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British billionaire Joe Lewis has avoided a jail sentence after admitting he orchestrated an insider trading scheme that helped those around him make millions.

The former Tottenham Hotspur owner, who lives in the Bahamas, tipped off his girlfriend, friends, and two of his private pilots with inside information on four publicly-traded companies, which they used to get rich, prosecutors in New York said.

In January, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud, admitting in court he had known he was breaking the law.

But prosecutors had said he deserved leniency because of his age, bad health and willingness to come to the US to face the charges, rather than force a protracted extradition battle.

FILE PHOTO: British billionaire and Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis at the United States Courthouse in New York City
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Lewis pictured after a court appearance last July. Pic: Reuters

In court on Thursday, the 87-year-old was sentenced to three years’ probation and fined $5m (£4m).

Before he was sentenced, Lewis spoke briefly, saying: “Your honour, I’m here today because I made a terrible mistake.

“I’m ashamed.”

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Lewis said he hoped “to make amends and to rebuild the trust that I have squandered” in the remainder of his life.

British billionaire Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns Tottenham Hotspur football club, arrives to the United States Courthouse in Manhattan to be sentenced in a New York court, after pleading guilty in January to insider trading charges in New York, U.S., April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
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Lewis on his arrival at court for sentencing. Pic: Reuters

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Lewis founded Bahamas-registered investment firm Tavistock Group and is one of the 500 richest people in the world, according to the US government.

His fortune is estimated at $6.2bn (£4.9bn), including homes in several countries, a $250m yacht, private planes worth $90m and a $100m art collection.

Lewis held a majority stake in Premier League football club Spurs for more than two decades, a shareholding now owned by a trust on behalf of his family.

From the beginning, it was clear Lewis would not be any ordinary defendant – after his initial arrest, he was released on $300m (£237m) bail after putting up his yacht and plane as collateral.

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Prosecutors said he learned about public companies after making large investments and on at least four occasions between 2019 and 2021, he tipped off those close to him.

“This insider trading was not the result of aberrant, one-time conduct but rather a troubling pattern of misconduct over the course of several years,” they said.

His motive was unclear but prosecutors said it was possibly down to “hubris, ego, a desire to make a financial gift without parting with his own money, an irrational form of greed, or some other reason”.

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Donald Trump celebrates 100 days in office with campaign-style rally

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Donald Trump celebrates 100 days in office with campaign-style rally

Donald Trump has celebrated the 100th day of his second term with a campaign-style rally in Michigan.

During his 90-minute speech the US president mocked Joe Biden, falsely claimed he won the 2020 presidential election and defended his decision to impose tariffs on countries around the world.

Speaking in front of electronic screens reading “100 days of greatness”, Mr Trump attacked “radical left lunatics”, briefly took on a heckler and boasted about his administration’s “mass deportation” efforts.

“Removing the invaders is not just a campaign pledge,” he said. “It’s my solemn duty as commander-in-chief. I have an obligation to save our country.”

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He played a video of migrants his administration claims are gang members arriving at a notorious prison in El Salvador, with those in the crowd cheering the images of deportees having their heads shaved.

During his speech, during which he called up several of his top team to the stage, Mr Trump claimed his administration has delivered “most profound change in Washington in nearly 100 years”.

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100 days of Donald Trump

Mr Trump also briefly touched on tariffs, saying China, which is facing tariffs of 145%, “has taken more jobs from us than any country has ever taken from another country”.

President Donald Trump arrives to speak after his first 100 days in office.
Pic: AP/Alex Brandon
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Pic: AP

But he said his tariffs did not mean Beijing and Washington cannot “get along” and said he thought a trade deal with China was near, adding: “But it’s going to be a fair deal.”

“I think it’s going to work out,” he says. “They want to make a deal. We’re going to make a deal. But it’s going to be a fair deal.”

Donald Trump. Pic: AP
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Donald Trump speaking in Michigan. Pic: AP

Donald Trump dances at the end of his rally. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Trump dances at the end of his rally. Pic: Reuters

He claimed his administration had “already ended inflation”, but last month the Bureau of Labor Statistics said while inflation slowed in March over the past year, it had in fact risen 2.4%.

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‘You haven’t seen anything yet’

Mr Trump, who has frequently criticised Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell in recent weeks, said: “Interest rates came down, despite the fact that I have a Fed person who’s not really doing a good job, but I won’t say that. I want to be very nice. I want to be very nice and respectful to the Fed.

“You’re not supposed to criticise the Fed. You’re supposed to let him do his own thing. But I know much more than he does about interest rates, believe me.”

Mr Trump also defended his administration’s steep tariffs on cars and car parts, hours after he signed an executive order aimed at easing the impact of his tariffs on US carmakers.

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“We’re here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country,” Mr Trump said.

He later added: “We’ve just gotten started. You haven’t even seen anything yet.”

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US voters divided over Trump’s first 100 days – 10 out of 10, or a lack of grace and empathy?

