WASHINGTON: US autho-rities yesterday warned makers of medical devices and hospital networks to step up efforts to guard against potential cyber attacks. The US Food and Drug Administration said implanted devices, which could include pacemakers or defibrillators, could be connected to networks that are vulnerable to hackers. A warning notice was sent to medical device manufacturers, hospitals, medical device user facilities, health care technical staff and biomedical engineers. It said the agency has recently “become aware of cyber security vulnerabilities and incidents that could directly impact medical devices or hospital network operations”. “The FDA is recommending that medical device manufacturers and health care facilities take steps to assure that appropriate safeguards are in place to reduce the risk of failure due to cyber attack,” the warning said.
Murdoch files
for divorce
LONDON: News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch has filed to divorce his third wife, Wendi Deng, as their marriage has “irretrievably” broken down, his spokesman said yesterday. “I can confirm for the record that Rupert filed in New York State Supreme Court this morning for divorce,” his spokesman Steven Rubenstein said. “The line from the filing says ‘the relationship between Murdoch and Wendi has broken down irretrievably’,” he said. The spokesman would not confirm any further details, for example on arrangements for the custody of the couple’s two children. A source close to News Corp said that the couple had a pre-nuptial agreement but did not elaborate on it.
Councillor calls for raping minister
ROME: A councillor belonging to Italy’s anti-immigrant Northern League party called yesterday for the country’s first black minister to be raped, sparking an outcry and her expulsion from the party. “Won’t someone rape her, just to make her understand what victims of this terrible crime feel? For shame!” Dolores Valandro, a councillor in Padua in Northern Italy, wrote on Facebook alongside a photograph of African-Italian Immigration Minister Cecile Kyenge. Valandro was apparently reacting to an article on a website called “all immigrant crimes” which detailed an alleged attempt by a Somali in Genoa to rape two Romanian girls, Italian media reports said. Kyenge, an eye doctor and Italian citizen originally from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been subjected to a barrage of racist attacks since being appointed minister in February. The League immediately expelled Valandro from the party.
Man defaces Queen’s portrait
LONDON: A man was arrested at London’s Westminster Abbey yesterday for defacing a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II commissioned to mark her 60 years on the throne. “In an incident at lunchtime today, a visitor to the abbey sprayed paint on the Ralph Heimans portrait of the queen, presently on display in the Chapter House,” a spokeswoman for the abbey said. “Until work can be done to remedy the damage it will — very regrettably — not be possible to have the painting on public view.” Scotland Yard said officers had been called to the abbey at about 12.30 pm (1130 GMT), where security guards had detained a 41-year-old man for defacing a painting.
Agencies
