A private tutor who charged money to take dozens of exams for students and submit coursework for them "has been jailed for three years," reports the BBC, "after his scam earned him £300,000." Shahid Adnan completed assignments and online tests for more than 120 students at Liverpool John Moore's University, the Crown Prosecution Service said. The 43-year-old, of Lysander Close, Liverpool, was caught in February 2023 after a student handed in a USB drive containing suspicious coursework to Dr Tom Berry of the university's school of computer science and mathematics. Berry's checks revealed the drive was used by Adnan with documents linked to a company he set up called Study Sharp Ltd. Excel spreadsheets containing details of other students, their study modules, coursework due dates, and their personal login credentials were also found. Further checks confirmed suspicions that Adnan was accessing the university's network to submit fraudulent work and sit examinations on behalf of students... nvestigations led police to believe Adnan may have been doing work for 124 students at universities all over the world. The BBC also interviewed detective sergeant Adam Dagnall from Merseyside Police's cybercrime unit, who said Adnan was living a lavish lifestyle "well beyond" his stated occupations as a private tutor and Amazon delivery driver. His bank accounts held more than £2m ($2,645,100 USD). Read more of this story at Slashdot. View the full article

Authorities say confirmed cases of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo have reached 1,003, including 254 deathsView the full article

The U.S. military on Sunday announced a lethal strike on another vessel in the Caribbean carrying alleged narco-traffickers, killing two people. The U.S. Southern Command said it conducted a "lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations" at the direction of the leader of the Southern Command, Gen. Francis L. Donovan of the Marine Corps. The military claimed, citing intelligence, that the vessel "was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations." ALLEGED NARCO-TERRORISTS KILLED AS US FORCES STRIKE SUSPECTED DRUG-TRAFFICKING VESSEL IN CARIBBEAN There were six male survivors in addition to the two men killed in the strike. "Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors," the military said. This is the latest attack that the Trump administration has said was launched in an attempt to eliminate alleged narco-terrorists, with the death toll in these strikes carried out since September sitting at more than 200. The Pentagon has refused to release the identities of those killed in the strikes since last fall or provide evidence of drugs on board. The administration has been scrutinized in recent months over the strikes by Democrats and even some Republicans, including Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has raised concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people. RAND PAUL SAYS GOP COLLEAGUES 'DON’T GIVE A S‑‑T ABOUT THESE PEOPLE IN THE BOATS': THEY 'SAY THEY’RE PRO-LIFE' "I look at my colleagues who say they’re pro-life, and they value God's inspiration in life, but they don't give a s‑‑- about these people in the boats," Paul said in January. "Are they terrible people in the boats? I don't know. They're probably poor people in Venezuela and Colombia." The senator previously cited Coast Guard statistics that show a significant percentage of boats boarded on suspicion of drug trafficking are innocent. The attacks have also been denounced by human rights groups as "extrajudicial killings." View the full article

The health minister warns many citizens "will suffer", with temperatures set to peak on Monday.View the full article

