SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2015 NEWS MADRID: Demonstrators gather at Puerta del Sol during the “March for Change” organized by leftwing party Podemos yesterday. — AFP Jihadists wary of Internet PARIS: After having used the Internet profusely for propaganda and recruitment, jihadist organizations have realized that investigators are gleaning crucial information online and are increasingly concealing their web presence, experts say. Apart from recent orders given to fighters to limit their exposure, erase the footprint of their online activity and avoid revealing too many place names or faces, the Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front groups are increasingly using the “Dark Web” - the hidden part of the Internet protected by powerful encryption softwares. “Sometimes we get the geographical location of some fighters thanks to Facebook,” Philippe Chadrys, in charge of the fight against terrorism at France’s judicial police, said earlier this week. “Some even publish it on the public part of their account. That gives us elements to build a case. Because of course we don’t go to Syria, we have no one on the ground, and we lack proof.” In November, Flavien Moreau, a 28-year-old jihadist who travelled to Syria and then returned to France, was jailed for seven years exclusively on the basis of what he posted online. And those who just months ago had happily posted videos, photos of themselves holding Kalashnikovs or of beheadings on Facebook have now realised that they were single-handedly building a case against themselves, if they ever decided to come home. “We are starting to notice the beginnings of disaffection with Facebook - they have understood that’s how we get incriminating evidence,” said Chadrys. “They are resorting more and more to Skype or WhatsApp, software that is much harder to intercept. “We realise that the people we are interested in are increasingly specialised in computing. They master encryption software and methods to better erase data.” Chadrys also said that jihadists were increasingly using the “Dark Web”. “That makes our probes much more complicated. The terrorists are adapting, they understand that the telephone and Internet are handy, but dangerous. He pointed to Mehdi Nemmouche, saying last year’s alleged Brussels Jewish museum killer had no mobile phone and no Facebook account. Faced with this problem, police are resorting to calling in cryptography and computing experts, but there are never enough, which slows down investigations. Last autumn, the Islamic State group (IS) published guidelines for its members, asking fighters not to tweet precise location names, to blur faces or stop giving too many details about on-going operations. “Security breaches have appeared, which the enemy has taken advantage of,” read the text, written in Arabic. “The identity of some brothers has been compromised, as have some sites used by mujahedeen. We know that this problem does not only involve photos, but also PDF, Word and video files.” In a recent report, Helle Dale of the US-based Heritage Foundation think-tank wrote that cyber-surveillance was key to the fight against IS “as human intelligence is hardly available on the ground, especially in Syria, and the number of unmanned drones is limited”. But, she added, the group “is changing is communications strategy. It is encrypting its electronic communications, limiting its presence online and using services that delete messages as soon as they are sent”. — AFP Massive march to support Spain anti-austerity party MADRID: Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid yesterday in support of new anti-austerity party Podemos, a week after Greece elected its hard-left ally Syriza. With the party topping opinion polls in the run up to elections later this year, protesters chanted “Yes we can!” as they made their way from Madrid city hall to the central Puerta del Sol square. Many waved blue and white Greek flags and red and white Syriza flags or held signs reading “The change is now” and “Together we can”. Podemos, which means “We Can”, was formed just a year ago, but produced a major shock by winning five seats in elections for the European Parliament in May. “The wind of change is starting to blow in Europe,” Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias said in both Greek and Spanish at the start of his address to the crowd at the end of the march. “We dream but we take our dream seriously. More has been done in Greece in six days than many governments did in years.” Syriza beat mainstream Greek parties by pledging to end austerity and corruption, as Podemos aims to do in Spain’s general election due in November. Iglesias, a 36year-old pony-tailed former university professor, appeared alongside Syriza’s Alexis Tsipras, now Greece’s prime minister, to publicly support him during his campaign. Podemos wants to prevent profitable companies from firing people, promote a fully state-controlled health care system and enact a “significant” minimumwage hike. The party has struck a chord with Spaniards enraged by a string of corruption scandals, as well as public spending cuts imposed by the conservative ruling party and previously by the Socialists after the economic crisis erupted in 2008. “There are many people that agree with the need for change. Enough already with stealing - that the corrupt take everything and we can’t do anything,” said Dori Sanchez, 23, an unemployed teacher who came from Monover in southeastern Spain for the rally. Podemos said 260 buses brought supporters to the capital from across Spain for the “March for Change”, while hundreds of locals signed on to host travellers. “I want real change, that they stop fooling us,” said Blanca Salazar, 53, a geriatric aide who came by car from the northern city of Bilbao with her husband and nephews. Spain has now officially exited recession - the country’s economy grew by 1.4 percent last year, according to provisional data released