By James Bandler, ProPublica, A.C. Thompson, ProPublica and FRONTLINE, and Karina Meier, FRONTLINE This story was originally published by ProPublica. From attempting to incite racially motivated violence to encouraging attacks on critical infrastructure, the alleged crimes planned and advertised by extremists on Telegram go far beyond the charges facing CEO Pavel Durov. This story is part of a collaboration between FRONTLINE and ProPublica that includes an upcoming documentary. In late December, a 26-year-old construction worker in Sarasota County, Florida, used his phone to send a flurry of ominous online posts. Alexander Lightner, tapping away on his Samsung Galaxy, announced his intention to commit mass murder, according…

Small modular nuclear units (SMRs) have been in use in the US for 50 years on navy submarines and carriers; the technology is not new and has been proven.

Iranian state-sponsored hackers have launched an espionage campaign targeting individuals perceived as threats to the regime. The cyber spies operate fake job websites, luring unsuspecting job seekers into giving up their personal information, which Iran then uses to spy on them. The operation, uncovered by the U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant, dates back to 2017 and is believed to be part of a broader effort to silence those who oppose the Iranian regime, targeting Iranian dissidents, activists, and human rights advocates. Ofir Rozmann, Mandiant APT researcher, told National Security News: “Iranian individuals targeted by this campaign may reveal themselves to the…

Up to 16,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since April, new front line casualty estimates have revealed. The astonishing figures come from a data project carried out by the BBC’s Russia service and independent Russian media outlet Mediazona. The project only records deaths it has been able to identify from official reports, the media and satellite analysis of Russian graveyards, so the numbers are likely to be a conservative estimate of total deaths.  Mediazona said that “as of August 30, we know the names of 66,471 Russian soldiers killed in the war”. Previously, in April, it announced it had found more…

Defence chiefs from the US and South Korea are set to hold high level talks about the nuclear missile threat from North Korea, it has been announced.The fifth meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) is expected to take place on September 4th and will focus on assessing the progress of joint efforts by the allies to deter North Korea’s military threats. The talks will address ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries to bolster “extended deterrence” against North Korea. Details of the talks emerged after the communist state tested a new fleet of suicide drones…

If you want to jeopardise all those sales, markets, and investments, then supporting NATO’s adversaries will only alienate our customers further.

Ten years ago, Pavel Durov had already made a name for himself in tech as the founder of VKontakte (VK). To those who knew him, he was always ambitious, gifted, and academically brilliant, having graduated from St. Petersburg State University with a degree in philology. His first venture with VK, which he co-founded in 2006, grew to be Russia’s largest social media platform and earned him the nickname “Russian Zuckerberg”. By the age of 28, he had developed the idea for a new messaging app, and in 2013, Telegram was born. In just ten years, Telegram had amassed a user…

Fears that Afghanistan would become a launching pad for terrorist attacks around the world after the withdrawal of U.S. troops turned out to be wrong, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen has said. Cohen was referring to warnings from some US lawmakers and analysts that President Joe Biden’s decision to pull out troops from Afghanistan in 2021 has opened the door to a resurgence of terrorist groups in that country. Republican lawmakers have criticised the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S. exit and argued that Afghanistan is once again a safe haven for terrorist groups, including ISIS-Khorasan – the…

Senior Russian military commanders fear their war plans could be exposed following the arrest of the founder messaging platform Telegram. Russian-born tech billionaire and Telegram CEO was detained by French authorities on August 24 on charges related to criminal allegations involving his app, which allegedly facilitated illicit activities ranging from drug trafficking to child pornography. Durov has since been released from custody after four days of questioning and transferred to a Paris court to face a decision on whether he will be formally charged. His messaging app is known to be widely used by the Russian military and senior members…

Ramaphosa’s government may perceive them as a “small enclave,” they are overlooking  their links to international radical right-wing movements. 

NASA is calling on American companies to share their ideas for using and operating a group of free-flying robots on the International Space Station (ISS). The trio of cube-shaped robots, named “Bumble,” “Honey,” and “Queen,” are part of the Astrobee system, which have been assisting astronauts on the ISS since 2018. Inspired by the Star Wars films, each of the 12.5-inch-wide robots can handle time-consuming tasks like monitoring the space station, performing maintenance checks, taking inventory, documenting experiments, or even moving cargo. The robots allow the astronauts to focus on more complex scientific activities that require human expertise. NASA issued…

Messages from the US about China may contribute to a sentiment among Chinese citizens that they are being deliberately held back.