A UK consultancy working on Donald Trump's US election campaign pleaded guilty and was fined by a London court on Wednesday (Jan 9) over its refusal to release personal data it secretly hoovered off Facebook. US President Donald Trump, seen here in an August 2018 file photo, is to address the nation from the Oval Office. (Photo: AFP/Mandel Ngan) The social media giant has admitted that Cambridge Analytica - a political advisory that ran Trump's digital outreach in 2016 - used an app to collect the private details of 87 million users without their knowledge. It then strategically targeted them with political ads and produced detailed polls that allegedly helped Trump score an upset victory over Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton. Cambridge Analytica pleaded guilty on Wednesday of failing to comply with a UK media regulator's order to release the information it had on a US professor who demanded to know what the company knew about him - and how. It was fined £15,000 … [Read more...] about Trump campaign firm pleads guilty in Facebook data case
Innocent until proven guilty uk
Vietnamese cannabis gang jailed in the UK
Viet Nam News PRESTON — Sixteen Vietnamese nationals who made billions of đồng growing illegal drugs in the United Kingdom have been jailed for more than 35 years. Police in Lancashire, in the North West of England, said the gang ran a ‘sophisticated cannabis farm operation’. Using false identities and fraudulent documents, they were able to rent dozens of properties and use them to grow cannabis. Senior members of the gang even posed as a couple with a new born child in a bid to make themselves more attractive to potential landlords. But once they moved in, they would turn the houses into cannabis farms using a sophisticated hydroponics system. The gang also employed ‘gardeners’ to visit the properties and tend to the crops. In March this year, police raided a number of properties leased by the gang members and seized cannabis worth around VNĐ30 billion. Detectives also found around VNĐ7.5 billion in cash. The … [Read more...] about Vietnamese cannabis gang jailed in the UK
Jho Low denies wrongdoing after US charges over 1MDB scandal
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian financier at the centre of a corruption scandal surrounding state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) maintained his innocence Friday (Nov 2) after the United States unveiled criminal charges against him and two ex-Goldman Sachs bankers. Fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho. (Photo: Facebook/Jho Low) Low Taek Jho, commonly known as Jho Low, and the former bankers were accused by the US Justice Department of conspiring to launder billions of dollars from the fund and bribing officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. Low allegedly played a central role in plundering 1MDB. He was an associate of Malaysia's former leader Najib Razak, whose government lost power in May in large part due to allegations that the then premier was involved in the vast fraud. Since being ousted, Najib has been hit with a barrage of charges linked to the scandal. READ: What has Jho Low been charged with? US documents reveal extent of '1MDB fraud' A spokesman for 36-year-old Low, … [Read more...] about Jho Low denies wrongdoing after US charges over 1MDB scandal
In Vietnam, Monsanto is guilty until proven innocent
Monsanto’s controversial present is very much tethered to its dark past. And nowhere is this manifest more than in Vietnam, a country that has borne the brunt of the toxic defoliant it produced and is now facing the growing threat of its infamous weedkillers. Vietnam has embraced a very perplexing relationship with Monsanto, crystalized in the unfortunate irony of allowing the former Agent Orange maker and current producer of the controversial genetically modified organisms (GMOs) back into the country, for all practical purposes, with a clean chit. While Monsanto has repeatedly and consistently denied responsibility for the deaths and other forms of suffering, lasting generations, that have been caused by Agent Orange, there is evidence that the company knew that dioxin, a key ingredient, was toxic. Now, with glyphostate, the active ingredient in the weed killer Roundup that the biotech giant plugs for use along with its GMO seeds, fears about causing cancer in humans have risen … [Read more...] about In Vietnam, Monsanto is guilty until proven innocent
Russia says ‘not guilty’ of ex-spy poisoning as UK deadline looms
Moscow on Tuesday denied it was behind the poisoning of a former double agent in Britain as a midnight deadline loomed to explain how a suspected Russian-made nerve agent was used in the attack. "Russia is not guilty," said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in an English city on March 4. The United States, NATO and the European Union have all backed Britain in the deepening diplomatic crisis. Lavrov said Russia was "ready to cooperate", but complained Britain had rejected its requests for "access" to the nerve agent samples. British Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament it was "highly likely" Russia was behind the poisoning, giving Moscow until the end of Tuesday to respond. In a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, she called the attack "reckless, indiscriminate and despicable", adding she would inform MPs of her response on Wednesday. Ahead of the announcement, Britain's National Security Council will meet "to discuss the response from … [Read more...] about Russia says ‘not guilty’ of ex-spy poisoning as UK deadline looms
