Tag: top news

  • British watchdog to positive Fb for Cambridge data breach

    July ELEVEN (UPI) — A British watchdog stated it plans to high quality Fb $663,000 for its data breach related to Cambridge Analytica over failure to protected users information.

    The Ideas Commissioner’s Place Of Job, Nice Britain’s impartial body to give protection to data rights, mentioned Tuesday the wonderful would be the maximum penalty for 2 breaches of the data Coverage Act 1998.

    Its research decided Fb violated the regulation by means of “failing to protect people’s knowledge,” and “failing to be transparent about how people’s information was harvested by others,” the ICO unlock said.

    Former Cambridge Analytica worker Christopher Wylie blew the whistle in February that a Facebook app developed by way of Cambridge College lecturers, including Dr. Aleksandr Kogan, used to be used to harvest knowledge from thousands and thousands of Facebook users and their pals. the total collection of customers breached might be as top as 87 million, together with 1 million in the United Kingdom.

    The ICO opened its research more than a yr ago to probe whether political campaigns misused private knowledge associated with Nice Britain’s 2016 referendum on whether it will stay in the European Union. Considering The Fact That this iciness, the investigation’s focal point has shifted to the Cambridge Analytica breach.

    British Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham advised BBC News “the magnitude of the breach” resulted within the large advantageous, and despite the fact that Facebook has since modified its platform, it “did not practice through on their obligations even when they discovered out that knowledge set was out there.”

    Fb is also facing a category-action lawsuit from advocacy workforce Truthful Vote over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. the crowd, which has EIGHTY FOUR claimants to this point, stated round 1 million British citizens suffering from the breach may just join the go well with for reimbursement.

    the gang said the ICO’s decision to superb Facebook supported its claim.

  • Israel shoots down Syrian drone with Patriot missile

    July 11 (UPI) — Military officers said they shot down a Syrian drone Wednesday that flew a few miles into Israeli territory over the ocean of Galilee.

    Israeli officials stated the unmanned drone caused rocket alert sirens in Golan Heights and Jordan Valley close to the Israel-Syria border, and was flown into Israel through Jordan.

    The drone flew for SIXTEEN minutes before it used to be intercepted.

    After it used to be shot through a U.S.-supplied Patriot missile, drone fragments fell into the water.

    “The Patriot aerial protection system recognized the danger and tracked it till its interception,” an IDF spokesperson mentioned. “The IDF will not allow any violation of Israeli airspace and will act in opposition to any try to harm its civilians.”

    The shoot-down got here weeks after Israeli forces fired at any other drone from Syria. The IDF has not yet stated exactly who flew either drone.

    “we’re prepared for the possibility of Israeli sovereignty being violated as a result of the preventing in Syria,” IDF Spokesperson Ronen Manelis stated. “Our purpose is not to allow the 1974 settlement to be violated and to not create a chance for the State of Israel.”

    The disagreement occurred as Israeli High Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Moscow to satisfy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He instructed newshounds in advance he was once assembly with Putin to talk about Syria, Iran and “Israel’s safety needs.”

  • Trump pushes allies for fast military spending build up

    July 11 (UPI) — Trump on Wednesday called for NATO members to greater than double their security spending, meeting a 10-year goal years sooner than deadline.

    “What just right is NATO if Germany is paying Russia billions of bucks for gas and energy? Why are there handiest 5 out of 29 countries that experience met their dedication?” Trump tweeted. “The U.S. is procuring Europe’s coverage, then loses billions on Business. Will Have To pay 2% of GDP IMMEDIATELY, not by 2025.”

    In 2014, NATO individuals agreed to move toward spending 2 p.c in their gross family product on defense through 2024.

    in the course of the president’s feedback, he urged countries not just meet their minimal commitment of 2 p.c but building up it to 4 %, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House press secretary mentioned in a press release.

    Despite the demands, Trump joined the other 28 heads of state and signed the NATO statement, which displays current commitments.

    Trump began the NATO summit Wednesday with criticism, announcing sure Western countries want to spend more on defense and calling Germany a “captive” of Russia.

    Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived in Belgium Tuesday for the summit, ahead of meetings later this week with British High Minister Theresa May in Britain and Vladimir Putin in Finland.

    Trump’s complaint concerned international locations he stated aren’t spending sufficient on their very own defenses in trade for NATO coverage. The America will pay approximately 67 % of its gross domestic product on security, more than every other country, even supposing only 3.5 p.c is NATO-similar. The group is calling all member states spend a minimum 2 % of their GDP on defensive measures through 2024.

    “many countries aren’t paying what they should, and, frankly, many countries owe us a big amount of cash from many years back,” Trump mentioned at a breakfast assembly with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. “They’re delinquent, as a ways as I’m concerned, since the U.s. has needed to pay for them.”

    Even As answering questions from newshounds earlier than the breakfast, Trump drew contrasts among his exhausting stance on NATO and the positions of his predecessors.

    “This has long past on for many presidents. However no different president brought it up like I deliver it up … it is an unfair burden on the United States Of America.”

    Stoltenberg agreed there need to be more performed to prompt allies to speculate extra of their safeguard. He credited Trump, saying NATO countries are making an investment extra on safety as a result of his management.

    Germany at this time spends approximately 1.2 percent on security.

    “you realize, we’re protecting Germany, we’re protective France. We Are protective everyone … this has been occurring for decades,” Trump said. “This has been cited via different presidents. But different presidents never did the rest approximately it because i do not assume they understood it or they just didn’t want to get entangled.”

    Trump also criticized Germany for its use of Russian fuel. The United States Of America spends heavily to defend Germany from Russia, he stated, at the same time as Germany is paying “billions and billions of greenbacks a year to Russia.”

    “How can you be in combination while a rustic is getting its power from the rustic you need protection towards?” Trump asked. “i feel it’s one thing that NATO has to appear at.”

    Stoltenberg said NATO, in spite of a few differences of opinion among member states, is getting stronger.

    “a strong NATO is good for Europe and additionally it is excellent for the United States Of America,” he advised Trump. “we look forward to the assembly you’re going to have with President Putin. And i believe that leaders are also taking a look ahead for your feelings about the assembly with President Putin afterward.”

    German Protection Minister Ursula von der Leyen pushed aside Trump’s comments, saying Germany is not captive to Russia and the rustic can take Trump’s criticisms in stride.

    “i believe we can take care of it,” von der Leyen mentioned. “If we look at the gasoline pipeline, Germany is an impartial usa. Where power provide is anxious, we diversify, but the major overarching subject is the summit — we would like a summit that sends out the message of solidarity.”

    The security minister agreed with Trump about safety spending.

    “we are making an investment heavily within the German defense force and other Ecu countries too, for the reason that military want it … So we advanced so much however there’s nonetheless paintings to be done. On that time the yankee buddies have some degree,” von der Leyen stated.

    Later, Trump met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who he said he has a “very, excellent dating” with. He instructed her he believes U.S.-German industry increases.

    Merkel, who didn’t deal with Trump’s earlier comments, stated she was “very happy” find a way to talk about issues like economic development, migration and trade.

    Trump leaves for London Thursday for a state dinner and seek advice from with Would Possibly, and later Queen Elizabeth II. From there, he travels to Helsinki, Finland, for Monday’s summit with the Kremlin chief. he’s going to go back to Washington, D.C., early Tuesday.

  • South Korean guy found not guilty of spying after 40 years

    July 11 (UPI) — Charges in opposition to a South Korean man accused of espionage four many years in the past have been disregarded through a Seoul court docket on Wednesday.

    The Seoul Important District Court’s criminal department acquitted the defendant with the surname Park of all charges of espionage, The Korea Times said.

    Park is a native of Sinan County in South Jeolla Province who encountered “armed assailants” in his house in June 1974, in line with the document.

    Park, a farmer, stated the come across and the local police recorded the incident as a case of “cow theft.”

