US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the US had carried out another strike against a ship alleged to belong to drug traffickers.
The operation took place in the Caribbean Sea, against a group Hegseth identified as the Tren de Aragua criminal organisation.
Hegseth said "six male narco-terrorists" were on board and killed.
The US has carried out a series of strikes on ships in the region, in what President Donald Trump has described as an effort to curtail drug trafficking.
Hegseth posted a video on X showing the operation. The video begins by showing a boat in a crosshairs, before it explodes into a cloud of smoke.
This is the tenth strike the Trump administration has carried out against alleged drug traffickers since early September. Most have taken place off of South America, in the Caribbean, but on 21 and 22 October it carried out strikes in the Pacific Ocean.
Members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, have raised concerns about the legality of the strikes and the president's authority to order them.
Trump said he has the legal authority to order the strikes, and has designated Tren de Aragua a terrorist organisation.
Forged art claiming to show works by famous artists, including Picasso and Rembrandt, has been seized by police
Bavarian police have seized millions of euros worth of forged art claiming to show works by Picasso, Rembrandt and Kahlo in an operation spanning Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Authorities in Bavaria said the main suspect is a 77-year-old German man who, along with 10 alleged accomplices, is facing charges of conspiracy and fraud.
Investigators first became suspicious when the septuagenarian ringleader attempted to sell two supposedly original paintings by Picasso on the art market.
He then wanted to sell De Staalmeesters, a famous oil painting by Dutch old master Rembrandt, for 120 million Swiss francs (£113m) - despite the original hanging in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA) said the forged De Staalmeesters - which is sometimes referred to as the Masters of the Clothmakers' Guild - was owned by an 84-year-old Swiss woman.
She is now being investigated by the Amberg public prosecutor's office, the BLKA and Swiss authorities after the forged piece was confiscated in Switzerland.
At the time, after being examined by an art expert, the police said: "It was, as suspected, a copy and not a lost masterpiece by Rembrandt van Rijn."
The painting was seized during a co-ordinated series of dawn raids across Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein on Wednesday 15 October.
During the searches, a large number of suspected art forgeries were found and seized, the BLKA said, along with "documents, records, mobile phones, storage media and cloud data".
Bavarian police said the main suspect attempted to sell a further 19 counterfeit works, purportedly by world-famous artists for between €400,000 (£349,000) and €14m (£12.2m).
They included copies of work by Mexican painter Frida Kahlo as well as Flemish old master Peter Paul Rubens, Italian sculptor Amedeo Modigliani and Spain's Joan Miró.
He was assisted by 74-year-old German man who "prepared expert reports specifically to confirm the authenticity of the artworks".
The BLKA said that he and the main suspect were arrested on the day of the raids before being conditionally released.
The police said that the investigation is in progress.
"Among other things, all confiscated paintings will be examined in detail by experts and appraisers in the coming weeks," police said.
Luiz Inácio da Silva has announced he will run for a fourth term as Brazil's president in the nation's elections in 2026.
The 79-year-old had indicated during his last election campaign that it would be his last - but stressed he did not feel his age in comments during a state visit to Indonesia on Thursday.
"I'm about to turn 80 years old, but you can be sure I have the same energy I had when I was 30. And I will run for a fourth term in Brazil," Lula told reporters.
The decision to run comes despite Lula suffering health problems in office after winning in the tightest run-off election in the South American nation's history.
Already Brazil's oldest president when inaugurated, in December last year he underwent surgery for a brain bleed caused by a blow to the head he sustained in a fall in the presidential palace.
The left-wing leader beat then-incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by 51% to 49% in 2022.
The right-wing firebrand is unlikely to be able to challenge Lula again, as he is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a military coup aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the last election.
Cameroon's opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who has declared himself the winner of the 12 October elections, has told the BBC that he will not accept a stolen vote, with the results due to be announced on Monday.
He says his team has compiled the overall picture based on results from individual polling stations, so there is no doubt.
Tchiroma Bakary, 76, is a former government minister who broke ranks with President Paul Biya, 92, who is seeking another term after 43 years in power.
The ruling party has dismissed Tchiroma Bakary's victory claims and several officials have described it as illegal because only the Constitutional Council can proclaim official results.
Tchiroma Bakary said he had urged his supporters to defend their votes, adding: "We will never accept their votes being stolen by anyone."
He said he was not concerned about being arrested or being put in jail, "but I know that I have already won the presidential election".
"There is no doubt, no shadow of doubt whatsoever. My victory is undeniable," he told the BBC in an interview.
He said the ruling CPDM party had "their backs against the wall" and could not accept the reality of the vote, and challenged them to show if what he was saying about the election was wrong.
He defended his decision to declare himself himself the winner, insisting that the law "does not prevent us from so doing".
Tensions over the delayed announcement of the election results have been growing, sparking fears of post-electoral violence in a country already rocked by a separatist conflict in the Anglophone regions and Boko Haram insurgency in the Far North region.
Junta leader Mamady Doumbouya has not announced if he is running for president
Guineans have reacted with shock after it was announced that presidential candidates would need to pay a deposit of 875m Guinean francs ($100,000; £75,000) to contest December's election, which should see the military leaders hand power to civilians.
Guinea has been under military rule since Colonel Mamady Doumbouya seized power in a 2021 coup.
The elections are being held under a new constitution that allowed Doumbouya to run for the presidency – although he has not announced if he plans to.
While the previous deposit was almost as high - 800m francs - some analysts had hoped it would be reduced to encourage more people to stand in these historic elections.
"This amount is huge," political analyst Kabinet Fofana told the BBC. "This decision adds to the growing criticism against the general direction of elections."
Candidates who get more than 5% of the vote in the first round of the election will get their deposit repaid.
The authorities say the high amount is needed to ensure only credible candidates take part.
But presidential candidate Faya Millimono says the deposit used to be much lower.
"Until 2005, the deposit never exceeded 50 million [Guinean francs]. The madness began in 2010, when it was thought necessary to block certain candidates. The amount went from 50 million to 400 million, and today we're talking about 900 million."
The costs of participatingin the electionsare some of the highest in the region.
In 2022, the Nigerian electoral commission set a fee of 100m naira ($67,000 at the current rate - at the time it was more than $200,000) sparking widespread criticism.
In Cameroon, the deposit is $53,000 and Ivory Coast $90,000.
The electoral body also set a campaign spending limit of 40bn Guinean francs ($4.6m; £3.5m) per candidate.
One candidate believes these amounts "send a clear signal - only the very wealthy or those who have already benefited from state resources can truly compete".
Some 50 candidates from political parties and 16 independent candidates have been approved so far.
The largest opposition parties, the Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG Arc-en-Ciel), led by former President Alpha Condé, and the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), headed by former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, are not included on the provisional list but they still have time to register.
Guinea is heading into an election without Condé, who was ousted by Doumbouya, as well as Diallo and former Prime Minister Sidya Touré of the Union of Republican Forces (UFR).
All three leaders are currently living outside the country.
Celebrities, professional sports stars and wealthy gamblers sat at a table hoping to win big in a game of Texas Hold 'Em.
But they didn't know it was nearly impossible. They were "fishes" allegedly being targeted by the mafia in an elaborate poker gambling scheme that included X-ray card tables, secret cameras, analysers in chip trays and sunglasses and contact lenses that could read their hand.
In what sounds like an Ocean's Eleven film plot, prosecutors say these "unwitting" victims were cheated out of at least $7m (£5.25) in poker games - with one person losing at least $1.8m (£1.35m).
The scheme, which US prosecutors described as "reminiscent of a Hollywood movie," was dismantled in a sprawling federal investigation that led to more than 30 arrests, including members of the La Costra Nostra crime families, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former player Damon Jones.
FBI director Kash Patel called it a "mind-boggling" fraud scheme that cheated victims in New York, Miami, Las Vegas and other US cities.
The underground poker scheme started as early as 2019, prosecutors say, and was allegedly operated the mafia - specifically by members of notorious crime families, including Bonnano, Gambino, Luchesse and Genovese. A cut of the profits, prosecutors say, helped fund their criminal enterprise.
Former professional athletes, described by prosecutors as "face cards", were enlisted to help in the scheme and entice victims into playing.
Lured in by the opportunity to play with a high-profile celebrity - such as Billups or Jones - a wealthy, "unwitting victim" would be recruited for illegal, underground poker games where tens of thousands of dollars were on the line, prosecutors allege.
Unbeknownst to the lured-in players - referred to in the scheme as a "fish" - everyone surrounding them was in on the elaborate scam - from the players to the dealers, even the technology used to shuffle the deck and count the chips, according to a lengthy federal indictment.
Sophisticated wireless technology was also used to deceive the players during the games, most commonly in Texas Hold'em.
A rigged card-shuffling machine was also used in the plot, prosecutors say
The technology was everywhere - an X-ray table that read any face-down card, analysers inside chip trays, a rigged shuffling machine that read cards and predicted who would have the best hand, and pre-marked cards that allowed those wearing special sunglasses and contact lenses to read what was in everyone's hands.
Secretive cameras - built into tables and light fixtures - also helped convey information to those helping in the plot, authorities say.
Then there was also a sophisticated method of communicating and rigging the game, prosecutors allege.
Information from the game would be sent to an off-site conspirator - called an "operator" by prosecutors - who then would send information to another player sitting at the table who was in on the scheme - which prosecutors call a "quarterback" or "driver".
US Department of Justice
Prosecutors say an X-ray poker machine was employed to read facedown cards
That person would then secretly signal to others, prosecutors allege, effectively stealing money and making it impossible for victims to win.
Authorities estimate that each game would leave a victim out of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Prosecutors say the defendants allegedly laundered the funds from the scheme through cryptocurrency, cash exchanges and shell companies.
A cut of the profits went to those who helped in the plot, prosecutors say, and some allegedly went to fund the mafia's criminal enterprise.
"This alleged scheme wreaked havoc across the nation, exploiting the notoriety of some and the wallets of others to finance the Italian crime families," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia.
Arrests in the scheme were announced Thursday along with a basketball betting plot, where professional National Basketball Association (NBA) players are accused of faking injuries to influence betting odds.
Billups, who was accused of being a face card in the fixed card games, was arrested in Portland and was placed on leave by the NBA. In a statement, the Portland Trailblazers said that they are aware of the allegations involving their head coach and are "fully cooperating with the investigation".
