How Deutsche Bank Let Crooked Clients Run Rampant

When the $10 billion mirror trading scandal was exposed, little emerged about who its victims were or how much Deutsche’s executives knew. The FinCEN Files investigation shows how deep the rot went.

When Robert Meltzer, who runs gyms for children in Los Angeles, found that more than $60,000 in payroll taxes - half a year’s worth - had gone missing in 2013, it was too late.

When something similar happened to Stanford Media Group, a company that sold CDs and DVDs online, Mark Gilula said he was forced to lay off employees. He said the stress contributed to his heart attack.

And when Maureen Sullivan, an architect, went looking for answers about the $111,000 that evaporated from her accounts, she said her inquiries with the police “basically went into a black hole.”

What none of these small business owners could have known was that their losses were linked to one of the most infamous international banking scandals on record.

The bookkeeper who handled their payroll allegedly embezzled their money and injected it into a notorious scheme used by crime bosses, terrorist financiers, and drug cartels. The participants laundered $10 billion of illicit money into nice clean cash.

It all happened with the help of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest financial institution and one of the biggest lenders to Donald Trump. But when the enormous scandal broke, Deutsche blamed it on a few middle-level staffers in its Moscow office, paid a fine, and got back to business.

The FinCEN Files investigation reveals that Deutsche managers, including top executives, had direct knowledge for years of serious failings that left the bank vulnerable to money launderers. Documents show two warnings sent to committees that included Paul Achleitner, Deutsche’s chair, and one sent to the bank's supervisory board.

Deutsche’s problems were so striking they prompted Bank of America to file a confidential alert known as a suspicious activity report, or SAR, to the US government. Bank of America employees had visited Deutsche’s London office to discuss worries about Russian money laundering. They were stonewalled when a Deutsche manager interrupted their meeting and asked them to leave the building. Bank of America found the situation troubling enough that it raised the matter with Achleitner, according to its filing.

Another top Deutsche executive, Christian Sewing, ran the audit division when one of its teams gave the Moscow office a clean bill of health, despite evidence that it could not even produce a list of its clients, let alone verify that they were who they said they were. Sewing is now Deutsche’s CEO.

In all, more than 100 internal alerts were raised on the companies at the heart of the Russian mirror trade scandal between 2012 and 2015.

During these years, some of the world’s worst criminals used the network to move dark money around the globe, with the help of shell companies and corrupt financiers. Business owners like Meltzer, Gilula, and Sullivan were left to pick up the pieces. The wide range of criminal activity linked to the mirror trades has never before been revealed.

The FinCEN Files investigation includes thousands of closely held US Treasury documents — among them, suspicious activity reports — that BuzzFeed News shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 100 newsrooms around the world. This investigation is also based on confidential bank documents obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, a partner in this project.

By law, banks must file SARs to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, when they spot activity that bears the hallmarks of money laundering or other financial misconduct. SARs by themselves are not evidence of a crime, but they can support investigations and intelligence gathering.

In recent years, Deutsche’s share price has plummeted under the weight of scandal after scandal. In the last decade, the bank has paid fines for everything from evading sanctions against Iran and Myanmar to rigging foreign exchange markets to doing business with Jeffrey Epstein. And it has come under scrutiny for lending Trump hundreds of millions of dollars despite his history of defaulting on loans.

The bank, responding to questions raised by this investigation, said it has acknowledged “past weaknesses” and “learnt from our mistakes,” while investing hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster its defenses against financial crimes. “We are a different bank now,” a Deutsche spokesperson said in a written response.

The spokesperson said Sewing was not personally involved in the review of the Moscow office and disputed aspects of Bank of America’s written account to the government, including the assertion that Achleitner met with an executive from that bank.

The $10 billion mirror trading scheme remains one of Deutsche’s darkest stains. While it had many tentacles, at its heart was a group of money launderers who controlled a network of anonymous companies around the world.

They would buy shares in Russia and sell the stock to one of the European shell companies they owned. As the network pinged money across the globe, it turned the rubles into dollars and other currencies. The system had one other great advantage: It allowed criminals to move their ill-gotten gains undetected.

To make it all happen, the perpetrators needed a Western bank to work with them. They found one in Deutsche. It wasn’t the only bank that was involved, but prosecutors said traders in its Moscow office were motivated by “greed and corruption” and that one supervisor had apparently been bribed to facilitate the trades.

The companies that moved the money were some of Deutsche Russia’s most active clients, at times generating bigger commissions for the bank than any of its other customers in Russia.

In one confidential letter from March 2016, never before revealed, the UK’s financial regulator privately scolded Deutsche’s willingness to take on “very profitable clients, regardless of financial crime risks.” It cautioned that “leadership on financial crime had been lacking for a considerable period of time.”

