BARI, Italy Financial leaders of seven leading world economies will pledge stronger cooperation against cyber crime on Saturday and not to use foreign exchange to gain competitive advantage, but stick to their cautious wording on trade, a draft communique showed. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Britain are meeting in the Italian city of Bari to discuss […]
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. It’s unclear where to start with President Trump’s interview with NBC’s Lester Holt that left the White House second-string spokesperson on a precipice better associated with the Flying Wallendas. “Trump’s account flatly contradicts the White House’s initial account of how […]
ABU DHABI // Young Emirati diplomats will be key to bringing peace and reconciliation to the Middle East, a group of students heard this week. Reconciliation seems difficult amid tensions and turmoil in the Arab world, but Bernardino Leon, president of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, likened its future to the unification of Europe following the Second World War. “When you think of what’s going […]
By Gul Yusufzai | QUETTA, Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan Ten labourers were gunned down in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday while working on link roads to connect outlying towns to the country’s $57-billion Chinese “Belt and Road” initiative, security officials confirmed. The attack on the Pakistani labourers took place some 20 kilometres from the emerging port city of Gwadar in Baluchistan province that forms the southern hub of the […]
LONDON The British government does not yet know who was behind Friday’s global cyber attack that disrupted the UK’s health system, interior minister Amber Rudd said on Saturday. “We’re not able to tell you who’s behind the attack. That work is still ongoing,” she told BBC radio. She said Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre was working with the country’s health service to ensure the attack was contained […]
What should we make of the global ransomware attacks which happened today? We’ve documented that the intelligence services intentionally create digital vulnerabilities, then intentionally leave them open … leaving us exposed and insecure. Washington’s Blog asked the highest level NSA whistleblower ever* – Bill Binney – what he thinks of the attacks. Binney told us: This is what I called short sighted finite thinking on the part […]
By Gul Yusufzai | QUETTA, Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan A bomb exploded next to a convoy of the deputy chairman of the Pakistan Senate on Friday in the violence-plagued province of Baluchistan, killing at least 25 people, officials said. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombing. The group’s Amaq news agency said a bomber wearing an explosive vest carried out the attack, which was condemned by a former […]
The EU has protested strongly against a proposed extension of a US ban on laptops on transatlantic flights from some of Europe’s biggest airports, warning that it could pose a risk to flight safety. EU officials have also called on Washington to be more open in sharing security information that would justify enlarging the scope of the ban that the US authorities imposed earlier on flights to […]
By Nelson Renteria | SAN SALVADOR SAN SALVADOR An uptick in deadly violence against transgender women in El Salvador prompted the United Nations on Friday to call for an investigation into crimes against sexual minorities in the conservative Central American country. So far this year, seven transgender women have been killed in El Salvador, according to the Geneva-based Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights […]
By Ahmed Kingimi | MAIDUGURI, Nigeria MAIDUGURI, Nigeria A man purporting to be a Boko Haram fighter said the Islamist militant group plans to bomb Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, in a video seen by Reuters on Saturday. “More bombs attacks are on the way, including Abuja that you feel is secured,” said the man in the video, which was obtained by Sahara Reporters, a U.S.-based journalism website, and […]
Mother Jones on Friday announced a half-million dollar crowdfunding campaign to investigate any connections between the Trump administration and Russia, asking for reader support to “make sure truth prevails over power.” To raise money for the project, which Mother Jones is calling “Trumpocracy: The Russia Connection,” the bimonthly magazine is trying to sign up at least 1,000 new sustaining donors at $15 per month. They’ve already lined […]
By Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS North Korea made a global appeal in a letter released on Friday for states to reconsider enforcing U.N. sanctions on the Asian nation as Washington seeks to step up pressure on Pyongyang to end its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The United Nations Security Council first imposed sanctions on North Korea in 2006 and has strengthened the measures in […]
Technology and media confluence sets #AJTechSummit top trending on social media for two days May 11, 2017 – Doha, Qatar Held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al-Thani, Chairman of Al Jazeera Media Network, AJMN’s “Future of Media – Leaders’ Summit” concluded today at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Doha. The Summit, the first of its kind in the region, prominent figures and […]
This is screengrab taken from the website of the East and North Hertfordshire NHS trust as Britain’s National Health Service is investigating “an issue with IT” Friday May 12, 2017. Several British hospitals say they are having major computer problems Hospitals in London, northwest England and other parts of the country are reporting problems with their computer systems as the result of an apparent cyberattack,.(PA via AP) […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for May 13, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. Aarti Jhurani rounds up 10 things to do today in the UAE. Want to see your event listed here? Email us with the details and contact information at [email protected] newslide Abu Dhabi Pop-up market Head […]
The three beefy men sharing a laugh looked like old friends, not geopolitical adversaries. A smiling Donald Trump welcomed Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and its US ambassador Sergey Kislyak to the Oval Office on Wednesday, just a day after the president had fired the man investigating Moscow’s role in helping him enter the White House. The extraordinary scene was just the latest sign that Mr Trump […]
By Rory Carroll | LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES Whether U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to Peru in September to promote Los Angeles’ 2024 Olympics bid is an open question but many believe the controversial leader would do more harm than good as the city vies with Paris for the Games. Trump’s executive order to temporarily ban travel from six Muslim-majority countries, which is currently being reviewed […]
By Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will express support for Palestinian “self-determination” during a Middle East trip this month, a senior aide said on Friday, suggesting Trump is open to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict despite not having publicly embraced the idea so far. The comment by U.S. national security adviser H.R. McMaster came just nine days after a White House visit […]
By Costas Pitas and Carlos Ruano | LONDON/MADRID LONDON/MADRID A global cyberattack leveraging hacking tools widely believed by researchers to have been developed by the U.S. National Security Agency hit international shipper FedEx, disrupted Britain’s health system and infected computers in dozens of other countries on Friday. Russian cyber security software maker Kaspersky Lab said its researchers had observed more than 45,000 attacks in 74 countries as […]
Britain’s National Health Service reported a cyber attack on a number of hospitals on May 12, 2017 A fast-moving wave of cyberattacks swept the globe Friday, apparently exploiting a flaw exposed in documents leaked from the US National Security Agency. The attacks came in the form of ransomware, a technique used by hackers that locks users’ files unless they pay the attackers a designated sum in the […]
(Image: file photo) NEW YORK — The Federal Communications Commission has refused to turn over the internet browsing history of its chairman Ajit Pai, weeks after he blocked rules that allowed internet providers to sell the browsing histories of millions of Americans. In a response to a request filed by ZDNet under the Freedom of Information Act, the agency said Friday that it had “no responsive documents” […]
Dole, the only former Republican presidential nominee who endorsed Trump before the GOP convention last summer, is a savvy Washington insider who most recently attracted notice for his lobbying on behalf of Taiwan. Dole’s efforts led to a stunning call between Trump and Taiwan’s president, angering China. Dole’s retainer for the Taiwan work, which includes direct lobbying, is $25,000 a month, per federal disclosures. Both Epstein and […]
Hackers responsible for the wave of cyber attacks that struck organisations across the globe on Friday from the UK’s National Health Service to European telecoms company Telefónica used tools stolen from the US National Security Agency, the Financial Times has learnt. A tool known as “eternal blue”, developed by US spies was used by the hackers to make an existing form of ransomware known as WannaCry more […]
WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump has responded to the new South Korean president’s advocacy of talks with North Korea by saying he does not oppose discussions, but reiterated that the circumstances must be right, according to a transcript of an NBC interview. Moon Jae-in’s advocacy of engagement with North Korea has appeared to contrast with the approach of the United States, South Korea’s main ally, which has […]
