Man accused of murder in NZ shootings also charged with terrorist act

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand police said on Tuesday they were charging the man accused of murder in shootings at two Christchurch mosques in March with engaging in a terrorist act.

The charge, which came under the country’s terrorism suppression legislation, was filed against Brenton Tarrant, police said in a statement. The man, a suspected white supremacist, faces 51 charges of murder and 40 of attempted murder. He is next due to appear in court in June.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-shooting-court/man-accused-of-murder-in-nz-shootings-also-charged-with-terrorist-act-idUSKCN1SR0EK?il=0

HSBC plans more China tech jobs in push for market share

HONG KONG (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings PLC plans to add more than a 1,000 jobs this year at its technology development centers in China, as the Asia-focused lender seeks to bolster its presence in the world’s second largest economy. Europe’s biggest bank by assets will boost headcount at its technology centers in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xi’an by 14% from a current 7,000-strong workforce, said HSBC Chief Information Officer Darryl West. In recent years the London-based bank has spent $3 billion annually on its group technology operations which employ 40,000 people worldwide, and West said annual investments of $3-$3.5 billion are planned over the next few years.

Many global banks set up low-cost hubs in China and India more than a decade ago to maintain their complex worldwide information technology networks, but these centers have now become a core part of their operations. The centers develop and implement risk and fraud management technologies, as well as digital applications that make it easier for banks to attract customers and deliver faster and more secure services. HSBC’s expansion plan in China, a key market for the bank, comes amid growing use of technology in the financial sector - from payments to transactions. At stake is a bigger share of the billions of dollars worth of retail and corporate banking business in a major financial market with a growing customer base.

“There is a lot more we can do with technology in mainland China. The level of technology adoption and innovation in China is way ahead of other markets,” West told reporters during a tour of HSBC’s technology center in the southern city of Guangzhou last week. “We see mainland China as a tremendous source of talent, not just for the local market but our technology operations globally. We are hiring very aggressively here,” he added.

RETAIL BANKING About 30% of the work done at the Guangzhou center, the largest HSBC tech facility in China with more than 5,000 employees, is for the mainland market and that share is expected to grow over the next couple of years. HSBC is also using China-based tech centers to develop banking products for its global network, such as the bank’s U.K. mobile app which was developed in the northwestern city of Xi’an. Outside China, HSBC employs more than 10,000 people at technology centers in India, with the rest in countries such as Britain, Canada, Hong Kong and the United States.

HSBC has in recent years lifted investment in China, including the prosperous southern Pearl River Delta region. Mainland China and Hong Kong together accounted for nearly 40% of the bank’s revenue in 2018. The bank will invest $15-$17 billion in the next three years in areas including technology and China, its Chief Executive John Flint said last year. The limited physical presence of foreign banks in China compared to dominant domestic rivals has been a challenge.

HSBC’s losses in retail banking and wealth management (RBWM) in mainland China widened to $200 million last year from $44 million in 2017. The bank aimed to reverse that with its investments in technology. “Things like that, we see as very important for the next phase of our business growth … once the major investments have gone in, RBWM will grow bigger and also profitable,” said HSBC Greater China Chief Executive Helen Wong.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hsbc-hldg-china/hsbc-plans-more-china-tech-jobs-in-push-for-market-share-idUSKCN1SR0C1?il=0

>>6548976

Could not agree more Anon. These are fake people with an agenda of nothing moar than to save their own necks, doesn't matter who they implicate or why as long as they remain untouched by the long arm of the law. They never thought she would lose.

Nicaraguan government says to release 100 political prisoners

MANAGUA (Reuters) - The Nicaraguan government said on Monday it had begun the process of freeing another 100 political prisoners after threats from the opposition it could abandon talks aimed at ending a political crisis and push for a general strike. The government said the release was part of a plan to free almost 300 political prisoners by June 18, and it made its announcement soon after the opposition issued its threats. “We have issued 100 (release) orders for people (…) detained for committing crimes against public security and public order,” the interior ministry said in a statement.

The government arrested hundreds of people during violent clashes that first erupted in April 2018 when President Daniel Ortega tried to cut welfare benefits. The protests soon spiraled into a broader resistance movement and became the sharpest test of Ortega’s authority since the former Marxist guerrilla returned to office in 2007. In contrast to previous prisoner releases, the government said that several delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) participated as observers.

Nicaragua’s opposition has made the release of political prisoners a condition of dialogue with the government. The list of 300 prisoners was agreed between Ortega’s government and the opposition earlier this year. However, the opposition and the government differ on how many political prisoners there are. Ortega has called the protests an illegal plot by his adversaries to oust him, while critics have accused him of human rights abuses in the crackdown on dissent.

