David Cameron must seize the “perfect opportunity” of the eurozone crisis to negotiate a “radically different” British relationship with the European Union, Conservative MPs declare today. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Andrea Leadsom, the group’s chair, says that Mr Cameron will never have a better opportunity to win back powers from Brussels.

“Out of the eurozone misery will come the perfect opportunity for the 'fresh start' we crave in the EU - the UK has never had a better chance to negotiate a new and improved deal for our country,” she writes. “Reform shouldn't be purely about economic matters – everything should be on the table.” Mr Cameron will today meet Mrs Merkel in a fresh attempt to persuade the German Chancellor to use Germany’s economic strength to support southern members of the eurozone like Greece and Spain.

Mrs Merkel has suggested that Germany will only compromise if other eurozone MEMBERS AGREE TO MOVE TOWARDS A FULL-BLOWN POLITICAL UNION. Moves towards that union will be debated at an EU summit in Brussels later this month, and are likely to mean changes in the EU’s treaties. In the negotiations on a new treaty, Mr Cameron will be under intense pressure to fight for a new deal for Britain.

Doomsday scenarios are a common occurrence in 2012, but coming from a steely-eyed realist like Eugene Kaspersky, his calls for a global effort to halt emerging cyber threats should raise alarm bells. A global Internet blackout and crippling attacks against key infrastructure are among two possible cyber-pandemics he outlined.

"It's not cyber war, it's cyber terrorism, and I'm afraid the game is just beginning. Very soon, many countries around the world will know it beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Kaspersky told reporters at a Tel Aviv University cyber security conference. “I'm afraid it will be the end of the world as we know it," he warned. "I'm scared, believe me." His stark warning came soon after researchers at Kaspersky Lab unearthed Flame, possibly the most complex cyber threat ever. While the espionage toolkit infected systems across the Middle East, Iran appears to have been its primary target.

Flame seems to be a continuation of Stuxnet, the revolutionary infrastructure-sabotaging computer worm that made mincemeat of Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz in 2009-2010. As Flame is capable of recording audio via a microphone, taking screen shots, turning Bluetooth-enabled computers into beacons to download names and phone numbers from other Bluetooth enabled devices, Kaspersky is certain that a nation-station is behind the cyber espionage virus.

A team has been able to predict the whole genetic code of a foetus by taking a blood sample from a woman who was 18 weeks pregnant, and a swab of saliva from the father. They believe that, in time, the test will become widely available, enabling doctors to screen unborn babies for some 3,500 genetic disorders. At the moment the only genetic disorder routinely tested for on the NHS is Down’s syndrome.

This is a large-scale genetic defect caused by having an extra copy of a bundle of DNA, called a chromosome. Other such faults are sometimes tested for, but usually only when there is a risk of inheriting them from a parent. By contrast, the scientists say their new test would identify far more conditions, caused by genetic errors. However, they warned it raised “many ethical questions” because the results could be used as a basis for abortion.

These concerns were last night amplified by pro-life campaigners, who said widespread use of such a test would “inevitably lead to more abortions”. The American scientists were able to map the baby’s genetic code principally from tiny traces of free-floating DNA, which makes its way into the mother’s blood. Blood sample DNA from the mother was also studied as well as DNA extracted from the father's saliva. Fitting pieces of the genetic jigsaw together, scientists in the US were able to reconstruct the entire genetic code of an unborn baby boy.

Josephine Quintavalle, founder of the Pro-Life Alliance, said, “One always hopes, vainly, that in utero testing will be for the benefit of the unborn child. But, whilst this new test may not itself be invasive, given our past track record, it is difficult to imagine that this new test will not lead to more abortions.”

The reason? As with many other cases, such as the ones that led certain farming regions to be known as the ‘suicide belt’, Monsanto has been reportedly taxing the farmers to financial shambles with ridiculous royalty charges. The farmers state that Monsanto has been unfairly gathering exorbitant profits each year on a global scale from “renewal” seed harvests, which are crops planted using seed from the previous year’s harvest.

The practice of using renewal seeds dates back to ancient times, but Monsanto seeks to collect massive royalties and put an end to the practice. Why? Because Monsanto owns the very patent to the genetically modified seed, and is charging the farmers not only for the original crops, but the later harvests as well. Eventually, the royalties compound and many farmers begin to struggle with even keeping their farm afloat. It is for this reason that India slammed Monsanto with groundbreaking ‘biopiracy’ charges in an effort to stop Monsanto from ‘patenting life’.

