Nation & World Glance
Expert: Georgia election server showed signs of tampering
BOSTON — A computer security expert says he found that a forensic image of the election server central to a legal battle over the integrity of Georgia elections showed signs that the original server was hacked.
The server was left exposed to the open internet for at least six months, a problem the same expert discovered in August 2016. It was subsequently wiped clean in mid-2017 with no notice, just days after election integrity activists filed a lawsuit seeking an overhaul of what they called the state’s unreliable and negligently run election system.
In late December 2019, the plaintiffs were finally able to obtain a copy of the server’s contents that the FBI made in March 2017 and retained — after the state allegedly dragged its feet in securing the image.
State officials have said they’ve seen no evidence that any election-related data was compromised. But they also long refused to submit the server image for an independent examination.
Logan Lamb, a security expert for the plaintiffs, said in an affidavit filed in Atlanta federal court on Thursday that he found evidence suggesting the server was compromised in December 2014. Lamb said the evidence suggests an attacker exploited a bug that provided full control of the server.
Taliban say they handed cease-fire offer to US peace envoy
ISLAMABAD — The Taliban have given the U.S. envoy their offer for a temporary cease-fire in Afghanistan
that would last between seven and 10 days, Taliban officials familiar with the negotiations said Thursday.
The offer is seen as an opportunity to open a window to an eventual peace deal that would allow the United States to bring home its estimated 13,000 troops and end the 18-year war in Afghanistan, America’s longest conflict.
The cease-fire offer was handed to Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington’s envoy for talks with the insurgents, late Wednesday in Qatar, a Gulf Arab country where the Taliban maintain a political office.
Khalilzad has been pressing for a cease-fire but it wasn’t immediately clear whether the Taliban proposal would be enough to allow for the on-again offagain talks between the Taliban and the U.S. to restart, with the aim of eventually signing a peace deal.
The U.S. State Department declined to comment.
Officials block villagers as quakes shake Philippine volcano
LEMERY, Philippines — A Philippine volcano that erupted last weekend belched smaller plumes of ash but shuddered frequently with earthquakes Thursday, prompting authorities to block access to nearby towns due to fears of a bigger eruption.
A crater lake and nearby river on the Taal volcano dried up in signs of its continued restiveness, and officials have warned people against speculating that the five-day eruption is waning.
“We have a seeming lull, but, again, as we emphasized earlier, there is something different happening beneath the volcano,” Ma. Antonio Bornas of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told reporters, citing continued tremors, steaming and other signs of magma movement.
Renato Solidum, who heads the institute, said it may take up to two weeks for experts to assess whether the volcano’s restiveness has eased. The Taal area has remained just a notch down from the highest level of a five-step alert system the institute uses to warn the public of a volcano’s danger.
Soldiers and police blocked villagers from going back to the island volcano and nearby towns to retrieve belongings, poultry and cattle.
Many houses and farms have been damaged by volcanic ash since the eruption started Sunday, though no deaths or major injuries have been reported after tens of thousands of people evacuated.
Putin fast-tracks effort to extend his rule in Russia
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday fast-tracked work on constitutional changes that could keep him in power well past the end of his term in 2024 while lawmakers quickly sealed his choice for new prime minister.
Speaking to a working group created to draft constitutional changes, Putin cast his proposals as a way to strengthen parliament and to bolster democracy. Kremlin critics described the proposed changes as an attempt by Putin to secure his rule for life.
The Russian leader proposed the sweeping amendments to the country’s constitution in Wednesday’s state of the nation address. Hours later, he fired Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who had the job for eight years, and named tax chief Mikhail Mishustin to succeed him.
The Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, quickly approved Mishustin in a unanimous vote Thursday.
The reshuffle has shaken Russia’s political elites, who were left wildly speculating about Putin’s intentions and future Cabinet appointments.
A constitutional reform announced by Putin indicated he was working to carve out a new governing position for himself after his current six-year term ends in 2024, although it remains unclear what specific path he will take to stay in charge.
The former KGB operative has been in power for more than 20 years, longer than any other Russian or Soviet leader since Josef Stalin, who led from 1924 until his death in 1953. Under the law now in force, Putin must step down when his current term ends.
Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, tweeted that Putin’s proposals reflected the 67-year-old president’s intention to “rule until he dies.”