Seized Iranian ship Touska likely carrying military dual-use items - Reuters

 

The Iranian-flagged container ship Touska, which was boarded and seized by US forces on Sunday, is likely to have what Washington deems dual-use items that could be used by the military onboard, Reuters reported citing maritime security sources.

The small container ship is part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) group, which has been hit with US sanctions. It was boarded on Sunday off the coast of Iran's Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman and last reported its position at 13:08 GMT, the report added citing ship-tracking data on the Marine Traffic platform.

The security sources cited by Reuters said their initial assessments were that the vessel was likely carrying dual-use items after a voyage from Asia.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202604194357

Iran to grant selective internet access to businesses via ‘internet pro’

 

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has approved a plan to provide global internet access to specific business sectors to maintain economic activity, a senior lawmaker said on Monday.

Reza Alizadeh, chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Industries and Mines Committee, provided details of a resolution that introduces a specialized access system referred to as "Internet Pro."

He said the effort aims to ensure that the industrial, production, trade, and export sectors can carry out their work with ease under current conditions.

Alizadeh said the rollout is being conducted in stages. In the first phase, access was provided to commercial card holders through the Chamber of Commerce. The second phase provided international internet access to organizations and agencies related to production, industry, and trade, while observing security considerations.

Authentication for smaller production units is currently underway to grant them access to "Internet Pro" gradually, Alizadeh said. He added that any decision regarding the scope or restriction of global internet access remains with security agencies and the Supreme National Security Council.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202604194357

Russia, Iran foreign ministers hold phone call

 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, Russia’s foreign ministry said on Monday.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202604194357

Aluminum Giant Alcoa To Sell Dormant Smelter To Bitcoin-Miner NYDIG: Report

  by Amin Haqshanas via CoinTelegraph.com,

US aluminium giant Alcoa is reportedly nearing a deal to offload its long-idle Massena East smelter in upstate New York to Bitcoin mining firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG).

The company is in advanced discussions and expects the transaction to close “in the middle part of this year,” CEO Bill Oplinger told Bloomberg on Friday. The site, located along the St. Lawrence River, has been inactive since 2014 after Alcoa shut it down amid rising energy costs and global competition.

Built for 24/7 heavy industrial operations, aluminum smelters come with pre-existing substations, transmission lines and high-capacity grid connections. That makes them attractive targets for Bitcoin miners and data center operators, who often spend years securing similar infrastructure approvals from scratch.

Massena East also benefits from hydropower supplied by the New York Power Authority, a key draw for energy-intensive computing firms seeking low-cost and lower-carbon power sources.

US smelters reborn as crypto, AI data centers

The potential sale comes amid a broader trend across the US, where retired industrial sites are being repurposed for digital infrastructure. Earlier this year, Century Aluminum sold its Hawesville smelter in Kentucky to TeraWulf for $200 million, with plans to convert it into a high-performance computing and AI facility rather than traditional industrial use.

TeraWulf shares are up 80% YTD. Source Bloomberg 

Meanwhile, NYDIG has been growing its footprint in Bitcoin mining infrastructure. The firm, owned by Stone Ridge, already holds a stake in Coinmint, which operates mining hardware at the same campus under a long-term lease.

Last year, Crusoe Energy also agreed to sell its Bitcoin mining business, including its digital flare mitigation operations, to NYDIG.

Bitcoin miners pivot to AI

NYDIG’s renewed push into Bitcoin mining comes as other miners are increasingly pivoting toward AI and cloud computing as shrinking margins in mining push them to diversify revenue streams.

Earleir this year, MARA Holdings acquired a 64% stake in French infrastructure company Exaion, giving the company a foothold in AI services. Other miners, including Hive, Hut 8, TeraWulf and Iren, are also repurposing mining facilities into data centers, while some, such as CoreWeave, have fully transitioned into AI-focused infrastructure.

https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/aluminum-giant-alcoa-sell-dormant-smelter-bitcoin-miner-nydig-report

DoJ Opens Criminal Probe Into Meatpacking Cartel As Food Stocks Slide

 Shares of Tyson Foods and Smithfield Foods fell in late-morning trading in New York after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department's antitrust division has opened a criminal probe into major meatpackers.

The report follows President Trump's push for an investigation into meatpackers as supermarket beef prices remain near record highs.

Criminal antitrust cases are typically brought for alleged price-fixing, collusion, or bid-rigging. While the DoJ previously disclosed an investigation into beef companies after Trump called for action, it had not provided details on whether it was criminal.

In early November, Trump publicly stated, "I have asked the DOJ to immediately begin an investigation into the Meat Packing Companies who are driving up the price of Beef through illicit collusion, price fixing, and price manipulation."

"We will always protect our American ranchers, and they are being blamed for what is being done by majority foreign-owned meat packers, who artificially inflate prices and jeopardize the security of our nation's food supply," Trump continued.

Beef prices at supermarkets have soared to record highs after years of drought, and elevated input prices led to the smallest U.S. herd in a generation. Trump's tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter, have also curbed imports.

Also, last year, Trump suggested the U.S. would buy Argentine beef to increase domestic supplies and curb higher prices for Americans. This, in turn, angered U.S. cattle ranchers.

Shares of top publicly traded meatpackers, including Tyson Foods and Smithfield Foods, fell after the WSJ report hit.

Tyson Foods

Smithfield Foods

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has pointed out that "Four meat packers control 85 percent of the meat processed in the U.S."

Meanwhile, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and 12 other senators have proposed legislation that would force the nation's largest meatpackers to break up their operations across beef, pork, and poultry.

Related:

• The Problem Of The Meatpackers

• Drought Engulfs 60% Of U.S. As Farmers Begin Spring Planting

The DOJ's criminal investigation into beef companies comes as the Trump administration attempts to push forward with affordability policies as the K-shaped economy continues hammering the working poor.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/doj-opens-criminal-probe-meatpacking-cartel-food-stocks-slide

SEC, CFTC Propose Narrowing Hedge Fund Reporting Requirements

 

Wall Street’s top regulators unveiled a plan to reduce hedge fund reporting requirements, according to a statement.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission jointly proposed eliminating filing requirements for smaller advisers and raising the threshold for all filers from $150 million in private fund assets under management to $1 billion. The agencies use the data collected confidentially under so-called Form PF for examinations and investigations tied to private fund advisers.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-20/sec-cftc-propose-narrowing-hedge-fund-reporting-requirements

Priority Review to sBLA for PADCEV™ + Keytruda for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

 

• Submission based on statistically significant event-free and overall survival data from the Phase 3 EV-304 trial
• Building on the existing indication in cisplatin-ineligible muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), if approved, this regimen would be the first and only perioperative treatment for patients with MIBC regardless of cisplatin eligibility, marking a potential new standard of care

Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Naoki Okamura, “Astellas”) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for Priority Review a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for perioperative (before and after surgery) PADCEV™ (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv), a Nectin-4 directed antibody-drug conjugate, in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) or Keytruda QLEX™ (pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph) as treatment for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). This regimen was FDA-approved in November 2025 for use as perioperative treatment in cisplatin-ineligible patients with MIBC. This filing seeks to expand the indication to patients with MIBC regardless of cisplatin eligibility. The FDA grants Priority Review to medicines that may offer significant advances in treatment or may provide a treatment where limited therapy options exist.i Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), the FDA has set a target action date of August 17, 2026.

https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/us-fda-grants-priority-review-sbla-padcevtm-keytrudar