What News - Explore Now

A federal grand jury in San Diego indicted BitConnect's founder today on charges of orchestrating a global Ponzi scheme. BitConnect is an alleged fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform with a market capitalization of $3.4 billion at its peak. According to court documents, BitConnect's founder, Satish Kumbhani, 36, of Hemal, India, misled investors about BitConnect's "Lending Program." Under this programme, Kumbhani and his co-conspirators promoted BitConnect's alleged proprietary technology, known as the "BitConnect Trading Bot" and "Volatility Software," as being capable of generating substantial profits and guaranteed returns by trading on the volatility of cryptocurrency exchange markets with investors' money. However, according to the indictment, BitConnect operated as a Ponzi scheme, paying earlier BitConnect investors with money from later investors. Kumbhani and his co-conspirators raised a total of $2.4 billion from inves

LONDON – Liverpool won the League Cup final in dramatic fashion after Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga missed the decisive penalty, giving the Reds an 11-10 shoot-out victory after a tense 0-0 draw at Wembley on Sunday. When Kepa blazed his spot-kick high over the bar, Jurgen Klopp's side clinched their first domestic knockout prize since the 2012 League Cup. It was the only miss in the tense shootout, which saw Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher score his penalty just before Kepa. Despite his reputation as a penalty saver, Kepa was brought on at the end of extra time to replace Edouard Mendy, but the Spaniard was unable to repel any of Liverpool's kicks. While there were no goals in 120 minutes, it was a thrilling final with numerous chances for both sides to win it before the cruel ending. Liverpool's second-half goal against Virgil van Dijk was controversially disallowed, while Chelsea had three goals ruled out for offside later in the game. The Reds have won the Lea

"With regret, the International Judo Federation announces the cancellation of the 2022 Grand Slam in Kazan, Russia." Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has been suspended as honorary president of the International Judo Federation (IJF), the international body of sport announced on Sunday. Putin, a black belt, was the first Russian to be awarded the eighth dan, one of the sport's highest honours, but the IJF has now suspended Putin's role in the aftermath of Russia's attack. "In light of the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine," the International Judo Federation said in a statement. "The International Judo Federation announces the suspension of Mr Vladimir Putin's status as Honorary President and Ambassador of the International Judo Federation." The IJF also announced this week that it is cancelling an event scheduled to take place in Russia. "We are saddened by the current international situation, which is the resul

According to the report the ruble is down 27 percent at 114.33 per dollar in offshore trading. Russia's ruble fell nearly 30% against the dollar on Monday after world powers imposed new, harsher sanctions on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine. According to the report, the ruble is down 27 percent at 114.33 per dollar in offshore trading. The United States and the European Union announced that some Russian banks would be barred from using the international bank payment system SWIFT, and they specifically targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In addition, all transactions with Russia's central bank were prohibited. Meanwhile, the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States – warned that if Russia did not halt its operations, they would "take further steps" to add to the sanctions already announced.

 

Elon Musk says his satellite internet service Starlink is "now active" in Ukraine and that more dishes are "on their way" in response to a request for assistance from the country's deputy prime minister. "Elon Musk, while you try to colonise Mars – Russia tries to occupy Ukraine!" Mykhailo Fedorov had previously tweeted to the Tesla and SpaceX founder. Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civilians while your rockets successfully land in space! We request that you provide Starlink stations to Ukraine and address sane Russians to stand." "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine," the South African-born technology billionaire responded several hours later. More terminals are on their way." Starlink is a space-based system of approximately 2,000 satellites that SpaceX has been developing for years in order to provide internet access to underserved areas around the world, with the company referring to its dishes as terminals. Internet ser

Germany's chancellery announced Saturday evening that 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 "Stinger" surface-to-air missiles would be sent to Ukraine "as soon as possible." The German government announced on Saturday that it will send weapons and other supplies directly to Ukraine, which is fighting to keep Russia from invading its capital city. According to officials, Germany is also willing to support some restrictions on the SWIFT global banking system for Russia. Germany's chancellery announced Saturday evening that 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 "Stinger" surface-to-air missiles would be sent to Ukraine "as soon as possible." "The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a watershed moment. It jeopardises our entire postwar order "In a statement, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. "In this situation, it is our duty to assist Ukraine in defending itself against Vladimir Putin's invading army to the best of our ability." The

Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, has resigned. Ukraine denied on Saturday that it was refusing to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia, but added that it was also unwilling to accept ultimatums or unacceptable terms. According to Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, Ukraine has prepared a negotiating position but has been met with impractical negotiating conditions from Russia. "It was yesterday that the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation's armed forces escalated, culminating in evening and night mass air and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities," he said in a message. "We see such actions as an attempt to break Ukraine and force it to accept conditions that are categorically unacceptable."

