Teenage hacker unlocks the iPhone

A New Jersey teenager has unlocked the iPhone, opening the way to Apple's iconic mobile telephone being used by non-US networks.
The Associated Press news agency confirmed George Hotz, 17, had unlocked the iPhone and used it on T-Mobile, a rival to its sole US operator, AT&T.

The hacker says the unlocking takes about two hours and involves some soldering and skill with software.

AT&T and Apple have not yet commented on the news.

Some of my friends think I wasted my summer but I think it was worth it

George Hotz

Hackers and security researchers have been poring over Apple's much-coveted phone since its launch in the US in June in an effort to discover vulnerabilities in the handset.

Top of their list has been cracking the code that ties the phone to AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive network.

Before George Hotz's announcement on his blog, the iPhone was made to work on overseas networks using another method, which involves copying information from the Sim (Subscriber Identity Module) card.

However, special equipment was needed and the actual phone was not unlocked, with each Sim card having to be reprogrammed for use on a particular iPhone.

Analysts believe Apple may still have time to modify the iPhone production line to make new phones invulnerable to the hacks before the iPhone's expected European launch later this year.

Collaboration

The young hacker says he hopes phone-owners can eventually unlock their phones by themselves, and that he hopes his discovery will not be exploited for commercial gain.


The iPhone is currently sold only within the US

"That's exactly, like, what I don't want... people making money off this," he told AP.

The next step, he said, would be a non-solder solution: a way to unlock the phone using software alone.

Technology blog Engadget said on Friday that it had successfully unlocked an iPhone using a different method that required no tinkering with the hardware. The software was supplied by an anonymous group of hackers that apparently plans to charge for it, AP reports.

The agency notes that both the Hotz and Sim techniques leave the iPhone's many functions intact apart from its "visual voicemail" feature, which shows voice messages as if they are incoming e-mail.

The New Jersey hacker says he collaborated online with four other people, two of them in Russia, to develop the unlocking process.

He spent about 500 hours on the project since the launch on 29 June.

"Some of my friends think I wasted my summer but I think it was worth it," he told US newspaper The Record of Bergen County.

Australia unveils immigrant tests

Australia unveils immigrant tests
Australia unveils immigrant tests

Some questions centre on national symbols
Australia has unveiled details of a new citizenship test for immigrants.
They will be asked questions about history, institutions and culture - as well as committing to Australian social values focusing on "mateship".

The aim of the test was to get "that balance between diversity and integration correct in future", said Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews.

Critics believe the requirement of an English language exam discriminates against non-English speakers.

The new citizenship test is expected to be introduced later this year.

The details were unveiled in a 40-page draft guide that is to be given to all applicants.

Criticism

The prospective citizen will have to give a correct answer to 12 out of 20 questions - drawn from a total of about 200.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

What is the first line of Australia's national anthem?
Which is Australia's national flower?
Where is parliament located?
When did first European settlers arrive?

Some elements will almost certainly be beyond the knowledge of many ordinary Australians, says the BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney.

They include knowing the country's first prime minister or when European settlers arrived in Australia - or what the opening line of the national anthem is. Another one could be related to the nation's most important horse race.

Applicants who fail the test will be allowed to re-sit the examination.

But Kate Gauthier, national co-ordinator of refugee support group A Just Australia, criticised the government for introducing a citizenship exam.

"If they want to have Australia be more integrated they should spend more money on programs that achieve that instead of punishing people who are having trouble achieving that [integration] because they have language barriers and are recovering from things like torture," she was quoted as saying to the Sunday Herald Sun newspaper.

Mateship return?

For the first time, the draft guide lists 10 essential Australian values every citizen must embrace - focusing on "mateship and a fair go" and including tolerance, compassion, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and secular government, equality of men and women and peacefulness.

It describes Australia as "a nation at ease with the world and itself", but it expects potential citizens to respect Australia's core values.

"Australia has a strong tradition of mateship in which people help and receive help from others voluntarily, especially in times of adversity," it says.

"A mate can be a spouse, partner, brother, sister, daughter, son or friend. A mate can be a stranger."

