Twitter steps up security after Trump account cut off
Twitter said it had boosted security measures on Friday (Nov 3) in response to a rogue employee's move cutting off Donald Trump's account, an 11-minute outage which drew mocking praise from the president's critics but also warnings of a dangerous precedent.
The US social network initially said the account had been "inadvertently deactivated due to human error" after the outage late Thursday (Nov 2) but subsequently indicated it was done intentionally by a departing worker on his or her final day.
Hours later Friday, Twitter said it implemented "safeguards to prevent this from happening again."
Spain issues arrest warrant for Catalan leader
Spain on Friday (Nov 3) issued an arrest warrant on sedition and other charges for former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who went to Brussels after his government was sacked following a declaration of independence.
A Madrid High Court judge asked Belgium to arrest Puigdemont and four associates after they ignored a court order to return to Spain on Thursday (Nov 2) to answer charges of rebellion, sedition, misuse of public funds, disobedience and breach of trust relating to their secessionist campaign.
The judge rejected a request from the former Catalan leader, who is considering standing in a snap election in Catalonia next month, to testify via video conference from Belgium.
No prison time for US soldier Bergdahl in desertion case: Media
A US military judge ruled Friday (Nov 3) that Bowe Bergdahl, the US soldier who deserted his Afghanistan post only to be held captive by insurgents for five years, would serve no prison time after a politically charged trial.
The judge ordered Sergeant Bergdahl to be dishonorably discharged, his rank slashed to private, and that he pay a US$10,000 (S$14,000) fine, the Pentagon said.
During last year's presidential campaign Donald Trump said he believed Bergdahl should be put to death for abandoning his post in the war zone. Bergdahl had faced up to life in prison after pleading guilty to charges of desertion and endangering his fellow troops.
White House OKs report warning climate change caused by humans
The US government released on Friday (Nov 3) a major scientific report that says climate change is "extremely likely" to be caused by human activity and will get worse without major cuts to carbon emissions.
The findings of the federally mandated report were approved by the White House, even though they are starkly at odds with the position of President Donald Trump, who has labelled global warming a Chinese hoax and named fossil fuel ally Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Climate Science Special Report spans more than 600 pages and is part of a larger report known as the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which is being issued in draft form for public comment.
Tennis: Nadal quits Paris with knee injury to cast doubt on London
Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Paris Masters before his quarter-final with a knee injury on Friday (Nov 3) which could also rule the 16-time Grand Slam champion out of the season-ending World Tour Finals.
World number one Nadal, who has suffered from knee and wrist injuries throughout his career, decided to withdraw on Friday morning after having his right knee strapped during his third-round win over Pablo Cuevas.
He did not say if he would be fit for the Tour Finals in London later this month.