Jones was arrested in relation to both the poker and NBA injuries scheme. He is charged with two counts each of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Ecuador's president has said someone attempted to poison him by putting three highly concentrated toxic substances in gifts of chocolate and jam.
Daniel Noboa said his team had proof to support the claim, though he has yet to publicly provide any evidence.
The South American leader told CNN on Thursday that he believed it was "practically impossible" that the three chemicals would be found in high concentrations in the items by chance.
His comments come in the wake of violent clashes in Ecuador over a sharp rise in fuel prices under his presidency. The centre-right politician has brought in military crackdowns on drug gangs, but has also faced accusations of targeting protesters.
Noboa has denied the allegations of attempts on his life - the third in two months - were a means of portraying his detractors as violent.
"No one throws a Molotov cocktail at themselves... or poisons themselves with chocolate, or throws stones at themselves," he said, referring to previous incidents.
About 500 people threw rocks at the president's car and there were "signs of bullet damage" on his vehicle, according to the country's energy and environment minister, who added that Noboa was unharmed.
The BBC was not able to independently confirm that a bullet had been fired.
Ecuadorian officials said the convoy - which included UN and EU diplomats - was delivering aid to communities affected by a national strike when ambushed by about 350 people, who attacked it with Molotov cocktails.
Noboa posted photos of smashed windscreens and windows on the cars on social media.
A national strike protesting against the government ending diesel subsidies came to a close on Thursday after several weeks.
The strike was declared by the country's largest Indigenous organisation - the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) - with marches and roadblocks organised.
The Conaie group led demonstrations that overthrew three presidents between 1997 and 2005.
Watch: Two people leave Louvre in lift mounted to vehicle
A gallery attendant on duty at the Louvre when thieves broke in and stole eight of France's crown jewels has said "no-one could have been prepared" for what unfolded as visitors began to arrive on Sunday morning.
"All of a sudden we heard an huge noise," she told radio station France Inter, in the first account given by an attendant at the scene.
The unnamed attendant and two colleagues initially thought the noise to be an angry visitor, but it was not a normal sound: "It was a dull, slightly metallic noise."
It was, in fact, the moment thieves had used an angle grinder to burst through a reinforced window into the Gallery of Apollo, where the Louvre's collection of historic jewelry is kept.
Within eight minutes, the gang seized treasures, including a necklace that belonged to Napoleon's wife Empress Marie-Louise and a diadem of Napoleon III's wife Empress Eugenie, worth an estimated total of €88m (£77m).
The thieves used a mechanical ladder on the back of a lorry to lift them to a first-floor balcony to gain entry to the gallery.
Two tourists ran towards them in panic, she said.
"I saw one of the criminals turn around with something that looked to me like a chainsaw, then I yelled at my colleagues to get out," she recalled. She shouted a second time that it was a robbery and that they should run.
One of her colleagues raised the alarm over a walkie-talkie and then "we finished evacuating the visits without quite realising really what was going on". They shut all the doors as they left to protect the neighbouring galleries.
On reflection, the attendant said "for us it was unbelievable the display cases could have been broken... never for a moment did we think there was such a risk... nobody can be prepared for that".
Another Louvre employee came forward to describe the moments after the gang escaped.
The anonymous security guard spoke of a very strong smell of petrol as he arrived at the scene outside the Louvre where the gang had parked their lorry.
"I ran outside through the [glass] pyramid and across the courtyard... I got there at the very moment the criminals got away by scooter," he told BFMTV.
The gang had ruptured the lorry's fuel tank and there was a blowtorch near by, he said. "It's clear they intended to set fire to their vehicle. I genuinely think we thwarted their plan because they would never have left behind so much evidence."
"They even lost one of the pieces they'd meant to steal, because they'd lost [Empress] Eugenie's crown, which they'd just stolen and it had fallen on the ground."
The security guard and his colleagues were the first to find the crown, he said: "I can't say I jumped for joy, especially because the piece had obviously been damaged."
Louvre Museum
Louvre Museum
The Marie-Louise necklace and a pair of earrings were among the eight items stolen
A tiara worn by the Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, was taken
The director of the museum, Laurence des Cars, said the empress's crown appeared to have been damaged when the gang prised it out of a narrow gap they had cut in one of the two display cases with an angle grinder.
She told French senators this week that initial indications were that "delicate restoration" would be possible for the 19th-Century crown inlaid with diamonds and emeralds.
Although French ministers insist security at the museum had worked properly on the day, the Louvre director has spoken of years of underfunding and of just one external security camera, facing the wrong way, where the break-in took place.
Her damning assessment was backed up by the attendant, who complained that "for some time we've felt the culture of security is in decline at the museum".
The bodies of the dead Palestinians were transferred by the Red Cross in refrigerated lorries
Out of a single room, with no DNA testing facilities or cold storage units of its own, the forensics team at Gaza's Nasser hospital face the challenges brought by peace.
Over the past eleven days, 195 bodies have been returned to Gaza by Israeli authorities, in exchange for the bodies of 13 Israeli hostages, under the terms of Donald Trump's ceasefire deal.
Photographs released by Gaza's medical authorities show some of the bodies badly decomposed, and arriving in civilian clothes or naked except for underwear, some with multiple signs of injury. Many have their wrists tied behind their backs, and doctors say some bodies arrived blindfolded or with cloth roped around their necks.
The forensic team at Nasser hospital are working with almost no resources to answer vast questions about torture, mistreatment and identity.
The head of the unit, Dr Ahmed Dheir, said one of their biggest limitations is a lack of cold storage space. The bodies arrive in Gaza thoroughly frozen and can take several days to thaw out, ruling out even basic identification methods like dental history, let alone any deeper investigation or post-mortem (autopsy).
"The situation is extremely challenging," he said. "If we wait for the bodies to thaw, rapid decomposition begins almost immediately, putting us in an impossible position [because] we lose the ability to examine the remains properly. So the most viable method is to take samples and document the state of the bodies as they are."
Dr Ahmed Dheir says the lack of cold storage space means he and his colleagues have little time to examine the remains properly
The BBC has viewed dozens of photographs of the bodies, many of them shared by Gaza's health authorities, others taken by colleagues on the ground.
We spoke to several of those involved in examining the bodies in Gaza, as well as families of the missing, human rights groups, and Israeli military and prison authorities.
We also spoke to three forensic experts outside the region, including one specialising in torture, to educate ourselves about the medical processes involved in this kind of investigation – all agreed that there were questions that were difficult to answer without post-mortems.
Dr Alaa al-Astal, one of the forensic team at Nasser hospital, said some of the bodies arriving there showed "signs of torture", such as bruises and marks from binding on the wrists and ankles.
"There were extremely horrific cases, where the restraint was so tight that blood circulation to the hands was cut off, leading to tissue damage and clear signs of pressure around the wrists and ankles," he said.
"Even around the eyes, when the blindfolds were removed, you could see deep grooves - imagine how much force that took. The pressure left actual marks where the blindfold had been tied."
Dr Astal also mentioned the loose cloths tied around the necks of some bodies as needing further investigation.
"In one case, there was a groove around the neck," he said. "To determine whether the death was due to hanging or strangulation, we needed to perform a post-mortem, but because the body was frozen, it was not dissected."
The bodies are bring brought to a temporary facility at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis
Sameh Yassin Hamad, a member of the Hamas-run government committee responsible for receiving the bodies, said there were signs of bruising and blood infiltration indicating that the bodies had been severely beaten before death. He also said there were stab wounds on the chest of face of some of them.
Some of the images we saw from the unit clearly show deep indentations or tightly-fastened cable-ties on the wrists and arms and ankles. One photograph appears to show the bruising and abrasion that would confirm that ties had been used while the person was still alive.
Other bodies showed only deep indentation marks, meaning a post-mortem would be needed to determine whether the ties had been used before or after death. Cable-ties are sometimes used when transporting bodies in Israel.
When we asked Israel's military about the evidence we gathered, it said it operates strictly in accordance with international law.
We showed the photographs we were given to the outside forensic experts. The images represent a fraction of the bodies transferred to Gaza by the Red Cross.
All three experts said that some of the markings raised questions about what had happened, but that it was difficult to reach concrete conclusions about abuse or torture without post-mortems.
"What is happening in Gaza is an international forensic emergency," said Michael Pollanen, a forensic pathologist and professor at the University of Toronto. "Based upon images like this, there is an imperative for complete medical autopsies. We need to know the truth behind how deaths occurred, and the only way to know the truth is to do autopsies."
But even with limited forensic data, doctors at Nasser hospital say the routine cuffing of wrists behind the body rather than in front, along with the marks observed on the limbs, points to torture.
"When a person is naked, with their hands tied behind their back, and visible restraint marks on their wrists and ankles, it indicates that they died in that position," Dr Dheir told us. "This is a violation of international law."
And there is strong evidence to suggest widespread abuse of detainees - including civilians - in Israeli custody in the months after the war began in October 2023, particularly in the military facility of Sde Teiman.
Unidentified bodies are being buried in a mass grave once forensic exams have been carried out
"At least in the first eight months of the war, the detainees from Gaza were cuffed behind their backs, and had their eyes covered, 24 hrs, 7 days a week, for months," said Naji Abbas, head of the Prisoners and Detainees Programme at the Israeli human rights organisation, Physicians for Human Rights (PHRI).
"We know that people developed serious infections on their skin, hands and legs because of the cuffs."
We have spoken to several people who worked at Sde Teiman over the past two years, who confirm that detainees were cuffed hand and foot – even while undergoing medical treatments, including surgery.
One medic who worked there said he had campaigned to loosen the cuffs, and that the treatment of detainees there was "dehumanisation".
But many of those detained during the Gaza war are held as unlawful combatants, without charge.
One complication for doctors at Nasser Hospital now is determining which of the returned bodies are Hamas fighters killed in combat, which are civilians and which are detainees who died in Israeli custody.
Some of the bodies returned by Israel are still wearing Hamas headbands or military boots, but doctors say most are either naked or in civilian clothing, making it difficult to distinguish their role, interpret their injuries, and assess human rights violations.
Photographs seen by the BBC show mostly naked or decomposed bodies. One dressed in civilian clothing and trainers has what officials say are two small bullet wounds in his back.
AFP
Officials at Nasser hospital have been showing pictures of the bodies and any personal items to relatives of missing people
Sameh Yassin Hamad, from Gaza's Forensics Committee, said that Israel had sent back identification with only six of the 195 bodies it had returned – and that five of those names turned out to be wrong.
