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      U.K. to Accuse China of Cyberattacks Targeting Voter Data and Lawmakers

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      The British government believes China has overseen two separate hacking campaigns, including one that yielded information from 40 million voters.The British government is expected to publicly link China to cyberattacks that compromised the voting records of tens of millions of people, another notable hardening of Britain’s stance toward China since its leaders heralded a “golden era” in British-Chinese relations nearly a decade ago.The deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, will make a statement about the matter in Parliament on Monday afternoon, and is expected to announce sanctions against state-affiliated individuals and entities implicated in the attacks.The government disclosed the attack on the Electoral Commission last year but did not identify those behind it. It is believed to have begun in 2021 and lasted several months, with the personal details of 40 million voters being hacked.The Electoral Commission, which oversees elections in the United Kingdom, said that the names and addresses of anyone registered to vote in Britain and Northern Ireland between 2014 and 2022 had been accessed, as well as those of overseas voters.The commission previously said that the data contained in the electoral registers was limited and noted that much of it was already in the public domain. However, it added that it was possible the data “could be combined with other data in the public domain, such as that which individuals choose to share themselves, to infer patterns of behavior or to identify and profile individuals.”In addition to the infiltration of the Electoral Commission, Mr. Dowden is expected to confirm that the Chinese targeted several members of Parliament with a record of hawkish statements about China. They include Iain Duncan-Smith, a former leader of the Conservative Party; Tim Loughton, a former Conservative education minister; and Stewart McDonald, a member of the Scottish National Party.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Dozens of Children Kidnapped in Nigeria Are Released, Officials Say

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      The military of the West African nation, which is plagued by kidnappings largely driven by demands for ransom payments, said 137 children had been freed in the country’s north.Dozens of Nigerian schoolchildren who were kidnapped this month have been released, officials said on Sunday. The Nigerian military said that 137 children had been freed by security forces in the northwest of the country.The children were abducted on March 7 from their school in Kuriga, a small town in the state of Kaduna, the latest in a long series of kidnappings that have plagued Africa’s most populous nation. The exact number of children taken from Kuriga remains murky.The state’s governor, Uba Sani, announced the return of the children, but he did not provide additional information on the circumstances of the abduction or of their release.Nigeria’s military said in a statement that 76 girls and 61 boys had been freed in the northern state of Zamfara, and were being taken back to Kaduna. The military did not confirm the total number of children abducted on March 7, or provide further details about the operation.Residents had told the local news media that armed men kidnapped the students just after they had finished their morning assembly and taken them into a nearby forest.The episode evoked memories of the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok by Boko Haram, an Islamist armed group, which shocked the nation and prompted outrage abroad. Many of the girls were released, reportedly in exchange for ransoms, but 98 of them are still missing, according to Amnesty International.On Sunday, Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, thanked the military for securing the children’s release and said that his administration was trying to ensure “that our schools remain safe sanctuaries of learning, not lairs for wanton abductions.”Days before the children were abducted, about 200 people were kidnapped in Nigeria’s Borno state, officials said. The state is at the center of the Boko Haram insurgency. The victims, who had ventured into the countryside to collect firewood when they were abducted, have not been returned yet.More than 3,600 people were reported kidnapped in Nigeria last year — the highest number in five years, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. But the figure could be higher given that many abductions are not reported.The kidnappings are mainly driven by a quest for ransom payments, according to the Nigerian analysis firm SBM Intelligence, which can be paid in cash but also in food or medicine. They are a feature of all of the conflicts ravaging the West African nation, including Islamist insurgencies, separatists movements and piracy, SBM Intelligence said.“The scourge of banditry, kidnapping and other forms of insecurities must be decisively tackled to restore peace and stability to our beloved nation,” the Alumni Association of the National Institute, part of a Nigerian research center, said in a statement on Sunday. More

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      Slovakia Presidential Election 2024: What You Need to Know

