Author: The Guardian

A big leak of data from a Chinese cybersecurity firm has revealed state security agents paying tens of thousands of pounds to harvest data on targets, including foreign governments, while hackers hoover up huge amounts of information on any person or institution who might be of interest to their prospective clients.The cache of more than 500 leaked files from the Chinese firm I-Soon was posted on the developer website Github and is thought by cybersecurity experts to be genuine. Some of the targets discussed include Nato and the UK Foreign Office.The leak provides an unprecedented insight into the world of…

Michael van Gerwen is looking for further glory after making it three consecutive Premier League darts wins with a 6-4 victory over Nathan Aspinall. The Dutchman beat Gwen Price and teenager Luke Littler to book his place in the final, with the seven-time premiership champion coming from behind to beat Aspinall.Aspinall started well, winning two games in a row, but unfortunately missed the double which troubled him all night, with Van Gerwen leading 5-2 in a 10-dart break.Although Van Gerwen needed a single round to win, Aspinall fought back hard in the 10th round and almost took him to the…

The United States has returned to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years after a privately-built spacecraft named Odysseus capped a nail-biting 73-minute descent from orbit with a touchdown near the moon’s south pole.But amid celebrations of what Nasa hailed “a giant leap forward”, there was no immediate confirmation of the status or condition of the lander, other than it had reached its planned landing site at crater Malapert A.Mission managers at Intuitive Machines, the Texas-based company that built the first commercial craft to land on the moon, were working into the evening to restore…

Mark Selby produced a superb performance to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-0 to secure a place in the semi-finals of the Players Championship at Telford.O’Sullivan has looked almost untouchable this season, having won four titles including the British Championship and the Masters. However, four-time world champion Selby ended O’Sullivan’s 16-game unbeaten streak with a high-quality performance that exceeded half a century in five games.The match got off to a controversial start when referee Desislava Bozhilova saw the side of the red ball but failed to warn O’Sullivan after he missed his second try. She quickly realized her mistake, apologized to both…

Spanish firefighters have been battling high winds to put out a huge fire that gutted a multi-storey apartment block in Valencia and left four dead.At least 13 people have been injured, including a minor and six firefighters, emergency services and regional officials in the eastern port city said, without providing details on the extent of the injuries. The emergency services earlier said seven people were lightly injured, mostly from smoke inhalation.“It can be confirmed that four people have died,” Jorge Suarez Torres, deputy director of emergency services for the Valencia region, told reporters.Images showed flames and vast clouds of black…

Jamie George has revealed he learned his mother had been diagnosed with cancer on the day he was named England captain, paying a strong tribute to her and vowing to continue his work following her death last week. So proud of her against Scotland.George describes his mum Jane as the “biggest rugby fan on the planet” and explains England’s triumphs in the Six Nations opener against Wales and Italy, the only two Test matches she has missed due to illness . George said Jane was diagnosed about seven weeks ago, but he found out last Sunday that she had terminal…

Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureWe’ve reached the expected time of landing… but waiting for confirmation.Email linkThe “hazard disturbance avoidance” process has begun. The lander is 1000m away from the surface.The lander is making autonomous decisions about where to land. We’re less than a minute away.Email linkOdysseus lander close to touchdownThe mission director just called out three minutes till touchdown.There will likely be a slight delay between when the lander makes contact with the surface, and when we will get confirmation. That delay could be as little as 15 seconds or several minutes.Email linkUpdated…

The PGA Tour still has to wait for Tiger Woods’ 15-year-old son. In Thursday’s qualifying round, Charlie Woods shot 12 on one hole for an 86.Woods didn’t make a birdie at Lost Lake Golf Club, one of four qualifiers for the Awareness Classic. About two dozen players from four venues will enter Monday’s qualifiers, with four players set to qualify for the PGA Tour.Charlie Woods, who turned 15 earlier this month, has competed in the 36-hole PNC Championship in a scramble format with his father for the past four years.Woods plays with Olin Browne Jr., who qualified for the U.S.…

Joe Biden met with Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and the activist’s daughter, Dasha Navalnaya, in California on Thursday, the White House said.Navalny, the main opposition leader to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, died in an Arctic penal colony last Friday after being imprisoned by the Kremlin.The meeting in San Francisco comes ahead of significant new sanctions to be imposed by the US against Russia on Friday ahead of the second anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.In a message on X, Biden said: “Today, I met with Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya – Aleksey Navalny’s loved ones –…

Warren Gatland says he is “not 100 per cent convinced” Welsh regional rugby will undergo the proper reset he believes it needs.Wales face Six Nations title favorites Ireland in Dublin on Saturday and the contrast between the two long-term rivals could not be greater. On the pitch, Ireland have lost just two of their last 40 home Tests and victory over Wales would equal England’s record of 11 consecutive Six Nations wins. Meanwhile, Wales have lost nine of their last 10 Six Nations games and the story is similar off the pitch.Ireland have thrived on a system of centrally signed…