Politics
Epstein fallout triggers resignations, probes
Jeffrey Epstein cultivated a global network of politicians, top business executives, academics and celebrities, many of whom have been severely tainted by association with the convicted sex offender.
While high-profile figures like Britain’s former prince Andrew have been very publicly disgraced, some powerful but lesser-known names have been sacked, forced to resign, placed under investigation or had their positions placed under review.
The mere mention of someone’s name in the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice does not, in itself, imply any wrongdoing by that person.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 for soliciting a minor and died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking minors.
Borge Brende
The governing board of the World Economic Forum, which organises the Davos summit, has ordered an independent review of the interactions of WEF chief Borge Brende, 60, with Epstein.
Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister, has acknowledged attending dinners with Epstein in New York in 2018 and 2019.
He has insisted he was “completely unaware” of Epstein’s criminal activities.
Thorbjorn Jagland
Former Norwegian prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland, 75, is under police investigation on “suspicion of aggravated corruption” over his links to Epstein, which include many email exchanges unearthed from the released files.
Jagland served as prime minister from 1996 to 1997 and later as secretary general of the Council of Europe. He also chaired the committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize.
Mona Juul
Mona Juul, 66, a Norwegian diplomat who played a key role in the secret Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which led to the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s, has been suspended pending an investigation into her alleged ties to Epstein.
Epstein left $10 million in his will to Juul’s two children with her husband, fellow diplomat and Oslo talks broker Terje Rod-Larsen.
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Juul, currently the Norwegian envoy to Jordan, was being temporarily relieved while the investigation was underway.
Dean Kamen
American engineer Dean Kamen, 74, the inventor of the Segway, took a leave of absence from the board of directors of the robotics organisation he founded, FIRST.
The latest Epstein files release includes photos of Kamen with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for trafficking underage girls to the disgraced financier.
They also include an email in which Kamen thanks Epstein for a 2013 visit to his private Caribbean island.
Brad Karp
American attorney Brad Karp, 66, stepped down after 18 years as the chairman of Paul Weiss, one of the most powerful corporate law firms in the United States.
In emails, Karp thanked Epstein for inviting him to a 2015 dinner at his Manhattan mansion, calling it “an evening I’ll never forget.”
Karp, who has said he regrets socialising with Epstein, also asked Epstein in another email if he could help get his son a job on a Woody Allen film.
Miroslav Lajcak
Miroslav Lajcak, 62, the Slovakian government’s national security advisor, resigned after text messages included in the Epstein files showed the two men discussing women.
Lajcak was the foreign minister at the time.
Caroline Lang
French film producer and former actor Caroline Lang, the daughter of former French culture minister Jack Lang, resigned as head of a film producers’ group following revelations of the family’s Epstein ties.
Caroline Lang told French investigative website Mediapart that she and Epstein had agreed to set up a company together to buy artworks, but she did not invest any money in it.
She described herself as being “incredibly naive.”
Her father, Jack Lang, 86, said he was introduced to Epstein by Woody Allen about 15 years ago and had no knowledge of his crimes.
George Mitchell
Former US senator George Mitchell, 92, brokered the negotiations which led to the 1998 peace agreement ending three decades of conflict over British rule in Northern Ireland.
Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland dropped Mitchell’s name this week from its Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice over his links with Epstein.
Mitchell has previously said he regrets having met and known Epstein and that he had no knowledge of his illegal activities.
Steve Tisch
Steve Tisch, 76, producer of “Forrest Gump” and co-owner of the New York Giants, was connected by Epstein to multiple women, according to email exchanges between the two.
Tisch acknowledged in a statement that he and Epstein had “a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments.”
National Football League chief Roger Goodell said the league, which has a strict personal conduct policy, would “look at all the facts” before deciding whether to take any action against Tisch.
Casey Wasserman
Casey Wasserman, 51, has faced calls to step down as chairman of the Los Angeles Organising Committee for the 2028 Olympic Games after flirtatious email exchanges between him and Maxwell emerged.
Wasserman has said he “deeply regrets” the exchanges he had with Maxwell in 2003, well before Epstein’s and Maxwell’s crimes were public knowledge.
- Agreement “focuses on integrated systems, data analysis tools”.
- Saudi Arabia, Ukraine sign MoU on defence procurement: SPA.
- Zelensky meets Crown Prince MBS, confirms defence arrangement.
Ukraine and Saudi Arabia have signed an air defence agreement during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the kingdom facing Iranian drone attacks, two senior officials told AFP on Friday.
Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help Gulf nations, which are being attacked with the same kind of Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia fires on Ukraine.
“The point of the agreement is that Ukraine will support them in developing all the necessary components of air defence, which they currently lack,” one official said of the document which, according to another was signed on Thursday.
Both spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity.
Kyiv has been using a mix of cheap drone interceptors, electronic jamming tools and anti-aircraft guns to down Russian drones fired at its cities on a nightly basis for four years.
