Romania turns hacking crisis into advantage, helping Ukraine

May 13, 2015

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Ukraine is turning to an unlikely partner in its struggle to defend itself against Russian cyber warfare: Romania.

The eastern European country known more for economic disarray than technological prowess has become one of the leading nations in Europe in the fight against hacking. The reason: the country's own battle against Internet renegades and a legacy of computing excellence stemming from Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's regime.

Both historic twists have ironically turned Romanian cyber sleuths into some of Europe's best. So much so that NATO tapped Bucharest to defend Ukraine from Russian digital espionage by sending experts to monitor Kiev government institutes and train Ukrainian IT specialists.

Ukraine says Russia's Federal Security Service is coordinating attacks on government offices as part of a proxy war against Ukraine's government, amid real fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels in the east. Ukrainian security operatives say that, with Romania's help, they have foiled attempts to spread malicious software intended to disable the government's computer network or steal intelligence.

At NATO's summit last year in Wales, President Barack Obama and other leaders decided to create five "trust funds" — or narrowly focused programs funded by NATO member counties that are meant to help Ukraine reform and modernize its defense capabilities. — including one for cyber defense to help Ukraine's military modernize.

Romania, a member of NATO's cyber coalition exercises, volunteered to lead the Ukraine Cyber Defense Trust Fund — and tapped the state-owned Rasirom company. The alliance notes the Rasirom, the cyber-security provider for Romania's top state institutions, has "a rich experience in cyber defense."

"We are trying to be a regional leader," Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said in e meeting with foreign media outlets. "That is why Romania ... has been appointed by NATO to be in charge of (Ukraine's) cyber security and preventing cyber warfare."

At the opening of a regional conference on cyber security, U.S deputy Secretary for Commerce Bruce Andrews on Monday praised Romanian company Bitdefender which created "Bitdefender Box." one of the first security products made specifically for home networks. It protects devices by scanning network traffic to detect and block potential security threats and noted that Romanian was the second language spoken at Microsoft in offices around the world, after English.

Ukraine itself had no say on which country NATO tapped to provide its cyber security. But since 2013 it has cooperated with Romania on fighting hacking, phishing, child porn and DDoS attacks, which attempt to disable a website by swamping it with traffic.

Europol is also tapping into Romania's cyber savvy. The European police agency's chief, Ron Wainright, said 20 percent of Europol's cyber defense experts are Romanian police officers. "The expertise that Romanian specialists bring in their daily fight against this threat is extraordinary," he said on a recent visit to Bucharest.

If Romania is a leader in cyber policing today, it can perhaps thank a string of high-profile cases of Romanian hackers attacking the United States in 2011. That year, Romanian cyber criminals stole $1 billion from victims in the U.S., and an unemployed Romanian taxi driver calling himself "Guccifer" hacked the emails of former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and former President George W. Bush. Marcel Lehel Lazar accessed and published private Bush family photos, including selfies of Bush who appeared to be shaving in the shower and soaking his feet in a bathtub.

The security breaches so alarmed Washington that the FBI launched a program to train 600 Romanian law enforcement officers on fighting cybercrime. Last month, Romanian police broke up an alleged cybercrime ring and arrested 25 Romanians. The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism said that between February and December 2013, a group of 52 Romanians and foreign citizens carried out more than 34,000 fraudulent cash withdrawals in 24 countries, netting more than euros 15 million ($17 million).

The gang targeted banks in Puerto Rico and Oman. Romanian police said the group broke IT firewalls to obtain the details of corporate clients which were used to clone credit cards. Romania's tradition of computer skills dates back to the communist era when Ceausescu decided to make engineering and math education priorities at top universities.

Microsoft, Google and Oracle all have businesses in Romania and there are 93,000 employed in the industry with 6,500 graduating in IT every year, according to Anis, the Romanian software industry association.

