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Snap launches ‘Kingdom’s Lenscape’ campaign for Saudi National Day

Snap has 22 million active users in Saudi Arabia, with reports indicating that 84 percent of citizens expect brands to introduce new products or ideas on National Day. (Snap/File)
Snap has 22 million active users in Saudi Arabia, with reports indicating that 84 percent of citizens expect brands to introduce new products or ideas on National Day. (Snap/File)
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Updated 23 September 2024
Arab News
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Snap launches ‘Kingdom’s Lenscape’ campaign for Saudi National Day

Snap launches ‘Kingdom’s Lenscape’ campaign for Saudi National Day
  • 2 augmented reality experiences showcase brand contributions, exclusive deals, limited-edition products
  • 10-day activation ‘reflects spirit of unity and national pride’ via Snapchat’s Lens Explorer and carousel
Updated 23 September 2024
Arab News
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LONDON: Snap Inc. has launched a new augmented reality campaign, “Kingdom’s Lenscape,” to mark Saudi Arabia’s National Day.

The 10-day activation features two AR experiences accessible through Snapchat’s Lens Explorer and carousel.

Snap said in a statement that the activation “reflects the spirit of unity and national pride that characterizes the occasion,” while connecting users with advertisers.

“This experience is more than just a digital activation — it’s an invitation to celebrate the culture of gifting that is central to Saudi National Day,” said Abdulla Alhammadi, managing director of Snap in the Kingdom.

Alhammadi added that the “Kingdom’s Lenscape” campaign is “designed to capture the essence of Saudi Arabia’s most important cultural moment.”

The first feature, named FAKHAR, offers brands a dedicated AR environment where users can explore their contributions to Saudi Arabia’s progress.

The entities featured include Saudi Investment Bank, Laverne and Alwaleed Philanthropies. The feature allows users to imagine the future of each brand through a GenAI-inspired lens.

The second feature, K’AR’AM, has participating brands including Ounass, Huda Beauty and Spotify offering exclusive deals and limited-edition products through an AR marketplace.

Snap said that K’AR’AM aims to “reflect the spirit of generosity and patriotism on Saudi National Day,” where brands can give back to the Saudi Arabia community though exclusive deals.

Snap has 22 million active users in Saudi Arabia, with reports indicating that 84 percent of citizens expect brands to introduce new products or ideas on National Day.

In previous years, Snap has launched similar campaigns for the day, including “This is our home” in 2022, which showcased a world lens of Saudi Arabia’s future landmarks and projects.

Topics: snap 94th Saudi National Day

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China urges netizens to be vigilant as Taiwanese hackers strike back

China urges netizens to be vigilant as Taiwanese hackers strike back
Updated 23 September 2024
Reuters
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China urges netizens to be vigilant as Taiwanese hackers strike back

China urges netizens to be vigilant as Taiwanese hackers strike back
Updated 23 September 2024
Reuters

BEIJING: A Taiwanese hacking group called Anonymous 64 has been carrying out cyberattacks against targets in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, China’s national security ministry said on Monday, urging netizens to report cases of “anti-propaganda sabotage.”
Since the beginning of this year, Anonymous 64 — which the ministry said belonged to Taiwan’s cyber warfare wing — has sought to upload and broadcast “content that denigrates the mainland’s political system and major policies,” on websites, outdoor screens and network TV stations, it said in a blog post.
Taiwan frequently accuses Chinese groups of seeking to spread online disinformation or carry out cyberattacks across the democratically governed island. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has ramped up military and political pressure against over the past five years to assert its claims.
The hacking group’s X account said it was set up in June 2023 and showed screenshots of efforts to broadcast videos likening Chinese President Xi Jinping to an emperor, marking the second anniversary of protests against Beijing’s strict COVID curbs and commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations.
One video was an address from an Anonymous 64 member wearing the Anonymous hacking group’s Guy Fawkes mask in the style of the graphic novel and film V for Vendetta.
Neither the X site nor the blog post from China’s national security ministry said whether Anonymous 64 had any affiliation with the international hacking group.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council had no immediate comment.
Reuters was not immediately able to verify where the group was based or whether they had actually carried out the hacking attacks they were accused of.
In the blog post published on its official WeChat account, the most popular social media platform in China, the national security ministry said its investigation into the group had found many of the websites Anonymous 64 claimed to have accessed were fake or had little no traffic, and that its posts showing it having infiltrated numerous university and media websites had been photoshopped.
The security ministry published screenshots of the group’s X account with heavily redacted text. It also said it had opened a case against three members of Taiwan’s cyber warfare wing.
“We advocate that netizens should not believe in or spread rumors and should promptly report cyberattacks or cases of anti-propaganda activity to the national security authorities,” the blog post said.

