02 January 2023 – 26 February 2023
The documents doing the rounds on Twitter allegedly show that top Arizona officials and the governor Katie Hobbs took bribes from the Sinaloa cartel, formerly led by El Chapo. It’s also been alleged the cartel helped Arizona Democrats rig the election.
Read related storyThe man who filmed police removing Nicola Bulley’s body from the river has been identified as a Kidderminster hairdresser.
China has presented Ukraine with a 12-point settlement as a way to end the war and bring peace. China’s plan includes a cease-fire, but Ukraine believes the plan heavily favors Russia’s interests and is concerned about reports of China supplying Russia with weapons.
Read related storyThe coroner is set to release the body of Nicola Bulley to her family for funeral arrangements, but a full inquest into her death will take place in June. Police officers who handled the case are facing investigation for misconduct, and the lead diver who said she wasn’t in the river is also under scrutiny.
The Romanian court has extended the detention of Andrew Tate and his brother for another 30 days, despite no charges being filed and no new evidence. Romanian authorities can hold a suspect for up to 180 days without pressing charges, meaning Tate could be in jail for another four months if the court wishes. After the ruling, Tate tweeted, “I will meditate deeply over this decision.”
Andrew Tate has praised his legal team for a “fantastic job,” saying in a tweet that “true colors were brought to light” in front of the judges. This comes days after leaked wiretap evidence showed a discussion between two of the alleged victims plotting to frame Tate and his brother. They are set to be released from jail on 27 February unless prosecutors file charges or get an extension.
Read trending storyPolice confirmed on late Monday that the body found in the River Wyre was missing mother, Nicola Bulley. Police recovered the body at 11:35 GMT on Sunday, 19 February, in the river one mile from St Michael’s on Wyre, where Bulley dissapeared three weeks ago. The police have previously said they believed she went into the river and have been searching the water for the past three weeks without any findings.
Police said they “sadly recovered a body” at 11:35 GMT on Sunday, 19 February, in the river one mile from St Michael’s on Wyre, where Bulley dissapeared three weeks ago. There has been no formal identification, and police were “unable to say” if it was the 45-year-old mother of two.
Follow live coverageRegulators in the United States have charged Do Kwon and his company Terraform Labs with fraud that resulted in the billion-dollar crash of LUNA and Terra USD (UST) in May 2022. Terra USD, ironically labeled as an “algorithmic stablecoin” that was supposed to maintain a value of $1 per coin, reached a staggering $18 billion in total value before collapsing to almost nothing within two days.
Regulators took particular issue with how the Singapore-based crypto firm deceived investors by advertising UST as stable using an algorithm that pegged it to the dollar. However, the SEC claimed it was “controlled by the defendants, not any code.”
The SEC’s complaint alleged “Terraform and Do Kwon failed to provide the public with full, fair, and truthful disclosure as required for a host of crypto asset securities,” and stated the whole ecosystem “was simply a fraud.”
Read the backstoryThe UK’s blue chip stock index surpassed 8,000 points for the first time in history as the pound plummets in value.
Two people were arrested under the UK’s malicious communications act for sending “vile” messages to parish councillors over missing woman Nicola Bulley. The malicious communications act is widely criticized as a law to restrict free speech, as simply offensive messages — not threatening — are classed as illegal.
Andrew Tate and his brother were seen being led to the Romanian prosecutor’s office as authorities scour laptops, phones, and tablets for evidence. With no charges filed, it appears procescutors are desperate for evidence to strengthen a weak case.
It started with one rogue Chinese surveillance balloon, but now the US government is going trigger-happy on UFOs. The US military has claimed its shot down another high-altitude object described as an “octagonal structure,” bringing the total to four objects shot down in one week.
It comes just a day after news broke of an object shot down off Alaska that reportedly posed a “reasonable threat” to civilian aviation.
At the time, the White House spokesperson said its origin was unknown, but officials are of the opinion that the first Chinese surveillance balloon was just one of a much larger fleet.
Just a week after the US destroyed a Chinese surveillance balloon, another high-altitude object has been shot down off Alaska on Friday. President Biden ordered a fighter jet to shoot down the unmanned object that posed a “reasonable threat” to civilian aviation. “We do not know who owns it, whether it’s state owned or corporate owned or privately owned,” said White House Spokesman John Kirby.
After shooting down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon hovering over the US mainland, officials now believe it was just one of a much larger fleet of balloons distributed across the globe for spying purposes.
