Archive Month: October 2019

Верховна Рада України 31 жовтня розглянула правки до державного бюджету і підтримала урядову ініціативу про виділення 1 млрд гривень шахтарям. Про це повідомляє пресслужба уряду.

Відповідний законопроєкт підтримав 291 депутат.

«Парламент підтримав пропозицію уряду про виділення 1 млрд грн на вирішення гострих проблем вугледобувної галузі, виплати заробітної плати шахтарям», – мовиться у повідомленні.

15 вересня у Верховній Раді зареєстрували проєкт державного бюджету. Парламент схвалив його у першому читанні. Остаточно законопроєкт про державний бюджет мають ухвалити до 1 грудня.

 
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Dracula, Frankenstein and other monsters may have literary origins, but Hollywood has turned them into iconic characters that have scared and thrilled audiences for decades.In the new exhibit, “Natural History of Horror,” the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County explains the link between art and reality, and shows how filmmakers looked to science and archeology as inspiration for hair-raising movie monsters.
 
“It’s really been a journey since those films were created to see how these different monsters have been interpreted and reinterpreted over the years,” said Jeff Pirtle, director of archives and collections, at NBC Universal.
 
“When you look at, for instance, Dracula, all you have to do is see a man in a cape and a tuxedo underneath — it’s an iconic image,” said Beth Werling, collections manager in the museum’s history department. “You know, it’s the suave, sophisticated Dracula during the day, and a vampire at night. You look at Frankenstein and the green makeup and the flat head and the bolts coming out of the neck, you know what you’re looking at.”
 
Visitors can see original monster movie posters and props donated by Universal, including the ball and chain that shackled Frankenstein’s reanimated corpse in the 1931 movie.
 
There is also a reproduction of the costume from the 1954 film “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” with movable gills.
 
Beyond the props, the exhibit highlights the real-life inspirations for the Hollywood horrors.
 The myth and science that inspired the Creature from the Black Lagoon movie. (Photo: Elizabeth Lee / VOA)Milicent Patrick designed the “creature” from the Black Lagoon by studying reptiles, amphibians, fish and pictures of extinct animals. One of the creature’s origins came from the discovery in 1938 of coelacanths — fish that some biologists thought at the time to be the missing link between sea and land creatures.
 
The discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 inspired “The Mummy” in 1932. In the new exhibit, the wrappings of a real mummy are displayed near fake wrappings from the movie.
 
“The prop is pretty much what the originals were made out of — linen cloth, very coarsely woven. And in our case, with the prop mummy wrappings, they were dubbed with Fuller’s earth (clay material) to give them the kind of dusty, crusty look to age them,” Werling said. Fuller’s earth is “kind of like a dirt-like mixture that you would use when you wanted to age something or have something look dusty. As a matter of fact, it was used also in the makeup for Boris Karloff in ‘The Mummy.’ ”
 
For Dracula, the prop for the vampire bat is on display, along with a real bat and information on how Europeans used to think vampires caused various types of diseases.
 
The monsters may look different and have different origins, but they share a common thread in the horror films.
 
“What it really encompasses is characters that all they really want is to be loved,” Pirtle said. “Because you see Dracula, you see Frankenstein, you see the Mummy, you see the bride of Frankenstein, and it’s characters that just want to be accepted. And I think that’s just a universal theme that audiences identify with.”
 
Love and acceptance may explain why filmmakers keep making movies inspired by these Hollywood horrors.“Natural History of Horror” is on display now until April 19, 2020.
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Chinese hackers with a history of state-sponsored espionage have intercepted the text messages of thousands of foreigners in a targeted campaign that planted eavesdropping software on a telecommunications provider’s servers, a cybersecurity firm said.FireEye said in a report issued on Thursday that the hackers belong to the group designated Advanced Persistent Threat 41, or APT41, which it says has been involved in spying and cybercrime for most of the past decade. It said some of the targets were “high-value” and all were chosen by their phone numbers and unique cellphone identifiers known as IMSI numbers.
 
