The potentially serious issue was found by researchers at TrustWave. The company discovered that "numerous" devices by Chinese brand DblTek contain a hidden and undocumented root shell that can be remotely accessed.

The shell allows attackers to login to the device with full system privileges, effectively giving them unhindered access to the product and its data. This could be exploited to monitor network connections made by the devices, force the installation of a malicious firmware update or log legitimate user activity.

With Internet of Things devices now regularly being used to mount sophisticated cyberattacks, backdoors in products have serious implications for their users and the web. DblTek makes devices for small to medium-size businesses that bridge mobile networks and Internet calling systems, putting a wide audience at risk.

"Ever since the United States won its independence, it has been a basic principle of our country that American citizens are subject only to laws and regulations made by the US government — not rulings made by foreign governments or international bodies," the report reads. "Accordingly, the Trump administration will aggressively defend American sovereignty over matters of trade policy."

Media statements note that this is a dramatic departure from previous US trade policies, including that of former President Barack Obama, who preferred to emphasize international trade rules and the authority of the WTO. Experts say that if the US stops complying with WTO rules and imposes punitive tariffs, other countries will likely do the same, which will mark the end of the WTO.

Nine of Germany’s 10 top export categories, such as machinery and electronic equipment, are the same as the US top-ten exports, says Caroline Freund at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

The weak euro — which has lost around a quarter of its value against the dollar over the last three years — gives German companies an extra edge in international markets. Germany’s surpluses have drawn fire from the new US administration, and could figure large when Group of 20 finance ministers gather in Baden-Baden on March 17.

Brussels chiefs are hoping the Pontiff can provide them with the “leadership” they are lacking to help solve the debilitating crises tearing the bloc apart. The 28 heads of government will meet with Pope Francis on March 24, the day before they all gather in the Italian capital to celebrate the 60th birthday of the EU and launch its “rebirth”.

One pro-EU think-tank official said that, with Barack Obama gone from the White House, the head of the Catholic Church was the “only moral authority” European politicians had left to follow. The news that the EU’s most powerful men and women are seeking divine intervention from the Pope may raise eyebrows amongst critics who feel they have no answers to the bloc’s growing problems.

Later today Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker is set to unveil an historic white paper laying out five “pathways to unity” for the future of the project in a desperate attempt to turn its fortunes around. And now diplomats have told EurActiv that EU leaders will discuss the plans with Pope Francis in Rome ahead of holding their own heated debate on which “pathway” to choose.

Earlier this week Joseph Muscat, the prime minister of Malta, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, raised the prospect of consulting the Pope on which path to follow. He told delegates at a conference in Valetta that the Pontiff could “provide leadership that politicians miss” as the bloc grapples with crises as varied as migration, terrorism, economic instability and Brexit. He added: “I do think he [Pope Francis] is the ultimate world leader that within the circumstances has the skills and the vision to say things that transcend the obvious and banalities we all say in politics.”

The Pontiff has previously made what have been interpreted by many as pro-EU remarks in speeches, and even addressed MEPs in the parliament in an historic speech in 2014. Then he called Brussels “somewhat elderly and haggard” and said it needed new energy and impetus if it was to re-engage with voters and increase its flagging popularity. He said: “The great ideas which once inspired Europe seem to have lost their attraction, only to be replaced by the bureaucratic technicalities of its institutions.”

One of the scenarios corresponds to that of the "multi-speed EU," which Chancellor Angela Merkel had recently called for. Juncker also now favors this demand. This demand means that certain groups of countries forge ahead with intensive cooperation in particular fields of politics leaving others two or three steps behind. This scenario permits the creation of multinational armed forces in Europe, in spite of persistent resistance from several EU member states.

This is why Berlin favors it as a solution. Another of Juncker's scenarios suggests that the EU reduce its number of key policy fields, to include warding off refugees, foreign and military policy. With elements of this scenario, Berlin could avoid paying billions to shoulder the consequences of the Brexit - at the expense of poorer EU members.

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, United Nations official Christiana Figueres admitted that the global warming conspiracy set by the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, of which she is the executive secretary, has the ultimate goal of dismantling capitalism and replacing it with an as yet unnamed model.

“This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time, to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the Industrial Revolution.”

Given that capitalism is the only economic model that has worked in the last 150 years, the admission that the United Nations is attempting to “intentionally change the economic model” is startling. The question is also raised: what economic model does the United Nations intend to install in place of free-market capitalism?

The admission by Figueres adds weight to President Trump’s long-standing claims that man-made global warming is a hoax perpetuated by the elite to make money and damage the US economy. President Trump says America isn’t going to stand for it anymore.

Many parents have been startled and intrigued by the way these disembodied, know-it-all voices — Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, Microsoft’s Cortana — are impacting their kids’ behavior, making them more curious but also, at times, far less polite. In just two years, the promise of the technology has already exceeded the marketing come-ons. The disabled are using voice assistants to control their homes, order groceries and listen to books. Caregivers to the elderly say the devices help with dementia, reminding users what day it is or when to take medicine.

For children, the potential for transformative interactions are just as dramatic — at home and in classrooms. But psychologists, technologists and linguists are only beginning to ponder the possible perils of surrounding kids with artificial intelligence, particularly as they traverse important stages of social and language development.

“How they react and treat this nonhuman entity is, to me, the biggest question,” said Sandra Calvert, a Georgetown University psychologist and director of the Children’s Digital Media Center. “And how does that subsequently affect family dynamics and social interactions with other people?” With an estimated 25 million voice assistants expected to sell this year at $40 to $180 — up from 1.7 million in 2015 — there are even ramifications for the diaper crowd.

Toy giant Mattel recently announced the birth of Aristotle, a home baby monitor launching this summer that “comforts, teaches and entertains” using AI from Microsoft. As children get older, they can ask or answer questions. The company says, “Aristotle was specifically designed to grow up with a child.”

Jones said that when Trump honored the widow of slain Navy Seal Ryan Owens that it “was one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics”, and Jones believes that Trump “became President of the United States in that moment”. 

But Trump’s speech is not just being praised for that one moment.  He detailed many of the most important problems that our nation is facing, and he explained his prescription for addressing those problems. The following are 11 quotes from Trump’s speech to Congress that show that the US economy is in a state of collapse…

#1 “Ninety-four million Americans are out of the labor force”

#2 “Over 43 million people are now living in poverty”

#3 “Over 43 million Americans are on food stamps”

#4 “More than one in five people in their prime working years are not working”

#5 “We have the worst financial recovery in 65 years”

#6 “In the last eight years, the past administration has put on more new debt than nearly all of the other Presidents combined”

#7 “We’ve lost more than one-fourth of our manufacturing jobs since NAFTA was approved”

#8 “We’ve lost 60,000 factories since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001″

#9 “Our trade deficit in goods with the world last year was nearly 800 billion dollars”

#10 “Obamacare premiums nationwide have increased by double and triple digits. As an example, Arizona went up 116 percent last year alone.”

#11  “We’ve spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas, while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled”

All of these quotes come from the transcript of the speech that was posted on the official White House website. Trump’s speech on Tuesday night was very optimistic, and he seemed quite confident that every issue that we are facing as a nation can be fixed…

I hope that Trump is right, but I also know that the federal government is already 20 trillion dollars in debt, US consumers are already more than 12 trillion dollars in debt, and corporate debt has approximately doubled since the last financial crisis. You can’t squeeze blood out of an apple, and you can’t get out of a debt bubble by going into a lot more debt.