Morning Bird: The Ministry should not have accepted a bitcoin donation, an external audit found. Lyme disease diagnosed in Justin Timberlake.
The Bitcoin gift, which was received for the ministry by the previous minister Pavel Blažek from the previously convicted drug dealer Tomáš Jiřikovský, showed significant deficiencies in terms of the AML law against money laundering. This is stated in the auditor's report. American singer and actor Justin Timberlike has Lyme borreliosis, as he admitted after the end of his current tour.
The audit showed that no one coordinated the bitcoin case
The Ministry of Justice should not have accepted a billion-dollar bitcoin gift, the server Ceskenoviny.cz stated. Because it knew about circumstances that indicated the existence of significant risk that the gift could come from the proceeds of criminal activity. Therefore, before accepting the gift, it should have taken steps to eliminate this risk. This conclusion was reached by the external auditing firm Grant Thornton. According to the auditor, the office did not approach the transaction with due diligence in accordance with the principle of proper administration. The individual steps taken by ministry representatives may not necessarily have been incorrect or inconsistent with internal or generally valid legal regulations, according to audit findings so far. The problem was that apparently no one coordinated the bitcoin transaction.
Timberlake admitted he has Lyme disease
Justin Timberlake has been diagnosed with Lyme disease. The American singer and actor shared this news in a post on the occasion of his Forget Tomorrow tour, which ended on Wednesday in Turkey, and added that the disease "can be relentlessly exhausting, both mentally and physically". The artist wrote that after the diagnosis he considered ending the tour, but at the same time added that "he decided that the joy of performing far outweighs the fleeting stress that my body felt." Lyme disease is transmitted by Ixodes ticks, also known as deer ticks. It can cause flu-like conditions, neurological problems, joint pain and other symptoms, AP news agency reported.
New Leadership of Syria is on its first visit to Russia
Asad aš-Šajbání, the Syrian foreign minister, is on his first formal visit to Moscow. On this occasion, he stated that his country wants Russia "by its side". The new Syrian rulers, led by the interim president Ahmed aš-Šaráou, have evidently taken a pragmatic approach to relations with Russia. The former Syrian president Bashar Asad was a key Russian ally in the Middle East. He fled to Moscow last year after being overthrown by a rapid rebel offensive that ended five decades of Asad family rule in the country, reported Al Jazeera.
Americans perceive less racial discrimination in the country, claims study
Only 40 percent of people in the United States believe that blacks and Hispanics face "quite a lot" or "a lot" of discrimination, as a new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows. According to the aforementioned source, only 10 percent believe that white people are discriminated against in the country. The survey comes at a time when US President Donald Trump continues to attack diversity initiatives at universities and workplaces and is putting pressure on institutions that are not in line with his political agenda, Al Jazeera television network reported.
Sources: Al Jazeera, AP, Ceskenoviny.cz
