Russian law firm sues Apple for $1.3 million after the company pulled its payment service from the country

Apple suspended its Apple Pay service in Russia in March.

REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev/File Photo

• A Russian law firm is suing Apple for pulling its payment service from Russia, Reuters reports.
• Apple suspended sales and restricted services in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
• The law firm said Friday it is seeking $1.26 million in damages, per Reuters.

A Russian law firm has filed a lawsuit against Apple seeking $1.26 million (90 million roubles) in damages after the company pulled its payment service from the country, Reuters reported.

Moscow-based law firm Chernyshov, Lukoyanov and Partners said on Friday it is suing the tech giant, accusing it of  violating Russian consumers' rights when it restricted the use of its Apple Pay service, per Reuters. 

Apple halted all product sales in Russia and suspended some services including Apple Pay in March, citing the invasion of Ukraine. Many companies have pulled out of Russia following the invasion, including brands like McDonald's, Goldman Sachs, and Uniqlo. 

The law firm said it filed the lawsuit with a Moscow court and is seeking compensation for damages including "moral damage," Reuters reported.

The law firm said restricting services lowered the value of Apple devices, which it said was unfair and discriminatory under Russian law, Reuters reported.

The law firm said it is still inviting claimants to join the suit which could raise the total damages sought, per Reuters. It also wants Apple to resume full operation of its payment service in Russia, Reuters reported. 

The same law firm filed a lawsuit against Netflix, which also suspended its service in Russia, in April.

Insider reached out to Grigory Chernyshov, a partner at the law firm, but did not immediately get a response.

Apple did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours. 

Apple released a statement in March after suspending its services saying it was "deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all the people who are suffering as a result of the violence."

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Ukraine is decapitating Russian tanks due to a 'jack-in-the-box' design flaw, reports say

A destroyed Russian military tank with its turret blown off, pictured on April 21, 2022 in Dmytrivka, Ukraine.

Alexey Furman/Getty Images

• Russian tanks have a design flaw making them susceptible to being decapitated in Ukrainian attacks, CNN reported.
• Unlike Western tanks, Russian ones carry multiple shells of ammunition in their turrets.
• The flaw means the Russian tank crews are sitting ducks, experts told CNN.

Images of destroyed Russian tanks with their turrets blown off have become common since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.

Experts say that Russian tanks have a design flaw that makes them vulnerable to being decapitated by Ukrainian attacks, called a "jack-in-the-box effect," CNN reported.

The issue lies in the fact that Russian tanks carry their supply of up to 40 shells in their turrets, which means that even an indirect hit can cause the entire ammunition store to explode.

"What we are witnessing with Russian tanks is a design flaw," Sam Bendett, an adviser with the Russia Studies Program at CNA, told CNN.

"Any successful hit quickly ignites the ammo causing a massive explosion, and the turret is literally blown off."

One video posted on Twitter appeared to show a Russian tank turret that had landed on the fifth floor of an apartment building in Mariupol after an attack.

—🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 21, 2022

A similar video from Chernihiv showed a turret lodged on the second floor of a house.

—Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) April 3, 2022

 

The issue is particularly prevalent in Russian-made T-72 and T-80 tanks because they have autoloading mechanisms that typically store about 20 rounds when fully loaded, Steven Zaloga, an expert on Russian and Soviet armor, told military publication Task & Purpose. 

He added that the internal volume of Russian tanks is much smaller than Western ones.

"If you get a penetration to the interior of the tank, there's a high probability you're going to hit something," Zaloga told the outlet.

it is not a new issue– many Russian-made T-72 tanks used by Iraq during the Gulf wars in 1991 and 2003 were similarly decapitated.

Nicholas Drummond, a defense industry analyst and former British Army officer, told CNN that Russia hadn't learned the lessons from Iraq, which is why many of its tanks in Ukraine feature similar design flaws.

The flaw means the Russian tank crews are sitting ducks, Drummond told the outlet.

"If you don't get out within the first second, you're toast," he said.

Despite the newer Russian T-80 and T-90 tanks having upgraded armor, they suffered from similar ammunition loading systems problems, making them vulnerable to the same fate.