CNN host Don Lemon went on an unscripted tirade after Rep. James Comer called the New York Post a “credible outlet.” Lemon delayed the commercial break to express his disagreement and disbelief, saying, “I can’t believe that we’re here.” Notwithstanding, the New York Post’s story on Hunter Biden was entirely accurate.
It comes as the House Oversight Committee is turning up the heat on Hunter Biden. This week, the committee began questioning former Twitter employees over the deliberate suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story published by the New York Post.
Watch the videoThe planned Royal Mail strike on the 16th and 17th of February was canceled after the company issued a legal challenge against the union, saying the reasons for the strike were not legal. Union bosses backed down, saying they would not fight the challenge, and consequently called off the planned action.
Read related storySuperstar influencer Andrew Tate has updated his will, and $100 million will be donated “to start a charity to protect men from false accusations,” according to a series of tweets Tate sent from a Romanian jail. Another tweet shortly followed, saying, “I would never kill myself.”
Warren Buffett’s right-hand man Charlie Munger sent shockwaves throughout the crypto community after publishing an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Why America Should Ban Crypto.” Munger’s premise was simple, “It isn’t currency. It’s a gambling contract.”
The US is currently tracking a Chinese surveillance balloon hovering over Montana, close to nuclear silos. China claims it’s a civilian weather balloon that was blown off course. So far, President Biden has decided against shooting it down.
Romanian prosecutors claim Andrew Tate and his brother turned women into “slaves,” according to a court document provided to Reuters and published in a hit piece. Yet, the news agency admits it couldn’t “corroborate the version of events.” The news organization also conceded that it couldn’t reach the six alleged victims named in the document.
On the contrary, two of the six women have spoken publicly on Romanian TV, saying they’re “not victims” and that the prosecution is listing them as accusers against their will.
Prosecutors are also basing their case on allegations that Tate controlled the women’s OnlyFans accounts, a subscription-based website where creators publish erotic or pornographic content for paying users. In the same way, Reuters could not verify the existence of these OnlyFans accounts.
Read trending storyA Romanian appellate court has upheld the decision to keep Andrew Tate and his brother in custody for at least another month. The Tate brothers were arrested in December on suspicion of human trafficking and rape; however, the prosecution has still not formally charged them.
The UK is preparing for the largest strike day of the decade as half a million workers will walk out on Wednesday, 1 February. The strike includes teachers, train drivers, civil servants, bus drivers, and university lecturers as government talks with the unions fell apart.
Read related articleA 29-year-old man was stabbed on Saturday in the luxury London department store, Harrods, during an attempted robbery of a watch. Customers described a “pool of blood,” a scene that is becoming all too common in Sadiq Khan’s London. The man’s injuries were not life threatening and he is recovering in hospital. No arrests have been made and the culprit is still at large.
Bitcoin (BTC) is on track to have the best January in the last decade as investors turn bullish on crypto after a disastrous 2022. Bitcoin leads the way as it approaches $24,000, up a massive 44% from the beginning of the month, where it hovered around $16,500 a coin.
The broader cryptocurrency market has also turned bullish, with other top coins such as Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Coin (BNB) seeing substantial monthly returns of 37% and 30%, respectively.
The upturn comes after last year saw the crypto market plunge, fueled by fears of regulation and the FTX scandal. The year shredded $600 billion (-66%) from Bitcoin’s market cap, ending the year worth only a third of its 2022 peak value.
Despite the ongoing concerns of regulation, the fear in the market looks to be shifting to greed as investors take advantage of bargain prices. The rise may continue, but savvy investors will be wary of another bear market rally where a sharp sell-off will send prices back to Earth.
See our top 5 coinsA Romanian judge extended the detention of social media superstar Andrew Tate and his brother for at least another month based only on “a reasonable suspicion,” even admitting the facts presented by the prosecution were unclear. The multimillionaire influencer has been accused of human trafficking and rape, which he vehemently denies.
The police have arrested a 61-year-old man for allegedly assaulting the former health secretary Matt Hancock. The assault occurred on the London Underground, but Hancock is not thought to be hurt, and his spokesperson simply described the event as an “unpleasant encounter.”
Meta has announced that it will lift the ban on Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks. The president of global affairs at Meta and former deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom, Nick Clegg, announced that they “don’t want to get in the way of open debate on our platforms, esp in context of democratic elections.”
Clegg stated the company had assessed the risk of allowing the former president back on the platform according to their “Crisis Policy Protocol” and had consulted experts. The decision was caveated with the statement that “new guardrails” are now in place to stop “repeat offenses.”
The announcement comes not long after Twitter, now under the control of Elon Musk, also reinstated Trump; however, he is yet to return to use the platform.
