Chinese Stocks Extend Rally as Optimism Builds Over Stimulus
Chinese stocks rose from Monday’s open, extending last week’s gains, on increasing signs Beijing is determined to shore
2023-07-31 10:26
China’s Manufacturing Keeps Shrinking, Weighing on Recovery
China’s manufacturing activity contracted for a fourth month in July while non-manufacturing activity expanded slower than expected, showing
2023-07-31 09:55
Japan’s Industrial Production Rebounds on Resilient Recovery
Japan’s industrial production rebounded in June amid a resilient economic recovery, capping a quarterly gain. Factory output rose
2023-07-31 08:24
Asian Equities Set to Advance; Dollar Opens Lower: Markets Wrap
Asian equity futures point to gains across the region when markets open Monday following a rally on Wall
2023-07-31 06:57
More Volatility Beckons Markets Still Digesting Milestone Week
Traders buffeted by a swath of central-bank decisions last week are preparing for further volatility amid signs that
2023-07-31 06:49
Trump has spent $40m from his campaign funds on his legal costs, report says
Former President Donald Trump’s legal fees are skyrocketing, and have already surpassed $40m as he awaits indictment on a host of charges related to the January 6 attack and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The Washington Post reported the staggering total cost of the president’s legal expenditures on Saturday, citing numerous sources within Trumpworld. The mounting costs are only likely to grow more burdensome after Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith hands down an indictment in the coming days charging Mr Trump for crimes allegedly committed while he served as president. And then there’s Georgia: the former president and members of his legal team are expected to face potential charges as a result of Fulton County prosecutors’ investigation into their efforts to change the election results in that state too. A decision in that matter is expected later this month. Mr Trump’s Save America PAC, his primary vessel for outside spending, is expected to verify this total in a campaign finance filing on Monday, according to the Post. The Trump campaign has been reported in recent months to have begun funneling a greater share of donations directly to the PAC as his legal expenses mount. Complicating the issue: Mr Trump is apparently paying legal fees for a number of those within his inner circle who have been drawn into the investigation — which itself has become an issue that prosecutors are examining. A spokesman for the former president confirmed this, stating only that Mr Trump was paying for legal representation for potential witnesses in the cases against him “to protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed” by a supposedly “unlawful harassment” campaign led by the DoJ. The Post’s scoop drew ire on Twitter from Trump loyalists, who decried the ongoing and growing prosecution of the former president as a politicised witch hunt. One of those loyalists was Senator JD Vance, who won a hard-fought election last year with close support from the former president throughout his primary and general election campaigns. “The “Trump paid $40m in legal fees” attack is so lame. I have good friends who did nothing wrong who had their legal fees paid by Save America PAC. Would you rather they throw all of their employees under a bus?” tweeted Mr Vance on Saturday. “The real story is that our system has become so corrupted that it costs millions of dollars to fight ir [sic],” he continued. “Anyone who thinks they wouldn’t do this to [GOP primary candidates Ron] Desantis, or [Tim] Scott, or anyone else, is kidding themselves.” Read More Chris Christie slams Trumps as ‘Corleones with no experience’ Nikki Haley urges McConnell and Feinstein to ‘walk away’ after recent health concerns Trump returns to first impeachment roots by saying Ukraine aid should be linked to Biden probes ‘Poetic’: Trump takes stage in Iowa to song about going to prison Joe Biden, America's oldest sitting president, needs young voters to win again. Will his age matter? Only four out of dozens of former Trump cabinet members say he should be re-elected
2023-07-31 06:28
Cult mom Lori Vallow expected to be jailed for life over deaths of her two children in bizarre case
Nearly four years after Lori Vallow killed her two children, the “doomsday cult” mom is expected to be sentenced to spend the rest of her life behind bars. Following much delay caused by the Covid pandemic and procedural hurdles, Fremont County District Judge Steven Boyce is expected to hand down 50-year-old Vallow’s sentence at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on Monday. Vallow was found guilty in May of killing her seven-year-old son Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan sometime in late 2019 and taking their security benefits. She was also convicted of conspiring to kill her husband Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy that year. The children’s bodies were found in June 2020 at a pet cemetery in Mr Daybell’s residence. Tylee’s remains were discovered burned, while JJ was strangled to death and found still in his pyjamas and with a plastic bag over his head and duct tape over his mouth. Vallow’s sentencing may mark the end of her legal saga in Idaho but her husband will be tried later this year on the same charges that she was convicted of — Vallow is also facing charges of conspiring to kill in the death of her fourth husband Charles Vallow in Arizona. Evidence introduced during the six-week trial included bizarre testimony from family members that she called her son and daughter zombies and said she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse. Vallow and Mr Daybell apparently believed in an ability to use their minds to cast out demons from people and “work on them”. The convicted child killer is expected to be sentenced