The issue also affects other Russian vehicles deployed in Ukraine, such as the BMD-4 infantry fighting vehicle, operated by a crew of three and can carry another five soldiers.

Drummond told CNN that the vehicle was a "mobile coffin" that was "just obliterated" when hit by a rocket.

Russia's BMD-4M, a new generation amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, seen at a fair in Kubinka town in Moscow, Russia on June 25, 2019.

Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Open-source intelligence monitoring website Oryx has documented at least 300 Russian tanks destroyed in Ukraine, and over 280 that have been damaged, abandoned, or captured, as of April 29.

The site only includes destroyed tanks of which photo or video evidence is available, so the true figure is likely to be much higher. 

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace on Monday estimated that Russia had lost as many as 580 tanks in Ukraine.

The latest statistics, published by the Ukrainian Land Forces, claim 873 Russian tanks have been destroyed, along with 2238 armored vehicles, per reports.

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Burp-catching mask for gassy cows, designed to reduce methane emissions and slow down climate change, wins prestigious Prince Charles prize

Prince Charles looks at a wearable device for cattle to neutralise their methane emissions in real time created by design group Zelp.

Arthur Edwards/Pool via AP

• Cows' burps produce a lot of methane which accelerates climate change.
• A new face mask for cattle captures the burps and converts the methane into carbon dioxide and water vapor.
• The design won the prestigious Terra Cart Design Lab competition and was praised by Prince Charles.

An innovative face mask for cows, designed to reduce methane emissions and slow down climate change, has won a prestigious design award.

The wearable device for cattle, created by UK-based design group Zelp, was one of the four winners of the inaugural Terra Cart Design Lab competition. 

Prince Charles, who launched the competition as part of his Sustainable Markets Initiative, hailed the ground-breaking design as "fascinating" at an awards ceremony in London on Wednesday, The Telegraph reported.

Zelp's methane-reducing cow muzzle.

ZELP

The design, a smart harness for cows, converts methane into carbon dioxide and water vapor. 

Cows expel significant quantities of methane, an odorless greenhouse gas, which is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Achieving significant reductions in methane emissions would have a rapid effect on slowing down climate change, per the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

A single dairy cow can produce up to 130 gallons of methane per day. And their burps account for 95% of a cow's methane emissions. There are approximately one billion cattle worldwide.

Cows and other farm animals produce about 14% of human-induced climate emissions.

In the past, solutions to the cattle industry's methane problem have involved changing cows' diets. Scientists proposed the mass production of a puffy, pink seaweed to combat climate change, Insider reported in 2019.

But Zelp's solution allows cows to digest typical food, with the mask working to detect, capture, and oxidize the methane in the cow's burps.

A sensor at the tip of the masks detects when a cow exhales and the percentage of methane expelled, WIRED reported. The mask sets the oxidation mechanism into action when methane levels are too high.

The mask also collects data on the animals to improve efficiency and animal welfare on farms, Zelp co-founder Francisco Norris told Insider.

"The Terra Carta will play a key role in helping us tackle the final design optimizations before we can produce our technology at scale, and we are confident that through the network that this initiative provides, we will be able to really advance our technology and to unlock its true potential," Norris said.

Zelp received £50,000 ($63,424) in funding as part of the prize to help further develop the idea.

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Here's why I uprooted my life in France to move to California and set up a macaron business

Anthony and Yami Rosemond moved to California in 2017 to set up Pastreez.

Pastreez

• Anthony and Yami Rosemond moved to California in 2017 to set up an online bakery selling macarons.
• They researched the market before moving but already knew they loved the area.
• The state is the world's biggest almond producer and there was high demand for French baked goods.

This as-told-to article is based on a conversation with Anthony Rosemond, owner of macaron business Pastreez. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My wife and I uprooted our lives in 2017 to move to California and set up an online business selling macarons.

We were no strangers to relocating. Though we were born in France, we'd lived in Barcelona, Réunion, and Martinique for a few years before returning to Paris to study at Le Cordon Bleu. I'd worked as an engineer and manager and my wife, Yami, as a HR director.

