Flowerbud News

Category: Foreign

  • India arrests 9 knife-wielding Nigerian drug sellers

    Nine knife-wielding Nigerians allegedly peddling drugs in Mumbai have been arrested by India’s Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC).

    During the arrest on Friday night, police recovered 104 grams of cocaine and nine grams of mephedrone, all worth Rs 5.38 lakh, from the accused who attacked the cops with knives while resisting search.

    According to MumbaiMirror the accused were identified as Charles Ifini Ijia, 27, Okoro Jems Aja, 38, Mascells John Dino,32, Samuel Baju Okeni,30, Ken Kon Ishmel,37, Kofi Jems Romalik, 30, Chikku Fry, 43, Nanna Harisans Agvu, 28, and Joku Humai Vachuku Pais, 32.

    The names were mangled by the officers as the Nigerians did not carry their passports on them, another offence, according to Indian law.

    Investigators said three of the accused were also involved in an attack on officers of ANC’s Worli unit during an operation to nab a Nigerian national allegedly selling cocaine in Byculla on July 19.

    Four police officers had sustained injuries in the attack.

    While the attackers managed to flee then, a case was registered at the JJ Marg police station and night patrolling was increased based on Deputy Commissioner of Police Shivdeep Lande’s order.

    “On Friday night, our officers, who patrolling the South Mumbai area, had neared the Eastern Freeway when they spotted some foreigners hanging around suspiciously under the bridge. The officers approached the group and was about to search them when two of them drew out knives and attacked them. While they attempted to flee, our officers, who had sustained minor injuries, managed to overpower them,” said an ANC officer.

    During interrogation, three of the accused confessed to their involvement in the earlier attack in Byculla and revealed the identities of five others who were involved in the same.

    “We are on their lookout,” said the officer.

    “The accused obstructed police from discharging their duties and intentionally injured four personnel.

  • Venezuela’s bolivar currency worthless, inflation hits 1 million per cent

    Venezuelans need 100,000 bolivar to buy a stick of cigarette and one billion to buy a pair of reading glasses

    The  economy of Venezuela, an oil exporter like Nigeria, has gone fully bonkers. Inflation projected to hit 14,000 percent this year, has been reset by  the International Monetary Fund   to a mind-boggling one million percent.

    Prices and inflation are rising so fast that the highest denomination bank notes minted in 2016 are already practically worthless.The biggest of those, 100,000 bolivars, would have bought five kilograms (11 pounds) of rice in 2017, now it’s barely enough for a single cigarette.

    “If inflation continues at 100 percent a month,” the new 500 bolivar note, which will be the largest following the currency redenomination on August 20, “will be obsolete by December,” said economist Leonardo Vera.

    Currently, a pair of reading glasses can cost one billion bolivars (about $300 on the black market). It would require 10,000 of the country’s largest bank note to pay for those in cash.

    Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
    Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro: now wants to remove five zeros from the worthless currency

    Some shops had resorted to weighing bank notes to determine their value rather than arduously counting them out.

    Unsurprisingly, cash has practically vanished and electronic transfers reign.

     

    Currently, a pair of reading glasses can cost one billion bolivars (about $300 on the black market). It would require 10,000 of the country’s largest bank note to pay for those in cash.

     

     

    But few people could afford to buy those glasses anyway given they cost 200 times the minimum wage of five million bolivars a month.

    As the country grapples with a financial and humanitarian crisis, shortages of food and medicines, and failing public services such as water, electricity and transport, President Nicolas Maduro is planning to zapping five zeros off Venezuela’s almost worthless currency. In March he had  announced  that he would strike three zeros off the bolivar bank notes, before upping that to five.

    The question is how will this latest drastic move help drag Venezuela into recovery?

    Henkel Garcia of economics consultancy Econometrica said the latest move of redenominating the bolivar is merely a “partial acknowledgement” of the hyperinflation crisis but “needs to be accompanied by economic reform in order to stop it,” said .

    Venezuela has already been down this road, 10 years ago when Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez tried the same trick by deleting three zeros.

    “The redenomination in 2008 was a failure because we still ended up with hyperinflation,” said Asdrubal Oliveros, an economist with Ecoanalitica, another economics consultancy.

    “The redenomination was made without accompanying policies to combat inflation so it didn’t tackle the causes.”

    In the short term the move was a “transactional success,” said Garcia, but by “not containing inflation, that was completely lost.”

    The government blames inflation on the opposition and the United States but, in reality, financing of the fiscal hole caused the monetary base to increase 250 fold in two years.

    Industry and production minister Tareck El Aissami said the redenomination aims to “improve the spending power of the working classes.”

    One tangible advantage, though, will be to ease the pressure on technology systems that are at breaking point due to transactions that run into billions of bolivars.

    Many supermarkets, for example, have to divide sales into more than one transaction as their systems are limited to figures of 20 million.

    “The monetary redenomination is to prevent the collapse of businesses’ financial systems: every transaction costs hundreds of millions or billions,” said Vera.

    Practically the only product untouched by the inflation in this oil-rich country is petrol, which is why it is the cheapest in the world. A single dollar at its black market value could buy 3.3 million litres of petrol. Absurdly, once the redenomination is complete, a half bolivar — currently 50,000 bolivars, or less than two cents on the black market — would buy 50,000 litres.

     

    Banking is affected too, with a source telling AFP that “there’s a real possibility of collapse.”

    Practically the only product untouched by the inflation in this oil-rich country is petrol, which is why it is the cheapest in the world. A single dollar at its black market value could buy 3.3 million litres of petrol. Absurdly, once the redenomination is complete, a half bolivar — currently 50,000 bolivars, or less than two cents on the black market — would buy 50,000 litres.