Jane Berwanger, a lawyer for the farmers who went on record regarding the case, told the Associated Press:“Monsanto gets paid when it sell the seeds. The law gives producers the right to multiply the seeds they buy and nowhere in the world is there a requirement to pay (again). Producers are in effect paying a private tax on production.”

The findings echo what thousands of farmers have experienced in particularly poor nations, where many of the farmers are unable to stand up to Monsanto. Back in 2008, the Daily Mail covered what is known as the ‘GM Genocide’, which is responsible for taking the lives of over 17,683 Indian farmers in 2009 alone. After finding that their harvests were failing and they began to enter economic turmoil, the farmers began ending their own lives — oftentimes drinking the very same insecticide that Monsanto provided them with.

As the information continues to surface on Monsanto’s crimes, further lawsuits will begin to take effect. After it was ousted in January that Monsanto was running illegal ‘slave-like’ working rings, more individuals became aware of just how seriously Monsanto seems to disregard their workers — so why would they care for the health of their consumers? In April, another group of farmers sued Monsanto for ‘knowingly poisoning’ workers and causing ‘devastating birth defects’.

Will endless lawsuits from millions of seriously affected individuals be the end of Monsanto?

Turns out, it looks like this has now been done. And not by just any malware, but by Flame. The full mechanism isn't yet completely analyzed, but Flame has a module which appears to attempt to do a man-in-the-middle attack on the Microsoft Update or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) system. If successful, the attack drops a file called WUSETUPV.EXE to the target computer. This file is signed by Microsoft with a certificate that is chained up to Microsoft root.

Except it isn't signed really by Microsoft. The full details on how this functionality works is still under analysis. In any case, it has not been used in large-scale attacks. Most likely this function was used to spread further inside an organization or to drop the initial infection on a specific system. Microsoft has announced an urgent security fix to revoke three certificates used in the attack.

The fix is available via — you guessed it — Microsoft Update. Having a Microsoft code signing certificate is the Holy Grail of malware writers. This has now happened. I guess the good news is that this wasn't done by cyber criminals interested in financial benefit. They could have infected millions of computers. Instead, this technique has been used in targeted attacks, most likely launched by a Western intelligence agency.

Full article; http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00002377.html

The revolution in Libya played a major role in allowing the pests to breed, it said. “The fall of Gaddafi was an enormous factor, to be honest,” said Keith Cressman, FAO senior locust forecasting officer. “It depleted the Libyans’ capacity to monitor and respond as they normally would.” Insecurity along the Libya-Algeria border – a fallout from the uprising – meant that teams are still unable to properly spray the affected areas.

Desert locusts have the capacity to destroy vast areas of croplands. During a plague, a swarm can stretch for several hundred square kilometres comprising billions of locusts, each capable of eating its own weight in food a day. A 2003-05 plague affected farmers in two dozen countries, mainly in Africa, and cost more than $500 million to bring under control. The current infestation is nowhere near that level, but the FAO fears that the insecurity in Mali will hamper the response efforts there.

Desert locust swarms formed in Libya and Algeria in mid-May, after good rains and the resultant growth of vegetation on which they feed. The first swarms have already been sighted in northern Niger, which is currently experiencing a food crisis.

Putin referred to recent Sino-Russian joint navy exercises in the Yellow Sea as an example of military cooperation which, he said, would go on. "We will continue cooperation also between our military," he told Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where he is attending a security summit and meeting his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao.

"Recently joint navy exercises were held in the Yellow Sea, and they were the first of such exercises. We have agreed with Chairman Hu that we will continue such cooperation," Putin said. Chinese and Russian naval forces held six days of exercises in the Yellow Sea off China's east coast in April, with drills including anti-submarine operations and the rescue of hijacked vessels.

China deployed 16 ships and two submarines, while Russia sent four warships from its Pacific fleet, according to Chinese state media. "We assign an important role to the joint initiative on strengthening security in the Asia-Pacific region and in this context we will maintain the relationship between our militaries," Putin said in an earlier statement.

"We favor the formation of an open and equal-minded security and cooperation architecture in the region, based on the principles of international law," he said. China and Russia have forged close economic and diplomatic ties following years of hostility and suspicion during a large part of the Cold War, and both have looked askance at U.S. military involvement in what they view as their backyards.

The prime ministers of the two neighboring countries held a meeting in Russia’s Northern capital St Petersburg on Tuesday. Describing the current state of bilateral relations between Russia and China, Putin pointed out that they “do not depend on external conjuncture and develop dynamically in all areas, including politics, economy, science, education and culture”.

