Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
A Bangladeshi national, alleged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to be a “prolific” alien smuggler, made his first appearance Monday in a Laredo, Texas, federal courtroom following his extradition from Brazil, according to a DOJ statement.
Illegal immigrants who are believed to have crossed the border from Mexico into the United States are seen after the truck they were being transported in was interdicted by law enforcement officers in Laredo, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2022. Department of Justice/Handout via ReutersThe indictment against Saiful Islam, 39, in the Southern District of Texas accuses him of being part of a conspiracy that smuggled numerous illegal immigrants through Central America to the United States, the DOJ said.
“Islam participated in a wide-ranging human smuggling operation,” the agency said.
The Bangladeshi man also allegedly helped other smugglers by facilitating the travel of aliens from São Paulo, Brazil, and other locations in South America, Central America, and Mexico, eventually instructing them in how to illegally cross the Rio Grande River or jump the border fence.
Islam’s charges include conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States, multiple counts of bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain, and conspiracy to encourage or induce an alien to enter the United States, according to the DOJ statement. He also faces potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
A conviction on the charge of bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain carries a mandatory minimum sentence of three to five years in prison, depending on additional factors, and a maximum of 15 years.
Islam would face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the other two charges if he is convicted of them.
There is no listed attorney for Islam yet in his online docket, which shows his case was assigned to a judge in August 2020.
Several agencies are coordinating in the investigation of Islam, including Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection’s International Interdiction Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service, and INTERPOL.
The DOJ credited its Joint Task Force Alpha, the agency’s lead effort in fighting human smuggling and trafficking by cartels and other criminal organizations, in investigating, charging, and prosecuting Islam.
Joint Task Force Alpha’s main goal is targeting leaders and organizers of cartels throughout the Americas, Mexico, and the “Northern Triangle countries” of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, the Justice Department said.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi announced last September an expansion of the agency to cover Canada, the Caribbean, maritime borders, and elsewhere.
“This Department of Justice is investigating and prosecuting human smuggling more aggressively than ever before,” Bondi said.
Joint Task Force Alpha has, to date, arrested more than 450 domestic and international leaders, organizers, and facilitators of alien smuggling or trafficking. According to the Monday DOJ statement, the agency’s work has resulted in more than 395 U.S. convictions, more than 345 “significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.”
Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 21:45Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Tuesday that Beijing’s panic hoarding of crude and refined products, while refusing to join the rest of the world in releasing supplies to offset the Gulf energy shock, has now demonstrated for the third time in five years that China is an "unreliable global partner."
"China has been an unreliable global partner three times in the past five years; once during COVID, when they hoarded healthcare products, second on rare earth," Bessent said, referring to Beijing's move last year to weaponize rare earth exports against the US in the tit-for-tat trade war that disrupted US supply chains, including temporary factory shutdowns such as production lines briefly shuttered by Ford Motor Company.
Bessent said China continued to purchase tanker loads of crude instead of helping ease the global supply crunch caused by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, despite already holding a massive strategic reserve. He also noted that China restricted exports of crude products early in the conflict.
Reuters noted that China's strategic petroleum reserve "was roughly the same size as that of the entire reserve held by the 32-member International Energy Agency, but it was continuing to purchase oil."
Bessent added, "They continued buying, and they've been hoarding, and they have cut off exports of many products."
On US-China relations, he told reporters he's been in contact with Chinese officials about the hoarding issue.
He declined to comment on whether the dispute and elevated tensions will derail an upcoming Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, which has been pushed to mid-May.
"I think the message for the visit is stability. We've had great stability in the relationship since last summer; that emanates from the top down," he said. "I think that communication is the key."
Bessent added that the US military blockade would ensure that no Chinese tankers or other ships would pass the strait: "So they're not going to be able to get their oil. They can get oil. Not Iranian oil."
Last week, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned that governments must avoid panic hoarding and refrain from imposing fuel export bans as the Gulf energy shock continues to ripple outward to Asia, Africa, Europe, and eventually reaches the US West Coast.
"I urge all countries not to impose bans or restrictions on exports," Fatih Birol emphasized in a Financial Times interview. "It is the worst time when you look at the global oil markets. Their trade partners, their allies and their neighbors will suffer as a result."
The FT noted that Birol was "careful not to name China directly," but made very clear his warning was likely aimed at Beijing.
So Bessent is clearly keeping a running tally of Beijing’s behavior as an "unreliable global partner," and by his count, the number now stands at three.
What comes next is unclear, but the next signal will likely come from the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting.
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Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 21:20Authored by Rex Widerstrom via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The volume of businesses struggling to pay their debts in Australia is on track to exceed the heights set during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to two reports on the nation’s economic health.
Australian dollar coins and banknotes in Melbourne, Australia on April 4, 2024. AAP Image/Joel CarrettUp to 13 percent of working-age Australians and 47 percent of secondary school students want to work for themselves or start a business, but that’s not translating into a pipeline of new enterprises, according to the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).
“Our analysis shows the proportion of business owners in the workforce has declined steadily over the past two decades and fell to a record low last year. The decline has been sharpest for owner-managers with employees and less steep for solo owner-operators. It is evident across all age groups, including younger workers,” said CEDA Chief Executive Melinda Cilento.
While the total rate of business formation has grown moderately over the past decade, it has been almost entirely driven by growth in sole traders.
In contrast, entry rates for businesses that employ staff declined steadily through the 2000s and has since been relatively flat.
This trend has coincided with the rise in second jobs, “side hustles,” and digital-platform work.
“Starting a side hustle or taking on gig work can be a flexible way to get started and gain some hands-on experience,” Cilento said. ”But the evidence suggests most of these activities are intended only to top-up household income, and not to build the next generation of employing firms.
“If we want a more productive, competitive, and resilient economy, we need to make it easier for people to turn a good idea into a growing enterprise.”
To help achieve that, CEDA wants the federal government to use next month’s federal Budget to introduce further cuts to “red tape” and to review existing business support programmes.
This entails eliminating redundant or out-of-date regulatory obstacles, streamlining the application process for grants and other support programmes, and expanding access to financing and insurance.
The government should also promote business advice and training more effectively, and remove anti-competitive obstacles that hinder the entry and expansion of new businesses, CEDA says.
Auditors Sound WarningMeanwhile, 2025 was a record year for “going concern” notices for businesses unable to pay their debts with in the next 12 months, according to Chartered Accountants.
The group was concerned about the viability of 28 percent of Australian-listed companies outside the mining sector, up from 20 percent in 2021.
That compares to 15 percent in New Zealand and approximately 8 percent in comparable high‑income countries internationally.
Among Australian miners, the figure increased to nearly half, up from 32 percent in 2021.
“This level of uncertainty exceeds that seen at the height of the COVID disruptions and reflects the cumulative impact of global trade uncertainty, market volatility, higher interest rates, and persistent inflationary pressures on business viability,” said Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ).
Its report, “Insights into 2025 auditor reports: A focus on going concern,” was conducted in partnership with the Universities of Melbourne and Queensland, and took place before the current Middle East conflict and its resulting energy price shock.
“Auditors are now flagging greater uncertainty than during the pandemic itself, which shows how sustained economic pressures around liquidity, refinancing, and future profitability can be just as challenging for businesses as an acute shock,” said Amir Ghandar.
While mining is under particular pressure, the conditions are also affecting other capital-intensive industries such as information technology and health care.
Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 20:55