Ringleader in Russian spy ring gets more than 10 years in UK prison
Orlin Roussev, 47, headed up a group of five fellow Bulgarians who prosecutors said put lives in danger as they carried out operations in the U.K., Germany Austria, Spain and Montenegro between 2020 and 2023 on behalf of Russian intelligence.
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Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Woman's nightmare after partner strangled her for refusing to buy vape liquid
A man strangled his girlfriend for 30 seconds and then punched her in the head as she lay defenceless on the floor, in a horrid act of domestic violence committed over vape liquid. Nathan Howells, a 20-year-old from Bridgend in Wales, was in a rage because his then-partner had refused to go out and buy him vape fluid, Cardiff Crown Court heard. The victim described her 14-month relationship with Howells as "controlling". The court heard he would monitor her phone and stop her from using social media. His behaviour reached a terrifying climax on October 29 last year in a shocking episode of domestic abuse at her home. Prosecutor Kirsten Murphy said Howells had demanded she go to a shop and purchase e-liquid for his vape. When she declined he began hurling items around the room. "These included cushions from the sofa and drawers from cupboards," said Ms Murphy. "He punched a hole in the living room wall and shoved her to the chest, causing her to stumble back. "He called her useless. He used both hands to squeeze her throat for 30 seconds, causing her to feel lightheaded. "She fell backwards, landing on her back, and while she was on the floor he punched her to the head and ribs, causing immediate pain. She went upstairs and he followed her, kicking her belongings downstairs." The victim managed to send a message to a family member on Snapchat, asking for help, but out of fear that Howells would see it, she sent a follow-up message telling them not to worry. She was left with bruising and red marks on her neck, reports Wales Online. In her personal statement, she revealed that since the attack, she has been struggling to sleep as she "constantly" replays the incident, adding: "I am constantly looking over my shoulder when I go anywhere out of fear I will bump into Nathan." Howells, from Tremgarth in Wildmill, admitted to intentional strangulation, assault and criminal damage. His barrister, Jac Brown, stated that he had no previous convictions and that on the morning of the offences, he had learned of his aunt's death. "He became deliberately argumentative with the complainant and he recognises he simply lost it with her," said Mr Brown. The probation service assessed Howells as posing a medium risk of harm to the victim. Mr Brown argued this could be managed with a restraining order. "Prior to these offences he was unemployed and a frequent smoker of cannabis, which he used to cope with his unemployment," said Mr Brown. "He has realised cannabis will not help him and has abstained for several months now, while enjoying stability as a permanent contractor in a warehouse." In his sentencing remarks, Judge Paul Hobson addressed Howells: "People who engage in behaviour of this kind, very often young men, should expect to be severely punished. An act of strangulation is inherently dangerous and terrifying for its victim. You only have to think what it would be like to be strangled and have difficulty breathing to realise why that is so." However, the judge also considered Howells' youth, lack of previous convictions, and evidence of "some remorse". He handed down a 12-month sentence in a young offender institute, suspended for two years. As it became apparent that Howells would avoid prison, there were audible gasps and tears of joy from two women in the public gallery. The defendant himself remained emotionless. Howells was given a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 180 hours of unpaid work. He has been ordered to pay £600 in compensation and £100 towards prosecution costs. A restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim will remain in place for five years.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Fox News hosts were determined to help Trump stay in office after 2020 election, legal filing says
The 2020 presidential election is history, but a legal dispute over Fox News' reporting on President Trump's false claims of voter fraud is heating up. A motion for summary judgment by voting equipment company Smartmatic filed Tuesday in New York Supreme Court laid out in detail how phony allegations that it manipulated votes to swing the election to Joe Biden were amplified on Fox News. The motion also described how the Fox News Media hosts who are defendants in the suit — the late Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business — were allegedly committed to helping Trump prove his fraud theories so he could remain in office. 'I work so hard for the President and the party,' Pirro wrote in a text to Ronna McDaniel, then chair of the Republican National Committee. Pirro left Fox News in May to become U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Smartmatic is suing Fox News for $2.7 billion in damages, claiming that the network's airing of the false statements hurt the London-based company's ability to expand its business in the U.S. Fox News settled a similar suit from Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million in 2023. The motion alleged that on-air hosts repeated the fraud claims even though executives and producers were told they were false. The Fox News research department, known as the 'Brainroom,' allegedly informed network producers that Smartmatic's role in the 2020 election was limited to Los Angeles County and that the company's software was not used in Dominion voting machines, another false claim made on the air. Fox News maintains the network's reporting on President Trump's false claims were newsworthy and protected by the 1st Amendment. But part of the company's