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Pakistan NSA Moeed Yusuf 

New Delhi: Pakistans National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf has said that Islamabad wants peace with New Delhi but the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is not interested in talks.

This statement from Yusuf comes after Pakistan unveiled its new National Security Policy last month with an aim to normalise tensions with New Delhi and work towards opening gateways of economic diplomacy.

In an exclusive interview with Indian Express, the Pakistani NSA said the ball is in Indias court, Islamabad wants to move forward but the enabling environment has to come from India.

Pakistan in its National Security Policy, a 100-page document, has shifted its principal stance over the dispute of Jammu and Kashmir from primary to a secondary pending dispute.

As per the new security policy details, Pakistan will be looking forward to having more deliberations and engagements with New Delhi over trade and economic opportunities.

We are not seeking hostility with India for the next 100 years. The new policy seeks peace with immediate neighbours. If there was a dialogue and progress in it, there would be a possibility of normalising trade and commercial ties with India as it had happened in the past, an official with knowledge of details of the new security policy told IANS.

Relation between Pakistan and Indiadeterioratedwhen the Union government abrogated Article 370 and 35Ain August 2019, changing the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.

In reaction to the decision, Pakistan suspended all diplomatic ties and stopped bilateral trade with India.

Pakistan has also blamed Indias hegemonic designs and the unresolved Kashmir dispute for the strained bilateral ties.

Towards the immediate east, bilateral ties have been stymied as a consequence of the unresolved Kashmir dispute and India's hegemonic designs, the NSP read.

Read more here:
We want to be at peace with India but Modi govt is not interested in talks: Pakistan NSA Moeed Yusuf - Times Now

FENCING CONTRACTORS will have the opportunity to put their skills to the test at this years National Sheep Association Scotsheep event, which will include a live fencing competition.

The biannual event, sponsored by Virgin Money and hosted by Robert and Hazel McNee, at Over Finlarg, Tealing, Dundee, on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, will feature a variety of demonstrations, seminars and competitions throughout the day, including the new fencing competition sponsored by Tornado Wire and James Jones and Sons Timber.

Competing two-man teams will be tasked with erecting a section of high tensile stock netting, between 60 to 70 metres in length, with two end straining posts and a slight turn towards one end within the three hours allocated.

All fencing materials will be provided, including netting, line wire, barbed wire, and timber, as well as staples, fasteners, nails and other requisites within the finished fence. No wire joining accessories will be allowed and all wires must be tied and joined using knots.

Competitors will be responsible for providing their own tools, and safety equipment, with only handheld tools permitted, including petrol driven augers and chainsaws, but excluding all vehicle mounted equipment.

We are delighted to introduce this new competition to the NSA Scotsheep programme of events this year and would encourage all fencing contractors to get their entries in and demonstrate the good work they can do, said NSA Scotsheep 2022 chairman, Willy Millar.

There will be three prizes awarded at the competition along with a trophy to the winners, with first prize winners receiving 200; second prize 100 and third prize 50.

Entries are limited to a maximum of eight teams of two, although if the competition is oversubscribed, a ballot will take place immediately after the closing date on April 1, 2022, and the entrants notified.

The entry fee is 20 including VAT and includes two competitor entrance tickets, breakfast and lunch vouchers.

Read this article:
Competitive fencing to feature at NSA Scotsheep 2022 - The Scottish Farmer

Researchers at the University of Sussex have estimated the required time for a quantum computer to break the bitcoin algorithm. They discuss how that cannot happen for owners in the blockchain and the future as well.

Mark Webber, a graduate student at the University of Sussex and the Ion Quantum Technology Group, has examined the SHA-256 coding algorithm introduced in 2001by the National Security Agency (NSA).

Suspected marijuana plant raid turns into crypto mining farm discovery

SHA-2, or Secure Hash Algorithm 2, is a cluster of cryptographic hash functions developed by the United States National Security Agency. There are six hash values under the SHA-2 process, with SHA-256 being one of the more prominent due to its use in bitcoin currency. The collection of hash functions combined by employing the MerkleDamgrd construction a one-way compression function assembled using the DaviesMeyer structure from a specialized block cipher.

All bitcoin transactions require verification by crypto miners' networks before it adds to the blockchain. This verification system tells the system who owns what amounts in the ledger. The transactions are given a designation with a cryptographic key during verification. If an individual or group cracks the code, it will allow access and ownership of the bitcoin cluster.