But when the agency spoke about the matter publicly, it exonerated senior managers, saying they “were not aware of the suspicious trading” and the failings at the bank had been committed “negligently, rather than deliberately or recklessly.” The regulator initially considered a fine of £1.7 billion for the scandal, but decided that would be “disproportionately high” and reduced it to £163 million.

The state of New York imposed a higher fine of $425 million but took the occasion to praise the bank’s leaders for dealing with the issue in a “serious manner and timely fashion.”

Among the recipients of cash from the mirror trades, the FinCEN Files investigation has found, was a company the US government says is part of the Russian mafia. Its owner has been identified as a liaison for Vladislav “Blonde” Leontyev, described by US authorities as a Russian mobster and a high-level narcotics trafficker. In response to BuzzFeed News, Leontyev denied any involvement in the mirror trades or other criminal activity.

Between March 2013 and April 2014, nearly $50 million in illicit funds also went to a company that is part of the Khanani money laundering organization, whose clients include Hezbollah associates, the Taliban, and Mexican drug cartels, according to the US government. (The group’s head, Altaf Khanani, was sentenced in 2017 to 68 months in prison after he laundered more than $1 million during an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration sting.)

A sporting goods supplier in Brooklyn, where the manager was found guilty of laundering money for cyberscammers, also received cash from the mirror trades. So did a New Jersey telecoms operation that did business with shell companies linked to organized crime, the Syrian weapons program, and a notorious oligarch, SARs show.

Money from a looted Russian bank where Vladimir Putin’s cousin sat on the board was also filtered into the network, records show.

All those funds were funneled into the money laundering operation along with cash from LA Payroll, the tax consulting firm whose owner allegedly defrauded 141 small businesses across Southern California. The victims included churches and not-for-profit organizations. The man behind the fraud fled the US and the money has never been recovered.

The saga of the mirror trades is not yet over for Deutsche. In its most recent annual report, Deutsche said that the Department of Justice continues to investigate, and that the bank had set aside money in case of future fines.

It started with a client called Financial Bridge, a small Russian firm that used Deutsche to buy and sell shares for its clients.

Financial Bridge was at the center of the mirror trading network, which by 2011 was already funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to a front for the Brothers’ Circle — a group of organized criminals that the US government sanctioned for drug smuggling, human trafficking, and violence in Russia and around the world.

That same year, Russian authorities suspended Financial Bridge’s trading license on suspicion of money laundering. That should have triggered a review inside Deutsche, an outside consultant later determined. But when the ban was lifted, Deutsche’s Moscow office went right back to handling Financial Bridge’s transactions.

Then, in November 2012, an even brighter red flag arose. One of the company’s owners, a Ukrainian financier named Alexander Perepilichnyy, dropped dead during a jog outside his home on the outskirts of London. Two weeks after he died, it was revealed that Perepilichnyy was linked to a multimillion-dollar tax fraud and had fled Russia, blowing the whistle on the scam.

A few weeks later, the documents obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung show, Deutsche’s anti–money laundering software flagged Financial Bridge for its “high-risk transactions.”

But the alert went to an office in India where staff had “very limited” training, confidential regulatory documents show. Financial Bridge’s explanation for its transactions - that they were for “investment activities” - was deemed adequate.

By 2013, Deutsche’s own internal reviews were beginning to identify crucial weaknesses in the bank’s procedures for combating financial crime.

To guard against financial crimes, banks have policies to “know your customer,” which means researching clients before taking them on. But an internal review focusing on know-your-customer protocols in the Moscow office found that bankers there failed to properly vet clients, even neglecting to determine if they were known criminals. The Moscow bankers could not even produce a list of who their clients were.

A separate, simultaneous review found that the Moscow office’s anti–money laundering department was severely short-staffed and failing to properly monitor transactions.

The findings of both of those reviews were shared with the Deutsche executive team. At one presentation, executives identified the situation as an “immediate priority.”

Achleitner was then chair of the supervisory board for Deutsche and sat on board committees. Documents show that these bodies were informed of anti–money laundering problems at the bank on at least three occasions in 2013 and 2014.

Those updates for board members included descriptions of how the bank was struggling with its obligation to research clients and that it was facing technology and staffing issues for its compliance teams.

By 2014, Christian Sewing, a Deutsche lifer who had started as a 19-year-old apprentice in the small German city of Bielefeld, was working his way up the corporate ladder and was chief of Deutsche’s audit division, the bank’s internal watchdog.

That summer, a team from his division turned its attention to Moscow; by fall the investigation had concluded. Despite all their colleagues’ documented concerns, the auditors gave Deutsche’s Moscow office a “green” rating, records reviewed by BuzzFeed News show.

The office received a “satisfactory” rating for “Control Environment” and for “Management Awareness.” As for the office’s anti–money laundering and know-your-customer procedures - which the team was specifically instructed to evaluate - the auditors wrote nothing at all, the records show.

