Facebook Removes More Accounts Tied to Russian ‘Troll Factory’

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Supported by Business Day Facebook Removes More Accounts Tied to Russian ‘Troll Factory’ Photo Facebook said it ha taken down accounts and pages controlled by the Internet Research Agency because of its past fraud. Credit Dado Ruvic/Reuters Facebook said on Tuesday that it had found and removed more than 270 accounts and pages controlled by Russia’s Internet Research Agency, the so-called troll factory that became notorious for posting fraudulent and divisive material on the platform during the 2016 presidential election.
The company said most of the accounts and pages were in Russian and aimed at users in Russia and neighboring or nearby countries, including Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. The company did not claim the new accounts and pages had violated the company’s policies, but it said they had been taken down because of the Internet Research Agency’s past fraud.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, told Reuters that the Russian company, which operates under sever..

Houthi Rebels Hit Saudi Tanker With Missile to Avenge Deadly Airstrike

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Houthi Rebels Hit Saudi Tanker With Missile to Avenge Deadly Airstrike Photo Supporters of Houthi rebels at a rally in Sana, Yemen, last month to protest Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in their country. Credit Khaled Abdullah/Reuters AL MUKALLA, Yemen — Houthi rebels in Yemen hit a Saudi Arabian oil tanker with a missile on Tuesday, an attack that could escalate the three-year-old conflict even as the leader of the United Nations expressed optimism about renewed diplomacy to end it.
In a statement carried on Al Mayadeen television in Yemen, the Houthis said the missile strike avenged the Yemeni civilians killed Monday in a Saudi aerial assault on Al Hudaydah, the only Yemeni seaport controlled by the rebels. At least 14 people, including children, were killed after they ventured outside their residential building to get some fresh air in the stifling midmorning heat, witnesses said.
The Saudi-led military coalition, which has been bombing the Houthis and their allies since March ..

The Final Obamacare Tally Is In. About 400,000 Fewer People Signed Up This Year.

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Supported by Health The Final Obamacare Tally Is In. About 400,000 Fewer People Signed Up This Year. Photo The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said on Tuesday that 11.8 million people signed up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act for 2018, a slight drop from the previous year. Credit Joe Buglewicz for The New York Times WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said on Tuesday that 11.8 million people had signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces for 2018 — roughly 400,000 fewer than last year. The drop was relatively small, given that Mr. Trump had sharply cut federal outreach efforts and the open enrollment period was half as long as in past years.
Virtually the entire decrease came in the 39 states that use the marketplace run by the federal government, HealthCare.gov. In the 11 states that sell coverage for the Affordable Care Act — popularly known as Obamacare — through their own marketplaces, enrollment remained the same as la..

Grindr Sets Off Privacy Firestorm After Sharing Users’ H.I.V.-Status Data

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Grindr Sets Off Privacy Firestorm After Sharing Users’ H.I.V.-Status Data Photo Grindr, which recently announced changes to its software to urge users to get frequent H.I.V. tests, said it would stop sharing H.I.V. data with outside companies. Credit Grindr Grindr, the social network aimed at gay, bisexual and transgender men, is facing a firestorm of criticism for sharing users’ H.I.V. status, sexual tastes and other intimate personal details with outside software vendors.
The data sharing, made public by European researchers on Saturday and reported by BuzzFeed on Monday, set off an outcry from many users. By Monday night, the company said it would stop sharing H.I.V. data with outside companies.
The criticism of the company continued on Tuesday, with officials in Europe and the United States joining in. A consumer group in Norway filed a formal complaint with the country’s data protection agency, accusing the company of breaching European and Norwegian laws. Two United States senato..