File Photo: Swati Maliwal, chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women, cries during her hunger strike protest demanding stricter laws for rape in India, in New Delhi, India.
Tanu had marvelled at her first smartphone when her Indian migrant worker husband gave it to her last November so the couple could stay connected. Before long, she was uploading pictures on Facebook and sending messages on Whatsapp.
Then a stranger sent her a Facebook friend request.
Tanu accepted, and when her new friend messaged her with promises of a better life she believed him, agreeing to a meeting that would ultimately lead to her being sex trafficked to the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.
The White House has ordered that a wider group of lawmakers have access to classified information about an informant the FBI used to investigate possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing two American officials with knowledge of the decision.The White House order to allow all members of the House and Senate intelligence committees to see the classified documents - rather than a smaller group of lawmakers known as the "Gang of Eight" - was made despite concerns by intelligence and law enforcement officials that the move could lead to leaks, the Times said.Trump says May's Brexit plan kills hope of a US trade dealSome American officials believe the reason the White House made the decision was to provide political ammunition to President Donald Trump's Republican allies who have argued that the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe was opened in July 2016 as an effort to keep Trump from becoming president, the Times reported.The White House did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.S.Korea's Moon urges North, United States to move forward on denuclearisationAccording to the Times and other media reports, the FBI sent the informant, an American academic who teaches in Britain, to talk to Trump campaign advisers in the summer of 2016 after the agency had received evidence that the aides had suspicious contacts with Russia. The use of informants is commonplace in counterintelligence and criminal investigations.The FBI at the time was investigating whether anyone in Trump's campaign worked with Russia to help tip the election in Trump's favor. The investigation is now being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
White House orders greater access to files on FBI informant
"He did not touch me. He just handed me over to other people," said Tanu, 21, whose full name cannot be used for legal reasons.
"I did not fear anything while using the phone," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone on Thursday from the southern state of Kerala, from where she was rescued last week.
"I did not even know I had to fear getting trapped. I never thought something like this would happen."
A huge explosion rocked an area near Cairo International Airport late Thursday, according to media reports.The blast was followed by a fire, according to Egyptian state television.There has been no official announcement on the cause of the explosion.Video: Explosion sets off fire outside Egypt's Cairo airport
Blast reported near Cairo’s international airport
Police and campaigners in India say sex traffickers are increasingly using WhatsApp and Facebook to communicate with potential victims, calling it an invisible crime.
India's mobile phone users have multiplied on the back of cheap devices and data packs and the country is among the top data consumers in the world, with about a billion wireless connections.
That and free wifi in public places are making it easier for traffickers to operate - and harder for authorities to track them down.
"These cases are emerging nearly every day, particularly of girls from the most vulnerable, remote parts of the country who have no exposure to city life," said Robin Hibu, joint commissioner with Delhi police.
Municipal workers in Japan struggled on Friday to restore water supply in the flood-hit western region a week after inundation caused by a record downpour killed more than 200 people in the worst weather disaster in 36 years.Communities that grappled with rising floodwaters last week now find themselves battling scorching summer temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius (86°F), as foul-smelling garbage piles up in mud-splattered streets."We need the water supply back," said Hiroshi Oka, 40, a resident helping to clean up the Mabi district in one of the hardest-hit areas, the city of Kurashiki, where more than 200,000 households have gone without water for a week."What we are getting is a thin stream of water, and we can't flush toilets or wash our hands," he added, standing over a 20-litre (4.4-gallon) plastic tank that was only partly filled after almost four hours of waiting.Japan flood toll nears 200, sun scorches thousands battling thirstWater supply has been restored to some parts of the district, a city official told Reuters, but he did not know when normal operation would resume, as engineers are still trying to locate water pipeline ruptures.The soaring temperatures have fuelled concern that residents, many still in temporary evacuation centres, may suffer heat strokes or illness as hygiene levels deteriorate.Public broadcaster NHK has spread advice on coping with high temperatures and maintain hygiene, such as a video tutorial on how to make a diaper from a towel and plastic shopping bag.More than 70,000 military, police and firefighters have fanned out to tackle the aftermath of the floods. There have been 204 deaths, the government said, with dozens still missing.Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government spokesman, urged people in flood-hit areas to take precautions against the heat, and guard against thunderstorms."People still need to be aware of the possibility of further landslides," he told a regular news conference on Friday.Severe weather has increasingly battered Japan in recent years, including similar floods last year that killed dozens of people, raising questions about the impact of global warming.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who cancelled a scheduled overseas trip to deal with the rescue effort, visited Kurashiki on Thursday, and said he aimed to visit other flood-damaged areas on Friday and over the weekend. 
