Romania’s national oil pipeline operator, Conpet S.A., confirmed that the Qilin ransomware gang stole company data in an attack last week.
In a press release the day following the incident, the company said that the threat actor breached its corporate IT infrastructure, but operations remained unaffected.
Conpet S.A. published an update today about the incident, saying that it is collaborating with the Romanian National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC) in the investigation.
In a statement for BleepingComputer, the company confirmed that the Qilin ransomware attack resulted in data exfiltration. Due to the ongoing investigation, the company said it cannot yet determine the amount of data stolen.
Qilin claims to have stolen nearly 1TB of documents from Conpet’s systems and proved the breach by leaking a sample of 16 images of internal documents with financial information and passport scans.
Some of the documents are marked as confidential and have dates as recent as November 2025. Some of them include personal information such as names, postal addresses, personal identification numbers, and bank account numbers.
In the latest update on the breach, Conpet S.A. cautioned that the compromised data may be exploited for fraudulent activities.
As such, the company is advising individuals potentially affected by the incident to be wary of any urgent requests over the phone, email, or other communication channels.
Scammers frequently impersonate employees of well-known organizations and request personal or financial information to facilitate their fraudulent schemes.
It is important to verify the legitimacy of such requests by contacting the organization using the official contact details listed on its website or verified social media accounts – not the information provided in the received message.
Conpet S.A. is a strategic company controlled by the Romanian Ministry of Energy that transports crude oil, gas, and condensate over a pipeline network of 3,800 km.
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Vladyslav Heraskevych prevented from starting his race as his helmet didn’t comply with the rules, the IOC said.
Published On 12 Feb 202612 Feb 2026
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Milan Cortina Games over his helmet design.
In a post on X on Thursday, the Ukrainian leader thanked Heraskevych for his “clear stance”, describing the helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia as being “about honour and remembrance”.
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“It is a reminder to the whole world of what Russian aggression is and the cost of fighting for independence. And in this, no rule has been broken,” he said, adding that “660 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed by Russia since the full-scale invasion began”.
Heraskevych was prevented from starting his race on Thursday as his helmet didn’t comply with the rules, the IOC said. He was given the option to wear a black armband instead, and display the helmet straight after the competition.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry said that while no one was disagreeing with the helmet’s “powerful message” of remembrance and memory, “the challenge that we are facing is that we wanted to ask or come up with a solution for just the field of play”.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry speaks to the media after Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified [Richard Heathcote/Getty]
Heraskevych, who was awarded the Order of Freedom by presidential decree in the wake of the ban, wrote on X: “This is price of our dignity.”
Ukrainian Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi told the news agency Reuters that “it was an unjust decision”, but said there was no question of his team pulling out of the Olympics. “We prepared a big team, 46 athletes here, in conditions where we can’t even provide electricity to sports arenas,” he said. “And there is big value for us to be here, of course, but it’s a really upsetting decision.”
“The IOC has banned not the Ukrainian athlete, but its own reputation. Future generations will recall this as a moment of shame,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
Heraskevych’s father and coach, Mykhailo Heraskevych, said: “The International Olympic Committee destroyed our dreams. It’s not fair.”
A Georgia K9 deputy was struck by a vehicle Wednesday while chasing a bank robbery suspect but got up, continued the pursuit and helped deputies take him into custody.
Fox 5 Atlanta reported that deputies with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office were notified of a possible bank robbery in progress at the Regions Bank in Newnan, Georgia.
Authorities located the suspect’s vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver failed to yield, sparking a pursuit.
The chase ended when the suspect crashed and ran from the wrecked vehicle, officials said.
A dog was hit by a vehicle in the process of pursing a suspect in Newnan, Georgia, on Feb. 11, 2026.(WAGA)
The driver lost control, and the car became wedged between a light pole and a tree, according to the local station.
Airbags were deployed, and the vehicle sustained heavy front-end damage, including blown-out wheels and damaged bumpers.
A K9 handler then deployed his partner, Robbi, to track and apprehend the fleeing suspect.
A K-9 captured a suspect on foot despite being hit by a vehicle in Newnan, GA.(Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
During the chase, Robbi was struck by a vehicle, but despite being hit, the K9 continued the pursuit and helped deputies make an arrest.
Robbi was taken to Sweetwater Veterinary Hospital, where staff determined he suffered minor abrasions but no internal injuries. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Fox 5 reported that authorities have not yet released the name of the man taken into custody or outlined the full range of charges he could face in connection with the reported bank robbery and ensuing chase.
