Britain blocks Russian U.N. webcast featuring commissioner wanted by ICC


Britain blocked a webcast featuring Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova as she faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. 

Photo by Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/EPA-EFE


April 5 (UPI) -- Britain on Tuesday blocked a webcast of an informal United Nations Security Council meeting led by Russia on the removal of Ukrainian children from the country.

The rare move to turn off the webcast was made after learning that Russia's commissioner for children's rights Maria Lvova-Belova, who is facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over the removal of Ukrainian children, would address the meeting.

"[Lvova-Belova] should not be afforded a U.N. platform to spread disinformation," Britain's mission to the United Nations said. "If she wants to give an account of her actions, she can do so in The Hague."

Russia had said in a note that the purpose of the meeting was to dispel "a deliberate distorted narrative" that the children had been forced to leave Ukraine or abducted.

In March, the ICC accused Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lvova-Belova of being part of a scheme of forcibly deporting children from Ukraine to Russia since the start of the invasion of the country more than a year ago.

The authority of the court is not recognized by Russia and the United States and Moscow has rejected claims that it was abducting the children, saying the relocation was for their protection in a war zone and they were never forced against their will to depart Ukraine.

Russia, one of five members of the U.N. Security Council, serves as president of the body this month as part of its regular rotation done in alphabetical order. Russia last led the security council in February 2022, the month Moscow chose to invade Ukraine.

First Contact Day celebrates the future history of 'Star Trek'


First Contact Day, an annual celebration of all things "Star Trek," originated with the 1996 film "Star Trek: First Contact," starring Patrick Stewart and Gates McFadden. 

File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

April 5 (UPI) -- First Contact Day, celebrated annually on April 5, commemorates the date humanity met its first extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek franchise.

The holiday originated with the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact, in which warp drive inventor Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) greets the crew of the Vulcan ship T'Plana-Hath in Bozeman, Mont., on April 5, 2063.

Ronald D. Moore, the film's writer, was the one who chose April 5 for the fateful meeting.

"The short answer on First Contact Day is that it's my oldest son, Jonathan's birthday," Moore told StarTrek.com. "And that's the only reason the date was chosen."

First Contact Day then became a holiday both inside and outside the world of the franchise. The day is considered in the real world to be a celebration of all things Star Trek.

Other holidays and observances for April 5, 2023, include Bell Bottoms Day, Holy Wednesday, National Caramel Day, National Deep Dish Pizza Day, National Dandelion Day and National Flash Drive Day.

New Zealand Reserve Bank surprises with 50 basis point interest rate hike


The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Wednesday raised a key interest rate by a surprising 50 basis points in a continuing effort to fight inflation. The rate went from 4.75 percent to 5.25 percent. Pictured is the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in Wellington. Photo by Clilly4/Wikimedia Commons

April 5 (UPI) -- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Wednesday raised a key interest rate known as the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points, surprising analysts who were expecting a smaller rate increase.

The bank's Monetary Policy Committee raised the interest rate from 4.75% to 5.25%, saying the interest rate must increase to return inflation to its desired range of 1-3%.

"Inflation is still too high and persistent, and employment is beyond its maximum sustainable level," it said.

As the bank announced the interest rate hike, it said New Zealand's economic growth is expected to slow through 2023 due to a combination of factors including "the slowing global economy, reduced residential building activity, and the ongoing effects of the monetary policy tightening to date."

New Zealand's interest rate hike comes as Australia's Reserve Bank decided to keep its cash rate at 3.6% after ten straight interest rate increases.

The Australian bank said inflation there has peaked and the bank decided to hold interest rates steady "to provide additional time to assess the impact of the increase in interest rates to date and the economic outlook."

The size of New Zealand's rate hike surprised some analysts who had been expecting a rate hike of 25 basis points.

Abhijit Surya, Australia and New Zealand economist at Capital Economics, said New Zealand is likely headed for a recession.

"With the downturn likely to generate rapid disinflation, we still think rate cuts will be on the table before the year is out," Surya said.

New Zealand's Reserve Bank said the committee considered a 25 basis point increase but settled on the 50-point hike.

"The Committee agreed that a further increase in the OCR is needed at this meeting to ensure core inflation and inflation expectations begin to fall," it said.

Looking ahead, the bank said it expects to see a continued slowing in domestic demand and a moderation in core inflation and inflation expectations in New Zealand.

"The extent of this moderation will determine the direction of future monetary policy," the bank statement said.