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US voters divided over Trump's first 100 days - 10 out of 10, or a lack of grace and empathy?

From the White House these past 100 days, I’ve chronicled the whirlwind that’s reshaping America.

Getting beyond the West Wing and out of Washington has been harder. The volume of news has necessitated a near-constant presence in the US capital.

Every single day, there has been something. Of course, this has been entirely intentional for the president and his team of proud disrupters.

They pledged to govern differently, and on that promise, they have more than delivered.

To fix America, Donald Trump first had to convince people that it is broken. Many didn’t need convincing. Look for decline here and you’ll easily find it; communities left behind.

Look for bureaucracy and waste – you’ll find that too. Common sense silenced by wokism? Many can relate to that. Immigration out of control? Politicians have been struggling with that for decades.

In just 100 days, Mr Trump has harnessed all of that into a package of change that feels like nothing short of a revolution.

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Despite the tsunami of news, my colleagues and I have managed to escape from the White House. And it is there, beyond Washington, that the more subtle but no less profound changes to the fabric of this nation can be felt.

Whether it be innocuous tattoos that might now be associated with gang membership, free speech opinions penned on social media, or the willingness just to chat about politics, one startling thing I have observed these past 100 days is a growing sense of fear.

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Does Trump really ‘run the country and the world?’

A passion for politics

Anyone who has worked as a foreign correspondent in America will tell you that Americans love to give their opinion on politics. And they do it, always, with word-perfect articulation. There is no better place in the world for a ‘voxpop’.

There is a passion for politics that I haven’t seen anywhere else I’ve lived and worked. Until now. Over these past 100 days, I have increasingly found a reticence that reflects an America changed by this president and his style.

I’m in Detroit at the moment, in Michigan, the battleground state that helped to deliver Donald Trump the presidency back in November. I was here back then, too, and recall the enthusiasm with which people would discuss the upcoming election. There was enthusiasm for Trump and enthusiasm for Harris.

An indictment of the times

Now the response to my questions is, so often, “no thanks, I’d rather not”. Sometimes people ask where the report will be seen. “Will it be on in America?” Think about it – this is America. What an indictment of the times, that people fear offering their opinion – whatever side of the aisle they sit.

Very often, it’s businesses that are extremely cautious of being associated with one political view or another. Such is the animosity now between the two sides.

After a day of perseverance in Detroit this week, a few folk did talk to us. Their answers were revealing.

In a park, I met Marie Freeman who said people are now “more angry”. Her view is that America has lost something over these past 100 days.

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“I definitely want us to move forward in a positive, more empathetic way. I think with Trump being such a hardcore president, we lose the empathy, we lose the grace for our fellow neighbours. We’re all so angry because we’re under angry leadership. And that’s not good.”

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She articulated a vibe which I recognise in so many parts of this country right now. A lack of grace and empathy.

Yet, yards away, a couple walking their cats stopped to chat. I asked how they would rate these past 100 days. Two tens out of ten for Trump’s performance.

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Trump ‘very disappointed’ in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to ‘sit down and sign a deal’

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Trump 'very disappointed' in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to 'sit down and sign a deal'

Donald Trump has said he’s “very disappointed” with Russia as he continues to push for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

On Saturday, the US president met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican for their first face-to-face meeting since their explosive White House summit.

The Ukrainian president said the meeting ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral could end up being “historic.” Hours later, Mr Trump questioned Vladimir Putin’s appetite for peace in a Truth Social post.

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From Saturday: Trump meets Zelenskyy at funeral

Speaking before boarding Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Trump again said the meeting went well, and that the Ukrainian leader was “calmer”.

“I think he understands the picture, I think he wants to make a deal,” he said, before turning to Mr Putin and Russia.

“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” the US president said, adding he was “very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places (including Kyiv, where nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Friday) after discussions”.

However, Mr Trump said he thinks Mr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, which the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said he would refuse to do.

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He added that “we’ll see what happens in the next few days” and said “don’t talk to me about Crimea, talk to Obama and Biden about Crimea”.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, while Barack Obama was president.

Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that a peace deal to end the war was “closer in general than they’ve been any time in the last three years, but it’s still not there”.

“If this was an easy war to end, it would have been ended by someone else a long time ago,” he added on the Meet the Press show.

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It comes after North Korea confirmed it had deployed troops to fight for Russia, months after Ukraine and Western officials said its forces were in Europe.

State media outlet KCNA reported North Korean soldiers made an “important contribution” to expelling Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, likely to be the Kursk region.

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KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un made the decision to deploy troops to Russia and notified Moscow, and quoted him as saying: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”

It also quoted the country’s ruling Workers’ Party as saying the end of the battle to liberate Kursk showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.

Last June, Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty after a state visit – his first to the country in 24 years.

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From June 2024: Putin drives Kim around in luxury limo during state visit

The North Korean leader promised at the time “full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine”.

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