U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT APPLE IPHONE HACKED WITH ISRAELI COMPANY SPYWARE – SOURCES

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT APPLE IPHONE HACKED WITH ISRAELI COMPANY SPYWARE – SOURCES

Apple Inc iPhones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees were hacked by an unknown assailant using sophisticated spyware developed by the Israel-based NSO Group, according to four people familiar with the matter. The hacks, which took place in the last several months, hit U.S. officials either based in Uganda or focused on matters concerning the East African country, two of the sources said. The intrusions, first reported here, represent the widest known hacks of U.S. officials through NSO technology. Previously, a list of numbers with potential targets including…

Read More

Amazon’s Black Friday Greeted by Climate Activists, Strikes in Europe

Amazon’s Black Friday Greeted by Climate Activists, Strikes in Europe

Climate activists targeted 15 Amazon depots across Europe on “Black Friday” and the world’s biggest e-commerce company also faced protests by workers and delivery drivers in Germany, France, and Italy. Amazon, based in Seattle, is facing criticism from climate activists who say excessive consumption harms the environment while an alliance of trade unions say the company does not pay workers enough nor enough tax to governments. “Black Friday epitomises an obsession with overconsumption that is not consistent with a liveable planet,” the Extinction Rebellion group said after blocking 13 Amazon…

Read More

Norway’s Oil Boom Is Only Just Beginning

Norway’s Oil Boom Is Only Just Beginning

Norway’s revenues from oil and gas production hit a record high this year and are showing no signs of slowing down.While Norway is a major supporter of clean energies, it is also a firm believer that the energy transition can only be achieved by using the profits from oil and gas production. The future is bright for Norway’s energy giant Equinor, which will be able to take advantage of growing energy demand and play a leading role in the coming energy transition. Norway’s oil and gas production is at an…

Read More

Sweden asks EU to ban Bitcoin mining because while hydroelectric power is cheap, they need it for other stuff

Sweden asks EU to ban Bitcoin mining because while hydroelectric power is cheap, they need it for other stuff

The directors general of Sweden’s Financial Supervisory Authority and Environmental Protection Agency have called upon both the EU and Sweden’s government to ban cryptocurrency mining. Since China banned Bitcoin ,wannabe get-rich-quick artists have been looking for somewhere else to squander squillions of megawatt-hours minting imaginary internet money. Cheap hydroelectric power makes the Nordics tempting, with Sweden alone using 1TWh on it last year, but they would rather keep it for other uses than ransoming encrypted files and buying illegal drugs. Some will doubtless call that selfish and short-sighted of them….

Read More

Canada’s inflation rate hits a fresh 18-year high

Canada’s inflation rate hits a fresh 18-year high

Consumer prices in Canada rose at their fastest rate in 18 years in September, as the country continued to grapple with global supply chain issues. The annual inflation rate hit 4.4%, up from 4.1% in August, its highest level since February 2003. The costs of transport, housing and food all jumped, the country’s official statistics agency said. Canada’s central bank, which meets next week to decide whether to raise interest rates, is watching the trend. Like many countries, Canada has seen inflation – the rate at which consumer prices rise…

Read More

BITCOIN APPEARS TO CRASH 87% IN A FLASH ON BINANCE’S US VENUE

BITCOIN APPEARS TO CRASH 87% IN A FLASH ON BINANCE’S US VENUE

The plunge occurred at 7:34 a.m. New York time, according to Binance’s website The price of Bitcoin appeared to rapidly — and only temporarily — plunge about 87% on Binance’s U.S. exchange Thursday morning, sinking to as low as $8,200 from around $65,000. The price did nothing like that on other venues, and on Binance the level almost immediately snapped back to where it had been. The plunge occurred at 7:34 a.m. New York time, according to Binance’s website. Volume on the exchange in that minute was 592.8 Bitcoins, which…

Read More

Norway raises interest rates, says another hike likely in December

Norway raises interest rates, says another hike likely in December

Norway’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate on Thursday and said it expects to hike again in December, as it joins a short but growing list of nations moving away from emergency-level borrowing costs. Norges Bank’s monetary policy committee raised the sight deposit rate to 0.25% from a record low of zero, as forecast unanimously in a Reuters poll of analysts and in line with the central bank’s own plan. “There is a strong recovery in the Norwegian economy,” Norges Bank Governor Oeystein Olsen told a news conference. “It’s…

Read More

Infosys to open new digital development center in Canada: To employ 500 people in 3 years

Infosys to open new digital development center in Canada: To employ 500 people in 3 years

Spanning nearly 50,000 square feet and bringing significant investment from Infosys to Canada, this digital development centre will train, upskill, and reskill employees in the technologies needed to help the country’s businesses accelerate their digital transformation. Infosys announced on August 25 that it will establish a new digital development centre at its largest Canadian office in Mississauga. The move is aimed at creating 500 jobs in the Toronto Region over the next three years. Infosys had previously committed to double its Canadian workforce to 4,000 employees by 2023. The digital…

Read More

UK MANUFACTURERS TO GET BIG CONCESSION ON POST-BREXIT QUALITY MARK

UK MANUFACTURERS TO GET BIG CONCESSION ON POST-BREXIT QUALITY MARK

The UK government is to grant a major concession to British business by prolonging the deadline for companies to adopt a new “UKCA” safety and quality mark for their goods after Brexit. The one-year extension for UK products to continue using the EU’s “CE” safety mark came after businesses warned that they would not be ready for the planned post-Brexit shift away from EU certification at the end of 2021. The government climbdown will give vital breathing space for UK manufacturers, which had warned over risks to the British supply…

Read More

Denmark Is Listed As The Best Country For Business

Denmark Is Listed As The Best Country For Business

Denmark, the Scandinavian country squished between Germany and Sweden, is ranked the easiest place to do business in the world, according to the recently published Global Business Complexity Index 2021. The report explains: “In Denmark, you can incorporate a company within a day,due to the fact that there is one single entry point for all registrations, and all necessary bodies and organisations are automatically notified.”France came second to worst of the 77 countries ranked. “France’s place as the second most complex jurisdiction is driven by complexities in accounting and tax…

Read More