The Russian head of the government also expressed confidence that “today’s talks and joint work will give another powerful impetus to the development of interstate relations," cited Itar-Tass. The Chinese premier arrived in St Petersburg on the eve of the ceremony closing the Year of China in Russia and the Year of Russia in China.

Wen Jiabao noted that over the past year, significant progress has been reached in relations between the two countries. Thanks to regularly held summits, he noted, Moscow and Beijing can coordinate their policies. "China and Russia support each other in different issues, including those that concern sovereignty, and thus they ensure security in the region and in the world," he added. The Chinese premier also urged the necessity to increase efforts in strengthening stability in the border regions.

"China and Russia are both committed to restructuring their economy and addressing the risks and adverse influence in the global economy," Hu said during his talks with the visiting Russian president. The Chinese leader suggested that China and Russia expand their cooperation in investment, high technology, energy, large-scale projects and trans-border infrastructure as well as sub-national cooperation.

The two countries are also expected to sign a host of agreements and look to firm up their energy cooperation. Last year Russia supplied 15 million metric tons of crude oil through exclusive pipelines, and the two countries are in talks to reach a similar agreement to supply Russian natural gas to energy-hungry China. The Russian delegation included the heads of Russia’s energy giants Gazprom, Rosneft and Transneft, and other major Russian business people.

While energy is high on the agenda, a long-anticipated gas deal that could see Russia supply 70 billion cubic meters of gas a year directly to China, was not signed due to pricing disagreements, Gazprom said on Monday. Beijing is also looking to clinch agreements on high-end military technology which Moscow which have withheld so far, according to analysts. Russia and China have also signed a cooperation agreement between the Skolkovo Foundation and the Beijing-based Z-Park. The agreement marks a transition to full-scale collaboration in high technologies between the two countries.

"Recently joint navy exercises were held in the Yellow Sea, and they were the first of such exercises. We have agreed with Chairman Hu that we will continue such cooperation," Putin said following a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing. The Russian leader said that security in the Asia-Pacific region was a top priority for both countries and they will work together to further develop ties.

"We favor the formation of an open and equal-minded security and cooperation architecture in the region, based on the principles of international law," Putin said. Russian and Chinese naval forces recently held six days of military drills in the Yellow Sea. The first drills of their kind, they included anti-submarine exercises and hijacked vessel rescue operations. Russia deployed four warships from its Pacific fleet for the drills with 16 Chinese ships and two submarines.

The strengthening of Sino-Russian relations also serves to counterbalance US influence in Asia.

The share prices of the big American banks, which are mostly trading below book value, tell the tale. And bank earnings for the second quarter, most of them to be reported next month, are expected to underscore the gloom. Many on Wall Street say pink slips are likely to follow.

"If things don't get better, then I would expect staffing levels to come down for sure," said Alan Johnson, chief executive of Wall Street compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates, who estimated that banks may cut another 5 percent of their workforce by year's end.

"When banks do that reassessment, it will go beyond just the short-term economics. They'll be asking, 'Where is the global economy going? And is there going to be a recovery, or more of a struggle than a recovery?'" As Europe lurches from one crisis to the next - on Tuesday, Spain said that it is shut out of credit markets - and economic growth slows in the United States, the banking business has become tough. Major developing economies such as Brazil, China and India have also been slowing, providing little relief.

Trading volumes are low and merger activity has fallen, while low interest rates are translating into lower profits on lending.

But if nobody does, the consequences will be terrible. The brinkmanship between the governments is over how much help the northerners, led by Germany, should give the southerners. The core is effectively threatening the peripheral countries with bankruptcy if they don’t cut their deficits and reform their economies.

The periphery is saying that, if they collapse, so will the entire single currency which has been so beneficial to Germany’s economy. The game is being played out transparently in Greece and covertly in Spain. But even if the core eventually decides to help the periphery, there is a struggle of whether the aid should come from governments or from the ECB. Politicians would like the central bank to do the heavy lifting to avoid having to confront taxpayers with an explicit bill. But the ECB doesn’t think it is its job to help governments, arguing that such support violates the Maastricht Treaty.

This standoff is making it hard to devise a Plan B to cope with what is now a clear and present danger: an explosion in the euro zone. Of course, all hell might not break loose. And, if it does, some clever compromises might be found. But multi-dimensional chicken certainly heightens the risks.

