Saks Global Misses Debt Payment, Prepares for Bankruptcy Filing
Saks Global Enterprises missed a debt payment exceeding $100 million that was due December 30 and is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company skipped the interest payment owed to bondholders and is now negotiating with creditors […]
Drake, Stake Face Federal Racketeering Lawsuit Over Alleged Gambling Scheme
Rapper Drake, streamer Adin Ross, and online casino Stake face a federal racketeering lawsuit alleging they operated an illegal gambling site while funneling proceeds to artificially inflate Drake’s music streams. Two Virginia residents filed the class-action complaint December 31 in US District Court, accusing the defendants of violating federal RICO statutes through a conspiracy that […]
Russia Demands US Stop Pursuing Bella 1 After Registering Tanker as ‘Marinera’
Russia sent a formal diplomatic request to the US State Department on New Year’s Eve demanding the United States stop pursuing the oil tanker that evaded Coast Guard forces during a 10-day chase in the Atlantic. The vessel, previously known as Bella 1, now appears in Russia’s official ship registry under the new name Marinera, […]
Iran Opens Crypto Payment Option For Selling Advanced Weapons
Iran’s Ministry of Defence Export Center, known as Mindex, is offering foreign governments the option to pay for advanced weapons systems using cryptocurrency, alongside barter arrangements and Iranian rials, in a bid to bypass western financial controls. Introduced over the past year, the offer is notable because it is one of the first publicly known […]
Historic Food Bank Battles Holiday Shortfall As Canada Faces Hunger Crisis
The institution that pioneered food banking in Canada now finds itself struggling to sustain operations during its most critical fundraising period. Edmonton’s Food Bank has collected just over three-fifths of the food donations and roughly five-sixths of the cash contributions it needs for its annual Festive Campaign. The organization, which opened in 1981 during an […]
Iran Protests Enter Fifth Day as Economic Crisis Sparks Deadly Clashes
Protests driven by economic hardship entered a fifth consecutive day across Iran on Thursday, with authorities and rights groups reporting multiple deaths as demonstrations spread from the capital to provincial cities. At least three people died in clashes in Azna, a city in Lorestan province southwest of Tehran, Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported. Additional […]
Defense Dept Goes Big On Nuclear At Military Bases
The US Defense Department (referred to as the Department of War) is accelerating advanced nuclear power for resilience, tying a deployment ambition next year to concrete progress in Project Pele with TRISO fuel now delivered to Idaho National Laboratory. The Office of Nuclear Energy said the DOD is teaming with the Energy Department to deploy […]
De-Dollarization? Zambia Starts Accepting Mining Taxes In Yuan
Zambia has started receiving mining royalties and taxes in renminbi from Chinese mine operators, shifting part of a key government revenue stream from a dollar-only constraint into a dual-currency channel tied to copper exports to China. Payments using yuan began in October, the Bank of Zambia said, claiming it is the first African authority to […]
Silver Buyers Offer $10 Over Spot Straight To Miners Off Market
China-linked demand for physical silver is surfacing as direct, above-market bids to a miner, with $8 to $10 premiums that bypass screen pricing and intermediaries. Those premiums align with a reported approach to Kuya Silver (CSE: KUYA), where CEO David Stein confirmed two Chinese companies contacted the Canada-based miner on Friday with an offer to […]
Trump, Iran Officials Trade Threats as Tehran Protests Enter Day 6
President Donald Trump and senior Iranian officials reportedly traded direct threats as economic protests broadened inside Iran, sharpening US–Iran tensions months after Washington launched strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June. Trump posted on Truth Social that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the US “will come to their rescue,” adding, “We are locked and […]