It touts its anti-drone defences as the best in the world.
Ukraine has proposed swapping its interceptors for vastly more expensive air-defence missiles that Gulf countries are using to down Iranian drones. Ukraine says it needs more of them to fend off Russian missile attacks.
The deal signed between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia “is not only about interceptors as such, but about building a system, integrating it with other air defence components, Ukrainian experience in its use, AI, and all the other elements of data analysis needed to counter Shaheds and other drones,” one of the officials said.
Zelensky confirmed on social media that both countries had “reached an important arrangement” on defence cooperation and that he had met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit.
“We are ready to share our expertise and systems with Saudi Arabia,” Zelensky said, adding: “Saudi Arabia also has capabilities that are of interest to Ukraine, and this cooperation can be mutually beneficial.”
He did not disclose what exactly has been agreed as part of the deal.
Zelensky also met Ukrainian anti-drone experts that have been deployed to the country since US and Israel launched strikes on Iran that spurred retaliatory drone and missile attacks from Tehran.
“Even in such a short time, Ukrainian experts were able to share extensive expertise,” Zelensky said.
“Ukraine’s expertise is unique, and recognised as such, and that is why everyone is so interested in our technologies and experience.”
MoU on defence procurement
The Saudi Ministry of Defence and its Ukrainian counterpart have signed a memorandum of understanding related to defence procurement arrangements in Jeddah, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
Saudi Assistant Minister of Defence for Executive Affairs Dr Khaled Al-Biyari and Ukrainian Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Andrii Hnatov signed the agreement, it added.
- India’s military spending reaches $71 billion this fiscal year.
- India’s defence spending highest ever in a fiscal year.
- India ranks as second-largest arms importer globally.
NEW DELHI: India approved proposals worth $25 billion on Friday to buy transport aircraft, Russian S-400 missile systems and remotely piloted strike aircraft as it pushes its military modernisation and replenishes equipment after its conflict with Pakistan.
The decision comes on the back of another major approval last month worth $40 billion to purchase more French Rafale fighter jets for the air force and Boeing P-8I reconnaissance aircraft for the navy.
Friday’s approvals also covered purchases of armoured piercing tank ammunition, gun systems and aerial surveillance systems for the army, increasing the life of the Sukhoi-30 fighter jets operated by the air force, and hovercraft for the coastguard, a statement from the defence ministry said.
Separately, the ministry also signed a 4.45 billion rupees ($47 million) contract on Friday with Russia’s JSC Rosoboronexport to acquire Tunguska air defence missile systems for the army.
In all, India has approved 55 proposals worth 6.73 trillion rupees ($71 billion) and signed contracts for another 503 proposals amounting to 2.28 trillion rupees in the fiscal year ending March 31, the statement said, adding that both were the highest in a fiscal year.
India is the world’s fifth-largest military spender and the second-largest arms importer after Ukraine, according to latest data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
It has for decades been modernising its mostly Soviet-era equipment and increasingly looking to new sources including France, Israel, the United States and Germany. In recent years, it has pushed to manufacture everything from guns and drones to fighter jets and submarines at home, either on its own or in collaboration with foreign partners.
Ukraine and Saudi Arabia have signed an air defence agreement during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the kingdom, which is facing Iranian drone attacks, two senior officials told AFP on Friday.
Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help Gulf nations, which are being attacked with the same kind of Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia fires on Ukraine.
“The point of the agreement is that Ukraine will support them in developing all the necessary components of air defence, which they currently lack,” one official said of the document which, according to another was signed on Thursday.
Both spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity.
Kyiv has been using a mix of cheap drone interceptors, electronic jamming tools and anti-aircraft guns to down Russian drones fired at its cities on a nightly basis for four years.
It touts its anti-drone defences as the best in the world.
Ukraine has proposed swapping its interceptors for vastly more expensive air-defence missiles that Gulf countries are using to down Iranian drones.
Ukraine says it needs more of them to fend off Russian missile attacks.
The deal signed between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia “is not only about interceptors as such, but about building a system, integrating it with other air defence components, Ukrainian experience in its use, AI, and all the other elements of data analysis needed to counter Shaheds and other drones,” one of the officials said.
Zelensky confirmed on social media that both countries had “reached an important arrangement” on defence cooperation and that he had met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit.
“We are ready to share our expertise and systems with Saudi Arabia,” Zelensky said, adding: “Saudi Arabia also has capabilities that are of interest to Ukraine, and this cooperation can be mutually beneficial.” He did not disclose what exactly had been agreed as part of the deal.
Zelensky also met with Ukrainian anti-drone experts who have been deployed to the country since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran that spurred retaliatory drone and missile attacks from Tehran.
“Even in such a short time, Ukrainian experts were able to share extensive expertise,” Zelensky said.
“Ukraine’s expertise is unique, and recognised as such, and that is why everyone is so interested in our technologies and experience.”
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