Son of Colombia's president freed while he is investigated for illicit enrichment, money laundering
A Colombian judge on Friday night ordered President Gustavo Petro’s son freed from detention while he is investigated on allegations of illicit enrichment and money laundering. Nicolás Petro was arrested early Saturday, and this week was charged with the two crimes. He agreed to cooperate in the probe, and prosecutors said he acknowledged Thursday that his father’s 2022 election campaign received money of dubious origin. Mario Andrés Burgos, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said Nicolás Petro assured that he would deliver audios and documents to corroborate that part of the money given to him ended up financing his father’s candidacy. The Attorney General’s Office presented evidence that it said shows the younger Petro received money illicitly. But the judge said prosecutors did not substantiate the need to keep the president's son in detention or under house arrest. He was ordered released under the condition that he not leave Colombia or participate in political activities. Nicolás Petro is a legislator for the northern coastal region of Atlántico, but has said he will resign the seat. Burgos has said the younger Petro revealed that unjustified increases detected in his assets came from two individuals being questioned by Colombian authorities. The money went partly into the son's own accounts and partly into the campaign that made his father Colombia's first elected leftist president, the prosecutor said. On Tuesday, when he was charged, prosecutors said the younger Petro took thousands of dollars from drug traffickers and used it to buy luxurious homes and expensive cars. Nicolás Petro, 36, pleaded innocent to the charges, but agreed to cooperate with authorities. The case has come at a time when Colombia’s president is losing popularity and has been exposed to attacks by opposition parties, which have become increasingly reluctant to cooperate with his legislative agenda. The president has said he would not interfere with the investigation, and wrote a message on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in which he said he hoped his son would “reflect on his mistakes.” Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide
2023-08-05 13:25
When will 'Love Island USA' Season 5 Episode 17 air? New bombshells ignite romance and jealousy in villa
'Love Island USA' Season 5 gets more intense as Imani Ayan and Mike explore connections in the villa
2023-08-05 13:18
Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and a night of new beginnings in the Championship
There are benefits to relegation. The fixture list can be stripped of glamour, the prize assets can attract covetous glances from predators and there is a lingering uncertainty if an exile will last as long as Sheffield Wednesday’s but Southampton’s supporters had grown accustomed to the sight of their side propping up the table. A chorus of “we are top of the league” felt premature when Wednesday equalised. When Che Adams tucked in an 87th-minute winner, however, it was true. And if it was the product of a fixture list that meant they played first, it is not something they could boast since Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team reached the Premier League summit in November 2020. They can seem distant days now, though more recent than some of Wednesday’s achievements. The applause before kick-off for the late Trevor Francis was a reminder that he steered Wednesday to third place in the Premier League, a feat no one else may ever equal. It is with an illustration of shifting statuses within the game. Southampton’s previous away win came at Chelsea, Wednesday’s previous home defeat to Burton. Each is in unfamiliar surroundings and, for Southampton, the cast list may change dramatically over the next month, too. A winning start for Russell Martin, their fourth manager in nine months, came with the club in a state of flux. The price for failure is being counted. Tino Livramento was slated to start, but instead joined Newcastle. Romeo Lavia was on the bench; a prodigy valued at £50m made his last appearance against Liverpool and his next one could come for them. The club-record signing Kamaldeen Sulemana wants to leave this summer. The £18m striker Paul Onuachu needs to; he only even made the bench once in pre-season and the 6ft 8in forward was a conspicuous absentee. There is, however, always James Ward-Prowse. This, presumably, was not where he envisaged his season would start but the captain’s attitude was impeccable. The subject of two bids from West Ham, the man whose league debut was Saints’ return to the top flight in 2012 and whose 343 league appearances had all come in the higher tier kicked off the Football League season and had one of the night’s most telling touches: it was his low cutback that the substitute Adams converted. Adams is a former Sheffield United striker, which may have had a sadly typical feel for Wednesday. In a sense, the fixture list gave Southampton a glimpse of a potentially ominous future. Wednesday offer a salutary warning to those ejected from the Premier League. A top-flight club for 66 seasons, this is their 24th consecutive year in the Football League. They are more familiar with the third tier than the first of late. They have faced Accrington, Lincoln and Morecambe as peers in 2023, but not Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United