Landslide in Indonesia leaves thirty-two dead, seventy-six others missing.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo (in white) at site of landslide (Image courtesy of Reuters/Antara Photo Agency).
Seasonal rains and high tides in central Indonesia loosened soil, and led to the collapse of a hill on 14 December, setting off a landslide that left the village of Sampang, Indonesia, buried under debris and mud. The landslide led to the destruction of about a hundred houses on 12 December, and later destroyed many roads and bridges, leaving at least thirty-two villagers dead, seventy-six others missing under the mud and wreckage, and hundreds of people homeless.
The Indonesian president Joko Widodo has pledged to relocate the people whose homes were destroyed, and has promised that the government will provide aid for the injured. Around three thousand rescuers, including soldiers, police officers, and volunteers, have joined the search for the missing people. Many others have been evacuated from the Jemblung village in the Banjarnegara district of Central Java, about 460 km east of Jakarta.
Source can more information can be found here.
Screenplay of new James Bond movie “Spectre” stolen in Sony hack.
Daniel Craig cast as James Bond in the upcoming movie “Spectre” (Image courtesy of Francois Duhamel/Sony Pictures/Associated Press).
The recent hack on Sony Pictures Entertainment has lead to the release of highly sensitive material, including the new James Bond movie “Spectre.” The producers acknowledged that an early version of its screenplay was stolen in the massive cyberattack, and are worried that third parties who acquired the screenplay may attempt to release it to the public. A warning was thus issued by EON productions, the U.K. affiliate of Danjaq LLC, the U.S.-based company that co-owns the copyright to the Bond films, stating that the material is subject to copyright protection.
Many have speculated that the cyberattack was caused by North Korea as retribution for the upcoming release of the movie “The Interview,” which portrays an assassination attempt on the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea has denied any role in the hack.
Source and more information can be found here.
Federal analysis reveals a breach in security of the National Research Council by Chinese hackers.
The Ottawa front of the National Research Council where the breach in the computer network occurred. (Image courtesy of Jean Levac/Postmedia News/Files.)
In a newly related federal analysis, it was revealed that Chinese hackers wormed their way into the computers of the National Research Council with tempting emails, malware and stolen passwords. The attackers are speculated to be state sponsored, and the hackers sought valuable scientific and trade secrets. The information at stake was the result of collaboration between the council and partners in fields including aerospace, physics and health.
The analysis explains the attack in an “exploitation cycle”, where the first emails connected to the computer network are collected. The computers become vulnerable when unsuspecting users clicked on malicious links that lead to compromised sites carrying malware. The analysis also does not claim whether or not any information was stolen, and as there have not been any complaints of stolen personal information, this remains unclear.
Source and more information can be found here.
Gunman with suspected political motivations takes hostages in chocolate shop in Sydney, Australia.
Armed police surround the plaza and the chocolate shop in Martin Place. (Image courtesy of Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images.)
On Sunday night, a gunman hoisting a suspected ISIS flag held a number of people hostage in a Lindt chocolate shop in Sydney, Australia. In the 4 hours proceeding, the police were unsure of the motivations of the gunman, but had proceeded to treat the situation as a terrorist attack due to the flag. The plaza was blocked off, along with surrounding streets.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott stated that there are indications of the man being politically motivated, and he urged “…all Australians today to go about their business as usual.” This occurrence came nearly 2 months after the Ottawa shooting, a politically motivated shooting on Canada’s Parliament Hill.
Source and more information can be found here.
Note: As of 15 December 2014, the hostage ended with two citizens, and the gunman dead. More information can be found here.
MPs pressure Prime Minister of the UK to approve an investigation into UK’s involvement in CIA’s torture of suspected terrorists.
Malcolm Rifkind, Tory chair of the ISC, on BBC1 discussing the ISC’s involvement in the investigation. (Image courtesy of BBC1.)
Information regarding the CIA’s torture of suspects in the “war on terror” has been released, leaving Prime Minister David Cameron to face pressure from other parties to approve of a judge-led investigation into UK’s involvement. After the report from the Senate Intelligence Committee, many MPs have come to believe that Britain’s secret service had bore witness to the torture, and had benefited, making them complicit.
The British PM wishes to wait for the investigation of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) before initiating a judge-led investigation. However, some MPs worry about whtether or not the Committee has the resources to perform such a task. Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Tory chairman of the ISC, says that the council will investigate “without fear or favour”.
Source and more information can be found here.
