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Category: government – Page 136

Smash and Grab – The UK’s Money Laundering Machine

Download the full report here.

In 2017, Bellingcat and Transparency International UK published their joint report, “Offshore in the UK”, describing the phenomenon of Scottish Limited Partnerships (“SLPs”) and their use as a mechanism in global money laundering scandals and a range of illicit activities. Since then, SLPs have continued to be implicated in further scandals, perhaps most notably the Azerbaijani Laundromat, a scheme where $2.9 billion was laundered through UK companies.

In the same year, SLPs became obliged to register their Person of Significant Control at Companies House, and the boom in registrations ended. The government subsequently ran a public consultation into limited partnerships, and published its conclusions in December 2018. Currently, SLP registrations are at their lowest level since 2010. Nevertheless, a lack of regulation allowed thousands of opaquely owned partnerships, typically with no tangible link to the Uk, to flourish over a seven year period. We do not have the details of the business activities of these SLPs, who controlled them, or who their true beneficial owners are.

Sunlight destroys coronavirus quickly, say US scientists

The new coronavirus is quickly destroyed by sunlight, according to new research announced by a senior US official on Thursday, though the study has not yet been made public and awaits external evaluation.

William Bryan, science and technology advisor to the Department of Homeland Security secretary, told reporters at the White House that government scientists had found had a potent impact on the pathogen, offering hope that its spread may ease over the summer.

“Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have on killing the virus, both surfaces and in the air,” he said.

The Open Source Hunt for Syria’s Favourite Sarin Bomb

O,.,o.

Throughout Syria’s lengthy conflict, Bellingcat has worked to investigate a large number of chemical attacks, including the nature of the weapons deployed in those attacks, using open source evidence. From modified chlorine cylinders to locally made surface to surface rockets filled with Sarin, Bellingcat has revealed the nature, and origin, of these chemical weapons, confirming the Syrian government’s involvement in a range of chemical attacks.

Following a series of Sarin attacks in Al Lataminah and Khan Sheikhoun in March and April 2017, Bellingcat worked with open source evidence to slowly piece together the nature of the bomb used in the attacks. Bellingcat first published its conclusions in November 2017, and continued to build on the body of evidence it had uncovered. After the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) report was published this week, confirming the type of bomb used in the March 24 and March 30, 2017 Sarin attacks in Al Lataminah, we now have their confirmation of the type of bomb used, the Syrian M4000 chemical bomb.

In this article, we examine the evidence and processes used by Bellingcat to identify this same munition, and what it tells us about the use of Sarin as a chemical weapons in Syria, years after Syria was meant to have destroyed its chemical weapons stockpiles in the aftermath of the August 21, 2013 Sarin attacks.

America’s bomber force is facing a crisis

The path forward begins with admitting the nation has a bomber shortfall. Retiring more aircraft exacerbates the problem. Nor is this just an Air Force problem. Bombers are national assets essential to our security strategy and must be prioritized accordingly. If other services have excess funds to invest in ideas like a 1,000-mile-range cannon when thousands of strike aircraft, various munitions and remotely piloted aircraft can fill the exact same mission requirements, it is time for a roles and missions review to direct funding toward the most effective, efficient options. Bombers would compete well in such an assessment. Ultimately, the solution demands doubling down on the B-21 program.

There comes a point where you cannot do more with less. Given the importance of bombers to the nation, rebuilding the bomber force is not an option — it is an imperative.

Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Larry Stutzriem served as a fighter pilot and held various command positions. He concluded his service as the director of plans, policy and strategy at North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command. He is currently the director of studies at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, where Douglas Birkey is the executive director. Birkey researches issues relating to the future of aerospace and national security, and he previously served as the Air Force Association’s director of government relations.

For The Price Of One Cheapest Tesla Model 3, You Can Buy This Electric SUV Four Times!

Would you buy a Maple 30x electric SUV for less than a quarter of the price of the Tesla Model 3? If your answer is yes, then great, because the selling price of Maple 30x is, in fact, $9,800, after government subsidies.

Maple automotive is the result of a collaboration between Geely Holding Corp. and Kandi Technologies.

Geely Corp who has 78% of the total share in Maple, also owns Volvo, and London Black Taxi, along with massive shares in Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes.

Coronavirus: Why Oxford university is so confident in an early vaccine win

The Oxford scientists are extraordinarily confident that their vaccine against the coronavirus will work.

The government’s chief medical officer insists a jab is still 12 to 18 months off and some form of social distancing will be needed until it’s in widespread use.

Their confidence is built on past success. The same vaccine technology has been used on other diseases, including the related coronavirus MERS, as well as Ebola.

ChAdOx1, pronounced “Chaddox-one”, is a version of a common cold virus that has been modified not only so that it doesn’t cause symptoms, but also so it carries some genetic material of the coronavirus.

Past success of the technology Oxford University is using for the COVID-19 vaccine is why they think it can be ready by September.

US reportedly has contingency plans in place if Kim Jong Un dies

The US government has contingency plans in place in the event North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un should die after reports that his health was in grave condition.

Sources discussed the plans but urged caution about the veracity of the reports, which claimed Kim is in bad shape after a cardiovascular procedure, Fox News reported.

Those plans include the possibility of a mass-scale humanitarian crisis inside the hermit nation such as a famine, according to the report.

Why DIY 3D-Printed Face Masks and Shields Are So Risky

An interesting cautionary note on the well-intentioned effort to supply personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, via 3D printing. I’ll confess that I have not thought through all the implications.

“One of the hospitals calls it ‘the garage PPE,’” said Sarah Boisvert, founder of 3D-printing school Fab Lab Hub, who works with hospitals to 3D-print materials. “This is a far more complicated problem than just making Christmas ornaments for your family.”

Lovett readily admits that he is not an expert. But he and others who want to help are stymied in part by a lack of clear government regulation around simple designs.

Most citizen manufacturers are producing face shields, simple transparent visors that cover the face and project doctors from airborne pathogens. So long as they stop droplets entering the mouth, nose, and eyes, manufacturers of face shields can essentially build whatever they want, up to a point. But if they get things wrong, they “can really do damage, not to mention waste time and energy and resources,” said Boisvert. Some popular designs are too flimsy to “withstand constant daily use,” said Lin, while others “sit too close to the face,” making them unsafe for doctors who wear glasses.

US monitoring intelligence that North Korean leader is in grave danger after surgery

The US is monitoring intelligence that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, is in grave danger after a surgery, according to a US official with direct knowledge.

Kim recently missed the celebration of his grandfather’s birthday on April 15, which raised speculation about his well-being. He had been seen four days before that at a government meeting.

Another US official told CNN Monday that the concerns about Kim’s health are credible but the severity is hard to assess.

Israeli researchers: Hackers aiming to exploit government financial aid

#Hackers are seeking to exploit the roll-out of government financial relief plans to fill their own pockets at the expense of businesses and affected workers, Israeli cyber researchers have revealed.

Hackers are exploiting the rollout of governmental financial relief to fill their pockets at the expense of businesses and affected workers, according to Israeli cyber researchers.

In recent weeks, governments have sought to ease cash-flow shortages and avoid a recession with ambitious stimulus packages and grants to households, including a massive $2 trillion economic package in the United States.

According to researchers at Israeli cybersecurity giant Check Point, a major increase in malicious and suspicious domains related to relief packages has been registered in recent weeks. The hackers aim to scam individuals into providing personal information, thereby stealing money or committing fraud.

“To do this, they are evolving the scam and phishing techniques that they have been using successfully since the start of the pandemic in January,” the researchers wrote in a recent report.