"Since these bodies were held by the Israeli authorities, they will have full data about them," said Dr Dheir. "But they haven't shared that information with us through the Red Cross. We were sent DNA profiles for around half the total number of dead, but have not received any details about the dates or circumstances of death, or the time or place of detention."
We asked Israel's army about the details in this report, including striking allegations by Gaza's forensic team that Israel had removed single fingers and toes from the bodies for DNA testing.
Israel's military said "all bodies returned so far are combatants within the Gaza Strip." It denied tying any bodies prior to their release.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Shosh Bedrosian, on Wednesday described the reports from Gaza as "just more efforts to demonise Israel" and suggested the media focus instead on the experience of Israeli hostages.
Somaya Abdullah was at the hospital looking for her son
As families of those missing gather at the hospital gates, Dr Dheir and his staff are under intense pressure to identify the dead and provide answers about what happened to them.
So far, only some 50 bodies have been positively identified – mostly through basic details like height, age and obvious previous injuries. Another 54 have been buried, unidentified and unclaimed, because of intense pressure on space at the unit.
Many families of the missing attended the burial of the unnamed dead this week, just in case one of them was theirs.
"Honestly, it's hard to bury a body when you don't know whether it's the right one or not," said Rami al-Faraa, still searching for his cousin.
"If there was [DNA] testing, we'd know where he is – yes or no," said Houwaida Hamad, searching for her nephew. "My sister would know if the one we're burying is really her son or not."
Donald Trump's ceasefire deal has brought some relief for Gaza, but little closure for the families of most of those missing, left burying a body in place of a brother, husband or son.
Australian servicewomen have launched a major class action against the army
Four servicewomen have launched a landmark class action lawsuit against the Australian military alleging sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination.
Lawyers said they expected thousands of women to join the case against the Australian Defence Force (ADF), which was filed in the Federal Court on Friday.
Claims by the four women leading the lawsuit - whose names are withheld for legal reasons - include being forcibly pinned to a wall before being groped, and waking up naked and bruised after a party with male officers.
An ADF spokesperson said it was developing a sexual misconduct prevention strategy and there was "no place for sexual violence" in the army.
All women who served between 12 November 2003 and 25 May 2025 are eligible to join the suit, lodged by law firm JGA Saddler.
One of the lead applicants was a member of the air force who was one of two women in a building of about 200 people.
She alleged she was subject to hostile and sexist comments, inappropriate conversations, as well as being shown unsolicited pornographic photos.
She also alleged her sergeant told her "women shouldn't be paid as much as men because they are not as strong".
Another of the four applicants, who joined the navy, said she was subject to lewd comments throughout her training and unwanted touching.
She also alleged that while on duty abroad she was grabbed and kissed by her a colleague who resisted her attempts to get away.
A major report into suicide among Australian veterans last year found that about 800 reports of sexual assault were made within the ADF between 2019 and 2024.
It noted that there was an estimated under-reporting rate for sexual assault of 60% in the ADF and that that was "only a subset of all forms of sexual misconduct that occur".
"The threat of war often isn't the biggest safety fear for female ADF personnel, it is the threat of sexual violence in their workplace," said lawyer Josh Aylward from JGA Saddler.
"They have signed up to defend their country, not to fight off fellow ADF personnel on a daily basis, all while simply trying to do their job."
An ADF spokesperson acknowledged there was "work to be done" and added that "all defence personnel have a right to be respected and deserve to have a positive workplace experience in the ADF".
Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has been pardoned by US President Donald Trump.
Mr Zhao, also known as "CZ", was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.
Binance was ordered to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) after a US investigation found it helped users bypass sanctions.
A White House official confirmed to the BBC Mr Zhao has been pardoned, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Binance has been approached for comment.
The exchange, which is registered in the Cayman Islands, remains the world's most popular platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
According to the WSJ, the company has spent nearly a year pursuing a pardon for its former boss, who completed his four month prison sentence in September 2024.
The move comes amid the Trump administration's adoption of a more friendly stance towards cryptocurrency.
The President has vowed to make the US the "crypto capital" of the world and made his own mark in the digital currency landscape by releasing his own coin shortly ahead of his inauguration in January.
Since then, he has sought to establish a national cryptocurrency reserve and pushed for making it easier for Americans to use retirement savings to invest in them.
Boat owner Hong Suk-hui says the seas are becoming more dangerous
Hong Suk-hui was waiting on the shore of South Korea's Jeju Island when the call came. His fishing boat had capsized.
Just two days earlier, the vessel had ventured out on what he had hoped would be a long and fruitful voyage. But as the winds grew stronger, its captain was ordered to turn back. On the way to port, a powerful wave struck from two directions creating a whirlpool, and the boat flipped. Five of the 10 crew members, who had been asleep in their cabins below deck, drowned.
"When I heard the news, I felt like the sky was falling," said Mr Hong.
Last year, 164 people were killed or went missing in accidents in the seas around South Korea – a 75% jump from the year before. Most were fishermen whose boats sunk or capsized.
"The weather has changed, it's getting windier every year," said Mr Hong, who also chairs the Jeju Fishing Boat Owners Association.
"Whirlwinds pop up suddenly. We fisherman are convinced it is down to climate change."
South Korean Coastguard
Five of Mr Hong's crew members drowned when this fishing boat capsized in February
Alarmed by the spike in deaths, the South Korean government launched an investigation into the accidents.
This year, the head of the taskforce pinpointed climate change as one of the major causes, as well as highlighting other problems — the country's aging fishing workforce, a growing reliance on migrant workers, and poor safety training.
The seas around Korea are warming more rapidly than the global average, in part because they tend to be shallower. Between 1968 and 2024, the average surface temperature of the country's seas increased by 1.58C, more than double the global rise of 0.74C.
Warming waters are contributing to extreme weather at sea, creating the conditions for tropical storms, like typhoons, to become more intense.
They are also causing some fish species around South Korea to migrate, according to the country's National Institute of Fisheries Science, forcing fisherman to travel further and take greater risks to catch enough to make a living.
Environmental campaigners say urgent action is needed to "stop the tragedy occurring in Korean waters".
BBC/Hosu Lee
Some fish species are migrating from the waters around South Korea
On a rainy June morning, Jeju Island's main harbour was crammed with fishing boats. The crews hurried back and forth between sea and land, refuelling and stocking up for their next voyage, while the boats' owners paced anxiously along the dock watching the final preparations.
"I'm always afraid something might happen to the boat, the risks have increased so much," said 54-year-old owner, Kim Seung-hwan. "The winds have become more unpredictable and extremely dangerous."
A few years ago, Mr Kim began to notice that the popular silvery hairtail fish he relied on were disappearing from local waters, and his earnings plunged by half.
Now his crews have to journey into deeper, more perilous waters to find them, sometimes sailing as far south as Taiwan.
"Since we're operating farther away, it's not always possible to return quickly when there's a storm warning," he said. "If we stayed closer to shore it would be safer, but to make a living we have to go farther out."
BBC/Hosu Lee
Fishermen on South Korea's Jeju Island say hairtail fish have become scarcer
Professor Gug Seung-gi led the investigation into the recent accidents, which found that South Korea's seas appear to have become more dangerous. It noted the number of marine weather warnings around the Korean Peninsula - alerting fishermen to gales, storm surges, and typhoons - increased by 65% between 2020 and 2024.
"Unpredictable weather is leading to more boats capsizing, especially small fishing vessels that are going further out and are not built for such long, rough trips," he told the BBC.
Professor Kim Baek-min, a climate scientist at South Korea's Pukyong National University, said that although climate change was creating the conditions to make strong, sudden wind gusts more likely, a clear trend had not yet been established – for that, more research and long-term data is needed.
BBC/Hosu Lee
Captain Park fishes for anchovies from this small boat
One foggy morning, we left shore in the dark on a small trawler with Captain Park Hyung-il, who has been fishing anchovies off Korea's south coast for more than 25 years. He sang sea shanties, determined to stay upbeat. But when we reached the nets he had left out overnight, his mood crumpled.
As he wound them in, the anchovies could barely be seen among the hordes of jellyfish and other fodder. Once the anchovies had been separated out, they filled just two boxes.
"In the past, we'd fill 50 to 100 of these baskets in a single day," he said. "But this year the anchovies have vanished and we're catching more jellyfish than fish."
This is the predicament facing tens of thousands of fishermen along South Korea's coastlines. Over the past 10 years, the amount of squid caught in South Korean waters each year has plummeted 92%, while anchovy catches have fallen by 46%.
BBC/Hosu Lee
There are far fewer anchovies to be sorted by fishing workers
Even the anchovies Park had caught were not fit for market, he said, and would need to be sold as animal-feed.
"The haul is basically worthless," he sighed, explaining it would barely cover the day's fuel costs, let alone his crew's wages.
"The sea is a mess, nothing makes sense anymore," Park continued. "I used to love this job. There was joy knowing that someone, somewhere in the country was eating the fish I caught. But now, with barely anything to catch, that sense of pride is fading."
And, with livelihoods disappearing, young people no longer want to join the industry. In 2023 almost half of South Korea's fishermen were over the age of 65, up from less than a third a decade earlier.
Increasingly, elderly captains must rely on help from migrant workers from Vietnam and Indonesia. Often these workers do not receive sufficient safety training, and language barriers mean they cannot communicate with the captains – further compounding the dangers.
Woojin Chung, a researcher at the Environmental Justice Foundation, a UK-based charity, described it as "a vicious and tragic cycle".
When you combine more extreme weather with the pressure to travel further, the increased fuel costs this brings, and the need to rely on cheap, untrained foreign labour, "you have a higher chance of meeting disaster", she explained.
BBC/Hosu Lee
Fishermen Jong-un (left) and Yong-mook (right) were killed in a fishing boat accident this year
On 9 February this year, a large shipping trawler sank suddenly near the coastal city of Yeosu, killing 10 of the crew. It was a bitterly cold, windy day, and smaller boats had been banned from going out, but this trawler was deemed sturdy enough to withstand the gales. The reason it went down is still a mystery.
One of those killed was 63-year-old Young-mook. A fisherman for 40 years, he had been planning to retire, but that morning someone called and asked him to fill a last-minute opening on the boat.
"It was so cold that once you fell in you wouldn't survive the hypothermia, especially at his age," said his daughter Ean, still distraught over his death.
