Sweden’s government has sought urgent assurances on data security from national agencies including the health, education and pensions services after a huge leak of private and sensitive information that has cost two ministers their jobs. Amid reports by the Dagens Nyheter newspaper that confidential medical details were being handled by unscreened IT workers in Romania, the national broadcaster SVT said data outsourcing arrangements at six state agencies were being checked.

The checks follow a cabinet reshuffle last week in which interior minister Anders Ygeman and infrastructure minister Anna Johansson both stepped down after what the prime minister, Stefan Löfven, called an “extremely serious” security breach.

Several ministers had known about the breach, which followed a botched 2015 data outsourcing contract between the national transport agency and IBM Sweden, for at least 18 months but failed to inform the prime minister, media reported.The former head of the agency, Maria Ågren, was fired in January and fined after security police found she had waived security clearance requirements for foreign IT workers when signing the agreement, in breach of privacy and data protection laws.(theguardian)…[+]

Venezuela opposition leaders Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma have been taken from their homes, where they were under house arrest, family members of the two have tweeted. López’s wife and Ledezma’s daughter said they would hold President Nicolás Maduro responsible for the fate of the two men.

Both leaders in recent days have called on Venezuelans to join protests against Maduro over the creation of an all-powerful legislative body called the constituent assembly, which was elected on Sunday.  The vote for the assembly was boycotted by the opposition and has been criticised around the world as an assault on democratic freedoms.12:27 in the morning: the moment when the dictatorship kidnaps Leopoldo at my house,” López’s wife, Lilian Tintori, wrote on Twitter. Sanctions freeze Venezuelan president’s assets under US jurisdiction and prevent US citizens from doing business with him.(theguardian)…[+]

Pakistan must detach itself from American influence and pull out of the “war on terror” in order to create prosperity and achieve regional peace, Imran Khan, the Pakistani opposition leader , has said. Buoyed by last week’s dismissal of prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Khan is eyeing Pakistan’s highest political office, and said he was ready to change the country’s international relations. “Sadly, our ruling elite took dollars from the Americans and went into this war,” Khan told the Guardian. “It has created such hatred in our society. It has created turmoil.” His comments come as the US considers how to approach the conflict in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The White House recently announced it was withholding $50m (£38m) in military aid to Pakistan for its failure to crack down on jihadi groups. However, if it were up to Khan, Pakistan would reject US aid entirely. “Aid cripples the country,” he said. “It enslaves the country. You are dictated decisions from abroad. I’m completely against this.”(theguardian)…[+]