Business, Financial & Legal - Page 56

Russia has said that relations between it and the United States are on the verge of rupturing after Biden accused Russia's President Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal".

Russia has formally responded to President Joe Biden's accusation of Russian President Vladimir Putin being a "war criminal" by summoning U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan to Moscow. The Kremlin has said it will be formally protesting Biden's new label for Putin and added that relations between the U.S. and Russia are now "on the verge of rupture".

The comment from Biden was made on March 16 when the U.S. president said Vladimir Putin "is a war criminal" for the attacks on Ukraine, marking the first time Biden has directly accused Putin as a "war criminal". It should be noted that the label from Biden came only hours after a meeting was held between Biden, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor who has been investing Russia for war crimes for the past two weeks.

Alexei Mordashov is a Russian billionaire that has recently lost his $116 million property following imposed sanctions amid Russia's invasion into Ukraine.

The Russian billionaire's property is located in Portisco, on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy, and has now been seized by Italian authorities, marking the second asset owned by Mordashov that has been seized, with the first being his 215-foot yacht worth $71 million. BusinessInsider reports that earlier in the month, Mordashov transferred his $1.1 billion stake in a mining company to his wife in a clear move of attempting to remain in control of his immense wealth.

Forbes data indicates that Mordashov is the wealthiest individual in Russia with a net worth of $29.1 billion, which means that the seizure of his $116 million property and his $71 yacht probably doesn't have him worried. In response to these sanctions, Mordashov has said, "I have absolutely nothing to do with the emergence of the current geopolitical tension, and I do not understand why the EU has imposed sanctions on me."

On Thursday, some stark warnings came out of Russia as Moscow claimed that it had enough power to put its enemies in their place.

The heated comments came from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, and now deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, who said that the United States is attempting to force Russia to its knees while simultaneously creating a "disgusting" Russophobic in an attempt to dismantle the Moscow.

Since Russia's invasion into Ukraine beginning on February 24, many western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia in an effort to economically cripple it and remove it as much as it possibly can from the global economy. "It will not work - Russia has the might to put all of our brash enemies in their place," Medvedev said. Since the sanctions have been in place, Russian officials have been throwing insults towards the US, with Russia's Space Agency head Dmitry Rogozin even threatening to crash the ISS into the United States.

Russia is attempting to control and curate any and all information coming into Russia, specifically to create a narrative about its invasion into Ukraine.

It was only recently that Russia's communications agency Roskomnadzor claimed that Instagram moderators allowed content that encourages violence towards Russian soldiers depending on where they originated from, which eventuated in Instagram being banned throughout Russia. The Instagram ban came after the Facebook ban, where Russia cited "discrimination against Russian media".

Now Fortune reports that the social media shutdown have cost the Russian economy $861 million in 2022, or just 77 days. The findings come from independent research firm Top10VPN.com which found Russia was the number one country for online censorship impacting its economy, with the second country being Kazakhstan with $430 million. Notably, before the Ukraine War war, Russia's censorship was less than $1 million, but now the need for online censorship has increased with Putin's invasion into Ukraine.

Netflix claims it's responding to popular demand by bringing back the sitcom.

The satirical comedy series titled "Servant of the People" stars current Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The series began in 2015, running until 2019 before Zelenskyy became president of Ukraine, mirroring his rise to the presidency in the show. The political party Zelenskyy is the head of is even named after the showed, also called "Servant of the People," which was formed in 2017.

The show consists of two full seasons and a short third season, and had a film released in 2016 as a sequel to the first season named "Servant of the People 2". Netflix is returning the series to its library thanks to "popular demand," likely due to Zelenskyy's significantly increased exposure amidst the Russian war into Ukraine at the forefront of current events.

A Russian oligarch has begun targeting British police officers after protesters broke into his London mansion.

The Russian oligarch is by Oleg Deripaska, and his mansion is located in a luxury residential area in central London. According to reports, activists broke into the mansion located in Belgrave Square on Monday around 1 AM. The four individuals who climbed onto the mansion's balcony came down around 8 PM Monday night and were arrested by authorities.

Larisa Belyaeva, a spokeswoman for Deripaska, said that the Deripaska family was "appalled at the negligence of Britain's justice system shown by Boris Johnson's cabinet in introducing the sanctions and colluding with the sort of people who raid private property." These comments come after the United Kingdom laid heavy sanctions on Oleg Deripaska following Russia's invasion into Ukraine.

On Tuesday, the United States Senate passed a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, with supporters of the bill advocating for brighter afternoons and generally more activity.

The new bill is called the Sunshine Protection Act, and when voted on by the Senate, it passed unanimously. It will now go on to the House of Representatives, where it will need to pass before heading to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature. Biden has indicated whether he supports the new legislation or not, while a spokesperson for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined to comment on the bill.

