The U.S. government on Tuesday released an alert with technical details about a series of cyberattacks it blamed on the North Korean government that stretch back to at least 2009.

The warning is the latest from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation about hacks that the United States charges were launched by the North Korean government.

A representative with Pyongyang’s mission to the United Nations declined comment. North Korea has routinely denied involvement in cyberattacks against other countries.

The report was published as U.S. and North Korean negotiators work to resuscitate plans for a possible June 12 summit between leaders of the two nations. The FBI and DHS released a similar report in June 2017, when relations were tense between Washington and Pyongyang due to North Korea’s missile tests.

The U.S. government uses the nickname “Hidden Cobra” to describe cyber operations by the North Korean government, which it says target the media, aerospace and financial sectors, and critical infrastructure in the United States and around the globe.

Tuesday’s report did not identify specific victims, though it cited a February 2016 report from several security firms that blamed the same group for a 2014 cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The alert provided a list of 87 IP addresses, four malicious files and two email addresses it said were associated with “Hidden Cobra.”

Last year’s alert was published on the same day that North Korea released American university student Otto Warmbier, who died days after his return to the United States following 17 months of captivity by Pyongyang.
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From: MeNeedIt

The U.S. said it is hosting a senior-level Chinese delegation to witness its drug prevention and treatment efforts, even as the United States continues to battle opioid abuse that is killing more than 60,000 people annually.

The State Department said Tuesday the Chinese will visit drug abuse prevention programs in Washington and New York and highlight the role that U.S. agencies, private treatment centers and non-government community coalitions play in fighting drug abuse in the U.S.

An average of more than 160 people are dying every day in the U.S. from opioid abuse. But the State Department said the U.S.-Chinese effort to reduce the demand for illicit drugs adds to the two countries’ “recent productive cooperation” by imposing restrictive controls on synthetic opioids.

The State Department said it is aiming to cut drug abuse, “as addiction knows no national borders, and illicit drug use anywhere enriches transnational criminal drug traffickers.”

Last October, U.S. President Donald Trump declared opioid abuse a “national public health emergency.”
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From: MeNeedIt

France’s Interior Ministry announced plans on Tuesday to beef up its emergency alert system to the public across social media.

The ministry said in a statement that from June during immediate threats of danger, such as a terror attack, the ministry’s alerts will be given priority broadcast on Twitter, Facebook and Google as well as on French public transport and television.

The statement said that Twitter will give “special visibility” to the ministry’s alerts with a banner.

In a specific agreement, Facebook will also allow the French government to communicate to people directly via the social network’s “safety check” tool, created in 2014. 

The ministry said that this is the first time in Europe that Facebook has allowed public authorities to use this tool in this way.

This announcement comes as a much-derided attack alert app launched in 2016 called SAIP is being withdrawn after malfunctions. 
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From: MeNeedIt

The lawyer defending movie mogul Harvey Weinstein against rape charges said Tuesday he was concerned that publicity surrounding the case and “inappropriate pressure” on prosecutors could be unfair to his client.

The lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, spoke to reporters after a closed-door proceeding before New York Supreme Court Justice James Burke in Manhattan, which he said he had requested to raise his concerns about the case. Brafman said he expected Weinstein would be exonerated of the charges, which he called “absurd.”

Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 70 women, in some instances dating back decades, has denied having nonconsensual sex with anyone.

Brafman said he could not discuss the substance of the proceeding in detail and did not say exactly what action, if any, he had asked the judge to take. Weinstein did not appear at the proceeding.

“One of my concerns is that by virtue of some of the publicity that has occurred over the weekend, that the ability for people to keep an open mind is of concern to me,” Brafman told reporters outside the courthouse. “I also think that the pressure that is being brought to bear on the [Manhattan] District Attorney’s office demanding that an indictment or prosecution of Mr. Weinstein proceed is inappropriate pressure.”

Brafman did not elaborate on the source of the “pressure.” “I’m not certain whether there is any remedy but I wanted to make it clear that I was not happy with those issues,” he said.

The District Attorney’s office declined to comment.

