Tag: Region Americas
Why the Secrecy Over Vaccine Contracts?
Major international governments have signed multibillion-dollar legal contracts with drug companies in order to secure access to covid-19 vaccines. But the drug companies and governments have refused to divulge details, saying the information is “commercial in confidence.” In 2021, we got our first peek at contracts between Pfizer and various international countries after they were leaked to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and US consumer group Public Citizen. “The contracts offer a rare glimpse into the power one pharmaceutical corporation has gained to silence…
Polish minister launches bill to extradite Ukrainian Nazi WW2 veteran Hunka from Canada
Yaroslav Hunka was hailed as a “war hero” last week in Canada’s parliament, where he received a standing ovation. A Polish government minister has launched a bid to extradite Yaroslav Hunka, the 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian man who fought in a German-Nazi division during World War Two and last week received a standing ovation in Canada’s parliament. “In view of the scandalous events in the Canadian parliament, which involved honouring, in the presence of President Zelensky, a member of the criminal Nazi…
Journalist Killed in Attack Aimed at Police Near Northern Mexico Border
MEXICO CITY — A journalist who ran a community Facebook news page was killed in the northern Mexico border town of San Luis Rio Colorado on Monday, when he was apparently caught in the crossfire of an attack aimed at police.Jesús Gutiérrez ran Notiface Prensa Digital De San Luis, a Facebook page that included recommendations for local businesses as well as local news stories. Notiface confirmed his death, writing in a tribute “we think they killed the best journalist.” Prosecutors…
Air Canada discloses data breach of employee and ‘certain records’
Air Canada, the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, disclosed a cyber security incident this week in which hackers “briefly” obtained limited access to its internal systems. According to the airline, the incident resulted in the theft of a limited amount of personal information of some of its employees and “certain records.” Customer data was not affected. Hackers “briefly” obtained access Air Canada, the airline that recently came under fire for forcing its passengers to sit in vomit-covered seats or risk…
Airbus Hacker Threatens to Sell US, Europe Military Intel on Dark Web
The hacker behind the recent attack on Airbus has warned that he will sell US and European military intelligence on the dark web. Known by the moniker “USDoD,” the hacker said he recently managed to enter the company’s website by exploiting employee access from Turkish Airlines. He also immediately posted the stolen data on a hacker forum. In a lengthy interview with databreaches.net, USDoD revealed that his next targets would be American defense contractors, NATO, Europol, and Interpol. He threatened…
911 call reveals bizarre circumstances of F-35 ejection
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — A military pilot whose advanced fighter jet went temporarily missing over the weekend is heard repeatedly requesting an ambulance in a perplexing 911 call from the South Carolina home where he had parachuted to safety, according to an audio recording released Thursday to The Associated Press. The four-minute recording captures the bizarre circumstances for the three unidentified people involved: a North Charleston resident calmly explaining that a pilot just parachuted into his backyard, the pilot who doesn’t know…
Poland no longer sending arms to Ukraine, as trade dispute escalates
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister said his country is no longer sending arms to Ukraine, a comment that appeared aimed at pressuring Kyiv and put Poland’s status as a major source of military equipment in doubt as a trade dispute between the neighboring states escalates. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview late on Wednesday that Poland is no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine. He made the comment as his populist party faces pressure from a…
Zelenskyy returns to Washington as GOP dissent grows to funding war
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to Washington on Thursday for a whirlwind one-day visit, this time to face the Republicans now questioning the flow of American dollars that for 19 months has kept his troops in the fight against Russian forces. Zelenskyy arrived at the Capitol to talk privately with Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate as the world is watching Western support for Kyiv. He will also meet with President Joe Biden…
US Homeland Security Reveals Guide to Enhance Cyber Incident Reporting
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has introduced new recommendations to streamline the reporting of cyber incidents across the Department of Defense and 32 other federal agencies. The guide is expected to further protect the country’s vital infrastructure, reduce the burden on cybersecurity partners, and decrease the downtime of associated operations in each sector covered. The recommendations will also enhance the prevention, response, and recovery from cyber attacks and aid organizations in improving malicious cyber threat identification. ‘Clear, Consistent…
Austria to buy four Embraer C-390 cargo planes for over $500 million
GRAZ, Austria — The Austrian Air Force will buy four Embraer C-390 “Millennium” aircraft to replace its aging fleet of three C-130 “Hercules” cargo planes in a deal that is expected to be worth more than half a billion Euros ($532 million), the defense ministry announced on Wednesday. Austria’s current fleet of turboprop transporters was purchased second-hand 20 years ago. The planes are now 56 years old. To prolong their service life, an upgrade of almost €37 million would…
UK intelligence spun 2013 Syria chemical attack, leaked docs show
US officials suppressed internal assessments that Al Qaeda’s Syrian wing had an “advanced” sarin production cell even as the US publicly blamed the Assad government for a 2013 chemical weapons attack, a report reveals. Leaked documents obtained by The Grayzone show a shadowy British intelligence contractor helped sell the story that Assad was responsible – and nearly triggered Western intervention. On September 13, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) appraisal detailing the chemical…
What we know about the Marine Corps F-35 crash in South Carolina
The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions about what prompted the pilot to eject and how the $100 million warplane was able to keep flying pilotless for 60 miles before crashing. Here’s what is known about the modern warplane and its latest incident: ‘Forced to eject’ A U.S. Marine Corps pilot was flying a single-seat F-35B fighter jet on Sunday when the pilot experienced a malfunction and was “forced…
Florida: West Point sued over using race as an admissions factor
West Point was accused in a federal lawsuit Tuesday of improperly using race and ethnicity as factors in admissions by the same group behind the legal challenge that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court striking down affirmative action in college admissions. Students for Fair Admissions claims the U.S. Military Academy sets benchmarks for how many Black, Hispanic and Asian cadets there should be in each class. The lawsuit filed in New York’s Southern District claims West Point is violating the Fifth Amendment…
NYT: Evidence Suggests Ukraine Carried Out Missile Strike on Ukrainian Market Which They Blamed Russia
Ukrainian forces carried out a missile strike on a market in eastern Ukraine and then falsely blamed Russia for the attack, according to analysis from the New York Times. From The New York Times, “Evidence Suggests Ukrainian Missile Caused Market Tragedy”: The Sept. 6 missile strike on Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine was one of the deadliest in the country in months, killing at least 15 civilians and injuring more than 30 others. The weapon’s payload of metal fragments struck a…
Biden’s UPenn ‘Political Theory’ Teaching Claim is False
US President Joe Biden has found himself under serious scrutiny after recently boasting about teaching “political theory” at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), even though he never conducted a single class at the prestigious Ivy League institution. During a speech at Maryland’s Prince George’s Community College, Biden emphasized the importance of defending democracy.However, it has come to light that while Biden held an honorary professorship at UPenn as the Benjamin Franklin presidential professor of the practice from February 2017 to…