Records show that Deutsche later examined the quality of the 2014 audit and determined it was inadequate.

Deutsche declined requests to interview Sewing, but a Deutsche spokesperson said that he “had no direct or indirect involvement in the 2014 audit.”

The spokesperson added: “That was consistent with the well-established protocols at the time concerning which audits were escalated to the Global Head of Audit.” Deutsche also said Sewing helped to uncover the mirror trades later.

By the start of 2016, the volume of Russian money flowing into the US financial system was raising alarms at Bank of America. A team of experts from the bank flew to Deutsche’s London office seeking answers.

A suspicious activity report would later provide a blow-by-blow account.

In a Jan. 11 meeting with Deutsche, the Bank of America team began to gain some insights as the head of Deutsche’s business intelligence team “revealed significant challenges” that “his staff had to navigate to perform enhanced due diligence on clients,” the SAR says.

But the meeting was interrupted when one of Deutsche’s managing directors arrived. He told the Bank of America investigators they were not authorized to talk to anyone in London and asked them to leave.

The SAR says that the matter was escalated within Bank of America, with one of its senior managers “scheduled to meet with Paul Achleitner” in a few days. The SAR adds, “Achleitner indicated the matter would be addressed” with the bank’s CEO at the time, John Cryan.

On Jan. 29, a Deutsche executive overseeing compliance gave Bank of America officials assurances that their questions would be answered.

On Feb. 11, Bank of America filed its SAR on Deutsche. It wrote to the government that it did not yet have “sufficient information to assess the adequacy of the Deutsche Bank’s current control environment.”

Bank of America declined to comment for this story. Asked about the SAR, Deutsche Bank responded that “our review of the situation indicates that the events did not take place as implied.”

It added: “It would not have been the place of Paul Achleitner to get involved managing the interactions with Bank of America, nor do we have any record of him doing so.”

The bank declined to make Achleitner available for an interview.

Weeks later, the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK financial regulator that had been conducting a confidential review of Deutsche, sent a set of disturbing findings to the bank.

The letter warned that “leadership on financial crime had been lacking for a considerable period of time” at the bank and that managers had put the pursuit of profit above its responsibilities to fight money laundering.

It said it found evidence of “financial crime risk being overridden by commercial drivers and in some cases a willingness to take on very profitable clients, regardless of financial crime risks.”

The regulator said there was a “significant risk” that money laundering at the bank was “going unreported or undetected.”

To those within the bank, it wasn’t news.

In October 2015, Deutsche had hired consultants from the accounting giant Deloitte to figure out what had gone wrong. Deloitte interviewed staffers, combed through emails, and examined trading data.

The bank laid the blame on Tim Wiswell, an American who ran the Deutsche Moscow trading desk. But according to a copy of the Deloitte report obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung, there were systemic failings at the bank.

Going into detail on the Moscow audit, the report described how the team had given the office a positive rating even though auditors hadn’t properly tested the office’s money laundering prevention system. The report concluded that audits conducted by the division had “severe shortcomings” from 2012 onward.

Sewing, while not named in the report, was head of audit at the bank from June 2013 to December 2014. He then joined the bank’s management board, where his responsibilities included the audit division for another six months.

The report also did not name Achleitner specifically. But it described instances when concerns about broken anti–money laundering systems were flagged to board committees on which he sat. The problem of understaffing was raised repeatedly, and Deloitte concluded that the bank’s compliance teams had been “undermined by limited allocated resources.”

Deloitte also found that the bank’s transaction monitoring software had issued 108 alerts about the mirror trading companies between 2011 and 2015. Nonetheless, during that time Deutsche kept the transactions moving.

By the time regulators caught up with Deutsche, Wiswell was gone. He had decamped to Bali, where he now lives with his family, and did not respond to requests for an interview. He was pictured last year at the gala dinner of the Florence Biennale art festival, with a beaming smile on his face and a glass of champagne in his hand.

Homeland Security documents indicate that Tovmas Grigoryan, the Los Angeles bookkeeper who allegedly absconded with money from clients’ small businesses, fled the country, likely for Russia.

Following its investigation into Deutsche and the mirror trades, the New York State Department of Financial Services determined that “greed and corruption motivated” some of the bank’s Moscow employees. In a consent order that resulted in a fine for the bank, the department said there was evidence of around $3.8 million of alleged bribes going to one of the Moscow bankers and a close relative.

State and federal law enforcement authorities have never charged anyone at Deutsche in relation to the mirror trades.

Inside Deutsche, the bank sacked three people who had worked on the Moscow office audits. Deutsche said that “most senior managers referenced in the internal investigative reports are not at Deutsche Bank anymore.”

