This Russian Web Security Expert Says Russians Are The ‘Best & Most Sophisticated Hackers’

Evgeny Kaspersky © Sputnik / Evgeny Biyatov  

RT: ‘Everyone is attacking everyone’ online, but Russians are ‘best & most sophisticated hackers,’ says web security expert Kaspersky  

When it comes to the internet, countries are constantly attacking each other, and cybercriminals are in every single nation. That’s according to Eugene Kaspersky, the Russian founder and CEO of IT security company Kaspersky Lab. 

Speaking to Moscow daily Kommersant on Tuesday, Kaspersky explained that not everything should be blamed on ‘Russian hackers’, but they are some of the most skillful cybercriminals. 

“In fact, everyone is attacking everyone,” he said. “The main victims, of course, are developed countries because there is more to steal. But there are cybercriminals everywhere – some places have more, some have less.” 

In particular, Kaspersky noted that there are very few American hackers because of the competence of the FBI. However, other countries, such as China and Russia, have a very developed cybercrime industry.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: He is right that when it comes to the internet, countries are constantly attacking each other and that cyber-criminals are in every single nation. 

But when it comes to state players, the U.S. government with its intelligence agencies, coupled with help from big tech, are the best hackers and cyber warfare specialists around.

Has 'People Power' Failed In Places Like Minsk, Caracus, And Hong Kong?

Will Hutton, The Guardian: From Minsk to Hong Kong, people power just isn’t working any more  

Last week’s detention of an activist in Belarus is only the latest of many signals that we must relearn how to defend our values 

The west’s ineffectiveness in the face of the arrant use of torture, unlawful arrest, savage imprisonment without trial and flagrant abuse of international law, even close to home in Europe, is among the bleakest symptoms of our times. The people power we saw embodied in the strikes in the Gdańsk shipyards, the fall of the Berlin Wall and even the Arab spring has not presaged the new era of democracy we once hoped for. Instead, the 21st century is becoming defined as a new era of agile autocracy and vicious strong-man rule. 

As the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, prepared the UK’s response to last Sunday’s forced landing of a Ryanair jet by a Belarusian MiG-29 over its airspace to secure the trumped-up detention of a well-known democracy activist, Roman Protasevich, it must have crossed his mind that Britain’s response would have been so much stronger within the EU. The UK is now a little Sir Echo, weakening the west. It is part of the reason why Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, can act with impunity, as he refuses to acknowledge his loss of last’s August presidential election.  

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WNU Editor: Belarus, Venezuela, Hong Kong .... when the government has the will to stay in power and it has the support of the intelligence and security forces, people power is not enough to change the government. It is only when the general population have made the decision to match the "cracking of heads" that the government is imposing on everyone that everything changes. 

Unfortunately for places like Venezuela, Belarus, or Hong Kong right now, that critical point has not been reached. The central governments are still in the driver's seat.

Ukrainian President Zelensky Says The Unification of Russia & Belarus Would Put ‘Serious Pressure’ On Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a news conference at the Antonov aircraft plant, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Zelensky held a news conference on the results of his two years in office. © Sputnik / Stringer  

UNIAN: Zelensky says "Union State" of Russia, Belarus "threat" to Ukraine 

Enhanced cooperation between Moscow and Minsk would put pressure on Kyiv, the president is convinced. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky says that the project of a "Union State" involving Russia and Belarus, if implemented, would become a real threat to Ukraine. 

Speaking with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Zelensky noted that the de facto unification of the two states neighboring states will integrate their defense cooperation and exert serious pressure on Ukraine, 24 TV reports.  

Read more ....  

Update: Unification of Russia & Belarus would put ‘serious pressure’ on Ukraine & could create ‘dangers’ for Kiev, says President Zelensky (RT)  

WNU Editor: I am one of those who personally believes that a Russia - Belarus union will happen in the far future. Russian is spoken by 70% of the population, and there are many cultural and religious connections. 

As to Ukrainian President Zelensky's concerns that such a union is a threat to Ukraine. My answer to the Ukrainian President is that he should focus more on the problems of his own country than what a future Russia - Belarus union, maybe decades in the future, may hold.

Belarus Bans Most Of Its Citizens From Going Abroad

A border post between Belarus and Poland  

BBC: Belarus bans most citizens from going abroad 

Belarus has temporarily banned most of its citizens from leaving, including many foreign residency permit holders. 

There are some exceptions, such as for Belarusian civil servants on official trips and state transport staff. 

The State Border Committee's tightening of the rules follows international outrage over Belarus's recent diversion of a Ryanair flight and arrest of a top dissident and his girlfriend on board. 

Many dissidents have left Belarus since a disputed election last year.  

Read more ....  

Update: Belarus enacts new rules restricting citizens from leaving (DW)  

WNU Editor: The Kremlin is still backing Belarus .... Russia vows to defend Belarus if EU sanctions Minsk - RIA (Reuters).

It Is Open Season On The Police And Politicians In Mexico

CNN: At least 88 politicians have been killed in Mexico since September 

Mexico City (CNN)Some parts of the campaign trail in Mexico look like anywhere else -- rallies, bumper stickers, candidates making lofty promises. Other parts -- the threats, the assaults, the murders -- are more unique. 

Political violence mars every election season here and the run up to the June 6 midterm elections has been no different. But this year has been particularly gruesome, even for a country more used to it than most. 

At least 88 politicians or candidates for office have been killed since last September, according to Mexican consulting firm Etellekt Consultores. 

They're part of a group of at least 565 politicians or candidates that have been targeted by some sort of crime, according to the firm. 