    But 4 years later, officials from Seoul’s metropolitan police arrived impulsively at Park’s door and detained him without a warrant. A secret agent from North Korea who had defected to the South had mentioned he had “intelligence,” proof North Korean dealers have been in Sinan County across the time Park encountered assailants.

    in keeping with the ideas, Park was once investigated illegally and detained for FIFTY FIVE days.

    All Over his term of imprisonment Park endured water torture and suffered critical injuries.

    under pressure, Park used to be compelled to confess he assisted North Korean marketers and gained orders from anti-state groups to deliver state secrets and techniques, together with the location of reserve forces in the space.

    After a trial, Park was once discovered accountable of all fees in December 1978 and won a ten-12 months prison sentence and a ten-yr suspended jail sentence.

    In its verdict on Wednesday, the Seoul courtroom said there has been no evidence assisting the prior allegations.

    The court docket additionally stated government “illegally detained” the defendant and “illegally received proof,” in keeping with Information 1.

    Park’s statements don’t amount to a confession, the courtroom mentioned.

    The defendant gained “physical and psychological struggling for a considerable length of time. We are seeking for his forgiveness,” the court docket said in its commentary.

  • Myanmar, Laos hit vith visa restrictions for not accepting electorate deported from U.S.

    July ELEVEN (UPI) — The America imposed visa restrictions on Myanmar and Laos for no longer accepting their voters who have been deported, the U.S. Division of Place Of Birth Safety announced this week.

    DHS said Myanmar and Laos “have denied or unreasonably delayed accepting their nationals” who’ve been ordered to be far from the U.s.. As a outcome, U.s. visas for government officials in those countries will probably be restricted, and the limitations could be multiplied if the international locations fail to cooperate.

    the first category of visas to be limited are B1 and B2, which might be temporary visas used for industry and shuttle.

    As of now, the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon, Myanmar will discontinue all B1 and B2 non-immigrant visas for current officers at the Director Normal degree and above from the Burmese Ministries Of Work, Immigration, and Population And Residential Affairs, to boot as their instant family members, with limited exceptions.

    at the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane, Laos, has discontinued the issuance of all B1, B2, and B1/B2 non-immigrant visas for present officials on the Director General stage and above from the Lao Ministry of Public Safety, in addition as their instant households.

    in addition, restrictions were put on all A3 and G5 non-immigrant visas to individuals employed via Lao executive officials, with restricted exceptions. Those visas are typically used for family workers and assistants of government officers.

    “the decision to sanction a recalcitrant country isn’t taken frivolously. DHS makes significant efforts, in collaboration with the State Division, to inspire countries to accept the suggested, lawful return in their nationals who’re matter to removal from the U.s.,” DHS stated in an announcement. “The Ones efforts come with diplomatic communications at the absolute best stage of government.”

    Both Myanmar and Laos are on the recalcitrant u . s . a . list, which is composed of 9 nations which are refusing to take again citizens deported from the United States, Voice of The Us said.

  • U.S.-Russia summits of the prior produced towering highs, icy lows

    July 12 (UPI) — WHEN THEY meet Monday in Finland, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue a protracted custom of summits between the two international locations, some of which have been a success — leading to hands reductions — whilst others simplest drove a wedge in relations.

    The Helsinki summit, the first legitimate U.S.-Russian meeting in eight years, could also be just a little of each.

    Senior Trump management officials mentioned Trump plans to confront Putin over a medley of difficult actions — aggression in Ukraine and Syria, and election hacking. However Jon Huntsman Jr., U.S. ambassador to Russia, stated Trump wants to scale back stress among the 2 nations and come to an settlement on national security issues.

    Putin and Trump most likely will return to a popular decades-old matter for White Area and Kremlin leaders, nuclear arsenals, as well as to sanctions imposed by means of the Usa on Russia for the aforementioned malign activity.

    At The Same Time As many might even see this as a landmark summit between two leaders who have vacillated between high praise and condemnation for every other, their subjects of dialogue echo the previous.