The cybersecurity firm would not identify or otherwise characterize the victims or the impacted telecoms provider or give its location. It said only that the telecom is in a country that’s typically a strategic competitor to China.The spyware was programmed to capture messages containing references to political leaders, military and intelligence organizations and political movements at odds with the Chinese government, FireEye said.FireEye’s director of advanced practices, Steven Stone, said that none of the known targets was a U.S. government official.The discovered malware, which FireEye dubbed MESSAGETAP, was able to collect data on its targets without their knowledge but could not read messages sent with end-to-end encrypted applications such as WhatsApp and iMessage.“If you’re one of these targets you have no idea your message traffic is being taken from your device because your device hasn’t been infected,” Stone said.FireEye said the hackers also stole detailed calling records on specific individuals, obtaining the phone numbers they interacted with, call durations and times.
A government representative at China’s embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.FireEye did not identify the maker of the equipment that was hacked or specify how the hackers penetrated the telecom provider networks.It said APT41 began using MESSAGETAP during the summer, which is around when pro-democracy protests began in Hong Kong. The firm said since its discovery, it has found “multiple” telecoms targeted by the malware.FireEye said it has observed APT41 targeting four telecoms this year as well as major travel services and healthcare providers in countries it did not identify.Details of the espionage operation come as the U.S. tries to persuade allied governments to shun Chinese telecom equipment providers led by Huawei as they build next-generation wireless networks known as 5G, claiming they represent a risk to national security.The U.S. government already has banned government agencies and contractors from using equipment supplied by Huawei and ZTE, another Chinese company. It is now seeking to bar their use in telecom projects that receive federal funding.Huawei vehemently denies that it has allowed China’s communist rulers to use its equipment for espionage, and Washington has presented no proof of such. U.S. officials say a 2017 Chinese law requires organizations and citizens to help the state collect intelligence.
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Торги в парі гривня-долар на українському міжбанківському валютному ринку 31 жовтня розпочалися з активного продажу іноземної валюти, що на тлі низького попиту призводить до просідання котирувань. «Основна частина угод не перевищує поріг 500 тисяч доларів», – відзначає сайт «Мінфін».

«У гривні знову є шанс зміцнити свої позиції щодо долара, а основними драйверами поведінки учасників торгів будуть завершення місяця у клієнтів та банків та поведінка готівкового ринку і стан ліквідності в системі», – відзначили експерти сайту «Мінфін».

За даними сайту Finance.ua, станом на 12:00 котирування склали 24 гривні 81 – 84 копійки за долар, це нижче рівня відкриття торгів на 13 копійок.

Національний банк України опівдні оприлюднив довідкове значення курсу 24 гривні 83 копійки за долар, це на 17 копійок менше за офіційний курс на 31 жовтня.
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India has asked Facebook-owned WhatsApp to explain the nature of a privacy breach on its messaging platform that has affected some users in the country, Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday.A WhatsApp spokesman was quoted by the Indian Express newspaper on Thursday as saying that Indian journalists and human rights activists were targets of surveillance by an Israeli spyware. The company said it was “not an insignificant number” of people, but did not share specifics.WhatsApp’s comments came after the messaging platform sued Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group on Tuesday, accusing it of helping government spies break into the phones of roughly 1,400 users across four continents including diplomats, political dissidents, journalists and government officials. NSO denied the allegations.“We have asked WhatsApp to explain the kind of breach and what it is doing to safeguard the privacy of millions of Indian citizens,” Prasad said in a tweet.WhatsApp said it had no comment on Prasad’s tweet, but referred to a previous WhatsApp statement that the company believes people have the fundamental right to privacy and no one else should have access to their private conversations.Facebook’s WhatsApp Allows Users to Control Who Can Add Them to Group Chats

        Facebook Inc on Wednesday changed the privacy settings on its WhatsApp messaging platform, allowing users to decide who can add them to chat groups, as it tries to revamp its image after growing privacy concerns among users.

WhatsApp, which has about 1.5 billion users, has been trying to find ways to stop misuse of the app, following global concerns that the platform was being used to spread fake news, manipulated photos, videos without context and audio hoaxes, with no way to monitor their origin or…
India is WhatsApp’s biggest market with 400 million users. Globally, the platform is used by some 1.5 billion people monthly and has often touted a high level of security, including end-to-end encrypted messages that cannot be deciphered by WhatsApp or other third parties.In its lawsuit filed in a federal court in San Francisco, WhatsApp accused NSO of facilitating government hacking sprees in 20 countries, calling it “an unmistakable pattern of abuse.” 
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Миколаївська митниця Державної фіскальної служби заявляє про обшуки через можливу втрату 160 мільйонів гривень. На території митниці працюють співробітники Служби безпеки України та Державного бюро розслідувань.

«Мною особисто була подана інформація до ДБР щодо можливих неправомірних дій тодішнього керівництва митниці. Зокрема, мова йде про те, що через митницю було пропущено 17 партій з мінеральними добривами без начислення антидемпінгового мита. Внаслідок цього є підозра, що держава понесла збитки на суму 162,7 мільйона гривень», – заявив начальник Миколаївської митниці

За його словами, наразі правоохоронці проводять обшуки за ознаками правопорушення, передбаченого статтею 364 Кримінального кодексу України «Зловживання владою або службовим становищем».