Donald Trump has had a falling out with the Italian prime minister. In fact, as you may have heard, the entire country is angry with the president. Giorgia Meloni hit back hard, accusing Trump of fabricating a story about her. Trump had said: "She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with me so ​badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her." TRUMP SAYS MELONI 'WANTS TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN' AFTER ITALY REFUSED TO HELP US AMID IRAN WAR "Donald Trump’s statements are completely made up," said the prime minister, who has been an ally. "I am frankly astonished. I don’t ‌know why ⁠the president of the United States behaves like this towards his allies: it is not the first time, moreover... "There is one thing he should remember: Neither I nor Italy ever beg." The flap, which prompted Italy's foreign minister to cancel a planned U.S. visit, underscores how Trump's policies, here and abroad, are driven by personal relationships. TRUMP BLASTS CLOSE ALLY MELONI, SAYS SHE’S FAILING US ON IRAN What we might view as a harmless bit of embellishment managed to insult an entire country, and alienate one of the few European leaders who has backed the U.S. In the wake of Trump's memorandum of understanding with Iran, which has been fiercely criticized by Republicans as well as Democrats for making too many concessions, he is taking flak from another ally as well. Israel's top newspaper, owned by billionaire donor Miriam Adelson, denounced the president. TRUMP DEFENDS WAR DEAL IN MARATHON PRESSER, USING SEMANTICS ON WHY IRAN IS GETTING $300 BILLION The headline: "You could have been the greatest president of all, but you failed." In Israel Hayom, Danny Zaken wrote that Trump "may be remembered forever as the president who brought about America’s humiliation." He added: "You made a colossal mistake. You failed by signing a surrender agreement with a murderous and cruel terror regime... ISRAEL FEARS TRUMP WEARY OF ‘HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS’ NETANYAHU AND COULD 'FLIP' AMID IRAN DEAL: ANALYST "We feel betrayed, nothing less, because your heart was, it seemed, in the right place, with all your flaws." Adelson, an Israeli-American doctor, is the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Trump awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018, and she has donated massive sums to pro-Trump groups and campaigns. Trump has been furious with Bibi Netanyahu for continuing to mount attacks in Lebanon, and made sure everyone knew it, with JD Vance joining in publicly scolding Israel. Netanyahu's continued assault on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon prompted the mullahs to cancel Friday's planned agreement signing with the vice president in Switzerland. CONSERVATIVES RALLY AROUND TRUMP AFTER MEETING WITH ZELENSKYY GOES OFF THE RAILS: 'ABSOLUTE DUMBA--' Perhaps the most dramatic, live-action clash with another foreign leader came last year when Trump unloaded on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, canceled their planned lunch and booted him out of the White House. Zelenskyy, who was also lectured by Vance, didn't help things by taking the bait and responding back in prickly fashion. The president was more resistant after that to aiding Ukraine in the war against the invading Russians, though his strong relationship with Vladimir Putin was likely a significant factor as well. Trump and Zelenskyy have since repaired their relationship, and met at the G-7 summit in France. By contrast, charming the president can also be effective. When Zohran Mamdani was running for New York mayor, Trump constantly attacked him, threatening to withhold federal funds and deploy federal troops if the Muslim socialist was elected. DAVID MARCUS: MR. MAMDANI GOES TO WASHINGTON BETWEEN ROCK AND HARD PLACE He called Mamdani a "communist lunatic" who hates the police and Jewish people, declaring "we're not going to ruin one of our great cities… We will clean up the crime in about 30 days." But when Mamdani came to the White House after the election, the tone was strikingly positive. "I met with a man who's a very rational person. I met with a man who wants to see – really wants to see – New York be great again," Trump said. "I'll be cheering for him." MAMDANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAVE BEEN TEXTING AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK — AS UNLIKELY BROMANCE BLOSSOMS: SOURCES The president added: "We agree on a lot more than I would have thought I want him to do a great job, and we'll help him do a great job." Mamdani, who had previously called Trump a "fascist" and "despot," also praised their conversation. TOP DEMS WHO EXCHANGE TRASH-TALK WITH TRUMP PUBLICLY TURN SURPRISINGLY FRIENDLY IN PRIVATE MEETINGS At a second meeting, the mayor pitched the president on a massive housing project in Queens, where Trump grew up and which Mamdani represented as an assemblyman. Mamdani gave Trump a fake New York Daily News front page that depicted the president as a champion builder who could make a lasting difference in New York. They have since clashed on several issues but have quietly been texting each other. For Trump, there is no line between policy and personality. When vowing to use military force if necessary to seize Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, he threatened to impose a 10% tariff on goods from Denmark and seven other European countries opposing the effort. This was partly a result of the Danish prime minister insisting she would not be blackmailed. As for the feud between Trump and Giorgia Meloni, both sides escalated their rhetoric over the weekend: The president posted: "She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience, and this despite the fact the U.S. contributes hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year to protect Italy, and other ‘so-called’ NATO Allies. Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!" TRUMP ‘RIGHT TO BE OUTRAGED’ BY EUROPE’S BETRAYAL ON IRAN, SAYS FORMER THATCHER ADVISOR Meloni called the president’s attacks "senseless," saying: "As for my popularity, being your friend has certainly not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you… I suggest you focus on yours." It’s like a schoolyard fight in which both brawlers want the last word. All politics, of course, turns on relationships to some degree. When a candidate is seeking an endorsement or a lawmaker is courting colleagues on a bill, a backslapping approach definitely helps. But with Donald Trump, it's the driving force in how he does business, period, and those who anger or irritate him quickly learn there are negative consequences. View the full article