U.S. grant money targets methane leaks from gas pipelines

Federal grant money supports overhauls for natural gas pipelines to prevent the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. File photo by Jim Parkin/Shutterstock

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announces federal grant money will support overhauls to the nation's network of natural gas pipelines to prevent methane emissions. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with far more warming potential than carbon dioxide.

April 5 (UPI) -- Exposure to harmful methane emissions from the nation's network of natural gas pipelines could be diminished with nearly $200 million in grants for overhauls, the U.S. Transportation Department announced Wednesday.

Grant money through the department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will be spread across 37 separate projects, starting with $10 million for Lac Cruces, New Mexico.

"This funding to modernize our gas pipelines will help protect residents from dangerous leaks, create good-paying jobs, and reduce methane emissions in communities across the nation, particularly in rural and underserved areas," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg,

Methane is finding a niche as a cleaner fuel, though it has more warming potential as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency show that distribution, transmission and storage of oil and natural gas combine for 26% of the total methane emissions from fossil fuels.

Climate TRACE, a coalition founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore to monitor global emissions, found that more than half of the 50 largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions are associated with oil and natural gas fields and those emissions are vastly under-reported.

The EPA in November proposed new standards on methane abatement designed to cut methane emissions associated with oil and gas production by 87% from their 2005 levels by 2030.

Funding from the PHMSA targets repairs, replacement and rehabilitation of nearly 270 miles of pipeline.

"The next funding opportunity of $392 million is expected to be released in May of this year," the agency added.

TAX FREE LUXURY CAPITALI$M
French LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault is world's richest man at $201 billion


French billionaire Bernard Arnault has become the world's richest person, with a net worth of $201 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. 

Pool photo by Albin Lohr-Jones/UPI | License Photo

April 5 (UPI) -- French billionaire Bernard Arnault's net worth has topped $200 billion making him the world's richest person and just the third person to ever amass that much money. Arnault started the luxury goods company LVMH.

Bloomberg's Billionaires Index ranked Arnault ahead of both Bezos and Musk as of Tuesday, with a total net worth of $201 billion. That index shows Arnault with a $25 billion greater net worth than Elon Musk and $73 billion more than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Arnault, 74, is just the third person to have a fortune above $200 billion. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos both reached that milestone before dropping below that amount as tech company stocks dropped.

Musk's wealth also declined after he purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October and said last month that its value had fallen to $20 billion.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet round out the top five richest people in the world.

Arnault is chairman and CEO of LVMH, owner of Louis Vitton, Christian Dior and Moët & Chandon. He co-founded LVMH 35 years ago and is the majority shareholder. His wealth increased by $2.4 billion on Tuesday.

LVMH stock prices have gone up by 150 percent in the past three years. According to Business Insider, Arnault's wealth has doubled since 2020.

Rihanna partnered with Arnault's LVMH in 2019 on a new fashion label. But less than two years after that deal, LVMH said it was putting Rihanna's Fenty fashion house "on hold."

Rihanna became a billionaire herself in 2021.

THE CRYPTO FREE MARKET AKA CRIMNAL CAPITALISM
International police action takes down Genesis Market for cybercrimes


Police in Britain have arrested 24 people in connection to an international law enforcement action against 'Genesis Market," an online forum that sold stolen information. 

Photo courtesy of U.K. National Crime Agency

April 5 (UPI) -- Law enforcement agencies from 17 nations have taken down Genesis Market, one of the world's largest online marketplaces for stolen financial information.

U.S. and British law enforcement officials made dozens of arrests and seized domain names, and the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Genesis Market.

"Working across 45 of our FBI Field Offices and alongside our international partners, the Justice Department has launched an unprecedented takedown of a major criminal marketplace that enabled cybercriminals to victimize individuals, businesses, and governments around the world," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release Wednesday.

"Our seizure of Genesis Market should serve as a warning to cybercriminals who operate or use these criminal marketplaces: the Justice Department and our international partners will shut down your illegal activities, find you, and bring you to justice."

United States, Britain sanction seven Russians for cybercrimes

According to Britain's National Crime Agency, the Genesis Market hosted approximately 80 million stolen credentials. The platform would provide customers with bots that would mimic victims' login information and cookies to allow fraudsters to access victims' accounts, including financial information.

"Genesis Marketplace was unique in that it provided users with a custom browser, which would mimic that of their victim. This allowed the criminals to essentially masquerade as the victim, making it look like they were accessing their accounts from the usual location and operating system, thus not triggering security measures," The National Crime Agency said in a news release Wednesday.

The police operation involved Britain's National Crime Agency and was lead by the FBI and Dutch police.

