Hitman offered C$100,000 for Canadian reporter's assassination

Daniel Renaud was targeted while covering hitman Frédérick Silva's trial in 2021, La Presse reports.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/yBdsMiD

Report: Russia arrested notorious cybercriminal Mikhail Matveev for developing malware and running hacking groups; US DOJ filed charges against him in 2023 (Sergiu Gatlan/BleepingComputer)

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
Report: Russia arrested notorious cybercriminal Mikhail Matveev for developing malware and running hacking groups; US DOJ filed charges against him in 2023  —  Russian citizen and notorious ransomware affiliate Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev (also known as Wazawaka, Uhodiransomwar, m1x …

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Malian singer detained in Belgium in child custody row

The 50-year-old is being held after being extradited from Italy, according to reports.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/LpQkE6W

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review: reasonable price, telephoto camera, and a big screen, but the screen isn't that sharp and other ~$500 phones offer more value (Allison Johnson/The Verge)

Allison Johnson / The Verge:
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review: reasonable price, telephoto camera, and a big screen, but the screen isn't that sharp and other ~$500 phones offer more value  —  The S24 FE feels less like a ‘Fan Edition’ and more like an exercise in retail positioning. … There's something bugging me about Samsung's “Fan Edition” phone line.

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/dbfT4IJ

Romania orders election recount after TikTok bias claims

TikTok denies it gave preferential treatment to any candidate in Romania's presidential election.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/FwT4msq

Memo: Revolut tells ex-staff who were at the startup for 2+ years and held $100K+ in vested stock that they can join a secondary share sale at a $45B valuation (Aisha S Gani/Bloomberg)

Aisha S Gani / Bloomberg:
Memo: Revolut tells ex-staff who were at the startup for 2+ years and held $100K+ in vested stock that they can join a secondary share sale at a $45B valuation  —  - Ex-workers will be able to cash in at $45 billion valuation  — Secondary share sale began this summer with current employees

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Zimbabwe parliament hit by power cut during budget speech

Zimbabwe has faced daily 12-hour power cuts due to a drought affecting power supply at the Kariba Dam.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/YqVQdRC

An ex-staffer sues Binance for dismissing her for allegedly raising concerns about a co-worker taking a bribe; Binance says she was fired for poor performance (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
An ex-staffer sues Binance for dismissing her for allegedly raising concerns about a co-worker taking a bribe; Binance says she was fired for poor performance  —  - Binance staffer accused of bribing to speed up client process  — Binance says employee was dismissed for poor performance

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The US FTC is investigating Uber after customers complained the company signed them up for Uber One without their consent and made it difficult to cancel (Leah Nylen/Bloomberg)

Leah Nylen / Bloomberg:
The US FTC is investigating Uber after customers complained the company signed them up for Uber One without their consent and made it difficult to cancel  —  - Agency opened investigation earlier this year amid complaints  — Uber's lawyers complained to FTC about rushed settlement

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/LBaCkgM

Jeremy Bowen: 'The Lebanon ceasefire is a respite, not a solution for the Middle East'

What the latest developments mean for Iran's position - and for the prospect of peace in Gaza

from BBC News https://ift.tt/rZunGO7

Numerous bomb threats made against Trump cabinet nominees

Police are investigating a wave of incidents which happened on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/qSbavu3

Meta appears to be developing a Threads feature inspired by Bluesky's "starter packs", with profiles "handpicked by people on Threads" for users to follow (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Meta appears to be developing a Threads feature inspired by Bluesky's “starter packs”, with profiles “handpicked by people on Threads” for users to follow  —  Hoping to quell some of the momentum behind social network Bluesky, a competitor to X and Meta's Threads …

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Watch: Netanyahu explains why Israel agreed ceasefire deal

His announcement comes after more than a year of conflict between Israeli and Hezbollah forces.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/kFKOAqZ

A lawsuit between two Amazon influencers over allegations of copyright infringement shows the challenges of defining originality and ownership in content (Mia Sato/The Verge)

Mia Sato / The Verge:
A lawsuit between two Amazon influencers over allegations of copyright infringement shows the challenges of defining originality and ownership in content  —  One Amazon influencer makes a living posting content from her beige home.  But after she noticed another account hocking the same minimal aesthetic …

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/zKEw7h0

Key Russian air defence system hit in Ukraine Atacms strike

In a rare admission, Russia's defence ministry says its equivalent of the US Patriot system was damaged.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/xXEsVGl

Anthropic announces the Model Context Protocol, an open source standard for connecting AI assistants to data sources (Kyle Wiggers/TechCrunch)

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Anthropic announces the Model Context Protocol, an open source standard for connecting AI assistants to data sources  —  Anthropic is proposing a new standard for connecting AI assistants to the systems where data lives.  —  Called the Model Context Protocol, or MCP for short …

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Prosecutor asks judge to drop Trump election interference case

In a new filing, Special Counsel Jack Smith says a policy bans the prosecution of a sitting president.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/iw9FWb6

Instagram adds the ability for users to share their locations with friends via DMs for up to one hour, in select countries (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Instagram adds the ability for users to share their locations with friends via DMs for up to one hour, in select countries  —  Instagram is introducing the ability for users to share their locations with their friends via DMs (direct messages), the company announced on Monday.