Ean thinks it has become too easy for boat owners to blame climate change for accidents. Even in cases where bad weather plays a role, she believes it is still the owners' responsibility to assess the risks and keep their crew safe. "Ultimately it is their call when to go out," she said.
BBC/Hosu Lee
Young-mook's daughter Ean (right) wants boat owners to make their vessels safer
As a child, she remembers her father's fridge would be filled with crabs and squid. "Now the stocks are gone, but the companies still force them to go out, and because these men have worked as fishermen their whole lives, they don't have alternative job options, so they keep fishing even when they're too frail to do so," she said.
Ean also wants owners to better maintain their boats, which are aging too. "Companies have insurance, so they get compensated after a boat sinks, but our loved ones can't be replaced."
The authorities, aware they cannot control the weather, are now working with fishermen to make their boats safer. As we were with Mr Hong, whose boat capsized earlier this year, a team of government inspectors arrived to carry out a series of on-the-spot checks on two of his other vessels.
The government's taskforce is recommending that boats be fitted with safety ladders, fisherman be required to wear life jackets, and that safety training be mandatory for all foreign crew. It also wants to improve search and rescue operations, and for fisherman to have access to more localised and real-time weather updates.
Some regions are even offering to pay fishermen for the jellyfish they catch, to try to clean up the seas, while squid fishermen are being given loans to protect them from bankruptcy, and encourage them to retire.
BBC/Hosu Lee
Because the problem will likely worsen. The UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation forecasts that total fish catches in South Korea will decline by almost a third by the end of this century, if carbon emissions and global warming continue on their current trajectories.
"The future looks very bleak," said the anchovy fisherman Captain Park, now in his late 40s. He recently started a YouTube channel documenting his catches in the hope of earning some extra money. Park is the third generation of his family to do this work and likely the last.
"Back then it felt romantic getting up early and heading out to sea. There was a sense of adventure and reward."
Watch: FBI director announces alleged schemes involving NBA players and Mafia
An NBA player and coach are among dozens of people arrested as part of a sweeping FBI investigation into illegal sports betting and rigged, mafia-linked poker games.
Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups were named by federal prosecutors in two separate indictments on Thursday.
Rozier, 31, is among six people arrested over alleged betting irregularities, including other NBA players who may have faked injuries to influence gambling markets.
Billups, a Hall of Fame player who has coached the Portland Trail Blazers since 2021, is one of 31 people charged in a separate illegal poker game case involving retired players and the mafia.
That case, which prosecutors said involved four of the five major crime families in New York, uncovered an alleged scheme to lure victims into playing rigged poker games alongside high-profile sports stars before stealing millions of dollars.
They did so using technology including special contact lenses and glasses that could read pre-marked cards and an X-ray table, according to authorities.
In a statement, the NBA said that Rozier and Billups were being placed on immediate leave as it reviews the federal indictments.
"We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority," the statement read.
Rozier's lawyer denied the allegations to CBS News, the BBC's US news partner, saying: "Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight."
Rozier is due to appear in federal court in Orlando later on Thursday, while Billups was arrested in Portland and will appear in court there.
Getty Images
Terry Rozier - better known to some fans as 'Scary Terry' - is a current NBA player for Miami
FBI Director Kash Patel held a news conference with other prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday where he announced the two indictments. He called the arrests "extraordinary" and said there was a "co-ordinated takedown across 11 states".
"We're talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-year investigation," he said.
US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella Jr, said all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, but warned: "Your winning streak has ended. Your luck has run out."
NBA games under scrutiny
Prosecutors said the first case involved players and associates who allegedly used information not available to the public to manipulate bets on major gambling platforms.
Nocella called it "one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalised".
Seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024 have been identified as part of the case. Rozier is said to have been involved in one between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans, when he was playing for the Hornets.
Rozier is alleged to have told a friend that he would leave the game early due to injury. The friend and his associates then placed bets, or directed others to bet, "more than $200,000" that Rozier would underperform expectations in the game, prosecutors said.
He left the game after nine minutes, they said, which resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in betting profits for those involved.
During the game, Rozier played roughly nine minutes and scored just five points because of a sore right foot, according to the official NBA match report.
Before that game, he averaged 35 minutes of playing time and about 21 points per game.
"As the NBA season tips off, his career is already benched, not for injury but for integrity," New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Reuters
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is accused of involvement in rigged poker games
Rozier's lawyer James Trusty said in a statement that prosecutors "appear to be taking the word of spectacularly in-credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was cleared by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case."
Trusty said he had been representing Rozier for more than a year and said prosecutors characterised Rozier as a subject, not a target, until they informed him FBI agents were arresting the player at a hotel on Thursday morning.
Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested as part of the investigation.
Jones is said to have been involved in two of the identified games - when the Los Angeles Lakers met the Milwaukee Bucks in February 2023, and a January 2024 game between the Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Sports betting was outlawed in most of the US from 1992 until 2018, when the Supreme Court turned regulation of the practice over to the states.
Since the federal ban was struck down, sports betting has exploded with major sports leagues and media companies making deals with gambling firms to get in on the billion-dollar industry.
Rigged poker games and the mafia
The second indictment announced on Thursday involves 31 defendants alleged to have participated in a scheme to rig illegal poker games and steal millions of dollars.
The case involved 13 members and associates of the Bonanno, Genovese and Gambino crime families in New York.
Nocella said the targeted victims were lured to play games with former professional athletes, including Billups and Jones, in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and the Hamptons.
Victims were "fleeced" out of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per game, he said.
He said defendants used "very sophisticated technology" like altered off-the-shelf shuffling machines that could read the cards. Some of the defendants used special contact lenses and glasses to read pre-marked cards, and an X-ray table that could read cards when they were face-down.
"What [the victims] didn't know is that everybody else at the poker game - from the dealer to the players were in on the scam," Nocella said.
Tisch said when people refused to pay, the organised crime families used threats and intimidation to get people to hand over the money.
The charges include robbery, extortion, wire fraud, bank fraud and illegal gambling.
The conspiracy cheated victims out of $7m (£5.2m), with one losing $1.8 million, officials said.
"This is only the tip of the iceberg," Christopher Raia, the FBI assistant director of the New York field office, said, adding the FBI is working day and night to ensure members of mafia families "cannot continue to wreak havoc in our communities".
Celebrities, professional sports stars and wealthy gamblers sat at a table hoping to win big in a game of Texas Hold 'Em.
But they didn't know it was nearly impossible. They were "fishes" allegedly being targeted by the mafia in an elaborate poker gambling scheme that included X-ray card tables, secret cameras, analysers in chip trays and sunglasses and contact lenses that could read their hand.
In what sounds like an Ocean's Eleven film plot, prosecutors say these "unwitting" victims were cheated out of at least $7m (£5.25) in poker games - with one person losing at least $1.8m (£1.35m).
The scheme, which US prosecutors described as "reminiscent of a Hollywood movie," was dismantled in a sprawling federal investigation that led to more than 30 arrests, including members of the La Costra Nostra crime families, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former player Damon Jones.
FBI director Kash Patel called it a "mind-boggling" fraud scheme that cheated victims in New York, Miami, Las Vegas and other US cities.
The underground poker scheme started as early as 2019, prosecutors say, and was allegedly operated the mafia - specifically by members of notorious crime families, including Bonnano, Gambino, Luchesse and Genovese. A cut of the profits, prosecutors say, helped fund their criminal enterprise.
Former professional athletes, described by prosecutors as "face cards", were enlisted to help in the scheme and entice victims into playing.
Lured in by the opportunity to play with a high-profile celebrity - such as Billups or Jones - a wealthy, "unwitting victim" would be recruited for illegal, underground poker games where tens of thousands of dollars were on the line, prosecutors allege.
Unbeknownst to the lured-in players - referred to in the scheme as a "fish" - everyone surrounding them was in on the elaborate scam - from the players to the dealers, even the technology used to shuffle the deck and count the chips, according to a lengthy federal indictment.
Sophisticated wireless technology was also used to deceive the players during the games, most commonly in Texas Hold'em.
A rigged card-shuffling machine was also used in the plot, prosecutors say
The technology was everywhere - an X-ray table that read any face-down card, analysers inside chip trays, a rigged shuffling machine that read cards and predicted who would have the best hand, and pre-marked cards that allowed those wearing special sunglasses and contact lenses to read what was in everyone's hands.
Secretive cameras - built into tables and light fixtures - also helped convey information to those helping in the plot, authorities say.
Then there was also a sophisticated method of communicating and rigging the game, prosecutors allege.
Information from the game would be sent to an off-site conspirator - called an "operator" by prosecutors - who then would send information to another player sitting at the table who was in on the scheme - which prosecutors call a "quarterback" or "driver".
US Department of Justice
Prosecutors say an X-ray poker machine was employed to read facedown cards
That person would then secretly signal to others, prosecutors allege, effectively stealing money and making it impossible for victims to win.
Authorities estimate that each game would leave a victim out of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Prosecutors say the defendants allegedly laundered the funds from the scheme through cryptocurrency, cash exchanges and shell companies.
A cut of the profits went to those who helped in the plot, prosecutors say, and some allegedly went to fund the mafia's criminal enterprise.
"This alleged scheme wreaked havoc across the nation, exploiting the notoriety of some and the wallets of others to finance the Italian crime families," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia.
Arrests in the scheme were announced Thursday along with a basketball betting plot, where professional National Basketball Association (NBA) players are accused of faking injuries to influence betting odds.
Billups, who was accused of being a face card in the fixed card games, was arrested in Portland and was placed on leave by the NBA. In a statement, the Portland Trailblazers said that they are aware of the allegations involving their head coach and are "fully cooperating with the investigation".
Jones was arrested in relation to both the poker and NBA injuries scheme. He is charged with two counts each of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
US President Donald Trump has said he is immediately ending all trade negotiations with Canada.
He wrote on Truth Social that the country had run an advert featuring former President Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs.
"Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED," Trump wrote late on Thursday.
The US president has imposed a 35% levy on Canadian imports, although he has allowed exemptions for goods that fall under the USMCA - a free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that Trump negotiated during his first term.
Trump has also imposed sector-specific levies on Canadian goods, including 50% on metals and 25% on automobiles.
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A BBC investigation last year found that Germany was being used to store boats and engines used in small-boat crossings
There are growing doubts that Germany will tighten its laws this year to make it easier to prosecute small-boat smugglers, the BBC has learned.
Facilitating people-smuggling is not technically illegal in Germany if it is to a third country, which the UK is after Brexit.