    WWII meetings: 1943-1945

    UPI Report Photograph

    Much Like the Syrian civil conflict is probably going to be a focal point of the Helsinki talks, International Conflict II used to be the impetus for a chain of summits in the nineteen forties between the so-known as Massive Three — U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

    The Grand Alliance held three conferences in November and December 1943 in Tehran, in February 1945 in Yalta, Soviet Union, and in July and August 1945 in Potsdam, Germany.

    The Tehran Convention resulted in the starting of a 2d entrance towards the Nazis thru an invasion of France and recognition of Iran’s independence. Days after the summit, the 3 leaders drafted a “give up-or-die” ultimatum to Germany.

    Two years later, the Yalta Conference saw the massive Three draft unconditional give up phrases for Germany and plan for Europe’s postwar reorganization. That summer, the Potsdam Convention, which additionally included British High Minister Clement Attlee, laid out the terms for Japan’s surrender and the management of Germany after the struggle.

    The Chilly War meetings: 1955-1991

    Report Photo through Gary Haynes/UPI

    One decade later, the Cold Conflict brought a new want for a slew of new summits between U.S. and Soviet leaders.

    President Dwight D. Eisenhower met with Soviet chief Nikita Khrushchev 3 times between 1955 and 1960, including the primary talk over with of a Kremlin chief to the United States Of America in 1959.

    The Geneva Summit in 1955 was the first of many nuclear hands discussions among the 2 international locations, but additionally excited about business and peace and integrated British High Minister Anthony Eden, Soviet Highest Quality Nikolai Bulganin and French High Minister Edgar Faure.

    Little resulted from Khrushchev’s consult with to Washington and Camp David in 1959, on the tail finish of the “Khrushchev Thaw,” other than a promise to address the issue of a divided Berlin when Eisenhower made his go back consult with to the Soviet Union in 1960 — and a visit to a couple Iowan cornfields. The Soviet leader additionally visited La.

    Eisenhower never made the trip to Moscow. It used to be scrapped after Khrushchev lashed out at the U.S. delegation at a Paris summit over the well-known downing of a U.S. U-2 undercover agent aircraft piloted by way of Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union in Might 1960. Another summit set for Geneva that year used to be additionally canceled.

    Khrushchev met with another U.S. president — John F. Kennedy — in June 1961 on the Vienna Summit. They spoke to the waft of East Germans emigrating from Soviet-managed East Berlin to West Berlin — an issue for Khrushchev which eventually resulted within the construction of the Berlin Wall. Additionally They spoke approximately different Chilly Warfare flashpoints like the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba months earlier and Laos.

    The Glassboro Summit Convention among President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premiere Alexei Kosygin in New Jersey in 1967 led to little of outcome, however 5 years later, a gathering among President Richard Nixon, Kosygin and Leonid Brezhnev, general-secretary of the Communist Birthday Celebration of the Soviet Union, resulted in the signing of a couple of agreements, together with the first Strategic Palms Trouble Treaty. SALT I froze the collection of strategic ballistic missile launchers the 2 international locations possessed and limited different arms.

    UPI File Photo

    The SALT I treaty paved the way in which for further fingers talks between Brezhnev and Nixon in 1974 and the later signing of SALT II, which sought to curtail the manufacturing of strategic nuclear guns, by means of Brezhnev and President Jimmy Carter in 1979. It was once by no means ratified due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that 12 months and U.S. opposition to Soviet forces in Cuba.

    During his time as common-secretary — following brief tenures by way of Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko, who seemed at no summits — Mikhail Gorbachev held a dozen meetings with U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Possibly probably the most essential got here in October 1986, whilst Gorbachev and Reagan met in Iceland and began work on what would end result within the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

    The talks in Reykjavik stalled, although, whilst the 2 did not agree on terms for a total nuclear disarmament pact. Gorbachev known as the assembly a failure on the time.

    “The American side came to this assembly empty handed with a collection of mothballed proposals from the Geneva negotiations,” he stated.

