News of the World

[kyonides]

Russia Launches Rescue Ship to Space Station After Leaks

The capsule leak in December was blamed on a micrometeorite that punctured an external radiator, draining it of coolant. The same thing appeared to happen again earlier this month, this time on a docked Russian cargo ship. Camera views showed a small hole in each spacecraft.

The Russian Space Agency delayed the launch of the replacement Soyuz, looking for any manufacturing defects. No issues were found, and the agency proceeded with Friday’s predawn launch from Kazakhstan of the capsule with bundles of supplies strapped into the three seats.

Given the urgent need for this capsule, two top NASA officials traveled from the U.S. to observe the launch in person. To everyone’s relief, the capsule safely reached orbit nine minutes after liftoff — “a perfect ride to orbit,” NASA Mission Control’s Rob Navias reported from Houston.

Former Mexico Drug Czar Convicted in US of Taking Bribes From Cartel

...he took millions of dollars in bribes from the infamous Sinaloa cartel.

Federal prosecutors in the New York City borough of Brooklyn said Genaro Garcia Luna accepted bribes from the cartel once run by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in exchange for protection from arrest, safe passage for cocaine shipments, and tipoffs about forthcoming law enforcement operations.

On its third day of deliberations, the jury found Garcia Luna guilty on all five counts he faced, which included continuing criminal enterprise and conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the United States.

Garcia Luna, 54, is one of the highest-ranking Mexican officials ever accused of ties to drug trafficking. He led Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency from 2001 to 2005 and was public security minister for six years until 2012.

Garcia Luna worked closely with U.S. counter-narcotics and intelligence agencies as part of former President Felipe Calderon’s crackdown on cartels.

He now faces a prison term of at least 20 years

US to Target Chinese Companies in Upcoming Sanctions on Russia

an upcoming sanctions package targeting Russia on the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine will also target China-linked entities that are violating export bans against Moscow.

The Biden administration has identified that China-linked firms—some Europe-based—are evading existing sanctions against Russia intended to weaken Moscow’s ability to finance and supply its military offensive in Ukraine.

“There will be in the sanctions packages that we will be announcing tomorrow on the one-year anniversary of the war,” Nuland told The Washington Post during a live event on Thursday. “We will also be putting other constraints on entities, Chinese-based or Chinese subs of entities in Europe.”

In January, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned the Chinese technology company Spacety for providing geolocating data to a private Russian mercenary group that has fought alongside Moscow forces in the war.

FTX Founder Bankman-Fried Hit With 4 More Charges
Including Illegal Campaign Donations

An indictment against former FTX CEO Samuel Bankman-Freid was made public on Feb. 23, and included 12 statutory allegations, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions.
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The indictment asserts that Bankman-Freid directed tens of millions of dollars in illegal contributions to candidates of both parties to be donated in the names of others to “obscure the true source of the money and evade federal election law.”

According to the court filing, Bankman-Freid became one of the largest reported political donors in the 2022 midterm elections.
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The indictment did not include the executive’s names but stated that one was used to donate to progressive causes, and the other’s name was used to donate to conservative candidates.

The document states the contributions were made directly to candidates in the names of the executives, and were made using funds from FTX and one of its sister companies.

...to “improve his personal standing in Washington, D.C., increase FTX’ s profile, and curry favor with candidates that could help pass legislation favorable to FTX’s or Bankman-Fried’s personal agenda.”
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The court record seems to indicate that the executives knew about the scheme, citing conversations between one of the donors and a political consultant working for Bankman-Fried.

Japan Sends Bomb Experts to Inspect ‘Mystery Ball’ Washed Up on Shore

A local woman found the mysterious ball on Enshu Beach in Hamamatsu City and alerted the police. The object was described as an “iron ball” with a diameter of 1.5 meters (almost 5 feet), NHK News reported.

According to local reports, the iron ball appears rusty and has a latching point that would allow it to be hooked to something.

Police cordoned off the area in a 200-meter radius around the object and called in bomb experts to inspect it for explosives. The team used X-ray technology to examine the object and found it to be hollow.

The restriction was lifted at around 4 p.m. local time on Feb. 21 after authorities determined that it didn’t pose an explosive threat.
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A local resident told NHK News that he had spotted the ball on the beach a month ago.

‘Steele Dossier’ firm Fusion GPS tied to bogus rape report against billionaire

A federal judge found last week that Fusion GPS...played a role in circulating a fake police report accusing a billionaire investor of rape.

Shervin Pishevar – a deep-pocketed investor in Uber, Airbnb, Slack and Postmates — has claimed for the past five years that Fusion GPS was the firm behind a forged police report that alleged he had raped a woman in a London hotel in May 2017.

The fake police report was signed by a police officer who never existed and then given to a reporter at Fast Company who published a story on it later that year.

The ultimate source of the report remains unclear.
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The judge is issuing a subpoena demanding that Fusion GPS in the next 14 days reveal the identity of the people who created the fraudulent report as well as the person who paid for the report to be compiled.

 So Trump wasn't alone as a victim of Fusion GPS's libels.

Russian warships bypass the United Kingdom

The group of Russian warships, which were allegedly on their way back to Russia, passed through British waters at a time of heightened British-Russian tensions. British threats against Russia, for its invasion of Ukraine, have increased. The ships' route is thought to be provocative and, some believe, a message to NATO.

Britain has committed to sending 14 of their Challenger 2 main battle tanks, 30 self-propelled AS90 guns and military training to Ukraine. Britain has also increased sanctions against Russia.

Russia sanctioned British Foreign Minister James Cleverly last month. In response to the sanctions, Cleverly wrote "If this is the price for supporting Ukrainian freedom, then I’m happy to be sanctioned."
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Some military experts have theorized that the ship is withdrawing resources from the Mediterranean to redirect for their invasion of Ukraine.

Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled says ex-Lebanon PM sent PFLP weapons to Europe

Convicted Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled - who carried out the hijacking of a Trans World Airlines flight to Tel-Aviv in 1969 and sought to hijack an El-Al flight to New York in 1970 - claimed in an interview this month that former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri was active in the terrorist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and that he helped transfer PFLP weapons to Europe in 1970 and 1971.

Khaled, 78, a member of the Palestinian National Council, told the London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat on February 12 and 13 about Al-Hariri's alleged role in Palestinian terrorism in Europe. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) posted parts of the interview on its website.
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Khaled said she was "not sure" if Hariri financed the PFLP. "All I witnessed was his assignment to transfer weapons. The rule of thumb was that no one should know anything except for what they have to complete their mission."
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"Khaled refused to talk about how Hariri got the weapons to pass through the airports of France, Spain, and Germany," Al-Sharq Al-Awsat wrote.

Explosions heard in Karaj, Iran, air defenses activated

Explosions were heard in Karaj near Tehran in central Iran on Thursday night, with initial reports indicating that air defenses in the area were activated.

The official Iranian IRNA news outlet claimed that the explosions and the activation of air defenses were part of an IRGC defense exercise near Karaj.

Video reportedly from the scene shared on social media showed air defense batteries firing towards unseen targets.
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The incident comes just a few weeks after suicide drones targeted an IRGC facility in Isfahan. Iran has blamed Israel for that attack and claimed that no significant damage was caused.
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Defense facilities in and near Karaj have been targeted by attacks repeatedly in recent years.