But Yam and I had always dreamed of living in California after spending our honeymoon in the Golden State in 2010. So we decided to move there.

There's a business reason we chose California, too. Our most important ingredient is almond flour, and California produces two-thirds of almonds globally.

Before quitting our jobs and leaving Paris, we needed to understand the market for French pastries in the US. We used online visibility platform Semrush to research the size of the potential market and which competitors are already in the area – and found that there would be huge demand for our products.

The move to California was scary but also exciting – we had to adapt to a new country, language, and market.

When we arrived, we spent three months both living and baking in an Airbnb. We used Meetup to recruit people for focus groups and get feedback on our products. Once we settled on macarons as our core product, we tested the business – Pastreez – at a small scale by setting up at three farmers markets a week for a few months. We did this to determine people's willingness to pay and our most popular flavors.

In June 2017, we started renting a commercial kitchen. But we had to pay by the hour. It was increasingly expensive and hard to meet growing demand for our products.

We now have our own brick-and-mortar location in Phelan, southern California, allowing us to grow our capacity. As an online business, we don't need to be on a busy street and rural areas have lower rents. Customers who order online can come collect their products in person, though.

Pastreez gets orders for baby showers, wedding, and custom corporate gifts.

Pastreez

Pastreez ships throughout the US and finding a way to protect our delicate macarons was our biggest challenge. We needed to make sure the macarons arrived fresh and unbroken, so we adapted our recipe to make them lighter and started shipping them in insulated bubble pouches with air cushions.

Many of our customers want a unique gift. We get orders for baby showers, weddings, and custom corporate gifts. We even partnered with Netflix for "Emily in Paris" macarons. Prices vary but we charge around $30 for a 12-pack and $50 for 24. We've sold more than 1 million macarons so far.

Pastreez also sells vacuum-sealed crepes.

Pastreez

Since September, we've been selling vacuum-sealed crepes, too, which were inspired by Table 87, a New York pizzeria that ships vacuum-sealed slices of pizza nationwide. Customers just have to take the crepes out of the pack and microwave them for a few seconds.

It's still just the two of us working for the business, though we hire help for specific seasons like the holidays. I'm in charge of marketing, customer service, and fulfilling orders, while my wife handles the kitchen.

I believe that is part of our success. The fact that with a team of two we can handle all of the business needs is priceless. We don't depend on anyone but us.

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See onboard this $2.5 million luxury water limousine used to ferry VIP passengers between their superyachts and the shore

Miss Wonderly cruising on the Thames River in London.

Mark Lloyd Images

• I went on board a $2.5 million tender that's used to ferry people between superyachts and the shore.
• The tender is narrow and has a low ceiling so it can be stored on large yachts and ships.
• Miss Wonderly is fitted with a hybrid engine which costs $311,000 more than a diesel engine version.

The 10.6 meter-long Miss Wonderly, built by UK manufacturer Falcon Tenders, was the smallest vessel at a luxury yacht event in central London last week.

Miss Wonderly, a Falcon Tenders boat.

Kate Duffy/Insider

Miss Wonderly has a price tag of just under £2 million ($2.5 million), Falcon Tenders CEO Mark Pascoe told Insider.

The stern of Miss Wonderly, a Falcon Tenders boat, with its engines on display.

Sam Tabahriti/Insider

The vessel is used as a tender to ferry owners, passengers, and VIPs between the shore and their superyacht, Pascoe said, and offers the "smoothest, quietest, driest luxurious ride possible."

The stern section of Miss Wonderly.

Sam Tabahriti/Insider

The tender is designed for very short trips, with the primary purpose of moving passengers between ship and shore. "That's all it is, it's a dinghy," one worker on the boat said.

Miss Wonderly cruising on the Thames river in London.

Mark Lloyd Images

Miss Wonderly is narrow and has a low ceiling so it's easier to stow on ships and large yachts. Pascoe said it would be suitable for superyachts of over 80 meters in length.

Inside Miss Wonderly, a Falcon Tenders boat.

Kate Duffy/Insider

The limousine-style boat is the company's first hybrid, plug-in model.