Germany’s foreign minister has announced that they “would not stand in the way” if Poland sent Ukraine their Leopard 2 tanks.
The former prime minister made a surprise visit to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying it was a “privilege” to visit the country. “I welcome Boris Johnson, a true friend of Ukraine ...,” wrote Zelensky on Telegram.
Six more classified documents have been seized at Biden’s home in Delaware after a 13-hour search of the property by the Department of Justice.
Rishi Sunak received a fixed-penalty notice from the police for not wearing his seatbelt when he published an Instagram video while traveling in a moving car.
Over 15 months after actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie set of Rust, prosecutors have decided to charge him with manslaughter. Baldwin has consistently denied any wrongdoing and his attorney said they would “fight” the charges and “win.”
“This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice,” said Baldwin’s lawyer, Luke Nikas. Two other Rust crew members have been charged in relation to the death.
Nurses and ambulance workers are planning to take strike action together on 6 February, which will be the biggest walkout so far.
Presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych has resigned after making false remarks that a Russian missile that killed 44 people in Dnipro was shot down by Ukrainian forces. The comments caused widespread anger in Ukraine as they suggested it was Ukraine’s fault the missile hit the building.
The White House has said no visitor logs are available for Joe Biden’s private home. Republicans asked for the records after concerns were raised about who had potential access to the classified documents.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned its next strike will be twice as big if progress is not made with negotiations by the end of the month. The union claims the next strike will involve all its members in England.
The Russian military has claimed victory in Soledar, saying the capture of the salt-mine town is an “important” step that will allow troops to advance to the city of Bakhmut. However, Ukraine claims the battle is still ongoing and accused Russia of “information noise” by claiming a premature victory.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to investigate the finding of classified documents in Biden’s old office and home. Garland said the appointment was to show the “department’s commitment to both independence and accountability.”
The UK public has been told to only dial 999 for “life or limb” emergencies as the ambulance strike causes massive disruption to emergency services. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, labeled the strikes as “terrifying” as he argued for anti-strike legislation to guarantee “minimum safety levels” for the public.
President Biden is now under investigation by the Justice Department after aides found classified documents that belong in the National Archives while moving boxes from Biden’s old Washington-based think tank offices. Earlier in the year, Donald Trump found himself in a similar situation when the FBI raided his Mar-A-Lago home.
Read related storyRishi Sunak has signalled a new willingness to negotiate with the nurses to end the strike that has crippled the NHS this winter. The prime minister said “we are about to start a new pay settlement round for this year,” indicating a new softness towards unions.
After days of negotiation that almost led to a physical confrontation and 15 rounds of voting, Kevin McCarthy finally secured enough votes from his party to become Speaker of the House.
Vladimir Putin has sent a Russian warship armed with cutting-edge hypersonic missiles on a course that will take it through the English Channel and into the Atlantic Ocean for “combat duty.” This will be the first Russian ship to be armed with hypersonic weapons that are capable of delivering nuclear warheads at speeds ten times the speed of sound, or almost 8,000mph.
More on hypersonic weaponsAfter winning the House majority in the midterms, Republicans are now in chaos after a small group turned against the frontrunner for Speaker, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy. The role of House Speaker, previously held by Nancy Pelosi, requires at least 218 votes from fellow members of Congress.
In the last three rounds of voting, McCarthy has secured at most 203 votes, with at least 19 Republicans voting against him — meaning he has to change the minds of at least 15 to become Speaker. In the second round, all 19 nominated Jim Jordan, who contrarily supports Kevin McCarthy, telling the party to “rally around” the GOP leader in the third round.
But, they did not “rally” ...
Au contraire, despite voting for Jordan, they did not listen — not only did all 19 stand firm, but another one joined them! So now, as of the third round, McCarthy is down to 202 votes, and Jim Jordan grabbed his 20th supporter.
It could be a dangerous psychological game though, with both sides stubbornly standing their ground, perhaps believing the other side will back down for the good of the party, but neither will. In the meantime, there is a real possibility that the Democrats could snatch the Speaker position from right under their noses.
Despite the GOP winning the majority in the November midterms, the margin is narrow, and the House is essentially an even split. So if a small number of Republicans decide to completely turn and vote with the Democrats, the midterms won’t matter — there will be another Nancy Pelosi!
Read live storyAccording to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine used six missiles on the town of Makiivka in the Russia-controlled Donetsk region. Russia reported 63 deaths, but Ukraine claimed the attack killed hundreds. The missiles used are known as HIMARS and are supplied by the United States.