“Consequences have been taken where and as appropriate, including on the management board level,’’ the bank’s spokesperson said.

The spokesperson defended the actions of the supervisory board, saying it “diligently exercised its oversight responsibility.”

Achleitner remains in power at Deutsche. In 2018, his board forced out CEO John Cryan after a short three-year reign, citing sagging profits.

On a Sunday evening that April, Achleitner presented Deutsche’s board with his choice for a new CEO to bring the bank the stability it so desperately needed: Christian Sewing. The board approved.

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Severe Heatwave Drives Dangerous Ground-Level Ozone Pollution Across Two Thirds of European Union

Record-breaking June temperatures catalyzed chemical reactions that exposed nearly three hundred million people to toxic smog levels, intensifying public health strains.

An unprecedented early-summer heatwave across Western Europe has triggered extensive ground-level ozone pollution, exposing approximately two thirds of the European Union population to toxic atmospheric conditions.

Ground-level ozone, a primary component of industrial smog, forms when high temperatures and intense sunlight accelerate chemical reactions between nitrogen oxides from vehicular traffic and human-driven methane emissions.

What is confirmed by regional atmospheric modeling and census data is that nearly three hundred million individuals, including an estimated one hundred million highly vulnerable children and elderly citizens, breathed air exceeding the European Union recommended maximum daily threshold of one hundred and twenty micrograms per cubic meter between June twenty-first and June twenty-eighth.

The scale of the pollution represents an immediate public health crisis, as ground-level ozone causes severe respiratory inflammation, damages lung tissue, and triggers acute asthma attacks.

The European Environment Agency previously attributed over sixty-three thousand annual deaths and billions of euros in agricultural crop damage to this specific pollutant.

During the late June climate anomaly, which the Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed as the hottest June on record for Western Europe, more than seventy-two million people were subjected to extreme ozone concentrations exceeding one hundred and fifty micrograms per cubic meter, with peak levels reaching two hundred and thirty-three point seven micrograms in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Controlling this invisible atmospheric threat remains a complex regulatory challenge because ground-level ozone relies heavily on volatile organic compounds like methane, which accounts for one third of its formation.

While the European Union has successfully curbed urban nitrogen dioxide emissions over recent decades, the trading bloc currently lacks legally binding targets to reduce methane emissions stemming from its agricultural sector.

Environmental researchers note that the compounding pressure of high humidity, extreme temperatures, and elevated ozone creates a severe cumulative strain on human cardiovascular systems.

To mitigate immediate physiological risk during these escalating heat events, public health officials are advising citizens to restrict outdoor activities and avoid physical exercise during peak daylight hours as a critical safety measure.

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Bangkok Prepares to Host InfoComm Asia Twenty Twenty-Six Technology Exhibition

Thailand's Aviation Recovery Gains Momentum With Expanding International Routes

Nestlé Expands Local Agricultural Sourcing Through Smart Factory Investment

Fulltech Fiber Glass Invests in Specialty Materials Production for Electronics Industry

Thailand Strengthens Oversight of Data Center Energy Requirements

Regional Semiconductor Investment Continues to Strengthen Thailand's Manufacturing Base

Thai AirAsia and Tourism Authority Expand Community Tourism Initiative in Songkhla

Bangkok Launches Pilot Program for Card Payments on Tuk-Tuks

Lomrak Green Energy Expands Wind Power Capacity With New Lopburi Projects

South Korea's Doosan Electro-Materials Expands Printed Circuit Board Materials Production in Thailand

Taiwan Union Technology Expands Thailand Production for Artificial Intelligence Server Components

Japan's Datasection to Build High-Performance Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure in Bangkok

Thai Airways Wins Approval for Fleet Expansion to Support International Growth

Asian Development Bank Lowers Developing Asia Growth Forecast on Energy Market Uncertainty

Nestlé Invests Six Hundred Eighty-Eight Million Dollars in Smart Manufacturing Hub in Thailand

Thailand and Malaysia Open New Border Link to Strengthen Trade and Regional Connectivity

Thailand Approves Nearly Two Billion Dollars in High-Tech Investment Across Artificial Intelligence, Electronics and Clean Energy

Flight Instructor Jumped to His Death — Student Landed the Plane: "You Know What You Need to Do"

An experienced flight instructor in Argentina died after jumping from a training aircraft during a lesson, leaving his twenty-two-year-old student to land the plane alone. Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the incident.

Authorities in Argentina are reporting an extraordinarily rare and tragic incident in which a flight instructor jumped to his death during a training flight, leaving his stunned student to land the aircraft by herself.

According to reports from the South American country, Leandro Bertazzo, forty-two, jumped from a Cessna C-150 light aircraft on July 4 after taking off with his twenty-two-year-old student, whose identity has not been released, from an airport near the city of Córdoba.

