Headlines

May 31.– In a compelling alert highlighting the threat posed by state-sponsored Chinese hackers of America’s critical infrastructure, FBI Director Christopher Wray has issued a stark warning. At a security conference in Nashville, he cautioned that China is strategically positioned to disrupt the American grid and is awaiting the opportune moment.

Speaking at Vanderbilt University, Wray detailed Beijing’s relentless cyberespionage campaign orchestrated through a group known as Volt Typhoon. Intelligence officials had raised concerns about the group nearly a year ago. News from Axios noted the group’s uncommon persistence even after recent sanctions imposed after another Beijing-linked hacking operation targeting lawmakers, defense contractors and anyone criticizing Xi Jinping’s party line.

May 31.– The United States Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act today, May 23, 2024.

Also known as the Resolve Tibet Act, this bill will strengthen US efforts to push the Chinese government to resolve the longstanding Tibet-China dispute through dialogue with Tibetan leaders.

In a statement, International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) President Tencho Gyatso lauded the advance of the bill and emphasized that China must resume dialogue with the Tibetans, saying, “I hope Beijing will now see that this dispute must be resolved through negotiation, instead of an assault on Tibet’s unique and ancient civilization.”
Steady advance through Congress

The House version of the Resolve Tibet Act was passed earlier this year with overwhelming bipartisan support. Although additional procedural hurdles remain, passing the Senate is a crucial step forward for the bill.

• Jury Convicts Former President of All Counts in Historic Hush Money Trial
• The conviction, which legal experts say is unlikely to lead to jail time, does not disqualify Trump from running for president. An appeal is likely.

New York, May 30 (DP.net).– After roughly nine hours of fast-paced deliberation, the New York jury found former President Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents to conceal payments intended to silence stories of an extramarital sexual encounter. “You gave this matter the attention it deserved and I thank you for that,” Judge Juan Merhcan said, thanking the 12 jurors for their civic duty before excusing them.

The trial evolved around an intricate "catch and kill" scheme carried out during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign in an effort to improve his chances of winning the election. The former President was found guilty by the jury in his hush money trial on Thursday, turning him into a convicted felon, casting a permanent stain on American history, and upending the dynamics surrounding the likely Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential contest.

• The chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers is held for a six-month term in turn by the representatives of the members in English alphabetical order. The chairmanship is transferred from one Member State to the next in mid-May and mid-November.

Strasbourg, Nov. 12.– Liechtenstein will take over from Latvia on Nov. 15 the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for the next six months.

The Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Reinis Brusbārdis, will take stock of Latvia’s Presidency and hand over to Dominique Hasler, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport of Liechtenstein, who will present the priorities of her country’s Presidency.