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☆ Militants kill 37, abduct six others in attack on Ugandan school
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Elias Biryabarema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Military personnel found the bodies of the dead when they arrived at the school, defence spokesperson Felix Kulayigye said in a statement. The attackers, from the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), fled towards Virunga National Park in Congo, police said. Police said eight other people were in hospital with critical injuries after the attack at the Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe. He said an unidentified youth had gone to the school to check its layout before the attack. In April, the ADF attacked a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 20 people.

Persons: Felix Kulayigye, Dick Olum, Olum, Yoweri Museveni, Elias Biryabarema, Jose Joseph, George Obulutsa, Fiston Mahamba, William Mallard, Frances Kerry Organizations: Islamic State Military, Islamic State, Democratic, Military, Twitter, Allied Democratic Forces, Police, Secondary, Privately, NTV Uganda, Vision, New Vision, Mpondwe, Daily Monitor, ADF, Thomson Locations: KAMPALA, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Mpondwe, Bengaluru, Nairobi, Fiston, Goma

☆ Women’s Tennis Suddenly Has a Big(ish) Three
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Matthew Futterman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

And yet something has been happening with this group lately in the rivalry-starved women’s game — something that could all come together in a glorious rumble during the next two weeks at the French Open. The first of the three to play at Roland Garros, Sabalenka, started her tournament with a win over Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in a match tinged with wartime bitterness. Ever since Ashleigh Barty of Australia retired while atop the rankings in March 2022 at age 25, Swiatek, Rybakina and Sabalenka have been hogging nearly all of the most prestigious trophies. Swiatek has been among the most outspoken critics of Russia’s invasion, helping to raise millions of dollars to support relief efforts in Ukraine. Rybakina and Sabalenka hail from the two countries perpetrating the war, as Kostyuk reminded everyone Sunday.

☆ Michael Cohen has 'zero confidence' that Trump will comply with a new protective order in the hush-money case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Michael Cohen has "less than zero confidence" Trump will obey a protective order in the hush-money case. This latest development in the hush-money prosecution comes six weeks after Trump was arraigned on 34-counts of falsifying business records. Lawyers for Trump declined to comment on the protective order or Cohen's comments. It's also routine for judges to ask the defendant to acknowledge, in court, that a protective order has been issued, Saland said. Trump's words have already created a stir in the hush-money case, she added.

Persons: Michael Cohen, Trump, Cohen, It's, —, Donald Trump, Juan Merchan —, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, she'd, Melania, it's, Jeremy Saland, Saland, Catherine McCaw, McCaw, Ruby Freeman, Bragg Organizations: Trump, Service, Prosecutors, Truth, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Manhattan, Attorney, Trump Organization Locations: Manhattan, Georgia

CNN —The US is imposing new sanctions on groups in Russia and Iran accused of taking Americans hostage as it works to prevent more captive-taking and potentially secure the release of citizens currently being detained. The sanctions ordered up Thursday would punish organizations the US accuses of being responsible for holding hostage or wrongfully detaining Americans. Officials said the steps should act as a warning to those thinking of taking Americans hostage. The order also mandated a better flow of information to the families of Americans held hostage or detained overseas. Officials said it was possible the sanctions could be lifted if Americans held in Russia or Iran were released.

☆ Tucker Carlson is gone but Fox News' politics remain the same
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Fox News had plenty of reasons to get rid of Tucker Carlson. CNN’s Allison Morrow notes that Fox will need a Carlson upgrade of some kind because upstart conservative networks want into the same space. ET hour on Fox, and if it is any indication, there won’t be much new in the politics that are pushed on Fox’s viewers. On-screen, the words were “Biden’s Legacy: Crime in the Cities.”Related: Here’s a CNN Fact Check on the crime in Manhattan, which far below record levels. Biden legacy 2After declaring crime to be Biden’s legacy, Kilmeade transitioned.