The student told investigators that, moments before jumping, Bertazzo said to her, "You know what you need to do.

Keep going." He then removed his headset, unfastened his seat belt, opened the aircraft door, and leapt from the plane.

His body was found about twenty minutes later in the area where the student had informed authorities he had likely fallen.

Eduardo Álvarez, director of the flight school in Córdoba where Bertazzo had worked as an instructor for the past four years, said the student was deeply shaken but remained composed throughout the emergency.

"She was extremely distressed, but with complete professionalism she flew the aircraft back to the airport and executed a perfect landing," Álvarez said.

"She maintained an exceptionally high level of professionalism."

According to the reports, Bertazzo was an experienced pilot who had previously worked as a flight instructor in Chile.

Earlier on the day of his death, he had also conducted another training flight with a different student.

Álvarez described him as a highly professional instructor who "was always smiling" and was well liked by his students.

"He was a wonderful person with a big smile," he said.

However, he added that Bertazzo had been struggling with mental health issues and had received counseling at a psychiatric hospital during the week before his death.

According to Álvarez, Bertazzo's father said his son had been going through "a difficult period." Reports also stated that he had no children and had been living with his parents in Córdoba.

Álvarez emphasized that neither he nor anyone at the flight school had noticed any warning signs that might have prevented the tragedy.

"He made this tragic decision while aboard an aircraft with another person beside him," he said.

"It's impossible to comprehend or make sense of it, but the human mind is an extraordinarily complex thing."

He also noted that opening the door of an aircraft in flight is extremely difficult, comparing it to trying to open the door of a car traveling at two hundred kilometers per hour.

According to the reports, the authorities' investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident is ongoing.

If someone in your surroundings is experiencing a crisis and may be at risk of suicide, do not hesitate to speak with them, encourage them to seek professional help, and emphasize the importance of doing so.

Try to help them connect with mental health professionals or national support services, including ERAN's hotline at 1201 or via WhatsApp at 052-8451201, or through the SAHAR website or www.headspace.org.il.

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The Physical and Electronic Barriers Disrupting Domestic Wireless Networks

An analysis of electromagnetic attenuation, appliance interference, and structural limitations affecting modern home router efficiency.

The systemic architectural framework of unlicensed radio frequency allocation and the immutable physics of electromagnetic wave propagation dictate the performance limits of modern wireless local area networks, or Wi-Fi. Operating primarily within the globally saturated two-point-four gigahertz spectrum, standard domestic internet routing systems must perpetually navigate structural, electronic, and environmental impediments that weaken or alter signal integrity.

While newer protocols like Wi-Fi Six-E and Wi-Fi Seven introduce less congested five and six gigahertz bands to bypass legacy interference, the fundamental mechanics of wave attenuation, absorption, and reflection continue to present persistent challenges for consumer-grade connectivity.

Electromagnetic interference from everyday consumer electronics represents one of the most pervasive systemic disruptions within the two-point-four gigahertz frequency.

This specific slice of spectrum is legally designated for unlicensed public utility, meaning household routers directly compete with appliances that rely on identical wavelengths.

Microwave ovens are a primary culprit; despite internal metal shielding designed to confine radiation, minor degradation of door seals or structural aging frequently allows radiation leakage during operation.

What is confirmed is that this leakage introduces intense localized electromagnetic noise, overwhelming the router's transmissions and severely degrading data throughput.

Similar co-channel degradation regularly emanates from poorly shielded fluorescent light ballasts, vehicle ignition architectures, and legacy short-range wireless devices like older baby monitors or cordless telephony systems.

Beyond active electronic interference, physical structures and domestic materials induce severe signal attenuation through an effect known as shadowing.

Radio waves interact with physical matter based on atomic density and molecular composition.

Liquid volumes, such as large household aquariums, act as highly effective electromagnetic absorbers due to the dielectric properties of water molecules, which polarize and sap the kinetic energy of passing radio signals.

Similarly, structural engineering components such as reinforced concrete, brickwork, and wire-mesh stucco lath present dense physical boundaries that resist wave penetration.

A clear consequence of routing wireless signals through these dense matrices is the immediate creation of dead zones, where the amplitude of the signal falls below the threshold required for multi-link connectivity or reliable data packets.

Specular reflection further distorts signal propagation when radio waves encounter flat, highly conductive surfaces.

Because radio signals are a form of non-visible electromagnetic radiation, they mimic light when contacting reflective boundaries.

Large mirrors, which utilize thin metallic backings, do not merely obstruct the signal; they reflect waves away from their intended trajectory, causing multi-path distortion where overlapping signals arrive at receiving devices out of phase.

Large liquid crystal display panels and architectural metallic frames cause identical reflective deflection.

To resolve these spatial limitations without modifying architectural layouts, network deployment increasingly relies on hardware-level adjustments.