Since the protests against Ortega’s government began last year, more than 324 people have died and another 60,000 have gone into exile, according to human rights organizations.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nicaragua-prisoners/nicaraguan-government-says-to-release-100-political-prisoners-idUSKCN1SR00S?il=0

Retailer Amazon nears victory in rainforest battle over domain name

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Amazon, the world’s biggest online retailer, is close to winning a seven-year battle with eight Latin American countries over the .amazon internet domain. Amazon Inc has been seeking rights to the domain name since 2012. But Amazon basin countries Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname have argued that it refers to their geographic region and should not be the monopoly of one company.

The global Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees internet addresses, said on Monday it had decided to proceed with the designation requested by Amazon Inc pending a 30-day period of public comment after the eight nations bordering the world’s largest rainforest and the company failed to reach an agreement.

Brazil lamented the ICANN decision and said it should have opted for shared governance of the domain, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement. ICANN had extended until last month a deadline for the parties to reach a deal. ICANN placed the company’s .amazon request on a “Will not proceed” footing in 2013, but an independent review process sought by the company faulted that decision and ICANN then told the Amazon basin nations they had to reach an agreement with the company.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-domain/retailer-amazon-nears-victory-in-rainforest-battle-over-domain-name-idUSKCN1SQ2FL

U.S. Intel Warns Iran Plotting ‘Tactical Surprise’ Attacks in Gulf

Iran and terror proxies escalating attacks, developing sophisticated weaponry as standoff heats up

Intelligence indicates that the Iranian regime is using its terror proxy groups to conduct attacks on ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical Persian Gulf shipping lane that has become the center of international tensions as Tehran seeks to foment instability in reaction to President Donald Trump's efforts to strangle the hardline regime. U.S. intelligence collected over the past month had indicated that Iran has been installing missiles on small vessels in the Gulf region. Tehran is relying on a large network of terror proxies and allies to attack not only commercial vessels in the region, but also U.S. military assets stationed there.

Iran has a long history of conducting terror attacks in this manner, fueling worry in the Trump administration that Tehran could carry out a large-scale attack via its terror networks. In just the past two years, Iran has been identified as being responsible for at least 143 attacks against shipping vessels in the Gulf, according to expert analyses of the ongoing tensions in the region. There is further evidence Tehran is developing a range of tactical weapons and smaller vessels that could pose significant problems for the U.S. Navy and its larger boats, according to U.S. intelligence assessments and experts. The Trump administration has responded by sending greater U.S. military assets to the region and issuing a range of sanctions. Trump himself has warned the Iranian regime at multiple junctures, including during the weekend, that any attack on the United States or its allies will result in a crushing response.

Four commercial ships were damaged last week in the Gulf and carry the hallmarks of Iranian-backed attacks. "While details remain murky, this development underscores how Tehran and its proxies may exploit maritime vulnerabilities in the region," the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, or FDD, a think-tank with close ties the Trump administration, noted in a recent policy brief on the situation. "Tehran has a history of targeting civilian vessels transiting the Gulf and threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one fifth of the world's seaborne oil passes," FDD stated in a policy briefing issued by veteran military intelligence experts Andrew Gabel and Bradley Bowman. "During the last two years of the Iran-Iraq War, Iran conducted 143 attacks against shipping in the Gulf. Last month, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri threatened to close the strait."

Iran has a history of using its terror proxies to conduct attacks in order to shield the regime from responsibility and avoid sparking a large-scale war that would surely end in the Islamic Republic's destruction. "To avoid international condemnation and direct confrontation with the United States military, Tehran may use covert operators to conduct attacks," FDD noted in its brief. "This could include the use of divers or crew members to sabotage vessels. Such an approach would be consistent with Tehran's use of proxies and asymmetrical terrorist attacks. Such tactics enable Tehran to achieve its objectives at a relatively low cost, while evading attribution and consequences." Similarly, a weekend rocket attack near the U.S. embassy in Baghdad also bared the hallmark of Iran. Sources in the region told the Washington Free Beacon the attack was likely conducted by Iran's Hezbollah assets in Iraq.

While Iran could not compete with U.S. forces in a conventional war, the hardline regime in Tehran has focused on developing smaller military vessels that carry sophisticated weaponry suited for fast attacks.

