US authorities have filed charges against two Russian nationals alleged to be running a global cyber theft operation named Evil Corp. An indictment named Maksim Yakubets and Igor Turashev – who remain at large – as figures in a group which used malware to steal millions of dollars in more than 40 countries.

Those affected by the hacks include schools and religious organisations. It is also alleged that Mr Yakubets worked for Russian intelligence. Speaking at a news conference, Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said the attacks were among “the worst computer hacking and bank fraud schemes of the past decade”.

Mr Yakubets is accused of leading Moscow-based Evil Corp, while Mr Turashev allegedly acted as an administrator. The pair are thought to be resident in Russia.

US authorities allege that the group stole at least $100m (£76m) using Bugat malware – known as Dridex. The malware was spread via email with so-called “phishing” campaigns, which encouraged victims to click on malicious web links.

Once a computer was infected, the group allegedly stole personal banking information which was used to transfer funds. US authorities said Mr Yakubets was also involved in a similar scheme using another form of malware – known as Zeus – which stole $70m from victims’ bank accounts. In a separate statement, the US Treasury alleged that, since 2017, Mr Yakubets worked on projects for the Russian state, including the theft of confidential documents and “cyber-enabled operations”.

The department said it had rolled out sanctions against 17 individuals and seven “entities,” including businesses associated with a member of the group.(bbc)…[+]

Residents of Aishalton, in Region Nine, have said that the worsening state of a bridge linking South Rupununi communities to Lethem is putting them in peril during every journey to the township. The bridge is located 400 metres from the eastern Rupununi Bridge along the main Aishalton to Lethem road.

According to residents of Aishalton, despite the fact that they are fearful of crossing the bridge, which might soon collapse, they are continuing to use it as it serves as a vital link to Lethem.(Stabroek news)…[+]

There is no doubt that President Donald Trump’s actions require him to be removed from office, three scholars of US constitutional law have testified. The three experts described Mr Trump’s efforts to solicit help from a foreign nation as a crime and accused him of obstructing justice.

Four experts, three picked by Democrats and one by the Republicans, have been testifying in Congress. The fourth said Mr Trump’s actions were wrong, but not impeachable.

As the investigation entered a new phase, the experts testified to the House Judiciary Committee which began hearings aimed at drawing up articles of impeachment. Its hearings come hot on the heels of the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation, which concluded on Tuesday with a 300-page report accusing Mr Trump of putting his own personal political interests “above the national interests of the United States” by soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 US elections.(BBC)…[+]

Months after a man was shot dead in a Berlin park, Germany is throwing out two Russian diplomats because it suspects the murder was ordered by Russia or Russia’s Chechen republic. The expulsions come shortly after Germany’s chief prosecutor decided to take over the case.

Germany has accused Russia of failing to assist in the investigation. Russia has rejected accusations of its involvement as “absolutely groundless” and says it will retaliate. Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old former Chechen rebel commander, was shot in the head from behind in the Kleiner Tiergarten park in August. A man was quickly arrested but has given little information to police.

German media have compared the attack on Khangoshvili to the attempted murder of Russian former intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK last year. The diplomatic row comes at a difficult time for the two countries, five days ahead of a major Ukraine summit involving the leaders of Germany, Russia, France and Ukraine.(BBC)…[+]

The Trump administration is threatening to slap import taxes on $2.4bn worth of French goods, including cheese, champagne, make-up and handbags. The planned tariffs come in response to a new French digital services tax that would affect companies including Google, Amazon and Facebook.

France, along with several other European countries, wants to limit the tech giants’ ability to avoid taxes. But trade officials in Washington say US firms are being unfairly targeted. French minister Bruno Le Maire called the US threat to impose tariffs in response to the tax “unacceptable” and suggested France would be prepared to retaliate.

France has long been concerned that US technology giants are avoiding taxes in the European Union. France says taxes should be based on where the digital activity – browsing the page – takes place, not where firms have their headquarters.

It is not the only country to raise concerns and a group of nations are drawing up new multilateral rules via the OECD. But France does not want to wait for that to bear fruit, so this summer drew up its own tax.

It is imposing a 3% tax on any digital company with revenue of more than €750m ($850m; £670m), of which at least €25m is generated in France. The tax will be back-dated to early 2019, and is expected to raise about €400m this year.