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/xf7wWJZ

'Don't drink the spirits': Laos backpackers avoid shots after suspected poisonings

The deaths of six tourists sent shock waves through the backpacker scene in Vang Vieng.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/NbI87w1

Q&A with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on what happens to the CHIPS program under the Trump administration, the future of AI safety, and more (Steven Overly/Politico)

Steven Overly / Politico:
Q&A with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on what happens to the CHIPS program under the Trump administration, the future of AI safety, and more  —  With a massive legacy program hanging in the balance, the Commerce secretary wants to get billions in microchip money out the door in the next two months.

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/Lweq9U7

An overview of macro tech trends for 2025, focusing on generative AI, LLMs, scaling challenges with training ever bigger AI models, the capex surge, and more (Benedict Evans)

Benedict Evans:
An overview of macro tech trends for 2025, focusing on generative AI, LLMs, scaling challenges with training ever bigger AI models, the capex surge, and more  —  Presentations Every year, I produce a big presentation exploring macro and strategic trends in the tech industry.  For 2025, ‘AI eats the world’.

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/7MYBm3S

ActivityPub co-author on Bluesky and ATProto being neither decentralized nor federated, and how Bluesky is building a good X replacement with a "credible exit" (Christine Lemmer-Webber/Dustycloud ...)

Christine Lemmer-Webber / Dustycloud Brainstorms:
ActivityPub co-author on Bluesky and ATProto being neither decentralized nor federated, and how Bluesky is building a good X replacement with a “credible exit”  —  Recently due to various events (namely a lot of people getting off of X-Twitter), Bluesky has become a lot more popular …

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/4UduyzS

Sources: the US government launched an investigation into the Salt Typhoon hack after Microsoft alerted it and telecom companies about anomalies (New York Times)

New York Times:
Sources: the US government launched an investigation into the Salt Typhoon hack after Microsoft alerted it and telecom companies about anomalies  —  Leaders of the big telecommunications companies were summoned to the White House to discuss strategies for overhauling the security …

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/G7maIF8

Hamas says female hostage killed in northern Gaza

The woman's identity has not been revealed and it is unclear how or when she is said to have died.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/O7oM1qR

Around 56% of the $8.2B in financial remedies that the US SEC obtained in FY 2024 is attributable to a monetary judgment against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon (Nicola M. White/Bloomberg)

Nicola M. White / Bloomberg:
Around 56% of the $8.2B in financial remedies that the US SEC obtained in FY 2024 is attributable to a monetary judgment against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon  —  The agency's enforcement actions led to $8.2 billion in penalties and reimbursement to investors, though the number …

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/UalNywe

In 2025, Revolut plans to roll out branded ATMs with facial recognition, start offering mortgages, and ramp up its business offerings with BNPL options and more (Romain Dillet/TechCrunch)

Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
In 2025, Revolut plans to roll out branded ATMs with facial recognition, start offering mortgages, and ramp up its business offerings with BNPL options and more  —  Revolut, the London-based fintech unicorn, shared a few items on the company's 2025 roadmap at a corporate event in London on Friday.

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People smugglers who promoted Tripadvisor-style video reviews caught

The smugglers offered the migrants bronze, silver, gold and platinum packages, depending on risk.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/sFar6Um

Researchers detail a "nearest neighbor attack" by Russia's APT28, which remotely breached a target's Wi-Fi by hijacking a laptop in a building across the street (Andy Greenberg/Wired)

Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Researchers detail a “nearest neighbor attack” by Russia's APT28, which remotely breached a target's Wi-Fi by hijacking a laptop in a building across the street  —  In a first, Russia's APT28 hacking group appears to have remotely breached the Wi-Fi of an espionage target …

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/uPsHBva

Thousands rush to US border before Trump takes office

Migrants from Central America are making their way to the US to avoid new immigration controls.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/HmV47BZ

Meta is rolling out voice message transcripts on WhatsApp globally over the coming weeks in select languages, and says they are generated on users' devices (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Meta is rolling out voice message transcripts on WhatsApp globally over the coming weeks in select languages, and says they are generated on users' devices  —  WhatsApp announced on Thursday it's rolling out voice message transcripts.  The Meta-owned company says the new feature will come …

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/qWmUO4H

US nursing student Laken Riley's killer guilty of murder

Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan undocumented immigrant, was found guilty by a Georgia judge.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/uA9wsfX

The Biden admin finalizes $1.5B CHIPS Act incentives for GlobalFoundries, meaning it can start receiving federal funding for facilities in Vermont and New York (Mackenzie Hawkins/Bloomberg)

Mackenzie Hawkins / Bloomberg:
The Biden admin finalizes $1.5B CHIPS Act incentives for GlobalFoundries, meaning it can start receiving federal funding for facilities in Vermont and New York  —  - Pact doesn't include $1.6 billion loan from proposed agreement  — Biden administration has been firming up Chips Act awards

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Gisèle Pelicot condemns rape accused and says French society must change

She has waived her right to anonymity so the entire trial can be heard in public.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/TMzJvVq

Robinhood agrees to buy TradePMR, a custodial and portfolio management platform for registered investment advisors, in a $300M deal expected to close in H1 2025 (Paige Smith/Bloomberg)

Paige Smith / Bloomberg:
Robinhood agrees to buy TradePMR, a custodial and portfolio management platform for registered investment advisors, in a $300M deal expected to close in H1 2025  —  The deal — for about $300 million in cash and stock — is expected to close in the first half of next year, Robinhood said in a statement.

