Hackers steal nearly $100m in Japan crypto heist
Leading Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid has been hit by hackers, with almost $100m (£73m) estimated to have been stolen.
The company announced that some of its digital currency wallets have been "compromised."
It is the second major theft of cryptocurrencies to take place in recent days.
Last week, digital token platform Poly Network was at the centre of a $600m heist.
"We are sorry to announce that #LiquidGlobal warm wallets were compromised, we are moving assets into the cold wallet," the company said on Twitter.
So-called 'warm' or 'hot' digital wallets are usually based online and designed to allow users to access their cryptocurrencies more easily, while 'cold' wallets are offline and harder to access and therefore usually more secure.
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said its analysis showed that around $97m in cryptocurrencies had been taken, with Bitcoin and Ethereum tokens amongst the haul.
Liquid has said that it was tracing the movement of the stolen cryptocurrencies and working with other exchanges to freeze and recover the assets.
Founded in 2014, Liquid operates in over 100 countries and serves millions of customers around the world.
It is one of the world's top 20 biggest cryptocurrency exchanges by daily trading volumes, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Last week, $600m was stolen from blockchain site Poly Network after a hacker exploited a vulnerability in its system.
"The amount of money you have hacked is one of the biggest in defi [decentralised finance] history," Poly Network said.
Since then the hacker, who goes under the name of Mr White Hat, has returned around $427m of the assets.
Liquid is not the only Japanese cryptocurrency platform to be hit by a major heist.
In 2014, Tokyo-based exchange MtGox collapsed after almost half a billion dollars of bitcoin went missing, while Coincheck was hacked in a $530m heist in 2018.
Source-BBC
US troops will stay until all Americans are out of Afghanistan, even if past Aug. 31 deadline
In an exclusive interview with ABC News, President Joe Biden said the U.S. is committed to getting every American out of Afghanistan -- even if it means potentially extending the mission beyond his August 31 deadline for a total withdrawal.
The president cautioned that his focus is on completing the mission by August 31, but when pressed, he conceded the mission could take longer.
President Biden told ABC News that in addition to the 10,000 to 15,000 Americans who need to be evacuated, there are between 50,000 and 65,000 Afghans and their families the U.S. also wants to get out.
The administration has come under fire for the chaos unfolding on the ground in Afghanistan as control of the country quickly fell to the Taliban while the deadline for the final U.S. withdrawal approached.
The Taliban's rapid recapture of the country, the administration acknowledged, happened more quickly than they had expected, and led to chaos at the Kabul airport. As the Taliban continues to block access for desperate Afghan allies who aided the United States during the 20 years war, they now fear retribution for their efforts.
Source-ABC
Is Destiny's Child reuniting? Why fans are convinced new music is coming
Is Destiny's Child gearing up for a reunion?
Fans almost lost their breath on Wednesday after social media pages for the group, which is comprised of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams, updated their profile photos. The simple act sent Twitter into a frenzy, making Destiny's Child a trending topic due to speculation of what it all meant.
Some believe it means new music is on the horizon from the R&B group -- a belief that was fueled by a rare interview that Beyoncé did with Harper's Bazaar. After explaining that she's been in the studio for a year and a half, the Ivy Park founder revealed, "Yes, the music is coming!"
Whether or not that music will be solo or with the trio was not specified.
Destiny's Child split in 2006. Their final album, Destiny Fulfilled, which gave birth to hits "Soldier" and "Lose My Breath" was released in 2004. They famously reunited in 2018 for a set during Beyoncé's headlining performance at the Coachella festival.
Source-ABC
Director of the Disaster Management Dr. Virginia Clerveaux, has been deployed to Haiti
Director of the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies, Dr. Virginia Clerveaux, has been officially deployed to Haiti by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Coordinating Unit (CU) to assist authorities in Haiti affected by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred in the Southern Region of the country on Saturday, 14 August.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Government renders support to CARICOM nationals through the Regional Response Mechanism, which is in accordance with the CDEMA Agreement of 2009 and the Regional Disaster Response Support Doctrine.
Dr. Clerveaux’s deployment commenced on Wednesday, 18 August. She will spend the next seven days supporting the Government of the Republic of Haiti, through the Department of Civil Protection as the team leader of CDEMA’s CARICOM Operational Support Team, also known as COST.
The COST team provides direct surge support to augment the Emergency Operations Centre capacity during this crisis period. Dr Clerveaux’s training, technical expertise, and deployment experience are among the factors informing her deployment to support crisis operations like this in Haiti. She was previously deployed to Haiti during the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed 200,000 people.
Dr Clerveaux stated that she is humbled to be selected as one of the persons to respond to our sister country that is in need, as it gives her a sense of pride in the regional collaboration to support Haiti in its time of need.
She went on to say that although this deployment is occurring during the Hurricane Season, she is confident that her experienced team at the DDME will continue to monitor and update the public of any potential threat and that she urge the public to continue their preparedness and to remain vigilant.
Clerveaux says that she will be in constant contact with the staff of the DDME and the Governor to ensure that national emergency operations are in no way jeopardized.
Commenting on the deployment of Dr. Clerveaux, Minister with responsibility for Disaster Management, Honourable Arlington Musgrove said that it is important that the residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands recognize that we live in a region that is prone to multiple hazards. While the country is familiar with hurricanes, other hazards can impact us just as our neighbours in Haiti.
Musgrove continued, saying that this deployment is an opportunity for Dr Clerveaux to lend her expertise and leadership skills to our neighbours in need. Her exposure and experience in this deployment will benefit the Turks and Caicos Islands in the long run, and that he met with the team at DDME on Monday and in the absence of Dr Clerveaux, he is confident that they are competent and ready to facilitate our preparedness and response in the event that the country is impacted by any disaster.