Friday - but nearly one in four workers is still unemployed. Salaries for many people have dropped and the number of workers on low-paid short-term contracts has soared. Podemos has overtaken the mainstream opposition Socialist Party in several opinion polls, and in some has topped the list ahead of the conservative ruling People’s Party (PP). The Socialists and the PP have ruled Spain alternately since the country returned to democracy after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has warned Spaniards not to “play Russian roulette” by supporting Podemos, which he said “promises the moon and the sun” but will not deliver. Speaking in Barcelona as the rally was taking place, Rajoy said radicalism was “unfortunately very much in fashion in our country” without mentioning Podemos directly. “I don’t accept the gloomy Spain which some want to portray because they think that by doing so they will replace those who are governing and have had to face the most difficult crisis in decades. They will not succeed,” he added. Critics of Podemos have accused it of having links to Venezuela’s leftwing leaders and alleged fiscal irregularities by some of its top members. The party’s leaders have promised to publish their tax returns to dispel the allegations. — AFP Lavish Saudi freebies will buoy economy Continued from Page 1 As the sun breaks through the fog, a woman holds a child as she walks on a path in front of the Silverdale Beach Hotel near Old Mill Park, in Silverdale, Washington early Thursday. — AP Egypt bans Hamas armed wing Continued from Page 1 A source close to Hamas’ armed wing signalled the group would no longer accept Egypt as a broker between it and Israel. “After the court’s decision Egypt is no longer a mediator in Palestinian-Israeli matters,” the source told Reuters. Cairo has for many years played a central role in engineering ceasefires between Israel and Hamas, which dominates the Gaza Strip, including a truce reached between the sides in August that ended a 50-day Gaza war. Egyptian officials say that weapons are smuggled from Gaza into Egypt where they end up with militant groups fighting to topple the Westernbacked Cairo government. Islamist militants based in Egypt’s Sinai region, which bor- ders on Gaza, have killed hundreds of police and soldiers since Morsi’s political demise. The insurgency has spread to other parts of Egypt, the most populous Arab country. On Thursday night there were four separate attacks on security forces in North Sinai and Islamic State’s Egyptian wing, Sinai Province, claimed the killing of at least 30 soldiers and police officers. Egyptian officials say the Brotherhood, Islamic State, AlQaeda and Sinai Province, previously called Ansar Bayt AlMaqdis, share the same ideology. The Brotherhood says it is committed to peaceful activism and denies any tie to violence. Yesterday, a sniper wounded a soldier in a village in central Sinai, security sources said. In northern Sinai, Islamist militant gunmen killed a Christian man suspected of cooperating with Egyptian authorities. — Agencies Other benefits announced by Salman will increase spending further. He ordered payments to students, grants to professional associations and sports and literary clubs around the country, and 20 billion riyals in spending to improve electricity and water services, though it was not clear if the utility spending was part of a previously announced plan. A Reuters poll of economists earlier in January found them predicting GDP growth of 3.2 percent this year, down from 3.6 percent in 2014, on the grounds that the plunge in oil prices would cause the kingdom to slow some energy and petrochemical investments and make the government more cautious about spending in general. Salman’s announcement on Thursday suggested the government remained willing to spend heavily despite the hit to its oil revenues from low prices, and that GDP growth this year might therefore be higher than originally expected. “I believe it will be growth-supportive - especially on the consumption side,” said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. Saudi retail industry shares such as Jarir Marketing, United Electronics and Fawaz Alhokair, plays on the kingdom’s fast-growing private consumption, may benefit. Salman’s announcement appeared to take a step back from a pledge in the 2015 budget, which was announced in December when he was already overseeing economic policy, to “rationalize” spending on public salaries. But it is in a long Saudi tradition of welfare handouts at times of political transition or tension. The 2015 budget plan projected a deficit of 145 billion riyals; the actual deficit now looks likely to be much larger, but with government reserves at the central bank totalling some 900 billion riyals, Riyadh can easily cover such shortfalls for now. Salman may intend to recoup some of the costs of his handout through economic and bureaucratic reforms. Thursday’s decrees kept the identity of key economic ministers unchanged, suggesting to many observers that major, politically sensitive reforms - such as cutting energy subsidies, or large tax shifts -are not on the cards for now. “With the oil, economic and finance portfolios remaining steady, I do not expect to see wider change in policy,” said Malik. But Salman replaced many other ministers including telecommunications, agriculture and the civil service, suggesting he may seek changes in the way those ministries operate. Economy minister Muhammad Al-Jasser said last week that the next reform drive should focus on efficient administration. Salman appeared to be seeking bureaucratic efficiency on Thursday when he abolished 12 committees and councils, creating a new Council of Economic and Development Affairs to substitute for some of them. The new council, chaired by Salman’s son Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is only 34, may give the king a platform to push controversial economic reforms in the future if he wishes. — Reuters