    U.S. officials mentioned the Soviet Union’s kill off Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative — also referred to as Superstar Wars — for the collapse in talks. Years later, alternatively, Gorbachev would cite the close to agreement in Iceland as a key turning element in U.S.-Soviet family members near the top of the Cold War.

    UPI Record Photograph

    Gorbachev visited Washington, D.C., in December 1987 to signal the INF Treaty, which eliminated all intermediate-range nuclear missiles and arrange mechanisms for reciprocal on-website online missile inspections.

    Reagan traveled to Moscow in Would Possibly 1988 and the 2 met in Big Apple City six months later for his or her ultimate summit.

    In December 1989, Bush and Gorbachev declared an end to the Chilly Battle weeks after the autumn of the Berlin Wall — even though they signed no agreements. The so-known as “Seasick Summit” or “Saltwater Summit” took place aboard U.S. and Soviet warships off the coast of Malta.

    “i don’t assume that anyone can say that the saltwater summit was once anything however an adventure,” Bush mentioned later.

    Throughout six subsequent conferences, they signed chemical and nuclear guns and industry pacts and discussed the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

    In 1991, the 2 leaders signed the Strategic Palms Reduction Treaty — or START I — an agreement to cut back strategic offensive palms that succeeded the 1970s SALT negotiations.

    Publish-Soviet meetings: 1993-provide

    Record Photograph by means of Martin Jeong/UPI

    After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Bush signed GET STARTED II in 1993 — which eliminated about two-thirds of Russian and U.S. strategic missiles — however Russia withdrew in 2002. Negotiations in 1997 among Yeltsin and U.S. President Invoice Clinton on GET STARTED III never ended in a signed treaty.

    U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin met thrice, including a 2002 summit at which they signed the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty to limit nuclear arsenals to between 1,700 and 2,200. It was once changed in 2010 when U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed The Brand New Strategic Palms Reduction Treaty at their only summit within the Czech Republic. The New START used to be anticipated to stay in position until a minimum of 2021.

    The Trump-Putin meeting comes at a particularly irritating time in U.S.-Russian family members. In November, now-Russian Top Minister Medvedev mentioned members of the family have been at their lowest element in many years.

    “The dangerous thing is that in spite of having contacts and a possibility to discuss a few problems, our relationships with the U.S. are deteriorating day by way of day. they’re at the lowest point in latest many years,” he stated after meeting with Trump within the Philippines.

    A Gallup poll in February indicated SEVENTY TWO p.c of usa citizens considered Russia unfavorably, and a Pew ballot in December discovered that a plurality of american citizens — 31 p.c — said Russia represents the greatest risk to the Usa in an open-ended query.

  • Putin renames military gadgets after Ukrainian towns

    July 2 (UPI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin named ELEVEN army units after places in the Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Germany and Romania.

    Putin signed a chain of decrees printed Monday, naming recently created army gadgets after devices that operated throughout International War II.

    The regiments have been named after Ukrainian towns similar to Lviv, Zhytomyr and Nizhyn, whilst some have been named after towns in Belarus suchas Vitebsk, Kobrin and Slonim.

    Different gadgets were renamed after Warsaw, Berlin and Romania’s Transylvania region.

    Russian dictator Josef Stalin named the 93rd Tank Brigade after Zhytomyr in 1944 for its role in Global Battle II, but it surely used to be renamed in 1991 following the cave in of the Soviet Union.

    The decrees said the names were intended to “keep glorious military and historical traditions, and to nurture loyalty to the native land and armed forces duty a number of the military group of workers.”

    the decision to rename the military devices after geographic locations could also be noticed as a preemptive move after Russia’s seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Members Of The Family between the two countries have when you consider that been strained.

    Putin also approved a government decree extending an embargo at the transit of Ukrainian items thru its territory through to the start of 2019 on Monday.

  • HTC to put off 1,500 staff from Taiwanese factories

    July 2 (UPI) — HTC introduced plans Monday to put off 1,500 employees from its Taiwanese production department.

