BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Morad Tahbaz: British-US national detained in Iran now in hotel
A British-US national temporarily freed from prison in Iran before being sent back to jail days later is now at a hotel, the Foreign Office has said. Morad Tahbaz, 66, who also has Iranian citizenship, was released on furlough the same day two other British dual nationals were freed. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori returned to the UK, but Mr Tahbaz remained in Iran. The Foreign O ... Read more
2022-03-20 21:45:00
Murder arrest over Sabita Thanwani Clerkenwell death
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 19-year-old woman who died in student accommodation in central London. Student Sabita Thanwani was found with neck injuries in the halls of residence in Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell. Police and medics went to Arbour House at about 05:10 GMT on Saturday but she died at the scene. Maher Maaroufe, understood to have been in a relationship with M ... Read more
2022-03-20 19:48:15
What does Putin want and will Russia end its war?
When Vladimir Putin shattered the peace in Europe by unleashing war on a democracy of 44 million people, his justification was that modern, Western-leaning Ukraine was a constant threat and Russia could not feel "safe, develop and exist". But after weeks of bombardment, thousands of deaths and an exodus of millions of refugees, the question remains: what is his war aim and is there a wa ... Read more
2022-03-20 19:47:44
How Kremlin accounts manipulate Twitter
Olena Kurilo became the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Bloodied and bandaged, the 53-year-old teacher said she couldn't believe what had happened to her and her town of Chuhuiv. Her picture was on the front pages of newspapers across the world. Over the next few days, Russia's government social media accounts began to post a video claiming that Olena hadn't been injured at all. "Gre ... Read more
2022-03-18 21:53:04
Heineken launches virtual beer in self-mocking metaverse 'joke'
A brewer has created a virtual beer to highlight the extremes businesses will go to to grab a slice of the next big thing - the metaverse. Heineken set up a virtual launch to promote the "product" - an experience described by one attendee as surreal. The metaverse does not yet exist but many believe people will one day spend their time in inter-connected virtual worlds, accessed via a ... Read more
2022-03-18 21:52:24
Australia sues Facebook over scam ads impersonating celebrities
Australia has launched legal action against Facebook's parent company Meta, alleging it allowed scam ads to target users with fake celebrity endorsements. The tech giant had engaged in "false, misleading or deceptive conduct" by knowingly hosting the ads for bogus cryptocurrencies, a regulator said. The US company could face financial and other penalties. Meta is yet to comment but ha ... Read more
2022-03-18 00:58:22
Deepfake presidents used in Russia-Ukraine war
A deepfake video shared on Twitter, appearing to show Russian President Vladimir Putin declaring peace, has resurfaced. Meanwhile, this week Meta and YouTube have taken down a deepfake video of Ukraine's president talking of surrendering to Russia. As both sides use manipulated media, what do these videos reveal about the state of misinformation in the conflict? And are people really believing ... Read more
2022-03-18 00:57:55
Sunny Balwani: Elizabeth Holmes' former partner goes on trial
When Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of college at 19 to found her company, Theranos, she needed someone with more experience. Based on an idea that hundreds of diseases could be diagnosed with just a few drops of blood, her venture had begun to attract interest, and investment. So as the company grew, Holmes, still in her mid-20s, brought in a man that she already knew. Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani was s ... Read more
2022-03-18 00:56:56
Ukraine conflict: Putin lays out his demands in Turkish phone call
Turkey has positioned itself with great care to be the go-between with Russia and Ukraine - and this seems to be paying off. On Thursday afternoon, President Vladimir Putin rang the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and told him what Russia's precise demands were for a peace deal with Ukraine. Within half an hour of the ending of the phone call, I interviewed Mr Erdogan's leading adviser ... Read more
2022-03-17 19:37:38
Meta to let parents limit teenager's virtual-reality exploration
New tools will allow parents to stop teenagers accessing inappropriate games and experiences via Meta's virtual reality (VR) headset. Questions have been raised about whether it was doing enough to protect children from inappropriate content. Meta-owned Instagram has also rolled out further parental controls, the plans for which were revealed last year. It comes as the UK government legislates ... Read more
2022-03-17 19:36:49