Integrating localized range extenders or deploying dynamic mesh network topologies with interconnected nodes effectively bypasses obstructions by routing signals via alternative physical pathways.

Environmental and meteorological extremes present the final systemic barrier to domestic and wide-area wireless infrastructure.

While internal building environments remain somewhat isolated, the macro-networks supplying data to residential routers face direct exposure to seasonal atmospheric disruption.

Severe winter storms can compromise data delivery infrastructure through thermal contraction of physical cabling or the accumulation of frozen precipitation on satellite reception hardware.

Conversely, high-temperature anomalies strain local network infrastructure and accelerate hardware degradation.

As localized grid strain and severe weather events become more frequent, telecommunications providers face growing regulatory and operational pressure to winterize infrastructure and harden regional distributions against environmental volatility.

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France and Morocco Open World Cup Quarter-Finals as Collina Defends Refereeing

France face Morocco in the opening World Cup quarter-final while FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina rejects allegations of bias, and football developments continue across the tournament and beyond.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup enters the quarter-final stage with France meeting Morocco in Boston in a repeat of their 2022 semi-final.

France have impressed throughout the tournament despite a difficult victory over Paraguay, while Morocco arrive after eliminating the Netherlands and defeating Canada, becoming the first African nation to reach consecutive World Cup quarter-finals.

French authorities appealed for calm ahead of the match.

Sports minister Marina Ferrari urged supporters to act responsibly, describing the occasion as a celebration, while interior minister Laurent Nunez warned that misconduct would not be tolerated following the disorder that accompanied Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League final victory.

FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended match officials following criticism from Egypt after Argentina's 3-2 victory in the round of 16. In an interview published by inside.fifa.com, he rejected suggestions that refereeing decisions could be influenced.

"Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport," Collina said.

"Nobody can question the integrity of the Fifa World Cup match officials ...

Nobody can claim that Fifa refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the Fifa president (Gianni Infantino)."

Egypt argued that Mostafa Zico's second-half goal had been wrongly disallowed and believed Mohamed Salah should have received a penalty shortly before Argentina scored the winner.

Collina said VAR correctly identified a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez during the attacking phase before Zico's goal.

"We believe that a foul is a foul," Collina said.

"Regardless of whether the foul appears 'obvious', if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene."

He also defended the decision not to award Egypt a penalty, saying officials considered the incident involving Salah and Julian Alvarez to be normal football contact.

Away from the pitch, reports showed the France national team has used Global Crossing Airlines for several domestic World Cup flights.

The airline has also operated more than half of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removal flights during 2024 and 2025.

England continued preparations for their quarter-final against Norway.

Dan Burn said his side must improve on its performance against Mexico to stop Erling Haaland, while Morgan Rogers described Ezri Konsa as "one of the best centre-backs in football." Reece James remained a doubt through injury and Djed Spence was expected to replace the suspended Jarell Quansah.

Elsewhere, Steve Cherundolo was appointed head coach of the United States men's under-23 team through the 2028 Olympics.

Arsenal signed goalkeeper Illan Meslier after the expiry of his Leeds United contract, Newcastle United completed the signing of Sean Steur from Ajax and agreed a £51.5 million deal for Freiburg midfielder Johan Manzambi, while Manchester United acknowledged that plans for a proposed 100,000-capacity stadium could increase the club's debt.

The United States also expressed interest in hosting the 2029 Club World Cup following the commercial and sporting success of staging the 2026 World Cup.

Elsewhere, an inquest into the death of Sheffield United midfielder Maddy Cusack was adjourned again after additional documents were lodged.

Campaigners also warned that increasingly divisive political rhetoric is contributing to rising levels of racism directed at footballers during the tournament.

The day's coverage also featured analysis of Norway's youth development model, previews of France against Morocco and England against Norway, transfer news, fan reaction, tournament statistics and features examining the wider political, cultural and sporting stories surrounding the World Cup.

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Vietnam Hosts Regional Talks on Occupational Safety and Health

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto Meets Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

ASEAN Secretary-General Calls for Stronger Indo-Pacific Cooperation

Thailand's Businesses Step Up Artificial Intelligence Adoption to Support SME Growth

DigiTech ASEAN Thailand and AI Connect 2026 Set for Major Bangkok Expansion

Thailand Calls on Farmers to Prepare for Intensifying Monsoon Conditions

Maritime Security Expected to Dominate ASEAN Agenda in Manila

Philippines Prepares to Host Key ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meetings in Manila

Thailand Warns of Heavy Rain and Flash Flood Risk as Southwest Monsoon Strengthens

Asian Development Bank Cuts Southeast Asia's 2026 Growth Forecast to 4.6 Percent

ASEAN Foreign Ministers to Meet Myanmar Counterpart in Bangkok for Informal Talks

Tech Pulse: The Future of AI and Screen Culture

A radio briefing on the latest developments in artificial intelligence, digital wellbeing, and the tech industry.

