Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with his cabinet on Thursday as the families of the hostages warn that moving into new areas could endanger the captives.

© Gil Cohen-Magen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A video showing the man casually walking across the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe set off outrage in France.

© Ludovic Marin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Nigeria's customs agency says wildlife trafficking is "frequent" in the country.

Ce projet pharaonique, d'un coût de 13,5 milliards d'euros, est vivement critiqué pour ses conséquences sur l'environnement.

Nigeria's customs agency says wildlife trafficking is "frequent" in the country.

There are now several books about the 2007-8 financial crisis, the best of which, in my opinion, is Adam Tooze’s ‘Crashed’. But the one that everyone remembers is Michael Lewis’s ‘The Big Short’, later made into a movie starring Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Brad Pitt. Its narrative of misfits spotting the mistake everyone else was making is pleasing and elegant, so it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. 

Sadly, however, it’s completely wrong: bankers didn’t sell insanely risky financial instruments because they misunderstood them, but because the trade was profitable, and they didn’t care if they might blow up the world. 

And this brings me to some recent headlines in the FT – “Companies load up on niche crypto tokens to boost share prices” and “Crypto lenders dial up risk with ‘microfinance on steroids’” – which have very strong pre-2007 energy. Anyone with a brain knows this will end up in disaster, but folks with money want to keep dancing while the music plays, particularly as the United States has cranked up the volume.

“When President Trump took office in January, he promised to make America the ‘crypto capital of the world’. Today, the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets is releasing a report that provides a roadmap to make that promise a reality,” pledged the White House last week in a new strategy document

Perhaps the idiocy of this strategy can be best understood by pointing out its reference to “Operation Choke Point 2.0”, a confected scandal named after another confected scandal. The reason banks denied services to crypto companies is because cryptocurrencies are frequently used to enable, commit and spread financial crime, so it was an entirely sensible decision. And yet here’s the White House repeating the branding dreamt up by lobbyists to claim it was some kind of campaign against free speech. Crypto, of course, being the answer to the alleged erosion of freedoms.

The crypto boom may in fact be worse than the mortgage-backed feeding frenzy that preceded 2007-8, because the technology is not just setting us up for a new crash but freeing civilisation’s enemies from the few checks upon them. 

BOOSTING FRAUD WITH BLOCKCHAIN

Back in May, FinCEN designated Cambodia’s Huione group as being of “Primary Money Laundering Concern”, to reflect its role as the epicentre of fraud in Southeast Asia. Once upon a time, a designation like that was enough to kill a dirty bank (such as Latvia’s ABLV). But for a marketplace that lives on Telegram and trades on the blockchain, it appears to make little or no difference. “Transaction data shows no meaningful decline. In fact, our data shows continued or even increased activity,” concluded Chainalysis about Huione’s fortunes.

Meanwhile, the rouble-denominated stablecoin A7A5 is transferring more than a billion dollars’ worth of value a day, in what is becoming a magnificently successful sanctions evasion scheme that dodges any possible controls. And that’s before we come onto the “coin swap services” that allow criminals to move value around without encountering any responsible nodes in the crypto system at all.

“A sizable proportion of the $3.6 billion in illicit and high-risk funds flowing through coin swap services originates from darknet markets, ransomware, credit card fraud, hacks, Russian military fundraisers operating in Ukraine, and online gambling. A significant proportion also relates to sanctioned activity, including North Korean money laundering,” notes Elliptic.

When I was in Washington DC a few months ago I had several troubling conversations with crypto people, who were distinguished above all by their complete refusal to accept the existence of any downsides to the spread of blockchain technology, or any benefits to the traditional financial architecture based around banks it would replace. I am, as anyone who has read my books will know, no fan of banks but governments are really going to miss the ability to monitor, control and block the movement of money when it’s gone.

SANCTIONS OVERREACH

Of course, the uneasy secret underlying most anti-money laundering policy is the amount of discretion it gives governments to poke around in our private lives, and how little right we have to appeal against it (this is what the original Operation Choke Point,, and the frustration around it, was about). We are therefore rather dependent on politicians not abusing these powers for their own ends. Which is unfortunate in the circumstances.

