Mainstream News

Prosecutors charge 6 in $300M credit card hacking scheme

"Russian Dmitriy Smilianets, 29, is accused of selling the stolen data and distributing the profits. Prosecutors said he charged $10 for U.S. cards, $15 for ones from Canada and $50 for European cards, which are more expensive because they have computer chips that make them more secure. The five concealed their efforts by disabling anti-virus software on victims computers and storing data on multiple hacking platforms, prosecutors said. They sold the payment card numbers to resellers, who then sold them on online forums or to 'cashers' who encode the numbers onto blank plastic cards." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingProsecutors charge 6 in $300M credit card hacking scheme

Paris suburbs erupt in violent protests over veil ban

"The violence kicked off Friday evening, when some 400 people protested near the Trappes police station, southwest of Paris. They set fire to bins, destroyed bus stops and hurled stones at police who responded with tear gas. A 14-year-old boy suffered a serious eye injury and several police officers were also hurt. The veil ban, introduced in 2011, has outraged many in France’s Muslim community, which at an estimated four million is western Europe’s largest Muslim minority. Officials say more than 700 women have been stopped since the ban was introduced. The growing visibility of French Muslims has also sparked a backlash from nationalists." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingParis suburbs erupt in violent protests over veil ban

France drops law that makes insulting the president a criminal offense

"Being rude to the French president is no longer an offence after parliament amended legislation dating back to 1881 in favour of freedom of speech. Previously any rude remark risked a fine and criminal conviction for 'offending the head of state'. But the change was pushed through after criticism from the European court of human rights. In March, the court ruled that France had violated the right to freedom of expression after giving a criminal conviction to a man holding a cardboard sign telling the then-president Nicolas Sarkozy to get lost, uttered by Sarkozy himself months earlier when a man refused to shake his hand at an agricultural fair." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance drops law that makes insulting the president a criminal offense

Malawi man charged with ‘breaching the peace’ for calling president ‘stupid’

"Police in Malawi said Tuesday they had arrested a 37-year-old man and charged him with breaching the peace, after he allegedly called President Joyce Banda 'stupid.' Japhet Chirwa is believed to have called the head of state 'stupid and a failure' after a failed bid to change the name in his passport, police spokesman Maurice Chapola told AFP. 'He got furious and started talking ill of the president,' said Chapola, speaking from the northern city of Mzuzu. Chirwa has been charged with conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace, which could carry a fine or a six-month custodial sentence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMalawi man charged with ‘breaching the peace’ for calling president ‘stupid’

Japan: Fukushima clean-up will cost $58 billion

"The clean-up after the Fukushima nuclear disaster could cost five times more than estimated, far more than the 1 trillion yen the government has so far allocated, as Tokyo Electric Power said on Wednesday that steam had been seen again in a reactor building. Earlier this month, the utility had reported spiking levels of possibly cancer-causing materials in soil from underneath the plant, but maintained that toxic groundwater was likely contained. On Monday it admitted its own study, completed days earlier, revealed the groundwater was leaking into the ocean, prompting criticism over the delay." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan: Fukushima clean-up will cost $58 billion

Senate committee votes unanimously to sanction any country that takes Snowden

"The 30-member Senate Appropriations Committee adopted by consensus an amendment to a spending bill that would direct Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with congressional committees to come up with sanctions against any country that takes Snowden in. Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have said they could offer sanctuary to Snowden. Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said he introduced the amendment to try to get the attention of any country that might take in Snowden, not Russia in particular, although he noted Moscow has lined up against the United States on other issues, including the civil war in Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenate committee votes unanimously to sanction any country that takes Snowden

Homeland Security’s Future Home: A Former Mental Hospital

"Chris Mills frequently gives tours of St. Elizabeths Hospital, a former mental institution where the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is building a $4.5 billion headquarters. It’s the largest construction project in the District of Columbia since the Pentagon was completed in 1943. The project is moving slowly, even by the geologic standards of the U.S. government. It’s been plagued by delays and mounting costs. People might not even remember Napolitano when the building is completed, which might be around 2026. Today, DHS has 240,000 employees and a yearly budget of $60 billion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeland Security’s Future Home: A Former Mental Hospital

Cheese shop owner on crusade to block FDA ban on mimolette

"The US fate of the bright-orange, mild-tasting French cheese has been in jeopardy for months and the Food and Drug Administration has blocked all further imports. Why? Because US regulators determined the cantaloupe-like rind of the cheese was covered with too many cheese mites, even though the tiny bugs give mimolette its unique flavor. 1.5 tonnes (3,300 pounds) of cheese were blocked from being imported. Benoit de Vitton of French import company Isigny says those 1.5 tonnes were eventually destroyed. Mmenus inform diners about the FDA decision, noting that mimolette has been 'the National Cheese of France since King Louis XIV.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCheese shop owner on crusade to block FDA ban on mimolette

Pope Francis warns Latin America against legalizing drugs

"Pope Francis has warned Latin America against legalizing drugs, arguing that liberal policies under consideration in his home region will not reduce the problem. 'A reduction in the spread and influence of drug addiction will not be achieved by a liberalization of drug use, as is currently being proposed in various parts of Latin America,' he said on the third day of his trip. Guatemala’s president has called for legalization, a vision shared by ex-presidents in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia but opposed by the United States and Mexican governments. Uruguayan President Jose Mujica has proposed legalizing marijuana." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPope Francis warns Latin America against legalizing drugs

Church of England declares war on payday loans firm

"Church of England leader Justin Welby has told a company offering short-term high-interest loans that the church wants to 'compete' it out of existence by promoting not-for-profit credit unions. Welby, who came into office in February, has launched a campaign to expand credit unions as an alternative to payday lending that he hopes will boost competition in the banking sector. Members of credit unions pool their savings in order to provide each other with low-interest credit and other financial services. The British government announced in April that it was investing £38 million in credit unions to help them provide an alternative to payday lenders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChurch of England declares war on payday loans firm