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      Ivan Korcok, a veteran diplomat hostile to the Kremlin, and Peter Pellegrini, a Russia-friendly politician allied with Slovakia’s populist prime minister, will face each other in a runoff.Why does this election matter?Who is expected to win?When will we learn the result?Where can I find more information?Why does this election matter?The Slovak presidency is a largely ceremonial post, but the election has been closely watched as a test of strength between political forces that want the polarized Central European country to follow Hungary in embracing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and those that want to keep the country aligned with the West.In a first round of voting on Saturday, two candidates on opposing sides — Ivan Korcok, a veteran diplomat hostile to the Kremlin, and Peter Pellegrini, a Russia-friendly politician allied with Slovakia’s populist prime minister — finished ahead of seven other candidates. But neither won the majority needed to avoid a runoff, according to results announced early Sunday.The two men will face each other in a second round on April 6.The race started with 11 candidates, several of them belligerent nationalists who favor close relations with Russia. Two dropped out before the vote on Saturday.The departing president, Zuzana Caputova, a stalwart supporter of Ukraine, used her limited powers and the bully pulpit to try to block Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia from taking the country on the same path as Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary has tilted away from NATO toward Moscow, gained a tight grip on the news media and limited the independence of the judiciary.With most ballots counted, Mr. Korcok, a former ambassador to the United States and an ally of Ms. Caputova, had 42 percent of the vote, compared with 37 percent for Mr. Pellegrini.Mr. Korcok’s strong result exceeded what pre-election opinion polls had predicted and delivered a blow to Mr. Fico. The prime minister was hoping for a resounding win by Mr. Pellegrini, who shares his skepticism of supporting Ukraine.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Tax Dispute Becomes Political as India Freezes Opposition’s Accounts

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      Just weeks before pivotal elections, the authorities have blocked access to several of the Indian National Congress’s main bank accounts, the party said.India’s largest opposition party accused the national authorities on Thursday of paralyzing its political activities by blocking the party’s access to its bank accounts, in what it described as a heavy-handed response to a tax dispute just weeks before a pivotal general election.Officials with the party, the Indian National Congress, said that eight of its 11 main accounts at four banks had been frozen, and that there was no clear indication of when the party would regain access to the money.“We can’t support our workers; we can’t support our candidates,” Rahul Gandhi, an Indian National Congress leader, said at a news conference in New Delhi. “Our leaders can’t fly. Forget flying — they can’t take a train.”“Our ability to fight elections has been damaged,” he said.Campaigning is heating up for a six-week-long election that starts on April 19 and will determine the next prime minister for the world’s most populous democracy. To run election campaigns from the Himalayan mountains to India’s southern shores, political groups spend billions of dollars in what is seen as one of the world’s most expensive elections.Under Indian law, political groups are exempted from paying income taxes on their funding from individuals and corporations, but must declare their income to the tax authorities each year. The current dispute relates to how heavily the Indian National Congress should be penalized for past irregularities.Last month, the country’s Income Tax Department, which is controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, froze the Congress party’s accounts on accusations that it had been 45 days late in filing tax returns on its cash contributions for the 2017-18 financial year. The department also took from the party’s bank accounts $2 million of the $16 million that it said was owed in penalties.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Here’s What to Know About Vietnam’s Communist Government

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      The departure of President Vo Van Thuong, who occupied a largely ceremonial role, could have implications for the country’s future.Vietnam’s Communist Party has ruled the country for nearly half a century, often priding itself on unity and longevity. It is one of the world’s last remaining Communist dictatorships.It has also become one of Asia’s fastest growing economies and a pivotal player in the growing U.S.-China rivalry and has been adept at balancing its interests between the two powers. In recent years, many foreign companies and investors have flocked to Vietnam, which has touted its political stability in presenting itself as an alternative to China as a manufacturing hub.But the announcement Wednesday that President Vo Van Thuong had resigned, the second president to step down in a little over a year amid allegations of corruption, has undercut that message of stability even though the post is largely a ceremonial one. The resignation could spook investors.Here is what you need to know about Vietnam’s leadership:Who is the person in charge?Nguyen Phu Trong, third from left, the leader of the Communist Party in Vietnam, in Hanoi in January.Luong Thai Linh/EPA, via ShutterstockUnlike China, Vietnam, a country of 99.5 million people, does not have a paramount leader. Instead it is governed by “four pillars” of leadership: the general secretary of the Communist Party, the president, the chairperson of Parliament and the prime minister.Power largely resides with Nguyen Phu Trong, the Communist Party head, who is serving an unprecedented third five-year term as party chief.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Who Is Leo Varadkar?

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      Mr. Varadkar, who said on Wednesday that he would step down as Ireland’s prime minister, has had a career of firsts. His resignation came as a surprise.When Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday that he was resigning as Ireland’s prime minister, the surprise announcement ended a chapter in the career of a politician who has twice led the country, but whose party faces a struggle in elections next year.As Mr. Varadkar ascended to the role in 2017, his identity — as the country’s first openly gay leader and its first with South Asian heritage — was viewed as evidence of Ireland’s rapid modernization. At 38, he was also its youngest leader.Mr. Varadkar was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a father born in India. Before embarking on a career in politics, he trained as a doctor. During a referendum campaign in 2015 on the legalization of same-sex marriage, Mr. Varadkar, who at the time was health minister, announced that he was gay, a measure credited with bolstering the “Yes” vote.By the time he became prime minister, or taoiseach, Mr. Varadkar’s party, Fine Gael, had been in power for six years and was facing a crisis over domestic policy, including issues like health, education and housing. In an election in 2020, the party slumped to third place and formed a coalition with its rival center-right party, Fianna Fáil, and with the Green Party to hold onto power.As part of the coalition deal, Mr. Varadkar resigned as leader and was succeeded by Micheál Martin, the leader of Fianna Fáil. After a stint as deputy prime minister, Mr. Varadkar returned to the top job in December 2022.Speaking in Dublin with cabinet members behind him on Wednesday, Mr. Varadkar trumpeted what he described as his government’s achievements on domestic issues and singled out moves to enshrine personal rights.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Primaries to Watch Today: Races in Ohio, California, Illinois and More