Germany has agreed to close the loophole by the end of 2025.
But now the interior ministry in Berlin says only that it intends to introduce the bill to parliament by that date – and has stopped short of guaranteeing a timeline for final approval.
A spokesperson would not be drawn on whether time was running out ahead of the Christmas break – but told the BBC that the federal government had "no influence" over parliamentary process, once a bill has been agreed by cabinet.
Some British officials are increasingly unsure whether enough space is left in Germany's parliamentary calendar this year, although the Home Office insists it has not been told of any setbacks by Berlin.
A staffer at the Bundestag, who is tracking the proposal, said there may "theoretically" be a sufficient window but admitted it did not appear to be a government priority.
It comes as France is backing away from a recent commitment to intervene more forcefully at sea to stop small boats, according to multiple sources contacted by the BBC.
The UK's Labour government is under pressure to show that its emphasis on closer international collaboration – striking deals with other countries – can work as an effective strategy to tackle small boat crossings.
Last year a BBC investigation exposed how Germany's used as a hub, by small-boat smugglers, to store dinghies that are then used for illegal English Channel crossings.
Berlin's subsequent commitment to adapt the law – and make such activities more explicitly illegal – was lauded as "further evidence" by the UK that its approach was "bearing fruit".
Any delay is likely to spark UK frustration, as it has long pressed Berlin to toughen up its rules and enforcement.
STEFAN ROUSSEAU/POOL/AFP
Sir Keir Starmer (L) and Germany's Friedrich Merz signed a landmark treaty last July
A legal provision has been drafted to further expand "criminal liability for cross-border human smuggling to the United Kingdom", according to the interior ministry in Berlin.
However, the ministry has not confirmed that the plans have yet to be approved by Cabinet: a necessary step before being laid before parliament.
The proposals are not widely known about in Germany, where the domestic debate focuses on internal levels of immigration.
There is also some scepticism in Berlin about how much difference the law change will make in meeting UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's repeated pledge to "smash the gangs".
It will give German prosecutors "more tools to tackle the supply and storage of dangerous small boats equipment," according to the British government.
Currently, investigators have to rely on "collateral crime" such as violence or money laundering – or have used judicial orders from other countries to carry out raids.
A UK Home Office spokesperson said, "We welcome the commitment from Germany to make it illegal to facilitate illegal migration to the UK".
"The law change is expected to be adopted by the end of the year," they said, while adding that the process was a matter for the German government.
Watch: Two people leave Louvre in lift mounted to vehicle
A German company inadvertently embroiled in the Louvre Museum heist after one of its lifts was used in the theft is making the most of its free publicity - by launching a new advertising campaign.
Werne-based firm Böcker this week published a social media post featuring the now famous image of its furniture ladder extending up to a balcony outside the Gallery of Apollo.
"When you need to move fast," reads a banner under the image. "The Böcker Agilo transports your treasures weighing up to 400kg at 42m/min - quiet as a whisper."
Video has emerged of the alleged thieves escaping on the mechanical ladder after stealing €88m worth (£76m; $102m) of France's crown jewels on Sunday.
Speaking to the AFP news agency on Wednesday, the company's managing director, Alexander Böcker, said when it became clear no one was injured in the heist they used "a touch of humour" to draw attention to the family-run business.
"The crime is, of course, absolutely reprehensible, that's completely clear to us," Mr Böcker said.
"It was... an opportunity for us to use the most famous and most visited museum in the world to get a little attention for our company."
Reaction to Böcker's new campaign have been enthusiastic, with responses on social media including "marketing genius" and "excellent, that is German quality".
"Your messaging takes the crown," one commenter quipped.
Mr Böcker told AFP he recognised his company's device from news reports, saying the machine was sold "a few years ago to a French customer who rents this type of equipment in Paris and the surrounding area".
The alleged jewel thieves had arranged to have the machine demonstrated to them last week and had stolen it during the demonstration, he added.
The thieves arrived at the Louvre on Sunday shortly after the museum opened its doors and visitors had started to file through its corridors.
Within eight minutes, they made off with some of France's most valuable treasure belonging to former royalty or imperial rulers.
Among the eight items stolen were diadems, necklaces, ear-rings and brooches adorned with thousands of diamonds and other precious gemstones.
The Louvre reopened on Wednesday, a few days after what has been called France's most shocking theft.
The museum's director admitted on Wednesday that the Louvre failed to spot the gang early enough to stop the theft and that CCTV around its perimeter was weak and "aging".
"We failed these jewels," Laurence des Cars said, adding that no-one was protected from "brutal criminals - not even the Louvre".
"We've had a terrible failure at the Louvre. I've taken responsibility for it," she added.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told France's Europe1 radio that he had "every confidence" the thieves would be caught.
Prosecutors said they believed the robbers acted under orders from a criminal organisation.
Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat is among those who were arrested as part of a multi-year investigation into alleged fraud involving NBA players and organised crime.
US authorities announced several high-profile arrests on Thursday, including of a star player and a coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), for alleged illegal sports betting.
Among those in custody are Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, both of whom were reportedly arrested after their teams' games on Wednesday.
The arrests are part of a sweeping investigation into illegal gambling that produced two indictments, the FBI said — one into players who are allegedly faking injuries to influence betting odds, and another involving an illegal poker ring tied to organised crime.
Here is what we know about the cases.
What are the allegations?
FBI Director Kash Patel described the allegations to reporters as "mind-boggling".
They include indictments in two major cases, officials said, both involving fraud.
The first case is called "operation nothing but bet," in which players and associates allegedly used insider information to manipulate wagers on major sports betting platforms.
In some cases, players altered their performance or took themselves out of games to ensure those bets were paid out, according to New York City police commissioner Jessica Tisch. Those bets amounted to tens of thousands of dollars in profits.
The second case is more complex in nature, officials said, and involved four of the five major crime families in New York as well as professional athletes.
The accused in that case are alleged to have participated in a scheme to rig illegal poker games and steal millions of dollars.
They did so using "very sophisticated" technology including off-the-shelf shuffling machines, special contact lenses and eye glasses to read pre-marked cards, according to authorities. They also used an X-ray table that could read cards that were face down.
The victims were allegedly lured to play in these games with former professional athletes, who acted as "face cards" in the scheme. The victims were unaware that everyone, including the dealer and the other players, were in on the scam.
Authorities said they began probing these poker games in 2019, spanning multiple locations including the Hamptons, Las Vegas, Miami and Manhattan.
The accused allegedly laundered profits via bank wires and crypto currencies.
They are also alleged to have committed acts of violence, including a robbery at gunpoint and extortion against victims.
Both schemes amounted to tens of millions of dollars in theft and robbery across several years and 11 states, authorities said.
Which players have been arrested?
All in all, authorities say 34 defendants were indicted on charges related to the two fraud cases.
Six were charged in the first case of players allegedly faking injuries to influence betting odds, including Miami Heat player Rozier.
New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch said that in March 2023, Rozier, then playing for the Charlotte Hornets, allegedly let others close to him know that he planned to leave a game early with a supposed injury.
Members of the group then used that information to place fraudulent bets and cash out big, she said.
Commissioner Tisch said on Thursday after Rozier's arrest that his "career is already benched, not for injury but for integrity".
Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested. He is said to have been involved in two games that were allegedly part of the scheme, when the Los Angeles Lakers met the Milwaukee Bucks in February 2023, and a January 2024 game between the Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Authorities identified a total of seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024 that were part of the case:
9 February, 2023 – Los Angeles Lakers v Milwaukee Bucks
23 March, 2023 – Charlotte Hornets v New Orleans Pelicans
24 March, 2023 – Portland Trail Blazers v Chicago Bulls
6 April, 2023 – Orlando Magic v Cleveland Cavaliers
15 January, 2024 – Los Angeles Lakers v Oklahoma City Thunder
26 January, 2024 – Toronto Raptors v Los Angeles Clippers
20 March, 2024 – Toronto Raptors v Sacramento Kings
The second case related to illegal poker games involved a total of 31 defendants, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Billups, who was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame last year.
Authorities said three of the accused were charged in both cases.
Thirteen members and associates of the Bonanon, Genovese and Gambino crime families in New York were also indicted in the illegal poker case.
The charges include robbery, extortion, wire fraud, bank fraud and illegal gambling.
The defendants have been arrested and are due to appear in court later on Thursday, authorities said. They are expected to be arraigned in a Brooklyn, New York, court at a later date.
What has the NBA said about the allegations?
In a statement on Thursday, the NBA said it is in the process of reviewing the federal indictments that were announced and that it is co-operating with authorities.
The league added that Rozier and Billups are being placed "on immediate leave" from their teams.
"We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority," the statement said.
Who are New York's notorious 'Five Families'?
Authorities said the alleged scheme involved four of the five well-known crime families of New York.
The Five Families - the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese - have ruled the city's Italian American mafia since 1931.
Major mob takedowns reduced the prevalence of mafia activity in the 1990s, aided by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and then-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
But, as Thursday's indictments show, the mafia has not entirely gone away.
The Five Families are part of the larger American-Sicilian mafia operation known as La Cosa Nostra, which translates to "this thing of ours", and the members often work closely with their counterparts in Sicily.
On the Italian side, the gangsters consider New York City to be a "gym" where their members go to be toughened up, criminology professor and modern organised crime expert Anna Sergi, previously told BBC.
Ukraine's president has urged the European Union to back a plan to release billions of euros in frozen Russian cash to help fund the country's defence.
As EU leaders met in Brussels, Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped they would make a "positive decision" about using €140bn (£122bn) in Russian assets currently held in a Belgian clearing house.
The controversial move would would be on top of sanctions the block has imposed on Russia - the latest on Thursday targeting the Kremlin's oil revenues.
They followed US measures against Russia's oil industry earlier - the first time President Donald Trump has sanctioned Moscow as he grows frustrated over President Vladimir Putin's refusal to end the war.
On Wednesday evening, the US president confirmed that a planned meeting with Putin in Budapest had been shelved indefinitely.
"Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don't go anywhere," he said.
The US sanctions targeted Russia's oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
On Thursday, European ministers held talks about how billions of euros worth of frozen Russian cash could be made available to Ukraine as a so-called "reparations loan".
Zelensky, who is attending the summit in Brussels, said: "I hope that they will make a political decision, positive decision in one or another way to help Ukraine with funds.
"Russia brought war to our land, and they have to pay for this war," he said
There are a number of legal complexities surrounding using Russia's money.
