Month: July 2021

Joe Biden’s hour-long phone call with the Russian leader suggests growing impatience over attacks disrupting US sectors Joe Biden has increased pressure on Vladimir Putin to move against ransomware groups operating from Russia, warning the United States is prepared to respond if cyberhacks are not stopped. The two leaders held an hour-long phone call on …

‘We expect them to act’: Biden presses Putin on ransomware groups, hints at retaliation Read More »

Vancouver judge denies bid by Meng Wanzhou to add over 300 HSBC documents to her legal battle A Canadian judge has denied an application by Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei chief financial officer, to add documents her legal team received from HSBC as evidence to her US extradition case, the judge announced on Friday. Meng, 49, …

Huawei finance chief faces setback in fight against US extradition Read More »

Analysis: multiple state agencies have been drafting rules to regulate China’s booming, anarchic tech sector China’s biggest ride-hailing company, Didi, is the latest casualty of Beijing’s effort to rein in upstart tech companies that had been left to their own devices in the absence of proper regulation. The Cyberspace Administration of China’s ban on Didi …

Didi the latest casualty as China tackles tech’s ‘barbaric growth’ Read More »

Roguelike shooters, punishing platformers and brutal, sword-heavy RPGs … not all great games have to be a walk in the park Modern Toss on twiddling their thumbs If you want to try and enjoy beautiful 1930s-style animation while being so frustrated that you nearly throw your controller at the wall, Cuphead is your game. It’s …

From Cuphead to Super Meat Boy: 10 of the most fiendishly difficult games Read More »

The Natural History Museum’s new podcast covers poaching, smuggling and more. Plus: To Live and Die in LA returns, and Atlas Obscura offers instant wanderlust Wild CrimesAs the Natural History Museum’s Tori Herridge informs us, wildlife crime is the fourth most lucrative illegal industry in the world, after narcotics, human trafficking and arms dealing. The …

Wild tales of illegal animal trading – podcasts of the week Read More »

Beijing’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies has captured headlines, while behind the scenes its reserve bank set up its own digital currency Few would dispute that China’s recent crackdown on cryptocurrency trading and mining has contributed to the recent plunge in the value of bitcoin and other cryptos. But while the argument rages about whether the volatility …

Currency and control: why China wants to undermine bitcoin Read More »

Legal scholars suggest former president’s complaint may bring the attention he craves but doesn’t present a serious legal argument Donald Trump may have filed lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, claiming he and other conservatives have been censored – but legal scholars say his case is probably doomed to fail. The former president was suspended …

Will Trump’s big tech lawsuits succeed? Experts say chances are slim Read More »

During the early 80s home computing boom, flexi discs full of data were briefly all the rage, and Frank Sidebottom, the Thompson Twins and the Stranglers made their way to the ZX Spectrum It’s almost unthinkable now, but from the 1970s until the early 1980s, vinyl records were explored as a means of storing computer …

Spin machines: the curious history of video games on vinyl Read More »

Operator behind USD Coin will merge with company chaired by former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond Circle, the company behind digital currency USD Coin, is to float in the US in a $4.5bn (£3.27bn) merger deal with a company chaired by former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond. It will merge with Concord Acquisition Corp, which …

Cryptocurrency firm Circle to float in US in $4.5bn merger deal Read More »

We ask Australian comedians to tell us where the funny stuff is online. Montaigne is not a comedian, but she does spent a lot of time on the internet Hello! I’m Montaigne and I’m a singer-songwriter. I represented Australia at Eurovision this year (and, technically, last year as well). I’m currently writing songs for an …

Montaigne: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet) Read More »