Walmart sued for scammers' use of money transfer unit

NEW YORK >> The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it has sued Walmart for allegedly allowing its money transfer services to be used by scam artists who stole “hundreds of millions of dollars” from customers.

In its lawsuit, the agency alleged that for years, Walmart failed to properly secure the money transfer services offered at its stores. The agency said Walmart didn't properly train its employees, failed to alert customers and used procedures that allowed fraudsters to cash out at its stores. The FTC is asking the court to order Walmart to return money to consumers and to impose civil penalties on the company.

“While scammers used its money transfer services to make off with cash, Walmart looked the other way and pocketed millions in fees,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said.

Walmart called the lawsuit “factually flawed and legally baseless.”

Former Nazi guard, 101, going to prison for aiding in murders

BERLIN >> A 101-year-old man was convicted in Germany of 3,518 counts of accessory to murder on Tuesday for serving at the Nazis' Sachsenhausen concentration camp during World War II.

The Neuruppin Regional Court sentenced him to five years in prison.

The man, who was identified by local media as Josef S., had denied working as an SS guard at the camp and aiding and abetting the murder of thousands of prisoners.

In the trial, which opened in October, the man said that he had worked as a farm laborer near Pasewalk in northeastern Germany during the period in question.

However, the court considered it proven that he worked at the camp on the outskirts of Berlin between 1942 and 1945 as an enlisted member of the Nazi Party's paramilitary wing, the German news agency dpa reported.

X-ray finds 109 live animals in women's luggage at airport

BANGKOK, THAILAND >> Two women were arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport and accused of smuggling after 109 live animals were found in their luggage, Thai officials say.

Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said on Monday the wild animals were discovered in two suitcases following an X-ray inspection.

Wildlife officials called to the scene discovered two white porcupines, two armadillos, 35 turtles, 50 lizards and 20 snakes in the two pieces of luggage.

Thai authorities said the suitcases belonged to two Indian women: Nithya Raja, 38, and Zakia Sulthana Ebrahim, 24, who were due to board a flight to the Indian city of Chennai.

The women have reportedly been charged with violating the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act of 2019, the Animal Disease Act of 2015 and the Customs Act of 2017.

U.S. drone strikes leader of Al Qaeda-affiliated group

PARIS >> The U.S. carried out a strike in Syria on Monday targeting a senior leader of Hurras al-Din, an Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.

The U.S. is “highly confident” that the strike, carried out from a drone, killed Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, a U.S. official with knowledge of the operation said. Al Yemeni was traveling alone on a motorcycle in the Idlib providence in northwest Syria when he was hit, Central Command said, and an initial review of the strike indicates there were no civilian casualties.

There was no need to notify the Russians using the deconfliction line over Syria, the official said.

Two weeks ago, the U.S.-led coalition arrested a senior IS leader in Aleppo, east of Monday's strike. The U.S identified the detainee as Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi, an experienced bomb maker who rose to become one of the top leaders of IS in Syria.

Maria Ressa: Government affirms news site shutdown

HONOLULU >> Filipino journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa announced in a speech in Hawaii on Tuesday that the Philippine government is affirming a previous order to shut down Rappler, the news website she co-founded, which has gained notice for its reporting of President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody crackdown on illegal drugs.

The Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission affirmed its earlier decision to revoke the certificates of incorporation of Rappler, Ressa said while speaking at the East-West Center in Honolulu.

“Part of the reason I didn't have much sleep last night is because we essentially got a shutdown order,” Ressa told the audience.

Last year, Ressa became the first Filipino and first working journalist in more than 80 years to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

She was a featured speaker at this week's East-West Center's International Media Conference.