Belgium, in particular, has been reluctant to back using the frozen assets, as it is nervous about having to shoulder any potential consequences should Russia legally challenge Euroclear, the clearing house where the money is located.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas admitted there were "some issues" about using the assets for a loan.
But she said: "The fundamental message is Russia is responsible for the damages in Ukraine and has to pay."
Russia has criticised the idea. "Any confiscatory initiatives from Brussels will inevitably result in a painful response," said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The EU's latest measures against Russia targeted three Chinese businesses, including two oil refineries and an energy trader, that are "significant buyers of Russian crude oil".
The measures are "meant to deprive Russia of the means to fund this war," said Kallas as well as send a message, specifically that "Russia can't outlast us," she said.
China condemned the decision, which a commerce ministry spokesperson said "seriously undermined the overall framework of China–EU economic and trade co-operation".
Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat is among those who were arrested as part of a multi-year investigation into alleged fraud involving NBA players and organised crime.
US authorities announced several high-profile arrests on Thursday, including of a star player and a coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), for alleged illegal sports betting.
Among those in custody are Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, both of whom were reportedly arrested after their teams' games on Wednesday.
The arrests are part of a sweeping investigation into illegal gambling that produced two indictments, the FBI said — one into players who are allegedly faking injuries to influence betting odds, and another involving an illegal poker ring tied to organised crime.
Here is what we know about the cases.
What are the allegations?
FBI Director Kash Patel described the allegations to reporters as "mind-boggling".
They include indictments in two major cases, officials said, both involving fraud.
The first case is called "operation nothing but bet," in which players and associates allegedly used insider information to manipulate wagers on major sports betting platforms.
In some cases, players altered their performance or took themselves out of games to ensure those bets were paid out, according to New York City police commissioner Jessica Tisch. Those bets amounted to tens of thousands of dollars in profits.
The second case is more complex in nature, officials said, and involved four of the five major crime families in New York as well as professional athletes.
The accused in that case are alleged to have participated in a scheme to rig illegal poker games and steal millions of dollars.
They did so using "very sophisticated" technology including off-the-shelf shuffling machines, special contact lenses and eye glasses to read pre-marked cards, according to authorities. They also used an X-ray table that could read cards that were face down.
The victims were allegedly lured to play in these games with former professional athletes, who acted as "face cards" in the scheme. The victims were unaware that everyone, including the dealer and the other players, were in on the scam.
Authorities said they began probing these poker games in 2019, spanning multiple locations including the Hamptons, Las Vegas, Miami and Manhattan.
The accused allegedly laundered profits via bank wires and crypto currencies.
They are also alleged to have committed acts of violence, including a robbery at gunpoint and extortion against victims.
Both schemes amounted to tens of millions of dollars in theft and robbery across several years and 11 states, authorities said.
Which players have been arrested?
All in all, authorities say 34 defendants were indicted on charges related to the two fraud cases.
Six were charged in the first case of players allegedly faking injuries to influence betting odds, including Miami Heat player Rozier.
New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch said that in March 2023, Rozier, then playing for the Charlotte Hornets, allegedly let others close to him know that he planned to leave a game early with a supposed injury.
Members of the group then used that information to place fraudulent bets and cash out big, she said.
Commissioner Tisch said on Thursday after Rozier's arrest that his "career is already benched, not for injury but for integrity".
Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested. He is said to have been involved in two games that were allegedly part of the scheme, when the Los Angeles Lakers met the Milwaukee Bucks in February 2023, and a January 2024 game between the Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Authorities identified a total of seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024 that were part of the case:
9 February, 2023 – Los Angeles Lakers v Milwaukee Bucks
23 March, 2023 – Charlotte Hornets v New Orleans Pelicans
24 March, 2023 – Portland Trail Blazers v Chicago Bulls
6 April, 2023 – Orlando Magic v Cleveland Cavaliers
15 January, 2024 – Los Angeles Lakers v Oklahoma City Thunder
26 January, 2024 – Toronto Raptors v Los Angeles Clippers
20 March, 2024 – Toronto Raptors v Sacramento Kings
The second case related to illegal poker games involved a total of 31 defendants, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Billups, who was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame last year.
Authorities said three of the accused were charged in both cases.
Thirteen members and associates of the Bonanon, Genovese and Gambino crime families in New York were also indicted in the illegal poker case.
The charges include robbery, extortion, wire fraud, bank fraud and illegal gambling.
The defendants have been arrested and are due to appear in court later on Thursday, authorities said. They are expected to be arraigned in a Brooklyn, New York, court at a later date.
What has the NBA said about the allegations?
In a statement on Thursday, the NBA said it is in the process of reviewing the federal indictments that were announced and that it is co-operating with authorities.
The league added that Rozier and Billups are being placed "on immediate leave" from their teams.
"We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority," the statement said.
Who are New York's notorious 'Five Families'?
Authorities said the alleged scheme involved four of the five well-known crime families of New York.
The Five Families - the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese - have ruled the city's Italian American mafia since 1931.
Major mob takedowns reduced the prevalence of mafia activity in the 1990s, aided by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and then-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
But, as Thursday's indictments show, the mafia has not entirely gone away.
The Five Families are part of the larger American-Sicilian mafia operation known as La Cosa Nostra, which translates to "this thing of ours", and the members often work closely with their counterparts in Sicily.
On the Italian side, the gangsters consider New York City to be a "gym" where their members go to be toughened up, criminology professor and modern organised crime expert Anna Sergi, previously told BBC.
Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat is among those who were arrested as part of a multi-year investigation into alleged fraud involving NBA players and organised crime.
US authorities announced several high-profile arrests on Thursday, including of a star player and a coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), for alleged illegal sports betting.
Among those in custody are Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, both of whom were reportedly arrested after their teams' games on Wednesday.
The arrests are part of a sweeping investigation into illegal gambling that produced two indictments, the FBI said — one into players who are allegedly faking injuries to influence betting odds, and another involving an illegal poker ring tied to organised crime.
Here is what we know about the cases.
What are the allegations?
FBI Director Kash Patel described the allegations to reporters as "mind-boggling".
They include indictments in two major cases, officials said, both involving fraud.
The first case is called "operation nothing but bet," in which players and associates allegedly used insider information to manipulate wagers on major sports betting platforms.
In some cases, players altered their performance or took themselves out of games to ensure those bets were paid out, according to New York City police commissioner Jessica Tisch. Those bets amounted to tens of thousands of dollars in profits.
The second case is more complex in nature, officials said, and involved four of the five major crime families in New York as well as professional athletes.
The accused in that case are alleged to have participated in a scheme to rig illegal poker games and steal millions of dollars.
They did so using "very sophisticated" technology including off-the-shelf shuffling machines, special contact lenses and eye glasses to read pre-marked cards, according to authorities. They also used an X-ray table that could read cards that were face down.
The victims were allegedly lured to play in these games with former professional athletes, who acted as "face cards" in the scheme. The victims were unaware that everyone, including the dealer and the other players, were in on the scam.
Authorities said they began probing these poker games in 2019, spanning multiple locations including the Hamptons, Las Vegas, Miami and Manhattan.
The accused allegedly laundered profits via bank wires and crypto currencies.
They are also alleged to have committed acts of violence, including a robbery at gunpoint and extortion against victims.
Both schemes amounted to tens of millions of dollars in theft and robbery across several years and 11 states, authorities said.
Which players have been arrested?
All in all, authorities say 34 defendants were indicted on charges related to the two fraud cases.
Six were charged in the first case of players allegedly faking injuries to influence betting odds, including Miami Heat player Rozier.
New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch said that in March 2023, Rozier, then playing for the Charlotte Hornets, allegedly let others close to him know that he planned to leave a game early with a supposed injury.
Members of the group then used that information to place fraudulent bets and cash out big, she said.
Commissioner Tisch said on Thursday after Rozier's arrest that his "career is already benched, not for injury but for integrity".
Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested. He is said to have been involved in two games that were allegedly part of the scheme, when the Los Angeles Lakers met the Milwaukee Bucks in February 2023, and a January 2024 game between the Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Authorities identified a total of seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024 that were part of the case:
9 February, 2023 – Los Angeles Lakers v Milwaukee Bucks
23 March, 2023 – Charlotte Hornets v New Orleans Pelicans
24 March, 2023 – Portland Trail Blazers v Chicago Bulls
6 April, 2023 – Orlando Magic v Cleveland Cavaliers
15 January, 2024 – Los Angeles Lakers v Oklahoma City Thunder
26 January, 2024 – Toronto Raptors v Los Angeles Clippers
20 March, 2024 – Toronto Raptors v Sacramento Kings
The second case related to illegal poker games involved a total of 31 defendants, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Billups, who was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame last year.
Authorities said three of the accused were charged in both cases.
Thirteen members and associates of the Bonanon, Genovese and Gambino crime families in New York were also indicted in the illegal poker case.
The charges include robbery, extortion, wire fraud, bank fraud and illegal gambling.
The defendants have been arrested and are due to appear in court later on Thursday, authorities said. They are expected to be arraigned in a Brooklyn, New York, court at a later date.
What has the NBA said about the allegations?
In a statement on Thursday, the NBA said it is in the process of reviewing the federal indictments that were announced and that it is co-operating with authorities.
The league added that Rozier and Billups are being placed "on immediate leave" from their teams.
"We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority," the statement said.
Who are New York's notorious 'Five Families'?
Authorities said the alleged scheme involved four of the five well-known crime families of New York.
The Five Families - the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese - have ruled the city's Italian American mafia since 1931.
Major mob takedowns reduced the prevalence of mafia activity in the 1990s, aided by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and then-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
But, as Thursday's indictments show, the mafia has not entirely gone away.
The Five Families are part of the larger American-Sicilian mafia operation known as La Cosa Nostra, which translates to "this thing of ours", and the members often work closely with their counterparts in Sicily.
On the Italian side, the gangsters consider New York City to be a "gym" where their members go to be toughened up, criminology professor and modern organised crime expert Anna Sergi, previously told BBC.
Zhang Shengmin heads anti-corruption efforts in the army and is seen as a trusted loyalist of President Xi
The Chinese Communist Party has named a veteran who has overseen anti-corruption efforts in the military to be the country's second highest ranking general, just days after nine generals were expelled in a major purge.
The appointment of Zhang Shengmin as second-ranked vice chairman of the Central Military Commission was announced at the end of a four-day Central Committee meeting.