"Behind every cybercriminal or fraudster is the technical infrastructure that provides then with the tools to execute their attacks and the means to benefit financially from their offending," said Rob Jones of Britain's National Crime Agency.

"Genesis Market was a prime example of such a service and was one of the most significant platforms on the criminal market," he continued.

At least 24 people were arrested in Britain, according to the National Crime Agency. Across multiple countries, over 120 people were arrested in connection with the joint police action.

On Tuesday, U.S. law enforcement seized 11 web domains associated with Genesis Market in an action dubbed "Operation Cookie Monster."

Additionally, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Genesis Market "for being responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, cyber-enabled activities ... that are reasonably likely to result in, or have materially contributed to, a significant threat to national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States.

"The United States and our international partners will not allow illicit marketplaces to operate with impunity," said Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

 

PRIMITIVE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL

Global takedown of cybercriminals behind malware operation

By ERIC TUCKER and FRANK BAJAK

April 5, 2023


WASHINGTON (AP) — Law enforcement agencies in the United States and Europe said Wednesday that they have taken down a major online marketplace for stolen login credentials that had given cybercriminals access to millions of compromised accounts since its 2018 launch.

Officials seized 11 domain names tied to the Genesis Market and arrested about 120 users across the world, including some in the U.S., according to the FBI and Justice Department, which participated in the operation.

The market “falsely promised a new age of anonymity and impunity, but in the end only provided a new way for the Department to identify, locate, and arrest on-line criminals,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.

Genesis Market had provided users with access to data taken from more than 1.5 million computers infected with malicious software, with over 80 million account access credentials, the Justice Department said.

“Operation Cookie Monster,” the effort by law enforcement agencies in 17 countries, disrupted the largest marketplace of its kind, officials said.

“Cookie” refers to the web browser cookies that let people log onto websites without the need for multifactor authentication. Criminal users of Genesis Market could purchase software scripts from it, including browser cookies and fingerprints that track a user’s online activity.

The market, a “one-stop shop for account takeovers,” was advertised on several predominantly Russian-speaking underground forums, the cybersecurity firm Trellix, which assisted in the investigation, said in a research report.

“While underground marketplaces that sell stolen credentials aren’t a new thing, Genesis Market was one of the first that focused on fingerprints and browser cookies to enable account takeovers despite growing MFA adoption,” the Trellix researchers said. A specialized browser it offered customers made “account takeover child’s play for criminals,” their report says.

Trellix said it observed more than 450,000 infected machines in examining the marketplace.

Trellix’s threat intelligence lead, John Fokker, said the takedown would “have a notable impact on the activities of cybercriminals focused on stolen credential usage for the rest of the year. ”

He said in an online chat that he did not believe the people who ran the site would be arrested because they are in Russia.

Typically after such takedowns, the criminals regroup at other sites.

Dutch police put up a webpage to allow members of the public to enter their email address to determine whether their data was for sale on Genesis Market. The Justice Department said it had provided victim information for a website so that people could check if their accounts had been compromised.

___

Bajak reported from Boston.

Labor data show the economy is slowing, ADP says

Private payroll processor ADP reported job growth in March was about half the level from February and annual wages are on the decline, pointing to a slowing economy. 

File photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

April 5 (UPI) -- Private sector employees in March added about 100,000 fewer jobs to their payrolls than they did the prior month, showing the economy is slowing down, payroll processor ADP said Wednesday.

"Our March payroll data is one of several signals that the economy is slowing," said Nela Richardson, the chief economist at ADP. "Employers are pulling back from a year of strong hiring and pay growth, after a three-month plateau, is inching down."

Data show private-sector employment increased by 145,000 last month, lower than the 240,000 in new hires in February. Data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, or JOLTS, from Tuesday showed job openings slumped to a two-year low at 9.9 million as of the last full day in February.

By sector, ADP data show manufacturing suffered the most in the industry sector, shedding 30,000 jobs last month. In the services sector, jobs in finance fell by 51,000.

ADP does not provide granular analysis of activity in any particular sector, though a March survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found that manufacturing activity was mixed, though the general perception was that business conditions were on the decline.

The financial sector buckled last month, meanwhile, after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in California sparked concerns about a global banking crisis.

The Federal Reserve, however, raised interest rates again last month because inflation is still running about three times above its target rate of 2% annually.

"The job market is beginning to find its balance as consumer demand ebbs and the cost of borrowing goes up," ADP's report read.

Compounding the emerging weakness in labor, ADP reported that annual pay increased by 6.9% last month, down from 7.2% in February.

