Russian accused of massive data theft extradited to US

Russian accused of massive data theft extradited to US

NEW YORK

A Russian hacker accused of helping pull off the biggest theft yet of consumer bank data in the United States has been extradited to the U.S. to face charges, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Russian national Andrei Tyurin was arrested by Georgian authorities to face charges he helped steal personal data of more than 80 million JP Morgan Chase customers in a massive hacking scheme uncovered by federal prosecutors three years ago, according to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman. Tyurin is alleged to have participated in a global hacking ring that ran illegal Internet casinos and payment processors and targeted the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and brokers such as E-Trade and Scottrade.

South Korea seeks progress on nukes by year’s end

SEOUL, South Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Friday he is pushing for “irrevocable progress” in efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons by the end of this year as he prepares for his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was expecting to get a “positive” letter from Kim after South Korean special envoys traveled to Pyongyang this week to help resolve the nuclear stalemate and pave the way for the Sept. 18-20 Moon-Kim summit.

South Korean officials say the summit in Pyongyang will focus on how to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula – the goal that Kim and Trump agreed to at their own historic face-to-face meeting in Singapore in June. Diplomatic progress since then has been slow.

Pompeo authorizes $1.2B in military assistance to Egypt

WASHINGTON

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has authorized the release of $1.2 billion in U.S. military assistance to Egypt, despite human-rights concerns that have held up previous funding.

The State Department said Friday it is notifying Congress that Pompeo has signed national security waivers allowing the money known as foreign military financing, or FMF, to be spent. Congress has 15 days to weigh in on the waivers, which were signed Aug. 21 but not previously made public. It was not immediately clear why there was a delay in the notification. The money includes $1 billion for the current 2018 budget year and $195 million appropriated for 2017 that would have had to have been returned to the Treasury had it not been spent by Sept. 30.

Japan quake toll up to 20 as rescuers dig through landslides

ATSUMA, Japan

The toll from an earthquake that rocked Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido rose to 20 on Friday, and 19 others remained unaccounted for in one small town after an entire mountainside collapsed on their homes.

The region was slowly restoring transport links and power, with lights back on in about half of the homes on the island of 5.4 million people after a day of region-wide blackouts. Officials said they hoped to have the generating capacity close to normal by the weekend, though full repairs to Hokkaido’s main power plant could take up to a week.

Rescuers were using search dogs, backhoes and shovels as they dug through tons of mud and debris from the landslides triggered by the magnitude-6.7 quake that struck before dawn Thursday.

Associated Press