Elephant Santas deliver Xmas presents at Thai school

Ayutthaya: Elephants dressed as Santa Claus gave out presents and candy to students in Thailand in an annual Christmas tradition in the mostly Buddhist country. Four elephants and their mahouts, also wearing Santa hats, visited the school and gave away presents to the students, said Lardthongtare Meepan, owner of the Ayuttahaya Elephant Palace, an elephant camp. Reuters

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Hacker holds 300mn iPhones to ransom, blackmails Apple

san francisco: A self-proclaimed hacker who held over 300 million iPhones to ransom after gaining access to their iCloud details and threatening to factory reset their iPhones has pleaded guilty to blackmailing the Cupertino-based tech giant. Kerem Albayrak, 22, claiming to be a member of the ‘Turkish Crime Family’ hacking group, tried to blackmail Apple after threatening to delete hundreds of millions of Apple accounts, Forbes reported on Sunday. He was sentenced last week to two-year suspended jail term, along with 300 hours of unpaid work and an electronic curfew for six months, at Southwark Crown Court in London. IANS

From NY to Moscow, Holocaust survivors share memories

Paris: Holocaust survivors in several cities around the world are lighting candles for Hanukkah together, as Jewish community leaders try to keep first-hand memories of the Nazi horrors alive. Elderly survivors in New York shared stories on Sunday at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. Survivors also gathered in Munich. The events were organised by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. AP

Russia tests ‘sovereign’ Internet amid fear of online isolation

Moscow: Russia carried out tests on Monday to ensure the “security” of its Internet infrastructure in case of a foreign cyberattack, measures that rights activists worry could also tighten censorship and lead to online isolation. A controversial law that allows the country to cut Internet traffic from international servers came into force in November, but the communications ministry has denied that the government is gearing up to isolate the Russian segment of the Internet and said ordinary users would not notice the tests. AFP