☆ Data company Palantir to help Ukraine prosecute alleged Russian war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | Thomson Reuters | Jeffrey Dastin Is A Technology Correspondent For Reuters Based In San Francisco | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine plans to deploy software from U.S. data analytics provider Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.N) to help it prosecute alleged war crimes committed by Russia, the company told Reuters. Palantir, which has supplied Ukraine with systems to help it target Russian tanks and support refugees, is now working with the prosecutor general's office to help investigators across Europe pool and process data, the company said. Moscow has denied attacking civilians or perpetrating war crimes. Any successful war crimes prosecution will require Ukraine to navigate overlapping court jurisdictions and furnish evidence despite often restricted access to suspects or crime scenes. A U.N.-mandated investigative body last month accused Russia of war crimes, though its chair said it had not found evidence of genocide, which is being investigated by Ukraine.

☆ Smartmatic wants more than Dominion’s $787 million payout, plus a retraction from Fox for its 2020 election lies, lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

(But in a press release, Fox publicly “acknowledged” that the judge in that case had concluded that all 20 on-air statements that Dominion sued over were false.) “That set down a marker and it’s a marker that we think we should be exceeding,” Connolly said. “The scope of the damage done to Smartmatic is a global scale, because we operate globally… $787 million is a good start. Smartmatic wants $2.7 billion from Fox and other Trump allies that it named in the lawsuit. “We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial, likely in 2025,” a Fox spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

☆ Exxon’s Climate Opponents Were Infiltrated by Massive Hacking-for-Hire Operation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Christopher M. Matthews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In the midst of perpetrating what federal prosecutors say was a massive corporate hacking campaign, Israeli private detective Aviram Azari in 2017 received welcome news. A group of hackers in India wrote him to say they had successfully infiltrated the email and social-media accounts of a group of environmental activists campaigning against Exxon Mobil Corp.

☆ Judge to weigh Bankman-Fried's trial schedule, bail conditions at hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge is expected on Friday to consider what restrictions Sam Bankman-Fried should face while free on bail, and whether the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's Oct. 2 fraud trial should be pushed back. In a letter to Kaplan on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried's lawyers said they may need more time than expected to review the evidence and prepare a defense in light of the new charges. Ellison and Wang, once among Bankman-Fried's closest associates, have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government. Prosecutors, defense lawyers and Kaplan began revisiting Bankman-Fried's bail conditions after the government said he sought to contact FTX Chief Executive John Ray and an in-house lawyer in what prosecutors described as a possible attempt to tamper with witnesses. Defense lawyers said Bankman-Fried was trying to help, not interfere.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried is appealing the judge's decision to reveal the identities of 2 people who helped secure his $250 million bail package
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Besides his parents, two as-yet-unidentified people cosigned the $250 million bail bond to get the FTX founder released from jail. Bankman-Fried's attorneys argued the potential of physical threats were reasons to keep their identities sealed. Attorneys for the FTX founder appealed a judge's decision to reveal the two non-parental cosigners of his $250 million bail bond, according to a court filing on Tuesday. "Mr. Bankman-Fried stands accused of perpetrating one of the largest financial frauds in history." "In recent weeks, Mr. Bankman-Fried's parents have become the target of intense media scrutiny, harassment, and threats," Cohen said last month.

☆ Elizabeth Holmes booked a 1-way ticket to Mexico for a friend's wedding while out on bail, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes bought a one-way ticket to Mexico last year, per prosecutors. In response, Holmes' attorney, Lance Wade, said the trip was planned prior to Holmes' conviction on January 3, 2022. "The hope was that the verdict would be different and Ms. Holmes would be able to make this trip to attend the wedding of close friends in Mexico," he wrote. The Theranos founder has sought to stay out of custody as her appeal is pending. "There are not two systems of justice — one for the wealthy and one for the poor — there is one criminal justice system in this country," government lawyers wrote in the document.

☆ House Republicans move to regulate crypto industry with a new subcommittee
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The unregulated nature of the crypto industry emerged as a pressing concern late last year after the collapse in November of crypto exchange FTX. Hill has been an enthusiastic supporter of the crypto industry. Emmer described actions taken by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler as "haphazard and unfocused." Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have already begun to prepare their own efforts to oversee the crypto industry and dictate enforcement actions. The commission charged crypto lender Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini with the unregistered sale and offering of securities on Thursday, the same day that Hill announced the subcommittee.

Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in New York federal court Tuesday to eight charges related to the collapse of his former crypto exchange FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research. The onetime crypto billionaire was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations. Federal prosecutors also announced the launch of a new task force to recover victim assets as part of an ongoing investigation into Bankman-Fried and the collapse of FTX. Federal prosecutors built the indictment against Bankman-Fried with unusual speed, packaging together the criminal charges against the 30-year-old in a matter of weeks. The federal charges came alongside complaints from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

☆ 2022 was the year the Overconfidence Man fell back to earth
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Maureen Tkacik | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

Naturally, Elon Musk, the platonic ideal of the peculiar self-aggrandizing, self-parodying personality type that thrived during the Trump years and peaked during the pandemic, tops this list. By 2022, the media had pronounced him variously the next Warren Buffett, J.P. Morgan and Charles Koch. "bye bye @trussliz Congrats to lettuce", tweeted Putin's one-time stand-in Dmitry Medvedev, to which Elon Musk could not resist replying, "pretty good troll tbh." Elon Musk speaks at the 2020 Satellite Conference and Exhibition in March 2020. Elon MuskIt's weird to recall now that Elon Musk once seemed like, graded on the billionaire curve anyway, a net positive for a cursed American society.

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is escorted out of the Magistrate's Court on December 21, 2022 in Nassau, Bahamas. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will be released on $250 million bond while awaiting trial for fraud and other criminal charges, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday. Judge Gabriel Gorenstein said Bankman-Fried would require "strict" supervision following his release to his parents' home in California. Bernie Madoff posted a $10 million bond while awaiting trial on his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Jeff Skilling, former Enron CEO, posted a $5 million bond, while Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos founder, posted a scant $500,000.

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is escorted by corrections officers to the Magistrate's Court on December 21, 2022 in Nassau, Bahamas. Bankman-Fried, 30, was indicted in New York federal court on Dec. 9 and arrested three days later by Bahamas law enforcement at the request of U.S. prosecutors. Chaos ensued as reporters and attorneys for Bankman-Fried attempted to pin down whether the former crypto billionaire would be rendered back to the United States for arraignment in federal court. When Bankman-Fried lands in New York, the so-far atypical proceedings should take on a more familiar tenor. "But again, if arranged in advance with the magistrate in charge of the detention hearing, the court may allow a hearing before processing, but that is unlikely.

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX, is escorted out of the Magistrate's Court in Nassau, Bahamas, on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried signed extradition papers in the Bahamas and will return to the U.S. on Wednesday, a Bahamas prison official told NBC News. Bankman-Fried stands accused by federal law enforcement and financial regulators of perpetrating what the SEC called one of the largest and most "brazen" frauds in recent memory. Bankman-Fried was indicted in New York federal court on Dec. 9 and was arrested three days later by Bahamas law enforcement at the request of U.S. prosecutors. WATCH: Sam Bankman-Fried defied the advice of lawyers

☆ Man who shot Lady Gaga's dog walker in pet theft sentenced to 21 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The man who shot and wounded Lady Gaga's dog walker during the theft of two of the singer's French bulldogs in Hollywood last year pleaded no contest to attempted murder on Monday and was immediately sentenced to 21 years in prison. Several other charges Jackson faced were dismissed in the plea deal, according to the Los Angeles City News Service (CNS). Another co-defendant, Harold White, pleaded no contest on Monday to a weapons charge and will be sentenced next year, prosecutors said. Two others, Jaylin White and Lafayette Whaley, each previously pleaded no contest to second-degree robbery, receiving sentences of four years and six years in prison, respectively. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran intensifies crackdown in Kurdish area; rights group says four killed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Norway-based human rights group Hengaw said military helicopters carried members of the widely feared Revolutionary Guards to quell the protests in the Sunni-dominated Kurdish city of Mahabad. The widely-followed activist account 1500Tasvir said a 16-year-old student and a school teacher were killed in the Kurdish city of Javanrud. Iran's state media said calm had been restored in the area. "In (the Kurdish city of) Marivan repressive forces have opened fire at people," Hengaw said. Some 54 members of the security forces were also killed, it said, adding that more than 17,251 people have been arrested.