The Turks and Caicos Islands wishes Dr Clerveaux safe travels during herdeployment.
TEMPORARY CLOSURE: COURT BUILDINGS, PROVIDENCIALES
The Supreme Court and Magistrate’s Court No. 3 located at 1288 Leeward Highway, Providenciales and Magistrate’s Court No. 4 located at Old Airport Road, Providenciales will be closed today Thursday 19thAugust, 2021 to facilitate sanitization of the Court’s offices.
The Courts will reopen for regular business at 9:00am on Friday 20thAugust, 2021.
For urgent matters or to make any enquiry please contact us:
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Supreme Court at email address supremecourttci@gov.tc
The court apologizes for any inconvenience caused.
Tropical storm feeds growing anger in quake-stricken Haiti
Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Grace forced a temporary halt yesterday to the Haitian Government's response to the deadly weekend earthquake, feeding the growing anger and frustration among thousands who were left homeless.
Grace battered south-western Haiti, which was hit hardest by Saturday's quake, and officials warned some areas could get 15 inches (38 centimetres) of rain before the storm moved on. Heavy rain also drenched the capital of Port-au-Prince.
The storm hit Haiti late Monday, the same day that the country's Civil Protection Agency raised the death toll from the earthquake to 1,419 and the number of injured to 6,000, many of whom have had to wait for medical help lying outside in wilting heat.
As rains soaked the earthquake-damaged city of Les Cayes yesterday, patience was running out in the western hemisphere's poorest nation. Haitians were already struggling with the novel coronavirus, gang violence, worsening poverty, and the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse when the quake hit.
Bodies continued to be pulled from the rubble, and the smell of death hung heavily over a pancaked, three-storey apartment building. A simple bed sheet covered the body of a three-year-old girl that firefighters had found an hour earlier.
Neighbour Joseph Boyer, 53, said he knew the girl's family.
“The mother and father are in the hospital, but all three kids died,” he said. The bodies of the other two siblings were found earlier.
Source-AP
Tracking a trio of tropical systems: Latest forecasts for Fred, Grace and Henri
There's a trio of tropical systems in the Atlantic Basin, with Fred moving up the East Coast as Grace hits Haiti and Henri churns near Bermuda.
Fred made landfall on the Florida Panhandle Monday afternoon, leading to flooding as Panama City saw 10 inches of rain.
Fred has now weakened to a tropical depression over Georgia, but the heavy rain should continue from Georgia to the Carolinas and into Virginia.
US Embassy personnel evacuated from Kabul: State Department
The State Department confirmed Tuesday that all U.S. Embassy personnel have been evacuated from Kabul -- leaving a small core group based at the airport -- and the priority has shifted to evacuating U.S. citizens and Afghans who helped the U.S.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a briefing Tuesday that officials don't take the Taliban at their word and will monitor the situation, but the U.S. is not providing safe passage for those leaving the country.
A U.S. official confirmed that an email went out to Americans who have been notified that says: "the United States government cannot guarantee your security as you make this trip."
While most embassy personnel have left, the State Department is sending some diplomats into the country, including consular affairs personnel, to help with evacuation efforts. Among those is Ambassador John Bass, who was the most recent Senate-confirmed U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, serving from 2017 to 2020. He is there to coordinate the evacuation effort, while Ambassador Ross Wilson, technically the charge d'affaires at the embassy, remains in charge of the U.S. mission.
To that end, the embassy has notified the first group of U.S. citizens to travel to the airport for evacuation flights.
While the Taliban have provided assurances that they will allow safe passage of civilians to the airport, it has been reported that people have been beaten or blocked by Taliban fighters.
Source- ABC
R Kelly to take the stand today in sex trafficking trial
R. Kelly sex trafficking trial is officially underway, starting with opening statements.
Kelly, 54, whose birth name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, faces state and federal charges for sex trafficking, racketeering, coercion and other charges related to the alleged abuse and exploitation of six women -- three of whom were underage at the time -- over the course of 25 years.
If convicted, he could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison.
Three of Kelly's alleged victims intend to testify. The women have accused him of controlling their lives and claimed he subjected them to psychological and physical abuse. In addition, his alleged victims say he banned them from looking at other men and forced them to address him as "Daddy." They also claim he paid them hush money. Kelly's team has characterized his accusers as "disgruntled groupies."
Last week, a jury of seven men and five women, along with six alternates, were sworn in by Judge Ann Donnelly. The jurors will remain anonymous and will be partially sequestered.
It has been reported that, among the evidence expected to be presented during trial, the jury will hear about the singer's brief controversial marriage to Aaliyah, whom prosecutors say was 15 at the time.
Kelly also faces a separate indictment in Chicago for allegations regarding child pornography. That trial is scheduled to begin in September.
Source-ABC
Drake joins list of stars who had COVID-19
As Jim Jones announced Monday he’s recovering from COVID-19, Drake also revealed that he contracted the virus.
When a follower commented on the Instagram fan account @drizzy_drake_vids, “That heart is stressed,” referring to his signature hairline, Champagne Papi replied, “I had Covid.” He added about his uneven hairline, “[It] grew in weird. I had to start again,” with a cry-laughing emoji. "It’s coming back don’t diss."
Recovering from COVID-19 may be one of the reasons for the delay of the four-time Grammy winner’s sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy. After being originally scheduled for release in January, it was rescheduled for June, but fans are still waiting.
Drake did drop a three-song EP, Scary Hours 2, in March. Last August, he released the first and, so far, only single from Certified Lover Boy, titled “Laugh Now Cry Later.” CLB will be the follow-up to his last studio album, 2018's Scorpion, which is RIAA-certified five-times Platinum.
As previously reported, Jones revealed Monday on Instagram that he had COVID-19. However he recently tested negative and shared that he's feeling better.
Source-ABC