Category: Global Politics

Russian hackers targeting vaccine trials, say UK, US, Canada

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COURTESY BY: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre on Thursday announced along with its counterparts in the United States and Canada that hackers based in Russia have been targetting research teams and organisations involved in developing a vaccine for coronavirus. The coordinated charge by the three countries identifies a group called APT29 (also known as ‘the Dukes’ or ‘Cozy Bear’) and concludes that the cyber group is “almost certainly part of the Russian intelligence services”. The UK centre released a report, revealing IP addresses and other details, adding that similar…

PM Boris Johnson appoints Indian-origin experts on new race commission

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COURTESY BY: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ A new commission announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in June in the wake of the Black Lives Matter campaign to look into race and ethnic disparities includes two Indian-origin commissioners: Samir Shah and Ajay Kakkar, officials said on Thursday. Chaired by education consultant Tony Sewell, the independent commission has 10 members. Shah is a former BBC journalist and former chair of the race relations think-tank Runnymede Trust, while Kakkar is professor of surgery at University College London. Other members include experts across fields such as science,…

‘Obstructive and insincere’: India roasts Pak after meeting Kulbhushan Jadhav

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COURTESY BY: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ A long-awaited meeting of Indian officials with Kulbhushan Jadhav ended inconclusively on Thursday after Pakistan refused to give them unimpeded consular access, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday evening. New Delhi has lodged a formal protest with Islamabad. Indian officials had made nearly a dozen requests to Islamabad over the last one year for “unimpeded, uninterrupted and unconditional” consular access to the former Indian naval officer in line with the verdict of the International Court of Justice. Jadhav, a former naval officer turned businessman, was quietly sentenced to death by a military…

Donald Trump’s ‘great news on vaccines’ tweet is short on details

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COURTESY BY: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday got the world guessing when he fired a one line tweet: “Great News on Vaccines!” It was not immediately clear as to where this vaccine was being developed and how far along was it as the US President was miserly with details. Positive news on initial trials of the University of Oxford’s potential Covid-19 vaccine that has been licensed to AstraZeneca could be announced as soon as Thursday, reported Reuters quoting an editor of Britain’s ITV. A Moderna Inc vaccine…

US unloads punitive steps on China over Hong Kong law

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COURTESY BY: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ The US has hit China with punitive measures over the Hong Kong security law and slapped visa curbs on those working with Beijing-linked firms such as Huawei. US President Donald Trump has signed into law a bill that authorises sanctions on individuals responsible for the Hong Kong law. He also signed an executive order that took away the preferential trade status of Hong Kong, putting it on par with the mainland. “Their freedom has been taken away. Their rights have been taken away. And with it, goes…

US economic activity increased, outlook ‘highly uncertain’: Fed

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COURTESY BY: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ The US economy showed signs of life nationwide last month, but has not returned to its pre-pandemic level and the outlook remains “highly uncertain,” the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. “Economic activity increased in almost all districts, but remained well below where it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Fed said in its “beige book” survey. Businesses began to reopen, and retail sales improved across the country, but there were some new layoffs and employment, too, is far below where it was before virus struck, the report…

Post-Brexit trade with India to focus on 5 sectors

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COURTESY BY: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ Information and communications technology (ICT) and services are among five sectors identified as key areas for closer cooperation in trade arrangements after the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union is completed on December 31. The Boris Johnson government has been keen on a free trade agreement with India. Formal talks on such a pact can only begin after December 31, but some talks on exploring ‘building blocks’ have begun. Other sectors identified are food and drink, life sciences and chemicals to address non-tariff barriers to trade.…

US carries out the first federal execution in nearly 2 decades amid protests

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COURTESY BY: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ The federal government on Tuesday carried out its first execution in almost two decades, killing by lethal injection a man convicted of murdering an Arkansas family in a 1990s plot to build a whites-only nation in the Pacific Northwest. The execution of Daniel Lewis Lee came over the objection of the victims’ relatives and following days of legal wrangling and delays. Lee, 47, of Yukon, Oklahoma, professed his innocence just before he was executed at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. “I didn’t do it,” Lee…

After US sanctions, UK bans Huawei from 5G networks

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COURTESY BY: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ The Boris Johnson government on Tuesday announced the removal of existing equipment of Chinese Huawei by 2027 and a ban on buying new equipment from the company from December 31 this year, reflecting an escalation of tensions with Beijing. China has warned the UK of consequences if it were to ban Huawei. The decision follows pressure from the United States government, which has also banned the company as part of its sanction, and a technical review by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NSC) in response to…

Justin Trudeau apologizes for not recusing himself from decision

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COURTESY BY: https://www.hindustantimes.com/ Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized Monday for not recusing himself from a Cabinet decision to award a contract to a charity his family did paid work for. Trudeau announced last month a grant for students having trouble finding work due to the pandemic. The almost billion-dollar program came under scrutiny after it was revealed that We Charity, an organization Trudeau’s family has worked for, was chosen to administer it. Trudeau’s wife, brother and mother have been paid a combined $300,000 Canadian (US$221,000) for speaking at a…