“A South Korean appeals court on Wednesday sentenced ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to seven years in prison for resisting arrest and bypassing a legitimate Cabinet meeting before his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024. The conviction for obstruction of justice and other charges comes on top of a life sentence he has already received on rebellion charges stemming from his baffling authoritarian push, which triggered the most serious crisis for the country’s democracy in decades. Judge Yoon Sung-sik of the Seoul High Court said the conservative former president sidestepped a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting before declaring martial law, falsified documents to conceal the lapse, and deployed security officials ‘like a private army’ to resist law enforcement efforts to arrest him in the weeks following his impeachment. Former President Yoon stood quietly as the verdict was delivered and made no comment.” (04/29/26)
“The Supreme Court will weigh arguments Wednesday over the Trump administration’s push to end legal protections for Haitians and Syrians as migrants fleeing war and natural disaster. Haitians and Syrians were among those from 17 countries with Temporary Protected Status, which allows migrants already in the U.S. to stay with work permits in 18-month increments, so long as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security deems their country of origin unsafe for return. Since President Donald Trump ’s second term began, Homeland Security has ended the protections for 13 countries, exposing their migrants to potential deportation. The case focuses on whether the administration properly weighed conditions in Haiti and Syria when it ended TPS and if it prejudiced non-white immigrants.” (04/29/26)
“U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presided over Bankman-Fried’s 2023 fraud trial and sentenced him to 25 years in prison, issued the ruling in New York, according to court records reported by Bloomberg and Inner City Press. The judge described Bankman-Fried’s arguments as ‘baseless on multiple independently sufficient levels.’ … Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy tied to the collapse of FTX and his trading firm Alameda Research. Billions in customer funds went missing. He was sentenced in March 2024. His direct appeal is pending before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, with oral arguments held in 2025. That case remains active and is separate from the Rule 33 motion Judge Kaplan just denied.” (04/28/26)
“Former FBI director James Comey has been charged over a social media photo of seashells that officials say constituted a threat against US President Donald Trump. The photo, which was uploaded nearly a year ago, showed seashells arranged on a beach to spell out the numbers 8-6-4-7, which critics have interpreted as a threat to kill Mr Trump. The two-count indictment charges Mr Comey with knowingly and wilfully making a threat to ‘take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon’ Mr Trump, and with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.Mr Comey deleted the photo soon after it was uploaded, saying he did not realise some would [pretend it was] a call for violence.” (04/29/26)
“The United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s major oil producers, will leave the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC/OPEC+) effective May 1, state news agency WAM said Tuesday morning. … The stunning move from Abu Dhabi is likely to deeply shake the oil alliance, which derives much of its power from a strong consensus and its ability to drive global oil prices through the production power of its members.” (04/28/26)
“Bitcoin is trading in a tight range just below $77,000 despite surging oil prices and geopolitical tensions over a potential extended U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. … The Fed announces its rate decision later on Wednesday, the ECB follows Thursday, and the U.S. equity market sold off Tuesday on growing skepticism about the payoff from artificial intelligence capital expenditure, with Nasdaq 100 futures clawing back 0.4% in Asian hours.” (04/29/26)
“A superyacht linked to one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key allies has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the ongoing blockade of the critical shipping channel. The 142m-long (465 ft) multi-deck luxury boat, named Nord, is linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov. It travelled from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, over the weekend – one of few private vessels to transit through the strait in recent months. Iran held high-level talks with Russia this week as its standoff with the US over the strait’s re-opening continues. Approximately one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies normally pass through the waterway. Mordashov, who has close ties to Putin, is not listed as the formal owner of the Russian-flagged boat. However, Nord’s records indicate it was registered to a firm owned by his wife in 2022.” (04/28/26)
“A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s bid to lock up the majority of people it is seeking to deport without an opportunity for release on bond — even if they have no criminal records and have resided in the country for decades. In a 3-0 ruling, a panel of the New York-based 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals found that ICE’s policy was based on a flawed, implausible and unprecedented interpretation of decades-old laws. But more fundamentally, the panel said the Trump administration’s position would raise acute constitutional concerns by instituting ‘the broadest mass detention-without-bond mandate in our Nation’s history for millions of noncitizens.'” (04/28/26)
“A long-running investigation of fraud involving federal funding in Minnesota entered a new, highly visible phase Tuesday morning as uniformed law enforcement agents executed search warrants in the Minneapolis area. Twenty-two federal search warrants were executed in Minnesota, a federal official told CNN. Most of the locations were businesses that are recipients of Medicaid funding, including child care facilities, according to CNN affiliate KARE, citing unnamed sources. The raids dealt with allegations of fraud, the Department of Homeland Security said.” (04/28/26)
“The European Union has warned Israel that it is ready to impose sanctions on those aiding and abetting the trade of Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia in the occupied territories, after a new ship loaded with the cereal arrived in the city of Haifa. ‘The EU has taken note of the reports that a Russian shadow fleet vessel carrying stolen Ukrainian grain has been allowed to unload at Haifa port in Israel, despite previous contacts of Ukraine with Israeli authorities on the subject,’ a European Commission spokesperson told Euronews. … The arrival of the Panama-flagged vessel in Haifa has escalated tensions between Ukraine and Israel. The vessel, named Panormitis and allegedly carrying over 6,200 tonnes of wheat and 19,000 tonnes of barley, has yet to unload. However, a shipment of stolen Ukrainian grain was allowed to proceed earlier this month.” (04/28/26)
