Category: _spotlight
23andMe files for bankruptcy, putting customers’ genetic data at risk
Genetic testing company 23andMe has begun Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, alarming regulators and privacy advocates who are warning customers to delete genetic information retained by the company. 23andMe said on Sunday it intends to put itself up for sale following the proceedings. In October 2023 it suffered a massive data breach causing major reputational damage and exposing the genetic information of more than six million people.
‘They’re out of control’: Donald Trump says Jeff Bezos frustrated with Washington Post’s ‘crazy people’
US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about his working relationship with Jeff Bezos and the future of The Washington Post, alleging that Bezos privately criticised the newspaper’s staff. In an interview with OutKick’s Clay Travis, Trump claimed Bezos lamented the financial losses from running the publication and voiced frustrations about its newsroom employees. “They actually did a couple of bad articles on him,” Trump said. “He said, ‘This is crazy, I lose my fortune running this thing and they’re out…
French nuclear attack submarine “Barracuda” surfaces in Canada
A curious discovery in Canadian waters. A French attack submarine , the FS Tourville, appeared Monday in the port of Halifax in Nova Scotia, a Canadian province. Photos of the vessel were posted on social media, fueling speculation amid geopolitical turmoil . Some see it as evidence of a show of force by the European Union in the face of Donald Trump’s multiple provocations. The submarine is owned by French Naval Group, the European leader in the sector. It made its first Atlantic crossing on Monday as a test, as Canada prepares to renew its submarine fleet. Last February, the French naval group responded to a request for information from Ottawa, which aims to put 6 to 12 new submarines into service from 2035.
News from Russia: Bosnia issues arrest warrant for Bosnian Serb leadership, Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik
Bosnian prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for the president, prime minister, and parliament speaker of Republika Srpska, the predominantly-Serb region within Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are accused of having launched an “attack on the constitutional order” by enacting laws that restrict the operations of Bosnia’s state-level judiciary and law enforcement agencies. Following a brutal civil war that pitted the former Yugoslav region’s ethno-religious groups against one another, Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two self-governing entities, the ethnically Serbian Republika Srpska…
News from Russia: US statements on readiness to negotiate with Iran are hoax -Khamenei
Statements made by the United States about its willingness to negotiate with Iran are a deception of the global public opinion, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday.
“Statements that the US president is ready to hold negotiations and invites to the negotiating table are the deception of the global public opinion,” the ISNA news agency quoted Khamenei as saying. “We have been sitting at the negotiating table for several years, and this very same person cast aside a completed and signed document tearing it up. What kind of negotiations we must hold if we know well that they will not work? This is why all calls and statements about negotiations are the deception of the public opinion,” he added. US President Donald Trump announced on March 7 that he had sent a message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.
“Impeachment Is a Remedy for a Runaway President”: Rep. Al Green on Why He Disrupted Trump’s Address
Democracy Now speaks with Democratic Congressmember Al Green of Texas a day after he was censured by the House of Representatives for disrupting President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday night. His dramatic protest came near the start of Trump’s record-long speech. In instantly iconic images, Green rose and shook his walking cane at the president on the rostrum, telling him “You have no mandate” to cut vital government programs. Green was ejected from the chamber. This comes…
FCA to ease rules restricting mortgage lending
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced plans to ease British mortgage lending rules, aiming to help more people buy homes. The regulator is preparing to review and potentially relax stress-testing requirements that assess borrowers’ ability to handle higher interest rates. Additionally, the FCA will launch a public debate in June on the mortgage market, focusing on risk appetite, affordability testing, product innovation, lending to older borrowers, and consumer information needs. A consultation in May will explore ways to simplify remortgaging,…
U.S. News: Veterans Affairs Set To Lay Off Thousands
The Trump administration plans to reduce the Department of Veterans Affairs workforce by around 72,000 employees, from approximately 470,000 to 398,000. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins stated that the cuts would not impact veterans’ healthcare or benefits, and the department would continue hiring for essential roles. Collins emphasized that this move was part of efforts to make the department more efficient and transparent. The cuts are expected to take place in August. The American Federation of Government Employees, representing over…
Will Musk avoid all repercussions of bribery in taking Verizon’s FAA contract?
Elon Musk’s satellite company, Starlink, is in talks to potentially take over a $2.4 billion contract from Verizon with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to upgrade airspace management systems. While the contract hasn’t been officially transferred, FAA officials have begun seeking funds for a possible Starlink deal, according to sources familiar with the situation. These instructions were reportedly given verbally, which is unusual and suggests an effort to avoid creating a paper trail. Obtaining a federal contract through ties to…
US issues fresh sanctions related to Nord Stream 2 pipeline
WASHINGTON – The United States issued fresh sanctions on Wednesday on several Russia-based entities over their involvement in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the State Department said, including new measures against the operator of the project. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it was re-imposing sanctions on a number of entities involved in the construction of the pipeline that were already designated, as well as several new owners of vessels already under sanctions. Among those targeted…
