Putin Steps Up Effort to Undercut Wagner Leader After Revolt
President Vladimir Putin sought to cast the Wagner leader who rose against him as corrupt, even as he
2023-06-28 16:55
AIB Returns to Majority Private Ownership as State Cuts Stake
The Irish government sold 5% of AIB Group Plc, returning the bank to majority private ownership for the
2023-06-28 16:28
Singapore Review Finds No Wrongdoing Over Ministers’ Rents: ST
A Singapore review into residences rented by two ministers found no evidence of corruption or criminal wrongdoing, the
2023-06-28 16:22
Russia-Ukraine war live: ‘Countdown has started’ for Putin as Kramatorsk restaurant death toll rises
The “countdown has started” for the end of Vladimir Putin, Volodymr Zelensky’s top aide has claimed, as the Russian president reels from the aborted mutiny by Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. Andriy Yermak’s remarks came as Mr Zelensky accused Russia of using S-300 missiles in an attack on a restaurant in the Donetsk city of Kramatorsk which authorities say has killed eight people, three of them aged 14 to 17. Another 56 people present at the restaurant – which is frequented by journalists, aid workers and soldiers who use Kramatorsk as a base of operations – were injured, the city council in Kramatorsk said, as rescue workers continue to comb through debris for casualties. The missile attack reduced the major shopping hub to a twisted web of metal beams. One of the missiles also hit a village on the fringes of Kramatorsk, leaving five injured. The city in frontline oblast of Donetsk has been a target of Russian attacks frequently and capturing it a key objective for Moscow. Read More Putin admits Moscow paid Wagner mercenaries £800m in wages in a year – and that his forces ‘stopped civil war’ US sanctions gold companies suspected of supporting Wagner mercenaries in Russia Wagner chief walks free after armed revolt. Other Russians defying the Kremlin aren’t so lucky NATO warns not to underestimate Russian forces, and tells Moscow it has increased preparedness
2023-06-28 15:50
LVMH’s Billionaire CEO Visits a Mall in High-Profile Trip to China
LVMH Chief Executive Officer Bernard Arnault kicked off his tour of China with a visit to a high-end
2023-06-28 15:24
Asia-Wide Fight for Same-Sex Marriage Faces Hong Kong Test
The fight for equality in Hong Kong faces a major test today as the city’s highest court considers
2023-06-28 14:56
Eskom Latest: Generation Improves, Off-Peak Blackouts Suspended
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., South Africa’s state power utility, will cut 2,000 megawatts of power from 7 a.m.
2023-06-28 14:45
Time Running Out for Shock Winner Pita to Secure Thai PM Job
Ever since Pita Limjaroenrat led his Move Forward Party to a surprise first-place finish in Thailand’s election last
2023-06-28 14:28
Trump fumes about ‘illegally leaked’ CNN tape of him boasting about classified documents
Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to fume about a bombshell leaked audio tape where he is heard discussing holding onto “secret” classified documents after leaving office – and admitting that he knows he cannot declassify them. In the recording, captured during a July 2021 meeting at Mr Trump’s Bedminster golf club and released by CNN on Monday, the former president is heard boasting and laughing with associates about possessing “highly confidential” military documents about Iran. “These are the papers,” he says. “This was done by the military and given to me.” As the sound of what appears to be papers rustling is heard, Mr Trump references a “big pile of papers” and makes the startling confession that he knows he can no longer declassify the documents because he is no longer president. The former president reacted to the release of the tape in a characteristic rant on Truth Social on Monday night, where he railed against “Deranged Special Prosecutor” Jack Smith and baselessly accused the Justice Department (DOJ) and the FBI of leaking it. “The Deranged Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, working in conjunction with the DOJ & FBI, illegally leaked and “spun” a tape and transcript of me which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe,” he wrote. “This continuing Witch Hunt is another ELECTION INTERFERENCE Scam. They are cheaters and thugs!” Mr Trump offered no explanation for his belief that the tape exonerates him – a belief largely at odds with much reaction to the tape. George Conway, Lincoln Project cofounder and vocal critic of Mr Trump, called the former president a “sociopathic criminal” in response to the newly-obtained audio and called it just “another nail in the coffin” for his growing legal issues. “The special counsel already had Trump dead to rights because we knew this tape existed in some form,” “But to actually hear a former president of the United States committing a felony, probably multiple felonies, on audiotape while laughing about it is something I just – I think it’s just stunning.” He added: “I mean, this man has no respect for rules, no respect for the lives of other human beings, no respect for the country, no respect for the Constitution, no respect for his duties. “He is a sociopathic criminal. And this is just another nail in the coffin.” In the two-minute audio, Mr Trump is heard appearing to indicate that he is holding onto a secret military document about Iran. “Well, with Milley, uh, let me see that, I’ll show you an example,” he says. “He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t that amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him,” he says as the noise of papers rustling is heard in the background. “They presented me this – this is off the