(Al Jazeera Media Network) More than 30 people have been charged on Thursday, including Chauncey Billups, an NBA Hall of Fame player and head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Terry Rozier, a guard with the Miami Heat, in connection with two separate but related federal gambling investigations that involved the league and the mafia.
The schemes – one of them focused on insider sports betting and another that rigged poker games nationwide – spanned...
(BBC News) The world chess federation (FIDE) has said it is examining public attacks former world champion Vladimir Kramnik made against Daniel Naroditsky before the US grandmaster's death.
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky told the Reuters news agency it was "looking into" the Russian's comments accusing Naroditsky, who died this week at age 29, of online cheating.
Before his death, Naroditsky denied any wrongdoing and indicated the controversy had taken its toll on him in his final Twitch broadcast.
Kramnik...
(BBC News) Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been ordered to testify in a landmark trial in the US over the impact of social media on young people.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl this week rejected the argument his company, Meta Platforms, had made that an in-person appearance was unnecessary.
Her order also applies to Snap boss Evan Spiegel, as well as Adam Mosseri, who leads Meta-owned Instagram.
The trial, expected in January, is among...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) United States President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have signed an agreement on rare earth and critical minerals as China tightens control over global supply.
The two leaders signed the deal on Monday at the White House.
Trump said the agreement had been negotiated over four or five months. The two leaders will also discuss trade, submarines and military equipment, Trump said.
Albanese described it as an $8.5-billion pipeline “that we have...
(BBC News) The Louvre Museum in Paris has been forced to close while police investigate a brazen heist that targeted France's priceless crown jewels.
Thieves wielding power tools broke into the world's most visited museum in broad daylight, before escaping on scooters with eight "priceless" items of jewelry.
Here is what we know about the crime which has stunned France.
The theft occurred on Sunday between 09:30 and 09:40 local time, shortly after the museum opened to...
(BBC News) US President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of George Santos, a former Republican congressman serving seven years in prison for fraud and identity theft.
In a post on social media, Trump said Santos "has been horribly mistreated", adding: "Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!"
The former lawmaker was only the sixth in US history to be expelled from Congress, after...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Two of China’s highest-ranking officers and seven other senior military officials have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and the military on suspicion of serious misconduct linked to corruption, according to the country’s Defence Ministry.
He Weidong, China’s second-highest-ranking general, and navy admiral Miao Hua, the Chinese military’s former top political officer, are the latest senior military officials to be targeted in a campaign against corruption in the People’s Liberation...
(BBC News) China has warned the UK of "consequences" amid an escalating row over its delayed application to build a mega-embassy in London.
It comes after the government confirmed it had pushed back a decision on the controversial site for a second time, to December 10.
On Friday, Beijing's foreign affairs ministry said the delay went "entirely against the UK's commitments and previous remarks about improving China-UK relations."
Downing Street said it did not "recognize any claims...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) The head of the United States Treasury, Scott Bessent, has announced he is working to corral the private sector around a new $20-billion “facility” to support Argentina’s embattled economy.
“We are working on a $20-billion facility that would be adjacent to our swap line, of private banks and sovereign wealth funds that I think would be more aimed at the debt market,” he told reporters on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
Bessent added that...
(BBC News) US President Donald Trump has confirmed a report he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, provoking outrage from the South American nation's leaders.
US forces have already conducted at least five strikes on suspected drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean in recent weeks, killing 27 people. UN-appointed human rights experts have described the raids as "extrajudicial executions".
Speaking at the White House, Trump said the US "is looking at land" as it...