About 30 companies are expected to pay it, mostly US firms such as Alphabet, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft. Amazon has already responded by raising fees for French businesses by 3%.(BBC)…[+]

Tesla boss Elon Musk is due to take the stand in a Los Angeles court and face the British diving specialist he accused of being a paedophile. Vern Unsworth was among the team credited with co-ordinating the July 2018 rescue of 12 boys trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand.

Mr Musk, in a now-deleted tweet, described Mr Unsworth as a “pedo guy”. The entrepreneur gave no evidence to support the comment. He is being sued for defamation. Lawyers representing Mr Unsworth have described Mr Musk’s tweets as “vile and false”. The British diver is seeking punitive and compensatory damages.

The outburst last year appeared to be in response to comments made by Mr Unsworth in an interview on CNN, in which he criticised Mr Musk’s decision to send a purpose-built mini-submarine to the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai Province to help with rescue efforts.

Mr Unsworth described it as a “PR stunt”, later adding that Mr Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts”.(BBC)…[+]

After spending 26 years behind bars for the murder of a man whom they strangled and stabbed to the neck, brothers Daniel and Kornel Vaux were yesterday released on parole after Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan signed licences for their release which was recommended by the Parole Board. Also granted his freedom and leaving prison yesterday—after 27 years, was former school teacher Lallman Mulai who had chopped and beaten a man with whom he had an argument over cows grazing on his (Mulai’s) land.

Lallman, now 59 years old, had been convicted along with his brother Bharatraj Mulai for the 1992 killing of Doodnauth Seeram at Mahaica, East Coast Demerara. However, Bharatraj died in prison two years ago. Like the Vaux brothers, the Mulai siblings were sentenced to death following their convictions. In January of 2013, however, they all had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.(Stabroeknews)…[+]

A woman rescued after 12 days stranded in Australia’s remote outback said she survived by eating biscuits and drinking from a watering hole. Tamra McBeath-Riley was with two other people who became stranded when their car got stuck in a riverbed.

The group split up to get help. Ms McBeath-Riley was found near her car but her companions are still missing. Police said they would be “severely dehydrated” after being stranded in the outback for 13 days.  The 52-year-old woman had set off with two others, Claire Hockridge and Phu Tran, on an afternoon drive from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory on 19 November. They took Ms McBeath-Riley’s dog Raya, a female Staffordshire bull terrier, with them. The group were travelling in remote territory just south of Alice Springs when they found themselves stuck in the bed of the Hugh River.

Speaking to reporters outside a hospital in Alice Springs, Ms McBeath-Riley said the group had stayed by the car for around three days in an attempt to free it. “We tried many times to try to get out, but just couldn’t get out, the river was just too large,” she said. “During the day it’s just really hot so we dug ourselves under the car. At night [we] could sleep in the car.”

They used up all their supplies of water, as well as some iced vodkas, biscuits and beef noodles they had in the car. They eventually found a watering hole, and boiled the water before sieving it through a shirt. “It was still quite dirty, not hygienic water but it kept them alive,” NT Police Superintendent Pauline Vicary told the Australian Broadcasting Corps. They eventually decided to split up to get help. Mr Tran and Ms Hockridge planned to walk towards the highway.(BBC)…[+]

The White House has said US President Donald Trump and his lawyers will not attend an impeachment hearing on Wednesday, citing a lack of “fairness”. The hearing by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee marks the next stage of the probe, with legal experts giving testimony that could lead to a vote of impeachment.

It is alleged the president pressured Ukraine to conduct two investigations for his own political gain. Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing. After weeks of closed-door witness interviews and public hearings, the process will now focus on possible charges of misconduct, which could lead to an impeachment vote in the House and trial in the Republican-led Senate. The Democratic-led inquiry centres on a phone call in July between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Trump has dismissed the process as a “witch hunt”.(BBC)…[+]

In what the police suspect to have been an illicit deal gone sour, three men of St James addresses died in St Ann on Saturday night, while one is in police custody and a firearm recovered. One man was shot dead in the car park of a popular St Ann restaurant in Drax Hall, while two of the suspects died when their getaway car crashed into a truck in Llandovery, a few miles away.

A third occupant of the car was treated at the St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital and released into police custody. A 9mm pistol with five rounds was taken from the crashed car. The man who was shot and killed has been identified as Ricardo Brown, 28.

One of the two who died in the crash has been identified as Ajohn McLeod, 26, of Cornwall Court, Montego Bay, St James, while the other is yet to be identified. The driver of the car, Richard Gilbourne, 30, also of Cornwall Court, remains in police custody.(Stabroek news)…[+]