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Authorities in Ukraine have arrested 11 suspects while dismantling a fraudulent call center that defrauded victims across Europe, the EU’s judicial cooperation agency said Monday.

The operation comes as law enforcement agencies worldwide step up efforts to curb such schemes, which are especially widespread in parts of Asia and have been linked to serious human rights abuses.

The call center in Dnipro, Ukraine, was set up to defraud citizens across Europe through a fake cryptocurrency investment scheme. Initial investigations identified victims in Latvia and Lithuania who lost more than 160,000 euros ($188,783), though authorities expect additional victims may exist. 

The perpetrators also asked victims to pay for legal support to recover lost funds and used remote access software to transfer money from the victims’ accounts into the group’s bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.

After at least nine victims came forward, a joint investigation team was formed at Eurojust, enabling authorities from Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine to exchange information and plan a coordinated action day in Ukraine. 

Ten suspects were placed in pretrial detention and one under house arrest. Authorities searched 32 locations, seizing electronic equipment, documents, computers, SIM cards, 400,000 euros ($471,924) in cash, two cryptocurrency wallets and eight luxury vehicles. Investigations continue as seized electronic evidence is analyzed.

The operation echoes concerns highlighted last week by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which focused on widespread human rights abuses in industrial-scale cyber-enabled fraud operations in Southeast Asia. 

Many victims, according to the report, are forced to work in call center-style facilities under strict control, making fraudulent investment or romance calls, often while facing threats, restricted movement, and confiscated documents. OHCHR emphasized the need for a rights-based response, including ensuring victims are not punished for crimes they were compelled to commit.

The case also follows broader reporting on global call center scams. In March 2025, OCCRP published Scam Empire, an investigation revealing how criminal call centers use fake investment schemes to target thousands of victims worldwide, exposing the inner workings of these industrial-scale operations.

Member states were unlikely to reach agreement on the European Union’s proposed 20th sanctions package against Russia at their meeting in Brussels, as Hungary vetoed the measures, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.

Budapest has tied its position to the resumption of Russian oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline route supplying their refineries. 

Shipments have been cut since Jan. 27, when Ukraine said Russian drones hit pipeline equipment in western Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia have blamed Kyiv for the prolonged outage, while Ukraine has pointed to Russia’s attacks.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote on X that Budapest would block the sanctions package and would not allow “decisions important to Kyiv” to move forward until oil transit resumes. 

The same appears to apply to broader Ukraine-related decisions that require unanimity, including a proposed EU loan of about 90 billion euro for Kyiv, Reuters reported. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has condemned Hungary’s stance, describing it as “ultimatums and blackmail.”

The European Commission has proposed a new set of measures that would widen restrictions on Russia’s energy revenues and supply chains. 

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the package would include a full maritime services ban for Russian crude oil, new measures targeting additional “shadow fleet” vessels, and tighter limits on financial services and trade, including adding more Russian regional banks and expanding import bans on certain goods.

Several EU officials and ministers publicly criticized Hungary’s stance as the foreign ministers’ meeting got underway. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul urged Budapest not to “betray its own struggle for freedom” by undermining the EU’s response to Russia. Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski called Hungary’s position “shocking.”

Haitian police killed 16 suspected gang members during an ongoing anti-gang operation this weekend as part of a broader campaign to reclaim gang-controlled areas, including most of the capital and several key routes. Armed groups control as much as 90 percent of Port-au-Prince, according to the United Nations.

The raids took place February 20–21 in the Kenscoff farming community, about 10 kilometers southeast of the capital, Port-au-Prince, according to a police statement.

Clashes began around 4 a.m. with police deploying snipers and two drones. “Sixteen bandits were fatally wounded,” the Haitian National Police said.

Haiti experienced a deadly 2024, with more than 5,600 people killed in gang-related violence. The bloodshed has continued into 2025, with at least 3,100 people murdered in the first half of the year alone.

Gang activity, once mostly confined to the capital’s metropolitan areas, has spread into the countryside. Kenscoff, a formerly safe farming community surrounded by mountains, has become a primary target for the gangs since 2025, forcing thousands of residents to flee.

