Philippines nabs 44 in blackmail ruse
MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine police arrested 44 foreigners who are accused of running an online blackmail syndicate that defrauded victims in China and Taiwan by duping them into believing that their bank accounts had been used by money launderers or terrorists, police said Thursday.
The arrests of 42 Taiwanese and two Chinese suspects are the latest from a Philippine government crackdown with help from Interpol and foreign governments. In 2012, Philippine police arrested 380 suspected members of a blackmail syndicate, including 291 Taiwanese, 86 Chinese and a New Zealander in the largest number of single-day arrests in a crackdown on online fraud.
"In the past, criminals only used guns," Senior Superintendent Gilbert Sosa of the national police's Anti-Cybercrime Group said. "Now their weapons are computers, wireless phones and all sorts of telecommunications devices."
The 44 latest suspects were arrested in two hideouts in central Iloilo province Wednesday by police and immigration agents. Several laptop computers, telephone sets and other telecommunications devices used by the syndicate were confiscated, police officials said.
Greece jails 9th from Nazi-like party
ATHENS, Greece -- Greek judges Thursday jailed a ninth lawmaker in connection with a criminal investigation into the Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn -- the country's third most popular party.
Ilias Kassidiaris, a prominent Golden Dawn lawmaker, faces illegal firearms charges that, if proven in court, carry a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
Greek authorities launched a judicial crackdown on Golden Dawn after the fatal stabbing last year of a leftist musician for which a party supporter was accused.
Half the 18 lawmakers elected with Golden Dawn in 2012 have now been jailed pending trial over operation of what authorities called a criminal organization, including leader Nikos Michaloliakos. All deny any wrongdoing and claim they are being persecuted on political grounds as the conservative-led government fears the party's growing popularity among right-wing voters.
China denies reports of hacking
BEIJING -- China on Thursday brusquely dismissed assertions in The New York Times that Chinese hackers had infiltrated U.S. government computer systems that house personal information of federal employees.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the article was part of what he called an irresponsible anti-China smear campaign.
The article said the hackers had gained access to some of the databases of the Office of Personnel Management before authorities in the United States detected the breach and thwarted the hackers from gaining further access.
It remained unclear what kind of information, if any, was compromised in the attack, which was said to have happened in March.
Asked about the article at a regular Foreign Ministry media briefing, a spokesman, Hong Lei, repeated China's longstanding position that it opposes hacking.
5 Burma journalists get 10-years term
RANGOON, Burma -- Four reporters and the chief executive of the magazine they work for were sentenced Thursday to 10 years of hard prison labor for violating Burma's national security by writing and publishing stories about a weapons factory.
The court sentenced the five men for violating the 1923 Burma State Secrets Act pertaining to trespassing in a prohibited area with prejudicial purpose.
The weekly Rangoon-based Unity journal published stories in late January alleging the military had seized more than 3,000 acres of farmland in Burma's central Magwe Region to construct a weapons factory. It reported allegations that the factory would produce chemical weapons, also printing a denial by authorities of the latter allegation.
The authorities defended the arrests as a matter of national security. The magazine has since gone out of business.
-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS
A Section on 07/11/2014