July 18, 2019

Italy police deal blow to ‘violent’ Nigerian mafia

July 18, 2019 10:08 am

Italian police said Thursday they had arrested 19 suspected members of a Nigerian mob, including the leaders of a clan which forged alliances with other mafias and violently punished any who rebelled.

In an operation dubbed “Burning Flame”, coordinated by police in Bologna and Turin, over 300 officers carried out arrests and searches in nine cities across northern Italy, from Bergamo to Modena, Parma and Ravenna.

A two-year probe — aided significantly by a man on the inside who fed details to investigators — “has allowed us to destroy much of what, within the Nigerian community, is known as the …

Unfathomable Mercy: A full length TV drama series 31

July 18, 2019 12:58 am

By MarkAnthony Nze

88. EXT.PARK. DAY

At a CORNER of the BUS PARK, MR. BANJO and the SECRETARY are discussing over the running of the PARK.

BANJO

Secretary, I wan make we employ another ticket officer na wey I don commot that yeye boy wey I put honey for em mouth em say e no want.

(Secretary, I want us to employ another ticket officer now that I have finally sacked that foolish boy)

SECRETARY

Chairman, let’s not be in a hurry to do that especially now that we’ve increased the ticket fare.

BANJO

Why you talk …

Pastor dies of Ebola after praying for sick person

July 18, 2019 12:22 am

It was a matter of fear and anxiety as the first Ebola patient in Goma, the largest city in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) died days after he got infected with the deadly virus.

DRC’s health ministry said the Pastor got infected after visiting Butembo, one of the epicentres of the epidemic, before taking a bus to Goma.

The pastor had preached at seven churches during his visit to Butembo, a town 300km to the north of Goma, and reportedly laid his hands on worshippers, including people who were ill.

Read Also: Ebola: Death toll …

US slaps sanctions on Al-Qaeda affiliate in Mali

July 18, 2019 12:18 am

The US Treasury on Tuesday imposed sanctions on an Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group in Mali that carried out deadly attacks on the west African country’s armed forces.

The measures target Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) — designated a terrorist organization by Washington last September — and its commander Bah Ag Moussa, an army deserter who led a raid on a Malian military base that killed 21 former comrades.

“Treasury is targeting the leadership of JNIM, Al-Qaeda’s branch in Mali, for its destabilizing role conducting terrorist attacks across the country,” said Treasury Under Secretary Sigal Mandelker.

Read Also: China to impose sanctions …

US Senator Schumer asks FBI, FTC to probe Russia’s FaceApp

July 18, 2019 12:16 am

US Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called on the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a national security and privacy investigation into FaceApp, a face-editing photo app developed in Russia, in a letter sent on Wednesday.

The viral smartphone application, which has seen a new surge of popularity due to a filter that ages photos of users’ faces, requires “full and irrevocable access to their personal photos and data,” which could pose “national security and privacy risks for millions of U.S. citizens,” Schumer said in his letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and FTC Chairman Joe Simons.

The …

Asylum seekers anxiously cross into US

July 18, 2019 12:02 am

Fear over new US curbs on almost all asylum seekers spread this week among migrants at its southern border, but some on waiting lists in Mexican cities found the gates to the United States stayed open, despite a much higher bar to stay.

Migrants in Ciudad Juarez and other Mexican border towns were cautiously optimistic as the policy took effect on Tuesday, with U.S. officials still calling those on lists of asylum seekers to cross the bridge into the United States and apply.

The new rule requires asylum-seekers crossing a third country on the way to the United States to …