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Kong, which helps customers manage APIs, raised a $175M Series E co-led by Tiger Global and Balderton at a $2B valuation, taking its total raised to $345M (Katie Roof/Bloomberg)

Katie Roof / Bloomberg:
Kong, which helps customers manage APIs, raised a $175M Series E co-led by Tiger Global and Balderton at a $2B valuation, taking its total raised to $345M  —  - Startup develops application technologies for business clients  — Backers include Andreessen, Index, CRV, Sapphire and Balderton

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/UfeyhIR

Bluesky has 20M+ users after hitting 15M on Nov. 13; Appfigures: it's been #1 in US App Store since Nov. 13; Similarweb: its DAU gap with Threads is narrowing (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Bluesky has 20M+ users after hitting 15M on Nov. 13; Appfigures: it's been #1 in US App Store since Nov. 13; Similarweb: its DAU gap with Threads is narrowing  —  Bluesky, the social network and X competitor has been benefiting from a surge of departures from the Elon Musk-owned app formerly known as Twitter.

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/DjJ1qWv

'A coding Mozart': Seven-year-old gets job offer from Russian IT firm

The software company's boss said Sergey, who teaches coding in online videos, was 'a kind of Mozart'

from BBC News https://ift.tt/svNpEUT

Musk asked X users to try "submitting x-ray, PET, MRI or other medical images to Grok for analysis" weeks ago; many have, and HIPAA protections may not apply (Elizabeth Passarella/New York Times)

Elizabeth Passarella / New York Times:
Musk asked X users to try “submitting x-ray, PET, MRI or other medical images to Grok for analysis” weeks ago; many have, and HIPAA protections may not apply  —  Privacy experts cringed when people started feeding their medical images to the A.I. tool Grok.

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/bFTcUqZ

Australian radio host arrested over sex abuse claims

Veteran broadcaster and former Wallabies coach Alan Jones was arrested on Monday, local media report.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/UbHJNVY

An interview with El Salvador's top crypto regulator Juan Carlos Reyes on taking a tech-minded approach to crypto regulation, how his agency works, and more (Tom Carreras/CoinDesk)

Tom Carreras / CoinDesk:
An interview with El Salvador's top crypto regulator Juan Carlos Reyes on taking a tech-minded approach to crypto regulation, how his agency works, and more  —  The National Commission of Digital Assets is the agency in charge of regulating crypto in El Salvador, the first nation to accept Bitcoin as legal tender.

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/XW1vY6G

Hezbollah media chief killed in Israeli strike in Beirut - reports

The head of Hezbollah's media office, Mohamad Afif, was one of the group's few remaining public faces.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/ZepYWAt

Q&A with Future of Life Institute co-founder Max Tegmark on AGI, how Elon Musk could constructively engage with the Trump administration on AI safety, and more (Harry McCracken/Fast Company)

Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
Q&A with Future of Life Institute co-founder Max Tegmark on AGI, how Elon Musk could constructively engage with the Trump administration on AI safety, and more  —  More than 33,000 people—including a hall of fame of AI experts—signed a March 2023 open letter calling on the tech industry …

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Police blockade on South African miners lifted

A court says emergency workers must be allowed to enter a mine where hundreds are thought to be without food and water.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/6xblQPO

Ukraine's drone suppliers are using US-based Auterion's tech to ramp up production of automated attack drones that are cheap and can evade electronic jamming (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal:
Ukraine's drone suppliers are using US-based Auterion's tech to ramp up production of automated attack drones that are cheap and can evade electronic jamming  —  Kyiv's drone suppliers are ramping up production of computer-guided drones that are cheap and can't be electronically jammed

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/hy1cqKM

Bluesky is working to become fully decentralized but it could take years amid financial concerns as it makes money only by selling domains for usernames (Gavin Anderegg/anderegg.ca)

Gavin Anderegg / anderegg.ca:
Bluesky is working to become fully decentralized but it could take years amid financial concerns as it makes money only by selling domains for usernames  —  November has sucked so far.  One upside of the terrible nonsense is that more people are fleeing X. Many are choosing Bluesky.

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Senators call for federal probe into Musk's contact with Russia

Musk’s reported relations with Russia “pose serious questions” about US national security, the Democratic senators argue.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/ACuXfvz

Bluesky says it has "no intention" of taking user content to train AI tools, ahead of X implementing new terms of service that let it train AI on user content (Jay Peters/The Verge)

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Bluesky says it has “no intention” of taking user content to train AI tools, ahead of X implementing new terms of service that let it train AI on user content  —  ‘We do not use any of your content to train generative AI, and have no intention of doing so.’

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