The U.S., Europol and police in 14 countries seized the infrastructure of a suspected Russian marketplace that claimed access to 80 million stolen banking, social media and email accounts for sale to hackers seeking to break into companies and government offices worldwide, senior Justice Department officials said Wednesday.
The international action conducted Tuesday and Wednesday against Genesis Market, one of the largest so-called initial access brokers in the world, resulted in 119 arrests. They were mainly buyers of identity data compiled for gaining access to computer systems to deploy ransomware, commit fraud and conduct other criminal activity, the officials said.
Russian Official Accused of War Crimes Against Ukrainian Children Addresses U.N.
A Russian official accused by the International Criminal Court of overseeing the forced deportation of Ukrainian children from Russian-held territory spoke at the United Nations over the protests of more than 50 countries on Wednesday.
The remarks by Maria Lvova-Belova, commissioner for children's rights in Russian President Vladimir Putin's office, at an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council, were denounced by the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany and dozens of other countries, which said Russia was abusing its privileges as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. The U.S. and U.K. blocked Ms. Lvova-Belova's remarks from running on the U.N. webcast.
TotalEnergies and Iraq Agree to Proceed With Delayed Energy Projects
French oil major TotalEnergies SE said Wednesday it would move forward with its partners to invest around $10 billion in Iraqi energy projects, reflecting the greater political stability in the country.
The deal, which also brings in a Qatari partner, underscores how international oil companies are again investing in big projects around the globe. Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed energy security further up the agenda of governments and businesses after supply shocks fueled price swings and record energy-company profits.
Bayer's New American CEO to Study Wounded Pharma Giant Before Acting
LEVERKUSEN, Germany-Bill Anderson, the American picked to head Bayer AG, treads softly as he begins a monthslong transition into his role as chief executive officer of the German owner of Monsanto, saying he will take his time before trying to fix the company's most pressing problems.
Mr. Anderson, a sprite, athletic 56-year-old hailing from the Gulf coast of Texas, this week joined the management board of Bayer, the 160-year-old chemical and pharmaceutical company known for inventing aspirin more than a century ago. He starts as CEO in June.
Blinken Says 'No Doubt' Russia Has Wrongfully Detained WSJ's Evan Gershkovich
BRUSSELS-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that he had "no doubt" a Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested by Russian security services last week during a reporting trip and accused of espionage was wrongfully detained, but that the process to reach an official determination on his detention was pending.
The official designation would rev up the U.S. government's efforts to win Evan Gershkovich's release. Supervision of his case would then shift to a State Department section known as the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, which is focused on negotiating for the release of hostages and other Americans classified as wrongfully detained in foreign countries.
Disney Names Joe Earley New Head of Disney+ and Hulu
Walt Disney Co. has named Joe Earley president of its direct-to-consumer unit for entertainment content, a role that gives him oversight of the Disney+ and Hulu streaming services, the company said Wednesday.
Mr. Earley is currently president of Hulu, a post he has held since January 2022 and will keep until a successor is named. Before heading Hulu, Mr. Earley was involved in the development and launch of Disney+ as head of its marketing and operations.
Judge in Fox News Defamation Trial Says He Would Require Rupert Murdoch to Testify
A Delaware judge said Wednesday that Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch can't avoid testifying in person in a looming defamation trial about false election-fraud claims that aired on Fox News.
Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said during a pretrial hearing that if plaintiff Dominion Voting Systems issues a trial subpoena for Mr. Murdoch to testify, he "would not quash it." The same goes for Fox Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch, Fox chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh and former U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who sits on the Fox board, Judge Davis said.
KKR's Envision Healthcare in Talks With Lenders as It Misses Earnings Deadline
KKR & Co.'s Envision Healthcare Corp. is in negotiations with some of its creditors after missing a March deadline to report its quarterly financials, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Nashville, Tenn.-based physician-staffing company missed the March 31 deadline to report its fourth-quarter financials, triggering a technical default under the company's loans that it has 10 business days to cure, the people said.
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Expected Major Events for Thursday
05:00/FIN: Feb Industrial Production
05:30/IRL: Feb Industrial Production and Turnover
05:45/SWI: Mar Unemployment
06:00/FIN: Feb Foreign trade
06:00/ROM: Feb Retail trade
06:00/SWE: Feb New orders & deliveries in industry
06:00/SWE: Feb Industrial Production Index
06:00/GER: Feb Industrial Production Index
06:00/UK: Mar Halifax House Price Index
06:00/UK: 1Q Halifax House Price Index: UK Regional Breakdown quarterly release
06:30/HUN: Feb Retail Sales
06:30/HUN: Feb Preliminary External Trade
07:00/CZE: Feb Industry, Construction
07:00/CZE: Feb External trade
07:00/AUT: Mar Wholesale Price Index
07:00/SWI: Mar SNB foreign currency reserves
07:00/AUT: Jan Foreign Trade
07:00/SVK: Feb Foreign trade
08:30/UK: Mar S&P Global / CIPS UK Construction PMI
09:00/CYP: Mar CPI
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-06-23 0015ET
