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Greetings!  It’s July 31, and we’re tracking today's top stories: Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran, SEC charges BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji with fraud, Airbus faces UK criminal probe over export control breach, Interpol operation leads to 206 arrests, seizure of $1.6B of illegal drugs, and much more...

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🎯 Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran. By 2017 he had become chief of the group – and was named a “specially designated global terrorist” by the U.S. soon after. CNN

Top Stories

🌎 SEC charges BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji with fraud. BitClout was intended to be a social crypto-exchange where users bought and sold tokens based on people’s reputations. TechCrunch

🌎 Airbus faces UK criminal probe over export control breach. Airbus had warned that the factual disclosures in a U.S. State Department probe could spawn other international investigations. Reuters

📌 For Big Companies, Felony Convictions Are a Mere Footnote WSJ

🌎 Interpol operation leads to 206 arrests, seizure of $1.6B of illegal drugs. A record 505 tons of precursor chemicals, used for manufacturing both drugs and explosives, were seized. AP

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🌎 Venezuela's military chief backs Maduro, calls protests coup. Venezuela's attorney general Tarek William Saab said 749 people had been arrested amid the protests. CBS

📌 How Authoritarian Governments Rig Elections to Stay in Power NYT

🌎 The U.S. Wanted to Knock Down Huawei. It’s Only Getting Stronger. The Chinese telecom giant struggled at first under U.S. sanctions – then Beijing stepped in. WSJ

🌎 Russia approves law allowing use of crypto for global payments as it faces ongoing sanctions. The U.S. and its allies have imposed innumerable sanctions on Russian individuals and entities in retaliation for Ukraine war. CNBC

🌎 New Iran president sworn in with ‘Death to America’ chant, vows to remove Western sanctions. The dollar is being traded for 584,000 Iranian rials, a dramatic plunge for the country’s currency. AP

📌 U.S. issues sanctions targeting Iran's missile and drone program facilitators U.S. Treasury

🌎 El Chapo’s son denies making deal with U.S. prior to arrest, pleads not guilty. Did Guzmán López intend to surrender, as the Mexican government said, citing information from U.S. authorities? CNN

🌎 Banque Havilland starts shutting down Swiss units. The ECB’s latest decision was prompted by the bank’s failure to implement AML improvement after a fine. Swissinfo

🌎 UBS Vetting of Credit Suisse Clients Being Reviewed by Regulator. The Swiss financial regulator entered into a back and forth with UBS over filters and KYC rules. Reuters

🌎 OnlyFans’ juggernaut fueled by a deception. Some subscribers say the deception amounts to fraud. One shares his story of betrayal. Reuters

IN THE NEWS

Terror

💥 Islamic State Keeps Finding Opportunities WOTR

💥 Anjem Choudary jailed for life BBC

💥 Al Qaeda branch says it killed 50 Russian mercenaries Reuters

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Russia & China

🚩 China, Citing Tainted Burgers, Cleared Swimmers in a New Doping Dispute USAT

🚩 The global chip war could turn into a cloud war FT

🚩 Italy seizes assets of Russian businessman under investigation in Ukraine Reuters

🚩 Xi Jinping’s lackeys ‘hid behind Chinese flags to beat up protesters in San Francisco’ Telegraph

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 U.S. bank regulator looks to tighten control of asset managers' bank stakes Reuters

💸 How a Sugar Industry Stamp of Approval Hid Coerced Hysterectomies NYT

💸 House lawmakers call for sanctions on billionaire former Georgian prime minister Hill

💸 Appian's $2B verdict against Pegasystems overturned by appeals court Reuters

💸 Malta’s Scicluna Has Asked ECB If He Can Step Aside Pending Case Bloomberg

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Record-Breaking $75M Ransom Paid To Dark Angels Gang Forbes

🔐 California DMV puts 42 million car titles on blockchain to fight fraud Reuters

🔐 Meta to pay $1.4B settlement with Texas over facial recognition and photo tags Verge

🔐 The U.S. Government May Begin Hoarding Bitcoin, But How and Why? CoinDesk

🔐 Greek prosecutor closes spyware scandal probe, infuriating opposition and victims Politico

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