Scarlett Johansson: Deepfake pornographers prey on the vulnerable

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Denver, Colo., (CNA).- In a 25-year film career, Scarlett Johansson has portrayed a cartoon mermaid princess, a comic book superhero, an Indian python, and a punk-rock porcupine. She has not portrayed a porn star. Nevertheless, her image has been digitally-generated in dozens of “deepfake” pornographic videos, which have been viewed more than 1 million times. The actress said recently there is no way to fight back, and that online pornographers prey on the vulnerable for profit. “The Internet is just another place where sex sells and vulnerable people are preyed upon,” Johansson told the Washington Post Dec. 30. “Nothing can stop someone from cutting and pasting my image or anyone else’s onto a different body and making it look as eerily realistic as desired.” Johansson has been the victim of digital technology that digitally replaces the faces of pornographic actors with those of celebrities, creating synthetic but convincing videos in which the digitally imposed person appears to be engaging in pornographic sexual acts. One program, FakeApp, is freely available to download and does not require programming skills; it can be used by anyone with the kind of computer capable of running detailed video games.

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Bluefin tuna goes for $3 million

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A 278kg (612lbs) bluefin tuna sold Saturday for more than $3 million in an auction at Japan’s most famous fish market. The winning bidder, Kiyoshi Kimura, who owns a chain of sushi restaurants known as Sushi Zanmai, admitted that he paid five times more than he expected for the high-quality fish. The bluefin tuna is an endangered species. Sushi wholesalers and merchants usually pay top prices for the best catch at the market’s first auction of the new year to generate publicity.

Lebanese salesman arrested over $2 billion fraud

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by thenational.ae --A Lebanese executive for a regional shipbuilding company has been arrested in New York over a $2 billion fraud linked to state-funded maritime projects in Mozambique, US prosecutors said. Jean Boustani, the lead salesman for Privinvest, was arrested on Wednesday at New York’s John F Kennedy airport. He is accused of paying kickbacks to the former finance minister of Mozambique, Manuel Chang, and three former Credit Suisse Group bankers after winning secret contracts for fishing, dock and maritime protection projects for the African nation. The deals – not disclosed to the International Monetary Fund which was supporting the southern African nation - led to the organisation cutting off support and plunging it into a debt crisis. The bankers were arrested in London on Thursday based on US charges that they pushed through loans to Privinvest , which is registered in the UAE, for three maritime projects. US prosecutors say the projects never got off the ground and were fronts for the defendants to distribute some $200 million in bribes and kickbacks to themselves and Mozambique government officials. The bankers Andrew Pearse, 49; Surjan Singh, 44; and Detelina Subeva, 37, have been charged in a New York court with violating US bribery laws, securities fraud and money laundering.

They were arrested by London police officers on Thursday and appeared in court before being bailed. “The indictment alleges that the former employees worked to defeat the bank’s internal controls, acted out of a motive of personal profit, and sought to hide these activities from the bank,” Credit Suisse said in a statement. Mr Chang was arrested last week in South Africa as part of the same case. The 63-year-old is accused of signing off guarantees to repay the loans as finance minister, but did not disclose them to other members of the government or international institutions. Prosecutors said the defendants concealed the misuse of the funds and misled investors abroad including in the United States about Mozambique's creditworthiness. The companies missed more than $700 million in loan payments after defaulting in 2016 and 2017, the indictment said

How digital transformation at ABC Mall improves the Lebanese shopping experience

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Technology has completely redefined the modern world and the modern customer. As innovation drives change, businesses across the globe have to adapt and evolve in order to continue to meet and ultimately exceed changing customer expectations. As one of the premier shopping and lifestyle destinations in Lebanon, understanding this evolving customer and the role that technology has and continues to play in that shifting landscape is more important than ever before for ABC. As the first retailer to open in the country since 1936, ABC Group combines world-class shopping dining and entertainment across six branches and three flagship stores throughout Lebanon. The company prides itself on one critical component – innovation – and it strives to deliver on this through outstanding customer experience. “At ABC our purpose is to make Lebanon a better place and we do that by creating a great social hub offering the best brand mix and outstanding customer experience,” says Elie Harb, Head of IT & PMO. “ABC raises the bar very high when it comes to customer service, creating an unprecedented environment where we and our customers are part of one family. Our CSR activities and environmental initiatives are unique in the country and set an example for the competition and our population alike.”