By December 2025, more than 1.4 million people had been displaced by gang violence, the U.N. estimates. Children accounted for more than 53 percent of those displaced, according to the latest joint report by the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the U.N. Human Rights Office (OHCHR).

While police operations have “slowed the territorial expansion of gangs in the capital,” the U.N. said they have not yet regained areas under gang control or “dismantled their criminal governance.”

Children are particularly vulnerable, often forced to run errands, monitor security forces, collect extortion payments, or participate in violent acts, including property destruction, kidnappings, targeted killings, and sexual violence.

“Children in Haiti are being robbed of their childhoods and their futures. The impact and long-term consequences of child trafficking are devastating for the victims and their families, as well as for the stability of the country,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

Authorities in Georgia have arrested the former mayor of Lentekhi, a small town about 320 kilometers northwest of the capital, Tbilisi, along with two municipal officials accused of issuing a hotel construction permit to a company owned by the ex-mayor’s wife without following required procedures.

The arrest came more than a year after iFact and OCCRP published an investigation into Gia Oniani, whose administration allegedly granted the permit without installing an informational board or complying with safety regulations. Investigators said Oniani was also involved in the company’s decision-making.

Oniani, who served as mayor from 2021 to 2025, now faces abuse-of-office charges that carry a sentence of up to three years in prison.

According to the prosecutors, shortly after taking office Oniani bought a plot of land for the hotel project and commissioned construction plans. Because the site included a cultural heritage monument, it required special legal oversight.

Reporting by OCCRP found that the mayor had originally owned the company that was building the hotel with his sister-in-law but transferred his share to his wife months before taking office. Her sister later transferred her own share as well, making Onniani’s wife the sole owner.

Another detainee, Giorgi Gulbani, was responsible for site safety, according to the 2024 investigation, which found the area was neither fenced off nor marked with an information board. Prosecutors say Gulbani, a close relative of the former mayor, failed to halt construction despite legal violations.

The third suspect, Nugzar Tvildiani, head of the municipal architectural department, is also facing abuse-of-power charges.

The United Kingdom plans to block unlicensed gambling operators from sponsoring sports teams as part of a crackdown on illegal betting, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said on Monday.

Ministers said unlicensed firms — often linked to organized crime — fail to follow consumer-protection rules against fraud, identity theft and financial harm. A public consultation on the proposed ban will launch this spring.

While the Premier League has last year pledged to remove gambling logos from the fronts of jerseys by the 2025-26 season, unlicensed companies can still place branding elsewhere, such as on sleeves. Officials said that unrestricted sponsorship can steer consumers toward sites outside the oversight of the Gambling Commission and a ban would close that loophole.

It is common to talk about a tradeoff between the economy and the environment, the idea being that protecting and cleaning up the environment cost money that could otherwise be spent on consumption or investment. It’s a bit simplistic to make a sharp distinction, since not dealing with the environment imposes very direct economic costs, such as the destruction caused by climate change-linked hurricanes and flooding or medical expenses due to exposure to toxins in the air or water. Nonetheless, there is some logic in saying that addressing environmental problems costs money.

But it is not always the case that a cleaner environment costs money. Natural gas is a much cleaner energy source by almost every measure than coal, and it is also cheaper. When we switch to natural gas, we are saving money, in addition to helping the environment.

This is also the case with solar and wind energy. They now provide cheaper electricity than coal or natural gas. The average cost for solar is now around 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour. For wind it’s around 2.6 cents per kilowatt hour. That compares to 4.2 cents per kilowatt hour for natural gas. 

But these differences actually understate the case for wind and solar energy. While the cost of electricity from natural gas has been flat or trending slightly upward, the cost of clean energy, especially solar, has been plummeting. 

In a decade, the cost of solar electricity is projected to be less than half the cost of electricity from gas. There are, of course, big differences in cost across the country and there are problems with storage, but the cost of batteries is falling even faster than the cost of solar energy. And there is not a problem with having some backup gas capacity.