Markets were in the red in early trading Wednesday. The Dow was down 0.6% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ was off by 0.62% as of 9:50 a.m. EDT. The S&P was lower by 0.14%.

Applications for jobless aid rising but still at low levels

By MATT OTT

A hiring sign for tree care service work is posted in Wheeling, Ill., Sunday, March 19, 2023. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid was higher over the past few months than the government had initially reported, reflecting a modest rise in layoffs as the economy has slowed in the face of higher interest rates.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of applications has exceeded 200,000 since early February — above previous estimates, though still relatively low by historical standards.

The department has revised its estimates of the number of weekly applications for jobless benefits under a new formula it is using to reflect seasonal adjustments. The new formula is intended to more accurately capture seasonal patterns in job losses.

For the week that ended April 1, the number of Americans applying for jobless aid was 228,000, the government estimated. That was down from 246,000 in the previous week and 247,000 in the week before that. Using its new seasonal adjustment formula, the government revised up each of those figures by nearly 50,000.

“The trend in seasonally adjusted initial claims is noticeably higher than previously estimated, which does suggest that the flurry of layoff announcements so far this year has begun to show up in these data,” Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist of Santander U.S. Capital Markets, wrote in a research note.

First-time applications for unemployment benefits serve as a proxy for the number of job cuts because most people who are laid off file for jobless aid. About 1.82 million people were receiving jobless aid in the week that ended March 25, an increase of 6,000 from the week before.

The job market appears to be finally showing some signs of softening, more than a year after the Federal Reserve began an aggressive campaign to cool inflation by steadily raising its benchmark borrowing rate.

On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported that U.S. job openings slipped to 9.9 million in February, the fewest since May 2021. And on Wednesday, the payroll firm ADP reported that the nation’s private employers added 145,000 jobs in March, down sharply from 261,000 in February. Pay raises also weakened for workers, according to the ADP Research Institute.

ADP’s figures often diverge, from month to month, from the government’s more comprehensive jobs report, which provides a more granular review of the labor market, though the two tend to converge over time. On Friday, when the government issues the March jobs report, analysts expect it to show that employers added a solid 240,000 jobs last month.

In February, the government reported, employers added a robust 311,000 jobs, fewer than January’s huge gain but enough to keep pressure on the Fed to keep raising rates to fight inflation. The unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, from a 53-year low of 3.4%.

In its latest quarterly projections, the Fed predicts that the unemployment rate will rise to 4.5% by year’s end, a sizable increase historically associated with recessions.

Layoffs have been mounting in the technology sector, where many companies hired aggressively during the pandemic. IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, Twitter and DoorDash have all announced layoffs in recent months. Amazon and Facebook have each announced two sets of job cuts since November.

U.S. energy data suggests a cooling economy


Market watchers see signs of a cooling economy in data figures from the federal government. Implied demand was off from year-ago levels, according to the Energy Department. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

April 5 (UPI) -- Implied demand for refined petroleum products such as gasoline show the U.S. economy may be cooling off, analysis of recent federal data found.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Energy Department's data cruncher, showed total commercial crude oil inventories declined by 3.7 million barrels from week-ago level

An emailed report from S&P Global Commodity Insights said the decline in crude oil inventories suggested refineries were busy. S&P estimates refineries put 1 million barrels per day more through their systems than they did during the week ending March 3, which would explain some of the inventory decline.

Inclement weather in Texas late last year limited refinery activity before a regular period of late-winter maintenance that coincides with a shift to a summer blend of gasoline, which requires additional processing steps to keep it from evaporating during warmer months.

RELATED Consumer-level inflation declines, but Biden says the fight isn't over

While S&P data pointed to a larger draw on commercial storage levels than the government, the agency said that any decline was likely the result of increased refinery activity. Federal data show refineries were working at 89.6% of their full capacity last week, compared with a run rate of 86% for the seven-day period ending March 3.

On the demand side, federal data show the total amount of refined petroleum products sent to the market over the four-week period ending March 31 averaged 20.1 million barrels per day, down 1.5% from year-ago levels.

Analysts use that data point as a proxy for demand. Tom Kloza, the head of the Oil Price Information Service, said that data shows a clear economic decline.

"If you believe gasoline demand is well above last year, you may be deluding yourself," he said from his official account on Twitter.

Demand could be on the decline because of an uptick in retail gasoline prices, which at $3.53 for a national average are 13 cents per gallon more than this time last month, according to AAA.

Recent data from the labor sector, meanwhile, showed the economy is cooling off.