Welcome to today’s tech briefing.

We’re starting with a big question about the future of artificial intelligence. Experts are debating whether AI is really as smart as we think, and they’re asking what’s actually next for the field. We’re also seeing a massive surge in robotics; robots are becoming available to rent, which is a fast-moving trend, but there's still a lot of confusion about what these machines can actually do for us.

Our relationship with our screens is under the microscope, too. Some tech leaders are pushing a new vision for a world where we spend way less time looking at our phones. It’s a hot topic: is this the real solution to screen addiction, or is it just a new kind of dystopia? People are even talking about "phone body," which is a term for physical issues like weak hands and blurry vision caused by our addiction to our devices. On top of that, there’s growing alarm about the dangers of sharing photos of our children online, especially with AI abuse risks on the rise.

In the business world, things are a bit of a rollercoaster. Samsung’s profits are up a huge 1,800%, largely thanks to soaring AI chip sales. On the flip side, Microsoft is going through a significant restructure, which means they’re cutting 4,800 jobs, including 1,600 roles at Xbox.

Here are a few other stories making waves today:.

Meta is facing a lot of backlash for letting users create AI images using public Instagram profile photos, with privacy campaigners calling it a "recipe for disaster".

The consumer group Which? found that online marketplaces are still selling unsafe baby products, like pillows and sleeping bags that have already been flagged for safety issues.

If you’re looking at the housing market in San Francisco, prices have hit a record high of $1.7 million, and reports suggest that wealthy AI workers are a major reason why.

Finally, on a more positive note, a UK hospital has become the first to use AI to help spot infections. The staff there say it’s been a big help because it frees up their time so they can focus on actually caring for their patients.

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Global News Briefing: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions and Corporate Shakeups

A comprehensive radio report detailing renewed US-Iran conflict, NATO defense shifts, and major developments in the global tech and financial markets.

We begin with breaking news from the Middle East, where the United States has launched a second day of strikes against Iran. This escalation comes just hours after US President Donald Trump told a NATO summit that the ceasefire with Tehran is officially "over".

The renewed conflict follows recent attacks on oil tankers and has already sent shockwaves through global markets, with oil prices rising sharply after Washington renewed hostilities. Analysts are warning of a dangerous, ongoing cycle of tit-for-tat strikes between the two nations.

Meanwhile, at the NATO summit, President Trump’s surprise shift on foreign policy regarding Ukraine has steadied nervous allies. As part of this defense shift, Trump has granted Ukraine a licence to produce Patriot missiles to aid in their ongoing war. Simultaneously, Ukraine is intensifying its own military operations, stepping up attacks on Russian ships in the Azov Sea.

Turning to the global economy and finance, inflation fears are mounting following Kevin Warsh’s first Federal Reserve meeting. In commodities, an exclusive report reveals that rare earth minerals from Trump-backed US mines are being sold to Asia. In corporate finance, UniCredit has secured a massive 48 percent stake in Commerzbank, while a complex M&A environment is fueling historic paydays for megadeal traders due to a rising "complexity premium".

In political news from Europe, Marine Le Pen has revived her French presidential bid, heavily echoing Donald Trump's political style. Over in the UK, political drama is unfolding as Nigel Farage was ridiculed in parliament while a controversial by-election received the official go-ahead.

Farage will face a highly unusual opponent in the race: the satirical candidate Count Binface, in what critics are calling a "farce" by-election. In technology and corporate news, Meta is pushing boundaries by testing new "super sensing" AI glasses designed to capture every moment. Meanwhile, Apple has committed to buying 30 billion dollars worth of US-made microchips from Broadcom.

However, the rapid expansion of technology is drawing scrutiny; a prominent opinion piece by Pilita Clark takes aim at "The Great AI Data Centre Cover-Up". In aerospace, Alphaville LLC has officially initiated coverage of Elon Musk’s SpaceX with a definitive "Buy" recommendation. Looking at global developments, an outspoken Chinese economist who famously doubted Beijing’s official GDP data has died. In South America, Argentinian President Javier Milei has issued a stark warning, declaring that Argentina should completely shut down the state if the national budget runs out. Finally, in banking overhauls, Santander has axed its top China banker and scrapped traditional perks across its Asian operations.

That is your global news update. Thank you for listening.

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Global News Brief: Escalating Conflicts, Public Health Crises, and World Cup Drama

A comprehensive roundup of today's top international headlines, covering breaking news, global sports, tech updates, and human interest stories.

This is your global news update.

We begin with breaking news from the Middle East, where the US has launched more strikes on Iran. Local media are reporting explosions along the south coast. This follows statements from US President Donald Trump, who warned the US would "hit them hard again" after both nations exchanged fire the previous night.

