Author: ALJAZEERA

The 32-year-old illegally used money from depositors of one of the world’s most popular platforms for trading digital currency to cover his expenses.Former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried is due to be sentenced for his role in the 2022 collapse of FTX, once one of the world’s most popular platforms for trading digital currency. Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted last November of fraud and conspiracy by a jury that found that he illegally used money from FTX depositors to cover his expenses, which included purchasing luxury properties in the Caribbean, alleged bribes to Chinese officials and private planes. He will return to…

Advocates for Arab Americans routinely use one word to describe how diverse communities from the Middle East and North Africa have for decades been categorised in the United States Census: “Invisible”. But that is set to change when the next federal census is conducted in 2030, with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announcing Thursday new federal standards on collecting race and ethnicity data. For the first time, Americans who trace their ancestral roots to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will have their own category on the decennial survey. “It’s transformative,” said Maya Berry, the executive…

Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram are addictive and have ‘rewired’ the way children learn, educators say.Four major school boards in Canada have filed lawsuits against some of the world’s largest social media companies, alleging that the platforms have disrupted students’ learning and are highly addictive for children. The school boards, which are seeking about $2.9bn (four billion Canadian dollars) in damages, said the social media platforms have been “negligently designed for compulsive use, [and] have rewired the way children think, behave and learn”. Students are experiencing “an attention, learning, and mental health crisis because of prolific and compulsive use of…

In a new set of provisional measures, the World Court ordered Israel to open more land crossings to allow aid into Gaza.Judges at the International Court of Justice have unanimously ordered Israel to take all the necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies arrive without delay to the Palestinian population in Gaza. The ICJ judges said in an order on Thursday that Palestinians in Gaza face worsening conditions of life and famine and starvation are spreading. “The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine … but that famine is setting…

Bankman-Fried, 32, sentenced for stealing $8bn from customers of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded.Former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in United States federal prison for stealing $8bn from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence at a Manhattan court hearing on Thursday after rejecting Bankman-Fried’s claim that FTX customers did not actually lose money and accusing him of lying during his trial testimony. A jury found Bankman-Fried, 32, guilty on November 2 on seven fraud and conspiracy counts stemming from FTX’s 2022 collapse…

With an economy so reliant on oil, Iraq has long faced a tough balancing act between the short-term gains that can come from ramping up production and the long-term problems that can arise from overproduction. Last week, the Iraqi oil ministry announced that it was rectifying a swing too far in one direction when it announced that it would be curbing oil exports to 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd) after having exceeded since January a quota imposed by the OPEC+ oil cartel. Production for March will be 130,000 bpd lower than in February, which will keep Iraq’s partners in…

Beijing imposed tariffs on Australian wine in 2020 during a diplomatic feud, raising duties from zero to above 200 percent.China says it will lift steep tariffs on Australian wine imposed more than three years ago in the latest sign of improving relations between the two countries. The anti-subsidy and anti-dumping levies were first imposed in 2020 along with a host of other trade barriers during a diplomatic feud over Australia’s support for a global inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. China had been Australia’s top wine export market, and Australian wine producers took a heavy hit from the duties, which…

Mahmoud Abbas has announced a new interim government as calls grow for a revitalised and reformed PA.The Palestinian Authority (PA) has announced the formation of a new Cabinet as it faces international pressure to reform. President Mahmoud Abbas, who has led the PA for nearly two decades, announced the new government in a presidential decree on Thursday. Abbas tapped Mohammad Mustafa, a longtime adviser, to be prime minister earlier this month. He replaced Mohammed Shtayyeh, who, along with his government, resigned in February citing the need for change amid Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza and escalating violence in the occupied…

Israeli PM had called off Washington visit after US did not veto UN Security Council resolution on Gaza ceasefire.Israel has asked the United States to reschedule a meeting to discuss its military operation in Gaza’s Rafah days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly cancelled a planned visit to Washington. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday told reporters that “we’re now working with them to find a convenient date that’s obviously going to work for both sides”. Netanyahu was angry that the US on Monday did not veto a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in…

The United Kingdom is plummeting into a paranoid deluge of authoritarianism. Since October, our government’s steadfast support for Israel has ushered in a new age of state coercion, exposing in its wake the artifice of democracy in Britain. In response to weekly pro-Palestine protests calling for an end to Israel’s onslaught on Gaza attended by hundreds of thousands in London and other major British cities, the Conservative Party government expanded police powers and moved to weaponise concerns over so-called “extremism”. Its leading figures referred to peaceful protesters exercising their democratic rights as “mobs” and “hate marchers”, classifying any and all…