All posts tagged: firm

Scam Messages Offering Ships Safe Transit Through Hormuz, Security Firm Warns

Scam Messages Offering Ships Safe Transit Through Hormuz, Security Firm Warns

Published by Sam Flores

ATHENS, April 21 (Reuters) – Fraudulent messages promising safe ⁠passage ⁠through the Strait of Hormuz ⁠in exchange for cryptocurrency have been sent to some shipping ​companies whose vessels are stranded west of the waterway, Greek maritime risk management firm ‌MARISKS has warned. The U.S. has ‌maintained its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has lifted and then ⁠re-imposed its ⁠blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth ​of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed before war broke out in the Middle East. Amid ceasefire talks, Tehran, which controls the chokepoint, has proposed tolls on vessels ​to safely transit. MARISKS on Monday issued an alert warning shipowners that unknown ⁠actors, claiming ⁠to represent Iranian authorities, ⁠had sent ​some shipping companies a message demanding transit fees in cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin or Tether, ​for “clearance”. “These specific messages are ⁠a scam,” the firm said, adding the message was not sent by Iranian authorities. There was no immediate comment from Tehran. Hundreds of ships and about 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the Gulf. On April …

A Prominent PR Firm Is Running a Fake News Site That’s Plagiarizing Original Journalism at Incredible Scale

A Prominent PR Firm Is Running a Fake News Site That’s Plagiarizing Original Journalism at Incredible Scale

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech On Tuesday evening, we published an original interview with a researcher who had recently coauthored an intriguing study about the effects of AI on users’ cognition. A news site called National Today quickly sprang into action: by ten o’clock that night, it had published a piece that was obviously a reworded version of our story, including a direct quote from the interview we’d conducted. But instead of crediting us as the source of the information, as would be conventional, National Today made no mention of Futurism, and didn’t even link to our article. Instead, it presented the reporting as if it were the original source. In other words, the National Today piece — which bears no byline — is blatant plagiarism. And this isn’t the first time this has happened. Last week, for example, National Today ran a story about a controversial GLP-1 marketer called Medvi. It was obvious that National Today ripped us off, because it’d again …

Polish Leader Tusk Claims Russia-Linked Crypto Firm Backed Nawrocki’s Presidential Bid

Polish Leader Tusk Claims Russia-Linked Crypto Firm Backed Nawrocki’s Presidential Bid

Published by Sam Flores

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a cryptocurrency firm built with “Russian money” had sponsored Polish politicians from the former national-conservative government as well as a CPAC ( Conservative Political Action Conference ) event in Poland last year, where Kristi Noem, the former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, openly backed nationalist Karol Nawrocki to win the Polish presidency. Tusk was speaking on Friday in the Polish parliament, before a parliamentary vote to overrule Nawrocki who had rejected regulations of the Polish crypto-asset market. Nawrocki has vetoed two separate attempts by the liberal government to regulate this market in the past six months. Tusk claimed that the blocking of regulations by some Polish politicians indicated they were serving the interests of a specific company, Zondacrypto, which had in the past provided them with financial support and which had links with Russia. “The source of this company’s financial success is not only Russian money linked to the so-called Bratva, one of the most important mafia groups in Russia, but also to Russian secret services,” …

Chinese Firm Claims It Tracked US Jets Over Iran During Operation Epic Fury

Chinese Firm Claims It Tracked US Jets Over Iran During Operation Epic Fury

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Ameya Paleja via Interesting Engineering, MizarVision, a private Chinese company specializing in geospatial intelligence, claims to have tracked US aerial refueling missions of its KC-135 and KC-46 tanker aircraft during Operation Epic Fury. A report published earlier this month analyzed these activities and provided links to strike patterns witnessed in Iran.  The recent strikes conducted by the US over the past month surprised many around the world, but data from transporters refueling flights provided valuable information about their locations.  While bombers work to keep their location under wraps, the refueling tankers continue to broadcast their locations via Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast signals, which are publicly accessible. Researchers at MizarVision claims to have used this data to determine movements of bombers, giving them more insights on how the strikes were taking place.  What bombers has the US deployed?  Prior to the ceasefire announced last week, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan Caine confirmed that the US has staged 62 bomber missions. These involved all three of its strategic bombers, …

’Clash of Clans’ Game Firm CEO Ilkka Paananen to Get BAFTA Fellowship

’Clash of Clans’ Game Firm CEO Ilkka Paananen to Get BAFTA Fellowship

Published by Daniella Wilson

Finnish video game entrepreneur Ilkka Paananen, the CEO and co-founder of Supercell, the mobile gaming company behind Clash of Clans, will be honored with the BAFTA Fellowship at the BAFTA Games Awards with Google Play on Friday, April 17. “The BAFTA Fellowship, the highest accolade bestowed by BAFTA, celebrates exceptional individuals who have driven innovation, creativity, and positive change in the screen arts, including games, over the course of their career,” the British Academy highlighted. “Credited with building one of the most successful mobile games companies, Ilkka co-founded Supercell in 2010,” BAFTA said. “Under his leadership, Supercell’s innovative ‘small team’ philosophy has produced iconic mobile blockbusters, including Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, and Brawl Stars. The company is known for its strong culture of trust, open communication and effective collaboration with partners. Across the years, and despite industry challenges, Supercell has thrived with handheld hits and bold investment in new games.” Said Paananen: “Receiving the BAFTA Fellowship is an incredible honor. Looking at the names of previous Fellows, I see so many of my personal heroes – …

