₦airaland Forum

Nigerian migrant worker burned alive in Libya
By Tamara Qiblawi, CNN
Oct 8, 2020

(CNN) - Three men stormed a factory in Tripoli, doused a Nigerian worker in petrol, and set him on fire, according to a statement by the Libyan interior ministry, in a new reported attack on migrants in the north African country.
The United Nations has described the man's death "another senseless crime against migrants in the country."
A statement by Tripoli's interior ministry on Wednesday said the suspects -- all Libyan nationals -- had been detained for the attack on the man, who has not been named.
The ministry cited witness testimony that described the men storming the factory and setting the Nigerian man on fire.
"We are horrified by the killing of a Nigerian migrant worker in Tripoli, #Libya by three men yesterday. The young man was burned alive, in yet again another senseless crime against migrants in the country," tweeted Federico Soda, head of the UN's International Organization of Migration mission in Libya. "Those responsible must be held to account."
War-torn Libya has repeatedly been accused of being a hostile environment for migrants and refugees, many of whom pass through the country in an attempt to reach safer shores in Europe.
Many of these migrants are intercepted by European authorities and returned to Libya.
Last month, Amnesty International released a report detailing "horrific cycles of abuses" of migrants in Libya, including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and rape.
The rights group says that the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the abuse.
"Instead of being protected, they are met with a catalogue of appalling human rights abuses and now unfairly for the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic on deeply racist and xenophobic grounds," said Diana Eltahawy, the rights group's Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said in the report.
"Despite this, even in 2020 the EU and its member states continue to implement policies trapping tens of thousands of men, women and children in a vicious cycle of abuse, showing callous disregard for people's lives and dignity."
In August, over 45 migrants died in a shipwreck off of the Libyan coast. More than 7,000 people making the perilous journey have been returned to Libya in 2020, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
Thousands of these are believed to end up in detention centers in parts of Libya controlled by the internationally-recognized government in Tripoli.
In 2017, a CNN team witnessed a dozen men being sold in a slave auction in Libya, which opened an investigation into the slave markets.

Nigerians and their hypocrisy, they want to judge other country with an established law that is enforced to deal with criminals, Nigeria, a lawless country where criminals walk for free and innocent get killed with no repercussions. They get killed daily, but they only hide behind the internet to judge other countries lol

Why do some jobless people post something that Nigerians cannot relate with. We all know that this case cannot happen in Nigeria,lol

MANILA (Reuters) - The United States military presence in Asia is needed as rivalry between Washington and Beijing intensifies, the Philippines' foreign minister said on Wednesday.

The two powers are arguing over issues from trade to what the United States sees as aggressive moves by China's armed forces, especially in the disputed South China Sea and around Chinese-claimed Taiwan.

"We have a balance of power situation," Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said in an interview with ANC News Channel. "We need the U.S. presence in Asia".

The United States has long opposed China's territorial claims on the South China Sea, regularly sending warships to demonstrate freedom of navigation there.
It hardened its position last month by rejecting Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea, a move which China condemned.

Locsin said it would be in the Philippine's interest for the the United States to maintain its military presence in the region and he reiterated the country "never stopped cooperation" with its long-time security ally.

In June, President Rodrigo Duterte suspended his decision to scrap a two-decade-old troop deployment agreement with the United States that has given the Philippines access to scores of annual training exercises, including expertise in tackling Islamist militants and maritime threats.

The U.S. military also formerly had two huge military bases in the Philippines - Subic Bay and Clark - but was evicted from them in 1992.

The two countries revived close ties from 2000 with war games, frequent visits and by helping against communist and Muslim insurgents.

​ The Philippines has lodged several diplomatic protests against what it sees as provocative Chinese activities in disputed sea, the latest filed against what it said was China's illegal confiscation of equipment from Filipino fisherman in a disputed lagoon.

"I was very firm about protecting what was ours. I was very firm about never bending a knee to China," Locsin said.

China claims historic ownership of most of the South China Sea using old maps that it says are proof of sovereignty. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims.

Vietnam on Wednesday accused China of violating its sovereignty by conducting military drills in a disputed part of the South China Sea.

But while affirming the need for American military presence in the region, Philippines' Locsin said he would welcome economic opportunities offered by China.

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is proposing to let U.S. regulators audit its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in a concession aimed at solving their long-running accounting dispute, but would insist on redacting some information on national security grounds, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

The United States has long complained of lack of access to audit working papers for U.S.-listed Chinese companies. Washington earlier this months threatened measures to delist Chinese firms that fail to meet its auditing requirements.

Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), told Bloomberg that CSRC this month sent the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) a fresh proposal that would allow the U.S. to pick any of its SOEs for a trial joint inspection.
A previous trial inspection done jointly by Chinese and U.S. regulators failed to yield an agreement, the article said.

Fang also called for direct talks with U.S. officials, but an offer for a video or phone meeting has yet to get a response, it said.

Fang didn't immediately reply a request for comment.

Fang's remarks echoed an Aug. 8 statement by CSRC in response to delisting calls from the Trump Administration.

In that statement, CSRC said it has been proposing joint accounting inspections with U.S. regulators with a show of "total sincerity towards cooperation". CSRC also said solving the issue through dialogue is the only way toward "win-win" situation.

(Reporting by Samuel Shen and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Kim Coghill)

A well-known South African conservationist has died after he was mauled by two white lions as he was taking them for a walk.
The wife of West Mathewson, who followed in a car, tried to distract the lions but it was too late.
He ran a popular safari lodge, Lion Tree Top Lodge, in Limpopo province.
The lionesses have since been moved to another game lodge and are expected to be released into the wild at a later stage.
A well-known South African conservationist has died after he was mauled by two white lions as he was taking them for a walk.
The wife of West Mathewson, who followed in a car, tried to distract the lions but it was too late.
He ran a popular safari lodge, Lion Tree Top Lodge, in Limpopo province.
The lionesses have since been moved to another game lodge and are expected to be released into the wild at a later stage.
A lioness became aggressive towards the other and then turned her attention to the conservationist affectionately known as "Uncle West", reports the BBC's Nomsa Maseko from Johannesburg.
His relatives have said that Wednesday's attack could have been the result of very rough play.
The lionesses were tranquillized following the attack and have been taken to an endangered species center.
Mr. Mathewson is said to have rescued the lions from "canned hunting" - when animals are hunted in an enclosed area, or they are bred to be hunted - and they were kept in an enclosure at his lodge.
The lionesses reportedly killed a man working on a neighboring property after they broke out of the enclosure in 2017.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/west-mathewson-south-african-conservationist-093754938.html

Preinstalled malware on low-cost Chinese phones has stolen data and money from some of the world's poorest people.

Craig SilvermanBuzzFeed News Reporter

Posted on August 24, 2020, at 9:01 a.m. ET



When Mxolosi saw a Tecno W2 smartphone in a store in Johannesburg, South Africa, he was attracted to its looks and functionality. But what really drew him in was the price, roughly $30 — far less than comparable models from Samsung, Nokia, or Huawei, Africa’s other top brands.

“They’re very attractive and appealing to your eyes,” Mxolosi, who asked for his last name not to be used to protect his personal safety, told BuzzFeed News. “Honestly, I was a Samsung fan but I said, ‘Let me try this new product.’”

It was another sale for Transsion, the Chinese company that makes Tecno and other low-priced smartphones, as well as basic handsets, for the developing world. Since releasing its first smartphone in 2014, the upstart has grown to become Africa’s top handset seller, beating out longtime market leaders Samsung and Nokia.

But its success can come at a price. Mxolosi, an unemployed 41-year-old, became frustrated with his Tecno W2. Pop-up ads interrupted his calls and chats. He’d wake up to find his prepaid data mysteriously used up and messages about paid subscriptions to apps he’d never asked for.
“It was expensive for me, and at some point I ended up not buying data because I didn’t know what was eating it up,” he said.

He thought it might be his fault, but according to an investigation by Secure-D, a mobile security service, and BuzzFeed News, software embedded in his phone right out of the box was draining his data while trying to steal his money. Mxolosi’s Tecno W2 was infected with xHelper and Triada, malware that secretly downloaded apps and attempted to subscribe him to paid services without his knowledge.

Secure-D’s system, which mobile carriers use to protect their networks and customers against fraudulent transactions, blocked 844,000 transactions connected to preinstalled malware on Transsion phones between March and December 2019.

Secure-D Managing Director Geoffrey Cleaves told BuzzFeed News that Mxolosi’s data was used up by the malware as it attempted to subscribe him to paid services. “Imagine how quickly his data would disappear if the subscriptions were successful,” he said.

Along with South Africa, Tecno W2 phones in Ethiopia, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, and Myanmar were infected.

"Transsion traffic accounts for 4% of the users we see in Africa. Yet it contributes over 18% of all the suspicious clicks,” Secure-D Managing Director Geoffrey Cleaves told BuzzFeed News.

