Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook Friday.
Fedorov asked Cook to: "stop supplying Apple services and products to the Russian Federation."
Cook and Apple have not yet responded.
Ukraine's vice prime minister wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook Friday asking him to pull Apple's services out of Russia.
Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who is also the country's digital minister, published his letter to Cook on Twitter.
The letter appealed to Cook to help "protect Ukraine" and to "stop supplying Apple services and products to the Russian Federation, including blocking access to the App Store."
"We need your support — in 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to the tanks, multiple rocket launchers (hrad) and missiles," Fedorov wrote.
"We're doing all we can for our teams there and will be supporting local humanitarian efforts. I am thinking of the people who are right now in harm's way and joining all those calling for peace," Cook added.
Other Big Tech companies have announced some measures against Russia.
YouTube, Google, and Meta have all blocked Russian state media from generating money from ads on their platforms following Moscow's decision to send troops into Ukraine.
An aircraft lessor has reportedly recalled three Probeda planes.
Marina Lystseva/TASS/Getty Images
More than half of the active commercial aircraft fleet based in Russia are leased from foreign firms.
The EU has banned "any plane owned, chartered or otherwise controlled by a Russian legal or natural person."
This means leasing companies must terminate existing agreements within 30 days, per the FT.
Aircraft-leasing companies are working out how to recall billions of dollars of planes from Russian airlines as new European Union sanctions kick in, according to the Financial Times.
The development comes on the back of the EU banning "any plane owned, chartered or otherwise controlled by a Russian legal or natural person," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Sunday.
"They won't be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU," von der Leyen wrote in a tweet.
Leased aircraft are also affected by the sanctions, the Financial Times reported, citing three people briefed on the situation. This means leasing companies cannot enter into new contracts and must terminate existing agreements within 30 days, per the FT.
More than half of the active commercial aircraft fleet based in Russia is leased and managed by companies based outside the Russian Federation, according to a report from the IBA Group, which advises the aviation industry.
Of the non-Russian leasing companies, Ireland-based AerCap is the most exposed to the issue, according to IBA Group. It has 152 aircraft worth about $2.5 billion across Russia and Ukraine. It's followed by Ireland-based SMBC Aviation Capital and Singapore-based BOC Aviation.
AerCap did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment and declined comment to the FT. SMBC Aviation did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment but told the FT it was "carefully monitoring developments in Ukraine."
BOC Aviation said the EU sanctions will affect most of its aircraft in Russia. "Our policy is to fully comply with all laws applicable to our business," BOC Aviation told Insider. "The practical consequences of the new EU sanctions are complex and at the present time we are unable to provide further information."
An Irish leasing company is already recalling three Boeing 737 planes leased to Probeda, an Aeroflot subsidiary, reported Russian news agency Interfax, citing an Aeroflot Group source. Aeroflot did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Swedish electric boat builder Candela will deliver its new hydrofoil craft to customers this year.
The technology allows the boat to glide above the surface of the water.
Candela says that the use of foils allows the boat to use less energy and have a greater range.
The speedboat glides above the surface of the water on hydrofoils
The Candela C-8 glides above the water's surface.
Candela.
Swedish electric boat manufacturer Candela hopes to popularize the electric boat market with its latest model, a vessel that cruises above the water on hydrofoil wings.
The Candela C-8 uses computer sensors to lift the boat up on the foils so its hull is elevated above the water. In doing so, it reduces drag and lowers the amount of energy needed to power the boat.
According to Candela's communications manager, Mikael Mahlberg, the speedboat's underwater foils work just like an airplane's wing when the boat reaches a certain speed. An onboard computer system, prompted by sensors, directs the boat to pitch up onto the foils once the boat reaches a speed of 16 knots.
Candela says it wants to popularize the electric boat market
The electric boat has no wake when on its foils.
Candela.
Mahlberg told Insider that public interest in electric boats has been hampered by the inferior range and speed of existing products compared with combustion engine alternatives.
