Pokemon Go Use Countries Caution

In Saudi Arabia, clerics renewed an existing fatwa against Pokémon, calling it “un-Islamic.”

Bosnia has warned players to avoid chasing the creatures onto land mines left over from the 1990s.

An Egyptian communications official said the game should be banned because sharing photos or videos of security sites could put the sites at risk.

Russian officials sounded similar warnings, saying that “the consequences would be irreversible” if Pokémon players continued unchecked.

The game is notable for causing people to range out into the world, walking into places where they might not normally have a reason to be, pointing their smartphone cameras at buildings and historical sites.

The game overlays a digital world of diverse creatures, PokéStops and other features on the real world. Players capture the many types of Pokémon and then use them to battle on teams for control of locations known as gyms.

“Pokémon can be found in every corner of the earth,” the app tells users when they download the game.

And that is precisely the problem.

“Pokémon Go is the latest tool used by spy agencies in the Intel war, a cunning despicable app that tries to infiltrate our communities in the most innocent way under the pretext of entertainment,” said Hamdi Bakheet, a member of Egypt’s defense and national security committee in parliament, according to a report on Al-Jazeera.

Russian websites also published articles claiming the game is a CIA plot, while religious figures denounced it.

“It smacks of Satanism,” a Cossack leader told local media. The Kremlin’s press secretary warned users not to visit the Kremlin looking for Pokémon, and there was talk of prison time for anyone found looking for them in a church.

Kuwait banned the app’s use at government sites, and officials warned it could put users’ personal data at risk or be used by criminals to lure victims to isolated places. Indonesian officials also called it a national security threat that could allow its enemies to penetrate military sites and gain access to top-secret data. Israeli officials warned soldiers not to use it on bases as it could reveal their location.

The app uses geolocation features and enables the phone’s camera.

— Associated Press

Cosby files latest bid to question accuser

Bill Cosby is again fighting for the chance to question his accuser in court before his sexual-assault case goes to trial near Philadelphia.

Cosby’s lawyers have filed their latest appeal on the issue of whether accuser Andrea Constand must testify at a preliminary hearing.

The current case law in Pennsylvania lets prosecutors use police statements to spare victims the ordeal of repeated court testimony.

But the state Supreme Court has agreed to reconsider the issue. Cosby’s lawyers say Constand should testify in case the law is reversed.

A Montgomery County judge has already upheld the charges and ordered the 79-year-old Cosby to stand trial.

He remains free on $1 million bail.

Cosby insists his sexual encounter with Constand in 2004 was consensual. She says she was drugged and assaulted.

— Associated Press

Kerr engaged to Snapchat CEO

Miranda Kerr said yes.

The 33-year-old model is engaged to marry Snapchat co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel

She made the announcement on her Instagram account — using a Snapchat filter — on Wednesday, with a photo of a diamond ring and the caption “I said yes!!!”

This will be the second marriage for Kerr, who was previously married to actor Orlando Bloom They have a 5-year-old son together.

Spiegel, 26, has never been married.

He co-created Snapchat when he was a student at Stanford University.

— Associated Press

AP’s executive editor leaving

Kathleen Carroll, the executive editor of The Associated Press for the last 14 years, will leave her post at the end of the year.

The news was announced Wednesday by Gary Pruitt, president and chief executive officer of AP. Pruitt said that Carroll will help with the leadership transition.

Carroll, the former Washington bureau chief of Knight Ridder and a former AP writer and editor was appointed in 2002.

— Associated Press

News Source: http://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/Countries-caution-Pokemon-Go-use-8399894.php