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-intel-warns-iran-plotting-tactical-surprise-attacks-in-gulf/

>>6549053

I have confidence there is a solution for Amazon, and it's probably right in front of our noses, much like the banks "too big to fail". I believe the solution rides somewhere, where the money came from for start up of this and others and its size. Perhaps break up to smaller pieces and a sell off to the highest bidder.

>>6549051

Indeed Anon, perfectly said and besides, compared to the operators out there in the field we really have the easiest part of the job. History is being made for stories to tell in the generations to come. One I hope is never forgotten. It needs to be kept out in the open for generations of world peace and prosperity and no one generation ever has to live a life of servitude ever again. We stand United!

Cohen Pushes Pelosi to Impeach Trump Because He’s ‘Raping the Country’

Rep. Steve Cohen (D., Tenn.) on Monday called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, accusing him of "raping the country." Cohen stood up and yelled for Trump to be impeached during a Democratic Steering and Policy Committee meeting with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), prompting Pelosi to push back saying, "This is not about politics, it's about what's best for the American people," according to Politico.

Cohen, who voted to move impeachment proceedings forward in December 2017, also brought up former President Bill Clinton's impeachment proceedings during the committee hearing, saying he faced impeachment "over sex." He went on to contrast Clinton and Trump by accusing the latter of "raping the country," a quote that was confirmed by Cohen after the meeting. Pelosi again pushed back against Cohen's assertion that she was afraid impeachment would cost the Democrats a majority in the House. "This isn’t about politics at all. It’s about patriotism. It’s about the strength we need to have to see things through," Pelosi said, according to aides in the room who spoke to Politico.

Pelosi faced other backlash from Democrats, including Reps. David Cicilline (R.I.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), and Joe Neguse (Colo.), during a private Democratic leadership meeting, Politico reported. ''Raskin — a former law professor — said he wasn't advocating impeaching Trump but suggested that opening an impeachment inquiry would strengthen their legal position while allowing Democrats to move forward with their legislative agenda. Pelosi dismissed this argument, asking Raskin whether he wanted to shut down the other five committees working on Trump investigations in favor of the Judiciary Committee. "You want to tell Elijah Cummings to go home?" Pelosi quipped, referring to the chairman of the Oversight and Reform Committee.''

Cicilline said earlier Monday he supports an impeachment inquiry if former White House Counsel Don McGahn doesn't show up on Tuesday to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. McGahn's lawyers later indicated he would not be showing up, defying the committee's subpoena, according to CNN. 'As with the subpoena for documents, Mr. McGahn again finds himself facing contradictory instructions from two co-equal branches of government,"'' McGahn's attorney William A. Burck said in a letter to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Comittee. "Under these circumstances, and also conscious of the duties he, as an attorney, owes to his former client, Mr. McGahn must decline to appear at the hearing tomorrow." "I think if this pattern by the president continues, where he's going to impede and prevent and undermine our ability to gather evidence to do our job, we're going to be left with no choice," Cicilline said. "It's a means where we can collect that information … We need to have the ability to gather the evidence,"''' Cicilline added.

Cohen has a history of controversial statements or comparisons when discussing Trump or his policies. In addition to accusing Trump of "torching the entire structure of government" like the Notre Dame Cathedral in France, he has compared Trump to the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and he described Trump as a "cancer" on the United States. Cohen also got in hot water when he joked then-Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) should jump off a bridge while she was running for U.S. Senate.

https://freebeacon.com/politics/cohen-pushes-pelosi-to-impeach-trump-hes-raping-the-country/

North Korean Sex Slaves Forced To Endure Rape, Exploitation And Forced Marriage In China

Tens of thousands of North Korean women and girls are actively trafficked into the Chinese sex trade by criminal organizations, and are often forced to endure "systematic rape, sex trafficking, sexual slavery, sexual abuse, prostitution, cybersex trafficking, forced marriage and forced pregnancy," according to a new report. Following an extensive investigation, the Korea Future Initiative found that victims are "commonly aged between 12-29 and overwhelmingly female." Many of them are sold more than once, and are "forced into at least one form of sexual slavery within a year of leaving their homeland."

Sex trafficking and exploitation is a $105,000,000 per year business for the Chinese underworld, according to the report. "Victims are prostituted for as little as ¥30 Chinese Yuan ($4 United States Dollars), sold as wives for just ¥1000 Chinese Yuan ($146 United States Dollars), and trafficked into cybersex dens for exploitation by a global online audience." "Pushed from their homeland by a patriarchal regime that survives through the imposition of tyranny, poverty, and oppression, North Korean women and girls are passed through the hands of traffickers, brokers, and criminal organisations" according to the London-based Korea watchdog group.