☆ Iran indicts 11 over Basij agent's death, basketball team skips anthem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Videos posted on social media purportedly showed the national basketball team refraining from singing the national anthem during a match with China in Tehran on Friday - widely seen as another show of support from athletes for the protests. The activist HRANA news agency said 336 protesters had been killed in the unrest as of Friday, including 52 minors. Earlier this week, videos posted on social media showed the national water polo team failing to sing the national anthem at a competition in Thailand. 'STEP UP THE PRESSURE'On Friday, a cleric in the northwestern city of Urmia called during prayers for the punishment of athletes who refrained from singing the national anthem, according to Iranian news agencies. "We want to continue to step up the pressure on the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the political leadership," he said in a video posted on Twitter.

☆ Iranians protest nationwide, mark 'Bloody Friday'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Summary Prominent Sunni cleric criticises security forcesUnrest in minority areasGeneral tells clerics to restore calmDUBAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Iranians protested in the restive southeast on Friday to mark a Sept. 30 crackdown by security forces known as "Bloody Friday", as the country's clerical rulers battled nationwide unrest. The region is one of the country’s poorest and has been a hotbed of tension where Iranian security forces have been attacked by Baluch militants. Thirty-nine members of the security forces had also been killed, while nearly 15,100 people have been arrested, it said. They were accused of acts of sabotage, assaulting or killing members of the security forces or setting fire to public property. Several social media videos showed a gathering at Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra cemetery to honour Amir Mehdi Farrokhipour, a 17-year-old allegedly killed by security forces 40 days ago.

☆ Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti expresses support for protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Yves HermanDUBAI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Leading Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti has posted a picture of herself on Instagram without a headscarf to express support for nationwide anti-government protests. loadingProtests sparked by the Sept. 16 death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police for not wearing "appropriate attire" are posing one of the biggest challenges to Iran's clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution. Alidoosti has posted many Instagram posts critical of the clerical establishment in past. Since the start of protests, at least five female Iranian actresses have posted pictures of themselves without the compulsory hijab in solidarity with the demonstrations in which women have played a leading role. People from all walks of life are taking part in the popular revolt from shopkeepers to lawyers to youths to athletes.

☆ Many young Iranians lose their fear in struggle for "freedom"
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Her sentiment was echoed by a dozen young Iranians from across the country interviewed by Reuters by phone. As a young woman, her death sparked anger among Iranians who do not want their daughters arrested because of how they dress. Many young Iranians have long called for the lifting of social restrictions, such as internet censorship and strict dress codes. With student numbers swelling in Iran's young population, such signs of growing dissent cannot be easily ignored by the authorities, a former moderate official said. By defying state warnings to end protests, students have paid a heavy price.

☆ Ethiopia: Warring parties agree to a truce in two-year civil war. Here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, he was lauded as a regional peacemaker. A year later, he launched a conflict that spiraled into a brutal civil war, spawning one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. In November 2020, Abiy ordered a military offensive in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and promised that the clash would be resolved quickly. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Tigray conflict has its roots in tensions that go back generations in Ethiopia. For months at the start of the conflict, Abiy denied that civilians were being harmed or that soldiers from Eritrea had joined the fight.

☆ Ethiopian army captures city from Tigray forces -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Guterres told reporters the United Nations was ready to support the bloc in every possible way to end the Ethiopian people's "nightmare". The European Union said the joint offensive by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces should stop immediately and the Eritreans should withdraw from Ethiopian territory. It also urged Tigray forces to refrain from any further military operations. Spokespersons for the Ethiopian government and army, for the Eritrean government and for the Tigray forces did not respond to requests for comment on events in Shire. The Tigray authorities said on Sunday their forces would abide by an immediate truce and said a "humanitarian catastrophe" was unfolding.

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