According to Webber, IBM's supercomputer, considered the most powerful quantum computer available with 127 qubits (quantum bits), is the best device to crack the bitcoin code. However, the quantum computer is still too small for what would be needed to break the digital currency algorithm. The researchers discovered that a quantum computer that utilizes a staggering 317 million qubits would require upwards of one hour to break through the bitcoin encryption. Unfortunately, to process a ten-minute hack of encryption would require a quantum computer that can process 1.9 billion qubits of code.

The transactions get announced and theres a key associated with that transaction. Theres a finite window of time that that key is vulnerable and that varies, but its usually around 10 minutes to an hour, maybe a day.

Mark Webber

Webber and his colleagues do show concern for the future with bitcoin. Currently, breaking the bitcoin algorithm will be impossible until an ultra quantum computer is complete. A computer system that size is still close to a decade away from development.

We need to change our encryption techniques, because in the future, theyre not secure.

Source: Benzinga

Excerpt from:
Quantum computing will be the answer to cracking the Bitcoin algorithm - Wccftech

As part of the Biden administrations focus on enforcement of the No Surprises Act (NSA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a bulletin (the Bulletin) indicating that it will closely review the practices of those engaged in the collection or reporting of medical debt, will hold debt collectors accountable for failing to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Regulation F, and will hold consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) and furnishers accountable for failing to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Regulation V. The Bulletin is accessible here.

The NSA protects consumers from certain surprise medical bills for services arising from care provided at out-of-network emergency rooms and for services by out-of-network physicians at in-network hospitals. If the patient is insured, the NSA limits patient cost-sharing to the amount the patient would have been required to pay if the facility or provider had been in-network and limits the amount the insurer must pay to the facility or provider to an agreed amount or the amount decided pursuant to state or federal dispute resolution processes. If the patient is uninsured, the NSA prohibits the facility or provider from charging substantially more than the facilitys or providers good-faith estimate for the items or services provided. The NSA prohibits facilities and providers from billing patients for amounts in excess of these limits and imposes certain dispute resolution processes if consumers assert that an amount exceeds NSA limits. (See our recent update on the NSA implementation here, more information on NSA state guidance here, and details on the second interim final rule here and the first NSA regulation here.)

In the Bulletin, the CFPB reminds debt collectors that a debt collector who represents that a consumer owes a debt arising from out-of-network charges for emergency services may violate the prohibition on misrepresentations if those charges exceed the amount permitted by the NSA and that collecting an amount in excess of that allowed under the NSA would violate the prohibition on unfair or unconscionable debt collection practices. Prior statements by the CFPB concerning debt collection practices suggest that even first-party debt collectors not subject to the FDCPA may also be liable for such activity under the CFPBs unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) authority.

In addition, the Bulletin points out that debt collectors and others who furnish information to CRAs and the CRAs to which such information is reported may violate the FCRA and Regulation V if they report inaccurate information, such as medical debts that exceed the amount owed under the NSA, or include such amounts in a consumer report.

The CFPB states that it will use all appropriate tools to assess whether supervisory, enforcement or other action may be necessary. As a result, health care providers and facilities and the debt collectors to whom they may refer medical bills covered by the NSA should exercise caution and make certain that they understand the provisions of the NSA. Their policies and procedures should be reviewed and updated to ensure that they do not seek to collect an amount in excess of that owed by the patient under the NSA. CRAs and furnishers should also review their investigatory procedures and ensure that they have appropriate staffing to address what could be an increase in the number and complexity of disputes as consumers become increasingly aware of their rights under the NSA.

The rest is here:
CFPB Will Enforce Laws Preventing the Collection/Reporting of Medical Debts Barred by the NSA - JD Supra

India's fifth and current NSA National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India, Ajit Doval is often often called the James Bond of India as the patriot has spent his life for the country and provide information to the army in the midst of the enemy. Doval has spent 40 years of his life in oblivion for the sake of the countrys defence.

Ajit Doval was born on 20th January 1945 in Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand.

His father Gunanand Doval was an army man, so his elementary education was at Ajmer Military School. In 1967, he received a Masters Degree with the first position in Economics from Agra University.

He then went into the preparations for the IPs, which he made in 1968 from the Kerala cadre and became a police officer. Four years later, he joined the Intelligence Bureau in 1972.

As Ajit Doval turns 77 today, Netizens took to Twitter to salute the NSA for his extra-ordinary services to the nation and wished him a very happy birthday.

Take a look:

Doval as an NSA spearheaded both the surgical strikes killing 35-40 terrorists in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). In 2015 he led the team that killed the militants in Myanmar in the border. And on the night of 29th September 2016, he monitored a successful surgical strike operation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

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Go here to read the rest:
NSA Ajit Doval turns 77: Netizens salute the brave son of Maa Bharti on his birthday - Free Press Journal