Служба безпеки України та Державне бюро розслідувань наразі не коментували обшуки.
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Washington’s Kennedy Center opened an unusual exhibition within the walls of its new art space,  a collection of paintings by former president George W. Bush. The total of 66 oil paintings of military veterans will be displayed in the center this fall. Maxim Moskalkov has the story. 
 
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Every year on October 31, or Halloween, American streets overflow with candy and costumes. On average, people spend $86 a year on decorations, sweets, costumes and accessories. Yet some love the spooky holiday much more than others. Mariia Prus met with a true Halloween fan who takes the holiday frightfully seriously. 
 
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In a major break from other internet companies, Twitter said on Wednesday it would no longer accept political ads, a decision that will affect users and political campaigns in the U.S. and around the world.In a series of 11 tweets, Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO, said that while internet advertising is powerful and effective for advertisers, “that power brings significant risks to politics.”“We’ve made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally,” Dorsey said. “We believe political message reach should be earned not bought.”We’ve made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally. We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought. Why? A few reasons…🧵— jack 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) October 30, 2019The ban, which will go into effect Nov. 22, will cover candidate ads as well as ads for political issues. Advertisements that encourage people to vote will remain.
 
Technology and elections
 
Twitter’s decision comes as internet firms have struggled with internet-fueled disinformation campaigns both in the U.S. and around the world.
 
Earlier on Wednesday, Facebook said it removed three Russia-backed disinformation campaigns in Africa that they were part of legitimate local organizations.
 
Since the birth of social media, tech savvy political candidates have gained an edge by using internet services – including buying ads on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter- to augment traditional media and talk directly to their supporters.But since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, mixing technology and electoral politics has come under increasing scrutiny. Echoed in Dorsey’s tweets is a darker view that technology’s success at helping candidates target and reach masses can create its own problems.“A political message earns reach when people decide to follow an account or retweet,” Dorsey wrote. “Paying for reach removes that decision, forcing highly optimized and targeted political messages on people. We believe this decision should not be compromised by money.”A political message earns reach when people decide to follow an account or retweet. Paying for reach removes that decision, forcing highly optimized and targeted political messages on people. We believe this decision should not be compromised by money.— jack 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) October 30, 2019 
Fighting against, profiting from misinformationTwitter’s decision will likely have little effect on the firm’s bottom line – less than $3 million was spent on political advertising on the service in the U.S. mid-term election, the firm’s chief financial officer tweeted. Still, it appears to end a struggle between the advertising business and Twitter’s fight against misinformation.“It’s not credible for us to say: ‘We’re working hard to stop people from gaming our systems to spread misleading info, buuut if someone pays us to target and force people to see their political ad…well…they can say whatever they want!'”For instance, it‘s not credible for us to say: “We’re working hard to stop people from gaming our systems to spread misleading info, buuut if someone pays us to target and force people to see their political ad…well…they can say whatever they want! 😉”— jack 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) October 30, 2019That comment is in stark contrast to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s ongoing defense of his firm’s decision not to factcheck political ads.Zuckerberg told investors on Wednesday that he stands by that decision, adding that “ads can be an important part of voice — especially for candidates and advocacy groups the media might not otherwise cover so they can get their message into debates.”Twitter’s across-the-board ban on political ads earned the praise of one Silicon Valley executive.“I think this is the right call by Jack Dorsey and by Twitter,” said Jascha Kaykas-Wolff, chief marketing officer at Mozilla, the parent of the Firefox browser. In 2018, Mozilla stopped advertising across Facebook’s businesses because of Facebook’s data practices.“Accepting money to run ads that contain falsehoods isn’t the right thing to do for people,”Kaykas-Wolffsaid. “We know that the harm from misinformation is very real in political discourse. … You either vet the ads or you don’t run them.”It remains to be seen whether Twitter’s decision will influence other internet firms and how it will be received by people seeking office, who have now lost one way to reach voters.
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Less than a week after the Africa-Russia Summit, Facebook has suspended three networks of Russian accounts it says were engaging in foreign interference in Africa.Facebook said the accounts targeted Madagascar, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. The accounts supported select political figures and derided pro-democracy activists in the countries.Russia has had an increasing interest in engaging with African countries on trade and policy as sanctions continue to hurt its economy.Russian President Vladimir Putin organized the first Russia–Africa Summit and Economic Forum, which promoted increased economic relations between Russia and the continent earlier in October in Sochi, Russia.According to documents leaked by The Guardian, companies and groups affiliated with the Russian government have been cooperating with African politicians and interfering in elections. According to the documents, Madagascar’s president Andry Rajoelina won the election with Russian support. Rajoelina has denied the allegation.The Stanford Internet Observatory also reported that Russia was working with local media organizations on the African continent to spread disinformation.This represents a new tactic compared to what occurred with Russian influence ahead of the U.S. 2016 presidential election.The three networks are among the first subjects of Facebook’s new policies aimed at curbing “coordinated inauthentic behavior.”Facebook defined coordinated inauthentic behavior in an October press release as using fake accounts and deceiving people on the origins of pages and groups.According to The Stanford Internet Observatory, a total of 1.72 million accounts “liked” the now removed Facebook pages. Though some of these “likes” could be from the same account across multiple pages.The removal of the networks demonstrates Facebook’s commitment to prevent manipulation on its platforms, but it also shows the evolving nature of Russian methods since 2016. 
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Twitter is banning all political advertising from its service, saying social media companies give advertisers an unfair advantage in proliferating highly targeted, misleading messages. 
 
