Author: Press Room

A Russian military court has handed down long prison sentences to 12 members of Ukraine’s Azov regiment, which led the defence of the city of Mariupol in the early months of the war and is designated as a terrorist organisation by Russia.The defendants, charged with “terrorist activity” and with “violently seizing or retaining power,” were sentenced to between 13 and 23 years in prison, Russian state media reported.Independent news outlet Mediazona said 11 other people whom Russia had already returned to Ukraine in prisoner exchanges were also sentenced in absentia.They included nine women who had worked as army cooks.It said…

A former office worker, the 32-year-old said she’s now earning five times as much serving as the “right hand” of employers for whom she writes copy, manages social media and even buys family birthday gifts. Government figures for the sector are unavailable as the role falls into no recognised job category, meaning legal protections are also effectively non-existent. But Derek Gallimore, of advisory firm Outsource Accelerator, estimates the number of Filipino virtual assistants at around a million – a number he expects to grow. “It’s the assumption that they can call their own shots, have more freedom and earn more…

Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations of attacks against infrastructure in the wake of separate United States-brokered deal against attacks in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian air force said on Wednesday that 117 drones were launched from Russia during an overnight attack. At least 56 of the drones were downed, 48 were lost due to electronic warfare and no damage was caused, the air force said. However, the mayor of Mykolaiv said there were power outages due to the drones. In the city of Kryvyi Rih, the Russian attack caused fires and damaged buildings, but no casualties were reported. Buildings…

Washington — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe are back on Capitol Hill to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday after new text messages came to light from a group chat in which top Trump officials discussed sensitive plans to strike targets in Yemen. Shortly before the hearing began, The Atlantic published additional messages showing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided detailed information to the group of senior Trump officials about the strikes, including a timeline of when fighter jets would take off and what kind of weapons would be used. The group inadvertently included Jeffrey…

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Vroomfondel and Majikthise — representatives of Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and Other Thinking Persons — attempt to shut down supercomputer Deep Thought before it threatens their livelihoods by providing some certainty in answering the ultimate question of Life, the Universe and Everything. Financial analysts face no such threat.Doubt and uncertainty have never been in short supply in the finance world. And efforts to quantify important theoretical variables have done nothing to dent the livelihoods of its professionals.The most famous example is probably the ‘equity risk premium’, or ERP — the amount…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The Labour government’s planning reforms will boost housebuilding in the UK to more than 305,000 homes a year by 2029, the highest rate in decades, but still fall short of targets, according to new official forecasts. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility said on Wednesday the government’s changes to national planning policies last year would have “a material, additional and durable impact on housebuilding, property transactions and potential output, and a modest impact on house prices”.The OBR has forecast 1.3mn net additional…

Former NFL running back LeShon Eugene Johnson has been indicted on 21 charges in a massive federal dog fighting bust that led to the recovery of 190 pit bulls, according to the Justice Department.Federal authorities said they believe it’s their largest seizure of fighting dogs from a single individual in U.S. history.Johnson, a 54-year-old from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is accused of operating a large-scale breeding and trafficking operation known as “Mal Kant Kennels” as well as raising fighting dogs himself.He pleaded guilty to similar charges at the state level in 2004.PUERTO RICAN MAN SENTENCED TO 7 YEARS IN PRISON FOR…

The Liberals are pledging to build an “all in Canada” auto network to help protect Canadian workers from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. Liberal Leader Mark Carney unveiled his party’s plan on Wednesday for the country’s auto sector, which will create a $2-billion “strategic response fund.”Speaking at an election campaign stop in Windsor, Ont., Carney said this money will protect the jobs of workers affected by Trump’s tariffs and “fortify the entire Canadian auto supply chain from raw materials to finished vehicles.”“Our auto sector has always been there for our country, so in this time of uncertainty and need,…

The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq have declined in choppy trading, with investors exercising caution as they awaited economic data and clarity on the administration of US President Donald Trump’s fresh tariffs that are expected to take effect next week.US equities experienced a brief reprieve over the last two sessions, following Trump’s indication that not all tariffs would be enforced by the April 2 deadline, with certain countries potentially being granted exemptions – although specifics remain elusive.This offered a semblance of stability to Wall Street, with the trio of major indexes touching two week highs earlier in the…

HANOI: Vietnam’s government said on Wednesday (Mar 26) it will allow SpaceX to launch its Starlink satellite internet service on a trial basis in the country.  There is no limit on foreign ownership of the service, the government said in a statement, adding that the trial period will last until the end of 2030. Allowing the US firm to launch its internet service is seen by some analysts as one of the measures the Southeast Asian industrial hub has taken to avoid being hit with US tariffs. It is not yet clear if SpaceX has applied for a licence to…