    The smartphone manufacturer showed it plans to complete the layoff procedure through September as part of a reorganization effort to extend profitability, CNN Money suggested.

    “HTC continues to review its operations to make sure production instruments align with key strategic tasks, so that the corporate can extra effectively compete in its aim markets even as maintaining its innovative edge,” an organization consultant stated.

    the corporate mentioned it plans to make the most of efficiency financial savings throughout the reorganization process and pledged to work with the Bureau of labor and assist all of these suffering from the layoffs.

    HTC has misplaced a portion of its proportion of the cellphone market over the prior seven years, shedding to 0.3 p.c within the first quarter of this 12 months from up to 10 percent in 2011.

    The reorganization attempt is the newest in a chain of shakeups in HTC’s mobile division.

    After the president of HTC’s mobile department resigned in advance this yr, the corporate combined its digital fact and cell divisions into one.

    the company additionally sold its Pixel cellphone crew to Google for $1.1 billion in September of final year, sending away about 2,000 workers.

  • Survey presentations gender inequality in housework in Seoul

    SEOUL, July THREE (UPI) — Ladies in Seoul do extra paintings at house than men and lots of still think ladies must do something about household paintings than build their occupation, in step with an annual lifestyles survey released by means of the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday.

    The survey requested FORTY TWO,687 citizens aged from 15 to their 60s on quite a lot of socioeconomic components in lifestyles, in addition as perceptions of gender roles, in September last yr.

    Fifty-eight p.c said women do so much of house responsibilities at the same time as males take part a bit to help. greater than 26 percent stated other halves are totally accountable for housekeeping. Best 14 % percentage an equal quantity of responsibilities.

    However greater than FORTY SEVEN p.c mentioned men will have to do more home tasks than now.

    Perceptions in gender roles show conventional stereotypes.

    greater than 32 % mentioned males need to be the primary breadwinner at the same time as women will have to deal with home tasks and family care. Extra respondents of these in 60s or above agreed to the traditional gender roles in a circle of relatives with FORTY THREE percent.

    A Few 34 percent said women must toughen their husbands’ career whilst scaling again their occupation targets.

    “Reasonable hours males spend on housekeeping is crucial indicator for equivalent gender roles in marriage and family. we’ve got a growing collection of running women, however the truth is that girls tackle the larger burden in household tasks,” wrote a 2017 record on gender equality by the Seoul-primarily based Korean Ladies’s Development Institute.

    Women spent three hours and 19 mins on household tasks and an hour on childcare whilst men spent 34 minutes doing housework and 16 minutes on circle of relatives care in 2014, in keeping with the report.

    “it’s important to modify the unequal share of house responsibilities in a family and such asymmetric division of house responsibilities disrupts women to have balance in paintings and lifestyles,” the file stated.

  • South Korean basketball gamers to carry friendly match in Pyongyang

    SEOUL, July 2 (UPI) — South Korean basketball avid gamers will grasp a joint basketball fit with North Korean gamers in Pyongyang from Wednesday to Thursday.

    The South Korean crew of fellows and ladies professional players left for Pyongyang on Tuesday on an army airplane from Seongnam, south of Seoul, Yonhap stated. South Korean government officials and reporters additionally followed.

    The joint basketball recreation is held for the primary time in additional than a decade for the reason that last one within the North Korean capital in 2003. it is the fourth game in basketball exchanges between the North and South. the primary matches came about in Pyongyang and Seoul in 1999, in keeping with Edaily.

    “As Pyeongchang Iciness Olympics laid the foundation for peace on the Korean peninsula, i hope the basketball fit will additional boost up the process for peace,” said Cho Myoung-gyon, Unification Minister to newshounds previous to his departure, Yonhap said.

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is known to be an avid basketball fan. He invited the previous NBA megastar player Dennis Rodman to the North a couple of times.

    at the North-South summit in April, Kim additionally urged to South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he would love to ask South Korean basketball gamers to play with avid gamers in the North.

    South and North Korean basketball athletes will hold a set of 4 suits from Wednesday to Thursday.