Daily Archives: April 29, 2021

US Government Probes VPN Hack Within Federal Agencies, Races to Find Clues

This entry was posted in Blog on

For at least the third time since the beginning of this year, the U.S. government is investigating a hack against federal agencies that began during the Trump administration but was only recently discovered, according to senior U.S. officials and private sector cyber defenders.  It is the latest supply chain cyberattack, highlighting how sophisticated, often government-backed groups are targeting vulnerable software built by third parties as a steppingstone to sensitive government and corporate computer networks.  The new government breaches involve a popular virtual private network (VPN) known as Pulse Connect Secure, …

India Struggles with COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Amid New Infection, Death Rates

This entry was posted in Classifieds on

India set new records again Thursday in COVID-19 deaths and infections as its new vaccination registration program stumbled while millions of voters nonetheless turned out for an election in the state of West Bengal.Under the weight of a disastrous second surge of the disease, India’s efforts to begin registering its 1.4 billion people for inoculations stumbled Wednesday when the government launched a website for all Indians 18 and older to sign up for a vaccination drive that is set to begin Saturday.Many people flooded social media with complaints, however, that …

Pope Francis Enlists Cardinals in Vatican Corruption Fight

This entry was posted in Ads on

Pope Francis has issued an anti-corruption decree requiring Vatican managers, including cardinals, to sign a declaration attesting they are not being investigated or have not been found guilty of terrorism, money-laundering or tax evasion. The new regulations are part of the pope’s long battle against corruption inside Vatican’s walls.Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has been battling corruption inside the Vatican and his decree issued Thursday mandates full economic disclosure and controls for all managers working for the city state, including cardinals.  They will be required to sign a …

Pew Census Breakdown: Asian American Population Reached 24 Million

This entry was posted in Ads on

The Pew Research Center released Thursday an analysis of 2019 U.S. Census Bureau data showing the population of Asian Americans reached 24 million people.   The Washington-based research group previously projected that population will reach 46 million people by 2060, and that by that time Asian Americans will be the largest immigrant group in the United States.   It said Thursday nearly all the Asian American population comes from 19 Asian origin groups, and that Chinese Americans account for 23% of the Asian population.   In terms of geographical distribution, …

India Struggles to Jumpstart Coronavirus Vaccination Campaign

This entry was posted in Classifieds on

India’s efforts to begin registering its 1.4 billion people for COVID-19 inoculations stumbled Wednesday as the country struggles under the weight of a disastrous second surge of the disease.  The government launched a website for all Indians 18 and older to sign up for a vaccination drive that is set to begin Saturday.  However, many people flooded social media with complaints that either the website had crashed or they were unable to make an appointment.   The problems with the website come as the health ministry reported 379,257 new COVID-19 cases …

UN Calls on Countries to Take Action to Prevent Drowning

This entry was posted in Classifieds on

The U.N. General Assembly encouraged all countries Wednesday to take action to prevent drownings, which have caused over 2.5 million deaths in the past decade, over 90% of them in low-income and middle-income countries.The resolution, co-sponsored by Bangladesh and Ireland and adopted by consensus by the 193-member world body, is the first to focus on drowning. It establishes July 25 as “World Drowning Prevention Day.”The assembly stresses that drowning “is preventable” using “low-cost interventions” and calls on countries to consider introducing water safety, swimming and first aid lessons as part …

US Government Taking Creative Steps to Counter Cyberthreats

This entry was posted in Blog on

An FBI operation that gave law enforcement remote access to hundreds of computers to counter a massive hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software is a tool that is likely to be deployed “judiciously” in the future as the Justice Department, aware of privacy concerns, develops a framework for its use, a top national security official said Wednesday.The department this month announced that it had obtained a warrant from a federal judge in Texas to remove web shells, or malicious code that gives hackers a foothold into networks, from hundreds …

Low Pay, Bad Working Conditions, COVID Burnout Spark Likely Global Nursing Shortage

This entry was posted in Classifieds on

The International Council of Nurses warned Thursday that the world was facing a nursing crisis and could expect a significant shortage — perhaps a reduction by half — in the global nursing workforce of 27 million in the next few years.The council said its latest survey of 64 national nursing associations found disputes over pay, working conditions, violence and intimidation were causing nurses to leave their profession.There’s also the COVID-19 effect. The report found lack of protection and long, stressful shifts were having a profound impact on the mental health …

Future Is Made of Virtual Diplomacy Now

This entry was posted in Ads on

Diplomacy can be fraught at the best of times. Serious, high-level events are regularly punctuated with physical gaffes, miscues, awkward handshakes, strained laughter and cultural misunderstandings of varying scope and severity.   Like the time President Donald Trump appeared to shove the prime minister of Montenegro at a NATO summit. Or when President Barack Obama got caught on a hot mic complaining to then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy about the prime minister of Israel, a key U.S. ally. Or when Russia’s foreign minister awkwardly explained to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on live …