The stern of Miss Wonderly, a Falcon Tenders boat, with its engines on display.

Sam Tabahriti/Insider

The tender's battery can power the boat at up to eight knots for an hour – that's around 10 miles. Then the diesel engine kicks in.

Miss Wonderly is the hybrid model of the tender.

Sam Tabahriti/Insider

Pascoe said the price difference between the hybrid and diesel models is around £250,000 ($311,000). The starting price for a diesel model starts at £1.4 million ($1.7 million), he added.

Standing on the stern of Miss Wonderly, a Falcon Tenders boat.

Kate Duffy/Insider

Everything on Miss Wonderly is custom made — the interior is designed according to a client's personal taste, Pascoe said.

Inside Miss Wonderly, a Falcon Tenders boat.

Kate Duffy/Insider

The boat features air conditioning, leather seats, and a glass ceiling. It felt like being inside a limousine.

On board Miss Wonderly, a Falcon Tenders boat.

Kate Duffy/Insider

Pascoe said some buyers were interested in Miss Wonderly at the London event, and said that buying a boat like this one is "very rarely an impulse buy."

The helm of Miss Wonderly, a Falcon Tenders boat.

Kate Duffy/Insider

Towards the end of the London showcase, Miss Wonderly cruised down the Thames river in central London.

Miss Wonderly cruising on the Thames river in London.

Mark Lloyd Images

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Ukraine Latest: Zelenskiy Decries 'Brutal' Donbas Bombardments

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Medieval ceramic vessel found in Jerusalem offers potential evidence of Crusader knights using hand grenades, study finds

A fragment of the sphero-conical vessel that was identified as containing remnants of explosive material (L) and an illustration of a knight at the time of the First Crusade (R).

Robert Mason/Royal Ontario Museum, Getty Images

• Archeologists analyzed the residue inside four ceramic vessels found in the Old City of Jerusalem.
• One vessel was potentially a medieval grenade, consistent with first-hand accounts from the period.
• It contained the remnants of an explosive mix of plant oils, animal fats, nitrates, and sulfur.

A new analysis of a medieval ceramic vessel excavated from the Old City of Jerusalem suggests the Crusader knights could have developed rudimentary hand grenades in their wars against the Muslim rulers of the Holy Land.

Archeologists from Griffith University, in South East Queensland, Australia, examined the residue inside four sphero-conical containers.

Three showed evidence of use for various purposes, including holding oils, scented materials, and medicine. 

However, inside the so-called Sherd 737 vessel, archeologists found deposits suggesting that ceramic jars were potentially used as handheld explosive devices.

Sherd 737, which has thick walls, no decoration, and indications of a resin seal, had the remnants of the flammable chemical ingredients needed for an archaic explosive device.

The residue, according to the study published in the scientific journal PLOS One, is consistent with what would be required to build a medieval hand grenade.

Previously, researchers assumed that medieval grenades would have contained gunpowder. But gunpowder, first developed in China, did not appear in the Middle East until the 13th century.

The Crusades, a series of religious wars led by European Christians to conquer Jerusalem and the Holy Land from its Muslim rulers, were fought between 1095 and 1291. The vessels are believed to be from the 11th or 12th centuries.

Sherd 737, according to the archeologists, contained traces of a unique explosive mix composed of plant oils, animal fats, nitrates, and sulfur. It suggests that Crusader knights had invented their own blend of explosive chemicals.

"It shows that the explosive weapons described by the Crusaders were a local invention," said Carney Matheson, a molecular archaeologist at Griffith University, in an email to Insider.

"This shows for the first time a whole different mixture for the ingredients of an ancient explosive which is consistent with the historical Arab texts," Matheson continued.

The study is significant, he added, because it "advances our understanding of medieval weapons in the Middle East at this time" and verifies the accounts of the Crusaders.

First-hand accounts from Crusader knights and Arab texts mention the use of handheld devices that exploded with loud bangs and flashes of light, Griffith University said in a statement consistent with these findings.

More research on similar vessels will be needed to further understand the ancient explosive technology used during the medieval period, Matheson said in the statement.

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