
China Slams US ‘Long Arm' in Arrest of Alleged Hacker in Italy
The Chinese Foreign Ministry rebuked Washington a day after the US Justice Department announced the arrest of the alleged hacker in Milan and efforts to seek his transfer to the US.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Bloomberg
29 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
It's Time to Invest in Your Needs, Not Wants
It seems Mick and Keith were right all along. You aren't always going to get what you want, but you might get what you need. And you should invest accordingly. Just this week, US President Donald Trump announced a plan to put a 50% tariff on imports of copper to the US, ostensibly an attempt to increase domestic supply. The UK Office of Budget Responsibility released a horrible assessment of the nation's public finances, making it clear that reform of the welfare state is an immediate imperative.


CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
A Trump tariff letter is the best news this Southeast Asian junta has had in a while
For most world leaders, tariff letters from US President Donald Trump mean a big headache. But for one Southeast Asian general, the communique is being spun as welcome recognition of the embattled, isolated and reviled junta he leads. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military that seized power in Myanmar in 2021 after ousting a democratically elected government, said it was he who had the 'honor' of receiving of Trump's letter sent on Monday announcing new tariffs, state media Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Friday. The letter, which stated the United States would be imposing a new tariff rate of 40 percent on Myanmar's exports to the US starting August 1, was received with 'sincere appreciation,' the newspaper said. The United States and most Western countries have not recognized the junta as the legitimate government of Myanmar, also known as Burma. The military's power grab sparked a catastrophic civil war now in its fifth year, with pro-democracy fighters and ethnic rebel groups battling the military across swaths of the country. The United Nations and other rights groups have accused the military of war crimes as it battles to cling to power. The US, the United Kingdom and the European Union have all sanctioned the military and sought to limit contact with its representatives on the world stage. Washington and most Western capitals no longer station fully accredited ambassadors in Myanmar, a diplomatic snub the ruling generals have long chafed at. But this week's letter was spun as an 'encouraging invitation to continue participating in the extraordinary Economy of the United States,' Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying, adding a high-level negotiation team could be sent 'as quickly as possible to the US to discuss with the relevant authorities,' if needed. CNN has reached out to the US embassy in Myanmar for details on how the letter was delivered and for comment on whether it signals a change in Washington's stance on the junta. Min Aung Hlaing also asked that Washington consider lifting and easing economic sanctions on Myanmar, 'as they hinder the shared interests and prosperity of both countries and their peoples,' he was quoted as saying. The general – who led Myanmar's military in 2017, when the United States said it committed genocide against the Rohingya minority – also took the chance to heap praise on Trump. He hailed his 'strong leadership in guiding his country towards national prosperity with the spirit of a true patriot, as well as continued efforts to promote peace on the global stage,' the Global New Light said. Min Aung Hlaing also thanked Trump for 'regulating broadcasting agencies and funds, which have sometimes exacerbated the existing conflicts' – an apparent reference to the Trump administration's funding cuts to US outlets such as Radio Free Asia and Voice of America. Both outlets have long been popular across Myanmar for their independent reporting, and have become even more vital following the junta's crackdown on the free press. Min Aung Hlaing sought to appeal to a longstanding Trump grievance – his long-debunked claims of massive election fraud in the 2020 election won by former President Joe Biden. 'Similar to the challenges the President encountered during the 2020 election of the United States, Myanmar also experienced major electoral fraud and significant irregularities,' he was quoted as saying. The election he was referring to in Myanmar was won resoundingly by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party, which won a second term at the expense of the military's proxy party. International observers at the time concluded the election was largely free and fair but the military soon began making unsubstantiated claims of massive fraud. Weeks later, it launched its coup, ending a 10-year experiment with democracy and plunging Myanmar into turmoil. Suu Kyi has been in military custody since, and is serving a 27-year jail sentence following a closed-door trial that critics say was a sham and designed to remove the popular leader and longtime foe of the military from political life. Ross Adkin contributed reporting
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Can an ‘ethical' spyware maker justify providing its tech to ICE?
Paragon, an Israeli spyware company that claims to operate as an 'ethical' surveillance vendor, faced scrutiny when earlier this year Italy was caught using Paragon's tools to spy on the phones of two journalists. Paragon responded by cutting Italy off from its surveillance products, becoming the first spyware company to ever publicly name one of its customers after the misuse of its products. Now, Paragon might face a new ethical dilemma: whether or not it will allow ICE agents to use its spyware. A $2 million one-year contract that Paragon signed in September 2024 with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) remains under review and has not yet taken effect, and Paragon has so far not supplied ICE's Homeland Security Investigations with its spyware tools, the company told TechCrunch. Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has authorized ICE to carry out large-scale immigration raids across the U.S., leading to the detention of thousands of migrants — and numerous U.S. citizens — in part thanks to data stored in federal databases and using technology provided by govtech giant Palantir. Considering ICE is poised to get a significantly larger budget following the passing of Trump's flagship Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, spyware could serve as a powerful surveillance tool in the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations. With two months left before the contract expires, Paragon may never supply its spyware to ICE. But until the contract runs out on September 29, the U.S. government could approve it at any moment, forcing Paragon to make a decision about the use of its tools on U.S. soil. Right now, the company doesn't want to talk about this dilemma at all. When asked by TechCrunch, Paragon would not say what it plans to do if the contract passes review, or clarify what will happen with its relationship with ICE if the contract goes forward. Do you have more information about Paragon? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email. You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop. Paragon's contract with ICE has been on pause since the paperwork was signed. Homeland Security issued a near-immediate stop-work order with the goal of reviewing whether the contract complied with a Biden-era executive order. The order restricts U.S. government agencies from using commercial spyware that could (or has been) abused by foreign governments to violate human rights, or to target Americans abroad. At the time, a Biden administration official told Wired that the U.S. government had 'immediately engaged' top leadership at Homeland Security, which houses ICE, to determine if the contract met the requirements of the executive order. Nine months on, Paragon's contract with ICE remains in limbo, and officials in the Trump White House did not have an update on its status. Trump administration spokesperson Abigail Jackson referred TechCrunch's questions to Homeland Security, and would not comment, when asked, about the Trump administration's position on the Biden-era spyware executive order, which remains in effect. A spokesperson for Homeland Security and ICE did not provide comment when contacted by TechCrunch. Spyware companies have historically been reticent to name their customers in any context, often for fear of reputational damage or risking lucrative government contracts. After WhatsApp revealed earlier this year that around 90 of its users, including journalists and human rights dissidents, had been targeted with Paragon's spyware, the company sought to distance itself from the hacks. Paragon's executive chairman John Fleming told TechCrunch then that it only sells to 'a select group of global democracies — principally, the United States and its allies.' In other words, Paragon wanted the world to know that it would sell to responsible government customers, and its response to the Italy scandal appears to reinforce the company's position. But in calling itself an ethical spyware vendor, Paragon has put the onus on itself to judge who it deals with. In doing so, the company has also opened the door for others to scrutinize its government customers and their ethics — whether they are the Italian government or ICE. As governments and their leaders change over time, Paragon may face the choice of having to re-evaluate who it works with. 'Given this administration's record of attacks on human rights and civil society organizations, we hope that Paragon would reconsider the agreement,' said Michael De Dora, the U.S. advocacy manager at Access Now, a nonprofit that has worked to expose spyware abuses. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data