Human trafficking arrests in Nigeria
ONITSHA: Nigeria’s immigration service has launched an investigation after two of its staff members were arrested on suspicion of trying to traffic girls out of the country, it said on Friday.
Thousands of girls are each year taken illegally out of Africa’s most populous country, where 70% of the 190 million inhabitants live on less than two dollars a day.
A large proportion of the girls arrive in Europe.
The spokesperson did not say how many girls were involved, nor did he give their ages or say where they were allegedly being taken. The movement of people out of the country by criminal gangs, often by sea rather than air, has become a major problem for authorities.
The British government says Nigeria is the fourth-largest source of human trafficking to its shores.
Anti-pollution measures in place
BEIJING: One of China’s largest cities has imposed curbs on traffic and factories due to a spike in air pollution and told elderly people and children to stay indoors.
The government of Tianjin, a port city of 15.5 million people east of Beijing, said half its cars will be barred from the road each day, starting from today, based on whether their licence plate numbers are odd or even.
Factories have been ordered to reduce emissions by 50%. Pre-schools and primary schools were also told to cancel outdoor activities.
China’s major cities are among the world’s smoggiest and regularly suffer pollution spikes that prompt emergency measures.
India, France in talks this weekend
NEW DELHI: Trade, security and climate – including a key summit on solar power – were to top the agenda on French president Emmanuel Macron’s first official visit to India.
Macron, who arrived in
New Delhi late on Friday, was due to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later yesterday. Besides civil nuclear co-operation and fighting climate change, expanding commerce and security ties and defence sales will be the main topics at the talks, Indian foreign ministry officials said.
Ahead of the visit, Macron said he wanted France to replace Britain as India’s gateway to Europe.
Lottery scammers nabbed one by one
BISMARCK: The last two fugitives in a Jamaican lottery scam authorities say cost dozens of mostly elderly Americans millions of dollars have been captured in the Caribbean country.
A counter-terrorism and fugitive apprehension team arrested Mario Hines on January 9 and Gareth Billings on February 23.
Authorities have sought the two men for years. They are among a group of 15 suspects who are still being prosecuted in North Dakota in what is believed to be the first large-scale Jamaican lottery scam tried in US courts.
So far 27 people have been charged. All have pleaded guilty or been convicted except Hines, Billings and one other suspect.
Hefty fine for movie-makers
LOS ANGELES: The production company behind The Wolf of Wall Street has agreed to pay the US government $60 million (R709m) to settle claims it benefited from a massive Malaysian corruption scandal.
The settlement between prosecutors and Red Granite Pictures was approved on Thursday in the US District Court in Los Angeles.
The case was part of an effort to recover more than $1 billion prosecutors said was stolen from 1MDB, a Malaysian-owned investment fund. The Department of Justice said the complex money laundering scheme was intended to enrich top-level officials of the fund, including some close to Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.
Sources:ap/dpa/reuters/african News Agency (ANA)