http://uawire.org/assad-and-haftar-join-forces-to-oppose-erdogan

Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has entered into a military and political alliance with Libyan Field Marshal Haftar to jointly oppose Turkey's armed intervention, reports the French newspaper Le Monde.

According to the newspaper, a new military and political axis of Damascus-Benghazi is being formed. It is "a sign of the growing expansion of the Syrian and Libyan theatres of war with serious implications for regional geopolitics."

On Tuesday, March 3, the unrecognized Eastern Libya’s government, which supports Marshal Khalifa Haftar, reopened the Libyan embassy in Damascus, which has been closed since 2012. East Libyan delegates and their Syrian counterparts have formally pledged to jointly confront “Turkey's aggression against the two countries”.

In addition, the newspaper writes that one and a half thousand Syrian fighters joined the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Haftar.

They will help Haftar in the fight against the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA). They are well-trained special forces fighters who have been recruited in Syria since 2018. In general, the LNA is aided by Druze, natives of Ghouta (a suburb of Damascus). Thir salaries range from $800 to $1,500.

https://asiatimes.com/2020/03/former-us-defense-staffer-to-head-tiktoks-security/

A former US defense staffer will head Tiktok’s security section as the company wrestles with concerns over its handling of private user data, Caixin reported.

The social media app owned by ByteDance announced it hired cyber security executive and former US defense staff Roland Cloutier as its newly created chief information security officer.

According to a statement released Friday, Cloutier will report to TikTok’s head Alex Zhu, who said that having him will enable the company to make good on its promise to “maximize security” on the TikTok platform, the report said.

Before taking on the new role at TikTok, Cloutier worked as chief security officer at payroll processing company ADP, where he oversaw the security of personal information. He also previously served in the US Air Force, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veteran Affairs, the report said.