Senator Mark Rubio is one of the bill's sponsors and said that if the legislation were to pass, the change to daylight savings time won't happen until November 2023. Supporters of the change advocate that the passing of the bill will allow for children to play outdoors later and will reduce seasonal depression. In response to the bill, the National Association of Convenience Stores said that "we should not have kids going to school in the dark."

Daily NFT trading volume is down by 80% on digital marketplace OpenSea, the world's largest NFT trading platform, triggering what the media calls "the great NFT sell-off".

According to data gleaned by FinancialTimes, the daily trade volume for NFTs on OpenSea has dropped by 80% to $50 million throughout March, as opposed to the $284 million in trade volume reached in February.

NFT tracker DappRadar likewise shows an overall drop in traders and volume on OpenSea. Overall trading volume for the past 30 days has dropped by over 67% to $2.6 billion (by all means an incredible number that is more than some games companies earn every year) with traders also dropping some 23% to 489,796 users.

After completing lengthy "intense" discussions with the Chinese diplomats, US officials believe China has already decided it will fund Russia's invasion into Ukraine.

US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, participated in a seven-hour meeting in Rome with top Chinese diplomats where presented a strong case against Russia's invasion into Ukraine beginning on Thursday, 24 February. A US official described the discussions as "intense", and when Sullivan was asked if the discussions could be declared a success he said China and the US are committed to keeping open lines of communications even in areas they disagree on.

While that is certainly a positive sentiment, US officials believe that the goal of getting China to reevaluate its position wasn't achieved, as the diplomats made it clear that they have already decided to provide economic and financial support to Russia. At the moment, Russia has $640 billion tied up in gold and foreign exchange reserves, and some of those reserves are in yuan, which is an avenue that China can assist Russia financially.

Russia is continuing its advance into Ukraine while simultaneously requesting economic and military aid from China.

According to a report from Reuters, the United States has claimed that Russia is requesting military and economic aid from China, which the US has now warned China against participating in after indicating to Russia that it was willing to provide support. The allegations from the US have been denied by both China and Russia, following newly imposed sanctions on multiple Russian businessmen and politicians.

The Kremlin has denied any allegation that suggests it doesn't have enough resources to win the war and will be forced into pulling out early into a peace agreement. One Ukrainian presidential advisor predicted that a peace agreement will be struck before the end of May based on how many resources Russia has left.

Russia is continuing its invasion into Ukraine, and amid constantly shelling on Ukraine's capital, an advisor for Ukraine's president has given a potential date for the end of the war between the two nations.

According to Oleksiy Arestovich, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, blogger, actor, political and military columnist, based on an estimation of total Russian resources, the war with Russia could possibly end in early May. The presidential advisor estimates that by the end of May, 2022, Ukraine and Russia will have entered into a peace agreement, but also said that this peace agreement could happen much earlier than May.

Arestovich went on to say that the war has reached a "fork" point where Russia will be forced to either strike a peace deal and withdraw troops completely, or send in more forces for "round two". Additionally, Arestovich said that a "completely crazy" scenario could be Russia sending in freshly conscripted military that have only had minimal training.

Russia is continuing its attack on the capital of Ukraine and has simultaneously sent out threats targeting Western arms suppliers assisting Ukraine.

According to reports, Russia has announced that its troops may begin targeting Western weapon suppliers in Ukraine, adding that Moscow has repeatedly warned that providing Ukraine with military aid in the form of anti-tank missile systems, air defense systems, and various forms of weapons would result in consequences.

Sergei Ryabkov, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, said that the US had not considered Russia's warning to be serious, and Russia would not be participating in a "negotiation processes" on Ukraine. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continuously requested military aid from Western countries and has received multiple deliveries that have aided his defense against Russia's invasion.

United States officials have claimed that Russia requested military support from China for its invasion into Ukraine.

The US senior officials have remained unnamed but spoke to multiple news outlets such as The New York Times, Fox, Washington Post, and CNN, claiming that Russia asked China for military and economic assistance to help its invasion into Ukraine. The Times asked the unnamed officials what type of weaponry Russia allegedly requested from China, to which the US officials declined to comment.

In response to these allegations from US senior officials, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu spoke to CNN and said that he's "never heard" of any request for aid from Russia, adding that "China is deeply concerned and grieved on the Ukraine situation. We sincerely hope that the situation will ease and peace will return at an early date."

The United States has fired back at Russia after the Kremlin alleged that the US was conducting military biological activities within Ukraine.

