Johnson locks down England as UK COVID-19 cases pass 1 million | United Kingdom

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered England back into a national lockdown after the United Kingdom passed the milestone of one million COVID-19 cases and a second wave of infections threatened to overwhelm the health service. The UK, which has the biggest official death toll in Europe from COVID-19, is grappling with more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases a day and scientists have warned

Rescue efforts under way after deadly earthquake in Turkey, Greece | Greece

Powerful quake struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of Greek island of Samos on Friday, killing at least 25 people. Rescue teams have ploughed through concrete blocks and the debris of eight collapsed buildings on Saturday in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos on Friday, killing at least 25 people. More than

US election: Authorities seek to separate threats from bluster | US & Canada

When former special agent Tom O’Connor held a training session for new recruits this month at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Virginia headquarters, he turned to a key example to underscore the threat of domestic violent attacks: The October 2018 mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The shooting, which killed 11 worshippers making it the deadliest attack on the Jewish

Browser Bugs Exploited to Install 2 New Backdoors on Targeted Computers

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details about a new watering hole attack targeting the Korean diaspora that exploits vulnerabilities in web browsers such as Google Chrome and Internet Explorer to deploy malware for espionage purposes. Dubbed “Operation Earth Kitsune” by Trend Micro, the campaign involves the use of SLUB (for SLack and githUB) malware and two new backdoors — dneSpy and

Greenwald resigns from The Intercept citing censorship | US & Canada

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, who broke the US spying scandal story, said he was censored for an article critical of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald said on Thursday he had resigned from The Intercept after the US investigative media outlet purportedly refused to publish his article critical of Democratic presidential

Facebook beats revenue estimates by $1.6bn, eyes tougher 2021 | US & Canada News

Facebook’s number of monthly active users rose to 2.74 billion, but the company warned of a tougher 2021. Facebook Inc on Thursday warned of a tougher 2021 despite beating analysts’ estimates for quarterly revenue as businesses adjusting to the global coronavirus pandemic continued to rely on the company’s digital ad tools. The social media company said in its outlook that it faced “a

How to Run Google SERP API Without Constantly Changing Proxy Servers

You’ve probably run into a major problem when trying to scrape Google search results. Web scraping tools allow you to extract information from a web page. Companies and coders from across the world use them to download Google’s SERP data. And they work well – for a little while. After several scrapes, Google’s automated security system kicks in. Then it kicks you out. The standard was to bypass

KashmirBlack Botnet Hijacks Thousands of Sites Running On Popular CMS Platforms

An active botnet comprising hundreds of thousands of hijacked systems spread across 30 countries is exploiting “dozens of known vulnerabilities” to target widely-used content management systems (CMS). The “KashmirBlack” campaign, which is believed to have started around November 2019, aims for popular CMS platforms such as WordPress, Joomla!, PrestaShop, Magneto, Drupal, Vbulletin, OsCommerence

Taiwanese pilot dies after ejecting from jet trainer | China

The air force chief announced that all F-5Es are now grounded, and training flights cancelled pending an investigation. A Taiwanese air force pilot died during a routine training mission after ejecting from a malfunctioning F-5E jet, in the second fatal air crash in three months. The accident took place on Thursday morning after pilot Chu Kuang-meng reported an engine malfunction shortly after

FBI, DHS Warn Of Possible Major Ransomware Attacks On Healthcare Systems

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Departments of Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a joint alert Wednesday warning of an “imminent” increase in ransomware and other cyberattacks against hospitals and healthcare providers. “Malicious cyber actors are targeting the [Healthcare and Public Health] Sector with TrickBot malware, often leading to ransomware

CCTV footage shows moment abandoned baby found at Qatar’s airport | Qatar

Authorities release video of a deserted newborn baby discovered by paramedics at Hamad International Airport. Authorities have released footage of the moment a newborn baby girl was found abandoned at Qatar’s main airport on October 2. The one-minute, 17-second security camera footage, obtained on Wednesday by local website Doha News, shows the infant wrapped in a blue blanket as she was

Are You’re Getting The Best Value From Your EDR Solution?