It’s the latest example of how cheap Chinese smartphones take advantage of the world’s poorest people. Current security concerns about Chinese apps and hardware have largely focused on potential back doors in Huawei’s 5G equipment. More recently, people have focused on how user data collected by TikTok could be abused by the company and the Chinese government. But an overlooked and ongoing threat is the consistent presence of malware on cheap smartphones from Chinese manufacturers and how it exacts a digital tax on people with low incomes.

A Transsion spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that some of the company's Tecno W2 phones contained the hidden Triada and xHelper programs, blaming an unidentified “vendor in the supply chain process.”

“We have always attached great importance to consumers’ data security and product safety,” they said. “Every single software installed on each device runs through a series of rigorous security checks, such as our own security scan platform, Google Play Protect, GMS BTS, and VirusTotal test.”

The spokesperson said Transsion did not profit from the malware, and they declined to say how many handsets were infected.

Michael Kwet, a visiting fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School who received his doctorate in South Africa, called the idea of Chinese-made phones extracting data and money from people living in poverty “digital colonialism.”

“If you have no disposable income, you're basically left with people preying on your data,” he told BuzzFed News. “The problem we have here is that we don't have a rational business model for a digital society.”

Though it’s largely unknown outside of Africa and in developing countries, Transsion is the fourth-biggest handset maker in the world, behind Apple, Samsung, and Huawei, but it’s the only manufacturer in that group to exclusively focus on low-income markets.

The need to keep costs low opens the door to malware and other vulnerabilities, according to Cleaves. “A fraudster is able to take advantage of that desire for a low price by offering their [hardware or software] services, even at loss, knowing that they can recover the costs through this ad fraud,” he said.

Secure-D previously discovered preinstalled malware on Alcatel phones made by TCL Communication, a Chinese handset maker, in Brazil, Malaysia, and Nigeria. It also exposed how Chinese technology preinstalled on cheap smartphones in Brazil and Myanmar robbed users with fraudulent transactions.

“In many cases it’s [a consumer's] first smartphone and the first time these people have access to the internet,” Guy Krief, a board member of Upstream Systems, the UK company that operates Secure-D, told BuzzFeed News. “The data eaten up by the malware — that’s a very important part of their income.”

Kenneth Adu-Amanfoh, the executive director of the Africa Cybersecurity and Digital Rights Organization, said Chinese phones with preinstalled malware have become a major threat on the continent.

“You have all these wonderful features for cheap, but there is a hidden cost,” he told BuzzFeed News. “There are a lot of Chinese phones that have malware installed on it.”

“At some point I ended up not buying data because I didn’t know what was eating it up,” said Mxolosi, who had to shut down a café he was running due to the coronavirus. South Africa has the fifth-highest number of cases of COVID-19 in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Learning that his smartphone had been stealing his money felt like yet another hardship. “Poor people are getting even more poor. People are going hungry,” he said.

People in the United States are also being exploited. Earlier this year, Malwarebytes, a security service, found preinstalled malware of Chinese origin in two phones offered to citizens with low incomes as part of the US government’s Lifeline program, which provides subsidized phones and mobile data. Both phones were made by Chinese companies.

Nathan Collier, a senior mobile malware analyst at Malwarebytes, said cheap Chinese smartphones are a security risk to people with low incomes around the world.

“It seems like we’re seeing the same story over and over again where there’s a cheap phone made from China with Chinese malware on it that gets in the hands of people who can’t afford a pricier phone,” he told BuzzFeed News. “Having preinstalled malware right there in your phone when you turn it on out of the box is gross and nasty.”

Collier researched Triada and xHelper and said they were “the first malware [he’s] even seen where a factory reset doesn’t take care of it. That’s a game changer.”

Typically, malware like Triada and xHelper requires someone to be tricked into installing it on their phones, rather than it coming straight from the factory. It’s often used to deliver invasive ads that send money back to whoever controls the malware. But it can also be used to install apps that subscribe the victim to paid services via monthly billing or prepaid data — siphoning cash directly from the phone’s owner.

Transsion said it created a fix for Triada in March 2018 after reports identified its presence on W2 smartphones. Transsion said it also shipped a fix for xHelper in late 2019. In both cases, phone owners needed to download the fixes and update their phones.

Cleaves said Secure-D has continued to block transactions related to Triada and xHelper on Transsion phones into April this year, though at a lower volume than before.

