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🎯Hunter Biden's 'sugar brother' keeps the first son afloat amid multiple scandals. As Hunter Biden claims he's facing financial trouble amid a federal investigation into his finances and overseas business dealings, the first son has been turning to a Hollywood mega-lawyer for money and strategic advice. [more]
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🔸South Africa's central bank flags risks of capital outflows and sanctions. In February, the country was also put on a "grey list" by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to force it to implement standards to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing. [more]
🔸How Sanctions Have Changed the Face of Chinese Companies in Russia. While some high-profile Chinese businesses that are facing sanctions pressure have limited their exposure to Russia, most Chinese companies that were already working in Russia have remained silent about the war, and some have even increased their presence. [more]
🔸Toddler in North Korea ‘sentenced to life in prison after parents caught with Bible’. Human rights groups say the historical case is just one example of the persecution faced by tens of thousands of Christians in the country. [more]
🔸China’s war chest: Beijing seeks to remedy its vulnerability to food and energy embargoes. A dependence on food and energy imports could be China’s biggest weakness in a potential future conflict with Taiwan. [more]
🔸The Mystery of the Disappearing van Gogh. The sale, according to Chinese media, became a national “sensation.” It was a sign — after the acquisition of a Picasso by a Chinese real estate tycoon the year before — that the country was becoming a force in the global art market. [more]
🔸Seize, Not Just Freeze, Russian Assets? Why That’s Hard. A few weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, then-UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps used TikTok to show off a 192-foot blue superyacht owned by a wealthy Russian businessman that the British government had just impounded. [more]
🔸Hacker Who Robbed Crypto Laundering Service Tornado Cash Uses It to Mask Loot. About a week ago, the attacker exploited a vulnerability to gain control of Tornado Cash’s governance, which normally rests with a crypto community. [more]
🔸A Hiring Law Blazes a Path for A.I. Regulation. The city government passed a law in 2021 and adopted specific rules last month for one high-stakes application of the technology: hiring and promotion decisions. Enforcement begins in July. [more]
🔸Top DHS official on how his background informs his mission: Dismantling drug cartels. Deputy Homeland Security Secretary John Tien, a 24-year Army vet, now finds himself with a new challenge: defeating, disrupting and dismantling Mexican drug cartels. [more]
🔸Maduro and Lula hit out at US sanctions on Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Brazilian leader Luis Inacio Lula de Silva assailed U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and Maduro said he hopes a regional South American summit in Brasilia will call for their removal. [more]
🔸A popular Android app began secretly spying on its users months after it was listed on Google Play. Remote access trojans (or RATs) take advantage of broad access to a victim’s device and can often include remote control, but also function similarly to spyware and stalkerware. [more]