Many companies rely on Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions as their primary security tool to protect their organizations against cyber threats. EDR was introduced around eight years ago, and analysts now peg the EDR market size as $1.5 to $2.0 billion in annual revenue globally, expecting it to quadruple over the next five years. The recent introduction of Extended Detection and

The French state refuses to see reality | France

More than a week after the gruesome murder of French teacher Samuel Paty by a Chechen refugee, France remains gripped by shock, hatred and despair. The terrorist attack, which followed Paty’s decision to show the controversial Charlie Hebdo caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in class, has intensified anti-Muslim sentiments. Once again, France’s Muslim citizens find themselves at the heart of a

TrickBot Linux Variants Active in the Wild Despite Recent Takedown

Efforts to disrupt TrickBot may have shut down most of its critical infrastructure, but the operators behind the notorious malware aren’t sitting idle. According to new findings shared by cybersecurity firm Netscout, TrickBot’s authors have moved portions of their code to Linux in an attempt to widen the scope of victims that could be targeted. TrickBot, a financial Trojan first detected in

Nigerian judge throws out case against 47 men for homosexuality | Nigeria

A court in Lagos throws out a case against men charged with public displays of affection with members of the same sex. A judge in a Nigerian court has thrown out a case against 47 men charged with public displays of affection with members of the same sex, ending what had widely been seen as a test of the country’s laws banning homosexual relationships. The Nigerian law banning gay marriage,

Nigerian judge throws out case against 47 men for homosexuality | Nigeria

A court in Lagos throws out a case against men charged with public displays of affection with members of the same sex. A judge in a Nigerian court has thrown out a case against 47 men charged with public displays of affection with members of the same sex, ending what had widely been seen as a test of the country’s laws banning homosexual relationships. The Nigerian law banning gay marriage,

Google Removes 21 Malicious Android Apps from Play Store

Google has stepped in to remove several Android applications from the official Play Store following the disclosure that the apps in question were found to serve intrusive ads. The findings were reported by the Czech cybersecurity firm Avast on Monday, which said the 21 malicious apps (list here) were downloaded nearly eight million times from Google’s app marketplace. The apps masqueraded as

US: Nearly 100,000 evacuated in California as wildfires rage | US & Canada

Fast-spreading wildfires have forced evacuation orders for more than 100,000 people and seriously injured two firefighters in Southern California as powerful winds across the state prompted a power outage to hundreds of thousands of residents. Some 60,000 people fled their homes near Los Angeles on Monday as the wildfire raged across more than 3,000 hectares (7,200 acres), blocking key roads in

Jared Kushner: African Americans must ‘want to be successful’ | US & Canada News

US president’s son-in-law and adviser said African Americans must ‘want to be successful’ for Trump’s policies to help them. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner said Black people must “want to be successful” in order for his father-in-law’s policies to help them. “One thing we’ve seen in a lot of the Black community, which is mostly Democrat, is that

Experts Warn of Privacy Risks Caused by Link Previews in Messaging Apps

Cybersecurity researchers over the weekend disclosed new security risks associated with link previews in popular messaging apps that cause the services to leak IP addresses, expose links sent via end-to-end encrypted chats, and even unnecessarily download gigabytes of data stealthily in the background. “Links shared in chats may contain private information intended only for the recipients,”

In Pictures: Thousands march against Lukashenko in Belarus | Europe

More than 100,000 people took to the streets of the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on Sunday against embattled President Alexander Lukashenko as exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called for a strike to force the pro-Russian leader to quit. The march took place on the last day of an ultimatum set by the opposition for Lukashenko to resign after months of mass protests in the wake of

Azerbaijan, Armenia agree on fresh humanitarian truce: US | Asia

The latest truce will take effect on Monday morning, according to a joint statement by the US, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia and Azerbaijan have again agreed to respect a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the conflict over the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to a joint statement from the US State Department and the two governments. The truce will take effect at 8am local time (

Seychelles opposition candidate wins presidential election | Seychelles

Ramkalawan, running for the presidency for the sixth time, won 54.9 percent of valid votes cast, poll body says. Seychelles opposition candidate Wavel Ramkalawan has won the archipelago’s presidential election with 54.9 percent of valid votes cast, upsetting incumbent President Danny Faure. “I declare… Ramkalawan as the elected candidate,” the electoral commission chairman Danny Lucas said on

Erdogan says Macron ‘needs treatment’ over attitude to Muslims | France

France is recalling its envoy to Turkey after Erdogan said his French counterpart needed ‘mental checks’. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a fresh attack on his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, saying he needed treatment and “mental checks” over his attitude towards Muslims and Islam. Earlier this month, Macron pledged to fight “Islamist separatism”, which he said was

Kapil Dev: Indian cricket legend recovering after heart surgery | India News

The 61-year-old suffered a heart attack but is now in a stable condition, hospital says. Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev is “well on the road to recovery” after undergoing emergency cardiac surgery in New Delhi. The 61-year-old, who led India to their first World Cup title in 1983, was rushed to a hospital in the capital after complaining of chest pain on Friday. “Kapil Dev suffered a heart

US election night scenarios: Early winner or ‘doomsday’? | US & Canada

Will it be a blue shift? A red mirage? Could there be another recount in Florida? Or will the United States presidential election truly be, as polls suggest now, a runaway victory for former Vice President Joe Biden? The US is heading into the most consequential election in a generation, and academics, data scientists and pundits have been crunching numbers and running simulations – and

New Framework Released to Protect Machine Learning Systems From Adversarial Attacks

Microsoft, in collaboration with MITRE, IBM, NVIDIA, and Bosch, has released a new open framework that aims to help security analysts detect, respond to, and remediate adversarial attacks against machine learning (ML) systems. Called the Adversarial ML Threat Matrix, the initiative is an attempt to organize the different techniques employed by malicious adversaries in subverting ML systems.

