Latest news with #COW
Business Recorder
15-07-2025
- Business Recorder
Customs officials accused of illegally selling luxury smuggled vehicles
KARACHI: Customs officials have allegedly sold hundreds of high-end luxury smuggled vehicles worth billions by illegally declaring them as 'auctioned vehicles'. This high-magnitude corruption scandal has jolted the Pakistan customs, as hundreds of high-end luxury smuggled/Non-Duty-Paid (NPD) vehicles worth billions have allegedly been sold illegally by a network involving customs officials, car dealers, and high-influential figures. According to documents exclusively available to the Daily Business Recorder, smuggled/NPD vehicles, which should have been auctioned after paying proper duties and taxes, were instead sold directly in the market in collusion with customs officials. Smuggled vehicles: FBR says there's no amnesty scheme in the offing The scandal came to the surface when the Directorate General of Reforms & Automation (Customs), Karachi, sent an alarming incident report on July 9, 2025, to the Customs Operations Wings (COW), highlighting systematic data manipulation in the WeBOC system. The report revealed that data manipulation was conducted through user IDs of Assistant Collectors and Deputy Collectors, allowing hundreds of luxury smuggled vehicles to leave customs premises without fulfilling legal obligations. The Directorate has scrutinized the data of over 1,900 smuggled/ NPD vehicles. Of these, approximately 350 high-end luxury vehicles that were never actually auctioned and had no duties or taxes collected were fraudulently entered as 'auctioned vehicles' in the WeBOC system. Sources confirmed that this was not an isolated incident, suggesting a deep-rooted influential network connected with customs officials from multiple FBR collectorates. While intelligence departments have put the collectorates in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala on radar, these vehicles have disappeared from the Multan collectorate, sources informed. Sources were of the view that this illicit activity was conducted in phases over several months, with vehicles first being removed from customs premises and sold secretly. Subsequently, fake bidder details were entered into the system to create fraudulent auction records, enabling the issuance of customs auction documents required for excise registration, they added. 'This crime was done in phases and took months, but it was astonishingly not noticed,' sources said, pointing to a systematic nature of the corruption. 'Although the COW has directed the concerned collectorates and field formations to expedite the recovery process, no single vehicle could be seized as the department has no mechanism to track and trace the vehicles, which were cleared as auctioned vehicles,' sources said. The situation is further complicated by the fact that all of these vehicles have now been registered with provincial excise departments against the illegally obtained customs auction documents. Therefore, these vehicles are now legally registered in provincial excise departments, and any forced confiscation could result in court battles, as these vehicles have now appeared to be owned by 'genuine buyers'. Although one female Deputy Collector has reportedly been suspended in connection with the case, sources ruled out the possibility that this large-scale scandal involving around 350 vehicles could be facilitated by a single officer. 'The suspended official is being made a scapegoat for what requires a well-organized network spanning multiple levels of the customs hierarchy,' sources said, urging the FBR to address internal systemic issues before launching crackdowns against car dealers and buyers who may have unknowingly purchased these vehicles. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Chicago Tribune
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Lake Bluff officials again discuss policy for raising LGBTQ+ flag on village flagpole
Despite three occasional meetings on the subject, Lake Bluff officials continue to struggle to find a way to adopt a policy that would permit the raising of an LGBTQ + flag on a village flagpole. For the third time in less than a month, village trustees reviewed the situation at a June 9 Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting after another separate conversation at the May COW meeting. On May 28, the village board voted 4-2 against a resolution permitting the flying of various non-governmental commemorative flags, including the LGBTQ+ flag. Trustees Katharine Hatch, Stephen Rappin, Susan Rider and Raffi Elchemmas voted against the proposal, which was supported by Trustees Taryn Fisher and Shana Fried. Some community members are calling for the flag to be hoisted on a village flag pole, commemorating Pride month in June. The topic has been formally under consideration at the trustee level since June 2023, according to village documents. While many trustees spoke of the individual support for the LGBTQ + community, a split emerged on how to create village policy allowing for the raising of the Pride and other commemorative flags. Elchemmas wanted to make the flag poles available for a lengthy series of other organizations. 'I would be open to a flag policy if it was open and fair to all groups,' he said at the May 28 meeting. 'I understand what this resolution is trying to accomplish, but in my opinio,n it does the opposite and it is very divisive.' Rappin spoke of his support for LGBTQ + community, but offered concerns about the village government's role. 'I think there has to be a way to share with the outside world that we are an inclusive community that doesn't burden this board with consistently having to assess the values that people present to us,' he said. Yet, Fisher strongly advocated for the resolution ahead of the May 28 vote and once again on June 9. 'The right vote is sometimes super simple,' Fisher said. 'A clean, direct message from us to our community that we are inclusive and progressive, supportive and loving.' She then held up a small Pride flag and added, 'Nothing about this flag is hateful or restrictive or controversial.' After the May 28 vote, the June 9 COW meeting drew a packed room into the village hall where for more than an hour community members called for adoption of the flag policy. (COW meetings are for discussions on certain topics with formal votes occurring at village board meetings.) 'Every single Pride flag matters,' resident Katie Zacharia said. 'It's a simple symbol of support and inclusion. But it's entry-level. It's a basic support at this point.' Sophia Zar labeled the measure as progressive, adding she was embarrassed by the decision of the village board. 'Your no vote is not a reflection of this town or its values,' Zar said. 'This no vote was a punch in the gut.' Following the public comment portion of the meeting, trustees once again discussed the matter, leading to a tense exchange between Hatch and Fisher. Hatch said she had heard from some residents who felt bullied by signs placed in the village advocating for the idea of allowing the LGBTQ + flags. 'Those people have a voice as well, and I am here to represent that voice,' Hatch said. 'I don't care about the voices who feel bullied by a message of inclusion,' Fisher shot back. 'Shame on them and shame on you for wanting to support their voice.' Hatch responded by saying, 'Taryn, I am shocked by the absolute disregard for other people's opinions.' In another part of the meeting, some trustees expressed their frustration with the negative reaction they have received as they spoke of being characterized as 'homophobic' by some community members. 'It is bullying and shaming. I'm an adult and I can handle it, but it is pretty rude,' Rappin said. During the meeting, Fisher endorsed a corresponding idea of permitting ribbons supporting the LGBTQ + causes in village trees. Village Attorney Peter Friedman discussed a policy in West Suburban Clarendon Hills where ribbons are allowed on parkway trees in the village's right-of-way. As part of the guidelines, the ribbons need to be removed after 14 days by the people who placed them in the first place and the village may remove them at any time. Trustees eventually decided to place both ideas up for further discussion at the June 23 COW meeting. Village President Regis Charlot appeared to focus on getting a new policy in place for Lake Bluff in time for the June 2026 Pride month. 'We have another 11 months to get that done,' he said.