“Although xHelper appears to have entered a dormant stage, we have no reason to believe it's gone away,” he said. “There’s no reason to believe that the perpetrators behind that malware are just going to give up. They’ve got this extremely virulent malware sleeping on millions of devices, and it’s just a matter of time before they strike again.”

Mxolosi said he had no idea which company made his phone. He was surprised and disappointed to hear it was a Chinese company.

“Oh god. That means the Chinese are just ripping us off left, right, and center,” he said, comparing his malware-riddled smartphone to designer knockoffs made in China that flood South Africa. “We are getting [counterfeit versions] of clothing that are made in the US. They come in and make them with bad quality.”

Mxolosi said he was planning to buy another Tecno phone until BuzzFeed News informed him of what was wrong with his W2. Now he is looking for other options.

“Now I would never,” he said. “That device would make me spend more on that phone. So why should I go for that while we’ve having problems with money?”

U.S. intelligence determined that local Wuhan officials hid information about the coronavirus from the central Chinese government due to fear of reprisals, The New York Times reported Wednesday. 

An internal report compiled of information from U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, indicates that Wuhan and Hubei Province officials kept Beijing leaders in the dark about the virus for weeks. These local leaders reportedly attempted to cover up the virus from central Chinese officials over fear of retaliation, American officials familiar with the report told the Times. 

Current and former American officials said that local Chinese officials repeatedly keep information from the central government due to this fear.

The intelligence report seems to support the Trump administration's narrative that China hid the coronavirus outbreak from the rest of the world, though the details of who knew what and when remains unclear.
Previous statements from the administration, including the president who said "China's secrecy, deceptions and cover-up" caused the pandemic, conveys that Chinese President Xi Jinping and central officials fully knew about the virus early in the pandemic and took action to hide its effects. But this report indicates that may not have been true.

The intelligence report, distributed in June with classified and unclassified sections, still backs the argument that communist officials kept information from the world, according to the Times. Senior Beijing officials did not provide all coronavirus information to the World Health Organization as they attempted to get more knowledge themselves from local officials, the report found.

The intelligence report adds to other reporting and evidence that determined local Chinese officials' withholding of information contributed to the spread of the coronavirus.


The U.S. has recorded more than 5.5 million cases of COVID-19, leading to 172,511 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The ops sounds and looks like a fool. What's the irony of that stupid story?

Nigerians are rejected by all, even by other African countries, that's sad.

By Mica Soellner

August 13, 2020


The U.S. government reportedly seized four vessels loaded with Iranian fuel that allegedly violated the sanctions on the country imposed by the Trump administration.

The four vessels were recently seized on the high seas and are on their way to Houston, Texas, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials. Senior administration officials are expected to meet the tankers at a scheduled event to mark the docking.

Military force was not used to take the vessels, according to the report.

The tankers allegedly were part of a scheme set up by an Iranian businessman affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is designated by the United States as a terrorist organization.

USA TODAY

'Sorry to burst the magic bubble' says Florida lawmaker of hydroxychloroquine as he battles COVID-19

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon, Florida Today

August 4, 2020, 1:06 PM


After two weeks battling COVID-19, State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay) posted on Facebook that he needed his lungs X-rayed as his symptoms now included a recurring fever and a hacking chest cough. He remarked that the hydroxychloroquine therapy he had been on proved ineffective.

“I’ve had a cold who knows how many times. I have never had to deal with anything like this. And for those who want to believe that (hydroxychloroquine) is some kind of magic solution, I’ve been taking that too (I don’t oppose it, but I am tired of people pretending it is magic),” he wrote in the post.

By the time the X-ray images came back showing lung damage serious enough that doctors ordered Fine to stay for observation, a debate over hydroxychloroquine raged on Fine's Facebook page.

“Hydroxychloroquine as stated by many Doctors here and abroad is very effective. Had you been given that at the outset you might think it was magic indeed...” wrote one user.

“Was given it the day my test came back,” Fine replied. “Sorry to burst the magic bubble.”
Further on, netizens commented that surely Fine must have not been taking the drug “as prescribed” or following “protocol” (there is none established by any medical authority).

"I'm over it," Fine texted FLORIDA TODAY from his Holmes Regional Medical Center hospital bed on Monday. "People should be able to use it if they want. But people should stop pretending it is some kind of magic potion as well. If they need proof, look at me."