Later today, the company will announce a new warning system that will alert Gmail users when Google believes their accounts are being targeted by state-sponsored attacks. The new system isn't a response to a specific event or directed at any one country, but is part and parcel of Google's recent set of policy changes meant to allow users to protect themselves from malicious activity brought on by state actors. It also has the effect of making it more difficult for authoritarian regimes to target political and social activists by hacking their private communications.

"We are constantly on the lookout for malicious activity on our systems, in particular attempts by third parties to log into users' accounts unauthorized. When we have specific intelligence - either directly from users or from our own monitoring efforts - we show clear warning signs and put in place extra roadblocks to thwart these bad actors," reads a note to users by Eric Grosse, Google's vice president for security engineering, to be posted later today on Google's Online Security blog, obtained in advance by The Cable. "Today, we're taking that a step further for a subset of our users, who we believe may be the target of state-sponsored attacks."

When Google's internal systems monitoring suspicious internet activity, such as suspicious log-in attempts, conclude that such activities include the involvement of states or state-backed initiatives, the user will now receive a specialized, more prominent warning. The warning doesn't necessarily mean that a user's account has been hijacked, but is meant to alert users that Google believes a state sponsored attack has been attempted so they can increase their security vigilance.

Google wants to be clear they are not singling out any one government for criticism and that the effort is about giving users transparency about what is going on with their accounts, not about highlighting the malicious actions of foreign states.

Closeted gay people historically used bright colors to signal their homosexuality to each other. Oscar Wilde was famous for wearing a trademark green carnation on his lapel, and the flower is thought to have been used by him and other Londoners and Parisians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to quietly express their orientation. Novelist Robert Hitchens described the phenomenon in 1894’s The Green Carnation, and the book in part spurred Wilde’s trial for sodomy.

Yellow was used for the same purpose in Australia. According to the book Sunshine and Rainbows, a study of gay culture in Queensland, “If you wanted to attract the attention of the same sex, displaying a pair of bright yellow socks often did the trick.” During the Holocaust, gay men were forced to wear pink triangles, and that symbol has since been reclaimed by the gay community. Purple also became a popular symbol of gay pride in the 1960s and 1970s, when San Franciscans tried to make a symbol of “the Purple Hand” and gay Bostonians put up posters emblazoned with a purple rhino.

The rainbow, however, wasn’t popularized as an official symbol of the gay community until the 1970s. In 1978, San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed what is believed to be the first modern gay pride flag by combining eight stripes, each a different color with its own symbolism: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for the human spirit.

When he wanted to manufacture the flag for sale, he found that hot pink wasn’t as available as the other colors, and so the flag dropped to seven colors. Baker later dropped indigo to maintain an even number, and the flag arrived at its contemporary six colors. When San Francisco gay activists marched to protest the 1978 assassination of city supervisor Harvey Milk, they marched with Baker’s flags.

Of course, rainbows and rainbow flags carry significance outside the LGBT community. The rainbow is an important symbol in the Bible, representing a promise of peace from God to Noah, and some Christian groups have used that symbol in their iconography.

Egypt's ruling military council has issued the parliament a 48-hour ultimatum to agree to a constitutional assembly, or contend with one decided on by the generals. Protesters are rallying for the death penalty for former President Hosni Mubarak, who has been sentenced to life in prison. The demonstrators are also indignant because six former Mubarak-era senior security officials have been acquitted of involvement in the deaths of hundreds of protesters during Egypt’s uprising last year.

Many protesters are expressing frustration that the choice of presidential candidates they have been given is no choice at all, says RT's Tom Barton who was in Tahrir Square late Tuesday. He says Egypt's Islamists are trying to use the protests for their own benefit ahead of the looming second round of the presidential vote, and seem eager to capitalize on the unrest. Islamist candidate Mohamed Morsi is from the Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi has already promised that if he wins he will drag Mubarak back to trial and try to get a death sentence.

His opponents say the Muslim Brotherhood is a religiously conservative group trying to highjack the revolution. Protesters seem just as angry with presidential candidate Ahmad Shafiq because of his past: Shafiq was Prime Minister during Mubarak’s rule. The demonstrators say this candidate should be barred from the election because of his close links with the former regime. So for Shafiq the task is to distance himself from Mubarak and the ruling military council as much as possible.

Huge demos are to be seen not just in Cairo, where there could be as many as a million protesters involved, but throughout the country. Many Egyptians say the revolution is actually going to end with very little change for them. Dr Conn Hallinan, contributing editor at Foreign Policy in Focus, says it's likely that the military is working to extend the Egyptian impasse, and therefore extend its rule over the country. “The military has set things up in such a way that they will continue as a major force,” he told RT.