US satellite firm Planet Labs announces blackout on war on Iran images | US-Israel war on Iran News

US satellite firm Planet Labs announces blackout on war on Iran images | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

Company says move amid US-Israel war on Iran comes after a request from the US government. Published On 5 Apr 20265 Apr 2026 Satellite imaging company Planet Labs has said it will indefinitely withhold visuals of Iran and the ⁠region of conflict in the Middle East to comply with a request from United States President Donald Trump’s administration. The US company announced the decision in an email to customers on Saturday, with news agencies quoting it as saying the government had asked satellite imagery providers ⁠to impose an “indefinite withhold of imagery”. The restriction expands upon a 14-day delay on imagery of the Middle East that Planet Labs implemented last month, which extended an initial 96-hour delay, a move the firm said was meant to prevent adversaries from using the imagery to attack the US and its allies. Planet Labs said it will withhold imagery dating back to March 9 and ‌that it expects the policy to remain in effect until the end of the war, which began on February 28 when the US and …

The fight for mineral data in DRC: Belgian museum, US mining firm at odds over archive maps

The fight for mineral data in DRC: Belgian museum, US mining firm at odds over archive maps

Published by Sam Flores

Just a few kilometers from Brussels, the cellars of the Royal Museum for Central Africa hold one of the world’s most valuable mining archives. Colonial-era maps and surveys had previously detailed minerals like cobalt, lithium, coltan, and tungsten, essential for the digital and energy transition. Now, a battle over digitization is unfolding, with these documents literally worth their weight in gold. KoBold Metals, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, is looking to AI in order to locate new deposits faster. Source link

Melissa Gilbert stands firm in her support for husband Timothy Busfield amid child sex abuse allegations

Melissa Gilbert stands firm in her support for husband Timothy Busfield amid child sex abuse allegations

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Melissa Gilbert is standing by her husband, Timothy Busfield, amid the child sex abuse allegations against him. For the first time since Busfield, 68, was arrested in February, Gilbert sat down for a forthcoming interview with George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America to “clarify the facts” in the case, according to People. Busfield is awaiting trial after he was indicted on four charges of criminal sexual contact with a child under the age of 13 while he worked as the director on Fox series The Cleaning Lady from 2022 to 2024. He has denied all allegations and vowed to fight the charges against him. Gilbert maintained her husband’s innocence in her new interview, which is set to air April 6, and said that Busfield’s ongoing legal battle has been “hell” for their family. “This has been the most traumatizing experience of …

US Firm Takes Control Of One Of The “World’s Largest” Cobalt Producers

US Firm Takes Control Of One Of The “World’s Largest” Cobalt Producers

Published by Jenni Sidey

An American company has secured control of one of the largest cobalt producers outside Chinese ownership, delivering a strategic boost to U.S. efforts to compete with Beijing over critical minerals, according to the Wall Street Journal. The buyer, Virtus Minerals, completed its acquisition of Congo-based Chemaf for $30 million, along with a pledge to invest roughly $720 million. The deal caps a years-long push, spanning both the Biden and Trump administrations, to ensure U.S. access to cobalt resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Chemaf’s mines can supply about 5% of global cobalt output—a key material used in fighter jets, smartphones, and electric vehicle batteries. Virtus says future production will be directed toward American and allied buyers. Despite its value, Chemaf proved difficult to sell. U.S. companies were wary of its heavy debt—around $1 billion—along with reputational concerns and the challenges of operating in Congo, including weak infrastructure, corruption risks, and labor issues. The company has a controversial history. Its Mutoshi mine has faced repeated problems with unsafe working conditions and incursions by informal miners. …

Ex-Executive at Chinese State Power Firm Datang Given Suspended Death Sentence, State Media Says

Ex-Executive at Chinese State Power Firm Datang Given Suspended Death Sentence, State Media Says

Published by Sam Flores

BEIJING, April 1 (Reuters) – ⁠Kou ⁠Wei, a ⁠former senior executive ​at a major Chinese state-owned ‌power-generating company, was ‌sentenced to ⁠death ⁠with a two-year reprieve over crimes ​including taking bribes, state news agency Xinhua reported ​on Wednesday. The former general manager ⁠and ⁠deputy Communist ⁠Party chief ​of Datang Group was also ​guilty of ⁠embezzlement and abuse of power, and the amounts he ⁠embezzled and accepted as bribes were “especially large”, ⁠Xinhua said, citing a local court.  In China, a death sentence with reprieve is normally commuted to life imprisonment if the offender ⁠commits no crimes during the period of reprieve.  (Reporting by Yukun Zhang and ​Ryan Woo; Editing by ​Andrew Heavens) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Photos You Should See – March 2026 Source link