Since the early days of the pandemic, excitement over the possibility that cheap, widely available drugs might be repurposed to combat the novel coronavirus has spurred a flurry of research and clinical trials. But one non-peer reviewed, clinical study from France, which has been widely derided for its shoddy methodology, including randomly eliminating test subjects without explanation, and small sample size, touted the effectiveness of the decades old anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine when used alongside azithromycin the antibiotic commonly sold as Z-Pak.

Fervor around a possible miracle cure exploded, fueled by anecdotal reports that patients recovered suddenly after taking the drug. Before science could validate the results of the study, the drug was seized on by President Donald Trump who along with allies such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis secured vast quantities of the untested “cure” at taxpayer’s expense.


Fervor around a possible miracle cure exploded, fueled by anecdotal reports that patients recovered suddenly after taking the drug. Before science could validate the results of the study, the drug was seized on by President Donald Trump who along with allies such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis secured vast quantities of the untested “cure” at taxpayer’s expense.

But successive clinical trials following standard scientific methods failed to replicate the results touted by the flawed studies that championed the therapy. The scientific consensus is that there is no measurable impact from taking the drug, alone, or alongside other medications.

U.S. health authorities began recommending against the use of the therapy outside of the controlled setting of a clinical trial because of the risk of adverse side-effects.

On Jul. 22 the highly-respected journal Nature published a first of it's kind study that looked at live human lung cells and found definitively that chloroquine had no anti-viral properties when it came to the virus that causes COVID-19.

The argument appeared to be settled.

Then, last week, President Trump again touted hydroxychloroquine after a group of physicians calling themselves “America’s Frontline Doctors” staged a press conference in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington D.C.

A video of one of the doctors, Stella Immanuel, claiming that a combination of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and the nutritional supplement zinc were a cure quickly went viral. Even as social media platforms feverishly tried to take down the video for containing false and misleading claims it was re-posted by President Trump, major right-wing personalities and Donald Trump Jr.

Dr. Immanuel’s credentials have since come under scrutiny, along with her prior claims that certain real-life ailments are caused by sexual intercourse with demons.

This prompted assistant secretary for Health and Human Services, Adm. Brett Giroir, who was appointed to the White House's coronavirus task force to coordinate testing efforts, to say on 'Meet the Press' Sunday that it was time to "move on" and that the government does not recommend the therapy.

"The most well-designed studies so far, that are not anecdotal, but are actual studies, have indicated that there does not appear to be any beneficial effect on the use of hydroxychloroquine," said Jay Wolfson a public health policy expert and senior associate dean at the University of South Florida's medical school.

Despite this, believers in the treatment have persisted.

“He didn’t use the HCQ correctly,” a comment said on Randy Fine’s page. “You must take zinc with the hydroxychloraquine. (sic) The zinc is the magic bullet and the hydroxychloraquine (sic) carries it so it can prevent viral replication. Just curious, did you take the zinc too?”

“Yup. Sorry to burst the magic bubble,” Fine shot back.

In fact Fine said he took the drugs on the recommendation and prescription of his doctor, and contrary to assertions that the public is being denied access to the drug, Fine said he had no problem filling his prescription at CVS.

Certain states have curtailed easy access to hydroxychloroquine to prevent hoarding that was endangering access for patients with Lupus who also need the drug. But anybody with a prescription from a doctor willing to prescribe it for COVID-19, in theory, has access.

Fine has now stopped responding to commenters asking about whether he was taking the therapy.

"I just got tired of every time I made an update people stating that if I just took (hydroxychloroquine) I'd be magically healed which was particularly frustrating because I was taking it," he told FLORIDA TODAY in a text.

"Much of COVID has become politics as opposed to science," said USF's Wolfson. "And it's an old issue of science being viewed in some social circles as being antithetical to belief systems."

Whether it was polio or smallpox, Wolfson said resistance to science and public health expertise, despite concerted public information campaigns, has always been an issue.

"It took a long enough time where enough people died or were affected by it, that both individuals and communities and political systems and communities, took action. We've only been at this for seven months in this country."

Only then, Wolfson said, will the walls individual's belief systems have erected come down.

For Fine the situation is reminiscent of the polarization over masks. "It's like people can no longer accept disagreement with their view."

It should be noted that Wolfson has been retained as an expert witness for Hillsborough County, which is fighting against a lawsuit to repeal their mask mandate brought by Republican State Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R—Howey in the Hills).

Fine, for his part, thinks it's a matter of people needing to feel comforted during a difficult time.