Business Upturn
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
Crypto market: Bitcoin tops $109K; PEPE, DOGE rally while HAEDAL leads top crypto gainers
By News Desk Published on May 22, 2025, 05:39 IST Bitcoin (BTC) surged past the $109,000 mark on Wednesday, registering a 2.66% rise over the past 24 hours to trade at $109,614.05. This marks a significant psychological breakout for the world's largest cryptocurrency and reinforces bullish sentiment in the digital asset market. Ethereum (ETH) also posted moderate gains, up 1.01% at $2,547.20. Among major altcoins, Solana (SOL) advanced 3.12% to $173.51, while meme coins like PEPE and DOGE climbed 4.18% and 4.15% respectively, showing strong retail interest. Top gainers HAEDAL skyrocketed by 71.58% to $0.1769, topping the list of best-performing tokens. COOKIE followed with a 42.18% surge, and 1000SATS jumped 20.04%. Other notable gainers included INIT (+19.12%), COW (+15.98%), and WIF (+14.23%). Top losers On the flip side, WCT plunged 17.38% to $0.6038, making it the worst performer of the day. SXT dropped 9.09%, followed by EPIC which slid 7.32%. Other notable laggards included SYRUP (-4.83%), ATA (-4.80%), and FORTH (-4.70%). With Bitcoin reclaiming six-figure territory, all eyes are now on whether this rally can sustain and pull the broader altcoin market along. Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and involve significant risk. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. News desk at
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DEX Aggregator CoW Swap Targets 33% Trading Boost With Collaboration Feature, More Rewards
CoW Swap, a decentralized exchange aggregator, is set to introduce a feature it says will boost the number of transactions it can handle and offer more rewards to those who facilitate trades. The feature, called Combinatorial Auctions, will let solvers, those who route trades for the aggregator, work together for the first time to offer traders the best swaps. Aggregators are one-stop shops that search multiple DEXs to find the one that offers the most cost-efficient trades. CoW Swap's existing system is 'rigid because only a single solver can win each auction,' Andrea Canidio, a senior research economist at CoW DAO, told CoinDesk. 'Only one can succeed, forcing the other order to wait for the next auction.' Under the new system, which passed a DAO vote on Thursday, multiple solvers will be able to propose more efficient solutions to pending orders, if they exist. 'If a combined solution creates shared value for all parties, it wins; otherwise, different solvers can fulfill different orders independently,' Canidio said. CoW DAO estimates the move could increase order throughput by around 33%. That's significant, as competition among DEX aggregators heats up. Over the past week, CoW Swap and rival aggregator 1inch have been neck-and-neck at around $2 billion in trading volume each on Ethereum, according to DefiLlama data. If CoW Swap's new feature works as predicted and increases trading throughput, it could help it pull ahead. CoW Swap works differently to most other decentralized exchanges and aggregators. Instead of using liquidity pools to facilitate trades, like Uniswap, it uses a peer-to-peer system. Users submit trades then third parties — solvers — compete to match buyers with sellers efficiently in a single transaction. The main benefit of this system is that it prevents traders falling victim to negative forms of maximal extractable value, or MEV. With more solvers able to participate on CoW Swap at the same time, the average rewards they can earn should increase by around 25%, CoW DAO said. While that's great for solvers, it isn't so cut and dried for the protocol. Cow Swap solvers are compensated in COW tokens, the protocol's governance token. If, for example, CoW Swap pays out more in rewards without a commensurate amount of increased trading, it will hurt the protocol's efficiency. Canidio said she expects CoW Swap to benefit from higher transaction throughput with 'a less-than-proportional rise in solver rewards.' Simply put, Combinatorial Auctions should make CoW Swap more efficient. CoW Swap says it expects testing of the new system to start around May 20, and the full launch on all chains to happen around June in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Grove students raise $129K for area children during fundraising campaign
GROVE, Okla. – Grove High School students are changing their community by helping its youngest citizens. On Tuesday, during an all-school assembly, the COW, 'Changing Our World' group, announced that $129,061 had been raised for Church on the Hill's backpack program and the Royal Family Kids Camp. The backpack program supplies food for about 500 Grove and Turkey Ford students. Royal Family Kids Camp is a free one-week faith-based resident summer camp specially designed with the foster child and other at-risk children in mind. The camping experience is geared toward success while recognizing the needs of abused, neglected, and abandoned children. This camp allows these students to know that they are loved and they have a purpose. For more information on Grove Schools' Cow Week, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