Romanians also have computer success abroad. Gabriel Marcu has worked at Apple since 1996 and is a senior scientist there, responsible for color calibration on all Apple products.In 2008, Razvan Olosu , the former CEO of Nokia Germany, founded Novero, a company making Telematics products for automotive clients which he ran until 2013.

One industry expert said Romania's success relies on teaching IT from a young age. "Faculties are turning out very good specialists who are highly sought after by big companies," said Rasirom general manager Aurelian Tolescu.

Peter Leonard in Kiev, Ukraine, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels contributed to this report.

Conservative challenger Duda wins Polish presidential vote

May 25, 2015

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Conservative challenger Andrzej Duda has won Poland's presidential election and ousted the incumbent in a runoff vote, according to official results Monday.

Duda, a right-wing member of the European Parliament, won with 51.55 percent of the vote, the State Electoral Commission said. President Bronislaw Komorowski, allied with the ruling pro-business Civic Platform, garnered 48.45 percent in the second round of voting on Sunday.

Turnout was 55.34 percent in this nation of more than 37 million people. Duda, a 43-year-old lawyer with experience in the government, will be taking office in August. Duda's win is a serious warning for the ruling government before fall parliamentary elections. It could herald a major political shift in the European Union's sixth-largest economy, a country that has been able to punch above its weight in Europe without belonging to the 19-nation eurozone. Poland's influence is underlined by the fact that one of its own, Donald Tusk, now heads the European Council in Brussels.

Poland's president is the head of the armed forces, and can propose and veto legislation. In foreign policy, the president's role is chiefly ceremonial. The return of the Law and Justice party to power would cement Poland's turn to the right, create a new dynamic with other European countries and possibly usher in a less welcoming climate for foreign investors.

Law and Justice presents itself as a protector of those who haven't benefited from the capitalist transformation and as a defender of national interests abroad. It is staunchly pro-U.S., but has a sometimes defiant stance toward other European partners, which has created tensions in the past with the EU and neighboring Germany.

Duda says he wants new taxes on the foreign-owned banks and supermarkets to protect Polish interests, suggesting an approach similar to that of Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary. He also said he wants banks returned to Polish control.

Analyst Jacek Kucharczyk said Poland's relations with other European powers will now depend on whether Duda sticks to the relatively moderate agenda he campaigned on or whether he embraces his party leader's more combative foreign policy stance.

"That would be a nightmare scenario for Polish foreign policy, because it would mean getting into conflicts with Germany and anti-EU stunts and aggressive rhetoric toward Russia," said Kucharczyk, president of the Institute of Public Affairs, an independent think tank in Warsaw. "We are in for a bumpy ride. The only question is how bumpy it will be."

Party supporters, however, have been rejoicing since Duda's apparent victory was announced late Sunday. They say the party will do much more to help the many Poles who have not benefited from the country's economic growth, those who face low wages and job insecurity despite a quarter-century of growth. In his campaign speeches, Duda often spoke of the more than 2 million Poles who left in the past decade to seek better economic opportunities abroad.

Supporters also say Duda will do more to fight for the country's economic interests. "Andrzej Duda is a responsible person and will be a responsible president," said Zbigniew Ziobro, a former justice minister when the Law and Justice party led the government. "He will fulfill Poland's obligations toward NATO and the European Union, but he will definitely put more stress on Poland's interests."

In Moscow, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin congratulated Duda and "expressed confidence that building constructive relations between Russia and Poland ... would strengthen security and stability in Europe."

The rise of Duda also marks a generational shift in Polish politics. He would be the sixth president since the fall of communism in 1989, but at 43, the first who is too young to have been a major participant in the 1980s struggle between communist authorities and the Solidarity opposition movement. He apparently won a significant share of young voters on Sunday.

Duda said Monday he plans to leave Law and Justice, following a tradition of Polish presidents breaking formal ties to their parties to represent the entire nation. Komorowski left the pro-EU Civic Platform party when he won the presidency in 2010, but remained closely tied to it. Observers say was a key factor in his undoing, with voters punishing him for government corruption scandals and unpopular measures such as a rise in the retirement age.

