World

A 47-year-old Chinese woman on Monday told a UK court that she played a leading role in a multibillion-pound fraudulent bitcoin scheme. Businesswoman Qian Zhimin, alias Zhang Yadi, pleaded guilty at London’s Southwark Crown Court following what is believed to be the single largest cryptocurrency seizure in the world, now worth about £5.5 billion (US$7.4 billion). Qian admitted one count …

Russia is not interested in “sending drones to swarm us,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has said Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in igniting a global conflict, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Sunday, replying to claims that Moscow could send drones against the EU nation. Just a day earlier, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky claimed that Russia could target …

A man who purposefully crashed into a police car had a bizarre eight-word answer when confronted by an officer. Keajion Jennings, 28, was caught on bodycam footage driving directly into the vehicle while it still had emergency lights on in Illinois, USA. The officer who had been driving it had already disembarked and was approaching the door of another car …

The incumbent president of Hong Kong’s legislature has announced that he will not seek re-election in December’s poll, citing family considerations, his age and personal reasons for his retirement. Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, 74, who has chaired the Legislative Council for nine years, said on Monday that he hoped his early announcement would give capable candidates sufficient time to prepare for …

Cipher Brief Expert General Jack Keane (Ret.), a trusted advisor to President Trump who declined multiple overtures to serve as U.S. Secretary of Defense during the president’s first administration, met recently in the region with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer as well as senior IDF leaders. After those meetings, we asked …

A decision to greenlight attacks might already have been taken as Washington considers Tomahawk missile deliveries, Keith Kellogg has said US President Donald Trump may have already approved Ukrainian long-range strikes inside Russia, special envoy Keith Kellogg said on Sunday in an interview with Fox News. Kellogg, who is often described in the media as a pro-Kiev voice within Trump’s …

A British man was today facing up to five years in prison after allegedly attempting to open the doors of a packed Ryanair plane while it was in mid-flight. The accused – who had not been publicly named – was in custody in the city of Toulouse on Monday, it has been reported. He is alleged to be “the ring …

Authorities in Henan province, central China, have approved the merger of 82 small rural financial institutions into a single regional lender, in an effort to contain systemic risks in a region once at the centre of a major banking scandal. Approved by the Henan office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), the consolidation will see Henan Rural Commercial Bank …

At least five people have been reportedly killed after youth-led protests spiraled into clashes and looting in Madagascar’s capital Madagascar’s president, Andry Rajoelina, has pledged sweeping changes in the way his country is governed, days after violent protests over rolling blackouts and water shortages forced authorities to impose a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the capital. At least five people were reportedly …

Russia might  already be at war with the UK, a former head of MI5 has warned. Baroness Manningham-Buller, who led the Security Service between 2002 and 2007, said it might be fair to claim that cyberattacks, sabotage and covert operations on British soil mean Russia is already at war with Britain. She told Lord Speaker’s Corner podcast that she agreed …