The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital that the Newnan Police Department is leading the investigation.
Palestinian homes have been bulldozed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim explains why the latest demolitions, which are usually carried out by the Israeli military, mark a new phase in the forced displacement of Palestinians.
A former Arsenal footballer has been charged with two further counts of rape.
Thomas Partey is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 13 March to face the charges, which relate to one alleged victim in 2020.
The alleged offence was reported to police in August 2025.
Image:Partey in action for Villarreal against Tottenham in September last year. Pic: Reuters
In September, the 32-year-old appeared at Southwark Crown Court to deny five counts of rape against two other women, and a charge of sexual assault against a third.
Those alleged offences took place between 2021 and 2022, when he played for Arsenal.
The Ghanaian midfielder, who now plays for Spanish club Villarreal, is due to face trial at the same court on 2 November.
His lawyer previously said he “denies all the charges against him”.
The one who was not bought by anyone in IPL became the most expensive player of Pakistan
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Steve Smith PSL Auction 2026: Steve Smith, one of Australia’s most experienced players, did not find any buyer in the Indian Premier League 2026 auction. Not a single team had bid on him. This was no less than an insult for a player of Smith’s stature. Now this Australian legend has been bought in Pakistan Super League for a record bid of 14 crore Pakistani rupees.
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Karachi: Australia’s experienced batsman Steve Smith has become the most expensive player of Pakistan Super League (PSL). Smith, who was included in Australia’s World T20 Cup team as cover for the injured Mitchell Marsh, has been bought by the new franchise Sialkot Stallions for approximately US $ 500,000 (14 crore Pakistani rupees).
How much has the number of teams increased in PSL? The number of teams in PSL has been increased from six to eight. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has introduced the player auction system for the first time, replacing the draft format that has been in place for the last decade.
Which big names did you bid on in the auction? The players were auctioned in Lahore on Wednesday, among the players who were auctioned, foreign players like David Warner, Adam Zampa, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mustafizur Rahman, Devon Conway, Riley Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Mendis and Marnus Labuschagne were also included.
Who became the most expensive Pakistani player? Eight franchises signed a total of 103 players. Fast bowler Naseem Shah became the most expensive Pakistani player, who was bought by Islamabad United for Pakistani rupees 8.65 crore. All-rounder Faheem Ashraf was bought from this franchise for 8.5 crore Pakistani rupees.
When will Pakistan Super League start? Babar Azam was retained by Peshawar Zalmi for seven crore Pakistani rupees. The same franchise retained Sam Ayub for 12.2 crore Pakistani rupees. PSL is to be organized from March 26 to May 3. During this time, the more attractive and prestigious Indian Premier League will be organized in India.
Anshul Talmale is captaining the sports desk of Network18 Group from February 2025, wearing the jersey of Deputy News Editor. His unbeaten innings continues for the last decade with a tremendous strike rate. With his all-round ability…read more
Recently released video shows the butler of Jeffrey Epstein trying to sell a supposed list of victims and clients during an FBI sting in 2009, revealing details of the billionaire’s operations well before the public became aware over a decade later.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Thursday called for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to resign and suggested he should face criminal charges, accusing him of assisting people later charged in a sprawling welfare fraud scheme.
The confrontation came during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing in which Hawley questioned Ellison, an elected Democrat, about his actions surrounding the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which was at the center of a $250 million scheme to defraud a child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hawley pointed to a meeting in December 2021 between Ellison and people who were later indicted, arguing that the Minnesota attorney general surreptitiously attempted to help them during what public records say was a 54-minute encounter.
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, speaks during a Senate hearing.(Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Hawley said Ellison accepted $10,000 in campaign donations days after the meeting from individuals later charged.
“You helped fraudsters defraud your state and this government … and you got a fat campaign contribution out of it,” Hawley said, yelling, “You ought to be indicted.”
Hawley later added that Ellison “ought to be in jail.”
“Well, see what you can do about it,” Ellison shot back.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks during a Senate Homeland Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.(Tom Brenner/AP)
The Minnesota attorney general forcefully denied the accusations, saying Hawley was “cherry-picking quotes” and mischaracterizing the meeting. Ellison said he did not help the defendants. His office assisted with information that led to prosecutions and convictions in the broader investigation, Ellison said.
The entire exchange was loud and contentious as both men interrupted one another, causing committee chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to interject at one point and call for lowering the temperature.
Former Attorney General Merrick Garland called the Feeding our Future case the largest pandemic-related fraud in the country, and dozens of individuals, mostly of Somali descent, have been charged in connection with it.
