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Depop sold to eBay at 25% discount to 2021 valuation

Depop has been sold to eBay for $1.2bn, marking a 25 per cent discount to the price paid five years ago by Etsy. Etsy acquired the London-founded second-hand fashion platform for $1.6bn in 2021 at the height of pandemic-era ecommerce growth. The resale comes as Etsy refocuses on its core handmade and vintage marketplace. Founded in 2011 by English-Italian entrepreneur Simon Beckerman, Depop built a strong following among younger consumers seeking sustainable and affordable fashion....

£42,000 roaming bill nearly bankrupts family firm after TikTok use abroad

A Manchester business owner was left facing a £42,000 mobile phone bill after his daughter streamed TikTok on holiday in Morocco, a charge he said nearly pushed his small company into financial crisis. Andrew Alty, who runs a curtains business, discovered the scale of the bill while on a family trip to Marrakech after receiving an initial £22,000 invoice from O2. A second bill for around £20,000 followed shortly after their return to the UK....

Record January surplus boosts public finances as tax receipts surge

Britain recorded its largest monthly budget surplus on record in January as rising tax receipts and a sharp fall in debt interest costs boosted the public finances. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show government revenues exceeded spending by £30.4bn in January, the highest surplus since monthly records began in 1993 and well above City forecasts of £23.8bn. January is typically a strong month for receipts because of self-assessment tax payments, but this year’s...

What America’s most powerful warship brings to the Middle East as Iran tensions surge

The Pentagon is deploying the USS Gerald R. Ford to the Middle East, creating a rare two-carrier presence in the region as tensions with Iran rise and questions swirl about possible U.S. military action. The Ford will reinforce the USS Abraham Lincoln already operating in theater, significantly expanding American airpower at a moment of heightened regional uncertainty. While officials have not announced imminent action, the dual-carrier presence increases the Pentagon’s flexibility — from deterrence patrols...

Ex-Victoria’s Secret CEO’s lawyer caught on hot mic jokingly threatening to ‘kill’ him at Epstein deposition

Ex-Victoria’s Secret mogul Les Wexner’s lawyer was caught on a hot mic jokingly threatening to ‘kill’ him if he continued giving long answers to questions during his deposition on Jeffrey Epstein by the House Oversight Committee. The moment was caught after the committee released its full, nearly five-hour deposition of 88-year-old Wexner as part of its ongoing probe into Jeffrey Epstein’s network. Several hours into the deposition, while Wexner was giving a particularly long-winded answer,...

I need an expensive asthma drug to live. Trump’s RX plan helped me and many others

When President Donald Trump announced ‘TrumpRx’ in early February, a weight I’ve carried my entire adult life suddenly lifted from my shoulders. The website offers life-saving medications at much lower prices than normal, based on the president’s promise to give Americans the same prescription drug costs as patients in other developed countries. I can personally attest that such equal treatment — a policy known as ‘most favored nation’ pricing — is urgently needed for people who struggle with chronic...

Asos co-founder Quentin Griffiths dies after fall in Thailand

Quentin Griffiths, the British co-founder of online fashion retailer Asos, has died after falling from a high-rise apartment building in Pattaya, according to local reports. Griffiths, 58, is reported to have fallen from the 17th floor of his condominium. Emergency services attended the scene and confirmed his death. Thai police said there were no immediate signs of disturbance inside the apartment but added that investigations are ongoing and foul play has not been ruled out...

Detecting Configuration Drift: Continuous Controls vs. Point-in-Time Snapshots

For years, security programs have relied on point-in-time snapshots to prove control effectiveness. They’ll run a quarterly audit here, a monthly scan there. They’ll rely on spreadsheets frozen at the moment it’s exported. That approach might satisfy an auditor, but it fails the reality of modern infrastructure. Cloud environments change by the hour, identities sprawl, and controls drift quietly between checks. By the time a snapshot tells you something is wrong, the risk has already...

Iran rebuilding nuclear program despite Trump talks, opposition figure claims

Iran is rebuilding nuclear sites damaged in previous U.S. strikes and ‘preparing for war,’ despite engaging in talks with the Trump administration, according to a prominent Iranian opposition figure. Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said newly released satellite images also prove the regime has accelerated its efforts to restore its ‘$2 trillion’ uranium enrichment capabilities. ‘The regime has clearly stepped up efforts to...

Trump’s NIH director isn’t the only official wearing multiple hats during the president’s second term

The Trump administration has repeatedly assigned additional job roles to Cabinet members and other officials, and one of his top health officials is the latest to begin pulling double duty for the president.  On Wednesday, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya became the latest Trump official assigned an additional role. The NIH chief and staunch COVID contrarian will temporarily run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) until a new permanent director...