Russia violated the Olympic Truce by invading Ukraine on Thursday, just four days after the Winter Games concluded in Beijing. The International Olympic Committee urged sports organisations on Friday to cancel or relocate all events planned in Russia and Belarus, as well as refrain from using the countries' flags and national anthems. The Olympic Committee made the request after UEFA relocated the Champions League final from St. Petersburg to suburban Paris, and after the governing bodies of skiing and Formula One cancelled upcoming races in Russia. Both volleyball and shooting will hold world championships in Russia. A World Cup qualifying playoff match against Poland is also scheduled for March 24 in Moscow. Russia violated the Olympic Truce by invading Ukraine on Thursday, just four days after the Winter Games concluded in Beijing. Some Russian troops entered Ukraine through Belarus, a Russian ally. It was Russia's third breach of the Olympic Truce in the last 14 years. Russ

With the war in Ukraine raging, many businesses are scrambling to protect their employees and operations in the region. Here is a list of multinational corporations that have been impacted by the crisis, as well as their reactions. AB InBev Efes, a joint venture between Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and Anadolu Efes of Turkey, employs 3,000 people in Ukraine and has halted sales and production. Coca-Cola HBC, a Swiss bottler, has closed its operations in Ukraine and sent its employees home. "We have implemented our contingency plans, which include ceasing production in Ukraine, closing our plant, and instructing colleagues in the country to stay at home and follow local guidance," a Coca-Cola HBC spokesperson told Bloomberg. "We will keep this under review in the coming months." Carlsberg, the Danish beermaker with 1,300 employees in Ukraine, has shut down two of its three Ukrainian breweries and sent employees home. According to Reuters, Mondelez International, the Chica

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON, Feb 26 - The US and its allies moved on Saturday to deny certain Russian banks access to the SWIFT international payment system, further punishing Moscow as it continues its military assault on Ukraine. The nations said in a joint statement that the measures, which will include restrictions on the Russian central bank's international reserves, will be implemented in the coming days and that more action will be taken. "We will hold Russia accountable and work together to ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin," wrote the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. "We are determined to continue imposing massive costs on Russia as Russian forces launch an assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. The costs of further isolating Russia from the international financial system and our economies, "said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the

At the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will make their big Hollywood debut. The President's Award for remarkable achievement and distinguished public service is expected to be given to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Those who have previously received the award include Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, LeBron James, and Rihanna. According to PEOPLE, Harry and Meghan have funded efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic through their Archewell Foundation, which they established in 2020, and have focused their attention on the Black Lives Matter movement and racial justice advocacy. According to PEOPLE, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stated in a statement, "It's a true pleasure to be recognised by President Derrick Johnson and the NAACP, whose work to promote racial fairness and civil rights are as relevant now as they were nearly 115 years ago." The two have also cooperated on a new biennial award with the NAACP t

Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of social media behemoth Facebook, has barred Russian state media from running advertisements or monetizing on its platform anywhere in the world. On Twitter, its security policy leader, Nathaniel Gleicher, wrote, "We continue to apply labels to new Russian state media." "These modifications have already started to take effect, and they will continue through the weekend." "We've now made it illegal for Russian state media to run advertising or monetize on our platform anywhere in the globe," he continued.  "We are constantly following the situation in Ukraine and will continue to share on our platform the efforts we are taking to protect people," he said. Also see: FM on the Russia-Ukraine Conflict India's progress is being hampered, according to Sitharaman, while world peace is threatened.

Tim Cook tweeted that Apple is doing everything possible to assist team members in Ukraine and will also support local humanitarian efforts. A day after Russia invaded Ukraine, Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed concern about the ongoing crisis and called for peace in the country on February 25. He stated that the US tech behemoth is doing everything possible to assist team members in Ukraine, as well as supporting local humanitarian efforts. Cook is one of the first tech titans to publicly declare his support for Ukraine. According to Apple Insider, Apple does not have a retail presence in Ukraine, but the company does collaborate with authorised resellers in the country. Furthermore, according to the Kyiv Post, Apple registered an LLC in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, last year. Apple has a corporate office in Moscow as well, which opened earlier this month. According to Apple Insider, Apple does not have a retail presence in Ukraine, but the company does collaborate with authorised reseller