"I think perhaps some people are clinging to this to psychologically manage their anxiety over the disease." he continued, adding "because if some pill can magically make it go away who has to worry?"

Angelacruz:
Very true

I agree with you. You gotta make that hard decision. Like you know too, you help a Nigerian with $100 today, they'll come back for $1000 tomorrow, that's just the way they are programmed. It's sad.

You act as if you owe them your life, but you gotta close your eyes. I have been living in the United States since 2001, I have sent too much money that I would build 10 mansions, but that's our people and our culture. You need to man up, make the tough decision, change your number or ignore all calls from Nigeria. I still help out, but I now have selective helping. But, at the need of the day, it's your life and your decision to make, whatever works for me, might not work for you.

I see a mentally retarded boy that the Nigerian parents failed because the mental health was not sought for, there are many of these kids in the western world that their Nigerian or African parents fail because of the stigma attached to seeking help for these kids. Police was not called because of fear of mental health that will be required.

That has been the practice for a while. I applied for the children's passports 2 years ago to visit Nigeria, we got the same message, but we had no problem because the name on the credit card corresponds with the names of the applicants.

iod69779:
I had planned to visit Nigeria and other countries from the US this summer on a short vacation, maybe for a few weeks or so, but the pandemic struck! Europe is out of the question for now, but somehow Nigeria is still on my mind. Just pondering. What do you guys think?

How stupid does your question sound to you? You must be one of the dumbest people in the world.

You have a private jet to fly into Nigeria?

One day after the death of a Saudi prince infected with coronavirus, a medical source revealed that some members of the royal family are undergoing treatment in hospital and in their private villas after their health deteriorated as a result of the virus.

Saudi Leaks reported Dr Nezar Bahabri confirming that more than 1,200 critical coronavirus infections cases are being treated in the kingdom with ventilators.

“The situation in Jeddah and Riyadh is very concerning. We did not expect the critical cases to reach this number,” said Bahabri in a video clip.

He added: “I was always an optimist and called for not worrying about the increase in numbers, but at that time, the number of critical cases did not exceed a few hundreds.”

Bahabri claims the case spike could be a product of increased social contact during the Eid Al-Fitr celebrations on 25 May. He says patients he monitors claim their symptoms started towards the end of Ramadan and the first days of Eid.

Yesterday Reuters reported that the number of coronavirus infections in the oil-rich state had reached 100,000 with over 700 deaths.

A Saudi prince allegedly died due to COVID-19 on Thursday, with the Royal Court announcing the death of Prince Saud Bin Abdullah Bin Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). No mention was given regarding the cause of death.

The New York Times has previously reported that about 150 princes have contracted the disease, including the governor of Riyadh, Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Abdulaziz.

However, former Saudi intelligence chief, Turki Al-Faisal, said the real number of less than 20.

Patriot9:
is it not funny? A country like america who can build machines as super as SR-71 and F-35 can be relying on Russian rockets engine

There's something called cheap alternative. If you get a service you don't need all the time from a specialist for cheaper, it's always better to rent than owing, that's the case

STAGED

More than $100 million has disappeared from the Washington State Unemployment Office and officials there are blaming Nigerian scammers.

The head of the state’s Employment Security Department said impostors have used stolen information from tens of thousands of people to fraudulently receive hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment benefits, San Francisco Gate reported.

The U.S. Secret Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security, says the scammers are tied to an organized group — the Nigerian Scattered Canary criminal gang.

Scattered Canary used gmail to generate fraudulent accounts, file claims, and receive payments.

The scam group emerged about a decade ago and tends to target government services including unemployment fraud, social security fraud, disaster relief fraud and student aid fraud, according to Armen L. Najarian, CMO and chief identity officer of email security company Agari.

Scattered Canary is a Nigerian fraud ring that began in 2008. It started with just one actor dubbed “Alpha.” Alpha ran Craigslist scams with the help of a more seasoned mentor, dubbed “Omega,” AXIOS reported. The pair reportedly committed 419 total Craigslist scams, averaging $24,000 in profits. For 10 years, Agari has been tracking and gathering intelligence on the ring that has grown to include at least 35 people.

Washington state is working with federal law enforcement, financial institutions and the U.S. Department of Labor to recover the money paid out during the huge increase in joblessness from the coronavirus crisis, Commissioner Suzi LeVine said.

The scam has led to payments to the actual unemployed being delayed.

A U.S. Secret Service alert issued last week identified Washington state as the top target so far of a Nigerian ring seeking to commit large-scale fraud against state unemployment insurance programs, The New York Times and Seattle Times reported.

