Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner ‘person of interest in Russia investigation’

Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has reportedly been identified as a “person of interest” in the ongoing investigation into possible ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign.

The Washington Post said a senior adviser to Mr Trump was among people investigators wanted to speak to. A New York magazine reporter then said the person in question was Mr Kushner, 36, who is married to Mr Trump’s eldest daughter and who flew out of Washington on Friday night to accompany the President on his first official foreign trip.

The Post said the person under investigation was close to the President, but did not identify them. However, the number of people who fit such a profile would be very small.

Yashar Ali, a contributor to New York magazine said on Twitter: “It’s Jared Kushner. Have confirmed this with four people. I’m not speculating.”

The White House did not immediately respond to calls and emails from The Independent seeking comment. The Trump Organisation, which controls the President’s financial interests, also did not respond to queries.

White House officials have previously acknowledged contacts between Russian officials and Mr Kushner, as well as with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The revelation came just two days after the Justice Department announced that former FBI Director, Robert Mueller, had been appointed special counsel to lead the investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The Post said the investigation appeared to be entering a more active phase, with investigators moving from work that has been largely hidden from the public to conducting interviews and using a grand jury to issue subpoenas. The newspaper said the intensity of the investigation was now anticipated to speed up even more.

It said investigators remained keenly interested in people who previously wielded influence in the Trump campaign and administration but are no longer part of it, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

The report was published as Mr Trump travelled to Saudi Arabia on the first leg of a trip abroad that the White House hopes will shift attention away from the political firestorm triggered by his firing last week of former FBI Director James Comey.

The revelation came just two days after the Justice Department announced that former FBI Director, Robert Mueller, had been appointed special counsel to lead the investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The Post said the investigation appeared to be entering a more active phase, with investigators moving from work that has been largely hidden from the public to conducting interviews and using a grand jury to issue subpoenas. The newspaper said the intensity of the investigation was now anticipated to speed up even more.

“As the President has stated before – a thorough investigation will confirm that there was no collusion between the campaign and any foreign entity,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in a statement in response to the Post’s report.

Separately, the New York Times reported on Friday that Mr Trump told Russian officials at a White House meeting last week that firing Mr Comey relieved “great pressure” that the president was facing from the ongoing probe into Russia and the election.

MORE; Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner ‘person of interest in Russia investigation’ | The Independent

N Korea’s spy agency Unit 180 launched its most daring + successful cyber attacks’

North Korea’s main spy agency has a special cell called Unit 180 that is likely to have launched some of its most daring and successful cyber attacks, according to defectors, officials and internet security experts.

The North has been blamed in recent years for a series of online attacks, mostly on financial networks, in the United States, South Korea and over a dozen other countries.

Cyber security researchers have also said they have found technical evidence that could link North Korea with the global WannaCry ‘ransomware’ cyber attack that infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries this month.

Pyongyang has called the allegation ‘ridiculous’.

The crux of the allegations against North Korea is its connection to a hacking group called Lazarus that is linked to last year’s $81 million cyber heist at the Bangladesh central bank and the 2014 attack on Sony’s Hollywood studio.

US government officials have blamed North Korea for the Sony hack and some officials have said prosecutors are building a case against Pyongyang in the Bangladesh Bank theft.

No conclusive proof has been provided and no criminal charges have yet been filed. North Korea has also denied being behind the Sony and banking attacks.

The North is one of the most closed countries in the world and any details of its clandestine operations are difficult to obtain.

But experts who study the reclusive country and defectors who have ended up in South Korea or the West have provided some clues.

Kim Heung-kwang, a former computer science professor in North Korea who defected to the South in 2004 and still has sources inside the North, said Pyongyang’s cyber attacks aimed at raising cash are likely organized by Unit 180, a part of the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), its main overseas intelligence agency.

‘Unit 180 is engaged in hacking financial institutions (by) breaching and withdrawing money out of bank accounts,’ Kim told Reuters.

He has previously said that some of his former students have joined North Korea’s Strategic Cyber Command, its cyber-army.

‘The hackers go overseas to find somewhere with better internet services than North Korea so as not to leave a trace,’ Kim added. He said it was likely they went under the cover of being employees of trading firms, overseas branches of North Korean companies, or joint ventures in China or Southeast Asia.

James Lewis, a North Korea expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Pyongyang first used hacking as a tool for espionage and then political harassment against South Korean and US targets.

‘They changed after Sony by using hacking to support criminal activities to generate hard currency for the regime,’ he said.

‘So far, it’s worked as well or better as drugs, counterfeiting, smuggling – all their usual tricks,’ Lewis said.

