IMF denies loan requested by Maduro to face the Coronavirus
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday dismissed a request for help from Venezuela of $ 5 billion to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic in the country. Remembering that the territory is going through an acute economic crisis amid questions about the legitimacy of the government.
The Washington-based multilateral institution rejected
Nicolás Maduro’s request for financing, known earlier on Tuesday,
evoking the controversy over the authority of the president.
“Unfortunately, the Fund is not in a position to consider this request.“A spokesperson for the agency said in a statement sent to AFP.
“The IMF’s commitment to member countries is based on official government recognition by the international community, as reflected in the IMF’s membership. There is no clarity about recognition at this timeHe added.
The legitimacy of the Venezuelan Executive is in question
since January 23, 2019, when the head of the Legislative controlled by the
opposition, Juan Guaidó, declared himself interim president considering
Maduro’s reelection in 2018 is fraudulent.
Maduro, who assumed a second term until 2025, continues to hold power in Venezuela. But Guaidó has been recognized by more than 50 countries, including the United States, the IMF’s main partner.
Chinese journalist shares interview within the Ethereum network on COVID-19
Amid censorship in China of all Coronavirus-related content, Sarah Zheng, a journalist with the South China Morning Post, claimed to have successfully published an interview with a doctor about Coronavirus within the Ethereum network.
According to a tweet posted by Zheng, the words of Dr. Ai from Wuhan (the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak) were published on the Internet, thanks to the use of the Ethereum blockchain to store their content online.
The interview, as reported by The Straits Times, was also encrypted with QR codes and deliberate typographical errors, leaving supports in PDF files and Morse code, despite censorship from the Communist Party of China.
The article, originally published in the Renwu media, was banned from the local WeChat messaging platform, making it impossible for users to share it.
Scammers have stolen $ 2 million in cryptocurrencies by taking advantage of COVID-19
Scammers who claim to sell pandemic essentials such as face masks, hand sanitizer, and medications have stolen at least $ 2 million in cryptocurrencies from panicked consumers, says blockchain security firm AnChain.AI.
The tour comes from low-budget malicious actors using a classic trick: money paid for never-delivered goods.
Taking advantage amid a public health crisis, in which hospital systems are being crushed by COVID-19 patients and governments are concerned if their emergency stocks can meet unprecedented demand, scammers are looking at consumers as a blessing.
“Criminals are exploiting the fear and uncertainty created by COVID-19 to take advantage of innocent citizens who only seek to protect their health and that of their loved ones“Said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock in a recent consumer fraud advisory of Coronavirus Europe.
Some of these scams are being facilitated through crypto, said Steven Yang, chief marketing officer for AnChain.AI. His firm claims to have tracked millions of dollars in crypto funds swindled in the first two weeks of an investigative partnership with an unidentified “affiliated law enforcement agency” in Asia.
They hacked the Official Gazette with false resolutions about Coronavirus
Amid the global emergency caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the Argentine government confirmed that they suffered a hack on the website of their official newsletter based on Blockchain technology, where false statements about the coronavirus were spread.
According to officials cited by El Cronista, there were direct piracy attempts that could not enter the bulletin system. Still, the hackers found a vulnerability that allowed false news to spread through issue 34,239 of the newsletter.
This information mentioned some guidelines that supposedly
were adopted for state employees amidst the emergency of
coronavirus in the country.
Due to the security breach and subsequent high traffic, the Official Gazette website went offline for several hours.