 

 

Topics: China Taiwan Anonymous 64 cyberwar

India probing Netflix for visa violations and racial discrimination, email shows

India probing Netflix for visa violations and racial discrimination, email shows
Updated 22 September 2024
Reuters
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India probing Netflix for visa violations and racial discrimination, email shows

India probing Netflix for visa violations and racial discrimination, email shows
  • The email was written by home ministry official to Netflix’s ex-director of business and legal affairs
  • A Netflix spokesperson said the company was ‘unaware of an investigation by the Indian government’
Updated 22 September 2024
Reuters

NEW DELHI: India is investigating the business practices of US streaming giant Netflix’s local operations, including allegations of visa violations and racial discrimination, according to a government email sent to a former executive.
The details of India’s investigation were included in a July 20 email, reviewed by Reuters, which was written by a home ministry official to Netflix’s former director of business and legal affairs for India, Nandini Mehta, who left the company in 2020.
“This is regarding visa and tax violations concerns regarding the business practices of Netflix in India,” wrote Indian official Deepak Yadav from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) of the home ministry in New Delhi.
“We have received certain details in this regard w.r.t (with respect to) the stated company’s conduct, visa violation, illegal structures, tax evasion and other malpractices including incidents of racial discrimination that company has been engaged in while conducting its business in India,” he added.
In an emailed statement, Mehta said she is pursuing a lawsuit in US against Netflix for alleged wrongful termination as well as racial and gender discrimination — charges the company denies.
Mehta said she welcomed the Indian investigation and hopes the authorities make their findings public, but did not elaborate on the allegations made by the government.
Yadav declined to comment, saying he was not authorized to speak to media. The FRRO and India’s home ministry did not respond to Reuters queries.
A Netflix spokesperson said the company was “unaware of an investigation by the Indian government.”
The Indian official’s email shows growing scrutiny of Netflix in India, where it has roughly 10 million users and which it considers a growth market where companies target affluent people in the nation of 1.4 billion people.
Over the years, the US streaming giant has developed more local content featuring Bollywood actors.
It has also often faced heat in India over its content deemed insensitive by some users. This month, it was forced to add new disclaimers to an Indian series about a plane hijack after social media outrage and government anger over what they said was Muslim hijackers being shown as Hindus.
SEEKING DOCUMENTS, US LAWSUIT
While it is known that Netflix has since 2023 faced an Indian tax demand — which it is challenging — the existence of a broader investigation into allegations including visa compliance and racial discrimination has not been previously reported.
The Indian government’s email did not elaborate which agencies are looking at issues concerning Netflix. The FRRO works closely with home ministry’s Intelligence Bureau, the domestic intelligence agency, and is the main agency looking into foreigners’ visa compliance and permissions to visit so-called “sensitive” regions.
Last year, India accused Chinese smartphone player Vivo and its Indian affiliates for breaching visa rules by visiting certain “sensitive” regions without permission. India classifies parts of certain states such as Jammu & Kashmir in north and Sikkim in east as restricted areas.
The FRRO also acts as a liaison in matters related to foreigners with other government offices.
Mehta worked at the company’s Los Angeles and Mumbai offices from April 2018 to April 2020, her LinkedIn profile shows.
The Indian government email asked her to provide “details/documents” as she was a former legal executive of the company.
In 2021, Mehta sued Netflix in Los Angeles County Superior Court in California for alleged wrongful termination and racial and gender discrimination, among other things, US court filings show.
Netflix has in US court denied “each and every allegation” and said in its statement that Mehta was fired for repeatedly using her corporate credit card for tens of thousands of dollars in personal expenses.
Mehta said she will “continue to fight for justice.” Her case is set for a status hearing on Monday in Los Angeles.

Topics: Netflix

Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera West Bank office, order 45-day closure

Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera West Bank office, order 45-day closure
Updated 22 September 2024
AFP
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Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera West Bank office, order 45-day closure

Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera West Bank office, order 45-day closure
  • Israel’s military has repeatedly accused journalists from the Qatari network of being “terrorist” allies of Hamas
  • Al Jazeera denies Israel’s accusations and claims that Israel systematically targets its employees in the Gaza Strip
Updated 22 September 2024
AFP

DOHA: Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera said that Israeli forces raided its office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Sunday and issued a 45-day closure order.
Israel’s government last week announced it was revoking the press credentials of Al Jazeera journalists in the country, four months after banning the channel from operating inside Israel.
“There is a court ruling for closing down Al Jazeera for 45 days,” an Israeli soldier told Al Jazeera’s West Bank bureau chief Walid Al-Omari, the network reported, citing the conversation which was broadcast live.
“I ask you to take all the cameras and leave the office at this moment,” the soldier said, according to the footage, which showed heavily armed and masked troops entering the office.
The broadcaster said the soldiers did not provide a reason for the closure order.
Israel’s army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has had a long-running feud with Al Jazeera that has worsened since the Gaza war began following the October 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Israeli military has repeatedly accused journalists from the Qatari network of being “terrorist agents” in Gaza affiliated with Hamas or its ally, Islamic Jihad.
Al Jazeera denies Israel’s accusations and claims that Israel systematically targets its employees in the Gaza Strip.
The media office of the Hamas-run government in Gaza condemned Sunday’s raid, saying in a statement it was a “resounding scandal and a blatant violation of press freedom.”