Japan struggles to restore water supply to flood-hit towns as temperatures soar
'HIDDEN TSUNAMI'
Hibu spearheaded an anti-trafficking drive last year and handled the case of a girl from the remote northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh who had befriended a man on Facebook.
He bought her an air ticket to Mumbai, where he sold her into a brothel.
"She was a high school student, very poor. But she had a smartphone with internet. This is a hidden tsunami. Today mobile phones are not that costly," said Hibu.
India is only the latest country to experience the grim phenomenon - all over the world, concern is growing over the use of technology by traffickers, who use social media to contact vulnerable teenagers before selling them into sex work.
President Donald Trump on Thursday shared a "very nice" letter he said was sent to him by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The letter effusively praises Trump while teasing a possible second meeting between the leaders."Wishing that the invariable trust and confidence in Your Excellency Mr. President will be further strengthened in the future process of taking practical actions, I extend my conviction that the epochal progress in promoting DPRK-U.S. relations will bring our next meeting forward," Kim wrote in the letter dated July 6, referencing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.Trump and Kim met in Singapore last month during an historic sit-down between the U.S. and the North."I firmly believe that the strong will, sincere efforts and unique approach of myself and Your Excellency Mr. President aimed at opening up a new future between the DPRK and the U.S. will surely come to fruition," Kim added. The letter, sent last week, was since followed by a contentious two-day meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials that ended with a lengthy, barb-filled statement from the North.North Korea’s Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of making a "unilateral and gangster-like" demand for the North's denuclearization after the two-day talks concluded.Kim wants North Korea to be 'normal': South's leaderA major sticking point between the two sides has been Washington's plan for North Korea's complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.Pyongyang has consistently demanded a more gradual process based on developing mutual trust.Pompeo, Trump's point person for all things North Korea, conceded Washington and Pyongyang "still have a long ways to go."But the commitment that the North Koreans made – frankly, that Chairman Kim personally made to President Trump – remains, has been reinforced," he told reporters during an unannounced visit to Afghanistan.SKorea's Moon says North's criticism of US a negotiating strategyIn another sign that relations have strained since Kim sent the letter, CNN reported that North Korean officials failed to show up for a meeting with their U.S. counterparts in the demilitarized zone Thursday.The meeting was to focus on the return of remains of America's war dead killed during the Korean War.In a statement to Anadolu Agency, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. was informed "midday" that the North Koreans wanted to move the meeting back to July 15."We will be ready," she said.Pompeo ignored a reporter's question about the "snub" while he was traveling to Brussels, Belgium, CNN reported.
Trump shares 'very nice' letter from North Korea's Kim
But with internet penetration at just 18 percent in rural areas, according to a report from the Internet and Mobile Association of India, there is still huge scope for growth.
The report said mobile internet was predominantly used by young people, with 46 percent of urban users and 57 percent of rural users under the age of 25.
Payments too have gone online, eliminating the money trail, according to Cassandra Fernandes of anti-trafficking charity International Justice Mission.
"Earlier, traffickers visited the family, convinced them about a job prospect in the city ... they were usually people the family trusted," said Vivian Isaac, programme director of the My Choices Foundation which works with women and girls.
"Now they sit in their rooms and send messages on Facebook and WhatsApp and girls walk into their trap themselves. They never show hurry. They do it gradually, systematically."
For families of migrant workers, the mobile phone is their only connection to their loved one.
Tanu now plans to change her number - but says she will keep her smartphone.