Attorney General Pam Bondi recently intensified the department’s investigations into fraud in Minnesota, sending additional manpower to the embattled U.S. attorney’s office there to help with ongoing inquiries into possible fraud across several welfare programs.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
Antonia Romeo is not a typical civil servant, according to almost everyone who has worked with or met her in a professional context.
Charming, ambitious and not afraid to publicise her own achievements, Romeo was on the shortlist to be cabinet secretary a year ago when Keir Starmer opted instead for a classic “Sir Humphrey” choice in Chris Wormald.
But with Wormald now forced out, the permanent secretary of the Home Office finds herself back at the top of the list of appointable candidates and the frontrunner to succeed him.
Whitehall sources said earlier this week that Romeo’s appointment was the most likely option but “not nailed on” because No 10 “still don’t know what they want”. It is understood, however, that Downing Street very much intends to appoint her, subject to the civil service commissioner’s approval of the process.
One senior person who has worked with Romeo, 51, says she is “clearly an outstanding candidate and would be a good choice for Starmer … she’s full of ideas”.
She has clearly impressed the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, who also worked with her at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
At the same time, some senior civil servants give a slightly disapproving murmur about Romeo’s tendency towards self-promotion, noting that she has her detractors as well as her supporters. As one put it: “She would not be a risk-free choice.”
The scepticism about her comes from the more traditional corners of the civil service, where eyebrows have been raised about smiling social media content covering her activities as a permanent secretary and posts on X about the MoJ Christmas tree at a time when the court service was in crisis.
She is more outward-facing than almost all of her peers, not shy of attending events where members of the media could be present, and good at networking internally within the civil service.
“She goes to parties and looks like she’s enjoying herself, in contrast with the vast majority of permanent secretaries I’ve known,” said one Whitehall insider.
This approachability is deeply counter to the invisible nature of much of the civil service, but may be what Starmer wants this time as he seeks someone to shake Whitehall out of what he has described as a “tepid bath of managed decline”.
On the surface, Romeo’s career has followed a very conventional trajectory through the ranks of the permanent secretaries. She attended Westminster school and Oxford University, then spent a brief stint working for the management consulting company Oliver Wyman before joining the civil service as a principal private secretary.
She rose steadily through the ranks, becoming permanent secretary at the Department for International Development and the MoJ, and spent time as consul general in New York.
During her stint in the US, she was charged with promoting UK trade and hosted a series of parties for celebrity figures including Alexa Chung, Calvin Klein, Joanna Lumley and Anna Wintour.
She was criticised in a series of media reports for overspending on the role but a Cabinet Office investigation found no case to answer. Her former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, Simon McDonald, raised concerns on Wednesday that there should be “more due diligence” over the matter.
But responding to it at the time, the head of the FDA union, Dave Penman, said there was a “whiff of misogyny about it”.
“If you are the trade ambassador for the east coast of the United States, then it’s creative industries, it’s fashion, that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “That’s the sort of person you want rather than someone who’s going to be sitting in their apartment seven nights a week.”
It was subsequently during her time at the MoJ that she earned respect within the civil service for having told Dominic Raab that he must treat staff professionally and with respect amid unhappiness about his return after allegations of bullying behaviour towards officials.
She has also built a reputation as being committed to equality, serving as a “civil service gender inclusion champion” in a move that has led the Daily Mail to call her Whitehall’s “queen of woke”.
In a civil service leadership lecture in 2022, Romeo gave a sense of how she operates. “At its heart, leadership is about people and creating the conditions for them to thrive,” she said.
“In my view, leadership over the next five years will be bringing in the best talent, creating genuine progression and opportunities for that talent and setting a culture of purpose.
“Ultimately, it’s about creating a culture in which colleagues can take pride, a work ethic characterised by the desire to serve the public and, in everything we do, leading with purpose.”
With Starmer having talked about wanting to “rewire” the civil service completely, Romeo would have the difficult job as cabinet secretary of carrying that out while maintaining morale that has been dented by No 10’s lack of decisiveness about policy and ruthlessness in relation to Wormald.
Her reputation for being warm and forthright is what has apparently impressed Mahmood at the MoJ and the Home Office, where Romeo has spent the last year getting to grips with the small boat crisis and changes to the immigration system.
Twice shortlisted for the role of cabinet secretary before but overlooked in favour of male candidates, it appears her combination of diplomacy and decisiveness is what Starmer is looking for next.