Zhang becomes the third highest official in the country's top military body, after the first-ranked vice chairman and President Xi Jinping.
The nine expelled generals were suspected of serious financial crimes, China's defence ministry said last week. However, analysts said it could also be seen as a political purge.
Their removal marked one of the Chinese Communist Party's largest public crackdowns on the military in decades.
For months, the Central Military Commission has signalled that it would conduct a crackdown. In July, it issued new guidelines calling for the elimination of "toxic influence" in the military and listing out "iron rules" for cadres.
Following his promotion Zhang, 67, will serve with another more senior vice chair, Zhang Youxia, on the Central Military Commission.
He is a general from the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force and has been serving as deputy secretary of the Central Military Commission's anti-corruption arm.
He comes from the central province of Shaanxi and joined the army in 1978.
Getty Images
The appointment comes after one of the Chinese Communist Party's largest public crackdowns on the military in decades.
During the four-day meeting that ended Thursday, the party's Central Committee also approved a new five-year-plan – a broad document to guide its priorities.
The plan emphasised "scientific and technological self-reliance", something Chinese tech companies will need if the Trump Administration continues to restrict access to computer chips and advanced software.
The document also called for "accelerating the green transition" and "modernising defence" as well as boosting domestic consumption to make up for lost export revenue, during a time of geopolitical uncertainty.
Ukraine's president has urged the European Union to back a plan to release billions of euros in frozen Russian cash to help fund the country's defence.
As EU leaders met in Brussels, Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped they would make a "positive decision" about using €140bn (£122bn) in Russian assets currently held in a Belgian clearing house.
The controversial move would would be on top of sanctions the block has imposed on Russia - the latest on Thursday targeting the Kremlin's oil revenues.
They followed US measures against Russia's oil industry earlier - the first time President Donald Trump has sanctioned Moscow as he grows frustrated over President Vladimir Putin's refusal to end the war.
On Wednesday evening, the US president confirmed that a planned meeting with Putin in Budapest had been shelved indefinitely.
"Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don't go anywhere," he said.
The US sanctions targeted Russia's oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
On Thursday, European ministers held talks about how billions of euros worth of frozen Russian cash could be made available to Ukraine as a so-called "reparations loan".
Zelensky, who is attending the summit in Brussels, said: "I hope that they will make a political decision, positive decision in one or another way to help Ukraine with funds.
"Russia brought war to our land, and they have to pay for this war," he said
There are a number of legal complexities surrounding using Russia's money.
Belgium, in particular, has been reluctant to back using the frozen assets, as it is nervous about having to shoulder any potential consequences should Russia legally challenge Euroclear, the clearing house where the money is located.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas admitted there were "some issues" about using the assets for a loan.
But she said: "The fundamental message is Russia is responsible for the damages in Ukraine and has to pay."
Russia has criticised the idea. "Any confiscatory initiatives from Brussels will inevitably result in a painful response," said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The EU's latest measures against Russia targeted three Chinese businesses, including two oil refineries and an energy trader, that are "significant buyers of Russian crude oil".
The measures are "meant to deprive Russia of the means to fund this war," said Kallas as well as send a message, specifically that "Russia can't outlast us," she said.
China condemned the decision, which a commerce ministry spokesperson said "seriously undermined the overall framework of China–EU economic and trade co-operation".
Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has been pardoned by US President Donald Trump.
Mr Zhao, also known as "CZ", was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.
Binance was ordered to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) after a US investigation found it helped users bypass sanctions.
A White House official confirmed to the BBC Mr Zhao has been pardoned, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Binance has been approached for comment.
The exchange, which is registered in the Cayman Islands, remains the world's most popular platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
According to the WSJ, the company has spent nearly a year pursuing a pardon for its former boss, who completed his four month prison sentence in September 2024.
The move comes amid the Trump administration's adoption of a more friendly stance towards cryptocurrency.
The President has vowed to make the US the "crypto capital" of the world and made his own mark in the digital currency landscape by releasing his own coin shortly ahead of his inauguration in January.
Since then, he has sought to establish a national cryptocurrency reserve and pushed for making it easier for Americans to use retirement savings to invest in them.
Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings became first lady in June 1979
Ghana's former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings has died at the age of 76.
She was the widow of Ghana's longest-serving leader, Jerry John Rawlings, who died five years ago.
He led two coups before twice being elected president in multiparty polls.
Social media is awash with tributes to the former first lady, politician and women's rights advocate, who Ghanaian presidential spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu said had died after a short illness on Thursday morning.
Her family visited President John Mahama in the afternoon to officially notify him of her death. The president leads the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, founded by Jerry Rawlings after he took power.
Agyeman-Rawlings also had political ambitions - but lost out in her bid to become the NDC's presidential candidate in 2012.
As first lady, she founded the 31st December Women's Movement to empower women and teach them how to earn money to develop their communities. It was named after the date of her husband's second coup, which took place in 1981.
Born in November 1948, Agyeman-Rawlings came from a middle-class family and grew up in the city of Cape Coast.
She met her future husband when she became a boarder at the prestigious Achimota School in the capital, Accra.
Unlike her husband, she went on to get a university education, studying art and textiles.
Jerry Rawlings joined the air force and earned the rank of flight lieutenant in 1978 - a year after the couple were married.
It was not long afterwards that Rawlings, aged 32, took power, with his wife said to be an important adviser to him.
Young, glamourous and charismatic, they proved a dynamic if controversial duo in the West African nation.
The former first lady's women's group, initially regarded as an arm of the NDC, is credited with significantly helping women across the country - especially in poorer areas.
Her advocacy also influenced national policy and she played a key role in shaping a law in 1989 that guaranteed inheritance rights for women and children.
She is also credited with contributing to provisions for gender equality in Ghana's 1992 constitution, which saw the return of multiparty politics.
Ghana's parliament has adjourned to mark the former first lady's death as the country prepares to officially mourn one of its most iconic political figures and one who fought for the inclusion of women in politics.
AFP/Getty Images
In 1999 the Ghanaian first couple joined their US counterparts - Bill and Hillary Clinton - at the White House for a state dinner
The Winter Paralympics take place from 6-15 March with about 600 athletes competing in 79 medal events across six sports
Published
Russian and Belarusian para-athletes will not be at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, despite the International Paralympic Committee lifting its ban on them.
Although the IPC oversees the Games, there are four separate governing bodies in charge of the six sports taking place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Three of the governing bodies have decided to keep their bans on athletes from the two countries, and although Russia and Belarus are now allowed to compete in ice hockey, the decision came too late for them to take part in qualifying.
Both countries were suspended from Paralympic competition after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Belarus a close ally of Russia.
A partial ban - allowing athletes to compete as neutrals - was introduced in 2023.
IPC members then voted to lift the suspensions on the two countries at a meeting last month, allowing para-athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flags.
However, the four international federations have now told the IPC "that, in practice, no athletes from the two nations are likely to qualify for March's Games".
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), International Biathlon Union (IBU) and World Curling have not lifted their bans, while World Para Ice Hockey has already decided which countries will enter the qualifying tournament for the two remaining places at the Games.
"In the same way that the IPC fully respects the decision of the IPC General Assembly not to maintain the partial suspensions of NPC Belarus and NPC Russia, we also fully respect the decisions of each international federation regarding the sports they govern," said IPC president Andrew Parsons.
"The positions of FIS, IBU and World Curling currently mean that athletes and teams from Belarus and Russia cannot compete in their events, making it impossible for them to qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
"While Belarus and Russia can now compete in Para ice hockey competitions, at this late stage of the qualification cycle, the six teams for November's Paralympic Games qualification tournament have already been determined.
"I hope the focus will now be very much on the outstanding athletes and NPCs that will compete at Milano Cortina 2026 next March, as well as the tremendous transformational legacies the Paralympic Winter Games will create."
Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via Reuters and Reuters
One week ago I had the distinct feeling it was Groundhog Day, or as the Russians call it, Dyen Surka.
Amid US threats to pressure Moscow - by supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine - Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump held a telephone call. The result: the announcement of a US-Russia summit in Budapest.
Last August, amid threats of additional US sanctions against Russia, Putin met Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff. The result: the announcement of a US-Russia summit in Alaska.
Déjà vu.
But Groundhog Day seems to be over.
The Alaska meeting went ahead, with minimal preparation and little result.
But the Budapest summit is off. It barely had time to be "on", to be fair. Now President Trump has cancelled it.
"It didn't feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get," the US president told reporters.
And that's not all.
Previously, Trump had not followed through on threats of more pressure on Russia, preferring carrots to sticks in his dealings with the Kremlin.
For the moment he has put his carrots away.
Instead he's imposed sanctions on two major Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.
That's unlikely to force a U-turn on the war from President Putin. But it's a sign of Trump's frustration with the Kremlin's unwillingness to make any compromise or concessions to end the fighting in Ukraine.
"The USA is our enemy and their talkative 'peacemaker' has now fully set on the path to war with Russia," wrote former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on social media. "The decisions that have been taken are an act of war against Russia."
Thursday morning's edition of the tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets was slightly less dramatic, but obviously unflattering. The paper criticised "the capriciousness and fickleness of [Russia's] main negotiating partner."
So what's changed?
Instead of rushing off to summit no.2, as he had done for summit no.1, this time around President Trump was slightly more cautious.
He had asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lay the groundwork for the summit with the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov; to make sure there was a point in decamping to Budapest.
It soon became clear that there wasn't, and that a new summit now was unlikely to produce a breakthrough.
Russia is fiercely opposed to Donald Trump's idea of freezing the current battle lines in Ukraine.
The Kremlin is determined to take control, at the very least, of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. It has seized and occupied much of it.
But President Volodymyr Zelensky is refusing to cede to Russia those parts of the Donbas that Ukraine still controls.
Reuters
Members of Russia's National Guard patrol Red Square near St. Basil's Cathedral in central Moscow on 23 October
Moscow would have welcomed a second US-Russia summit.
The first, in Alaska, was a diplomatic and political coup for the Kremlin. The red-carpet welcome in Anchorage for President Putin symbolised Russia's return to the international stage and the West's failure to isolate Moscow.
Over the last week Russian state media have been savouring the idea of a summit with President Trump in Europe, but without the European Union at the table. Russian commentators portrayed the proposed meeting in Budapest as a slap in the face for Brussels.
At the same time, few here seemed to believe that, even if it went ahead, the Budapest summit would produce the kind of result Moscow wanted.
