NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
_1 Hackers busted: Police in Spain have captured a cybercrime gang made up of Ukrainians and Russians that allegedly stole more than $1.24 billion from financial institutions worldwide in a five-year spree, authorities said Monday. The gang’s alleged mastermind, identified as a Ukrainian and named only as “Denis K.,” was arrested in the coastal city of Alicante, 220 miles southeast of Madrid, according to statements issued by Spanish police and European Union law enforcement agency Europol. The gang used malware to target more than 100 financial institutions worldwide, sometimes stealing up to $12.5 million euros in each heist. Almost all of Russia’s banks were targeted, and about 50 of them lost money in the attacks, authorities said. The gang used well-worn techniques such as booby trapped emails to break into banks and compromise the networks controlling ATMs, effectively turning the machines into free cash dispensers.
_2 Government wins OK: Slovakia’s new government has won a confidence vote in parliament amid the political crisis sparked by the slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee. Prime Minister Robert Fico’s three-party coalition stepped down following large street protests sparked by the shooting deaths of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova a month ago. Kuciak was investigating possible widespread government corruption. President Andrej Kiska swore in a new Cabinet in Bratislava on Thursday made up of the same three parties from Fico’s government. In Monday’s vote, 81 lawmakers in the 150-seat legislature voted in favor of the government to rule. In a separate development, a prosecutor said Monday that circumstances in the deaths suggest it was a contract killing and the two were killed on Feb. 21. Their bodies were found four days later.
_3 Corruption charges: Former South African President Jacob Zuma has been summoned to appear in court on April 6 on charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering. South African media say police and a lawyer for Zuma confirm that the summons to a court in the coastal city of Durban was issued on Monday. Earlier this month, prosecutors announced they were reinstating charges that were thrown out nearly a decade ago in a contentious decision that opened the way for Zuma to become president. The charges relate to an arms deal in the 1990s, when he was deputy president.
_4 Ivory trade: Police in Harare, Zimbabwe, are investigating a case of alleged ivory smuggling linked to the wife of former leader Robert Mugabe, a police spokeswoman said Monday. When her husband was president, Grace Mugabe and senior members of her staff allegedly forced national parks and wildlife agency officials to sign export permits for ivory pieces without following procedure. Grace Mugabe’s political ambitions intensified the national discontent that led to a military takeover and her 94-year-old husband’s resignation in November. _5 Official expelled: Police in Pristina, Kosovo, briefly detained and expelled Marko Djuric, a senior Serb official, in a divided northern town as officers also fired tear gas and stun grenades at Serb protesters Monday — an incident that triggered an angry reaction from Serbia and inflamed tensions between the two bitter Balkan foes. The move sparked protests by Kosovo Serbs and the police responded by firing tear gas and stun grenades.