“Alexandre de Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against U.S. and Brazilian citizens and companies,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, in a statement announcing sanctions against the Brazilian judge who’s investigating former President Jair Bolsonaro on charges of attempting a coup.

There is a grotesque irony in the fact that these misguided sanctions are being enacted using the Sergei Magnitsky Act, which is intended to punish corruption and human rights abuses. Perhaps the lesson we need to learn is that there needs to be better oversight of all the powers we give to our governments. 

Considering the decades-long disastrous consequences caused by well-intentioned but badly-designed anti-money-laundering policies – not least the wholesale exclusion of Muslim charities from the banking system – this could end up being a good thing. Just looking for a silver lining here.

A DYSTOPIC DREAM DIES?

I was listening to ‘In the Studio’, the excellent BBC podcast, when what should pop up but an episode on Neom, the ridiculous linear city concept apparently inspired by the 1997 Bruce Willis movie ‘The Fifth Element’, though without the punkish charm. In case you haven’t heard of Neom, it’s “an experiment in urban living”, which will extend two parallel lines of mirrored skyscrapers across 100 miles of Saudi desert, an idea so hellish that even JG Ballard would surely reject it out of hand.

Anyway, it appears the government in Riyadh has realised that spending a trillion dollars or more on some architectural fever dream might be a bad idea. “They’re finally starting to make financially sound decisions,” a consultant told CNBC.

I have been slightly obsessed with Neom for a while, and my (least) favourite bit is always when the architects wax lyrical about Mohamed bin Salman – the delicacy of his vision, the profundity of his understanding – and then clam up as soon as someone asks whether it’s right for his government to sentence people to death for resisting eviction from their ancestral homes so this horrific new city can be built. 

A version of this story was published in this week’s Oligarchy newsletter. Sign up here.

The post A Crypto-fueled Crash, How Blockchain Blunts Sanctions & MBS’ Folly appeared first on Coda Story.

A new lawsuit brought by a First Amendment watchdog group argues that the use of a rarely invoked immigration law to target pro-Palestinian demonstrators is unconstitutional.

© Jim Wilson/The New York Times

A conservative Trump ally in the Senate, Ms. Blackburn will now try to become the first woman to serve as governor.

© Eric Lee for The New York Times

Award-winning climate journalist Alec Luhn didn’t return as planned from a four-day solo hike in a Norwegian national park known for its glaciers, prompting a search.

Rescue workers found Mr. Luhn, a journalist who had not been heard from for days after setting off alone in a Norwegian national park.

Shatta Wale criticises the authorities the seizure of his car and says he is unaware of its link to crime.

Elu pour un mandat de cinq ans, le chef de l'Etat exerce en Pologne principalement une influence sur la politique étrangère et de défense. Il dispose aussi du droit à des initiatives législatives et au véto sur les textes adoptés au Parlement

Shatta Wale criticises the authorities the seizure of his car and says he is unaware of its link to crime.

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose sanctions on Russia and its trading partners if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire deal in Ukraine before Friday.

A federal judge in Massachusetts said the Trump administration’s move to redirect $4 billion left states exposed to damage from natural disasters.

© Houston Cofield for The New York Times

© Valerie Plesch for The New York Times

The wildfire is the largest in France this year and has burned some 12,000 hectares of land, an area larger than Paris.

Bad weather in Folgefonna National Park is hampering the search for Luhn, who was last seen on 31 July.

The wildfire is the largest in France this year and has burned some 12,000 hectares of land, an area larger than Paris.

Bad weather in Folgefonna National Park is hampering the search for Luhn, who was last seen on 31 July.

The government says the road and rail link will create jobs and lift the economy of the region, but critics are concerned about the environmental and social impact.

© Yara Nardi/Reuters

Le géant espagnol du prêt-à-porter a assuré avoir suivi les recommandations britanniques et a supprimé les deux clichés incriminés.

President Trump said Vice President JD Vance was “probably favorite at this point” to succeed him as leader of the hard-right political movement.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Four commercial trucks were looted in central Gaza along unsafe roads controlled by Israel, private contractor says.

