8 NEWS The world at aglance
THE WEEK3August 2019
Seattle, Washington
Mass data breach:Asoftware engineer was arrested in Seattle on
Monday for allegedly stealing the personal details of 106 million
credit card users and applicants in the US and Canada. The
breach at the US bank Capital One took place in March, but was
only discovered in July. Paige Thompson, 33, who reportedly
worked for Amazon Web Services, allegedly stole the names,
addresses, social security numbers and credit scores of people who
applied for credit from 2005 to 2019. The FBI tracked her through
her own posts: “I’ve basically strapped myself withabomb vest,
dropping Capitol One’s dox and admitting it,” she wrote. The
breach is said to be one of the largest in banking history, and is
expected to cost Capital One $150m in costs and legal fees.New York
Epstein “suicide attempt”:The disgraced
financier Jeffrey Epstein was placed on
suicide watch last week after being found
unconscious on the floor of his New
York prison cell. Epstein, 66, is in
custody pending trial on charges relating
to the sex trafficking of underage girls.
The disgraced billionaire was recently
refused bail, and has reportedly been
placed in solitary confinement to protect
him from fellow inmates. In 2008, he
pleaded guilty to similar charges of sex
abuse against minors and serveda13-month sentence. If
Baltimore, Maryland convicted of the latest accusations, he could face 45 years in jail.
Racism row:Donald Trump waded intoanew racism row last
week, by describingablack-majority district of Baltimore as
a“disgusting rodent-infested mess” where “no human”
would want to live. The president sent the tweet after
the district’s Democrat congressman, Elijah Cummings,
condemned the treatment of migrants at the Mexico
border atacongressional hearing. Describing
Cummings asa“brutal bully”, Trump said conditions in his
constituency were “FAR WORSE”. He then turned his fire on the
Rev Al Sharpton, referring to the activist–whom he has known
for 25 years, and who had criticised his Baltimore tweet–as
“a con man,atroublemaker, always looking forascore...”.Gilroy, California
Garlic festival shooting:Three people
were killed this week inagun attack on
the renowned Gilroy Garlic Festival in
California. Among the dead were
six-year-old Stephen Romero (pictured),
who was shot in the back. His mother
and grandmother were injured. When
asked by an onlooker, “Why are you
doing this?” the shooter, who was
armed with an assault rifle, replied,
“Because I’m really angry”. He was
shot dead by police minutes later. In
online posts before the attack, he had described the festival as
peddling “overpriced s***”, and railed against “hordes of
mestizos [mixed-race people] and Silicon Valley white tw**s”.Washington DC
Executions to resume:The US federal government is to resume the
execution of prisoners on death row, followinga16-year hiatus.
Announcing the resumption, Attorney General William Barr said:
“We owe it to victims and their families.” The first five prisoners
will be executed by lethal injection in December and January.
Under the US justice system, suspects can be tried at eitherastate
or afederal level, depending on the gravity of the charges against
them. Although several states have carried out executions since a
ban was lifted in 1976, the federal government had observed an
informal moratorium. Polls suggestamajority of Americans back
capital punishment in some circumstances; President Trump has
suggested extending it to drug dealers.Amapá state, Brazil
Miners invade:Agang of armed
gold miners has invadedavillage
on atribal reserve in northern Brazil
and killedalocal leader, officials say. Villagers fled the settlement
in the remote Amapá region, but are reportedly planningareturn,
raising fears of more violent confrontations. The area is rich in
gold, manganese and copper, and tensions between the local
Waiãpi tribe and illegal miners have been running high for some
time. Activists say threats to tribal people have intensified since
President Bolsonaro took office this year onapromise to allow
more development in the Amazon rainforest. The Waiãpi tribe
were almost annihilated when their land was first invaded by
gold prospectors in the 1970s. They now number around 1,000.San Juan, Puerto Rico
Governor quits:The governor of Puerto Rico finally bowed
to public pressure last week and announced his immediate
resignation. Ricardo Rosselló had faced days of street protests
and ageneral strike following the leaking of his online “chat”
with 11 senior male colleagues. The 880 pages of messages
contained sexist, profane and homophobic comments, as well as
ajoke about the victims of Hurricane Maria: some 2,900 people
were killed when the storm hit Puerto Rico in 2017. Rosselló’s
decision to stand down came hours after local lawmakers in
the US island territory said they planned to start impeachment
proceedings against him. Rosselló, who was previously expected
to seek re-election in 2020, is the first leader to quit since Puerto
Ricans started electing their own governors in 1947.