly and easily share pieces of code, configuration files, or log files within their workspace. Researcher Kevin McSheehan discovered the bug in the snippet feature and reported it in the Slack’s bug bounty program. "They need to click on the file, so let's trick Slack into making it look benign. CSV should work" he said. Slack will also show the user that a .CSV file is being downloaded when it is actually a .BAT executable. The issue, present in both the mobile and desktop versions of the app, allowed a malicious actor to disguise dangerous files as benign, due to a flaw in the create snippet feature. The researcher discovered that by including a long file name and certain ASCII characters in the snipped content, an attacker could trick Slack into showing that a .CSV file was being downloaded when it was actually a .BAT executable. Full details of the vulnerability can be found here - https://hack...

Peter Wagenaar, a real estate agent, and his wife have been cooking for the homeless people in Sea Point during the lockdown which has stirred up tension in the affluent suburb of Mouille Point. Peter had been using his car to distribute food to homeless people in Sea Point, which caused anger among some residents. In the early hours of 6th May, his car was set ablaze and nothing but charred metal was left after the fire. Picture by  @MarvinCharles17 Wagenaar has had confrontations with police officers since he started feeding the homeless. A video went viral in which a police officer threatened to arrest him for feeding the homeless despite Wagenaar having a permit. Wagenaar wakes up every day at 4am to start cooking. Breakfast is given to the homeless people from 7am to 9am on Beach Road and Fritz Sonnenberg Road. Wagenaar feeds breakfast and dinner to around 80 to 100 homeless people get which he buys from his own pocket. Alt...

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed provided his remarks, at the virtual ministerial round table conference on “Transformative approaches:  State support to promote women’s participation in peacebuilding”, in New York on 27th May, 2020 along with Government of Sweden and the International Peace Institute. He said that 2020 was set to be a milestone year for gender equality and the empowerment of women and to commemorate and reflect critically on progress made in the 20 years, however the world's attention has shifted to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic which has given shape to inequalities in all forms in which the pandemic is affecting individuals and communities — and hampering the capacity for effective recovery. With the topic of gender equality, the crisis is threatening the gain that have been made in recently. Women constitute more than 70 per cent of health workers globally and bear the weight of unpaid care work at home.  The increasing number of women’...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that countries should not resort to renationalization and protectionism in response to the recession caused by the coronavirus crisis. She said that multilateralism faces a major challenge even after the pandemic ends. Merkel, has put forward a Franco-German plan for a €500 billion EU recovery fund. Merkel had an video conference earlier with the five heads of the International Labour Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization at which they exchanged ideas about the economic response to the crisis. “The answer to the pandemic can certainly not be to renationalize all international supply chains now; then everyone would pay a very high price,” Merkel said. “We are now in the phase of waiting for the proposal from the Commission,” Merkel said. The European Commission will present its proposal on May 27th. Twitte...

In an publication titled, ‘ Cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces in the context of COVID-19 ,’ and released on May 16, 2020, the WHO said this is because “disinfectant is inactivated by dirt and debris and it is not feasible to manually clean and remove all organic matter from such spaces.” The WHO also advised against spraying porous surfaces, such as sidewalks and unpaved walkways, would be even less effective. “Even in the absence of organic matter, chemical spraying is unlikely to adequately cover all surfaces for the duration of the required contact time needed to inactivate pathogens. “Furthermore, streets and sidewalks are not considered to be reservoirs of infection for COVID-19,” it said. The WHO also warned that spraying disinfectants, even outdoors, can be harmful for human health. “Spraying individuals with disinfectants (such as in a tunnel, cabinet, or chamber) is not recommended under any circumstances. “This could be physically and...

Aadhaar is the world’s largest  biometric ID system  in India. An Aadhaar number is a 12-digit random number issued by the Government Authority to the residents of India after satisfying the verification process. Any individual, irrespective of age and gender, who is a resident can voluntarily enrol to obtain a Aadhaar number. The residents have to provide minimal demographic and biometric information to sign up which is absolutely free of cost. The uniqueness is achieved through the process of demographic and biometric data. India Post Payments Bank had introduced the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) Services in Sept 2019. With AEPS any one with a bank account linked to their Aadhaar number can make cash withdrawals and balance enquiry regardless of their Bank. They can simply authenticate their identity with a fingerprint scan & Aadhaar authentication details to complete a transaction. AEPS is able to achieve low-cost cash delivery to the doorstep of various se...