More than 1.1 million people in Washington state have filed for unemployment benefits since businesses started closing in March due to covid-19. But some of these were most likely fraudulently, officials said.

“These are very sophisticated criminals who have pretty robust collections of information on people, and they are activating and monetizing that information,” LeVine said.

The Nigerian scammers are hitting other targets too.

In the last nine weeks, 38.6 million people nationwide have filed for unemployment benefits, The Washington Post reported.

Scattered Canary recently attempted to exploit the CARES Act on May 17, filing two fraudulent unemployment claims through Hawaii’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations website, SC Media reported.

“Since its inception, at least 35 different actors have joined Scattered Canary in its fraudulent schemes,” according to a recently released whitepaper on the gang. “The group has turned to a scalable model through which they can run multiple types of scams concurrently.”

In addition to a new rash of bogus claims in Hawaii, there have been at least 259 bogus other claims in Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. In Washington, the latest figure of bogus claims has been in tens of thousands, according to reports. Considering unemployment claims are sent out weekly, and these bogus payments have been sent out over a nine-week period, this can quickly add up to millions of dollars.

The scams had been designed to take advantage of the CARES Act providing financial relief in the form of Economic Impact Payments (EIP). The bogus claims were tracked by email security company Agari.

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 71: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin Martin discusses how J. Edgar Hoover’s goal to water down and neutralize strong Black politics involved informants and agents trading money and status for the water-down.

The fraudsters took advantage of cities and states that have been struggling to process an overflow of jobless claims amid the covid-19 pandemic and related government shutdowns, Business Insider reported.

Nigerian scammers are not relenting in the times of COVID-19.

A particular news item caught my attention this morning

"Nigerian fraudsters ripping off the unemployment system" – WIRED.

There's a so called Nigerian fraudster ring by name of "scattered canary" as reported.

— Oluniyi Gates (@OloyeGates) May 20, 2020

Abidjan (AFP) - The US Department of the Treasury has called on the African Development Bank (AfDB) to carry out an independent probe into alleged ethics breaches by its president, Akinwumi Adesina.

In a letter obtained by AFP on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed "deep reservations" about the outcome of an internal inquiry clearing Adesina, and urged the appointment of an independent outside investigator.

The letter, dated May 22, was sent to the chair of the AfDB's board, Ivorian Planning and Development Minister Niale Kaba.

Adesina is seeking a second five-year term at the helm of the AfDB, one of the world's five largest multilateral development banks.

Whistleblowers last month submitted a 15-page report to bank governors detailing alleged embezzlement, preferential treatment for fellow Nigerians in senior appointments and the promotion of people suspected or convicted of fraud and corruption.

The bank's ethics committee totally exonerated Adesina, saying the complaint "rested on no objective, solid facts".

Adesina himself has dismissed the allegations as "spurious and unfounded" and "blatantly false."

A former Nigerian agriculture minister, Adesina, 60, is the only candidate in an election which was set for late May but which has been postponed to August because of the coronavirus pandemic.

He has received the backing of the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

In October 2019, the AfDB raised $115 billion (105 billion euros) in fresh capital, an operation deemed a personal success for Adesina.

The bank had been shaken by a series of high-level departures soon after his arrival, with complaints of Adesina's "authoritarian" leadership style.

Adesina is the first Nigerian president of the AfDB, in which Nigeria is the top stakeholder with nine percent.

Mnuchin's letter came after the whistleblowers called for an independent inquiry after their complaint gained no traction.

The internal probe was tainted by "irregularities and manipulations", a group of anonymous "concerned staff members of the AfDB" said in a letter to bank governors.

The AfDB has 80 state shareholders, 54 of which are African.The others are from the Americas, Asia and Europe.

Idiots, killing and eating everything without replacement

marimarempress:
The actress shared a picture of her wearing a bikini despite being married to a Seventh-day Adventist pastor.

An Instagram user banana_king took to the comment section to label the picture as "ungodly".

See Meagan's reply below :

https://www.instagram.com/p/CATSslCD98z/?igshid=169v0qiopsnl7

And what's a baiting suit?

Tech Times
May 17, 2020 9:47 pm

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/249689/20200517/hackers-millions-of-americans-stolen-identities-used-for-massive-unemployment-benefit-scam.htm

A group of hackers stole millions of Americans' identities and used them to conduct a massive unemployment scam.