The formulation caused controversy in 1999 when voters rejected an attempt by Prime Minister John Howard to have the concept written into the preamble to the constitution.

It was criticised as too sexist, or inappropriate for a formal document.


Some questions centre on national symbols
Australia has unveiled details of a new citizenship test for immigrants.
They will be asked questions about history, institutions and culture - as well as committing to Australian social values focusing on "mateship".

The aim of the test was to get "that balance between diversity and integration correct in future", said Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews.

Critics believe the requirement of an English language exam discriminates against non-English speakers.

The new citizenship test is expected to be introduced later this year.

The details were unveiled in a 40-page draft guide that is to be given to all applicants.

Criticism

The prospective citizen will have to give a correct answer to 12 out of 20 questions - drawn from a total of about 200.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

What is the first line of Australia's national anthem?
Which is Australia's national flower?
Where is parliament located?
When did first European settlers arrive?

Some elements will almost certainly be beyond the knowledge of many ordinary Australians, says the BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney.

They include knowing the country's first prime minister or when European settlers arrived in Australia - or what the opening line of the national anthem is. Another one could be related to the nation's most important horse race.

Applicants who fail the test will be allowed to re-sit the examination.

But Kate Gauthier, national co-ordinator of refugee support group A Just Australia, criticised the government for introducing a citizenship exam.

"If they want to have Australia be more integrated they should spend more money on programs that achieve that instead of punishing people who are having trouble achieving that [integration] because they have language barriers and are recovering from things like torture," she was quoted as saying to the Sunday Herald Sun newspaper.

Mateship return?

For the first time, the draft guide lists 10 essential Australian values every citizen must embrace - focusing on "mateship and a fair go" and including tolerance, compassion, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and secular government, equality of men and women and peacefulness.

It describes Australia as "a nation at ease with the world and itself", but it expects potential citizens to respect Australia's core values.

"Australia has a strong tradition of mateship in which people help and receive help from others voluntarily, especially in times of adversity," it says.

"A mate can be a spouse, partner, brother, sister, daughter, son or friend. A mate can be a stranger."

The formulation caused controversy in 1999 when voters rejected an attempt by Prime Minister John Howard to have the concept written into the preamble to the constitution.

It was criticised as too sexist, or inappropriate for a formal document.

Dibaba retains world 10,000 title

CNN
Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba made an astonishing recovery to become the first woman to defend her world championship 10,000 meters title on Saturday. Dibaba made an astonishng recovery after falling off the pace to win 10,000m gold again. Dibaba was left languishing at the back of the field after being accidentally tripped on lap 13 but stormed back in draining humidity to win in a time of 31 minutes 55.41 seconds. .. "That was the hardest race of my life," Dibaba told reporters. "I had terrible stomach pain and then I was so far back I thought it would be impossible to come back. "But I did it for my country. I was struggling but I told myself to hang in. I didn't want to let down the people back home in Ethiopia."

One For the Road!

Secretariat of the Ethiopian Millennium Festival National Council in Addis Ababa kindly invites you to participate in this project which is bound to have popular support and leave a lasting legacy.
By simply dropping a book (most preferably academic in nature and suitable for secondary and university students) you will be helping fellow Ethiopians who suffer from either the scarcity of books, or who simply can't afford it.
Special boxes will be placed by the immigration lobby inside Bole International Airport where - without any hassle - you will be able to drop the book that you have brought with you. Do remember to place the book in your cabin-bag, as you will not be able to find a box for it outside the terminal.

Remember: It's time to make a difference!!

