Report on cyber security in the banking sector

Niger is due to hold a run-off presidential election on February 21 after no candidate was granted a majority of the vote in last year's December 27 election. The election is expected to be a historical moment for the West African country, with incumbent president Mahamadou Issoufou planning to voluntarily step down after two five-year terms in office. Transitioning power to a new democratically-elected leader will be a first for Niger. The Sahelian nation has only functioned as a multi-party democracy for a decade. Since gaining independence from France in 1960, it has experienced multiple coups and has never witnessed a peaceful hand-over of power. How Niger handles the electoral process at the polls and in the days following will determine how the country has democratically matured in the last ten years. "February 21 is an opportunity eagerly awaited by the people of Niger to witness a transfer of power from an outgoing president to another," political analyst and … [Read more...] about Niger set for first-ever peaceful transition of power

A poster hangs above the dean's office at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki. Several hundred students have occupied the building on what would otherwise be a pretty empty campus these days, if it weren't for the students and an equal number of police facing off against them. The students are protesting a recent law that would see police stationed on university campuses. The government says the move is necessary to fight crime, but students and professors say essential freedoms are at stake in a country where universities have been an important part of Greek history. Fotini Tsibiridou is a professor at the University of Macedonia, the city's second largest university, and one of more than a thousand academics protesting the new law. "I'm afraid that a militaristic culture will be heading to campus," she said. "This doesn't fit with an environment based on liberal freedoms, open dialogue and critical thinking. When people think about police, they think about oppression and not about … [Read more...] about Police officers at Greek universities: The culture clash continues

EMMA Coronel Aispuro, the wife of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is expected to rat out the Sinaloa cartel. Law enforcement sources claim that Coronel Aispuro is "definitely cooperating" and that she is likely a candidate for the witness protection program. "Emma wants to get far away from the violence," a law enforcement source told the New York Post . "[She] has always wanted to live in the US." Coronel Aispuro, 31, was arrested in the US on Monday and accused of helping to run her husband’s drug-trafficking empire after a “high-ranking associate” of the cartel ratted out its senior members. She is also accused of helping El Chapo, 63, escape from a maximum-security Mexican prison in 2015 and helping to plot another escape before he was extradited to the US in 2017. If she enters witness protection, which ex-DEA officer Mike Vigil told The Daily Mail is likely, she would vanish with her twin 9-year-old daughters. Vigil said it's … [Read more...] about El Chapo’s wife Emma Coronel Aispuro ‘is preparing to rat out cartel’ and will ‘get new life under witness protection’

SELF-assessment tax payers have until midnight tomorrow, February 28, to file their return and avoid a £100 fine. The deadline to submit tax returns for 2019/20 was January 31 but HMRC waived the late filing fine as long as they are submitted by February 28. Delaying the fines was aimed at helping those who were struggling to meet the deadline due to the impact of the third national lockdown. But tax payers will still have been charged interest worth 2.6% of the outstanding amount every day until the payment is made from February 1. According to HMRC, nearly 2million people missed the end of January deadline this year. Tax returns need to be filed online as those returned by post or via the bank will still incur the fee. How do I fill out the tax return? Here's what you need to know: BEFORE you can complete and submit your tax return, you'll need to have a unique taxpayer reference (UTR) and activation code from HMRC. This can take a while to … [Read more...] about Tomorrow is the last day for self-assessment tax payers to avoid £100 late fine

Rishi Sunak is to resist a massive tax claw back of the £400billion he’s spent on Covid in Wednesday’s Budget despite UK debt hitting £2.1trillion. In an exclusive interview shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds tells him: “Now is not the time.” Instead the Chancellor will give 700,000 shops, pubs, clubs, hotels, restaurants, gyms and hair salons up to £18,000 each to kickstart businesses after the Covid shutdown. Mr Sunak said of his £5billion Restart Grant scheme: “The extra cash will ensure our high street can open their doors with optimism.” Another £425million will go to local authorities to help businesses not covered by the scheme. The Chancellor will also boost the housing market with 95 per cent mortgages from April and a further three month Stamp Duty holiday. It means cash-strapped buyers will only need five per cent deposits on homes up to £600,000 with the Treasury guaranteeing the rest. Only eight low deposit mortgages are now on offer nationwide because of … [Read more...] about Budget at a glance – £18k for pubs, help to buy homes and no rise on booze