to life in prison. However, Mr Daybell is facing the death penalty in the case. Vallow has been held at Madison County Jail ahead of sentencing but will be transferred to the custody of the Idaho Department of Correction and then expected to be relocated to the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center, according to KTVB. Mr Daybell and Vallow were slated to stand trial together before Judge Boyce ruled in March that the cases would be severed. Four family members are expected to give victim impact statements at Vallow’s sentencing, according to previously submitted requests to the court following Idaho law. Vallow’s only surviving son 27-year-old Colby Ryan and her sister Summer Shiflet are expected to deliver their statements. JJ’s grandmother Kay Woodcock and Tammy Daybell’s aunt Vicki Hoban are also expected to address the court during sentencing. Vallow’s defence attorneys will also have an opportunity to speak on her behalf. Once Vallow is sentenced, Arizona prosecutors are expected to submit requests for extradition. In Maricopa County, she has been charged with conspiracy to kill her fourth husband Charles Vallow, who was shot dead by Vallow’s brother Alex Cox, on July 11 2019. JJ and Tylee then vanished without a trace back in September 2019, with their mother refusing to reveal their whereabouts to authorities for many months. One month after the children were last seen alive, Tammy – Mr Daybell’s wife and an otherwise healthy 49-year-old – died suddenly and Vallow and Mr Daybell soon jetted off to Hawaii to get married on the beach. In June 2020, the remains of JJ and Tylee were found buried on the grounds of Mr Daybell’s property in Rexburg, Idaho, and the doomsday cult couple were eventually charged with murder. Prosecutors argued that Vallow and Mr Daybell conspired with Cox to murder Tammy, JJ and Tylee as part of their bizarre cult beliefs – but also for financial purposes so that they could collect Tammy’s life insurance money and the children’s social security and survivor benefits. Read More American mother-of-three arrested in Bahamas over alleged plot to kill ex-football star husband Sanctuary for Pablo Escobar’s family in UK was part of secret deal Breakthrough in Long Island serial killings shines light on the many unsolved murders of sex workers
2023-07-31 06:28
Charges Trump showed classified documents to golf club guests ‘concerning’, says Nikki Haley
GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she’s concerned about the new allegations levied at Donald Trump by the Justice Department, a sign that the Republican field may be growing more comfortable with openly criticising the former commander-in-chief. Ms Haley was speaking in an interview that aired on Sunday on CBS’s Face The Nation when she was asked about new charges filed by the Department of Justice in a superceding indictment this past week accusing Mr Trump of showing classified information to guests at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club — as well as a new charge of obstructing justice. The former UN ambassador, appointed under Mr Trump, responded that she was very concerned “if these accusations are true”. The most recent accusations, notably, are supported by an audio recording of the Bedminster meeting in question in which Mr Trump can be heard exclaiming that documents he was holding (or gesturing to) were classified. “I think we need to see it,” Ms Haley said, presumably referring to the extent of the DoJ’s evidence. “You know, I think we've heard about it. I think that we know that there's something out there. But look, everybody's innocent until they're proven guilty. And like I said, if this is true, it's incredibly dangerous to our national security. And I think that will play out, but I think that we have to go and see what all the facts are.” She added: “[I]f these accusations are true, it's incredibly dangerous to our national security. But again, this is coming down from a Department of Justice that, frankly, the American people don't trust. “ Mr Trump’s latest criminal indictment — his second — brings the total number of charges he now faces up to 74, split among state and federal jurisdictions. A third is expected to drop within days, charging him with crimes related to the months-long effort by his team to change the 2020 election results including his actions leading up to and during the January 6 attack. Altogether, the charges depict an unprecedented pattern of criminality stemming back from before Mr Trump was ever elected to the stunning end of his administration in January 2021. He now battles for the 2024 Republican nomination, eager to use the powers of the presidency to thwart as much of the legal pressure he now faces as possible, while facing a crowded GOP field seemingly undaunted by his continued polling dominance and utter rout of his party rivals in 2016. Mr Trump has denied guilt in any of the dozens of criminal counts of which he is accused, and maintains that the Justice Department is conspiring with the Biden White House to block him from the presidency. Read More Chris Christie slams Trumps as ‘Corleones with no experience’ Right-wing TV host at Trump rally denies he wants to kill liberals, globalists, and RINOs Trump returns to first impeachment roots by saying Ukraine aid should be linked to Biden probes Only four out of dozens of former Trump cabinet members say he should be re-elected Nikki Haley urges McConnell and Feinstein to ‘walk away’ after recent health concerns Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against CNN over 'the Big Lie' dismissed in Florida
2023-07-31 06:22
War is returning to Russia, Zelensky warns, as Moscow rocked by drone attacks