Facebook has taken fire since it disclosed earlier in October that it would not fact-check ads by politicians or their campaigns, which could allow them to lie freely. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Congress last week that politicians have the right to free speech on Facebook. 
 
The issue arose in September when Twitter, along with Facebook and Google, refused to remove a misleading video ad from President Donald Trump’s campaign that targeted former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading Democratic presidential candidate.  FILE – Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey leaves after his talk with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, June 7, 2019.In response, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, another presidential hopeful, ran an ad on Facebook taking aim at Zuckerberg. The ad falsely claimed that Zuckerberg had endorsed Trump for re-election, acknowledging the deliberate falsehood as necessary to make a point. 
 
Critics have called on Facebook to ban political ads. CNN chief Jeff Zucker recently called the policy of allowing lies ludicrous and advised the social media giant to sit out the 2020 election until it can figure out something better.  Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted the change Wednesday , saying the company was recognizing that advertising on social media offered an unfair level of targeting compared with other mediums. 
 
The majority of money spent on political advertising in the U.S. goes to television ads. 
 
Twitter’s policy will start Nov. 22. 
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Україна стійко пройде опалювальний сезон за будь-яких сценаріїв, заявив перший заступник голови правління НАК «Нафтогаз України» Сергій Перелома.

«Незалежно від погодних умов, незалежно від сценарію, який може розвиватися з транзитом природного газу, групою «Нафтогаз» за участю оператора газотранспортної системи і «Укртрансгазу» неодноразово проводились навчання, на яких моделювалися різні сценарії як погодних умов, так і різні сценарії споживання. Також ми моделювали і відсутність транзиту, і обмеження імпорту природного газу з європейських країн. Будь-який сценарій підтверджує, що ми стійко проходимо опалювальний сезон», – сказав Перелома.

За даними «Нафтогазу», Україна накопичила понад 21 мільярд кубометрів газу у своїх підземних сховищах. У компанії раніше наголошували, що для стабільного проходження нового осінньо-зимового сезону Україна потребує не менш ніж 20 мільярдів кубометрів газу в підземних сховищах газу.

До початку минулого опалювального сезону Україна накопичила в підземних сховищах 17,2 мільярда кубометрів газу, що було рекордним показником за шість років.

Ризиком для України перед початком нового опалювального сезону є ймовірне припинення або суттєве скорочення російського транзиту газу через українську газотранспортну систему (ГТС) з січня 2020 року, коли завершується дія довгострокової угоди на транзит.
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На українському міжбанківському валютному ринку триває зміцнення національної валюти. За даними сайту Finance.ua, станом на 12:30 котирування склали 24 гривні 99 копійок – 25 гривень 2 копійки за долар.

Національний банк України встановив опівдні довідкове значення курсу 25 гривень 1 копійка за долар, це на 10 копійок менше за офіційний курс на 30 жовтня.

Фахівці сайту «Мінфін» виділяють серед чинників, які грають на користь гривні, розрахунки по аукціону з продажу облігацій внутрішньої державної позики (ОВДП), для чого нерезиденти продають валюту. «Чиновники продали облігацій на 1,574 млрд гривень (основна сума продажу 1,391 млрд — папери терміном обігу 700 днів) і сьогодні покупці повинні по ним розрахуватися з державою», – ідеться в повідомленні.

Також посилює національну валюту зниження ліквідності в банківській системі (коррахунки банків на ранок 30 жовтня знизилися на 2,549 млрд гривень — до 49,39 млрд гривень), що зменшує для фінансових установ можливість виходу на ринок для купівлі долара.
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South Africa is home to one of the world’s top rugby’s teams, the Springboks. It’s also home to Africa’s only national league of wheelchair rugby, the only full-contact Paralympic sport. But while wheelchair rugby is an amateur sport with limited resources, there is no shortage of dedication and determination. Marize de Klerk reports from South Africa’s capital, Pretoria where South Africa’s top teams recently went head to head.
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After falling in love with flying her drone, a young videographer searched for a community of other female drone flyers—but couldn’t find one.  So, she started her own. Deana Mitchell reports. 
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