RELATED  U.S. GDP revised down to 2.6% as consumer spending falls

"Our March payroll data is one of several signals that the economy is slowing," said Nela Richardson, the chief economist at ADP. "Employers are pulling back from a year of strong hiring and pay growth, after a three-month plateau, is inching down."

In a first, IEA-lauded, industrial-scale heat pump coming to Massachusetts

Rather than rely on natural gas for heat, heat pumps -- which transfer heat from one place to another -- are emerging as a tool in the pursuit of a net-zero economy. 

Photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI | 


April 5 (UPI) -- U.S. based Vicinity Energy said it was teaming up with Germany's MAN Energy Solutions to build what it believes will be the largest industrial-scale heat pump in the country, a pump that will help lower emissions from heating.

Vicinity said the facility will be built at its Kendall Station power facility in Cambridge, Mass. It will be powered by renewable energy derived from the nearby Charles River to create steam.

Bill DiCroce, president and CEO of Vicinity Energy, said the company has made strides in other areas and the partnership with MAN means it can do more, from harvesting the power of rivers to working to address climate change.

"Vicinity's first heat pump complex in Cambridge, which draws from proven examples in Europe, will be the largest in the U.S.," he said.

U.S. grant money targets methane leaks from gas pipelines

The International Energy Agency reported last month that energy-related emissions of CO2, a potent greenhouse gas, increased by 0.9% year-on-year in 2022 to reach a new high of more than 36.8 billion tons. Clean energy -- from renewable energy to heat pumps -- helped prevent some 550 million tons of CO2 from reaching the atmosphere, however.

Heat pumps work by transferring heat rather than burning fuels, making them more environmentally-friendly than a gas furnace.

IEA found that global sales of heat pumps increased by 11% last year, though much of those sales were in Europe. Sales should increase to account for 20% of total heating needs in buildings by 2030 to keep climate goals within reach.

"The heating sector accounts for 30-40% of global CO2 emissions," said Uwe Lauber, the top official at MAN Energy Solutions. "The global energy transition cannot succeed without decarbonizing heat."

Vicinity aims to have the industrial scale pump system installed by 2026.

Google says its new AI supercomputer faster, more efficient, than others



Google has announced that a new supercomputer it is developing for AI systems is faster and more efficient than its main competitor, Nvidia. 

April 5 (UPI) -- Google has released information on its new AI supercomputer, saying it is more powerful than Nvidia, its main competitor.

The Google supercomputer is based on Tensor Processing Units, which work together to develop the AI system.

According to Google researchers, the TPU v4 supercomputer, is "1.2x-1.7x faster and uses 1.3x-1.9x less powerful than the Nvidia A100."

While Google creates, and conducts research on, AI systems, Nvidia dominates about 90% of the market.

At a recent company meeting, Google employees raised concerns about falling behind competitors in the AI market, despite the fact that Google has been working on AI systems for years.

AI systems such as ChatGPT require thousands of chips to complete the machine learning required to prep the systems over extended periods of time.

The sheer volume of computers needed to operate AI systems is a major challenge for the industry, expending a great deal of power.

Google hopes their new product will be far more efficient, saying their system has more than 4,000 TPUs to train AI systems.

Google currently is testing an AI system called Google Bard, known alternately as Apprentice Bard.

Piranha-like pacu fish caught in South Carolina lake

April 5 (UPI) -- A teenager fishing in a South Carolina lake made a "once-in-a-lifetime" catch -- a South American pacu fish.

Drew Patrick, 15, of Anderson, said he was fishing in Lake Hartwell when he reeled in the pacu, a piranha cousin famous for its human-like teeth.

Patrick told WYFF-TV it was a "once-in-a-lifetime catch."

Ross Self with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources confirmed the fish reeled in by Patrick was a South American pacu. He said the fish are occasionally found in South Carolina waters after being illegally released.

"This type of fish is periodically caught in Hartwell," Self said. "This is a popular aquarium species that can outgrow the owner's aquarium."

Self said it is illegal to release pacu into South Carolina's waters, but the species is not believed to pose a significant threat to the local ecosystem.

Pacu are related to piranhas, but the species are vegetarians, primarily feeding on tree nuts. The fish have an unearned reputation for biting the testicles of swimmers, but the myth started as a joke by Peter Rask Moller, a professor at the Copenhagen Museum of Natural History, after a pacu was caught by a fisherman in Denmark.

William Fink, a piranha researcher at the University of Michigan, said there have been no recorded instances of pacu fish biting humans, genitals or otherwise.