Despite President Trump's threat of sweeping sanctions, expectations for a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv are muted.

Missile and drone attacks on Ukraine are now at their highest, despite Trump's promise to end the war.

At the ceremony, Japan's PM urged all countries to work towards nuclear disarmament.

En mars dernier, une vidéo fait le buzz aux États-Unis. On y voit Claude Malhuret, sénateur de l'Allier, critiquer Donald Trump de façon cinglante à propos de la guerre en Ukraine, illustrant l'inquiétude des Français qui viennent de perdre l'un de leurs principaux alliés face à la Russie.

Four commercial trucks were looted in central Gaza along unsafe roads controlled by Israel, private contractor says.

Despite President Trump's threat of sweeping sanctions, expectations for a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv are muted.

Missile and drone attacks on Ukraine are now at their highest, despite Trump's promise to end the war.

At the ceremony, Japan's PM urged all countries to work towards nuclear disarmament.

Aalborg Zoo said donated pets would be “gently euthanized” to help replicate the food chain of its animals. It accepts chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs and horses.

Jusqu'à présent, le président américain s'est toujours refusé à soutenir et nommer un successeur dans son mouvement Make America Great Again ("Rendre sa grandeur à l'Amérique').

Cette rencontre a eu lieu deux jours avant la fin de l'ultimatum lancé par Donald Trump pour que la Russie arrête son offensive en Ukraine, dont l'échéance est fixée à vendredi.

Le président américain menace de taxer à 39% les produits helvétiques arrivant aux Etats-Unis. Des droits de douane prohibitifs qui pourraient en plus être majorés sur les produits pharmaceutiques, un secteur primordial pour la Suisse.

L'auteur, compositeur et interprète cubain Raul Paz est l'invité exceptionnel du Monde d'Élodie à l'occasion de la sortie de son album "Guarijo chic". Dans ce troisième épisode, il nous parle du titre "En casa", écrit pour son père.

Karol Nawrocki, a conservative Catholic and historian backed by President Donald Trump, can block the agenda of the centrist, pro-E.U. prime minister, Donald Tusk. 

Bertrand Gallicher, grand reporter spécialiste des questions internationales, est l'invité de franceinfo mercredi 6 août. Il commente la visite en Russie de Steve Witkoff, émissaire de Donald Trump.

"Nous avons examiné les données scientifiques, écouté les experts et nous agissons", a déclaré le ministre de la Santé de Donald Trump, le vaccino-sceptique Robert Kennedy Jr., dans un communiqué.

Le prix des courses est une source majeure de stress pour environ 53% des Américains, selon un sondage paru mardi. Un fait qui exprime bien l'état d'esprit des consommateurs, alors que Donald Trump a annoncé plusieurs augmentations des tarifs douaniers.

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose sanctions on Russia and its trading partners if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire deal in Ukraine before Friday.

The fighting has stopped in the southern city of Sweida, three weeks after a deadly eruption of violence. But the area remains tense as clashes continue beyond the city.

Local health authorities in China have reported more than 8,000 cases of the mosquito-borne illness, which can cause prolonged, debilitating joint pain.

In a remarkable disclosure, the founder of a thriving Iranian tech company has revealed the behind-the-scenes pressure that security forces exerted on his firm.

An effort to have a statue of Marcel Bigeard removed has reignited the debate over how the colonial past should be remembered.

© Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Surgeons have made significant strides in tending to the war’s wounded, particularly through the use of 3-D printing, creating patient-specific implants and surgical guides.

The famously rainy state is facing longer, hotter and drier fire seasons, raising the risk of a mammoth fire that will be nearly impossible to fight. All the state can do is prepare.

© Matt Mills McKnight/Reuters

Since the Sudanese Army drove its paramilitary rival from the capital in March, the two sides are battling for territorial gains in the Kordofan region.

© Associated Press

Volodymyr is a Ukrainian marksman whose face was shattered by a Russian bomb in 2023. After multiple surgeries and titanium implants, he has returned to active duty near the closest point of the front line of the war with Russia. Calling in from there, he describes his recovery to Marc Santora, an international editor for The New York Times.