Explosive revelations links former UK ambassador and senior Labour figure Lord Peter Mandelson to financial transactions connected to convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein. Newly surfaced documents and email records reveal three payments of $25,000 made between 2003 and 2004 from Epstein-linked accounts to entities connected with Mandelson. Investigations show the first transfer moved through a Barclays account belonging to Mandelson’s partner, Reinaldo da Silva, with Mandelson listed as the beneficiary. Freshly released Epstein files have also surfaced a redacted image placing Mandelson beside a woman in underwear, intensifying political pressure and public scrutiny. Additional records indicate Epstein-funded flights in 2003 that were allegedly not declared in parliamentary disclosures. WATCH 

Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, triggering fresh concerns about the independence of the US central bank. Powell has publicly linked the probe to ongoing political pressure over interest rate decisions, raising alarms across financial markets.