Category: _enforcement

Ghana’s former finance minister place on Interpol Red Notice list over corruption allegations

Ghana’s former finance minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta has been placed on Interpol’s Red Notice list, accused of using public office for profit.

UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway sanction Israeli Cabinet ministers

Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway said Tuesday they have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly “inciting extremist violence” against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich face asset freezes and travel bans from the five countries. The ministers are champions of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler…

Marines arrive in LA under Trump orders as protests spread to other cities

LOS ANGELES – Hundreds of US Marines arrived in Los Angeles overnight and more were expected on June 10 under orders from President Donald Trump, who has also activated 4,000 National Guard troops to quell protests despite objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom and other local leaders. Los Angeles has seen days of public outrage since the Trump administration launched a series of immigration raids on June 6, though local officials said the demonstrations on June 9 were largely peaceful….

Did the Feds Label You a Covid “Violent Extremist?”

Biden administration policy-makers hated you more than you knew. From the start of the Covid pandemic, I warned that the feds were vilifying anyone who failed to kowtow to the latest commands. In October 2023, I wrote: “Federal bureaucrats heaved together a bunch of letters to contrive an ominous new acronym for the latest peril to domestic tranquility. The result: AGAAVE—’anti-government, anti-authority violent extremism’—which looks like a typo for a sugar substitute. The FBI vastly expanded the supposed AGAAVE peril by…

China adds 12 US entities to export control list, adds 6 US firms to unreliable entity list

China’s Ministry of Commence (MOFCOM) said on Wednesday that it has added 12 US entities to the export control list. In order to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Export Control Law of China and the regulations on export control of dual-use items, the MOFCOM issued an announcement to include 12 US entities in the export control list and prohibit the export of dual-use items to…

Brussels threatens to block US from bidding for public contracts

Brussels has threatened to bar American companies from bidding for taxpayer-funded contracts as Europe seeks to retaliate against Donald Trump’s tariffs. Stéphane Séjourné, executive vice president of the European Commission, said the EU has “the cards” to hit back at Mr Trump’s new levies of 20pc on goods and 25pc on cars. “We could decide to withdraw all American companies from European public procurement,” Mr Séjourné, who is also commissioner for industrial strategy, told Radio France. It represents a fresh…

UK court confirms Apple is suing British government over ‘backdoor’ request

A British court has confirmed that Apple is suing the British government over a legal order regarding the company’s encryption of iCloud accounts, lifting a veil of official secrecy regarding the controversial move. In a judgment on Monday, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal — the only court in the country that can hear certain national security cases — said it would confirm “the bare details of the case” despite the British government’s argument that to do so would undermine national security….

China hits back at Trump with 34% tariff on U.S. imports

China announced a 34% tariff on all products imported from the U.S. on Friday, escalating the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. The move came two days after President Donald Trump imposed the same tariff on all Chinese imports as part of what he called reciprocal tariffs on a long list of U.S. trade partners. Combined with 20% in other levies that Trump has imposed on Chinese goods since returning to office in January, the total U.S. tariff…

South Korea Removes Its Impeached President and Regains Direction

South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol has been removed from office, four months after his shortlived attempt to impose martial law sparked a prolonged political crisis. The Constitutional Court on Friday announced in a unanimous verdict that it would uphold parliament’s vote to impeach Yoon last year over his failed power grab, stripping him of office and ending his presidency less than three years into his five-year term. A presidential election will be held within 60 days. Han Duck-soo, a…

Loomer’s relationship with Trump: 3 National Security staff fired

Far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer reportedly made sure three National Security Council staff members were fired, as Loomer considered them disloyal. She communicated this opinion to Donald Trump in a brief White House meeting Wednesday. Laura Loomer is not a new name in MAGA circle. She was frequently seen with the president ahead of the election. Her extreme statements against Kamala Harris spelt trouble for the Donald Trump campaign and she was apparently sidelined, but the three recent…

China’s response to US tariff announcement: Breach of WTO rules, countermeasures will follow

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson slammed US’ “reciprocal tariffs,” saying the US’ move seriously violates WTO rules and undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system. “China strongly opposes the US’ move and will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate interests,” Guo said, responding to a question over the US’ “reciprocal tariffs” on its major trade partners, including 34 percent on China. The Chinese side has repeatedly stressed that there is no winner in trade war and that protectionism leads nowhere, the spokesperson said. “China urges the US to immediately correct its wrongdoings and resolve trade disputes with China and other countries through equal, respectful, and mutually beneficial dialogue.”

1,400+ Arrested in Turkey as Erdoğan Jails Istanbul Mayor & Intensifies Authoritarian Crackdown

Mass demonstrations continue in Turkey, where Istanbul Mayor İmamoglu was arrested on corruption charges. Since protests broke out, Turkish authorities have detained more than 1,400 people, including students and journalists. İmamoglu is the main rival of President Erdogan in the 2028 election and was recently nominated by the Republican People’s Party. Erdogan has led the country since 2003, but his popularity has dropped in recent years amid authoritarian policies. “Everyone knows that this is politically motivated and that Erdogan is scared that he’s not going to win against Ekrem İmamoğlu,” says Turkish political scientist Ezgi Başaran.

News from Russia: Bosnia issues arrest warrant for Bosnian Serb leadership, Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik

Bosnian prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for the president, prime minister, and parliament speaker of Republika Srpska, the predominantly-Serb region within Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are accused of having launched an “attack on the constitutional order” by enacting laws that restrict the operations of Bosnia’s state-level judiciary and law enforcement agencies. Following a brutal civil war that pitted the former Yugoslav region’s ethno-religious groups against one another, Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two self-governing entities, the ethnically Serbian Republika Srpska…

US has suspended all military aid to Ukraine, White House official says, in wake of Trump-Zelenskyy row

The Trump administration has suspended delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine, a White House official has said, blocking billions in crucial shipments as the White House piles pressure on Ukraine to sue for peace with Vladimir Putin. The decision affects deliveries of ammunition, vehicles, and other equipment including shipments agreed to when Joe Biden was president. It comes after a dramatic blow-up in the White House on Friday during which Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he was…

EU Slaps Fresh Sanctions on Russia, Targeting Aluminum and ‘Shadow Fleet’ Ships

EU countries have agreed on a new round of sanctions against Russia, diplomats said Wednesday, as the bloc looks to maintain pressure on Moscow ahead of the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The wide-ranging package, which includes a ban on imports of Russian aluminum, will be formally adopted by EU foreign ministers on Monday. “The EU is clamping down even harder on circumvention by targeting more vessels in Putin’s shadow fleet and imposing new import and export…

Health Net Federal Services and Centene Corporation Agree to Pay Over $11 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Liability for Cybersecurity Violations

Note: View the settlement agreement here. Health Net Federal Services Inc. (HNFS) of Rancho Cordova, California and its corporate parent, St. Louis-based Centene Corporation, have agreed to pay $11,253,400 to resolve claims that HNFS falsely certified compliance with cybersecurity requirements in a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to administer the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) TRICARE health benefits program for servicemembers and their families. In 2016, Centene acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Health Net…