After a day of deliberation in which Max Verstappen expressed his concerns and Sebastian Vettel openly refused to compete in a race if it were held, Formula One has decided not to race in Russia this season. Despite the ambiguity of their statement, RACER's Chris Medland reports that the event has been cancelled outright. It means that the Russian Grand Prix has come to an end after eight years at the Sochi Olympic Park, where a circuit was built as part of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The announcement leaves an open September date on the calendar, one that Formula One is far better positioned to fill than it was two seasons ago. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the series was forced to scramble and replace multiple open dates on the calendar in both 2020 and 2021. Extra races in England and Austria the week before traditional events were one option, but the choice to bring F1 racing back to qualified venues like Imola and Turkey that would otherwise not have a business case to run a full-ti

Manchester United has terminated their £40 million sponsorship agreement with Aeroflot in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The six-year contract with Russia's national airline had 18 months left on it, but United confirmed on Friday that it had been terminated. 'In light of the events in Ukraine, we have withdrawn Aeroflot's sponsorship rights,' said a club spokesperson. 'We share the concerns of our fans all over the world and extend our heartfelt condolences to those affected.' Aeroflot's branding is already being removed from Old Trafford, where the airline's name is painted across the car park behind the Stretford End, with work set to begin as soon as possible. United's flight with Aeroflot to Spain for their Champions League match against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday was cancelled just hours before Russia launched its military intervention in Ukraine. Titan Airways, based in the United Kingdom, flew the team to Madrid. Following the

The draught resolution on Ukraine's invasion has been co-sponsored by an unprecedented number of UN Member States, according to Ukraine's president. As Russian forces approached Kyiv, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced that a draught resolution condemning the country's invasion had been co-sponsored by a "unprecedented" number of United Nations Member States. "As Russia continues to attack Kyiv, an unprecedented number of UN Member States have signed on to the draught resolution. This demonstrates that the world is on our side, the truth is on our side, and victory will be ours! "He tweeted about it. Earlier, Zelensky stated that Russian troops would attempt to take Kyiv during the night. "I must state unequivocally. This night will be more challenging than the day. Many of our state's cities are under attack "In a video address to the nation, Zelensky stated. "Special attention on Kyiv — we cannot lose the capital

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian soldiers of firing rockets into residential areas in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. According to a transcript, Zelensky claimed in a televised address that Russia's claim that it does not target civilians is "a lie." "In fact, they don't differentiate between which places to operate in," Zelensky continued. "Russia's offensive continues in the hopes of exhausting our forces. No one, however, is exhausted." Current situation: According to Zelensky, Russian "enemy sabotage groups" have invaded Kyiv, the country's capital, and have designated him and his family as No. 1 and No. 2 targets. According to CNN, he indicated he'll stay in government quarters in Kyiv but that Russia is focusing on getting him out. He went on to say that the Russians seek to "politically destroy Ukraine by destroying the head of state." Later in the day, White House press secre

Nasa has stated that the International Space Station would operate normally despite the conflict in Ukraine. Despite rapidly growing tensions between their two countries, the space agency has confirmed that cooperation operations with the Russian space agency will continue. A representative for the International Space Station said, "The International Space Station team is continuing to undertake scientific operations in low-Earth orbit in a safe manner." "Ongoing station operations include work to fly astronauts to the orbiting outpost and safely return them to Earth," says the statement. This will include the return of Nasa astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who will use a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to return to Earth on March 30. In addition to Vande Hei, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, Nasa astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and two Russian Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov are now stationed on the ISS. Cosmonauts Shkaplerov and Dubrov will

Natasha Bassett, an Australian actress, is making news due to rumours about her alleged new relationship with Elon Musk. Musk, 50, and Bassett, 27, were first seen together on February 17th, despite the fact that they haven't confirmed anything. When the Tesla and SpaceX CEO arrived in Los Angeles on his private plane, he was accompanied by a "mystery woman," according to images posted by the Daily Mail. A source close to Musk told Hollywood Life the next day that the woman was Bassett, and that she is now dating the billionaire. They "have only been dating for a couple of months, but they are already in a monogamous relationship," according to the insider. "They've been spending a lot of time together and are very much into each other," the person stated. While Bassett's rumoured romance has received a lot of attention, she is a well-known actress who has been in the spotlight before. Britney Ever After, a Lifetime television biographical film

Boris Johnson called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "blood-stained aggressor" as he launched the UK's largest-ever set of economic penalties against the country. Following the invasion of Ukraine, a ten-point plan aimed at putting pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin includes oligarchs, technology exports, and national debt. The crackdown will result in asset freezes for all major Russian banks, as well as penalties for over 100 corporations and affluent individuals, including Russia's youngest billionaire Kirill Shamalov and Manchester United sponsor Aeroflot. Mr Johnson's actions against three oligarchs and five Russian banks, revealed on Tuesday, were criticised by Conservative MPs as not being harsh enough since they failed to hit Putin's power base hard enough. The following is the entire list of sanctions he announced: An immediate asset freeze against all major Russian banks, including VTB, Russia's second-largest bank with £154 billion