Over the last five years, Harb has overseen a major digital transformation of ABC as the company continues to stay at the forefront of innovation and technology. With a career in IT spanning over 18 years, Harb has seen the role of IT and that of the CIO shift dramatically, moving away from the traditional support function and becoming a business enabler. “IT is now becoming more and more of a business driver pushing the boundaries of possibility for ABC to the max,” he says. “The CIO has assumed a prominent place in the strategic thinking of the business, not simply enabling and supporting other members of the C-suite to achieve their vision, but rather actively setting the agenda for the future of the digital enterprise. His role isn’t limited to just keeping the system running and updated (while that is obviously still important), but he became an agent of change and innovation.”

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Canada is becoming an MBA magnet

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Canada has seen a 60% jump in the number of international students from three years ago — at some expense to its southern neighbor, according to Bloomberg. Applications to U.S. business schools from abroad dropped 11% in 2018, data show. Of the almost 600,000 foreign students now in Canada, some cite an ability to remain for three years after graduating and the fact that they don't need a job offer to apply for a work permit as attractions

Lebanese PM vows to tackle economic problems - Govt to be formed before Economic Arabic summit

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By: Simone Rensch -- publicfinanceinternational.org -- -- The Lebanese prime minister-designate is “determined” to form a government and tackle the country’s economic issues amid political wrangling over cabinet seats. Politicians have been unable to form a government since the general election in May as rival parties have not been able to decide on cabinet positions. The heavily indebted country has experienced years of weak growth and the International Monetary Fund has said it should carry out urgent measures to make its public finances sustainable.

But on Tuesday prime minister-designate Saad al-Hariri said he and president Michel Aoun had met and were “determined to form a government”. He said: “We have fallen behind – we must form a government. “The president and I are determined to meet again and finish this issue, because the country cannot continue without a government.” He said on Sunday that he believed a government would be formed early in the new year. Cabinet seats must be parcelled out among rival groups according to a finely balanced sectarian political system, which is in place in Lebanon. According to state news agency NNA, the country’s finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil said on Saturday that he feared Lebanon was heading towards a financial crash. “The repercussions and consequences of the economic crisis today are at their highest. The crisis started to turn into a financial one. “We hope it will not become a monetary crisis,” he said. The lack of government has caused concern because of the country’s economic problems as well as instability in the region more widely. Hariri has pledged to carry out economic reforms that he says could lead to billions of dollars of international investment in Lebanese power, transport and data infrastructure. The Middle Eastern country has experienced weak growth since 2011 and the IMF has estimated growth rates of 1% to 1.5% in 2017 and 2018.

BEIRUT, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Deputy Speaker of Lebanese Parliament Elie Ferzli said Wednesday that a government will be formed before Beirut hosts the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit later this month, local media reported. "We will witness the formation of the government in the coming few days before the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit," Ferzli told Voice of Lebanon radio channel. The Arab economic summit, an event organized by the Arab League, is concerned primarily with developmental issues in the Arab world. The event is scheduled on Jan. 19-20, 2019, in Lebanese capital Beirut. Meanwhile, lawmaker Kassem Hashem, who belongs to the independent Sunni MPs block, said Wednesday that it is in the interest of Lebanon to form a government before hosting the summit. "If we do not form a government very soon, Arab countries will reduce their participation in the summit," he was quoted as saying by the National News Agency. Lebanon has been struggling to form a government since Saad Hariri was designated prime minister in May. The formation of government has been facing various hurdles, mainly differences among parties over the representation in the new government.