War is returning to Russia, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned, after early-morning drone attacks hit Moscow on Sunday. Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the strikes, Mr Zelensky said such attacks were an inevitable and fair process of the war between the nations. Earlier on Sunday, Russia blamed Ukraine for what it called an “attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime” and said three drones had targetted the capital. Its defence ministry said two buildings were damaged in the Moskva-Citi business district after being brought down using electronic jamming equipment, while another was shot down over the Odintsovo area. One of the residential buildings damaged was home to three government ministries, local media reported. Vnukovo airport on the southern outskirts of the capital was forced to temporarily close due to the attacks, according to Russia’s state news agency. Nobody was hurt, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. It is the fourth attempt at a strike on the capital region this month and the third this week, fuelling concerns about Moscow’s vulnerability to attacks as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on into its 18th month. President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the attempted attacks, his spokesperson said. He was in his home town of St Petersburg for meetings with African leaders and a naval celebration at the time. “On the morning of 30th July, an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime using unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in the city of Moscow was foiled,” Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement. In a video address from the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, Mr Zelensky said that Ukraine was getting stronger. “Today is the 522nd day of the so-called ‘Special Military Operation’, which the Russian leadership thought would last a couple of weeks,” he said. “Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia – to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.” A Ukrainian airforce spokesperson did not claim responsibility for the attacks but said the Russian people were seeing the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “All of the people who think the war ‘doesn’t concern them’ – it’s already touching them,” Yurii Ihnat told journalists. “There’s already a certain mood in Russia: that something is flying in, and loudly,” he said. “There’s no discussion of peace or calm in the Russian interior any more. They got what they wanted.” Mr Ihnat also referenced an attempted drone attack in Crimea early on Sunday – the Ukrainian territory occupied and illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Russia’s defence ministry said it had shot down 16 Ukrainian drones and neutralised eight others through electronic jamming. No injuries or damage were reported. Mr Zelensky has vowed to take back all land Russian forces have occupied, including Crimea, and his efforts have been strengthened by the receipt and deployment of increasingly advanced Western weapons. It comes after a ramping up of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in recent weeks, with the head of Ukraine’s intelligence directorate telling Ukrainian news site TSN on Saturday that Kyiv’s forces were set to enter Crimea “soon”. In Ukraine, the airforce claimed it had destroyed four Russian drones above the Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Meanwhile, a Russian missile strike late on Saturday killed two people and wounded 20 in the city of Sumy in northeast Ukraine. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said a four-storey college building was hit, with local authorities saying accommodation and teaching buildings were damaged in the blast and fire that followed. Read More Ukraine war – live: Putin blames Kyiv for early morning drone attacks on Moscow Volodymyr Zelensky takes selfies with soldiers during Bakhmut visit Ukraine’s newest attack on Russia? Moving Christmas Putin thanks North Korea for ‘unwavering support’ for Ukraine war The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary
2023-07-31 06:18
Sunak to Outline UK’s Energy Security Plans Amid Green Backlash
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will outline plans to bolster energy security on a visit Monday to Scotland
2023-07-31 05:48
Trump’s PAC to Report Legal Expenses Exceeding $40 Million
Donald Trump’s political action committee spent $40.2 million on legal costs in the first half of 2023 to
2023-07-31 05:28
American mother-of-three arrested in Bahamas over alleged plot to kill ex-football star husband
An American woman has been arrested in the Bahamas for allegedly plotting her husband’s murder. Thirty-six-year-old Lindsay Shiver was arrested after law enforcement in the area uncovered her alleged murder plot while investigating a separate crime, The Bahamas Court News reported. A source told the outlet that Ms Shiver and her husband and father of her three children Robert Shiver, 38, owned a house in the Bahamas. Mr Shiver, who played for Auburn University’s Tigers from 2006 to 2008, filed for divorce earlier this year after finding out that her wife allegedly had an extra-marital affair. Although details about the alleged scheme have not been released, local police arrested Ms Shiver, her alleged 28-year-old lover Terrance Bethel and Faron Newbold, also 28, who authorities say was hired to be the hitman. Texts in preparation for the supposed murder attempt incriminated the suspects, according to The New York Post. The evidence was found during an investigation into a robbery at a Great Guana Cay bar. The three suspects are currently being held in a jail facility in Nassau. They’re expected back in court on 5 October. Read More Mother, 18, accused of trying to hire hitman to kill three-year-old son Jimmy Hoffa disappearance anniversary: What happened to long-lost union leader presumed murdered by the mob? Sanctuary for Pablo Escobar’s family in UK was part of secret deal
2023-07-31 04:58