According to a report from The Verge, a Nigerian crime ring allegedly used millions of Americans' stolen identities to fraudulently file for unemployment benefits. The situation is currently being investigated by the US Secret Service.

Hackers Conducted A Massive Unemployment Benefit Scam Using Millions Of Americans' Stolen Identities

It was explained by authorities that the personal information was stolen at a time when millions of Americans were applying for unemployment benefits. The large number of applications resulted in lax security measures, allowing the group of hackers to breach the unemployment systems in many states.

The New York Times reported on May 16 that a sophisticated international attack was evident, according to US investigators. The attack could siphon hundreds of millions of dollars that were intended for the unemployed.

It was reiterated that detailed sensitive information about American citizens, such as social security numbers that may have been breached years ago, was used by the group of cyber attackers.

The information obtained was used to file claims on behalf of individuals who have not been laid off. Payments have gone straight to direct-deposit accounts, while people in many states rushed to pay claims. It was later realized by an agency in Washington State that was tasked to manage unemployment claims when confirmation paperwork was reportedly received by still-employed individuals in their mail.

Hackers conducted a massive unemployment benefit scam using millions of Americans' stolen identities

According to The Verge, a memo was sent to the field offices by the US Secret Service late last week. It stated that a "substantial" database of stolen personal information--most of it coming from government personnel, school employees, and first responders of the pandemic--are being used by a Nigerian-based ring.

The evidence of other attacks in Flordia, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Wyoming, and Rhode Island, clearly shows that Washington State is the main target of the hackers, as stated by the US Secret Service.

Hackers Conducted A Massive Unemployment Benefit Scam Using Millions Of Americans' Stolen Identities

The New York Times reiterated that some workplaces at Western Washington University in Bellingham were seriously affected, with more than 400 out of 2,500 employees targeted by the group of hackers. The state was forced to hire more people since the hotline was flooded with phone calls from people and businesses asking about the unemployment notifications they have received.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced over 36 million Americans out of work. State unemployment offices are being inundated with claims, making it difficult for them to accommodate the unemployed individuals since many of the offices lack essential resources and staff to vet applications while getting payments to people in a timely manner. A 27% increase in fraudulent claims was seen by Washington's unemployment department between March and April 2020.

SenecaTheYonger:
Yeah, keep sucking on your own_cock

The truth hurts, you turned to insults using non sensical words you can't use in the presence of your parents. I won't waste my time on a low- life boy with no goal for life and not even ready to learn how to be successful in life. Bye lol

SenecaTheYonger:
Fvck your backwater shithole-tier multiple exchange systems. And fvck your inferiority complex. I don't know what telling me you live in the US has to do with this. Plus the fed rate is set at 390 dumbass.

The US part came in to let you know I'm am expert making millions in this topic, not someone that's out of touch with the reality. Did the original post mention anything about the dumb official rate? You're just who you are, idiot lol. You don't have to change the topic. Continue living a miserable life, such a low life local champion that refuse to learn from others. 5 people corrected you, but that tells a lot about your miserable life.

SenecaTheYonger:
Fuvck off with your stupid backwater system of exchange rate. Muh aboki rate. Lol. Imagine.

You just showed how dumb your stupid ass is. You have been corrected by at least 5 of your fellow countrymen. I live in the US and I send USD to my domiciliary account in Nigeria, I've made millions of Naira benefiting from the stupid policy of your government. It'll get to $1 to #500 in 2 weeks. The rate at
https://www.abokifx.com is what the hausas use and that's the authentic rate. Call a couples of them in Lagos and check the rate from that site. The rate being used by boss revolution, western union, transfer wise is set by the federal government at below #378 to $1. Can you see who's stupid now? You guys hide behind the internet and write something you know nothing about. Your apologies accepted lol.

The federal government actually regulate how much money those online transfer like western union, transferwise pay as exchange rate. Figure out why. Your government does everything to affect the general public

quote author=gurunlocker post=89461987]

Not fake news... TransferWise is 374.12 for weeks now

Payoneer is 382.. These are parallel rates which all these websites use.

The truth behind this is, they use 3rd party BDC company in Nigeria (If you can mention TransferWise, you will know the BDC I'm talking about). They are the one eating the big chunk of it. They will get the USD at 450 and give people 374-382.


But if you use Dom account and collect your dollars and take it to Aboki or dem BDC gangan, na 450 o....[/quote]

SenecaTheYonger:
its still 374.12 NGN in online money transfer service, Bleep off with this fake news.

This will help your ignorant ass

https://www.abokifx.com/home