Former Trump campaign aide pleads guilty in Russia probe
A former senior official in Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators, and he is cooperating with a federal probe into Russia's role in the election. Gates, who was a deputy campaign manager for Trump, is being investigated by the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which is probing alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election. Gates had been potentially facing decades in prison on much more serious charges, including bank fraud and conspiracy to launder money. Under the charges he pleaded guilty to, he faces a maximum sentence of nearly six years. Prosecutors said they could ask the judge for a reduction in Gates' sentence based on the extent of his cooperation with Mueller's probe. The plea increases pressure on Paul Manafort, who was Trump's campaign manager for five months in 2016, to also seek a plea deal. However, Manafort said in a statement issued after Gates' … [Read more...] about Former Trump campaign aide pleads guilty in Russia probe
UK Govt reviews Oxfam work amid Haiti prostitutes scandal
The British Government announced late Friday it was reviewing all work with Oxfam amid revelations the charity's staff hired prostitutes in Haiti during a 2011 relief effort on the earthquake-hit island. Oxfam faces allegations that its staff hired prostitutes The Department for International Development (DFID) said the UK-based charity's leaders had "showed a lack of judgement" in investigating the matter and in its openness with the government and Britain's Charity Commission regulator. "The International Development Secretary is reviewing our current work with Oxfam and has requested a meeting with the senior team at the earliest opportunity," a DFID spokeswoman said. "The way this appalling abuse of vulnerable people was dealt with raises serious questions that Oxfam must answer." The move follows growing pressure on the charity after an investigation by The Times found young sex workers were hired by senior staff in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake which devastated the … [Read more...] about UK Govt reviews Oxfam work amid Haiti prostitutes scandal
PetroVietnam corruption trial: Defense lawyers battle allegations in week 1
A week has passed since the start of the high profile trial of oil executives facing charges regarding million dollars losses incurred at a subsidiary of state-owned PetroVietnam (PVN). The trial at Hanoi People’s Court, which is expected to last for another week, sees 22 former executives of the oil giant charged with embezzlement and economic mismanagement at PetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVC). The most prominent defendant, Dinh La Thang, former board chairman of PetroVietnam and once a rising political star, is facing 14-15 years in jail for “deliberately acting against State regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences.” Meanwhile, the notorious runaway Trinh Xuan Thanh, PVC’s former board chairman and general director, faces life imprisonment for the same charge plus embezzling property. The case as presented by prosecutors Deliberate violation of state regulations Under Thanh's leadership between 2008 and 2012, … [Read more...] about PetroVietnam corruption trial: Defense lawyers battle allegations in week 1
Interrogation begins in PVN corruption trial
HÀ NỘI — The much-awaited trial for economic mismanagement and embezzlement at PetroVietnam (PVN), the largest State-owned company, commenced yesterday morning in the capital city. The first-instance trial is scheduled to last for two weeks (January 8-21), looking into one of the most notorious cases of corruption involving the disgraced former Politburo member and former PVN’s chairman Đinh La Thăng, and Trịnh Xuân Thanh, former chairman of PVN’s subsidiary PetroVietnam Construction JSC (PVC). The case has been under public scrutiny as the Party’s crackdown on corruption is reaching an unprecedented high, netting several executives and top-level officials hitherto thought to be immune from the law. “Most defendants are those holding key positions in critical economic establishments who have been entrusted by the State and the people to manage public capital and implement nationally important … [Read more...] about Interrogation begins in PVN corruption trial
Former Thai PM Yingluck waits for political asylum approval in UK
Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. (Photo: @zenjournalist Twitter/VNA)Bangkok (VNA) – Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra isstill waiting for political asylum status to be granted by the UK, a sourcefrom Pheu Thai Party said on January 7.The source confirmed that Yingluck had filed the request for political asylumin the UK after the Supreme Court released its verdict in November 2017 affirmingher guilty in the rice-pledging scheme-related case.If her application is approved, she would be granted a passport or traveldocument valid from that date on.ThanakitWorathanachakul, a senior prosecutor at the Office of the Attorney-General,said Yingluck may have applied for political asylum in the UK. His statementwas made following a series of photos which appeared on the Thai media showingthat the former PM was in Westfield Shopping Centre in London.The Thai police contacted with UK authorities via Interpol to define whereYingluck is residing.Yingluck was … [Read more...] about Former Thai PM Yingluck waits for political asylum approval in UK