Associated Press writers Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, and Lynn Berry in Moscow, contributed to this report.

Polish president concedes defeat after exit poll released

May 25, 2015

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski conceded defeat in the county's presidential election Sunday after an exit poll showed him trailing Andrzej Duda, a previously little-known right-wing politician.

If the exit poll is confirmed by official results, which are due Monday, it marks a significant blow to the ruling Civic Platform party ahead of more important parliamentary elections this year. The pro-market and pro-European party has overseen unprecedented growth during its eight years of power but is now being punished by voter discontent.

Many Poles say they are fed up with corruption scandals involving members of the ruling party, and with the fact that economic growth has not trickled down to many ordinary Poles. The exit poll said 52 percent of the votes in Sunday's final round of the presidential election went to Duda and 48 percent to Komorowski. It was conducted by Ipsos and reported by the private broadcaster TVN. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

"I congratulate my competitor Andrzej Duda and wish him a successful presidency," said Komorowski, whose term ends in August. Duda belongs to the Law and Justice party of former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a right-wing party that mixes traditional national values like Catholicism with calls for a stronger state role in the economy. The party ran the government from 2005-2007 and the presidency from 2005 to 2010, when President Lech Kaczynski, the party chairman's twin brother, was killed in a plane crash in Russia.

During the campaign, Duda, a lawyer and member of the European Parliament who was previously little known in Poland, called for a reduction in the retirement age. He also said he wants Poland to retake control of the banks, two-thirds of which are foreign owned.

The mood was joyous at the election night gathering in Warsaw of Duda's Law and Justice party as supporters celebrated what is apparently its first significant electoral victory in nearly a decade. There was an explosion of cheering and people flashed V-for-victory signs.

In a brief speech, Duda, 43, vowed an open presidency based on unity and said that it would take a lot of hard work to fix the country's problems. "We can change Poland," Duda said with his wife and grown daughter by his side. After his speech the family and the crowd sang the national anthem.

Polish presidents have fewer powers than prime ministers and their governments, but the president does represent the nation internationally and helps set a political and moral tone at home. During the campaign, Duda often spoke of the more than 2 million Poles who have left the country in the past decade for Britain and other countries in Western Europe.

Most people "have not benefited from the economic change," said Marcin Wolski, a well-known satirist at Law and Justice's election night gathering. "Poland needs change and Duda is the sign of the change that Poland needs."

Associated Press writer Vanessa Gera contributed to this report.

Poles vote in cliffhanger presidential election runoff

May 24, 2015

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poles were voting Sunday in the final round of a cliffhanger presidential election race between the conservative incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski and an even more conservative challenger.

In his five years in office, the 62-year-old Komorowski has been popular and was easily expected to win re-election. But he narrowly lost in the first round of voting to Andrzej Duda, a little-known 43-year-old lawyer and member of the European Parliament with the Law and Justice party who waged an energetic campaign.

Polls in recent days have shown Sunday's race as being too close to call. Duda's strong showing in a first round on May 10, which helped force a runoff, has exposed a rising disillusionment with the long-ruling Civic Platform party, which Komorowski is allied with. The party has governed Poland since 2007 and been marred by a string of corruption scandals. Its fortunes have also fallen somewhat with the departure from Poland of its former charismatic leader and prime minister, Donald Tusk, who is now the European Union president.

The first round had a large protest vote for a rock star, and political analysts say a majority of those votes will probably go to Duda. On the other hand, many people who didn't vote then are expected to vote this time, and many of those votes are expected to go to Komorowski.

The president has limited powers but the election is being closely watched as a sign for how Civic Platform and Law and Justice will fare in the more significant parliamentary election this fall. Although both parties are conservative, the ruling Civic Platform party has a more liberal stance on some issues such as in vitro fertilization, and is more pro-European than Law and Justice, which has a nationalistic streak and has demanded more sovereignty from Brussels. Duda has called for higher taxes on banks and large supermarket chains, which are mainly foreign owned. He also said he wants Poland to retake control of the banks.