Ethiopian Millennium

Ethiopia is old beyond imagination, dating to the very beginning of mankind; after all this is the land of Dinknesh (Lucy), Lucy is a female hominoid that lived in what is now called the Awash Valley in Hadar approximately 3.2 million years ago and she is the oldest skeleton of any erect walking human ancestor that has ever been found. It is also the land of the Queen of Sheba, a place of legendary and farsighted leaders, fabulous kingdoms and ancient mysteries.
The Ethiopian calendar is much more similar to the Egyptian Coptic calendar having a year of 13 months. The Ethiopian calendar divides the year into 12 months of 30 days each, plus a thirteenth month of 5 days and one extra day during a leap year. The Ethiopian calendar is very much influenced by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which adheres to its ancient calendar rules. The Ethiopian calendar is always seven years and eight months behind the Gregorian and Eastern Orthodox Church calendars from September to December and eight years and four months behind, from January to August.
Ethiopians all over the world will celebrate the new millennium on September 12, 2007 (Meskerem 1, 2000 Ethiopian calendar).
It is time for Ethiopians from all walks of life ask the tough questions about ourselves; it is time to stop blaming others and let each and every Ethiopian ask himself or herself where do we take our country and people from here?

Interview with Ethiopian Ambassador Samuel Assefa

Ambassador Dr.Samuel Assefa
The Washington Times
We were well into the second half of a two-hour interview with Ethiopian Ambassador Samuel Assefa when a consultant to the ambassador handed us a four-color map of the Horn of Africa.
The message conveyed by the map was very clear: The word "Jihadists" appeared in bold red type across Somalia with black arrows pointing to red bomb bursts in parts of Somalia and eastern Ethiopia.
Equally large lettering over eastern Ethiopia bore the letters ONLF, referring to the Ogaden National Liberation Front, with more black arrows pointing to bomb bursts in central and southern Ethiopia. A key at the bottom left of the map said the bomb bursts represented "Terrorist attacks/planned attacks."
Finally, the map showed bright green arrows stretching from Eritrea to Somalia and eastern Ethiopia, with a third, double-pointed arrow, crossing the Somalia-Ethiopia border. These, the key said, represented "Terrorist relationships," (weapons/money/ support).
With even a superficial understanding of Ethiopia's strategic situation, it all made perfect sense. Ethiopian troops have been in Somalia since December, propping up a Western-backed interim government against Islamist militants who had briefly seized control of the country and who continue to attack the Ethiopian and government forces.
Ethiopia has also been fighting for years against the ONLF, which is based in the country's eastern desert near Somalia and is seeking to establish an independent state or, according to the ambassador, annex the area to Somalia.
Ethiopia accuses Eritrea, a one-time ally with which it fought a two-year border war ending in 2000, of funneling money and weapons to the Somali jihadists and the ONLF, who for the most part are ethnic Somalis. The last arrow suggested that the jihadists and Ogaden rebels are cooperating and moving arms back and forth across the border.

What was surprising was not the message of the map, but its simplicity, even crudity, compared to the subtlety and sophistication of the ambassador's discourse.
Mr. Assefa is not one to make blunt accusations; he speaks rather like the academic he is, boasting a high quality U.S. education including a doctorate in political science from Princeton University, and a recent stint as vice-president of Addis Ababa University.
He spoke of the conflict with Eritrea not in anger but in sorrow, recalling that the nations had been allies in overthrowing the Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991. And he was quick to point out that most of the Islamists who briefly established power in Mogadishu last year were perfectly reasonable and moderate, saving his criticism for a handful of their most senior leaders.
His biggest concern seemed to be that hostility in Congress toward President Bush has led Democrats to take a harsh view of the Ethiopian government because it is cooperating with the U.S. in the war on terrorism. That, he said, explains why African countries have hesitated to contribute troops to help maintain the peace in Mogadishu.
We pointed out that there is a large Ethiopian community in Washington, many of whose members are politically active and remain very angry over the outcome of 2005 parliamentary elections and whose efforts may contribute to the attitude in Congress. Mr. Assefa slapped his forehead in mock dismay. "How could I have forgotten to mention that?" he said.
All in all, it was a fascinating performance, and provided lots of fodder for an article to appear in the coming days. It was part of what makes this job so much fun.


David W. Jones is the foreign editor of The Washington Times. His e-mail address is djones@washingtontimes.com.