in the league since 2000. But, amid the global fixation with the big six and the newer, stranger obsession with Wrexham, there are large, loyal fanbases across the Football League. There were 28,558 inside Hillsborough, a vast support given Wednesday’s decades in the doldrums. They can feel the forgotten big club – outside the Steel City, anyway – emerging from the shadows to sculpt the greatest play-off comeback of all. Hillsborough’s previous game had been the seminal, spectacular 5-1 win over Peterborough. Lee Gregory scored twice then – once at either end – and the former Stavely Miners Welfare striker had hauled Wednesday level with a sweetly-struck volley after a corner. That set-piece frailty may cost Southampton in other games; not here, though. Victory may have been validation. If the same may have been said of Vincent Kompany 12 months ago, Martin’s reputation that has outstripped his achievements when appointed by a club with aspirations of promotion; his league finishes with MK Dons and Swansea are 13th, 15th and 10th but he has progressed from League One to a club that was in the top flight. There may have been more style than substance so far, even if Martinball sounds more like the assistant manager at B&Q than a passing philosophy. But Southampton made 477 first-half passes, a divisional record, and had 80 percent of possession; they turned it into victory. They had Samuel Edozie, who sparkled on the left wing; if an example of misguided recruitment last season, when only three of Southampton’s 16 signings succeeded and, indeed, only three of them started in Sheffield, the 20-year-old has the ability to prosper. They had Nathan Tella, a catalyst in Burnley’s promotion and, seemingly, the scorer of the season’s opening goal; his shot actually glanced off Adam Armstrong’s hip, making the forward the fortunate scorer; he is another with a scoring pedigree at this level, albeit usually in more deliberate fashion. But Tella, the talent Southampton owned all along, is part of the rebuild after the confused mess of last season, as the club who were role models a decade ago became an example of how not to do things. That has been Wednesday’s lot for many a recent year. Having dispensed with Darren Moore, the dignified architect of promotion in a 96-point season, they introduced Xisco Munoz. One of the battalion of former Watford managers – indeed much the best of the last seven – had nevertheless won a mere four games in charge of Anorthosis Famagusta. His Wednesday team played an anti-pressing game, as though too old to close down. On a night of new beginnings, Martin’s promised more than Munoz’s.
2023-08-05 12:55
Barcelona landed one Man City star for free - now Pep Guardiola won’t allow another
Pep Guardiola’s intended audience may have been in Barcelona. It often has been, though usually when he was their midfielder, captain or manager. In seven years in Manchester, Guardiola has frequently had to address matters at the Camp Nou, though it was usually only to deny that Lionel Messi was bound for the Etihad Stadium. Now the subject of another saga is a player from his present, not the increasingly distant past. Manchester City’s summers seem to consist of two rituals: lifting the Premier League trophy and then enduring a wait to see if Bernardo Silva stays. The Portuguese’s most persistent admirers are in Catalonia. The other constant is that Barcelona repeatedly refuse to meet City’s asking price. Sometimes they receive no firm proposal while a cash-strapped club with a recruitment policy based on hoping their allure will encourage players to engineer their exit seemingly think they can acquire elite footballers on the cheap. All of which is a cause of some irritation in Manchester. Guardiola has long insisted that he will allow players to leave if they want to go, providing he has enough time to find a replacement and an acceptable sum is recouped. Silva has been tempted to go, although seemingly not to Saudi Arabia. But the season starts with both him and the Bayern Munich target Kyle Walker at the Etihad, with Guardiola vowing to do everything he can to keep them, but with the familiar state of affairs that no one has made a suitable offer for Silva. It remains an unsettling, undermining situation. And so Guardiola seemed to direct a message from Manchester to his old club: in effect, to put up or shut up. “I want to clarify because I know Barcelona reports make up what I say,” he said. “From day one I don't want any players who don't want to be here but I'm an employee. I want to work with guys who want to stay and work with staff and players, but after we have to get a proper offer. If we don't get a proper offer, he's our player and we want him. “If they want him, they will take a plane and come here and talk to our sporting director and CEO to make an agreement because three parts have to be there. For us to buy a player, just because we are Man City it is £10-15m more expensive than other clubs all the time. If people want our really, really important players, first they have to make an offer - and that hasn't happened. When it happens, we will fight to extend the contract and be with us. That has happened with all of our players since day one.” The notion of a City tax in signing players is familiar. Josko Gvardiol, whose arrival should be ratified, will become the second most expensive defender in history, at £77m. Barcelona appear to think tax should be deducted at