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      Five states will hold presidential primaries on Tuesday — Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio — the largest such set of contests since Super Tuesday three weeks ago.But with the presidential nominating contests already decisively clinched, neither of the presumptive nominees will make appearances in those states today. Instead, President Biden will travel to Nevada, a top fall battleground, visiting Reno and Las Vegas, while Dr. Jill Biden, the first lady, will campaign across New England. Former President Donald J. Trump campaigned in Ohio on Saturday.The attention today is on a handful of down-ballot races.Chief among them is the Republican primary for a competitive Senate seat in Ohio. Three Republicans are duking it out for the chance to run against Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat.Mr. Trump stumped for his preferred candidate, Bernie Moreno, a former car dealer from Cleveland, on Saturday but mentioned him only sparingly in his caustic, freewheeling speech at a rally in Vandalia in which he said that some migrants were “not people” and that the country would face a “blood bath” if he lost in the November election. Mr. Moreno will face off against Frank LaRose, the Ohio secretary of state, and Matt Dolan, a wealthy state senator, in the primary.In Illinois, a number of competitive House primaries could signal some of the contours of the fall election.In the 12th Congressional District, Mike Bost, the incumbent, is facing a Republican challenger to his right in Darren Bailey, who lost the governor’s race to J.B. Pritzker by a wide margin in 2022. Mr. Bailey is an ardent pro-Trump Republican, but Mr. Bost has Mr. Trump’s endorsement.Danny Davis, 82, is running to keep his seat in the Democratic primary for the Seventh Congressional District. He has two significant opponents: Chicago’s treasurer, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, and a youthful community organizer named Kina Collins. But the Democratic establishment in Illinois has rallied around Mr. Davis — who is a year older than Mr. Biden, making his age a sensitive issue for the primary.In the Fourth Congressional District, Representative Jesús “Chuy” García, a progressive Democrat, will face off against Raymond Lopez, a Chicago alderman, in a Democratic primary that has centered on immigration in Chicago. Mr. García, “a proud immigrant,” was one Democrat who criticized Mr. Biden when he referred to an undocumented migrant as “an illegal” in his State of the Union speech. Mr. Lopez is more conservative on immigration.In California, a special primary in the 20th Congressional District will be held to complete the term of former Representative Kevin McCarthy, a Republican who was ousted from his role as speaker of the House and resigned soon after. A separate primary was held on Super Tuesday for a full term in the seat starting January 2025, with two Republicans — Vince Fong and Mike Boudreaux — advancing to the general election in November. More

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      From Russia, Elaborate Tales of Fake Journalists

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      As the Ukraine war grinds on, the Kremlin has created increasingly complex fabrications online to discredit Ukraine’s leader and undercut aid. Some have a Hollywood-style plot twist.A young man calling himself Mohamed al-Alawi appeared in a YouTube video in August. He described himself as an investigative journalist in Egypt with a big scoop: The mother-in-law of Ukraine’s president had purchased a villa near Angelina Jolie’s in El Gouna, a resort town on the Red Sea.The story, it turned out, was not true. Ukraine denied it, and the owner of the villa refuted it. Also disconnected from reality: Alawi’s claim to being a journalist.Still, his story caromed through social media and news outlets from Egypt to Nigeria and ultimately to Russia — which, according to researchers, is where the story all began.The story seemed to fade, but not for long. Four months later, two new videos appeared on YouTube. They said Mohamed al-Alawi had been beaten to death in Hurghada, a town about 20 miles south of El Gouna. The suspected killers, according to the videos: Ukraine’s secret service agents.These claims were no more factual than the first, but they gave new life to the old lie. Another round of posts and news reports ultimately reached millions of internet users around the world, elevating the narrative so much that it was even echoed by members of the U.S. Congress while debating continued military assistance to Ukraine.Ever since its forces invaded two years ago, Russia has unleashed a torrent of disinformation to try to discredit Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, and undermine the country’s support in the West.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More