Mexico's government says this year's midterm elections will be the largest ever. By the time the polls close on June 6, they might also be its deadliest.  

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WNU Editor: The cartels have definitely expanded their list of targets and opportunities. 

More News On The Ongoing Violence In Mexico  

In Mexico, cartels are hunting down police at their homes -- AP 

Mexican Cartels Respond To AMLO's "Hugs, Not Bullets" By Hunting Down, Torturing, And Executing Cops At Their Homes -- Zero Hedge  

‘Huge incentives to kill’: Mexico crime groups target election candidates -- The Guardian

Venezuela Continues Its Trend To Be A Failed State

DNYUZ/New York Times: Bouncy Castles and Grenades: Gangs Erode Maduro’s Grip on Caracas 

CARACAS, Venezuela — From within his presidential palace, President Nicolás Maduro regularly commandeers the airwaves, delivering speeches intended to project stability to his crumbling nation. 

But as the Venezuelan state disintegrates under the weight of Mr. Maduro’s corrupt leadership and American sanctions, his government is losing control of segments of the country, even within his stronghold: the capital, Caracas. 

Nowhere is his weakening grip on territory more evident than in Cota 905, a shantytown that clings to a steep mountainside overlooking the gilded halls from which Mr. Maduro addresses the nation. 

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Venezuela is now trying to implement a Covid-19 vaccination program .... Long lines and confusion as Venezuela begins COVID-19 vaccination (Reuters), and it looks like it is falling apart.

And for a country that has the largest reserves of oil in the world, it has finally received its first shipment of diesel in six months .... Iranian fuel shipment reaches Venezuelan waters (AFP).  

Update: I do not see this happening in the foreseeable future .... In An Attempt To Ease Sanctions, Venezuela's Maduro Reaches Out To U.S. (NPR).

Tweets Of The Day

Coronavirus variants of concern.#AFPgraphics factfile on SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern or interest, including B.1.617 circulating widely in India pic.twitter.com/LjVAAUS0FU

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 1, 2021

India reports 127,510 new COVID-19 infections, 2,795 deaths https://t.co/g20kJ2ZN76 pic.twitter.com/HacjRynLMC

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 1, 2021

The WHO assigns new names for coronavirus variants amid criticism that those given by scientists were too complicated https://t.co/XaRy9mTs1T by @REUTERSFARGE pic.twitter.com/MTiVLbwGjO

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 1, 2021

Could Russia be sanctioned out of SWIFT?https://t.co/mpp7O2dXmM

— RT (@RT_com) June 1, 2021

NATO is restricting access to its headquarters for a group of officials from Belarus in the wake of the country's decision to divert a passenger plane to arrest a dissident journalist earlier this month. https://t.co/d1iKuES0OL

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) May 31, 2021

China will allow couples to have three children after a census showed its population is rapidly ageing, further unwinding four decades of strict family planning controls in the world's most populous nation https://t.co/zEUgXzwUlA pic.twitter.com/kjPAn9hWES

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 31, 2021

pic.twitter.com/P59SqXIPWP

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 1, 2021

Earliest Known War Was A Repeated Conflict In Sudan 13,400 Years Ago

An archival photograph showing a double burial at Jebel Sahaba. Wendorf Archives of the British Museum  

New Scientist: Earliest known war was a repeated conflict in Sudan 13,400 years ago 

Individuals buried at the prehistoric cemetery Jebel Sahaba in Sudan seem to have experienced violence and trauma at several points during their lives. The discovery may help us understand the prehistory of violence before the origin of farming. 

At about 13,400 years old, Jebel Sahaba is one of the earliest sites displaying signs of mass conflict. Violence between communities seems to have become more common once people settled in one place to farm, which had begun happening by about 12,000 years ago. But evidence of organised violence among more mobile communities, like those represented by Jebel Sahaba, is unusual.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Fighting and warfare is part of human nature. I suspect that we have been fighting in an organized matter way before the above discovered 13,400 year conflict.

Picture Of The Day

Service members lift up their flasks next to a headstone during Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, May 31, 2021. REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy  

WNU Editor: The above picture is from this photo-gallery .... America marks Memorial Day holiday still subdued by pandemic (Reuters).

China Orders First Lockdown Since January As Indian Covid-19 Mutant Strain Discovered In Guangzhou

 

AFP: China limits travel in most populous province over Covid-19 cases 

Chinese authorities imposed fresh travel limits, cancelled flights and tested thousands of residents in Guangdong Monday after the Indian variant of the coronavirus was reported in the country's most populous province.

Travelers leaving Guangzhou -- the capital of the southern province home to 100 million people -- must show negative Covid-19 test results from the past 72 hours, starting from 10:00 pm on Monday, the city said in an announcement late Sunday. 

Guangzhou, an industrial hub of nearly 15 million people north of Hong Kong, reported 18 new local cases of the coronavirus on Monday, causing alarm in a country that has largely brought domestic transmission under control.  

Read more .... 

More News On China Ordering Its First Lock-down Since January  

Guangzhou reports 18 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 14 previous asymptomatic patients -- Global Times  

Flights cancelled as China sees surge in virus infections -- Reuters  

China Reimposes Travel Curbs on Province After Virus Cases -- VOA/AP  

China reports sudden surge in COVID-19 cases causing flight cancellations -- The Hill  

Travel restrictions & partial lockdown imposed in Guangzhou, China against cluster of Indian Covid variant -- RT  

China Orders First Lockdown Since January As Indian Mutant Discovered In Guangzhou -- Zero Hedge