The Polish currency, the zloty, weakened in the final days of the campaign. Exit polls will be published when polling stations close at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT), but final results are not expected until Monday at the earliest.

UK airport expansion threatens to take out entire villages

May 25, 2015

LONDON (AP) — With its classic red phone booth, pub, and medieval church, Harmondsworth's center looks quintessentially British. But the search for a twee English village isn't what brings millions of people within a stone's throw of its boundaries.

The attraction is neighboring Heathrow Airport, which served 73 million travelers last year. Now Europe's busiest airport is proposing to build a runway roughly through the center of town, leveling the ivy-covered brick walls of the Harmondsworth Hall guest house and two-thirds of its homes. A village that traces its history to the 6th century would be forever altered, and some argue even what's left would be uninhabitable.

"There's no compensation package that would interest me," said Neil Keveren, who chairs a local community group opposed to the expansion. "We have a historic village with buildings that go back 600 years. You cannot replace that. You cannot buy memories."

Harmondsworth is under threat because London and southeastern England need more airport capacity to meet the growing demands of business travelers and tourists. Heathrow and rival Gatwick, 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of central London, have offered competing projects that will cost as much as 18.6 billion pounds ($29.1 billion). Whichever proposal is selected, homes will be destroyed and surviving neighborhoods will have to cope with increased noise, pollution and traffic.

The issue is so toxic that politicians created an independent commission to weigh the options. Government officials then postponed a decision until after the May 7 election, effectively taking the matter off the political agenda, if but briefly.

The commission is set to make its recommendation as soon as next month. It will then be up to political leaders to make the final decision. A furious public relations battle has raged in advance, with placards all over London's subway system, for example, extolling the virtues of Heathrow or Gatwick. The commission has already rejected other options, including Mayor Boris Johnson's proposal for a new airport in the Thames Estuary.

According to the commission, all three remaining proposals, including two different plans to expand Heathrow, would meet the region's needs, though the costs and potential benefits would vary. Gatwick, for instance, would cost an estimated 9.3 billion pounds and boost Britain's gross domestic product by as much as 127 billion pounds. The most expensive Heathrow project would cost twice as much and boost GDP by up to 211 billion pounds, the commission estimates.

Making the right decision is crucial as London seeks to retain a competitive edge. In a globalized world, airports offer the opportunity for investment bankers, lawyers, consultants and engineers to make face-to-face connections in major markets where deals are made, said John Kasarda, director of the center for air commerce at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

"This is contact sport, particularly at the global level," Kasarda said. "This isn't done over the net." And the ability to move — and connect — faster makes a country and its economy more competitive. Opting not to expand is a tacit acknowledgement that the government is willing to have some of those jobs go to a competitor, such as Paris, Amsterdam or Dubai.

"It's the survival of the fastest," Kasarda said. "It's no longer the big eating the small. It is the fast eating the slow." But there is a human cost, as communities like Harmondsworth and others that might be affected know all too well.

Heathrow external relations director Nigel Milton said he understands that some people are very upset, though he claims there are residents in Harmondsworth who support the project but might not want to come forward to support the idea. He acknowledges the local impact, but said the company would offer compensation packages — even to those whose homes would not need to be leveled but who would find themselves living next to a runway.

"We believe we are being fair," he said. Countries like Britain have struggled with the notion of balancing national gain with local pain. Harmondsworth and the nearby village of Sipson are "stylized examples of the challenge all big societies face: progress meets obstacles," said Tony Travers, a professor of government at the London School of Economics.

Britain has sought to strike a balance between growth and safeguarding its heritage, and grassroots conservation movements have grown up to protect cultural landmarks. Unlike communities such as Venice in Italy, Britain hasn't allowed beauty to hamper progress — but that doesn't mean it isn't taken into account.