Qwarzo Facebook Page Image Post Qwarzo  provides a groundbreaking technology to replace several single use plastic objects used in packaging or wrapping foods with a natural and biodegradable material One of 3 winners of the 2019  Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge , Qwarzo has produced a simple 100% paper stirrer which is biodegradable and compostable within a short period and also waterproof, greaseproof and fire resistant. The main idea for it is to replace millions of polluting plastic stirrers used everyday by a large number of customers. The Qwarzo stirrer has now been made available to the coffee drinkers at the La Defense Metro Station in Paris for the first time. Qwarzo paper can be fully transformed into compost, producing it zero industrial waste. Twitter: @journothinker Instagram: @journothinker Website:  https://journothinker.blogspot.com/

Tata Coffee is working towards the vision of ‘Zero Harm Pepper’ in which pepper is produced without causing any form of injury or harm to the workforce. Tata Coffee is a coffee company owned by the Tata Global Beverages, a subsidiary of Tata Group founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868 and comprimises over 100 independent operating companies. The Group operates across enterprise and social sectors in 6 continents.. The company estates are spread across the districts of Coorg, Chikmagalur, and Hassan in Karnataka and Valparai district in Tamil Nadu. Tata Coffee is one of the largest Coffee cultivation and processing companies in the world and the largest corporate producer of Indian Origin Pepper. They are known as one of the largest corporate producers of both black and white pepper in India. Twitter: @journothinker Instagram: @journothinker Website: https://journothinker.blogspot.com/ Sources: https://tatacoffee.com/pepper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Coffee ...

The restaurant chain Penguin Eat Shabu in Bangkok reopened its branches with plastic partitions isolating each table for two people to share a hot meal. The barriers made from Polyvinyl chloride(PVC) pipes and plastic sheets were set up for customers at a Bangkok restaurant which reopened for the first time in weeks. The containment units are very cost-effective, according to the chain owner . The restaurants are open for reservations only. It has been a very difficult time for the restaurant industry all over the world due to the Coronavirus(COVID-19)outbreak lockdowns enforced in countries. This goes on to show that it is possible for restaurants to slowly resume business and attract back customers by adopting creative social distancing measures in these hard times. Photo: Penguin Eat Shabu / Facebook Photo: Penguin Eat Shabu / Facebook Photo: Penguin Eat Shabu / Facebook Photo: Penguin Eat Shabu / Facebook Twitter: @journothinker Instagram: @j...

Rise in knife crime and drop in Sanction Detections in the top 10 UK Boroughs By Sergio M. and Subeer S. Ten boroughs in London were identified as those with the biggest gap between knife crimes risen and sanctions detentions, comparing the last two years (2017–18 and 2018–19), these kind of crimes have increased considerably in these boroughs, but at the same time, the detention rates have dropped substantially, according to an analysis of the Metropolitan Police Records. Some of the boroughs on the list are Westminster, where knife crime rates increased in 51.5% but its sanction detection rates decreased 18.3%. Another Borough with concerning figures is Kingston upon Thames, where the crimes rose in 70.6%, while the sanction detection dropped in 36.4%. You can find the data about the other eights boroughs in the following chart. However, these 10 boroughs with the biggest gap between offences and resolved crimes are not the most dangerous, except for Westminster, that a...

Covid 19 Testing in India With a population of 1.353 billion (2018) and the second-most populous country after China in the world, it does have a major challenge on how it will manage the testing of all its citizens for the Coronavirus (Covid-19). India comprises 28 states and 8 union territories. Based on the information from Indian Council of Medical Research , there are at present 154 operational government labs and 68 private labs for performing Covid19 tests on the public. The Supreme Court on Wednesday 8th April, in an interim order, has directed to ensure that all approved diagnostic laboratories, including private, offer free Covid-19 testing. Based on the Census 2011  , there are certain states which are highly populous as compared to others. In order, cover the testing the population of these states will depend on quickly operational labs are setup and the capacity of testing they can handle on a day to day basis. Overall, the country reported to have tested...