Meanwhile, at the NATO summit, the NATO chief Mark Rutte has downplayed friction, telling reporters that Trump’s recent comments are like a "family argument." Rutte insisted that the alliance is stronger than ever and expressed complete confidence in the US president’s commitment. In a separate development from the summit, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was gifted a gun and ammunition by the Turkish president. On the defense front, President Trump also announced that Ukraine will receive a licence to produce Patriot missiles. While highly effective against Russian ballistic missiles, officials note they come with lengthy production times.

Turning to public health and environmental disasters in Asia, a severe healthcare crisis is unfolding in Bangladesh, where more than 120,000 suspected and confirmed measles cases have been reported. Hospitals are completely overwhelmed in a country that had previously made huge progress against the disease. Tragedies continue in the region as heavy monsoon rains batter Bangladesh's south-eastern coast, causing a devastating landslide that hit a girls' school, killing eight people. In neighboring India, motorists are expressing widespread unhappiness over the government adding biofuels to petrol. Drivers claim the E-20 fuel blend has significantly reduced vehicle fuel efficiency and will lead to higher maintenance costs. In Pakistan, the Airports Authority reports that five crew members remain missing after the wreckage of a private cargo plane was located.

Over in China, extreme weather is causing chaos as a typhoon triggers severe floods and rare tornadoes. Stranded villagers have told reporters they are struggling to get basic food and emergency help. In a major legal development out of China, a high-ranking official has been sentenced to death after being convicted of taking 325 million dollars in bribes.

In the United States, a staggering medical mystery is making headlines. An Arizona toddler who was declared dead from drowning was miraculously found alive inside a hospital morgue. In the US legal system, a 67-year-old former US judge has been spared prison time after being arrested for helping an undocumented migrant evade federal immigration agents by ushering them out of a courtroom side door.

Looking at European news, Russian fuel shortages are beginning to bite, with authorities even in Moscow unable to guarantee supplies. This leaves experts wondering if mounting economic pressure will force President Vladimir Putin to change tack in the Ukraine war or lead to further escalation. In Germany, a doctor has been jailed for the murder of 15 patients and is currently suspected of more. And in the UK, a historic legal milestone has been reached as a conditional pardon has been granted for Ruth Ellis, the last woman executed in the United Kingdom.

Now to the business and technology desk. Meta is facing a massive public outcry after revealing that it is allowing users to generate AI images using public Instagram profile pictures. While the tech giant states users can opt out, privacy campaigners have labeled the move a "recipe for disaster." Meanwhile, artificial intelligence has taken center stage in Australian labor relations, as dock workers call for a 28-hour work week during AI automation talks, stating that port workers are firmly in the crosshairs of automation.

In UK politics, questions are being raised about an upcoming by-election. Following the announcement that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will quit his Clacton constituency to stand in a by-election, serial election candidate Count Binface posted online, "Game on, Nige."

In entertainment, the Emmy nominations are out. Drama series The Pitt is leading the pack, though fan-favorite Stranger Things was completely snubbed in the top categories. Also trending, DJ Greg James spilled details on Taylor Swift's star-studded wedding in New York City, describing multiple cakes and stolen keepsakes.

Finally, we turn to sports and the 2026 World Cup, where fans and players have experienced three weeks of joy and despair at the biggest World Cup in history. Drama is brewing off the pitch as Egypt has alleged bias and favoritism toward Argentina and their star player, Lionel Messi. On the pitch, England is preparing to meet Norway in a highly anticipated quarter-final clash, a fixture reviving memories of historic football rivalries. Co-hosting duties have officially come to an end for a "forgotten" host, Canada, following an eventful journey for their national team. Meanwhile, in Gaza, hundreds of football fans were seen watching the tournament and cheering for neighboring Egypt from atop the rubble of destroyed buildings.

The tournament's closing festivities are also locked in, as Justin Bieber is set to join Madonna, Shakira, and BTS for a Super Bowl-style FIFA World Cup final half-time show, marking the Canadian singer's latest massive performance following his Coachella comeback. Meanwhile, the race for the Golden Boot is shaping up to be one for the ages.

In other sports news, Great Britain's most-decorated Paralympian, Dame Sarah Storey, has announced her retirement from international competition with immediate effect. In tennis, Wimbledon witnessed an extraordinary day on Centre Court as British wildcard Arthur Fery defied the odds to reach the semi-finals. In women's football, London City Lionesses have pulled off one of the biggest signings in WSL history by persuading Alexia Putellas to move from Barcelona to Bromley. However, England batter Tammy Beaumont has announced her retirement, stating she has lost the fire to regain her spot in the new-look side. And in mixed martial arts, former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt has publicly called on the UFC to offer better healthcare and transition support for retired fighters.

That is your latest world news update.

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