Six In The Morning Saturday May 23

Ireland awaits outcome of landmark same-sex marriage referendum

By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

Updated 0945 GMT (1645 HKT) May 23, 2015

Votes are being counted Saturday in Ireland's historic referendum on same-sex marriage, with high turnout reported by Irish media.

It's a landmark referendum that, if passed, would make Ireland the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through a popular vote.

According to state broadcaster RTE, voter turnout was above 60% in some parts of the country, noticeably higher than seen in other referendums.

The Irish Times newspaper reported that turnout in Dublin was as high as 65%, raising the hopes of "yes" campaigners that high engagement by young voters and those in urban areas could carry the result their way.

Cambodia bans naked photos at Angkor World Heritage Site

Tourists are posing naked at heritage sites around the world

KASHMIRA GANDER 

 

 

Saturday 23 May 2015

Cambodian authorities are attempting to tackle the strange trend of tourists stripping naked in front of ancient monuments, by putting together a new code of conduct.

The Aspara Authority, who are in charge of the ancient ruins at Angkor Archaeological Park, have drawn up rules ordering people to keep their clothes on at the site, and to not touch monuments. The rules will be printed and sent out to hotels and to tour guides, according to the Phnom Penh Post.

The plans come after three French men were arrested in Januaryfor posing naked at the Buddhist Banteay Kdei temple in Angkor, just days after a woman was photographed topless in the ruins.

German government 'more dangerous' than Snowden

There are reports US intelligence director James Clapper wants to put future cooperation with Germany's BND under review. The agency is facing scrutiny following revelations it helped the NSA spy on European targets.

James Clapper reportedly warned in a secret directive that it was no longer possible to rely on Germany to protect classified documents, according to a US intelligence official quoted by the mass-circulation newspaper "Bild" on Saturday.

A German parliamentary committee is currently investigating allegations that the country's foreign intelligence agency, the BND, helped the US National Security Agency (NSA) spy on European companies and government officials.

"Bild" said Clapper had expressed concern in an internal document about the possibility of classified US material being passed from the investigative panel to the media, posing a danger to US interests.

'Not religious discrimination at all': Myanmar denies persecution at root of migrant crisis

May 23, 2015 - 12:45PM

Antoni Slodkowski

Sittwe, Myanmar: The head of the Myanmar state from which thousands of Rohingya Muslims are fleeing has denied persecution prompted the exodus after the United States called on the country to deal with its root causes.

Many Rohingya have become prey to human traffickers on the journey south to Thailand, Malaysia and beyond as they flee what US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday were "the desperate conditions they face in Rakhine State".

But Rakhine Chief Minister Maung Maung Ohn denied the refugees' motivation was persecution.

"I am disappointed by, and completely disagree and reject such unfounded allegations by the United States," he said after meeting United Nations officials on Friday.

"This (migration) is human trafficking, not (due to) political or religious discrimination at all."

What the security industry can learn from the World Health Organization

The discovery of computer bugs can be marketing boons for cybersecurity firms. But one critic says the industry should take a page from the health profession and select names for flaws that aren't designed to stoke fear or generate buzz.

By Joe Uchill, Staff writer

As soon as the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike announced its discovery last week of a computer vulnerability it dubbed "Venom," the ominous headlines began.

"Venom vulnerability: Serious computer bug shatters cloud security," wrote Fortune.

But as buzz died down and more experts weighed in, much of the initial dread about Venom turned to a collective shrug. "Blinked and you may have missed [Venom]," The Wall Street Journal wrote just a day after it said the vulnerability was sending companies "scrambling." The vulnerability is indeed widespread, but most agreed it would be difficult to exploit. The initial surge of press attention may not match the actual danger.

Is insurgency Afghanistan’s only problem?

By Salman Rafi Sheikh

In a recent report by Washington Post, Attiquilah Amerkhil — a Kabul-based political and military analyst — was reported to have said, “This is the worst fighting season in a decade … there is now fighting in every part of the country.” The report went on to say that  “in the first spring fighting season since the U.S.-led coalition ended combat operations in Afghanistan, heavy clashes are being reported in at least 10 Afghan provinces. The provinces are in every corner of the country, creating widespread unease about whether the Afghan government and army can repel the threat.”

It is quite clear that the Taliban are still fighting (as we also showed in our previous article on Afghanistan), and that they have intensified their so-called “final victory” campaign in their quest for re-establishing their supremacy in Afghanistan.