record, but they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him. We looked at some, this was him. This wasn’t done by me, this was him. All sorts of stuff – pages long, look.” “Wait a minute, let’s see here. I just found, isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret,” he says, to laughter from people inside the room. “This is secret information. Look, look at this. This was done by the military and given to me. As president I could have declassified, but now I can’t.” Mr Trump and the meeting participants go on to joke that Hillary Clinton would “print” out the documents, joking about her “private emails”. “Hillary would print that out all the time, you know. Her private emails,” one staffer is heard saying. “No, she’d send it to Anthony Weiner,” Mr Trump replies, in reference to Ms Clinton’s use of a private email server. The former secretary of state has never been charged with a crime. The audio was recorded on 21 July 2021 at Bedminster during a meeting between Mr Trump, at least two of his aides and people helping Mr Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows with his memoir. The audio was previously revealed in the DOJ’s indictment charging Mr Trump over his handling of classified documents but has never been heard until now. Its release appears to contradict Mr Trump’s claim in a Fox News’ interview that he did not have any documents. Earlier this month, Mr Trump was indicted on 37 federal charges over his handling of classified documents, including national defence information, after leaving the White House. The indictment, which was unsealed on Friday (9 June), alleges that Mr Trump deliberately lied to and misled authorities so that he could hold onto documents that he knew were classified. On at least two separate occasions, Mr Trump then showed some of the classified documents to people not authorised to see them, the indictment alleges. Stunning photos revealed that many of the documents were stored around a toilet, shower and ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The charges include 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information and single counts of false statements and representations, and counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document, concealing a document in a federal investigation and a scheme to conceal. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment in a Miami federal courthouse, becoming the first current or former US president ever charged with a federal crime. Mr Trump’s longtime aide Walt Nauta was also charged with six obstruction- and concealment-related charges after he allegedly helped move boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago to Mr Trump’s residence and then lied to investigators about having any knowledge of the handling of the papers. The two men appeared in court together but Mr Nauta did not enter a plea as he did not have legal counsel in Florida. Mr Nauta is now scheduled to appear for his arraignment on Tuesday morning. Read More Trump news – live: Trump fumes about leaked CNN audio capturing him boasting about ‘secret’ papers Trump critics say bombshell secret papers audio has him ‘dead to rights’: ‘Couldn’t be more incriminating’ Trump and DeSantis to hold dueling campaign events in New Hampshire after squabbling over timing Rape accuser files new lawsuit as Trump seethes over 2024 flop – live Where do Donald Trump’s family stand on him running in 2024? Trump revealed to have tweeted classified image from spy satellite
2023-06-28 13:53
Trump news – live: Kevin McCarthy unsure Trump ‘strongest’ Republican candidate against Joe Biden in 2024
Despite his large lead in a crowded Republican primary field, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says he does not know if Donald Trump is the “strongest” candidate to take on President Joe Biden in the 2024 election. In an interview on CNBC, Mr McCarthy said Mr Trump can beat Mr Biden but that he’s not sure another Republican couldn’t do better. Later in the day, the speaker appeared to walk back the remarks by telling Breitbart that the former president is “stronger today than he was in 2016”. On Monday night, bombshell audio revealed the former president apparently bragging about possessing still-classified military documents about Iran after he left the White House. In the recording, from a July 2021 meeting at Mr Trump’s Bedminster golf club and released by CNN, the former president is heard audibly shuffling the documents. Mr Trump took to Truth Social to fume about the tape, railing against “Deranged Special Prosecutor” Jack Smith and baselessly accusing the DOJ and FBI of leaking it. Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s co-defendant in the classified documents case, his aide Walt Nauta, has had his arraignment in Miami postponed after his flight was delayed by bad weather in New Jersey. Read More Trump fumes about ‘illegally leaked’ CNN tape of him boasting about classified documents Donald Trump countersues E Jean Carroll for defamation over rape claims Rudy Giuliani interviewed by special counsel over 2020 election interference attempts, says report Trump wants to keep 'communists' and ‘Marxists’ out of the US. Here’s what the law says Is Trump the best candidate to beat Biden? Kevin McCarthy says ‘I don’t know’
2023-06-28 13:52
Some ECB Officials Weigh Faster Reduction of Bond Portfolio
Some hawkish European Central Bank officials are pondering options to speed up the reduction of the institution’s €5
2023-06-28 13:24
UBS Preparing to Cut Over Half of Credit Suisse Workforce
UBS Group AG is planning to cut more than half of Credit Suisse Group AG’s 45,000-strong workforce starting
2023-06-28 12:51