AFRICA: Vulnerability Despite Growth

By Eyasu solomon
High oil prices and a dependence on commodities cloud prospects, two new reports say.
African economic growth would accelerate to 5.9% in 2007, with oil exporting countries outperforming oil importers, which would face rising inflation from the high cost of fuel, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in its 2007 African outlook on June 11th. The 30-member group of industrial countries warned that Africa as a whole was unlikely to meet Millennium Development Goals on improving access to water and sanitation in poor countries by 2015.
South Africa would expand at a brisk rate of 4.5% in 2007 and 2008 but the country's outlook could be clouded by international risks, including rising US interest rates, higher oil prices and a downturn in commodity prices. The report cited uncertainty over the choice of successor to President Thabo Mbeki as a negative factor for South Africa's economy. "In 2007 the average real gross domestic product (GDP) for the continent is expected to be 5.9%, with the difference between the two groups of countries (oil exporters and importers) even more marked at 7.4% and 4.7% respectively", the OECD said. In 2006 Africa grew 5.5%, well above the long-term trend, for the fourth consecutive year.

"Oil importing countries will need to contain inflationary pressures now running into double digits as a result of oil price increases, and to finance or to contain increases in their current account deficits", the OECD said. High energy prices had pushed Africa's inflation rate up to 9.1% overall in 2006, with oil importers faced with a rate of 12%, which was set to edge up to 12.9% by 2009. Progress towards the "Millennium Development Goals" of halving poverty by 2015 was being made—but not fast enough.
Ten million more people a year had gained access to drinking water between 1990 and 2004 but the population had grown even faster, which meant the annual total had to triple for those goals to be met, it said. Improved sanitation was more difficult, with 35m more people needing access a year, compared with the present 7m. "Even then, 234m people will lack safe drinking water by 2015 and 317m to improved sanitation", the report said.
On the positive side, African trade rose to 50% of GDP between 1996 and 2005 from 43% between 1980 and 1995, while foreign direct investment (FDI) tripled to $30.6bn between 2001 and 2005, it said.
But Africa's share in world trade remains minimal, at 1.5%, while it receives less than 4% of the world's foreign direct investment. To benefit from globalisation, African economies should capitalise on rising annual aid inflows, set to reach $51bn by 2010 against $40bn in 2006, the OECD said. (Business Day, Johannesburg 12/7)
Meanwhile, the UN’s 2007 mid-year World Economic Situation and Prospect report found that growth in Africa was likely to average 6% in 2007, compared with global growth of 3.4%.
However, "even the best governed countries on the continent have not been able to make sufficient progress in reducing extreme poverty in its many forms", the report said.
The report, an advance excerpt from a fuller document to be published later in the year, was issued as leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) top industrial democracies were meeting in Germany (p. 17397).
It said that progress remained fragile because it was driven largely by a boom in commodity prices. Meanwhile, aid to sub-Saharan Africa had stayed virtually unchanged since 2004, not counting one-off debt relief and humanitarian assistance.
Donors needed to move more quickly if they were to meet their 2005 pledge to double aid to Africa by 2010, the United Nations said. It also called for fairer trading rules and progress on the Doha round of world trade talks.
"The stark figures in this report should stir us to move away from debating principles towards working out the practicalities of scaling up interventions", said UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, a Tanzanian. (Financial Times, London, 29/5, Reuters 6/6)
Curse or Blessing?
Africa's abundance in natural resources, especially oil, has been called a curse because of the fierce global thirst that exists for these assets. Oil and other mineral resources have led to conflict and corruption in countries like Sierra Leone (diamonds), Niger (oil), Equatorial Guinea (oil) and Angola (oil). According to the Energy Information Administration, which supplies official statistics to the US government, there is more trade in oil globally than in any other product as oil from producing countries is shipped to consumer countries. Millions of dollars are annually poured into Africa by international oil companies. Millions more are being spent in exploratory enterprises. It is a resource that is indispensable to the world economy. Therefore it should generate money to address the health and social issues of the oil-producing countries on the continent. Not so. In Angola, a cholera epidemic wreaked havoc in 2006. President Jos Eduardo dos Santos was criticised for enriching himself from the oil industry while his people were dying due to a lack of clean drinking water.
