Portal:Current events/2019 May 14

May 14, 2019 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Crisis (2011–present), Gulf of Oman incident
- Two Saudi Aramco oil pumping stations are attacked in an apparent drone strike according to Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry. The stations are linked to a pipeline transporting oil from the eastern fields to the western coast port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. (Associated Press) (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

A 7.5 MMS quake rattles New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Police Sergeant Frank Kilaur says that the quake was "very, very violent" but no immediate reports of major damages or casualties have been reported. A tsunami alert is issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The tsunami threat has now largely passed. (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center) (Radio New Zealand) (Daily Express)

International relations

Law and crime

Former New York congressman Anthony Weiner is released from a halfway house in the Bronx, completing his 21-month federal prison sentence for illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl. (Los Angeles Times) (New York Post)
French anaesthesiologist Frédéric Péchier, previously investigated in the poisoning of seven patients at private clinics in Besançon, France, is being held over suspicions that he poisoned a further 17 - 50. Mr. Péchier has denied all charges, and is scheduled for a hearing later this week. (CNA) (BBC News) (The Daily Telegraph)
Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces that Russian hackers accessed voter databases in two Florida counties prior to the 2016 presidential election. No data or vote tallies were affected. (NPR)

2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis

Venezuelan security forces surround the Palacio Federal Legislativo in Caracas, preventing opposition National Assembly lawmakers from entering the building to discuss a response to the recent arrest of National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano. (Euronews)

Science and technology

Microarchitectural Data Sampling
- Security researchers from Graz University of Technology and Catholic University of Leuven discover a major new class of Microarchitectural Data Sampling vulnerabilities called ZombieLoad in Intel processors, which, if exploited, can be used to steal sensitive information directly from the processor. Almost every computer with an Intel chip dating back to 2011 is affected by these vulnerabilities. (ZombieLoad disclosure website) (TechCrunch)
- Linux kernel developers, Apple, Google and Microsoft release emergency patches for their products to mitigate ZombieLoad. (TechCrunch) (Phoronix)
Mass surveillance industry
- WhatsApp confirms a major security bug in the app let hackers remotely install surveillance software on its users' devices. All 1.5 billion users are urged to update WhatsApp as a precaution. The technology used in the cyberattack appears to have originated from NSO Group, a technology company operating out of Israel. (BBC News) (The Independent)