Weinstein has been charged with two counts of rape and one count of a criminal sexual act following a months-long investigation by the New York Police Department. Authorities did not identify the two women, but said the crimes took place in 2004 and 2013. If convicted on the most serious charges, Weinstein could face between five and 25 years in prison.

Brafman said Tuesday that Weinstein was accused of raping one woman, and that he had a 10-year consensual affair with her both before and after the alleged rape.
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From: MeNeedIt

One of Russia’s leading art galleries announced on Monday it would try to stop the sale of alcohol on its premises after a man attacked a masterpiece with a metal pole after drinking vodka there.

The incident at Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery on Friday caused serious damage to one of the country’s most famous paintings, which depicts Tsar Ivan the Terrible cradling his dying son in 1581, and raised awkward questions about how Russia protects its historical and cultural artefacts.

The damaged painting was completed by renowned Russian realist Ilya Repin in 1885 and was described by its curators on Monday as a masterpiece in the same league as the Mona Lisa.

In an interior ministry video, a 37-year-old man called Igor Podporin described how he had knocked back 100 grams of vodka in the gallery’s cafe, became “overwhelmed”, and then used a metal security pole to strike the canvas several times.

Zelfira Tregulova, director of the Tretyakov, said she wanted to stop the sale of alcohol on the gallery’s premises and would be holding talks with the lessees of an on-site cafe and restaurant.

“As we’ve now understood, there were small bottles of wine or cognac in the cafe. We’re going to talk to the cafe and ask them to remove them,” she told a news conference.

It would be harder to persuade a separate restaurant, accessible from both the gallery and the street, to stop selling alcohol, she said.

“The incident was awful and frightening and speaks to the aggression which reigns in society,” said Tregulova, complaining that people were increasingly unable to distinguish between works of art and the documentation of historical facts.

Historical grudge?

Vladimir Aristarkhov, the deputy culture minister, said that jail time for such attacks should be sharply increased from a current three-year maximum, disclosed Russia’s museums had a shortfall of around 1,000 security guards, and called for the attacker to be made an example of.

The Tretyakov’s curator, Tatyana Gorodkova, told reporters that Podporin had shouted something at the time of his attack to the effect that Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son. The painting depicts Ivan cradling his son after dealing him a mortal blow.

Some Russian historians and nationalists dispute the idea that Ivan murdered his son.

The painting, which will be protected by a bulletproof case after being restored, has never been valued because it has never been lent out, but another work by Repin was sold for over $7 million in 2011.

The painting was attacked in 1913, prompting the then gallery’s curator to commit suicide.

When asked if she took responsibility for the latest attack, Tregulova, the gallery’s director, quipped she would not be taking her own life and said the incident had been hard to stop.

“It was not possible to do anything. It was a question of seconds,” she said, saying the gallery nonetheless planned to review security.

 
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From: MeNeedIt

In Kenya and many parts of the world, family planning is mostly considered a woman’s responsibility.  Procedures that affect men, like vasectomies, are often shunned and stigmatized.  But in Kenya, vasectomies are slowly gaining acceptance.

In April, a group of doctors performed about 70 free vasectomies on men in Nairobi.

Dr. Charles Ochieng was part of the team.  He says 70 seemed like a low turnout, but that figure indicated progress.

“Vasectomy is not very popular, not just in Kenya but in sub-Saharan Africa.  I think the prevalence rate could be now at 1.4 percent so we are trying to create awareness so that more men can be able to adopt it,” Ochieng said.

A vasectomy involves closing the tubes that carry sperm from the man’s testicles.  This means there is no sperm to fertilize the woman’s egg during sex.  The procedure takes about 15 minutes, and is one of the most effective methods of contraception with the failure rate estimated at one man in every 2,000.

Ochieng said more men are becoming open to the procedure.

“Most of them are motivated because probably the side effects of the other conventional family planning methods on the health of their wives, or maybe their wives have undergone very difficult labor pains and deliveries…. The other reason is that some men have had the number of children they want, like some have had two, three and they feel that’s enough and they want to take personal responsibility for family planning,” Ochieng said.

Kevin Baraka Mwali, a father of three, had a vasectomy in January.