But the key point here is that in his “drill everywhere” policy and drive to build up liquified natural gas facilities for export, President Donald Trump is locking us into an antiquated technology. Who is going to want to buy Trump’s liquified natural gas when they can get energy from solar for half the price?

There is the point that it takes time to build up capacity, but the necessary time should not be exaggerated. Last year, China added 435 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity. The installed capacity for electricity generation from all sources in the United States is around 1,250 gigawatts, less than three years at China’s construction pace. Since wind and solar operate on average at a lower percentage of capacity than fossil fuel powered plants, it would be necessary to have more capacity, but this is still a target that could in principle be reached in a relatively short period of time.  

The story with Trump’s disdain for wind and solar is the same as the story of his hatred of electric vehicles. Trump insists, contrary to all evidence, that human-caused global warming is not happening. Not only does he refuse to have the government take any steps to slow global warming, he is actively pushing policies to accelerate the process. 

His drive to wreck the environment is going to make us pay more for both our electricity and our cars. Trump policies may hurt the economy and ruin the planet for our children and grandchildren, but at least he can say he owned the libs.

The post Crashing the Economy to Destroy the Planet appeared first on Truthdig.

Soccer matches were cancelled and schools remained closed on Monday after a wave of violence erupted across western Mexico following the killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” the alleged founder of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, in a security operation that officials said was carried out with U.S. intelligence support.

Some speculate that security concerns about this summer’s FIFA World Cup 2026 may have prompted the operation as the city of Guadalajara – believed to be under heavy influence of the cartel – is supposed to host some of the matches. 

Within hours of the raid, suspected cartel members set up roadblocks, torched vehicles and attacked businesses across Jalisco and neighboring states, clashing with security forces and paralyzing transportation. By evening, authorities reported 252 blockades nationwide, most of which were later cleared, though the highest number was concentrated in Jalisco.

Four soccer matches were cancelled as violence and blockades were reported in Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, and surrounding areas. Puerto Vallarta’s airport canceled all international flights and most domestic departures, while carriers including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Air Canada suspended dozens of routes. The British Foreign Office and the U.S. Embassy warned travelers to remain indoors and avoid nonessential movement because of ongoing security incidents.

Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense said troops had attempted to arrest Oseguera in the town of Tapalpa but came under attack and returned fire. Four cartel members were killed at the scene and three others died after being wounded, including Oseguera, according to the statement.

The national newspaper La Jornada reported that 26 people had died in the operation, but the number has not yet been officially confirmed.

Officials said the operation was conducted “within the framework of bilateral coordination and cooperation” with the United States. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Washington had provided intelligence support, calling Oseguera “an infamous drug lord” and a major trafficker of fentanyl into the United States. The U.S. ambassador, Ronald Johnson, praised the joint effort.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm and said federal and state forces were fully coordinated, while the Jalisco governor, Pablo Lemus, described the situation as critical and ordered schools closed statewide.

Oseguera had been indicted multiple times in the United States on drug-trafficking charges and was the subject of a $15 million reward. American officials have described his organization as a leading supplier of fentanyl and other narcotics.

Security analysts said the swift, coordinated retaliation underscored the cartel’s operational reach and warned that his death could trigger a violent succession struggle. Eduardo Guerrero, director of Lantia Intelligence, said it remained unclear whether any potential successor had also been killed. “We have to wait to learn the names of those killed to know if there will be a change in leadership,” he said.

Guerrero added that pressure tied to preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which Mexico will co-host, may have accelerated the timing of the operation. 

“I think something happened in the last few days that somewhat forced the Mexican government … to make this decision,” Guerrero said, suggesting concerns about tournament security could have played a role. 

He added that if criminal groups effectively controlled Guadalajara and surrounding areas, outside officials might have questioned whether matches there should proceed. “It simply wasn’t acceptable to hold matches in a city that was practically taken over by a criminal group, right?” he explained.

Failing to act, he said, would risk signaling weakness in the face of organized crime.