Category: Western Media

Canadian among 6 people missing as yacht sinks off Sicilian coast, Italian Coast Guard says

One man died and six people were missing after a luxury yacht was struck by an unexpectedly violent storm and sank off the Sicilian capital Palermo, the Italian Coast Guard said on Monday. The 56-metre-long sailboat, which was British registered, sank with 22 people on board shortly before sunrise, the coast guard said in a statement. The missing people were of British, American and Canadian nationality, the coast guard said. “The wind was very strong. Bad weather was expected, but…

Former Banker Asante Kwaku Berko Extradited from UK for Bribing Ghanaian Officials

A dual citizen of the United States and Ghana will make his initial appearance today in the Eastern District of New York to face charges related to his participation in a scheme to bribe Ghanaian officials to obtain and retain business from the Republic of Ghana. Asante Kwaku Berko, 50, was extradited yesterday from the United Kingdom to the United States. According to court documents, between December 2014 and March 2017, Berko, an executive director in the Investment Banking Division…

Proton launches free, privacy-focused Google Docs alternative

Proton has launched ‘Docs in Proton Drive,’ a free and open-source end-to-end encrypted web-based document editing and collaboration tool. Proton is a Swiss company renowned for its privacy-focused services, including Proton VPN, Proton Mail, Proton Pass, Proton Drive, and now also Proton Docs. Recently, the company announced its transition to becoming a non-profit organization to better align with its mission of prioritizing privacy and societal benefit over profit. Launch of Proton Docs Proton says Docs is a compelling, secure, and…

Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor “relieved of duty” after Karen Read mistrial

A judge declared a mistrial in the murder trial of Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of drunkenly driving into her police officer boyfriend and leaving him to die in January 2022, in a case featuring accusations of a vast police cover-up and investigative misconduct. And the state trooper who helped lead the investigation – a man who admitted on the stand that he’d sent sexist and offensive text messages about the defendant to friends – was relieved of duty…

Julian Assange will be freed but must claim guilt: What it means for journalism

Wikileaks founder, publisher, journalist and DiEM25 founding member, Julian Assange, will reportedly enter into a plea deal with the United States prosecutors and be sentenced with time served.

Four FIN9 hackers indicted for cyberattacks causing $71M in losses

  Four Vietnamese nationals linked to the international cybercrime group FIN9 have been indicted for their involvement in a series of computer intrusions that caused over $71 million in losses to companies in the U.S. The defendants, identified as Ta Van Tai, Nguyen Viet Quoc, Nguyen Trang Xuyen, and Nguyen Van Truong, carried out their cybercrimes from May 2018 until October 2021, stealing both data and funds directly from U.S. organizations. “The FIN9 defendants were prolific international hackers who, for years, allegedly…

Johnson & Johnson to settle claims it misled consumers about safety of talcum products, including “baby powder”

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $700m to settle lawsuits in the United States that accused the pharmaceutical giant of deceiving customers about the safety of its talcum-based powder products. J&J’s payout resolves an investigation by more than 40 US states into the marketing of baby powder and other talc-based products that contained traces of cancer-causing asbestos. “Targeting communities with cosmetic products that contain dangerous substances is not just illegal, it is very cruel,” New York Attorney General Letitia…

Lead fund manager Gregoire Tournant in Allianz fraud case pleads guilty

The lead manager in a funds scandal that led to a $6bn settlement between Germany’s Allianz and US authorities has pleaded guilty to investment adviser fraud, two years after two other managers pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme. The scandal at one of its US asset management units rocked Allianz, one of the world’s biggest insurance groups, casting doubt over its control functions and triggering an apology from its chief executive. Gregoire Tournant pleaded guilty on Friday to…

Panama prepares to evacuate island in face of rising sea levels

On a tiny island off Panama’s Caribbean coast, about 300 families are packing their belongings in preparation for a dramatic change. Generations of Gunas who have grown up on Gardi Sugdub in a life dedicated to the sea and tourism will trade that next week for the mainland’s solid ground. They go voluntarily — sort of. The Gunas of Gardi Sugdub are the first of 63 communities along Panama’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts that government officials and scientists expect to…

What’s behind a historic, unusual U.S. military cash transfer to Canadian mines

The United States was growing desperate, months before its entry into the Second World War. It was gravely short of aluminum, and scrambling for suppliers. Its solution: turn north to Canada. American public money flooded into Quebec, building the aluminum industry that supplied raw materials for Allied planes and tanks. “I would be willing to buy aluminum from anybody,” said Harry Truman, then still a U.S. senator, in 1941 hearings on the topic. “I don’t care whether it is the…

United States Reaches Over $310 Million Settlement with Norfolk Southern to Address Harms Caused by East Palestine Train Derailment

Today, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement valued at over $310 million with Norfolk Southern Railway Company holding the company accountable to address and pay for the damage caused by the Feb. 3, 2023, train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. If the settlement is approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Norfolk Southern will be required to take measures to improve rail safety, pay for health monitoring and mental health…

UK infected blood coverup: Worst treatment sandal in HNS history

Dr. Campbell’s Notes and References Confirmed horrifying scandal https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/20/infected-blood-scandal-inquiry-live-latest/ Rishi Sunak “a day of shame for the British state” Worst treatment sandal in HNS history “Today’s report shows a decades-long moral failure at the heart of our national life – from the National Health Service to the Civil Service, to ministers in successive governments, at every level the people and institutions in which we place our trust failed in the most harrowing and devastating way. “They failed the victims and…

Gaza: Bodies Recovered at Mass Graves Show Torture, Mutilation, Organ Removal

Video. At least 320 bodies have been discovered buried in a mass grave at the destroyed Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, just weeks after a similar mass grave containing up to 400 bodies was discovered amid the ruins of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Some of the bodies, which include children, medical staff and patients, appear to have been executed or buried alive.

Vietnamese real estate tycoon sentenced to death in $12B fraud case

A court in Vietnam on Thursday ordered the death penalty for a real estate tycoon found guilty in a financial fraud case totalling more than $12 billion US. Vietnamese state media called it the country’s largest-ever case of financial fraud. The conviction of Truong My Lan came amid a government anti-corruption crackdown by Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Lan started off selling cosmetics in a market stall with her mother in Ho Chi Minh City. When Vietnam liberalized…

EU nations obligated to protect citizens from climate change, human rights court rules

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday in favour of a group of elderly Swiss women who had argued that their government’s inadequate efforts to combat climate change put them at risk of dying during heatwaves. The European court’s decision on the case, brought by more than 2,000 women, could have a ripple effect across Europe and beyond, setting a precedent for how some courts deal with the rising tide of climate litigation argued on the basis…

‘Panama Papers’ money laundering trial opens

  The trial of 27 people opened Monday in Panama from charges stemming from the Panama Papers, a cache of millions of financial documents that exposed money laundering and worldwide tax evasion networks. Among those on trial are the owners of the Mossack-Fonseca law firm, the company that was central to the 2016 massive document leak, which detailed how the world’s richest people hide their assets. Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca Mora, the founders of the now-defunct law firm, are…