Received

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 104

A prisoner who allegedly escaped from a NSW jail in 1992 has turned himself in after almost 30 years on the run.

Darko Desic was 35 when he allegedly used bolt cutters to break out of a jail in Grafton on the state's north coast during the night of July 31, 1992.

The next time police heard from him was on Sunday, when the now-64-year-old walked into Dee Why Police Station on Sydney's northern beaches.

The former fugitive had run out of work and become homeless, a police source said.

"(He) handed himself in to get a roof over his head," the source, who declined to be named, said.

Desic was jailed in 1990 for drug supply, serving 19 months of a 33-month minimum term until his escape, allegedly done with a hacksaw blade and bolt cutters.

Police have charged him with escaping from lawful custody and a magistrate remanded him in custody on Tuesday at Central Local Court.

Desic is due to enter a plea to the prison escape charge on September 28.

He's also to serve out the remainder of his original sentence. His earliest parole date is November 1 next year, with his full term running until September 30, 2023.

© AAP 2021

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 137

American comedian Norm Macdonald, a former Saturday Night Live writer and performer during the 1990s, has died.

Macdonald, 61, died on Tuesday after a nine-year battle with cancer that he kept private, according to Brillstein Entertainment Partners, his management firm in Los Angeles.

The son of two schoolteachers raised in Quebec City, Canada, Macdonald was a stand-up comic and briefly a writer for the sitcom Roseanne when he was picked to join the cast of SNL in 1993.

After leaving the show in 1998, he created and starred in the comedy The Norm Show, playing a former NHL player kicked out of the league for gambling and tax evasion and forced into community service as a social worker.

He became known for his esoteric impressions, including Burt Reynolds, who gave Will Ferrell's Alex Trebek character grief on Celebrity Jeopardy.

He also impersonated Bob Dole, Larry King and David Letterman.

Macdonald was anchor on the Weekend Update desk on SNL in a prime era for news-based jokes, with Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson and O.J. Simpson frequent targets.

© AP 2021

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 105

Apple has unveiled the iPhone 13 and a new iPad mini, expanding 5G connectivity and showing off faster chips and sharper cameras.

While the Cupertino, California-based company did not announce any blockbuster features or products, analysts expect customers hanging onto older models like the iPhone X will be eager to upgrade.

The iPhone 13 will have a new chip called the A15 Bionic that will power features like automatically detecting when the phone's camera is pointed at text.

Apple said the iPhone 13 will have custom 5G antennas and radio components for faster speeds and will come in five colours.

The phone will start at $A1349 in Australia.

The iPhone 13 Pro starts at $US999 ($A1365) in the US and the Pro Max starts at $US1099 in the US.

"The competition is still playing catch-up to our chips - not just from last year, but even from two years ago," said Kaiann Drance, an Apple iPhone marketing executive.

The Series 7 smart watch will feature a larger display and faster charging.

It will start at $US399 in the US and be available later in the northern hemisphere autumn.

The company also updated its iPad Mini with 5G connectivity and a reworked design that makes it look like the higher-end iPad Air and Pro models.

Apple also updated its base-model iPad with a new camera for working and learning from home.

Both will be available next week.

Apple shares were down 0.5 per cent, in-line with a slight downturn in broader markets.

"It seems like there's nothing really revolutionary announced, but of course, as usual, they announced enough improvements to at least generate some enthusiasm among consumers," said Rick Meckler, partner at family investment office Cherry Lane Investments.

Apple last year introduced its iPhone 12, which featured a new look and its first devices with 5G connectivity.

This year, analyst expect modest hardware upgrades and a deeper focus on 5G.

© RAW 2021

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 121

Apple Inc has issued an emergency software patch in its Messages app to block a no-click spyware that could infect iPhones and iPads.

According to the company, the security update was issued after it was determined that the flaw could be exploited if a user received a maliciously-crafted PDF file.

The flaw was disclosed by University of Toronto's cyber-research unit Citizen Lab.

According to the security researchers, Israel-based NSO Group used the flaw to exploit and infect the latest devices with spyware.

With the flaw, a hacker using NSO's Pegasus malware gained access to Saudi activist's iPhone.

The flaw allows hackers to access Apple devices through the iMessage service even if users do not click on a link or file, known as a zero-click exploit.

The issue could affect all of Apple's devices, including iPhones, Macs and Apple Watches.

Apple's iMessage is considered to be one of the most secure messaging apps.

The tech giant has issued the update on the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch through iOS 14.8, iPadOS 14.8, macOS 11.6 and watchOS 7.6.2 software updates.

Citizen Lab researchers said they had found evidence of zero-click spyware earlier too but the latest was the first time where they could capture the exploit to find out how it works.

John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab, said: "What this highlights is that chat apps are the soft underbelly of device security.

"They are ubiquitous, which makes them really attractive, so they are an increasingly common target for attackers. They need to be a major priority for security."

© DPA 2021