He said that electric planing boats — boats that have a hull designed to skim on the water's surface — often quickly lose battery power as they create greater surface tension. Hydrofoil technology could give electric boats longer range, he said.
"If you want to go electric, this is the only way to do that," said Mahlberg.
The manufacturer says the C-8 is cheaper to run than boats powered by conventional combustion engines
The boat lifts up on its foils only when it reaches a certain speed.
Candela.
The C-8 speedboat cruises at speed of 20 knots — with a top speed of 30 knots — and can travel up to 50 nautical miles on a single charge.
At 8.5 meters in length, the boat can accommodate 8 people and sleep 4 in a front cabin.
Mahlberg told Insider that the boat is completely silent, has no wake when on its foils, and can be up to 95% cheaper to operate compared to a conventional combustion engine boat due to its lower energy requirement.
"The idea with Candela is to speed up the transition to fossil fuel-free lakes and oceans. And to do that, you have to make an electric boat that is not only vastly better than today's electric boats, but vastly better than combustion engine boats. You have to make the very best boat you can," said Mahlberg.
The C-8 has a more efficient hydrofoil system than previous designs
Hydrofoiling technology was used in Candela's first model, the Candela C-7.
Candela.
Work on the C-8 began 16 months ago. But the hydrofoil technology has been under development since 2014 and was used in the company's first model, the Candela C-7, which launched in 2019.
According to Mahlberg, the C-8 model is an improvement on its predecessor because it features a more efficient foiling system and is designed to be mass produced.
"It's the same as the Tesla Roadster compared to the Tesla model S … same price, very much more advanced product," he said.
The company also plans to trial a hydrofoil ferry this year
Candela will debut a hydrofoil waterbus this year.
Candela
Mahlberg told Insider that Candela plans to build 1,800 boats per year by 2026, including both leisure and commercial boats.
The company says it will this year debut a hydrofoil waterbus in Stockholm, Sweden. The 30-passenger vessel will be trialed in late 2022 by the City of Stockholm as a potential replacement for larger, diesel-powered ferries.
"If you look at marine transportation, there are more emissions from water borne transport than global flight emissions," said Mahlberg.
Candela had already received orders for the ferries from across Europe, he added.
Deliveries of the C-8 will begin this summer
The first batch of Candela C-8 boats will be delivered to customers this summer.
Candela.
While the ferry trial isn't set to begin until late 2022, deliveries of the C-8 will begin this summer, when the first 100 customers receive their boats, Mahlberg said.
It costs around €290,000 ($329,000) to purchase the C-8. Mahlberg told Insider that Candela would be focusing principally on European and US markets.
"The US is our biggest market because a lot of people are super cool with just buying a $300,000 boat and ordering it online without seeing it," he said.
The market for electric boats is expanding
Other electric boat manufacturers introduced new models last year.
FRED TANNEAU/AFP via Getty Images.
The Candela C-8 joins a growing market for electric boats. Last year, Bloomberg first reported that a team of former Space X engineers plan to build a $300,000 electric speedboat.
The team at Arc said that their limited edition electric boat — Arc One — will also be cheaper to operate than a conventional combustion engine boat and will be rolled out this year, according to the company website.
Other electric boat companies, such as X Shore, also debuted new models last year.
Last October, Justin Hartley was riding his motorcycle when he collided with an Amazon-branded Hertz truck in Virginia Beach, Virginia, per a lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit viewed by Insider, the incident caused Hartley to suffer "severe bodily injuries," including fractures to his left wrist and leg. His leg could not be saved and was amputated as a result, it claimed.
Hartley is seeking $100 million from Amazon as a result of the accident. He alleged that the company was responsible because they put pressure on workers, which caused them to become distracted and careless while driving.
After the crash, driver Christopher Gill told police that he was looking at the directions on his navigation system, provided by Amazon at the time of the accident, according to the lawsuit.