“I have seen my wife struggle.  Before we tried different methods of family planning and they had a lot of side effects.  First of all we have had enough babies and it’s a sacrifice to my wife,” Mwali said.

According to Ochieng, another misconception surrounding the procedure is that it reduces a man’s sex drive and sexual satisfaction.

“Not many men know exactly what vasectomy is all about.  They do not know that the modern vasectomy we do is a very intelligent way of manipulating a man’s reproductive system so that he can continue enjoying sex, he can continue working as normally as he used to, but the only thing now he cannot have unplanned and unwanted pregnancy,” Ochieng said.

A vasectomy is considered advantageous compared with other contraceptive methods because it is permanent and has no physical side effects for the man, other than preventing him from getting his partner pregnant.

Mwali, now an advocate for the procedure, said that for him and his wife it was a win-win.

“To me, vasectomy is a simple procedure compared to other methods of family planning.  My wife is happier, there are no chemicals in her body and I feel it’s the safest method for her for family planning.  I think more African men should embrace this method of family planning.  It’s safer than other methods of family planning,” Mwali said.

A 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey indicated that contraceptive use in Kenya has contributed to a decrease in fertility rates, from 4.6 to 3.9 children per woman.

 
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From: MeNeedIt

Elton John, on a visit to Ukraine to raise awareness about AIDS, said Ireland’s vote to liberalize its abortion laws showed how mindsets can change.

The 71-year-old singer has traveled regularly to Ukraine and spoken out for gay rights in the eastern European country, including at an AIDS charity concert in Kiev during the Euro soccer championships in 2012.

“Believe me, I love this country. We will do everything we can to continue the fight against AIDS,” he said at an event organized by the Elena Pinchuk Foundation.

“It takes a long time for things to happen as I said,” he said. “Look what just happened in Ireland: the vote for abortion. Things change. People … they change their mind. And with a younger generation coming up, they are different kind of people, and they’re our future.”

Voters in Ireland, a once deeply Catholic nation, on Friday backed a change to abortion laws by a landslide.

Ukrainian authorities have increased their support for gay rights since a pro-Western government took power following the Maidan protests in 2014. In 2015, a law was passed banning workplace discrimination against the LGBT community.

But critics say homophobic attitudes remain widespread. Kiev was embroiled in gay rights row last year as it hosted the Eurovision Song Contest with a slogan to “Celebrate Diversity”. A plan to paint a Soviet-era monument in rainbow colors was resisted by hard-right groups.

The singer tried to adopt an HIV-positive baby in Ukraine 2009 but was refused permission by the authorities, who said prospective parents must be married and that Elton John’s civil partnership with David Furnish would not be recognized as such.

“We’ve made great progress but we still have a lot of work to do,” he said.
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From: MeNeedIt

When Junius Moore lost part of his arm in a car accident, it limited his ability to perform simple everyday tasks like eating and drinking. But now, a special prosthesis has not only improved his movements, but his confidence and overall quality of life. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more.
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From: MeNeedIt

The Trump administration is trying to give private companies a boost in their efforts to capitalize on space as a business venture.

U.S. President Donald Trump Thursday signed a space policy directive aimed at streamlining regulations on commercial use of space.

Trump signed the directive just days after Space X launched another rocket from California carrying satellites into orbit.

WATCH: Trump space policy

The launch and several others planned for June are examples of private industries’ growing interests in space for commercial and scientific research.

“It’s a bit of a renaissance, a bit of a space 2.0. Finally, the commercial sector is starting to come back and do some really interesting things,” said Will Marshall, co-founder and chief executive officer of Planet, a leading provider of geospatial data.

The company has put up approximately 200 satellites that image Earth’s entire land mass each day. Marshall said prior to Planet, satellite imagery was only taken every year or several years. The regular images of Earth can be used in many different industries.

“You can use that data to improve crop yields so farmers can use it to decide when to add fertilizer, when to add water because we can tell crop yield from orbit. Or, it can be used by a commercial consumer mapping companies that are trying to improve their maps you see online, or it could be used by governments for a wide range of things from border security to disaster response,” Marshall said.

Satellites also orbit the planet for purposes of national security.

