Category: Corruption

Donald Trump injured in apparent assassination attempt

Donald Trump has been injured after gunshots were heard during his campaign speech in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The former US president was quickly rushed off stage by his security team. He had blood stains on his right ear. The Trump campaign later released a statement saying that the former president “is fine.” Updates 00:18 GMT Vivek Ramaswamy, who had…

Paris prosecutor opens probe into Le Pen’s 2022 campaign financing

PARIS (Reuters) -The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday it had launched a preliminary probe into allegations of illegal financing of far right National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen’s campaign for the 2022 presidential race, which she lost to Emmanuel Macron. The investigation, which was opened on July 2, follows a 2023 report by the National Commission on Campaign…

French Prime Minister Attal to resign after left alliance wins most seats

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has announced he will resign after a broad left-leaning coalition took the most seats in Sunday’s runoff parliamentary election. The New Popular Front fell short of a majority but surged ahead of the far-right National Rally, which placed third behind the centrist party of President Emmanuel Macron. Voter turnout was high. The outcome leaves France…

Abbott faces trial over claims Similac formula caused dangerous disease

(Reuters) – Similac baby formula maker Abbott is expected to face a trial on Monday over claims that its formula for preterm infants used in neonatal intensive care units causes a potentially deadly bowel disease, the second trial out of hundreds of similar lawsuits in the United States. Lawyers for the company and for Illinois resident Margo Gill will make…

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…

Puerto Rico sues former officials accused of corruption to recover more than $30M in public funds

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s Justice Department announced Tuesday that it is suing at least 30 ex-government officials accused of corruption to recover more than $30 million in public funds. Among those sued are three former legislators, including María Milagros Charbonier, who was sentenced in May to eight years in federal prison after being found guilty of…

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.

Supreme Court rejects challenge to Connecticut law that eliminated religious vaccination exemption

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge to a 2021 Connecticut law that eliminated the state’s longstanding religious exemption from childhood immunization requirements for schools, colleges and day care facilities. The justices did not comment in leaving in place a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the contentious law. A lower court judge had earlier dismissed…

EU foreign ministers approve decision to transfer profits from Russian assets to Ukraine

BRUSSELS, June 24. /TASS/. At a regular meeting of the EU Council foreign ministers of 27 EU countries approved the decision to transfer 1.4 billion euros of profits from Russia’s frozen assets to the European Peace Facility for military assistance to Ukraine, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told a press conference following the results of the meeting. “The ministers…

US finds adds Japan to foreign exchange monitoring list

WASHINGTON – The US Treasury on June 20 said no major trading partner appeared to have manipulated its currency in 2023, but it added Japan to a foreign exchange “monitoring list”, alongside Singapore, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Germany, which were on the previous list. The Treasury’s semi-annual currency report found that none of the countries examined met all three…

Russia, China find payments workaround as US sanctions net widens, sources say

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia-China trade options have narrowed since the U.S. imposed sanctions last week on the only Russian bank branch in China, but President Vladimir Putin’s Chinese visit last month has helped ensure the two countries have payment alternatives for now, three sources said. Since Putin’s visit, specially authorised banks have been set up in border regions which allow Russian…

US sends submarine to Cuba after Russian ships arrive

USS Helena, a Los Angeles-class boat, arrived on Thursday for a “routine port visit,” the US Southern Command said in a statement.  “The vessel’s location and transit were previously planned,” SOUTHCOM added, noting that the Helena is “conducting its global maritime security and national defense mission.” AP described the submarine’s arrival as “a show of force” by Washington, in response…

US and Poland set up center to fight ‘Russian disinformation’ 

The Warsaw-based facility will detect “deceptive narratives” on the Ukraine conflict, the US State Department has said. The United States and Poland have launched an international group based in Warsaw to counter what they describe as Russian disinformation on the Ukraine conflict, the US State Department has announced. The Ukraine Communications Group (UCG) is designed to detect “deceptive narratives” from…

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…

Crypto firm Terraform and Do Kwon to pay $6 billion to settle SEC fraud case

NEW YORK – Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon will pay US$4.47 billion (S$6 billion) to resolve a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit over the company’s 2022 collapse, which wiped out US$40 billion in investor assets and shook the cryptocurrency world. The SEC on June 12 asked a federal judge in New York to approve the settlement….

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…