Category: Corruption
UBS to impose Credit Suisse ban on new clients from high-risk countries
HONG KONG – UBS will impose strict restrictions on bankers from Credit Suisse, including a ban on new clients from high-risk countries, according to a Financial Times report, with the two banks moving to close the historic takeover as soon as Monday. A list consisting of almost two dozen “red lines” will prohibit Credit Suisse staff from a range of…
European Central Bank eyes next rate hike
FRANKFURT – The European Central Bank (ECB) will almost certainly deliver another interest rate hike on Thursday as the eurozone slides into a recession. Analysts predict that ECB policymakers will copy May’s move and again raise borrowing costs by 25 basis points, taking the closely watched deposit rate to 3.5 per cent. It would be the Frankfurt institution’s eighth consecutive hike…
Section of heavily traveled Interstate i95 collapses in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed early Sunday in Philadelphia after a vehicle caught fire, closing the main north-south highway on the East Coast and threatening to upend travel in parts of the densely populated Northeast, authorities said. Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to avoid the area. Early…
Reality Winner Has Something to Say About the Trump Indictment
Reality Winner, the first person to be prosecuted in violation of the Espionage Act under the Trump administration, said she was “blown away” by the voluminous detail found in the 49-page indictment against the former president in the sprawling Mar-a-Lago documents scandal. The former intelligence contractor and Air Force linguist made the comments in a new interview with NBC broadcast Friday. In 2018, under the…
CIA Privately Attributed Nord Stream Attack to Ukraine While US Blamed Russia – Report
Western media is reporting that the CIA told its Belgian counterparts that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines last September.“Shortly after the attack, our military intelligence agency ADIV received strictly confidential information that pointed to Ukraine’s likely role in sabotage,” a mainstream Belgian newspaper wrote Saturday. The publication said it “learned from well-informed…
Boris Johnson resigns from Parliament, citing an upcoming report on his behavior as PM
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will give up his parliamentary seat amid a long-running ethics investigation that is expected to produce a report into his behavior as prime minister next week. In a blistering statement announcing his resignation from the legislature, Johnson described as a “kangaroo court” the parliamentary committee tasked with examining whether he lied to fellow lawmakers…
Trafficking in the Sahel: Muzzling the illicit arms trade
In this feature, part of a series exploring the fight against trafficking in the Sahel, UN News focuses on the illegal arms trade that is fuelling conflict and terrorism. In the Sahel, home to 300 million people, it’s a buyer’s market for guns. Insurgency and banditry plague the region, rooted in, among other things, endemic intercommunal tensions, clashes between farmers…
U.S. suspends food aid to Ethiopia
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said on Thursday it was suspending food aid to Ethiopia because its donations were being diverted from people in need. A spokesperson said USAID had determined, in coordination with the Ethiopian government, that a “widespread and coordinated campaign is diverting food assistance from the people of Ethiopia”. The statement did not say who…
US / SEC sues Coinbase and Binance, files motion to freeze Binance assets
The top US securities regulator sued cryptocurrency platform Coinbase on Tuesday, the second lawsuit in two days against a major crypto exchange, in a dramatic escalation of a crackdown on the industry and one that could dramatically transform a market that has largely operated outside regulation. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday took aim at Binance, the…
Raging Canada Wildfires Threaten Critical Infrastructure, Force Evacuations
Hundreds of uncontrolled forest fires blazed across Canada on Wednesday, threatening critical infrastructure, forcing evacuations and sending a blanket of smoky air wafting over U.S. cities. Wildfires are common in Canada’s western provinces, but this year flames have mushroomed rapidly in the country’s east, making it the worst-ever start to the season. About 3.8 million hectares have burned, 15 times…
Disgruntled employer Fox News says Tucker Carlson breached his contract: Report
Fox News on Wednesday notified Mr Tucker Carlson’s legal team that the former prime-time host violated his contract with the network when he launched his own Twitter show on Tuesday, Axios reported, citing a copy of a letter obtained by the news website. Mr Carlson released the first episode of his new show on Twitter on Tuesday, weeks after being…
Saudi crown prince, US’ Blinken had ‘candid’ talks in Jeddah
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had an “open, candid” conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the early hours of Wednesday about a wide range of bilateral issues, a US official said. The top US diplomat arrived in Saudi Arabia late on Tuesday for a much anticipated visit amid frayed ties due to…
Italian police search former defense exec’s home in corruption probe
ROME — Magistrates in Italy are probing former Leonardo and Fincantieri officials as part of an investigation into alleged corruption. Police removed computer files from the homes of ex-Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo and a former Italian Italian prime minister, Massimo D’Alema, and are probing former Fincantieri executive Giuseppe Giordo amid claims bribes were offered to Columbian officials to buy planes…
Chris Licht is out at CNN, ending a brief and chaotic run
ATLANTA – Mr Chris Licht, the former television producer who oversaw a brief and chaotic tenure as chairman of CNN, is out at the network. Mr Licht’s 13-month run at CNN was marked by one controversy after another, culminating in his exit earlier this week. He got off to a bumpy start even before he officially started when he oversaw…
Ex-CIA advisor theorizes date when Dollar’s dominance may start to crumble
The BRICS bloc’s push to create a new trade and reserve currency that can serve as an alternative to the dollar could start chipping away at the greenback’s hegemony in less than three months’ time, former CIA and Department of Defense advisor and investment banker James Rickards has predicted. “It involves the rollout of a major new currency that could…
Treasury ‘sleeping at the wheel’ on PwC tax scandal
Treasury officials have been accused of being asleep at the wheel on breaches of confidential government information. Officials were grilled on their knowledge of potential breaches of confidential Treasury data by former PwC partner Peter Collins, who has been referred to federal police to investigate the allegations. Greens senator Barbara Pocock hit out at Treasury’s decision to sign new confidentiality…