The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office has opened 51,000 cases of desertion through the first nine months of 2024. The number of soldiers abandoning their posts is likely to double last year’s total.
The Times of London reported data from the Ukrainian government showing that “51,000 criminal cases were initiated for desertion and abandonment of a military unit between January and September of this year.”
Restaurant bankruptcy filings have been ticking higher this year as budget-conscious consumers cut back on eating out, and many eateries struggle with high debt loads in a toxic environment of high interest rates. TGI Fridays is the latest casual dining chain preparing a bankruptcy filing.
People knowledgeable of TGI Friday’s bankruptcy plans told Bloomberg that the US casual dining restaurant chain, with 600 locations in 55 countries, including 233 in the US, will file for bankruptcy protection in the coming weeks.
A Spanish women’s soccer club has sparked outrage after fielding two “bearded guys” who are transitioning from female to male — including one who scored one of the winning goals.
The transgender uproar exploded when the Club Esportiu Europa team fielded the two players — Alex Alcaide Llanos and Nil Alcon Labella — in a Catalan women’s league match against Terrassa over the weekend, Marca reported.
Both players, who took to the pitch with their facial hair clearly visible, are currently banned from playing in the men’s league because they have yet to complete their medical transitions.
A Netherlands court last week ruled that Bill Gates can stand trial in the Netherlands, in a case involving seven people injured by COVID-19 vaccines.
According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, the seven “corona skeptics” sued Gates last year, along with former Dutch prime minister and newly appointed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and “several members” of the Dutch government’s COVID-19 “Outbreak Management Team.”
The ex-CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch was arrested in South Florida on Tuesday morning and faces sex trafficking-related charges brought by federal prosecutors in New York, NBC News reported. This comes one year after former A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was accused of running a giant sex-trafficking ring that exploited young men who wanted to become models for the brand.
NBC said Jeffries’ associates, Matthew Smith of West Palm Beach, Florida, and James Jacobson of Wisconsin, were also charged in connection with the sex trafficking case. This news comes hours before federal prosecutors in Brooklyn plan to hold a press conference to announce the arrests of a “former CEO of a major company” and two others in a “sex trafficking and interstate prostitution case.”