source, that they should get players for below their market value. City think Silva is worth £80m which, as midfielders such as Declan Rice and Enzo Fernandez have commanded nine-figure sums, may not be excessive; it may have been an understatement when Guardiola said it would cost more than £50m to replace the Portuguese international. City were beneficiaries on one of the few occasions in straitened times when Barcelona, despite their heavy debts, paid a sizeable fee: €55m for Ferran Torres, who has since lost his place in their team. Their powers of persuasion worked on Ilkay Gundogan, who joined on a free transfer. But Barcelona’s difficulties in even registering players is a reason why there has been no bid for Silva this summer, just an extended courtship. Much as Guardiola often praises the midfielder, he has long seemed to have a wanderlust. He may be interested. “When you win the treble, it looks like the job is done,” Guardiola said. “Players who are 32, 33 like Ilkay and Riyad [Mahrez] say we arrived here for Premier Leagues and then people ask about the Champions League [and then they win that]. Some players feel they want a new experience. “I will not be the guy who says no, but they have to make an agreement with the important part of the club, the business. Make a deal and it happens. In the case of Bernardo and Kyle, we talk many times over the last months and even years how important they are, how we want them and we will continue to do so until the end. I don't know what will happen.” The uncertainty is an annual experience but Silva could be still more important now. Gundogan’s departure may allow him to play his preferred role in the middle of midfield. For Guardiola, he is central, in more ways than one. And if Silva has the technical talent to play for Barcelona, it comes with the kind of price tag that, so far, they have been unwilling or unable to match. Read More Pep Guardiola hopes Manchester City complete signing of Josko Gvardiol soon Pep Guardiola keen to avoid ‘difficult’ transfer task after Man City lose ‘incredible players’ Josko Gvardiol set for Manchester City medical after £77.5m deal agreed
2023-08-05 12:51
Texas judge halts state abortion bans in cases of 'emergent medical conditions' threatening pregnant patients
A Texas judge issued an order late Friday temporarily barring the state from enforcing its ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy in cases where a patient's life or health could be endangered by an "emergent medical condition."
2023-08-05 12:50
DeSantis: Trump's 2020 election fraud theories were 'unsubstantiated'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that the "theories" put out by former President Donald Trump and his associates following the 2020 election were "unsubstantiated" and "did not prove to be true."
2023-08-05 12:45
Special counsel cites Truth Social post in arguing for quick court order on evidence sharing as Trump rails against 2020 election charges
Special counsel Jack Smith asked a judge to quickly set limits on what Donald Trump's team can do with the evidence that will be shared with them in the election subversion case against the former president.
2023-08-05 11:59
Spain vs Switzerland LIVE: Women’s World Cup latest score and updates as last-16 begins
The Women’s World Cup knockout stages get underway this morning as Spain face Switzerland in the last-16. It’s been a tournament defined by shocks and surprises so far, after a group stage that saw Germany, Brazil and Canada crash out while Jamaica, South Africa and Morocco advanced to the knockout phase for the first time. Switzerland will look to keep the upsets coming as they take on Spain in Auckland. The Swiss have been defensively resilient so far and did not concede a single goal as they topped Group A ahead of Norway, New Zealand and the Philippines. Spain, meanwhile, are looking to respond to their 4-0 defeat against Japan in their final game of Group C. That result increased the pressure on head coach Jorge Vilda, as Spain look to rediscover their early form that made them contenders for the World Cup. Follow live updates from Switzerland vs Spain in the Women’s World Cup last-16, followed by Japan vs Norway. Read More Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today When do England play next? Women’s World Cup fixtures and route to the final Can England break cycle of World Cup shocks or will underdogs continue to thrive?
2023-08-05 11:58
'They were supposed to be besties': 'Love Island USA' fans furious as Destiny and Imani beef over Jonah
Destiny Zammarra feels jealous with Imani Ayan as the new bombshell bonds with Jonah Allman
2023-08-05 11:55
Yankees appear open to new plan for Luis Severino after latest bad start
Pitcher Luis Severino had yet another bad start, this time against the Houston Astros. Now, it appears the New York Yankees are open to a new plan for their starter.The New York Yankees, despite being in the news for all the wrong reasons this week, won back-to-back games against the Tampa Bay R...
2023-08-05 11:53
Judge grants conditional freedom for son of Colombian president
By Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) -A judge late on Friday granted Nicolas Petro, the eldest son of Colombian President
2023-08-05 11:45
Trump's threatening post flagged by U.S. prosecutors to judge
By Joseph Ax U.S. prosecutors flagged a threatening social media post from Donald Trump in a late-night court
2023-08-05 11:19