Palestinian’s hunger strike entering ‘critical phase’: Red Cross | Palestine

ICRC calls on Maher al-Akhras and the Israeli authorities ‘to find a solution that will avoid any loss of life’. A Palestinian man on hunger strike for 85 days since his arrest by Israel is entering a medically “critical phase”, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday. Maher al-Akhras, 49, was arrested near Nablus and placed in administrative detention, a policy that

COVID-19 crisis to speed up depletion of Social Security | US & Canada News

US retirement and disability trust funds could run dry as early as 2029 and 2023, respectively, a bipartisan research group warns. The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus will dramatically speed up the depletion of the United States’ Social Security programme, a bipartisan think-tank warned on Thursday, outlining how quickly retirement and disability trust funds could run dry depending

Two women stabbed at Eiffel Tower in apparent racist attack | France

No information about the incident was initially released by authorities, leading to criticism from online users. French police have launched an investigation after two women were stabbed near the Eiffel Tower in an apparent racist incident. The victims were injured with a knife near the famous Paris monument on Sunday, after an altercation involving “an unleashed dog”. Police confirmed in a

PLO leader Erekat undergoes bronchostomy after contracting virus | Palestine

Days after being hospitalised for COVID-19, Saeb Erekat remains intubated and placed on machine which provides for the oxygenation of blood. Doctors treating senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat for COVID-19 have performed a bronchostomy to examine the condition of his respiratory system, according to his daughter. Salam Erekat said on Twitter on Wednesday that her father remained intubated

New Chrome 0-day Under Active Attacks – Update Your Browser Now

Attention readers, if you are using Google Chrome browser on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computers, you need to update your web browsing software immediately to the latest version Google released earlier today. Google released Chrome version 86.0.4240.111 today to patch several security high-severity issues, including a zero-day vulnerability that has been exploited in the wild by attackers to

‘We are tired of you guys’: Man Utd’s Ighalo slams Nigerian gov’t | Nigeria

Manchester United’s Nigerian footballer lashes out at the gov’t after reports emerged of soldiers shooting protesters. Manchester United football player Odion Ighalo said he is ashamed of the Nigerian government after reports emerged that soldiers shot dead protesters after shooting at them in the Lekki district of the commercial capital Lagos on Tuesday. Nigerians have been demonstrating for

Popular Mobile Browsers Found Vulnerable To Address Bar Spoofing Attacks

Graphic for illustration Cybersecurity researchers on Tuesday disclosed details about an address bar spoofing vulnerability affecting multiple mobile browsers, such as Apple Safari and Opera Touch, leaving the door open for spear-phishing attacks and delivering malware. Other impacted browsers include UCWeb, Yandex Browser, Bolt Browser, and RITS Browser. The flaws were discovered by

US: Houston police officer fatally shot during service call | US & Canada

Sergeant Harold Preston, a 41-year veteran of the Houston police force, died from wounds suffered during the shooting. Houston authorities confirmed on Tuesday that one police officer was killed and another wounded while on duty during an officer-involved shooting. The shooting took place during what seems to have been a domestic disturbance involving the “estranged” partner of the suspect,

Windows GravityRAT Malware Now Also Targets macOS and Android Devices

A Windows-based remote access Trojan believed to be designed by Pakistani hacker groups to infiltrate computers and steal users’ data has resurfaced after a two-year span with retooled capabilities to target Android and macOS devices. According to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, the malware — dubbed “GravityRAT” — now masquerades as legitimate Android and macOS apps to capture device data,

Mohammad Reza Shajarian: When the clocks stopped in Iran | Middle East

“Khosrow-e avaz-e Iran par keshid!” “The prince of Persian music flew to heavens!” Iran is in mourning. Mohammad Reza Shajarian has passed away. Who was he? What was his significance for Iranians? How can I convey the depth of the pain of his loss to non-Iranians? Think of Um Kalthum for Egyptians and the larger Arab world, think of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for Pakistan and the Indian subcontinent,

U.S. Charges 6 Russian Intelligence Officers Over Destructive Cyberattacks

The US government on Monday formally charged six Russian intelligence officers for carrying out destructive malware attacks with an aim to disrupt and destabilize other nations and cause monetary losses. The individuals, who work for Unit 74455 of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), have been accused of perpetrating the “most disruptive and destructive series of computer attacks