"If Harmondsworth were not this beautiful village, this decision would be that much easier to make," Travers said. Local campaigners say they've been told the latest proposal would avoid landmarks like St. Mary's Church, which traces its history to the mid-11th century and the Great Barn, a 15th century oak-framed behemoth — 192 feet long, 37 feet wide and 39 feet high — dubbed the "Cathedral of Middlesex" by the late poet laureate John Betjeman.

But opponents say the proposed runway would be so close to what's left of the village that no one would be able to stand to live there because of the noise and the bad air. In other words, there'd be a church but no congregation, said archaeological scientist Justine Bayley.

"They have no concern that they are screwing up the lives of hundreds of thousands of people for their shareholders," she said of her village and others along the flightpath and in west London who are affected by the noise.

Keveren nods. His fury is evident as he waves a 2010 election leaflet in which Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party pledged to fight Heathrow expansion. Keveren says he feels deceived. "My grandparents worked this land. I have war dead in the cemetery of the church. This is my home and if I am forced to leave here, who will it be for? Foreign investors," he said spinning with outrage. "The message I would give to the world is that the British government can be bought."

Opposition leader claims Burundi not ready for polls

May 25, 2015

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Burundi is not ready for parliamentary or presidential elections next month because the government is curtailing freedoms including preventing the opposition from campaigning, a leading opposition candidate said, as protests over President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term continued in the Burundian capital, Bujumbura.

Burundian Red Cross reported that 21 people were injured in the streets protests Monday bringing the total of those injured to 471 since the start of the street battles that have seen police fire at demonstrators. At least 20 people have died in the clashes with police, according to the Red Cross.

Nkurunziza cannot win if the elections are free and fair, said Agathon Rwasa, who is running as an independent candidate in the June 26 elections. Rwasa, the leader of a former rebel group National Forces for Liberation who is now an opposition politician, said there is widespread intimidation of those opposed to Nkurunziza.

"I don't believe elections can be held in this environment," Rwasa said. "Many are not there especially in opposition strongholds," he said, referring to the more than 100,000 refugees who have fled Burundi for fear of violence ahead of the polls. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 5, while presidential polls are slated for June 26.

Protesters, who have been demonstrating for four weeks in opposition to Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in office. In Bujumbura's Bwiza neighborhood one protester was wounded after being shot by police, according to a witness who insisted on anonymity for fear of retribution.

Protesters in the capital's Buterere area put feces on their barricades, of rocks and cut-down telephone poles, to hinder their removal. Those opposed to Nkurunziza's bid for a third term say he is violating the constitution that limits a president to two five-year terms, and some protesters are vowing to stay on the streets until Nkurunziza says he will not run for re-election. Nkurunziza maintains he is eligible for a third term because he was elected by parliament for his first term, not a by a direct vote.

Associated Press writer Gerard Nzohabona contributed to this report.

Polish lawmakers get military training for 'troubled times'

May 12, 2015

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Dozens of Polish lawmakers traded in their suits and political bargaining for fatigues and military exercises on Tuesday, a mainly symbolic act as Poles grow nervous about the conflict next door in Ukraine and Russia's involvement in it.

The parliamentarians were answering a call from Parliament Speaker Radek Sikorski, who announced in March that the training would be held due to the "troubled times" that have come which "may require a readiness to defend the country."

"It's a very good way of increasing the morale of our army and of the populace," lawmaker John Godson said when he returned to Warsaw after the full day of training. "It was great and I would like more training."

He was the first of nearly 50 lawmakers to sign up for the exercises. Though largely symbolic, the exercises were also practical and serious, Godson said, holding up a bandaged finger to stress his point. He said he got a splinter in his finger on an obstacle course.

The lawmakers, most of whom have never served in the military, practiced shooting weapons at a firing range, throwing fake grenades, crawling across the ground and learning elements of self-defense. They wore military-issued camouflage uniforms which they now get to keep.

Another lawmaker who took part, Maciej Mroczek, said he didn't believe there will be war, but said it was important for him to test his self-defense skills and show support for the country's military.

"We want to send the message to young people that the armed forces protect us and are useful," Mroczek said.