Some Russian newspapers have been calling for the Russian army to continue fighting.
"There isn't a single reason Moscow should agree to a ceasefire," declared Moskovsky Komsomolets yesterday.
That doesn't mean the Kremlin doesn't want peace.
It does. But only on its terms. And right now those are unacceptable to Kyiv and, it would appear, to Washington.
Those terms involve more than just territory. Moscow is demanding that what it calls the "root causes" of the Ukraine war be addressed: an all-encompassing phrase with which Russia broaden its demands to include a halt to Nato enlargement eastwards.
Moscow is also widely believed to retain the goal of forcing Ukraine back into Russia's orbit.
Is Donald Trump ready to increase the pressure on Russia even more?
Possibly.
But it's also possible we may wake up one morning and find ourselves back in Groundhog Day.
"In the game of Trump tug-of-war, Russia is leading again," wrote Moskovsky Komsomolets after the Budapest summit had been announced.
"In the couple of weeks before the meeting in Budapest, Trump will be pulled in the opposite direction by telephone calls and visits from Europe. Then Putin will pull him back to our side again."
Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat is among those who were arrested as part of a multi-year investigation into alleged fraud involving NBA players and organised crime.
US authorities announced several high-profile arrests on Thursday, including of a star player and a coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), for alleged illegal sports betting.
Among those in custody are Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, both of whom were reportedly arrested after their teams' games on Wednesday.
The arrests are part of a sweeping investigation into illegal gambling that produced two indictments, the FBI said — one into players who are allegedly faking injuries to influence betting odds, and another involving an illegal poker ring tied to organised crime.
Here is what we know about the cases.
What are the allegations?
FBI Director Kash Patel described the allegations to reporters as "mind-boggling".
They include indictments in two major cases, officials said, both involving fraud.
The first case is called "operation nothing but bet," in which players and associates allegedly used insider information to manipulate wagers on major sports betting platforms.
In some cases, players altered their performance or took themselves out of games to ensure those bets were paid out, according to New York City police commissioner Jessica Tisch. Those bets amounted to tens of thousands of dollars in profits.
The second case is more complex in nature, officials said, and involved four of the five major crime families in New York as well as professional athletes.
The accused in that case are alleged to have participated in a scheme to rig illegal poker games and steal millions of dollars.
They did so using "very sophisticated" technology including off-the-shelf shuffling machines, special contact lenses and eye glasses to read pre-marked cards, according to authorities. They also used an X-ray table that could read cards that were face down.
The victims were allegedly lured to play in these games with former professional athletes, who acted as "face cards" in the scheme. The victims were unaware that everyone, including the dealer and the other players, were in on the scam.
Authorities said they began probing these poker games in 2019, spanning multiple locations including the Hamptons, Las Vegas, Miami and Manhattan.
The accused allegedly laundered profits via bank wires and crypto currencies.
They are also alleged to have committed acts of violence, including a robbery at gunpoint and extortion against victims.
Both schemes amounted to tens of millions of dollars in theft and robbery across several years and 11 states, authorities said.
Which players have been arrested?
All in all, authorities say 34 defendants were indicted on charges related to the two fraud cases.
Six were charged in the first case of players allegedly faking injuries to influence betting odds, including Miami Heat player Rozier.
New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch said that in March 2023, Rozier, then playing for the Charlotte Hornets, allegedly let others close to him know that he planned to leave a game early with a supposed injury.
Members of the group then used that information to place fraudulent bets and cash out big, she said.
Commissioner Tisch said on Thursday after Rozier's arrest that his "career is already benched, not for injury but for integrity".
Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested. He is said to have been involved in two games that were allegedly part of the scheme, when the Los Angeles Lakers met the Milwaukee Bucks in February 2023, and a January 2024 game between the Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Authorities identified a total of seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024 that were part of the case:
9 February, 2023 – Los Angeles Lakers v Milwaukee Bucks
23 March, 2023 – Charlotte Hornets v New Orleans Pelicans
24 March, 2023 – Portland Trail Blazers v Chicago Bulls
6 April, 2023 – Orlando Magic v Cleveland Cavaliers
15 January, 2024 – Los Angeles Lakers v Oklahoma City Thunder
26 January, 2024 – Toronto Raptors v Los Angeles Clippers
20 March, 2024 – Toronto Raptors v Sacramento Kings
The second case related to illegal poker games involved a total of 31 defendants, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Billups, who was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame last year.
Authorities said three of the accused were charged in both cases.
Thirteen members and associates of the Bonanon, Genovese and Gambino crime families in New York were also indicted in the illegal poker case.
The charges include robbery, extortion, wire fraud, bank fraud and illegal gambling.
The defendants have been arrested and are due to appear in court later on Thursday, authorities said. They are expected to be arraigned in a Brooklyn, New York, court at a later date.
What has the NBA said about the allegations?
In a statement on Thursday, the NBA said it is in the process of reviewing the federal indictments that were announced and that it is co-operating with authorities.
The league added that Rozier and Billups are being placed "on immediate leave" from their teams.
"We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority," the statement said.
Who are New York's notorious 'Five Families'?
Authorities said the alleged scheme involved four of the five well-known crime families of New York.
The Five Families - the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese - have ruled the city's Italian American mafia since 1931.
Major mob takedowns reduced the prevalence of mafia activity in the 1990s, aided by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and then-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
But, as Thursday's indictments show, the mafia has not entirely gone away.
The Five Families are part of the larger American-Sicilian mafia operation known as La Cosa Nostra, which translates to "this thing of ours", and the members often work closely with their counterparts in Sicily.
On the Italian side, the gangsters consider New York City to be a "gym" where their members go to be toughened up, criminology professor and modern organised crime expert Anna Sergi, previously told BBC.
The Israeli military is exerting control over more of Gaza than expected from the ceasefire deal with Hamas, a BBC Verify analysis has found.
Under the first stage of the deal, Israel agreed to retreat to a boundary running along the north, south and east of Gaza. The divide was marked by a yellow line on maps released by the military and has become known as the "Yellow Line".
But new videos and satellite images show that markers placed by Israeli troops in two areas to mark the divide have been positioned hundreds of metres deeper inside the strip than the expected withdrawal line.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz - who instructed troops to place the yellow blocks as markers - warned that anyone crossing the line "will be met with fire". There have already been two deadly incidents near the boundary line.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not address the allegations when approached by BBC Verify, stating simply that: "IDF troops under the Southern Command have begun marking the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip to establish tactical clarity on the ground."
There has been a consistent lack of clarity as to where exactly the boundary will be imposed, with three separate maps posted by the White House, Donald Trump and the Israeli military in the run up to the ceasefire agreement which came into force on 10 October.
On 14 October the IDF issued the latest version marking the Yellow Line on their online map, which is used to communicate its position to people in Gaza.
But in the north, near the al-Atatra neighbourhood, drone footage from the IDF showed that a line of six yellow blocks were up to 520m further inside the Strip than would have been expected from the IDF maps.
Footage geolocated by BBC Verify showed workers using bulldozers and diggers to move the heavy yellow blocks and place them along the coastal al-Rashid road.
A similar situation was visible in southern Gaza, where a satellite image taken on 19 October showed 10 markers erected near the city of Khan Younis. The line of blocks ranges between 180m-290m inside the Yellow Line set out by the IDF.
If these two sections of boundary were typical of how the markers were being placed along the entirety of the line then Israel would be exerting control over a notably larger area than expected from the ceasefire agreement.
Multiple analysts who spoke to BBC Verify suggested that the blocks were intended to create a "buffer zone" between Palestinians and IDF personnel. One expert said the move would be consistent with a long-term "strategic culture" which seeks to insulate Israel from nearby territories it does not fully control.
"This gives the IDF space to manoeuvre and create a 'kill zone' against potential targets," Dr Andreas Krieg, associate professor at King's College London, said.
"Potential targets can be engaged before they reach the IDF perimeter. It is a bit like no man's land that does not belong to anyone – and Israel tends to take that territory from the opponent's chunk not its own."
Three experts who spoke to BBC Verify suggested that the disparity between the markers and the IDF map was an intentional design to warn civilians they are "approaching an area of increased risk".
Noam Ostfeld, an analyst with the risk consultancy Sibylline, said that some blocks "seem to be positioned near roads or walls, making them easier to spot".
But a post to X by the Israeli defense minister seemed to suggest that the yellow blocks marked the actual line, warning that "any violation or attempt to cross the line will be met with fire".
There is already confusion among Gazans over areas where it is safe to go.
Abdel Qader Ayman Bakr, who lives near the temporary boundary in the eastern part of Gaza City's Shejaiya district, told the BBC that, despite promises from Israel of clear markings, he had seen none put in place.
"Each day, we can see Israeli military vehicles and soldiers at a relatively close distance, yet we have no way of knowing whether we are in what is considered a 'safe zone' or 'an active danger zone'," he said.
"We are constantly exposed to danger, especially since we are forced to remain here because this is where our home once stood."
Since the ceasefire came into effect, the IDF has reported a number of instances of people crossing the Yellow Line. On all occasions the IDF said it fired upon those involved.
BBC Verify has obtained and geolocated footage showing the aftermath of one incident on 17 October, which the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said killed 11 civilians - including women and children all reportedly from the same family. The agency said the Palestinians' vehicle was targeted by Israel after crossing the Yellow Line east of Gaza City in the Zeitoun neighbourhood.
The footage showed rescue workers inspecting the burnt out remnants of a vehicle and covering a nearby badly-mangled body of a child with a white sheet. BBC Verify geolocated the video to a spot around 125m over the Yellow Line marked on maps by the IDF.
The IDF said warning shots were fired towards a "suspicious vehicle" that had crossed the line. The statement added when the vehicle failed to stop troops opened fire "to remove the threat".
Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
Meanwhile, the legal status of the boundary has also been questioned.
"Israel's obligations under the law of armed conflict do not cease even for those breaching the Yellow Line," said Dr Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne, professor of Public International Law at the University of Bristol.
"It can only target enemy fighters or those directly participating in hostilities, and in so doing it must not cause excessive civilian harm."
In a statement, an Israeli military spokesperson said: "IDF troops under the Southern Command continue to operate to remove any threat to the troops and to defend the civilians of the State of Israel."
They added that that the concrete blocks are "being placed every 200 metres".
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others as hostages.
At least 68,280 have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Additional reporting by Erwan Rivault, Lamees Altalebi and Maha El Gaml
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