Russia recently made the allegations against the US, which has been adamantly denied by the Biden administration and now Olivia Dalton, spokesperson for the US Mission to the United Nations who said, "This is exactly the kind of false flag effort we have warned Russia might initiate to justify a biological or chemical weapons attack." Adding, "We're not going to let Russia gaslight the world or use the UN Security Council as a venue for promoting their disinformation."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the United States, without showing evidence, of supporting biological labs run by Ukraine. In response to these allegations, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, labeled the statements as "disinformation", describing them as "preposterous," and warned that Russia is attempting to create a false narrative and may use chemical weapons themselves.

If you've ever wanted to know what space "tastes" like, then you will get your chance with Coke Starlight... Coca-Cola's new flavor of Coke.

Coca-Cola Starlight is a new limited edition sparkling beverage, which the company says you'll get a "subtle cooling sensation" when you drink it. The "space-flavored" drink is the first of Coca-Cola Creations -- the company's new "hub platform" -- aiming at the Gen Z age group through "packaging designs, culturally relevant expressions and creative collaborations", says Coke.

The new Coca-Cola Starlight is launching in the US later this month as a limited-edition offering, with the company detailing Coca-Cola Starlight that "fuses signature Coca‑Cola taste with unexpected touches, including a reddish hue and cooling taste sensation evoking the feeling of a journey to space".

A YouTube investigator that goes by the name Coffeezilla has investigated Jake Paul's involvement in past NFT projects and has found some suspicious movements.

Coffeezilla is no stranger to exposing non-fungible token projects that end up being scams, as he recently exposed famous porn star-turned influencer Lana Rhoades for scamming her community. Coffeezilla explains that there is a real challenge when it comes to catching influencers out, as on one hand everything on the blockchain can be tracked, but on the other hand, it's quite easy to set up anonymous wallet identities.

Paul's public cryptocurrency wallet address was linked to a promotion for the NFT project called "Sacred Devils," where he got paid 39.9 Ether worth $139,000. It was later discovered that the NFT project was linked to a group of busted scammers, leaving investors in the project with major losses. Additionally, Paul's public wallet can be seen funding and promoting the NFT project called StickDix. Paul received $1.5 million from the project and failed to fulfill the project's promised roadmap.

A new memo by American Express Chairman and Chief Executive Officer reveals American Express users in Russia and Belarus are banned from the service.

American Express has announced it has suspended operations in Russia and Belarus following Russia's invasion into Ukraine. In a memo from American Express Chairman and CEO Stephen J. Squeri, it's explained that the suspension is in response to Russia's attack and that American Express cards will no longer work at merchants or ATMs in Russia. Additionally, cards that are issued locally within Russia by Russian banks will no longer work outside of the country.

The same operational cancellations announced for Russia have also been issued for Belarus, as the memo states, "This is in addition to the previous steps we have taken, which include halting our relationships with banks in Russia impacted by the U.S. and international government sanctions." Squeri explains that American Express pledges to assist its customers with travel arrangements to help employees and customers evacuate areas affected by the crisis.

Samsung was hacked by the same group that hacked NVIDIA, with the hackers getting away with 190GB of data and dumping it on the internet.

But now we have the news confirmed, with a spokesperson from Samsung explaining to SamMobile: "We were recently made aware that there was a security breach relating to certain internal company data. Immediately after discovering the incident, we strengthened our security system".

"According to our initial analysis, the breach involves some source codes relating to the operation of Galaxy devices but does not include the personal information of our consumers or employees. Currently, we do not anticipate any impact to our business or customers. We have implemented measures to prevent further such incidents and will continue to serve our customers without disruption".

If things couldn't get any worse, the Chernobyl nuclear site has lost power. In the last hour reports have flown around the world, with confirmation coming from the state regulator.

The Chernobyl nuclear site lost power at around 11:22AM local time, with emergency generators capable of keeping safety systems running for 48 hours. But the much, much bigger issue is that the ongoing special military operation by Russia in the Ukraine "are making repair impossible".

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported yesterday that it was "increasingly concerned about conditions at the site. 210 workers have now gone 14 days without being rotated. And the IAEA has lost remote radiation monitoring data". There are around 20,000 old nuclear fuel rods at Chernobyl that are kept in a spent fuel pool facility, which have been piling up since the operation of Chernobyl between 1977 and 2000.

Interfax reports that Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that introduces special economic measures on importing and exporting.

According to reports, Putin has signed a decree that adds restrictions on foreign trade under the guise of protecting Russia's security. The new decree puts "a ban on exports outside of the Russian Federation's territory and (or) imports to the Russian Federation's territory of products and (or) raw materials according to lists determined by the Russian government."

Additionally, restrictions have been put on exports outside of the Russian Federation's territory, "and (or) imports to the Russian Federation's territory of products and (or) raw materials according to lists determined by the Russian government." Adding that "the measures envisioned by Clause 1 of the decree shall not be applied to products and (or) raw materials exported outside of the Russian Federation's territory and (or) imported to the Russian Federation's territory by citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens, and persons without citizenship for personal use."