FBI paid over $1 mn to crack iPhone
Washington: The Federal Bureau of Investigation paid more than $1 million to access San Bernardino attacker’s iPhone, the agency said. It is for the first time the agency has offered a possible price tag in the high-profile case, the Washington Post reported. Director James Comey did not offer a precise dollar figure, saying it cost “a lot” to get into the phone. Comey said the cost of the tool was “more than I will make in the remainder of this job, which is seven years and four months, for sure.”
Sikh politician shot dead in Pakistan
Peshawar: A prominent Pakistani Sikh politician — Sardar Sooran Singh, the Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Minority Affairs — was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen near his home in the country’s northwest.
‘Islamists attacked German Gurdwara’
Berlin: An explosion at a gurdwara in Germany’s Essen city was a “terror attack” carried out by radical Islamists, authorities have said for the first time, terming it as an “entirely new” strike targeting the Sikhs.
Indian temple awarded for lending jewellery
Singapore: An Indian temple trust was among nine patrons awarded in Singapore for lending its exquisite century-old deity jewellery on loan for 10 years to Indian Heritage Centre and helping provide “greater insight” into Indian culture. The jewellery which includes a necklace made of rubies, emeralds, diamonds and a gem-studded crown was loaned by Saigon Chettiars Temple Trust and came from Thendayuthapani Temple which was established 200 years ago in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
Chimps ‘shop’ like humans do: study
Washington: Chimpanzees use manipulative dexterity to evaluate and select figs, similar to the way humans shop for fruits and vegetables, researchers say. Figs are a vital resource for chimps when preferred foods are scarce. The study demonstrates the foraging advantages of opposable fingers and careful manual prehension, or the act of grasping an object with precision.
China targets 2020 Mars mission launch
Beijing: China unveiled plans to send a rover to Mars around 2020 to explore the Red Planet and launch 150 long range carrier rockets in next five years for its ambitious space missions. “The Mars probe is expected to orbit the red planet, land and deploy a rover all in one mission,” Xu Dazhe, director of the National Space Administration said.