In the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, President Biden imposed further penalties on Russian banks on Thursday, but he did not follow through on his warning to sanction Vladimir Putin directly or cut Russia out from the international banking system totally. Biden told reporters at the White House, "We've now sanctioned Russian banks that collectively control around $1 trillion in assets." The US had already shut Russia's largest bank off from the US financial system, according to Biden. "We're also blocking four more large banks today." That means all of their assets in America will be blocked," Biden explained. VTB, Russia's second-largest bank with $250 billion in assets, is one of the newly sanctioned banks. The United States, on the other hand, did not block Russian access to the SWIFT system (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). The SWIFT system, which is run by the Belgian National Bank, is used for a substant

As the European Commission president presented a package of fresh EU penalties on Russia, Ursula von der Leyen said Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine represents the "beginning of a new era." Ms von der Leyen said the package comprised financial, energy, and technological penalties to dissuade Mr Putin from redrawing "the map of Europe by force" during a late-night European Council meeting on the situation in Ukraine. Ms von der Leyen said the measures reflect "how united the EU is" in a series of tweets early Friday morning. "First, this package includes financial penalties, which target 70% of the Russian banking industry and important state-owned firms, including defence companies," she stated. "Second, we're focusing on the energy sector, which is a critical economic sector that favours Russia in particular. Our export embargo will harm the oil industry by preventing Russia from upgrading its refineries. Sanctions against 70% o

 

A Ukrainian military plane carrying up to 14 people has crashed in the midst of a Russian military offensive. According to AFP, the plane crashed near the Ukrainian city of Kyiv, citing Ukrainian emergency services. So far, almost 40 people have been killed in Ukraine by Russian military. A Russian plane was shot down over the Luhansk Region, according to the Ukraine Army. Russia has also stated that it has destroyed military infrastructure at Ukraine's air bases in order to'suppress' the country's air defences. Meanwhile, after President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine, Russia has taken control of two villages in Ukraine's east. In a televised speech prior to the invasion, Putin urged Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and return home. He described conflicts between Russian and Ukrainian forces as "inevitable," adding that the special military activity was "aimed at demilitarising and denazifying Ukraine."

The Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted quickly after Russia's action, with Ukraine announcing the closure of its airspace. Following the Russian military intervention in Ukraine and the ensuing closing of Ukrainian airspace, Flightradar24, an online platform that displays real-time commercial aircraft flight monitoring information on a map, failed on Thursday. "Some users may experience slowness or brief connection troubles when using Flightradar24 due to extremely heavy demand." Flightradar24 tweeted, "We're working on enhancing available performance right now." "We're still working hard to expand capacity, but the huge foreign interest generates 10-20 times the regular traffic, which is difficult to handle." Following the Russian intervention, Ukraine announced the closure of its airspace. Following this, an Air India flight bound for Ukraine to bring Indians home made a U-turn. Even before the airspace was shut down, a number of multinational a

 

HONG KONG, Feb. 22 – COVID-19 was discovered in samples obtained from the packaging of imported frozen beef from Brazil and frozen hog skin from Poland, according to Hong Kong authorities, who promised to increase food inspections. The global financial centre follows mainland China's "dynamic zero COVID" strategy, which aims to eliminate any outbreaks at all costs. Authorities are on high alert as a new wave of diseases proves difficult to contain. The number of daily infections has climbed dramatically this year, reaching a new high of 7,533 cases on Monday, far outstripping the government's testing, hospital, and quarantine capacity. The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) took 36 samples for testing from a batch of 1,100 cartons of frozen beef shipped by sea from Brazil, weighing a total of 29 tonnes. One outside packaging sample and two interior packaging samples were found to be positive. It also took 12 samples from a batch of 300 cartons of frozen pork skin imported b

BEIJING, Feb. 21 — China's foreign ministry denied on Monday that a spent rocket booster expected to land on the moon's far side next month is debris from a Chinese lunar mission in 2014. An independent researcher initially identified the rocket booster, which is due to fall on the moon on March 4, as a used Falcon rocket stage from Elon Musk's SpaceX. However, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States announced earlier this month that their study revealed the object was most likely the booster rocket from China's Chang'e 5-T1 mission, which launched in 2014. In October 2014, China sent an unmanned Chang'e 5-T1 spacecraft to the moon aboard a three-stage Long March 3C rocket. The goal of the mission was to see if the spacecraft's capsule could re-enter Earth's atmosphere. That following month, the capsule landed on Earth. When reporters inquired if the object was from the Chinese mission, Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign