rise | Common News Update

Apr82021 by adminNo Comments

Ukrainian president visits eastern frontline as tensions rise with Russia

World

Ukraine's president has visited the country's eastern frontline amid an escalation of tensions with neighbouring Russia that has raised fears of a resumption of large-scale hostilities.In Moscow, a senior Kremlin official sternly warned Ukraine against using force to reclaim control of the rebel east, saying that this might force Russia to step in to protect civilians there. The conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine erupted shortly after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. More than 14,000 people have died in the fighting. Image: Ukraine's President Zelenskyy told soldiers they were 'a true example of heroism'. Pic: Associated Press Analysis: Russia using old Putin tactic to justify military pr...

Apr82021 by adminNo Comments

Futures rise slightly after S&P 500 hits fresh record

Finance

U.S. stock futures moved higher in overnight trading on Thursday after the S&P 500 notched a fresh record in the regular session.Dow futures rose about 50 points. S&P 500 futures gained 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.17%.The major averages rose on Thursday, bolstered by gains in technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 57 points, helped by a near-2% gain in Apple's stock.The S&P 500 climbed 0.42% and closed at a record high for the second day in a row.The Nasdaq Composite was the relative outperformer, gaining more than 1% as Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet all closed higher.Investors largely shrugged off an unexpected jump in jobless claims from last week. The Labor Department reported first-time claims for the week ended April ...

Apr22021 by adminNo Comments

Dinosaur-killing asteroid strike gave rise to Amazon rainforest

Science

SPLThe asteroid impact that killed off the dinosaurs gave birth to our planet's tropical rainforests, a study suggests.Researchers used fossil pollen and leaves from Colombia to investigate how the impact changed South American tropical forests.After the 12km-wide space rock struck Earth 66 million years ago, the type of vegetation that made up these forests changed drastically.The team has outlined its findings in the prestigious journal Science.Co-author Dr Mónica Carvalho, from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution in Panama, said: "Our team examined over 50,000 fossil pollen records and more than 6,000 leaf fossils from before and after the impact."They found that cone-bearing plants called conifers and ferns were common before the huge asteroid struck what is now the Yucatan P...

Apr22021 by adminNo Comments

BAE Systems hands Woodburn £2m pay rise after poaching bid

Business

Britain's biggest defence contractor has handed its chief executive a multimillion pound pay rise as its board scrambled to prevent a rival FTSE-100 company from poaching him.Sky News can reveal that BAE Systems has increased Charles Woodburn's base salary by well over £100,000 and awarded him an additional 'golden handcuffs' share package worth £2m to ensure his continued tenure at the company. City sources said on Friday that BAE's board had consulted widely with its top shareholders on the issue and had received their support to incentivise Dr Woodburn to stay.Details of the special remuneration arrangements, which the company described as a "one-off", were contained in BAE's annual report published this week.Dr Woodburn's annual salary has been increased to just over £1.1m, while a per...

Mar302021 by adminNo Comments

‘We have your porn collection’: The rise of Extortionware

Technology

Getty ImagesCyber-security companies are warning about the rise of so-called 'extortionware' where hackers embarrass victims into paying a ransom.Experts say the trend towards ransoming sensitive private information could affect companies not just operationally but through reputation damage.It comes as hackers bragged after discovering an IT Director's secret porn collection.The targeted US firm has not publicly acknowledged that it was hacked.In its darknet blog post about the hack last month, the cyber-criminal gang named the IT director whose work computer allegedly contained the files.It also posted a screen grab of the computer's file library which included more than a dozen folders catalogued under the names of porn stars and porn websites.The infamous hacker group wrote: "Thanks God...