In Equatorial Guinea the same pattern is repeated. According to the international human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, Equatorial Guinea is the second most corrupt country after Chad in Africa. It is also the continent's third largest oil producer after Nigeria and Angola with a daily offshore production of 350,000 barrels. But 70% of the population survive on less than US$1 a day. In 2004 Riggs Bank of Washington was involved in a scandal when it was found that it had willingly accepted billions of dollars from the country's leader, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasago. An inquiry was launched by the US senate which found that oil companies operating in the African country were bribing the countries’ leaders by paying school fees for their children and forming business deals with leaders. Chinese state-owned firms are active in Southern Sudan, Nigeria and Angola. Critics say there is reason for concern about China's interest in African oil. The Chinese government has been criticised for human rights abuses and a lack of accountability. China is just one country extracting oil", Sumayya Hassan Athamni, company secretary of the National Oil Company ofKenya told IPS. "It is unfair to blame China for problems if there are others in the oil industry whose hands are not clean. We all know what happened with Shell in Nigeria."
Double Standards
"African countries have to look at internal structures in order to ensure that the oil wealth reaches the ordinary man and woman in the street. There have to be viable systems in place to monitor the industry", according to Athmani. "The large oil companies are concerned about environmental, corruption and human rights issues in the Western world where there are structures in place guarding against abuse. In Africa and other developing countries where these structures are not in place, they had no scruples in forsaking these standards", claimed Athmani. "If an oil company tars a road leading from the exploration fields to the company's headquarters, it can most definitely not say it has met part of its corporate social responsibility", Athmani pointed out. Banks also have to guard against corruption. "It does not matter how many good governance codes they have signed up to, if they do not in practice enforce these codes, it means nothing", said Athmani.
The list of the negative effects of high oil revenue is long but includes: trickle down effect fails to materialise due to the absence of a downstream sector; agriculture sector is neglected leading to an impoverishment of the rural population; low tax ratios and high consumption expenditures—typically on imported goods—reinforce inflationary tendencies; and displacement or disenfranchisement of indigenous people, conflicts over land use rights and environmental degradation.
Some of these negative effects are attributed to the enormous revenue flow that renders the establishment of a functioning tax system obsolete. As a result, the general public and civil society have rather little interest in the way these revenues, to which they do not contribute, are used. In addition, pertinent checks and balances remain underdeveloped, or the government is able to undermine them. With regard to expenditure, no use is made of openings or diversifying the economy, enhancing infrastructure or expanding education systems. "There is virtually no transfer of knowledge to local enterprises, and only minimal employment in domestic labour market is created", Geerd Wurthman, of the German Economic Development Ministry, states. "At the same time, the booming oil revenues give rise to a rent-seeking mentality on the part of governing elites that is extremely detrimental for the country's development", he adds. Governing elites enjoy ownership and/or control of oil reserves without having to pay for them. The resulting revenue that accrues to them fosters corruption and cronyism and strengthens authoritarianism.
Mary M'mukindia, an independent Kenyan analyst for the oil industry, argued that governments have to put in place structures which ensure that citizens benefit from oil wealth. She supports initiatives such as "Publish What you Pay" which forces international oil companies to publish the amounts of money they pay to governments. Cesar Chelala, the award-winning writer on human rights issues, wrote in an article in the Gulf Times on May 16th that oil companies, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and powerful governments should demand transparency from African governments. In 2002, British Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Under the regulations of this initiative, countries rich in mineral and oil wealth as well as the companies extracting the wealth have to publish payments received and made.
Owning the Resources
So far, 14 of 23 oil-producing countries in Africa are members of EITI. Ironically, of all the countries, only Nigeria and companies working there have agreed to submit their accounts. The only other country in the world that has done this is Azerbaijan, according to an article by the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development. For EITI to work, M'mukindia says there should be three-way compliance. First: governments should "want to have" a transparency model. Second: extractive companies should be keen. In this regard, governments can implement laws which force companies to comply. Third: Civil society organisations (CSO) should be involved. "They represent the people who are the real owners of the resources", said M'mukindia. But for CSO to have an effect, they need to be well-informed. "They need to be brought up to speed with international standards and the intricacies of the industry. They have to understand the economy of the mining industry and they have to know what happens on the markets in Europe and America. They have to know when the trade is especially robust.