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Paul Paolucci, the top cop for one of the world’s biggest credit card companies, sure had some interesting friends. One made a fortune fronting for pornography websites that needed access to Mastercard’s and Visa’s payment networks. Paolucci, who oversaw Mastercard’s merchant fraud control, was photographed cavorting around the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel with him and a group of women in white corset minidresses. A second was a Lamborghini-driving e-commerce mogul with whom Paolucci used to celebrate family holidays. The mogul ended up in prison for a financial crime he committed, in part, using Mastercard’s network. An executive at a famously corrupt European bank claimed to have dined with Paolucci and gotten his help evading Mastercard’s regulations. It was Paolucci’s job to make sure that the banks and companies using Mastercard’s network were playing by the rules. He bent those rules himself by getting close to the very kinds of high-risk businesses he was supposed to be … [Read more...] about Two-Card Monte: Why Mastercard And Visa Rarely Shut Down Scammers Who Are Ripping Off Consumers

A council investigated one of its own headteachers for saying the n-word while in the process of telling a student off for using it. Mark Tomkins was explaining to a student at Maidstone Grammar School why the racial slur is inappropriate but did not know he was secretly being recorded on an Apple Watch. The minute-long recording between Mr Tomkins and one of the students, was shared on Instagram and later reported to police. In the recording, played more than 1,000 times, Mr Tomkins can be heard saying: "I was told that some comment had been made about a student and the word n***** was used. "First thing I thought was that someone had used that word against you, but I found out you were the one who used it." An Apple Watch lock screen ( Image: Getty Images) He is then heard asking the student: "And should I treat someone differently if they use the word towards you? If someone posted that and a photograph of you?" The student tries to argue his case, telling … [Read more...] about Teacher reported to council for saying n-word while telling off student for using it

Chelsea forward Kai Havertz has named the four players that would make his perfect combined footballer. The German international is coming towards the end of his second campaign at Stamford Bridge and already, the former Bayer Leverkusen man has had a memorable time in London. Last year, Havertz scored the all-important goal in Chelsea ’s 1-0 Champions League final win over Manchester City in Porto. He also scored a penalty in extra-time win Chelsea the Club World Cup earlier this season against Palmeiras for the first time in the club’s history. This season, Havertz has netted 13 times in 44 appearances in all competitions for the Blues and is the club’s top scorer in all competitions. The German arrived as the club’s record signing in 2020 before Romelu Lukaku was re-signed by Chelsea from Inter Milan for a fee of £97.5m at the start of this season. Havertz, whose current goal tally in Blue is 22 in 89 games has developed a knack of scoring crucial goals for Thomas … [Read more...] about Kai Havertz makes ‘perfect player’ including Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin De Bruyne

Marianna Spring Published 1 day ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Russia-Ukraine war A photo of a heavily pregnant woman fleeing a bombed maternity hospital became one of the most iconic images of the war in Ukraine. But its subject was targeted by an extraordinary Russian disinformation campaign and she received hate from both sides. Wrapped in a duvet with her forehead bloodied, Marianna Vyshemirsky's image was seen around the world. The photo above was taken in the aftermath of a Russian airstrike in Mariupol. It circulated online, on newspaper front pages, and was argued about at the UN Security Council. But, having survived one attack, Marianna faced another onslaught - of disinformation and hate aimed at her and her family. As Russia attempted to sow falsehoods about the attack, 29-year-old Marianna was falsely accused of "acting". … [Read more...] about Marianna Vyshemirsky: ‘My picture was used to spread lies about the war’

By Shayan Sardarizadeh Published 25 April Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Russia-Ukraine war TikTok has emerged as one of the leading platforms for snappy false videos about the war in Ukraine which are reaching millions. With a user base of more than one billion people - more than half of whom are under 30 - TikTok is where many young people have been getting updates about the conflict, as the platform struggles to stem the flow of misleading information. And you don't need to look that hard to find dubious content. According to an investigation by NewsGuard , a website that monitors online misinformation, new users could be recommended false content about Ukraine within 40 minutes of joining the network. While platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have been labelling false or misleading viral videos about the war, TikTok seems to … [Read more...] about Ukraine war: False TikTok videos draw millions of views

Published 9 hours ago comments Comments Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Netflix has laid off about 150 staff, just a month after the entertainment giant said it was losing subscribers for the first time in a decade. The redundancies, announced by the streaming service on Tuesday, will mainly affect its US office in California. They account for about 2% of its North American workforce. Netflix said the job losses were due to the slump in the company's revenue. The streaming service is battling an exodus of viewers this year. "These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues," the company said in a statement. It wasn't disclosed which parts of the business would see job losses, but the Los Angeles Times reported that … [Read more...] about Netflix cuts 150 US-based jobs after losing subscribers

By Daniel Thomas & Natalie Sherman Published 20 April comments Comments Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Netflix has hinted it will crack down on households sharing passwords as it seeks to sign up new members following a sharp fall in subscribers. The number of households using the streaming service fell by 200,000 in the first three months of the year as it faced stiff competition from rivals. It was also hit after it raised prices in some countries and left Russia. Netflix warned shareholders another two million subscribers were likely to leave in the three months to July. "Our revenue growth has slowed considerably," the firm told shareholders on Tuesday after publishing its first quarter results. "Our relatively high household penetration - when including the large number of households sharing accounts - combined with competition, is … [Read more...] about Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

Published 2 May Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Netflix has cancelled development of Pearl, an animated series created by Meghan Markle, in its move to cut costs. The show, which was announced last year, is one of several projects being dropped by the streaming giant. Last month, Netflix revealed a sharp fall in subscribers and warned millions more are set to quit the service. That wiped over $50bn off the company's market value as experts warned it faced a struggle to get back on track. Archewell Productions, the company formed by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced last year that Meghan would be an executive producer of Pearl. The series was planned to centre on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl, who is inspired by influential women from history. Netflix did, however, confirm that it will continue to work on a number of projects with Archewell … [Read more...] about Netflix cancels Meghan Markle animated series Pearl

Published 21 April comments Comments Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Publishers say the popularity of readers discussing their favourite books on TikTok helped lift sales to record levels in the UK in 2021. Total book sales rose 5% to £6.7bn last year, with fiction, children's and young adult all performing well, the Publishers Association said. The organisation said four of the top five young adult bestsellers in 2021 had been driven by the BookTok trend. They included hit titles like They Both Die at the End and We Were Liars. Publishers Association chief executive Stephen Lotinga said viral videos on platforms like TikTok and YouTube had been "really significant" in encouraging readers to discover books. "Anecdotally, we've had lots of individual booksellers talking about the fact that they're having lots of young people coming into their book … [Read more...] about TikTok helps UK book sales hit record levels, Publishers Association says

Published 45 minutes ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing A councillor has been elected as mayor amid accusations of racism. Sandra Holliday, Cheltenham's new mayor, was elected by 25 votes in favour, two against and six abstentions, by fellow councillors. But fellow Liberal Democrat colleague, Wendy Flynn said she could not support Holliday's candidacy due to her "expressed views that are racist". Ms Holliday said she has apologised and is pleased the vast majority of her colleagues elected her as mayor. Ms Flynn told the Local Democracy Reporting Service , she had tried to challenge a culture within the Lib Dem group which is "unwelcoming to people of colour". "Last year's annual meeting was unpleasant. The current mayor-elect had sent an email which contained offensive and racist comments," she said. "This led to debates in Lib Dem group meetings that … [Read more...] about Cheltenham Council mayor elected amid racism accusations