Kevin Bazan of Virginia-based law firm Breit Biniazan, who represents Hartley, discussed the case with Insider. He alleged that "due to the culture and environment of pressure placed on Amazon drivers," Gill was subsequently "more concerned with his GPS system than the safety of others on the roadway."
He also claimed that the accident was preventable.
Drivers, according to the lawsuit, are required to use a "Flex App," which instructs what route they should take, as well as micromanaging when they should take their bathroom or lunch breaks. If the driver is running behind schedule, Amazon sends them a text nudging them that they are "behind the rabbit" and have to be "rescued" as a result, it claimed.
If a driver frequently falls off the pace, it can also significantly reduce their pay, the lawsuit claimed.
"Gill's attention was distracted from the roadway by his use of the Flex App, which proximately caused [Hartley's] injuries," per the lawsuit.
It further alleged that Amazon mandated a delivery schedule that was "unrealistic" and "forces their drivers to rush to deliver packages in a timely manner," creating the "foreseeable risk that their drivers will commit traffic violations."
Amazon did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.
The lawsuit comes follows last year's reports of grueling working conditions at the retailer. Insider obtained accounts of Amazon drivers who said that urinating in bottles was part of the job because they "didn't have time to go to the bathroom."
Reports of employees urinating in bottles have circled Amazon for years but the company previously denied the practice.
In 2019, drivers also described a physically demanding work environment as the company prioritized faster deliveries. At the time, Amazon denied the characterization that it prioritized growth over safety.
Hartley's lawsuit alleged that he has — and will continue to be — prevented from performing his daily activities and obtaining the full enjoyment of life, as a result of the accident.
Russia invaded Ukraine Thursday, shelling key strategic targets.
Vadim Zamirovsky/AP
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management CIO Lisa Shalett said the Russia-Ukraine conflict will keep markets in risk-off mode for weeks.
She said a rapidly-changing situation often results in a flight out of risk assets, but this isn't a good strategy in the longer run.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday in the region's largest military operation since World War 2.
Financial markets have been roiled this week after Russia invaded Ukraine following weeks of escalating tensions. Volatility has soared and investors are wondering what this means for their portfolios.
Russia assembled vast numbers of troops around Ukraine — as many as 190,000, per US estimates — in the largest military operation in the region since World War II.
Stock markets plunged, then rallied, then came under renewed pressure, while oil hit $100 a barrel for the first time since late 2014, on the back of concern about the impact to global supply should major crude producer Russia be unable to move exports.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management's chief investment officer Lisa Shalett believes that however the situation develops on the ground in Ukraine, it won't be a matter of markets rapidly returning to business as usual following the initial shock.
"I think it's a big deal. And I think it's a risk off factor in the next few weeks," she told Insider in an interview earlier in the week.
She said Morgan Stanley continues to be cautious towards markets.
"When there are exogenous crises around the world, whether it's a war, whether it's 911, whether it's a trade war, or whether it's a political scandal, whatever it is, these things tend to make people want to reduce their exposure to the most risky assets," Shalett said.
Since Putin said early on Thursday he had authorized military action, investors have ditched riskier assets like stocks and crypto and flocked to the safety of gold, government bonds and the dollar.
She said this is the typical playbook that gets deployed in this environment is investors selling high beta, high growth stocks, such as technology shares, and buy defensive assets, like gold and bonds. But simply responding to a rapidly-changing set of catalysts isn't a good long-term strategy.
"The situation in Russia-Ukraine is completely fast moving and fluid," she said. "People are de-risking portfolios. But that's not something that you can base a portfolio asset allocation or portfolio construction decision around."
"Anything short of a full-blown war is likely to be short-lived, in the context of long-term investing, which is what our clients tend to do," she said. "And so this is the exact type of thing that we encourage them not to try to trade and not to try and react to, because invariably, you're going to get it wrong," she said.
Meta barred Russian state media from running ads or monetizing content on Facebook.
Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy, announced the ban on Twitter.
Meta told Insider that extensive steps have been taken to combat misinformation in the region.
Meta has prohibited Russian state media from running ads or monetizing content on Facebook.
Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of security policy, announced the ban on Twitter.
The move follows the Russian military entry into Ukraine on Thursday from different parts of the country. Frequent airstrikes and shelling have since occurred.
One of the baseless claims Vladimir Putin has made to justify the invasion is that Ukraine is committing genocide against ethnic Russians, calling its government a Nazi regime.
Gleicher said: "We are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world. We also continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media."
He added: "These changes have already begun rolling out and will continue into the weekend. We are closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine," adding they will carry on sharing steps the company's taking to protect people "on our platform."
A Meta spokesperson told Insider via email: "We are taking extensive steps to fight the spread of misinformation on our services in the region and continuing to consult with outside experts."
He added: "We're removing content that violates our policies, and working with third-party fact-checkers in the region to debunk false claims."
When content is rated as false, Meta said it move the content lower in the feed so fewer people see it. "We're also giving people more information to decide what to read, trust, and share by adding warning labels on content rated false, and applying labels to state-controlled media publishers," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added: "Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the escalating military conflict in Ukraine."
Insider's Isobel Asher Hamilton previously reported that Meta had set up a special team to deal with hate speech and misinformation related to Ukraine.
Other Big Tech platforms are grappling with how to handle the escalating conflict. Twitter said that it had mistakenly blocked accounts that were sharing footage of the invasion from Ukraine, justifying the erroneous blocks with misinformation.
The Tactical Athlete gets you ready for military training in eight weeks.
Farren Morgan
Farren Morgan has been a serving British soldier for seven years.
His side hustle, The Tactical Athlete, helps civilians prepare for military training in eight weeks.
He has also introduced and trialed a wearable device that decreases the chances of spinal injury.
This as-told-to article is based on a conversation with Lance Sergeant Farren Morgan, a serving British soldier who offers training for those wanting to join the military. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Being a soldier and training more than 400 troops while being a business owner is my way to help people be the best version of themselves.
I never had that person to look up to and I wish I did … I wanted a motivator in my life; someone who instilled confidence in me.
When I joined the army, I wanted to stand out because that's the only way you can get recognized among thousands of other soldiers. I passed the infamous Pegasus Company (P-Company) training and earned my military jump wings in 2016.
The P-Company is an intense training that prepares soldiers to serve in a parachute role. I joined the Guards Parachute Platoon, among 500 other people who are qualified — or have wings, as we say — and spent two years jumping out of planes with them.
That's when I started focusing more on being the fittest. I carried on completing more training and became one of the fittest in the battalion. Then I was sent into a personal training course and started teaching soldiers.
I started the Tactical Athlete as a side hustle because people kept messaging me about being unsure whether to join the army, police force, or fire brigade. Too many people think that joining the army is out of their grasp because of the conditioning involved but it really isn't.
Although the term "tactical athlete" has been around for a long time to describe those who work in law enforcement, military, and rescue professions, it hadn't been used as a brand, however.
Farren Morgan loves being a motivator to others.
Farren Morgan
My side hustle began due to a deep desire to help people reach optimal physical and mental robustness through a tailored approach to training.
So far, I have helped people from America, New Zealand, Portugal, Kenya, and other countries.
There's no greater feeling than knowing you've helped hundreds of people get into the army, changed someone's life for the better and helped them with their physical condition.
Helping women get into the infantry has been another big turning point for me.
I want to be a pioneer in health and wellbeing technology as much as I can. That's why I introduced and trialed a new wearable technology device into the army, which decreases the chances of spinal injury. The device will coach the user to self-correct movements to prevent the risk of ergonomic injury through an app.
Some days, I may be working 15 to 18 hours, so I might have to start employing people down the line. Ultimately, I am grateful I get to have an impact on so many people's lives — and I wouldn't change that for anything.