 James Lewis, a North Korea expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Pyongyang first used hacking (file) as a tool for espionage and then political harassment against South Korean and US targets

The US Department of Defense said in a report submitted to Congress last year that North Korea likely ‘views cyber as a cost-effective, asymmetric, deniable tool that it can employ with little risk from reprisal attacks, in part because its networks are largely separated from the Internet’.

‘It is likely to use Internet infrastructure from third-party nations,’ the report said.

South Korean officials say they have considerable evidence of North Korea’s cyber warfare operations.

‘North Korea is carrying out cyber attacks through third countries to cover up the origin of the attacks and using their information and communication technology infrastructure,’ Ahn Chong-ghee, South Korea’s vice foreign minister, told Reuters in written comments.

Besides the Bangladesh Bank heist, he said Pyongyang was also suspected in attacks on banks in the Philippines, Vietnam and Poland.

In June last year, police said the North hacked into more than 140,000 computers at 160 South Korean companies and government agencies, planting malicious code as part of a long-term plan to lay the groundwork for a massive cyber attack on its rival.

North Korea was also suspected of staging cyber attacks against the South Korean nuclear reactor operator in 2014, although it denied any involvement.

That attack was conducted from a base in China, according to Simon Choi, a senior security researcher at Seoul-based anti-virus company Hauri Inc.

‘They operate there so that regardless of what kind of project they do, they have Chinese IP addresses,’ said Choi, who has conducted extensive research into North Korea’s hacking capabilities.

Malaysia has also been a base for North Korean cyber operations, according to Yoo Dong-ryul, a former South Korean police researcher who studied North Korean espionage techniques for 25 years.

They work in trading or IT programming companies on the surface,’ Yoo told Reuters. ‘Some of them run websites and sell game and gambling programs’.

Two IT firms in Malaysia have links to North Korea’s RGB spy agency, according to a Reuters investigation this year, although there was no suggestion either of them was involved in hacking.

Michael Madden, a US-based expert on the North Korean leadership, said Unit 180 was one of many elite cyber warfare groups in the North Korean intelligence community.

‘The personnel are recruited from senior middle schools and receive advanced training at some elite training institutions,’ Madden told Reuters.

‘They have a certain amount of autonomy in their missions and tasking as well,’ he said, adding that they could be operating from hotels in China or Eastern Europe.

In the United States, officials said there was no conclusive evidence that North Korea was behind the WannaCry ransomware, but that was no reason to be complacent.

‘Whether or not they are directly involved with ransomware doesn’t change the fact that they are a real cyber threat,’ said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of prominent US security firm CrowdStrike Inc, added: ‘Their capabilities have improved steadily over time, and we consider them to be a threat actor that is capable of inflicting significant damage on US private or government networks.’

Source: North Korea’s spy agency has special cell called Unit 180 | Daily Mail Online

Hundreds of Qantas passengers forced to sleep on airport floor

Cassie Sainsbury’s fiancé claims she will admit to cocaine smuggling as lawyers seek injunction

Channel 7 is fighting efforts by Cassandra Sainsbury’s lawyers to block a tell-all interview with her fiancé Scott Broadbridge from airing.

The 22-year-old’s Australian lawyers lodged an urgent injunction in the NSW Supreme Court to be heard before the Sunday Night report screens at 8.30pm.

Previews hinted that Mr Broadbridge would concede she would confess her role in smuggling 5.8 kilograms of cocaine out of Colombia via Bogota Airport last month.

He was also expected to explain what he knows about the international drug syndicate behind the cocaine deal, including why Sainsbury was in Colombia.

Sainsbury, who was still behind bars in Colombia, was understood to have given her partner permission to sell his side of the story.

In a promo for the Channel 7 interview Broadbridge says his partner’s flight to Colombia was a surprise to him.

 Sainsbury, who is still behind bars in Colombia, is understood to have given her partner (pictured) permission to sell his side of the story

 Cassandra Sainsbury’s fiance Mr Broadbridge (pictured) arrived in Bogota on Thursday and is now considered a person of interest

Sainsbury’s mother Lisa Evans and sister Khala Sainsbury reportedly sold their story to the Channel Nine program for about $1 million.

Ms Sainsbury’s mother and sister travelled to Colombia this week for the first time since her arrest on April 11.

Last week Sainsbury expressed concern with her family’s attempt to sell her story. She urged them to wait until her trial was finished.

‘Once I’ve been sentenced I’m happy to talk about what happened because my case isn’t in jeopardy then,’ she said.

