Part of New Zealand’s budget leaked after treasury systems hacked
New Zealand’s opposition, the National Party, Wednesday released some parts of the country’s annual budget, which was supposed to be unveiled only Thursday, reported Bloomberg.
It was later revealed that New Zealand’s Treasury system faced over 2,000 hacking attempts since Sunday night, to access the secret budgetary documents. Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf immediately asked for a police investigation.
While some of the leaked documents seem to be similar to the country’s budget, the Treasury Secretary has not pinned the hacking blame on the opposition.
Responding to questions by media, the opposition leader Simon Bridges said that it had no involvement in hacking and it was entirely appropriate for them to release parts of the budget before its official release.
Underlying these developments is Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s new “well-being” budget, which goes beyond just economic growth and aims to introduce new metrics focusing on people’s lives.
Fortunately, the government has managed to avoid any volatile stock-market reactions, as none of the market sensitive information such as budget surplus or debt projections was released.
Germany-France divisions emerge over top EC appointment
Following the European Parliament elections, a divide has emerged between France and Germany regarding the appointment of the European Commission (EC) president, reported the BBC. The EC president is based out of Brussels and is arguably the most powerful position in all of the EU.
After a meeting of European Union leaders concluded in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel continued to back the centre-right candidate Manfred Weber, while French President Emanuel Macron didn’t even mention him during his comments to the media.
European Commission is the key executive body of the EU and its job is to draft laws and enforce them. The current president, Jean Claude Junker, is set to finish his term later this year.
New US Supreme Court sheds light on the future of abortion laws
A new ruling by the US Supreme Court has indicated what future might hold for abortion laws in the US. The Supreme Court reviewing the Indiana abortion law upheld the existing law that foetal remains after an abortion or miscarriage would have to be buried or cremated.
On the other hand, it didn’t even review the ruling by a lower court, which invalidated elective abortions based on gender, race, or disability of the foetus.
Abortion-rights activists criticised the first part of the judgement, while they supported the second part. The Supreme Court’s thinking becomes important after President Donald Trump has appointed two new judges – thus, shifting the liberal-conservative composition of the bench. It became all the more important, after the state of Alabama put a controversial blanket ban on abortions.