“We just launched a few months ago a satellite that was just like this, but also had laser communication. We were able to send at 200 megabits per second high data rates down to the ground and the ability for satellites to actually talk to each other. The same satellites that are put up to look at the Earth could be looking around the neighborhood and doing neighborhood watch for the benefit of national security and space situational awareness,” Steve Isakowitz, president and chief executive officer of the Aerospace Corporation, an organization that works with the U.S. Air Force and intelligence community.

Also orbiting Earth is the International Space Station, or ISS, an outpost of great interest to some major companies and research institutions. The ISS National Laboratory and astronauts inside conduct a wide range of experiments that would not be possible on Earth.

“When you remove the gravity vector out of the equation which is what we’re used to here on Earth, we see certain impacts and phenomena associated with that, such as lack of sedimentation, lack of convection, lack of buoyancy,” said Jennifer Lopez, commercial innovation technology lead at the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS, which manages the ISS National Laboratory.

The space station orbits Earth 16 times a day, with exposure to extreme temperatures and radiation, providing a unique environment for experiments.

Some experiments, including those geared to helping people with bone loss and injuries, may benefit life on Earth; however, the findings can also help with future human exploration into deep space. Lopez notes there is research is “looking at bone loss and muscle wasting in a space environment and the effects that a microgravity environment can have on our biological systems.”

“There is so much opportunity right now in space; Mars is one of those opportunities,” said Chad Anderson, chief executive officer of Space Angels, which invests in the space industry.

While NASA works on sending humans to the moon and Mars, the space near Earth and beyond will become busier as businesses explore this final frontier.
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From: MeNeedIt

Another person has died in Congo of a confirmed case of Ebola, bringing the number of fatalities to 12, said the country’s Health Ministry.

The new death happened in Iboko, a rural area in northwestern Equateur province, said the Health Ministry statement released Sunday. There are also four new suspected cases in the province, said the statement.

Congo now has 35 confirmed Ebola cases.

Health workers have identified people who have been in contact with confirmed Ebola cases in three areas in Equateur province, the rural areas of Bikoro and Iboko and Mdbandaka, the provincial capital of 1.2 million that is a transport hub on the Congo River.

Congo’s health minister Saturday flew by helicopter to Bikoro and Iboko to see the deployment of health workers who will be tracing those who have been in contact with Ebola cases and inoculating them with a new experimental vaccine. Health minister Oly Ilunga was accompanied by representatives of the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The vaccination campaign in those rural is to begin Monday.

The vaccination campaign is already under way in Mbandaka, where four Ebola cases have been confirmed. About 100 health workers have been vaccinated there as front-line workers face high risk from the virus, which is spread via contact with the bodily fluids of those infected, including the dead.

The next few weeks are crucial in determining whether the outbreak can be brought under control, according to the World Health Organization. Complicating factors include its spread to a major city, the fact that health workers have been infected and the existence of three or four “separate epicenters” that make finding and monitoring contacts of infected people more difficult.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a meeting in Geneva on Saturday that ”I am personally committed to ensuring that we do everything we can to stop this outbreak as soon as possible.”

WHO is using a “ring vaccination” approach, targeting the contacts of people infected or suspected of infection and then the contacts of those people. More than 600 contacts have been identified.

WHO also is accelerating efforts with nine neighboring countries to try to prevent the Ebola outbreak from spreading there, saying the regional risk is high. It has warned against international travel and trade restrictions.

This is Congo’s ninth Ebola outbreak since 1976, when the hemorrhagic fever was first identified.

There is no specific treatment for Ebola. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding. The virus can be fatal in up to 90 percent of cases, depending on the strain.

 
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From: MeNeedIt

New shops appear in New York City every day, but Phluid Project, which recently opened its doors on Broadway, is different. One of the first gender-fluid boutiques in the world, Phluid Project sells clothing for men, women and everyone in between. Both the clothes and the mannequins here are gender-neutral, and as an added selling point, its store owners say the prices are more than affordable. Elena Wolf visited the one-of-a-kind store, where no one feels out of place.
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From: MeNeedIt

Streams flowing in the south of England may hold clues to the search for life on Mars. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more.
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From: MeNeedIt