Source: Bid to block Colombian Cassie Sainsbury’s fiancé interview | Daily Mail Online

Eight injured after plane clips an airport truck + flips it over at LAX

Eight people were injured when a plane clipped an airport utility truck on Saturday.

Shortly after landing at Los Angeles International Airport, the Aeromexico flight collided with the truck.

The truck was flipped over, seriously injuring two employees inside who had to be rushed to the hospital.

The Boeing 737 was taxiing to an arrival gate when it collided with a utility truck carrying eight people, fire and airport officials said.

‘It clipped a service truck,’ said Rob Pedregon, a Los Angeles Airport Police spokesman.

‘They had already landed and were taxiing.’

Two people in the truck were seriously hurt, and six people in the truck suffered minor injuries, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

No one was hurt on the flight from Mexico City, which was carrying about 146 passengers and crew.

The plane’s wing was damaged in the collision, the fire department said.

Airport operations were not affected, Pedregon said.

Messages were left for Aeromexico seeking comment.

Messages to the FAA and airport representatives were not immediately returned

Source: Eight injured after plane clips airport truck at LAX | Daily Mail Online

Google will let smartphone understand what they see + take action [translates the text as well]

At Google’s I/O developer conference, CEO Sundar Pichai announced a new technology called Google Lens. The idea with the product is to leverage Google’s computer vision and AI technology in order to bring smarts directly to your phone’s camera. As the company explains, the smartphone camera won’t just see what you see, but will also understand what you see to help you take action.

“What does this say?” Google Assistant then translates the text.

During a demo, Google showed off how you could point your camera at something and Lens tells you what it is — like, it could identify the flower you’re preparing to shoot.

In another example, Pichai showed how Lens could do a common task — connecting you to a home’s Wi-Fi network by snapping a photo of the sticker on the router.

In that case, Google Lens could identify that it’s looking at a network’s name and password, then offer you the option to tap a button and connect automatically.

A third example was a photo of a business’s storefront — and Google Lens could pull up the name, rating and other business listing information in a card that appeared over the photo.

The technology basically turns the camera from a passive tool that’s capturing the world around you to one that’s allowing you to interact with what’s in your camera’s viewfinder.

Later, during a Google Home demonstration, the company showed how Lens would be integrated into Google Assistant. Through a new button in the Assistant app, users will be able to launch Lens and insert a photo into the conversation with the Assistant, where it can process the data the photo contains.

To show how this could work, Google’s Scott Huffman holds his camera up to a concert marquee for a Stone Foxes show and Google Assistant pulls up info on ticket sales. “Add this to my calendar,” he says — and it does.

The integration of Lens into Assistant can also help with translations.

Huffman demonstrates this by holding up his camera to a sign in Japanese, tapping the Lens icon and saying “What does this say?” Google Assistant then translates the text.

In addition, Pichai showed how Google’s algorithms could more generally clean up and enhance photos — like when you’re taking a picture of your child’s baseball game through a chain-link fence, Google could remove the fence from the photo automatically. Or if you took a photo in a low-light condition, Google could automatically enhance the photo to make it less pixelated and blurry.

Source: Google Lens will let smartphone cameras understand what they see and take action | TechCrunch

Cassie Sainsbury: 60 Mins claim fiancee Scott Broadbridge is person of interest

Newest personal jet. It costs $2 million, parachute included

Prison scuffle involving fallen AFL star Ben Cousins was over a CUP of tea

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Tom Hardy confirmed to play Venom in Spider-Man spinoff

Wonder Woman: First reactions are overwhelming positive, brand it the best DCEU film yet

Has the DC cinematic universe been saved? There’s been an enormous pressure on the franchise’s next installment, Wonder Woman, to deliver; first off, as that rare female-led blockbuster, finally handing a solo movie to one of DC’s most iconic characters, after more than 75 years on the page.

Also, as a potential saviour to DC’s struggling critical reception after Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman, with near-constant rumours of behind-the-scenes drama, chaos, and uncertainty putting Warner Bros. in a tricky position when it comes to its unfolding future.

Read more

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Yet, it looks like Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot have managed to pull it off; though full reviews are still under embargo, critics were allowed to share some of their initial reactions on Twitter, and they’re pretty glowing.

VIDEO HERE: Wonder Woman: First reactions are overwhelming positive, brand it the best DCEU film yet | The Independent

Three Children Arrested Over Alleged Stabbing in inner Sydney

‘Every day he looks more and more like a complete moron’: Trump officials ‘complain about the president’s behavior’

Aussie MotoGP star Jack Miller survives horror crash during French Grand Prix at Le Mans

Jack Miller was lucky to survive unscathed from a massive crash in final practice, with his Marc VDS Honda going off track and slamming into the tyre wall.