According to the report's author, Yoon Hee-soon, prostitution has overtaken forced marriage as the "primary pathway" into the sex trade for North Korean women and girls. "Enslaved in brothels that litter satellite-towns and townships close to large urban areas in northeast China, victims are mostly aged between 15-25 and are habitually subjected to penetrative vaginal and anal rape, forced masturbation, and groping," said Hee-soon. Girls as young as nine are forced to perform graphic cybersex acts and are sexually assaulted in front of webcams which are streamed to a global audience. "Prospects for North Korean women and girls trapped in China’s multi-million-dollar sex trade are bleak," said the report's author, adding "Many victims have perished in China, while small rescue organisations and Christian missionaries struggle to perform rescue work. Urgent and immediate action, which will run contrary to the prevailing politics of inter-Korean dialogue, is needed to save the lives of countless female North Korean refugees in China."

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-20/north-korean-sex-slaves-forced-endure-rape-exploitation-and-forced-marriages-china

Side Note: I intended to publish the link to the report here, however it appears Scribd has removed this from there content. If any one knows how to work around and download the report I believe it would be helpful, if for no other reason than to archive it, before it disappears completely.

>>6549182

Indeed I do! When I look at this guy all I can think of is how much he reminds me of Bozo the Clown, perhaps he is a clown as well.

>>6549191

Agreed, the inmates are running the asylum.

Exclusive look inside NSA Hawaii, the "front lines" of intelligence gathering

CBS News is getting an exclusive look at the National Security Agency's secretive outpost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. NSA Hawaii is on the front lines of American intelligence gathering, intercepting communications and monitoring a region that includes China and North Korea. The NSA is the largest of the 17 U.S. intelligence agencies, and this outpost in Hawaii is particularly busy these days as the U.S. shifts its focus from fighting terrorism to a competition between nations for critical information. Cameras usually aren't allowed, but Capt. Kurt Mole, who leads the top-secret facility, took CBS News correspondent Carter Evans and his team inside. "This is absolutely a first for me," Mole said of the cameras, adding, "However, we recognize that transparency breeds trust." Still in one room, we had to blur the picture because everything in there was classified. It's where specialists listen in on foreign communications. "Anything that travels over the radio frequency waves or inside the electromagnetic spectrum, it can be collected," Mole said. "We have the ability to pull items that have been collected worldwide… Much of our reporting even ends up on the desk of the president." "The president has had some harsh words for the intelligence community. What does that do to morale here?" Carter asked. "Nothing," Mole responded. "We're not paying attention to that. We're focused on mission." Mole said with so much information coming through, "humans can only do so much." "So we're looking at ways to where we can utilize A.I. and machine learning to be able to… get the right data to that right analyst," Mole said.

Over the past 18 months, the Trump administration has slapped Chinese hackers with an unprecedented number of criminal indictments after Chinese nationals attempted to compromise key targets in the U.S. Much of the reporting that contributed to U.S. government actions related to that came out of this facility, Mole said. Chief Master Sgt. Nina Ung controls the NSA teams keeping a close watch on our adversaries across the Pacific. She called their outpost the "front lines."

"If you look at just in our own backyard, right, we have China and North Korea," Ung said. "It's no secret that they're loud, they're noisy, and they are willing to use to use cyber threats and force." "You have four of the largest world economies, you have seven of the 10 largest militaries. Five nuclear nations," Mole said. "Tell me more about that as a cyber power grab going on," Carter said. "It's not just cyber," Mole said. "The United States does not have the superiority in any of those domains that we once had."

Deep inside an underground tunnel is where the NSA first established a presence in Hawaii. It's also the location where Edward Snowden worked, before he stole hundreds of thousands of classified documents. Snowden was a contractor working for the NSA Hawaii in 2013 when he leaked documents outlining American government surveillance practices. "Is it something that people here still think about?" Carter asked. "Not at all. We don't dwell on the past. Our workforce, our mission is too critical today," Mole said.

Asked whether the NSA is observing American citizens, Mole responded, "The National Security Agency in conducting its missions is always in accordance with the U.S. law." The domestic phone surveillance program first exposed by Snowden is now under review and may be discontinued. Still no one at the NSA would go into any detail about changes made because it's classified. As CBS News' Evans witnessed, they are dead serious about security. They combed through all of his team's gear, and no one is allowed to bring any electronics inside the facility – no cellphones, no watches, and certainly no USB devices.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nsa-hawaii-exclusive-inside-look-front-lines-intelligence-gathering/