Computer of Australian Prime Minister Hacked
The parliamentary computer of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is believed to have been hacked. The computers of at least two other senior ministers have also been victims in a series of cyber attacks.
The Australian government was alerted to the breach in security by a tip from U.S. intelligence services. The Australian Parliament House's email network was targeted, as it is the least secure network used by parliament members. Australian authorities have not commented on the reports of cyber-warfare.
Several thousand emails may have been accessed during the hacking. Reports have suggested that the hackers were looking for information regarding Australia's profitable mining industry.
Unnamed sources said that Chinese intelligence agencies may have been behind the computer hacking. The U.S. has recently warned countries about China's extensive cyber-warfare capabilities.
U.S. Supreme Court Reviewing Wal-Mart Sexism Claims
A group of women are filing a gender-discrimination lawsuit against the world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart. The U.S. Supreme Court is now hearing evidence on whether the lawsuit should go forward.
The group of women filing the lawsuit claim that female employees have been held back from promotions and wage increases. Christine Kwapnowski, one of the six women named as plaintiffs in the case, claims that when she asked her manager about a promotion she was told to ‘doll up.'
The women are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to make the case a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart. This means that more than a million women would be represented in the lawsuit and may be entitled to lost pay and damages. This would make it the largest sex-discrimination case in American history.
Wal-Mart has denied all allegations of discriminating based on gender. The company has previously won awards for promoting a women-friendly workplace. It also points out that if the case were taken as a class-action lawsuit, many women who do not have any grievances would be misrepresented.
A final decision on how the lawsuit will proceed will be made by June.
Facebook Suit to Stay in Buffalo Federal Court
A lawsuit filed against Facebook co-founder Mark E. Zuckerberg by an Allegany County businessman will remain in Buffalo's federal court despite attempts to move it to Allegany County Court. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara ruled that the case will remain a federal matter, as the two parties live in different states.
The businessman, Paul Ceglia, claims to have a written contract from 2003 that would entitle him to own 84 percent of Facebook. Ceglia claims that he gave Zuckerberg $1,000 to help start the business. The social networking site now has more than 500 million members and is worth $50 billion. Ceglia's team of attorneys insist that its client has a legitimate case against Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg's attorneys have stated that Ceglia's claims are a complete scam. Ceglia was charged with a felony in Texas 16 years after he was caught with possession of psychedelic mushrooms. In 2009 he was also charged with defrauding customers in a company he ran with his wife. The case was later dismissed.