The Australian would return to qualify in 11th place.

Valentino Rossi leads Vinales in the standings by two points after four races with Marquez a further two behind.

Spaniard Maverick Vinales took pole position for the French Grand Prix at Le Mans on Saturday with his Yamaha team mate and MotoGP leader Rossi qualifying alongside.

French rider Johann Zarco will line up behind the two factory Yamahas in third place for the privately-run Tech3 Yamaha team at the Bugatti circuit in his first top three start.

One tenth of a second divided the top two, with Vinales setting the best lap time of one minute 31.994 seconds and Rossi 0.106 slower.

 The Australian would return to qualify in 11th place following his horror crash on Saturday

It was the Spaniard’s first proper MotoGP pole after the season-opener in Qatar, which was decided on practice times due to bad weather.

Britain’s Cal Crutchlow was fourth on the non-works LCR Honda and ahead of the factory bike ridden by Spain’s reigning world champion Marc Marquez.

Ducati’s Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso completed the second row.

Source: MotoGP star Jack Miller survives horror crash | Daily Mail Online

Qantas engine ‘blew up’ on flight from LA to Melbourne, forced to turn back to LA

A Qantas flight has been forced to turn back after an engine overheated and exploded with ‘flames’.

A passenger on the flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne who asked not be named told the Herald Sun the ‘engine blew up in flames two hours into the flight.’

‘The plane was then turned back and landed safely but multiple fire trucks were lining the runway when we landed,’ the passenger said.

Qantas spokesperson Thomas Woodward said 480 passengers were on board when the flight turned around.

‘Friday night’s QF94 A380 service from Los Angeles to Melbourne turned back to LA because of an issue with one of the aircraft’s four engines,’ Mr Woodward said.

‘The pilots followed standard procedure, shut down the engine, and the flight landed normally in LA at around 3am local time on Saturday. There was no safety risk at any time.

‘Engineers are now inspecting the aircraft and replacement flight has been scheduled for 12 noon on Saturday.’

Passenger Darren Sudgen told the publication he heard a loud noise on the flight.

‘There was an explosion from outside. We saw flames and sparks flying past the window,’ Mr Sudgen said.

 Qantas spokesperson Thomas Woodward said 480 passengers were on board when the flight turned around (stock image)

Source: Qantas engine ‘blew up’ on flight from LA to Melbourne | Daily Mail Online

Meghan Markle arrives at Pippa Middleton’s reception

Meghan Markle reportedly arrived at Pippa Middleton and James Matthews’ wedding reception just in time to watch a majestic flypast by a Word War Two-era Spitfire plane.

Prince Harry’s actress girlfriend, 35, is understood to have joined guests to witness the spectacular aerial display from a £100,000 glass marquee in the Middletons’ estate in Bucklebury, Berkshire, at 7.15pm on Saturday.

The Suits star was not by Harry’s side for the much-anticipated wedding in the nearby village of Englefield, but made a camera-shy appearance at the lavish reception, E! News reported.

Just hours earlier, a beaming Pippa, 33, married millionaire hedge-fund manager James, 41, in an intimate ceremony at a 12th-century church.

It seems that Meghan has been eagerly anticipating the occasion as she has been seen indulging in several beauty treatments in the run up to the big day.

On Friday the actress, who landed in London on Tuesday, was spotted leaving a swanky spa in Soho, London, after a £250 facial ahead of the society event of year.

Prince Harry’s girlfriend looked casual in black leggings, a black hoodie and a grey baseball cap teamed with trainers. She offset her look with a £550 ($795) Clifton Rosewater Small Classic Grain bag by British brand Mulberry, and carried her iPhone in her hand as she left the spa.

It appeared that the actress had treated herself to a manicure as she displayed freshly painted nails.

Meghan arrived in the UK on Tuesday ahead of joining boyfriend Prince Harry at Pippa Middleton’s wedding this weekend.

According to E! News, Ms Markle arrived at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday and was immediately taken to Kensington Palace.

It was initially thought that Meghan Markle may not attend the event as it was rumoured that Pippa Middleton was operating a ‘no ring no bring’ policy as her brother-in-law Spencer Matthews will not be bringing girlfriend Vogue Williams.

The evening reception was reported to be a lavish affair, with a nod to the groom’s Scottish connections in the entertainment and food – the dinner is said to feature haggis on the menu along with Scottish lamb and whisky

Pippa beamed with pride as she left the church as a married woman on the arm of her new husband James.