Crypto fans rejoice: Bitcoin rallies to the brink of $12,000 | US & Canada News

The world’s largest digital currency rose as much as 3.4 percent on Monday to about $11,835. Bitcoin’s biggest rally in more than a week has pushed it to the brink of $12,000, a key level watched by chartists and technicians. The world’s largest digital currency rose as much as 3.4% on Monday to around $11,835. Crypto fans are closely watching the $12,000 level as a major hurdle to cross

Pakistan opposition leader ‘arrested’ after anti-government rally | Pakistan

Muhammad Safdar of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party arrested, his wife Maryam Nawaz says, hours after second large opposition rally. Muhammad Safdar, a leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, has been arrested at his hotel in the southern city of Karachi, his wife Maryam Nawaz, also a PML-N leader, said. Safdar’s arrest early on Monday morning followed a

American Voter: Deana Wagner | US & Canada

US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden are battling for the presidency in a sharply divided United States. Trump has been focusing on “law and order”, Biden has been trying to strike a conciliatory note. The Black Lives Matter movement, and whether Trump will release his taxes are among the many issues Americans will consider when choosing their president. As the hotly

Yemen’s ‘microgrid girls’ power community amid war and COVID-19 | Yemen News

“The role of women was housework only,” laments Huda Othman Hassan, a young woman from Abs, a rural district in the north of Yemen, near the border with Saudi Arabia. “Although we are educated and university graduates, we had no decision-making power and couldn’t work in any field.” But now a new project is helping shift those norms. Last year, Othman and nine other women in Abs set up a solar

Hundreds march in Lebanon to mark year of anti-gov’t protests | Middle East

Hundreds marched in Lebanon’s capital to mark the first anniversary of a non-sectarian protest movement that has rocked the political elite but has yet to achieve its goal of sweeping reform. A whirlwind of hope and despair has gripped the country in the year since protests began, as an economic crisis and a devastating port explosion two months ago pushed Lebanon deeper into decay. While the

Cambodia’s opposition staggers on in face of Hun Sen crackdown | Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Outside a Cambodian provincial court late last month, Kong Mouyly pleaded with journalists and civil society to help secure her father’s release. Just minutes before, Kong Sam An had been among five opposition supporters sentenced to seven years in prison for allegedly plotting to overthrow Cambodia’s government. “My father is not guilty. Please, NGOs help us,” Mouyly, 31,

Trump admin rejects California’s plea for disaster relief funds | US & Canada News

US President Donald Trump’s administration rejected this week California’s request for disaster relief funds aimed at cleaning up the damage from six recent wildfires among the siege of deadly and destructive blazes that have scorched the state. The dispute surfaced as a representative of one fire-stricken area warned that time was running out to clean up debris before rain and snow arrived,

Google Warns of Zero-Click Bluetooth Flaws in Linux-based Devices

Google security researchers are warning of a new set of zero-click vulnerabilities in the Linux Bluetooth software stack that can allow a nearby unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges on vulnerable devices. According to security engineer Andy Nguyen, the three flaws — collectively called BleedingTooth — reside in the open-source BlueZ protocol stack

Nagorno-Karabakh: Sirens, shelling and shelters in Stepanakert | Asia

Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh – An elderly couple walks slowly to one of the city’s few remaining open shops. A car filled with men in fatigues, waving as they pass by, heads towards the eastern edge of the city and the front line. Journalists in front of the Hotel Europe, wearing helmets and ballistic jackets, plan their day. The wail of air sirens is a regular feature, forcing anyone outside

Next pandemic? Amazon deforestation may spark new diseases | Latin America

As farms expand into the Amazon rainforest, researchers say, felled trees and expanding pastures may open the way for new Brazilian exports beyond beef and soya beans: pandemic diseases. Changes in the Amazon are driving displaced species of animals, from bats to monkeys to mosquitoes, into new areas, while opening the region to arrivals of more savanna-adapted species, including rodents. Those

Microsoft Releases Patches For Critical Windows TCP/IP and Other Bugs

Microsoft on Tuesday issued fixes for 87 newly discovered security vulnerabilities as part of its October 2020 Patch Tuesday, including two critical remote code execution (RCE) flaws in Windows TCP/IP stack and Microsoft Outlook. The flaws, 11 of which are categorized as Critical, 75 are ranked Important, and one is classified Moderate in severity, affect Windows, Office and Office Services and

Australia police drop probe into Afghan ‘war crimes’ reporting | Asia

The decision came after ABC alleged Australian troops had killed unarmed men and children in Afghanistan. Police on Thursday dropped a lengthy investigation into a journalist who exposed alleged war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan. The Australian Federal Police said prosecutors found there were “reasonable prospects of conviction” in the case against Australian Broadcasting