Ukrainian Intelligence Officer on Warship Captured by Russia; Uber Fined for Data Leak

Ukrainian intelligence on board warship captured by Russia

Ukrainian Navy ship captured by Russia. Photo: Sputnik

The head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Vasily Gritsak confirmed the presence of two counterintelligence officers on the Navy ship that was captured by Russia on November 25 during the clash in the Kerch Strait. TASS (Russia) on November 27 quoted Mr. Gritsak as saying: "The Ukrainian intelligence service officers performed counterintelligence tasks in support of the Navy in accordance with Article 12 of the national law."

Russia declared the incident a provocation by Ukraine. Meanwhile, on November 26, the Ukrainian parliament passed martial law for 30 days in the country from November 28. Both the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have called on Russia and Ukraine to reduce tensions.

US bombers suddenly "absent" over the Korean Peninsula

Two B-1B bombers escorted by F-35B stealth fighters fly over the Korean Peninsula. Photo: AFP

General Charles Brown, head of the US Pacific Air Forces, announced that US bombers would no longer fly over the Korean Peninsula following a request from South Korea. According to AFP, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, General Charles said the move created space for ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve North Korea's nuclear activities.

Japan strengthens control over alcohol use by pilots

Japan Airlines passenger plane at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Source: AFP/TTXVN

Japan's Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure began random inspections of Japan Airlines (JAL) offices on November 27 after a pilot of the airline was arrested in the UK for exceeding the alcohol limit before a flight last month.

Kyodo News Agency reported that Japan's Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure will conduct a three-day inspection of JAL's Tokyo headquarters and other offices nationwide, analyzing the information collected to check compliance with new regulations on pilots' alcohol use that the airline has introduced to prevent similar cases from recurring.

Argentina considers prosecuting Saudi Arabian Crown Prince

President Donald Trump's close aide is leaving the White House

According to several sources in the US government, Mr. Jordan Karem, who joined Mr. Trump's presidential campaign team in July 2015 and has served in the Trump administration since day one, has informed the President of his plans to resign. Currently, Mr. Karem has not yet made a statement about the reason for his resignation.

In a statement confirming Karem’s resignation, President Donald Trump said: “Jordan Karem is a wonderful person who I have gotten to know over the past several years. He has worked with me from the very beginning and I appreciate his loyalty and commitment to the Administration. He has done an outstanding job and worked well with me and the rest of the Administration. I am confident he will do great work in the future.”

Uber fined over 1 million euros for 2016 personal information leak

The US-based Uber Group has been fined more than 1 million euros by the British and Dutch authorities for a data breach in 2016. Accordingly, on November 27, the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's data protection authority, decided to fine Uber 385,000 pounds (equivalent to more than 434,000 euros). Meanwhile, the Netherlands fined Uber 600,000 euros.

Uber’s 2016 data breach, which included names, phone numbers, driver’s licenses and email addresses, affected about 57 million people worldwide. Uber said in late September it would pay $148 million (€131 million) to settle with 50 US states over allegations it hid information about the breach.