It was the moment the world had been waiting for and Pippa didn’t disappoint as she dressed to impress in a stunning white Giles Deacon gown for her nuptials to the 41-year-old financier she began dating last year.

MANY MORE HERE: Meghan Markle arrives at Pippa Middleton’s reception | Daily Mail Online

Sickly passengers clogging up GP clinics when cruise ships dock

Sickly cruise ship passengers are clogging up mainland medical waiting rooms and straining local health services as they try to avoid expensive on-board doctors, according to GPs in the Kimberley.

Heather Briggs has operated a GP clinic in Broome for five years and said she could always tell when a large cruise ship had docked.

“It’s difficult to suddenly cope with an influx in one day. There was one particular ship this year where we had 20 or so people queueing for an appointment,” Dr Briggs said.

“It’s difficult, because the hospital can’t cope with them, and they’re getting quite large in number.”

Lesley Parker manages another GP clinic in the town, and said they have had to turn away a large number of cruise ship passengers who were onshore for a day trip.

“We only have five practices in Broome, which are at capacity most of the time, and then when 2,500 people arrive on a cruise ship there’s no capacity to serve those people,” she said.

“A big issue is that we need to maintain appointments for our own chronically ill, often palliative care patients, so we can’t often see the people from the cruise ships who just want to pop in for a 15-minute appointment.

“We really do feel for the people that get off the ship and who are unwell, but I don’t know what the resolution is because there just isn’t the capacity.”

Dr Duncan-Smith agreed that passengers should take out travel insurance.

Photo: Ambulance paramedics help an unwell cruise ship passenger when it docked in Broome. (ABC News)

“Travel insurance should cover the cost, so there shouldn’t really be a lot of out-of-pocket expense,” he said

The ABC spoke to a number of cruise ship passengers including Sandy Daniels, a registered nurse from Perth, who was travelling with her elderly mother.

Ms Daniels said there was a large number of people on board the ship who potentially would require medical assistance.

“The ratio of elderly people is actually very high, lots of people with crutches, and there’s a high risk of potential falls … and then you’ve got the risk of strokes, heart events, all of that is higher because of the age demographics,” she said.

In February about 140 passengers on the Sun Princess cruise ship came down with gastro during a round trip to New Zealand, a fortnight after a similar outbreak on the vessel during a previous cruise.

Queensland Health said 140 people became ill, but passengers estimated that number was higher.

Some complained the ship should have delayed the voyage after 90 people suffered from norovirus on the ship’s prior trip to Papua New Guinea.

Source: Sickly passengers clogging up GP clinics when cruise ships dock – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Meghan Markle a ‘no-show’ at Pippa’s wedding but expected to join Prince Harry at reception

PRINCE Harry’s girlfriend Meghan Markle has tactfully stayed away from Pippa Middleton’s wedding service but is expected to meet her royal beau at the afternoon reception.

The stunning American actor flew into London on Tuesday to join her boyfriend of 10 months at the festivities at Berkshire, west of London, but there was no sign of her at St Marks Church when Pippa and James Matthews exchanged their vows.

It’s thought Markle, in consultation with the royal family, decided to stay away from the ceremony to ensure her presence did not distract from the bride and groom’s big moment.

The gorgeous American attracts a media throng wherever she goes, but will be able to stay out of the spotlight at the private reception at the Middleton family home at the nearby village of Bucklebury.

Prince Harry, 32, arrived at the wedding ceremony with his brother Prince William, the husband of Pippa Middleton’s sister Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Markle, 35, spends most of her time in Toronto, Canada, filming the TV series Suits.

She has spent the past few days at Prince Harry’s apartment at Kensington Palace to avoid the media spotlight, although she was photographed coming out of a spa in London’s Soho district on Friday afternoon after getting a manicure.

Photographers last week captured a quick kiss between the couple in a car park where Harry was playing polo at Ascot, and in March they were photographed in the Bahamas attending the wedding of Harry’s close friend Tom Inskip.

In November, Prince Harry went public with the relationship when he issued a highly-unusual statement through Kensington Palace, asking the press and trolls on social media to give her some space, saying she had been subject to abuse, harassment, sexism and racism.

Meghan Markle in New York in March. Picture: GettySource:Getty Images

Meghan Markle risked showing up Pippa Middleton because it would have been her first public outing with Prince Harry. Picture: SuppliedSource:Getty Images

Source: Pippa Middleton’s Wedding: Meghan Markle a ‘no-show’ at Pippa’s wedding but expected to join Prince Harry at reception