legal strategy has been focused on minimizing the damage claims. Fox News has asserted that any problems Smartmatic has experienced in attracting new business are rooted not in its reporting but in the federal investigation into the company's activities with overseas governments. Last year, Smartmatic's founder, Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez, and two other company officials were indicted by the U.S. attorney's office and charged with bribing Philippine officials in order to get voting machine contracts in the country in 2016. While the Trump camp's assertions that the election was fixed were not believed throughout Fox News and parent company Fox Corp., the conservative-leaning network gave continued to give them oxygen to keep its audience tuned in, the motion alleged. The motion described a 'pivot' that occurred on Nov. 8, 2020, when then-Fox News Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan asked Fox News Media Chief Executive Suzanne Scott to address the decline in the network's ratings after Biden was declared the winner of the election. The network also looked at research to evaluate why viewers were leaving. 'The conclusion reached based on performance analytics: give the audience more election fraud,' the court document stated. Such thinking, the filing said, permeated the company, already in a panic over losing viewers to right-leaning network Newsmax. The upstart outlet saw a ratings surge after Biden's win due to its unwavering support of Trump's claims. 'Think about how incredible our ratings would be if Fox went ALL in on STOP THE STEAL,' Fox News host Jesse Watters said in a text to his colleague Greg Gutfeld. Throughout November and December 2020, the three hosts named in the suit, Dobbs, Pirro and Bartiromo, repeatedly featured Trump's attorneys Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell as guests. They spread the falsehoods that Smartmatic software was used in Dominion voting machines and altered millions of votes. Smartmatic's work in Los Angeles during the 2020 election was meant to be an entry point for the company to expand its domestic business. The company's defamation suit claims that Fox News obliterated those efforts by presenting the false fraud claims. But Fox News believes that issues with Smartmatic's $282-million contract with Los Angeles County could help advance its case. On Aug. 1, federal prosecutors filing a legal brief alleging that taxpayer funds from the county went into a slush fund held by a shell company to help pay for its illegal activities. Federal prosecutors handling the case involving Smartmatic's business in the Philippines said they plan to detail similar alleged schemes out of L.A. County and Venezuela to show that the bribery fits a larger pattern. Fox News attorneys have filed a brief asking for county records that they believe will help bolster their case. The network is also expected to try to get the Smartmatic indictments in front of the court to raise doubts about the company's reputation. A Smartmatic representative said Fox News' records request is a diversion tactic. 'Fox lies and when caught they lie again to distract,' a Smartmatic representative said in a statement. 'Fox's latest filing is just another attempt to divert attention from its long-standing campaign of falsehoods and defamation against Smartmatic.' The company added that it abided with the law in Los Angeles County and 'every jurisdiction where we operate.' Smartmatic's Tuesday court filing also included information that contradicted public statements Fox News made at the time. The document alleged that Fox News fired political analyst Chris Stirewalt and longtime Washington bureau executives Bill Sammon for their involvement in calling the state of Arizona for Biden on election night. The early call of the close result in the state upset the Trump camp and alienated his supporters. At the time, Fox News said Stirewalt departed as part of a reorganization and Sammon retired. But the motion said Rupert Murdoch himself signed off on the decision to sever Stirewalt and Sammon from the company in an effort to assuage angry viewers who defected. The motion cited a communication from Dana Perino, co-host of Fox News show 'The Five,' describing a phone call with Stirewalt after his dismissal. 'I explained to him — you were right, you didn't cave, and you got fired for doing the right thing,' Perino said. Both Sammon and Stirewalt now work in the Washington bureau of NewsNation, the cable news network owned by Nexstar Media Group.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
U.S. Navy Sailor Is Convicted of Spying for China
A U.S. Navy sailor was convicted on Wednesday of spying for China while on active duty and using his security clearance to sell sensitive information about the capabilities of American warships, including their vulnerabilities. The sailor, Jinchao Wei, known as Patrick Wei, 25, who was a machinist's mate aboard the Essex, an amphibious assault ship moored at Naval Base San Diego, will face a maximum possible sentence of life in prison at his sentencing, which is set for Dec. 1. A jury in U.S. District Court in San Diego found Mr. Wei guilty on six of seven criminal counts he faced, including two spying charges brought under the Espionage Act, and four conspiracy counts in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. The Navy characterized some of the information sold by Mr. Wei, for a total of $12,000, as 'critical technology.' A second sailor, who was arrested at the same time as Mr. Wei, was sentenced last year to 27 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring with a Chinese intelligence officer and accepting a bribe. Prosecutors said that Mr. Wei, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in China, had betrayed his adopted country when he used his security clearance to obtain closely-held details about the U.S. naval fleet and military operations. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
