China may be behind Marriott data breach, and Donald Trump threatens to shut down US govt if Democrats refuse to fund border wall work.

Khashoggi in Time magazine’s ‘person of the year’ list

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in October this year, has figured in Time magazine’s ‘person of the year’ list for 2018, reports The Guardian.

The list also includes names of other killed and imprisoned journalists.

The magazine has given the title, ‘The Guardians and the War on Truth’, to the people they judge as the most influential over the past year.

Apart from Khashoggi, names of journalists who were killed in the shooting at the Capital Gazette in Maryland in June, figured in the list.

Two Reuters reporters who are jailed in Myanmar after they investigated the massacre of Rohingya Muslims, and a media person from the Philippines who is facing tax evasion charges, which she terms as “political harassment”, were also named as ‘person of the year’.

Explaining the selection procedure, Time magazine’s editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal, wrote, “This year we are recognising four journalists and one news organisation who have paid a terrible price to seize the challenge of this moment: Jamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo and the Capital Gazette of Annapolis, Md”.

Chinese hackers behind Marriott data leak, says NYT

A serious data breach that has affected the US hotel giant Marriott has been traced to Chinese hackers.

According to The New York Times, the cyber attack was a Chinese intelligence-gathering effort. Passport information, and other personal details of approximately 500 million guests of Marriott hotel group were believed to have been accessed by Chinese hackers. The report also said that the hackers are suspected to be working on behalf of the Ministry of State Security.

Four government officials have revealed that the US Justice Department is now preparing to announce new indictments against the hackers who are allegedly working for the intelligence and military services.

In November, Marriott revealed that private details of their guests had been leaked following a hack on its Starwood room reservation system network.

The discovery comes at a time when both the US and China are fighting a trade war.

Huawei CFO’s detention: Former Canadian envoy held in Beijing

Days after Huawei CFO’s detention in Vancouver, China has arrested a former Canadian diplomat, Michael Kovrig, in Beijing.

He was arrested by the state security officials Monday evening.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Kovrig had come to China to work on a research project on North Korea.

However, the reason of Kovrig’s detention is still unclear, whether it was related to his work or something else.

His mobile phones were switched off and China’s foreign ministry did not say anything about his situation, the report said.

State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said, “We urge China to end all forms of arbitrary detention, and to respect the protections and freedoms of all individuals under China’s international human rights and consular commitments.”

May likely to face no-confidence vote from Tory MPs

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is likely to face a vote of no-confidence from the Tory MPs after she decided to call off the vote on the Brexit proposal, reports The Guardian.

On Monday, May took a U-turn on the Brexit proposal vote and called it off, as she was convinced that the deal would be rejected by MPs.

Now, when May is looking for fresh deals with European countries, it is speculated that MPs are lobbying to submit letters of no- confidence in her leadership to Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 committee of backbenchers. On Tuesday night, the MPs allegedly reached the threshold of 48 letters that can trigger a vote.

However, in case if May slips from power, prominent Tory leaders, Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid, and Amber Rudd can run for the position.

Trump locks horns with Democrats over US-Mexico border wall plan

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will shut down the US government if Congress does not agree on his demand to fund construction of a wall on the Mexico border, The Wall Street Journal reports.

“I am proud to shut down the government for border security…I will be the one to shut it down,” he said.

Trump wants the Democrats to include $5 billion in wall funding in any year-end spending package.

During his election rally, Trump had promised his core supporters of building a physical wall on the border.

Seven spending bills expire on 22 December, but the Democrats are unified on the matter, and they are sticking to the current spending showdown.

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