By Steve Holland and Richard Cowan | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump knew for weeks that national security adviser Michael Flynn had misled the White House about his contacts with Russia but did not immediately force him out, an administration spokesman said on Tuesday. Trump was informed in late January that Flynn had not told Vice President Mike Pence the whole truth about conversations he had […]
Texas Republican Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Tuesday that “creating backdoors into secure platforms would be a huge mistake.” “Instead, we need to find a way to keep our countries safe while also keeping our data safe and secure,” McCaul said at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. The remarks, geared for the presumably pro-encryption audience of cybersecurity professionals, indicate that the […]
By Andrew Osborn | MOSCOW MOSCOW Russia’s parliament applauded on learning that Donald Trump had won the U.S. election. But prospects for better relations with Washington have suffered setbacks since then and the resignation of Trump’s national security adviser is the biggest blow yet. The Kremlin still believes a rapprochement is feasible, even if it might take longer than initially thought. But the clock is ticking: Vladimir […]
By Shadia Nasralla | VIENNA VIENNA An Austrian opposition lawmaker accused Turkey on Tuesday of operating an informer network via its embassy in Vienna that he said targets critics of President Tayyip Erdogan, promotes his policies and receives payments from Ankara. Peter Pilz, from the Austrian Greens, said he had sent documents to the police detailing the activities of the ATIB, an umbrella organisation headed by the […]
By Clare Baldwin and Andrew R.C. Marshall | MANILA MANILA Before Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs had even begun, allies of the Philippines president were quietly preparing for a wider offensive. On June 30, as Duterte was sworn in, they introduced a bill into the Philippine Congress that could allow children as young as nine to be targeted in a crackdown that has since claimed more […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. The Tuesday morning news shows were dominated by word that Michael Flynn is out as national security adviser. “Stunning” was the call by the Trump home team at “Fox & Friends.” It proceeded to quote its usual media pinatas in […]
The Board of Directors of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit has appointed a new Director following a public call for applications, as stated in a press release issued by the government, named Kenneth Farrugia. Mr Farrugia’s term comes starts from 13 February 2017. The appointment follows a public call for applications as well as an interviewing process which involved several applicants, a short listing process […]
NopSec Recorded Future has extended the capabilities of the firm’s threat intelligence platform to harvest data from every source on the web, granting the enterprise increased visibility into emerging digital threats. On Monday at the RSA Conference 2017 in San Francisco, the firm said the Recorded Future Web Intelligence Engine has received a substantial upgrade. The platform, designed with corporate security specialists in mind, automatically slurps data […]
By Ned Parker and Ju-min Park | UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL The U.N. Security Council denounced North Korea’s weekend missile launch, urging members to “redouble efforts” to enforce sanctions against the reclusive state, but gave no indications of any action it might take. Pyongyang’s test of the intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sunday was its first direct challenge to the international community since U.S. President Donald Trump took […]
After last night’s news that Trump (and Steve Bannon) are now actively deciding whether to fire National Security Advisor Mike Flynn over the recent scandal involving his [hone calls with Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, discussing the Russian sanction something he denied publicly on several occasions, yet which now appears to have been the case, the ice below Flynn got thinner this afternoon when the Trump administration for […]
SEOUL The new type of ballistic missile launched by North Korea on Sunday has a range of more than 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), according to South Korea’s intelligence agency, the South’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday. The solid-fuel missile, which the North said was an upgraded, extended-range version of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, reached an altitude of about 550 km and flew about 500 km towards […]
By Andrew Chung and Mica Rosenberg | NEW YORK NEW YORK Washington state’s attorney general has promised to uncover “what truly motivated” President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, an approach that could prompt a rare public examination of how a U.S. president makes national security decisions. The presidential order imposed a temporary ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, but a federal judge has barred […]
MSNBC’s Brian Williams cut to the chase as soon as the Monday press conference between President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ended. “The news out of this gathering is not anything either leader said,” Williams intoned. “It was exactly what wasn’t said because it wasn’t asked.” “There is no shortage of superb coverage coming out of this White House press corps,” he noted. But, alas, […]
TEHRAN — European governments are protesting Iran’s treatment of an Iranian-born scientist, now a resident of Sweden, who was arrested last year in Iran and who could now face the death penalty. The scientist, Ahmadreza Djalali, a physician who specializes in disaster medicine and has taught at universities in Belgium, Italy and Sweden, was arrested in April while driving to his family’s house after arriving in Iran […]
A bench led by Justice Dipak Misra was asked to direct the CBI to lodge FIRs and conduct probe into the alleged offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act. (PTI) The Supreme Court today will hear the plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Panama papers expose case, in which many Indian industrialists and celebrities have been […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is struggling to get past a controversy over his contacts with Russian officials before Trump took office, conversations that officials said have raised concerns within the White House. Top White House officials have been reviewing over the weekend Flynn’s contacts with the Russians and whether he discussed the possibility of lifting U.S. sanctions […]
Top White House aide and policy adviser, Stephen Miller, sidestepped repeated chances during Sunday news shows to publicly defend embattled National Security Adviser Michael Flynn following reports that he engaged in conversations with Russian diplomat(s) about U.S. sanctions before Trump’s inauguration. The uncertainty came as Trump was dealing with North Korea’s apparent first missile launch of the year and his presidency, along with visits this week from […]
ANZ has announced the appointment Lynwen Connick as its new chief information security officer, who will leave her role as the first assistant secretary information sharing and intelligence at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in March to take up her new position. Connick, who replaces former CISO Steve Glynn, was previously responsible for advising Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on cyber policy, intelligence, and secure […]
An update to Cortana — Microsoft’s digital assistant infused with artificial intelligence—enables it to recognize and make note when people promise in messages to tend to tasks Microsoft virtual assistant Cortana began holding people to their promises on Thursday. At least, to commitments made in email messages. “Now, Cortana can help you remember things you’ve said you would do in your emails—without you even having to […]
Microsoft is continuing to beef up its security offerings across Windows 10, SQL Server, Office, and Azure and is using next week’s RSA conference to highlight its latest incremental updates. Windows Hello, Microsoft’s authentication service meant to replace passwords, already works with Azure Active Directory and Azure Active Directory Connect. With the Windows 10 Creators Update, users also will be able to use Windows Hello in on-premises […]
If you’ve been dreaming for years about having your own R2-D2 or BB-8, get ready. Just don’t expect your new robot companion to do too much, because you might be disappointed. A new generation of personal robots and devices is in the works and several are slated to head to homes beginning later this year. Among the more notable is Kuri, a robot developed by Redwood City, […]
12 February 2017 Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (NYSE: MMC), a global professional services firm offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people, is a strategic partner of the newly published 2017 Global Risks Report, an annual publication released by the World Economic Forum at Davos. This year’s 2017 Global Risks Report reveals that economic inequality, societal polarisation and intensifying […]
Opec countries drastically curbed their output in the first month of their new production agreement, in the clearest sign to date that the world’s biggest oil producers are committed to living up to the November pact to cut global supplies. The limits adopted by the oil cartel in January have been “one of the deepest in the history of Opec output cut initiatives”, the International Energy Agency […]
Ford’s autonomous vehicle platform runs this Fusion Hybrid. Image via Ford. Ford has just announced a $1 billion investment in artificial intelligence startup Argo AI to bolster the automaker’s self-driving car technology. The acquisition-sized investment will make Ford the majority shareholder of Argo AI, though Ford plans to spread out the funds over a five-year period. Argo AI was founded (somewhat recently) by Brian Salesky, the former […]
