European Union’s first cybersecurity law gets green light
The European Parliament endorsed legislation that will impose security and reporting obligations on service operators in industries such as banking, energy, transport and health and on digital operators like search engines and online marketplaces. The law, voted through on Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, also requires EU national governments to cooperate among themselves in the field of network security. The rules “will help prevent cyber attacks on Europe’s important interconnected infrastructures,” said Andreas Schwab, a German member of the 28-nation EU Parliament who steered the measures through the assembly. EU governments have already supported the legislation. Network-security incidents resulting from human error, technical failures or cyber attacks cause annual losses of 260 billion euros ($288 billion) to 340 billion euros, the EU Parliament said, citing estimates by the bloc’s agency for network and information security.
Putin signs counterterrorism law criticized by telecom chiefs, rights activists
Putin signed into law a controversial package of amendments to the country’s existing counterterrorism laws. While the new law toughens punishment for crimes connected to terrorism and extremism, experts say that the criteria for determining what is terrorist and extremist are vague, meaning the authorities can interpret the terms in an unacceptably loose manner. The Kremlin said in a statement Thursday that Putin instructed the government and the Federal Security Service, the country’s principal security agency, “to prepare drafts of necessary regulatory acts aimed at minimizing the possible risks associated with the application” of the new law. Various provisions of the new law have come under heavy criticism. Among the critics are the heads of leading Russian mobile phone operators MegaFon, VimpelCom, MTS and Tele2; human rights activists, including the head of the Russian president’s own human rights council; and Muslim groups.
France Telecom suicides: Prosecutor calls for bullying trial
After a lengthy inquiry into a wave of suicides at France Telecom, the Paris prosecutor has recommended that its former chief executive and other key figures are put on trial for bullying. At least 19 people are known to taken their lives in 2008 and 2009 as the company cut thousands of jobs. Judicial sources say the company and ex-boss Didier Lombard are suspected of using a policy of unsettling staff to speed up job losses. France Telecom became Orange in 2013. It will now be up to an examining judge to decide whether or not to order a trial. But if it goes ahead it would be the first trial in France for bullying (moral harassment) of such a large company.
Former Nazi death guard Oberlander in Canada court win
A 92-year-old man who has admitted being a former Nazi death squad member has won a court victory in Canada, fending off the latest of several efforts to revoke his citizenship. Canada has revoked his citizenship three times since 1995 but each time it has been overturned on appeal, the latest ruling being made on Thursday. Helmut Oberlander says he was forced to act as a translator for the WWII squad. He says he did not participate in atrocities and was conscripted. The Supreme Court in Ottawa on Thursday ruled that the Canadian government must prove he was a willing participant in the eastern Europe death squad in order to deport him from the country.
Huawei Technologies files patent suit against T-Mobile US
Huawei Technologies says it has filed a lawsuit against T-Mobile US, alleging the telecommunications carrier violated the Chinese company’s patents related to wireless networks.
IRS wants Facebook’s records on transfer of assets to Ireland
US tax officials are investigating Facebook Inc.’s transfer of assets to Ireland in 2010, saying the value of some assets may have been “understated by billions of dollars.”
House passes mental-health bill
The House passed legislation Wednesday to overhaul the nation’s mental health system, the first effort by lawmakers to specifically tackle federal policies on serious mental illness.
Boeing’s agreement with Iran comes under congressional scrutiny
Boeing Co.’s historic agreement to provide 109 aircraft to Iran’s national airline is coming under increasing pressure from lawmakers in Washington. “I am extremely concerned that by relaxing the rules, the Obama administration has allowed US companies to be complicit in weaponizing the Iranian regime,” Republican Representative Bill Huizenga of Michigan said Thursday at a hearing of a House Financial Services subcommittee. The deal announced in June with Iran Air would be the biggest business transaction between the US and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the US hostage crisis. It’s part of the Islamic Republic’s return to global markets under the agreement with world powers that eased economic sanctions in return for Iran curbing its nuclear program.
Vatileaks pair convicted of leaks but journalists cleared
A court in the Vatican has found a priest and a PR consultant guilty of leaking official documents, while two journalists and a church secretary have been acquitted. The papers were cited in books, published in 2015, that alleged corruption in the Catholic Church. Mgr Angelo Lucio Vallejo Balda has been sentenced to 18 months in jail. His former colleague, Francesca Chaouqui, was given a 10-month suspended sentence. Prosecutors had asked for longer sentences of more than three years for both Vallejo and Chaouqui. The judges said they did not have the authority to try the Italian journalists. The men had argued that their alleged offences of publishing leaked information had not taken place on Vatican soil.
Food chain Wendy's hit by massive hack
Popular US food chain Wendy's has been hit by a massive cyber attack, the company has confirmed. The company reported suspicious activity earlier this year, but the scale of the breach is far bigger than first anticipated. At least 1,025 of its restaurants were targeted - with debit and credit card information stolen. Wendy's has blamed a third-party for the intrusion, saying a "service provider" that had remote access to the till systems was compromised. The company did not speculate how many people may have been affected, though it did say all of the locations were in the US. Malware - malicious software - had been installed on point-of-sale systems in the affected locations.
Britain seeks retrial of Barclays traders in Libor case
A jury was unable to reach a verdict on charges that two former Barclays employees plotted to manipulate a benchmark interest rate.
US banks commit to London post Brexit
JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, four of the biggest US banks, have committed to helping maintain London's position as a global financial hub after the UK leaves the European Union. Since the referendum vote there have been concerns that banks would reduce their staff and offices in the country. In a statement the banks and Chancellor George Osborne said they would work to ensure London "retains its position". However, they did not say whether this meant that they would keep the same number of jobs and offices in the UK.
Schaeuble warns against EU 'race to bottom' over tax
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said he opposes a "race to the bottom" of competitive tax cuts. He spoke after George Osborne pledged to cut UK corporation tax in response to the Brexit vote. At the same time, in an attempt to attract UK businesses, the French government promised its taxes will be the most favorable in Europe. "We want to build the financial capital of the future," French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Wednesday. "In a word, now is the time to come to France." Valls said. But Schaeuble said: "We have no intention to start some sort of race to the bottom", in response to Osborne's proposal to slash corporation tax to below 15% to avoid a business exodus after the 23 June vote. France's financial sector has often complained of government indifference towards the industry, which is subject to high taxes and sometimes-hostile remarks from politicians.
Sagging trousers ban in South Carolina leads to 'race profile' fears
A town in the US state of South Carolina has banned the wearing of sagging trousers, an offence that may now lead to a $600 fine. Timmonsville, a town of only 2,000 people, passed the order on Tuesday. A first offence leads to a verbal warning, a second to a written warning and a third to a fine of $100-600. Similar orders were previously made in towns in Florida and Louisiana. One council official said the ban would lead to racial profiling. The style is popular with hip-hop artists. The New York Times reported that the style originated from oversized prison outfits, given without belts to avoid suicide attempts.
Three UT professors sue to block campus carry law
Three University of Texas at Austin professors sued their university and the state on Wednesday, claiming Texas' new campus carry law is forcing the school to impose "overly-solicitous, dangerously-experimental gun policies" that violate the First and Second Amendments. The professors — Jennifer Lynn Glass, Lisa Moore and Mia Carter — are asking a federal judge to grant an injunction that would block the law before the first day of class. In the suit, professors say they teach courses that touch emotional issues like gay rights and abortion. The possibility of guns on campus could stifle class discussion, which is a violation of the First Amendment, the suit says.
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