Ukraine is set to replace Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov with the chief of its military spy agency, a senior legislator has said, in a high-profile cabinet reshuffle following corruption scandals and ahead of an expected Russian offensive. Reznikov, 56, would be transferred to another ministerial job and replaced by Kyrylo Budanov, 37, who heads Ukraine’s…
Cost of living: An Indian family’s struggle to escape their slum
Listen to this story: New Delhi, India – A long-tailed lizard dances in and out of the gaps in the asbestos sheet ceiling of Gunja and Chand Singh’s new house in Tughlakabad village, a neighbourhood in the Indian capital. It is about 3pm, and the couple is sitting in their bedroom sipping tea their younger…
What are ‘spy balloons’ and why are they used?
While China has insisted a white orb that floated across the continental United States last week was a wayward weather balloon, officials in Washington, DC, have said the balloon was a spying device deployed by Beijing to surveil sensitive areas. The high-profile imbroglio has drawn attention to so-called “spy balloons” and the seemingly old-fashioned technology’s…
US Navy working to recover debris from Chinese ‘spy balloon’
The craft, which Beijing says was a meteorological airship blown off course, was shot down in the Atlantic Ocean. The United States Navy is working to recover the debris of a Chinese surveillance balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after being shot down off the coast of South Carolina over the weekend. The balloon,…
Cyprus votes in presidential election as run-off expected
With 14 candidates in the running, opinion polls point to a race between three frontrunners. People in the Republic of Cyprus have begun voting for their eighth president in the ethnically divided island’s 63-year history as an independent state, with three frontrunners. Heralding the end of two terms for incumbent conservative President Nicos Anastasiades, some…
Pope makes final appeal for peace at end of South Sudan trip
Catholic church head joined other Christian leaders in calling for a recommitment to the 2018 peace deal during the Africa trip. Pope Francis has ended a trip to South Sudan with an impassioned plea for peace and forgiveness in the war-torn country. Francis made the appeal on Sunday as he presided over an open-air Mass…
Iraqis protest over killing of YouTube star by her father
Demonstrators hold placards saying ‘stop killing women’ and ‘Tiba’s killer must be held to account’. Iraqis are protesting to demand a law against domestic violence, days after a YouTuber was strangled by her father in a killing that sparked outrage. Tiba al-Ali, 22, was killed by her father on January 31 in the southern province…
The ‘Twitter Files’ are a distraction
Billionaire Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter was one of the top stories across the news media in 2022. The takeover has been an unmitigated disaster, leading to the firing of over half its workforce, massive cuts to its content moderation teams, increased employee exploitation, unprecedented surges in hate speech, censorship of dissidents and journalists, and…
European Union bans Russian diesel, oil products over Ukraine
Move comes after the bloc found new supplies of diesel from the US, Middle East and India to replace Russian energy supplies. Europe has imposed a ban on Russian diesel fuel and other refined oil products, slashing energy dependency on Moscow and seeking to further crimp the Kremlin’s fossil fuel earnings as punishment for invading…
Netflix crackdown, monetizing ChatGPT and bypassing FB’s 2FA
Happy weekend, folks, and welcome back to the TechCrunch Week in Review. Henry here, standing in for a vacationing Kyle Wiggers, who is standing in for a parental-leaving Greg Kumparak. Listen, we’ve got a deep bench, and both blokes will be back very soon. Until then, check out just a few of the top stories…