The Israeli parliament passed a law in early April allowing the banning of foreign media broadcasts deemed harmful to state security.
Based on this law, the Israeli government approved on May 5 the decision to ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting from Israel and close its offices for a renewable 45-day period, which was extended for a fourth time by a Tel Aviv court last week.
The shutdown had not affected broadcasts from the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, from which Al Jazeera was still covering Israel’s war with Palestinian militants.
Al Jazeera correspondent Nida Ibrahim said the network’s West Bank office closure “comes as no surprise” after the earlier ban on reporting from inside Israel.
“We’ve heard Israeli officials threatening to close down the bureau,” she said on the network.
“But we (had) not been expecting it to happen today.”
Bureau chief Omari said that “targeting journalists this way always aims to erase the truth and prevent people from hearing the truth.”
In May, the network condemned as “criminal” the ban on it operating over its coverage of the Gaza war.
“We condemn and denounce this criminal act by Israel that violates the human right to access information,” the channel said in a statement.
 

Topics: War on Gaza

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Ukraine bans official use of Telegram app over fears of Russian spying

Ukraine bans official use of Telegram app over fears of Russian spying
Updated 21 September 2024
Reuters
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Ukraine bans official use of Telegram app over fears of Russian spying

Ukraine bans official use of Telegram app over fears of Russian spying
  • Restrictions apply only to official devices, not personal phones
  • Telegram heavily used in Ukraine and Russia since 2022 invasion
Updated 21 September 2024
Reuters

KYIV: Ukraine has banned use of the Telegram messaging app on official devices used by government officials, military personnel and critical workers because it believes its enemy Russia can spy on both messages and users, a top security body said on Friday.
The National Security and Defense Council announced the restrictions after Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, presented the council with evidence of Russian special services’ ability to snoop on the platform, it said in a statement.
But Andriy Kovalenko, head of the security council’s center on countering disinformation, posted on Telegram that the restrictions apply only to official devices, not personal phones.
Telegram is heavily used in both Ukraine and Russia and has become a critical source of information since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
But Ukrainian security officials have repeatedly voiced concerns about its use during the war.
Based in Dubai, Telegram was founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his social media platform VKontakte, which he has sold.
Durov was arrested upon landing in France in August as part of an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on Telegram.
The Security Council statement said Budanov had provided evidence that Russian special services could access Telegram messages, including deleted ones, as well as users’ personal data.
“I have always supported and continue to support freedom of speech, but the issue of Telegram is not a matter of freedom of speech, it is a matter of national security,” Budanov said in his own statement.
After the decision was announced, Telegram issued a statement saying it had never disclosed anyone’s data or the contents of any message.
“Telegram has never provided any messaging data to any country, including Russia. Deleted messages are deleted forever and are technically impossible to recover,” Telegram said.
It said every instance of what it described as “leaked messages” had been proven to be “the result of a compromised device, whether through confiscation or malware.”
According to the Telemetrio database, about 33,000 Telegram channels are active in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who sits on the security council, as well as military commanders and regional and city officials all regularly publish updates on the war and report important decisions on Telegram.
Ukrainian media have estimated that 75 percent of Ukrainians use the app for communication and found that 72 percent saw it as a key source of information as of the end of last year.

 

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Telegram app

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IDF to review video of soldiers throwing Palestinian bodies from building

IDF to review video of soldiers throwing Palestinian bodies from building
Updated 20 September 2024
Arab News
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IDF to review video of soldiers throwing Palestinian bodies from building

IDF to review video of soldiers throwing Palestinian bodies from building
  • Israeli forces are reported to have knocked over pedestrians after 10-hour assault on Qabatiya
  • Neither identities nor cause of death were immediately known
Updated 20 September 2024
Arab News

LONDON: The Israeli Defense Forces have confirmed they are “reviewing” a video which appears to show their soldiers throwing the bodies of three Palestinians from a building in the West Bank.

According to an Associated Press journalist on the scene and obtained video footage, the soldiers allegedly killed the three men before pushing them from the top of a structure in Qabatiya.

“This is a serious incident that does not coincide with IDF values and the expectations from IDF soldiers,” said a statement from the organization.

No formal investigation has yet been launched.

The incident happened following a 10-hour military assault on Qabatiya, where Israeli forces reportedly knocked over pedestrians as they hurtled through the town in armored vehicles.

Israel claimed its troops killed four militants in the assault. However, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah reported only one confirmed death, with 10 people hospitalized.

This is the latest in a series of alleged violations by the Israeli military, with human rights groups expressing concern over excessive force used against Palestinians.

In the video, soldiers are seen standing on the ground while troops peer over the roof of the building before pushing a body over the edge. In a second instance, soldiers are shown swinging a body over the side by its limbs, and in a third the body is kicked to the edge before falling.

Photos captured by AP during Thursday’s raid show an Israeli army bulldozer near the buildings where the bodies were dropped. Other journalists at the scene also witnessed the bodies being pushed.

Neither the identities of the dead nor the cause of their deaths were immediately known.

The AP reporter who witnessed the raid said they saw a blindfolded and shirtless Palestinian man kneeling before an Israeli army jeep and armed soldiers.

Topics: War on Gaza IDF

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