    Such a distortion makes it likely the government will be forced to adjust the price of fuel and other heavily-subsidized goods and services.

    What could complicate matters, though, is if the government decides to run the old and new currencies concurrently, affecting small payments.

    Currently it costs 50 bolivars to fill the tank of a small car. That transaction under the new currency would cost a half centimo — but the bolivar subunit centimo was long made obsolete by inflation.

    Maduro has shown limited signs of applying measures to confront the crisis, suggesting he might ease controls on currency exchange, currently monopolized by the government.

    Imports of raw materials and machinery will be exempt from tariffs to try to encourage production in the country.

    But these measures will only work “if there is economic stability that attracts investment,” said economist Luis Vicente Leon.

    Adapted from AFP report.

  • Trump claims ‘very nasty’ business deal with Mueller

    Trump claims ‘very nasty’ business deal with Mueller

    U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at Robert Mueller, the Special Counsel probing into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

    Trump, in a barrage of tweets, called on Mueller to disclose such “conflicts of interest” and alleged witch-hunt by the special counsel.

    “Is Robert Mueller ever going to release his conflicts of interest with respect to President Trump, including the fact that we had a very nasty & contentious business relationship, I turned him down to head the FBI (one day before appointment as S.C.) & Comey is his close friend.

    “….Also, why is Mueller only appointing Angry Dems, some of whom have worked for Crooked Hillary, others, including himself, have worked for Obama…

    “And why isn’t Mueller looking at all of the criminal activity & real Russian Collusion on the Democrats side-Podesta, Dossier?’’ Trump tweeted.

    Alleged Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, in which Trump won by Electoral College but lost to Clinton by almost three million popular votes, led to the set-up of the special panel headed by Robert Mueller.

    Trump received 304 electoral votes and Clinton garnered 227 but while Trump polled 62,984,825 or 46.4 per cent of the popular votes, Clinton polled 65,853,516 or 48.5 per cent.

    However, Trump has repeatedly and angrily claimed witch-hunt by the Democrats and insisted that there was no collusion.

    The U.S. president had earlier tweeted about the unfair constitution of the members of the more than one-year-old panel, which he claimed were populated by Democrats.

    “There is No Collusion! The Robert Mueller Rigged Witch Hunt, headed now by 17 (increased from 13, including an Obama White House lawyer) Angry Democrats, was started by a fraudulent Dossier, paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC.

    “Therefore, the Witch Hunt is an illegal Scam!’’ Trump tweeted. (NAN)

  • Buhari addresses UN General Assembly Sept. 25

    President Muhammadu Buhari will address the 73rd Session of the high-level General Debate of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

    Buhari would deliver Nigeria’s National Statement on the first day of the general debate of the General Assembly high-level events.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigerian leader has been placed as the number 20 on the list of the speakers out of the 193 world leaders that would address the Assembly.

    NAN also reports that he would deliver the address to the Assembly during the afternoon session on the first day between 8.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m. (between 1.00 a.m. and 2.00 a.m. Nigerian time).

    The President of Brazil would be the first world leader to present his address to the 73rd session followed by the U.S. President, Donald Trump, the traditional second speaker, being the host country.

    Recall that during the 2017 Session of the General Debate of the Assembly, Buhari was the eighth speaker out of the 193 world leaders who addressed the Assembly.

    His address made it one of any Nigerian leader’s earliest address at the annual general debate of the intergovernmental organisation.

    The 2018 General Assembly would be Buhari’s fourth outing at the annual general debate of the Assembly since becoming president in 2015.

    The Nigerian leader’s address during his first outing in 2015, in part, outlined his three cardinal agenda – security, economy and anti-corruption.

    His two subsequent addresses in his outings in 2016 and 2017 also highlighted some of his achievements so far in these areas.

    The 73rd session of the Assembly would open on Sept. 18, 2018, till Oct. 5, while the General Debate would commence on Sept. 25 to Oct. 1.

    The session would be presided over by Ms María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés of Ecuador.

    The theme of the general debate would be, “Making the United Nations Relevant to All People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies”.

    In accordance with rule 1 of the rules of procedure, the General Assembly shall meet every year in regular session commencing on the Tuesday of the third week in September, counting from the first week that contains at least one working day. (NAN)

  • China asks Sweden to extradite wanted man

    China asks Sweden to extradite wanted man

    China has asked Sweden to extradite a man who is being held near Stockholm on suspicion of gross fraud and embezzlement, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said on Friday.

    The authority’s spokeswoman Karin Rosander declined to name the man sought by China but said police arrested him on June 25 and he was being detained in the town of Huddinge.

    In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he was unaware of the case and did not say much about it.

    Rosander said the Swedish National Anti-Corruption Unit has opened an investigation to verify the accusations against the man and determine whether there are grounds for extradition.

    When asked whether he would be sent home, she said: “It depends on what accusations and the conditions in China and several other considerations.”

    Swedish law prevents the authorities from extraditing someone to a country where they would face the death penalty.

    Rosander said this, along with the fact that charges against the individual had not yet been verified, were considerations in the prosecutor’s deliberations.

    A spokesperson for the Swedish Foreign Office did not immediately have a comment on the matter. (Reuters/NAN)

  • ‘Silence does not earn you any respect’, UN rights chief Al-Hussein says

    ‘Silence does not earn you any respect’, UN rights chief Al-Hussein says

    “Silence does not earn you any respect – none,” UN human rights chief Zeid  Al-Hussein said,  defending his reputation for frank criticism in his role weeks before he is due to depart.

    Jordanian prince and diplomat Al-Hussein, who has provoked outrage from world leaders for comments including saying Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte needs a “psychiatric evaluation” and calling Poland and Hungary’s leaders “xenophobes and racists,” spoke to reporters in New York.

    He said the role of the UN’s human rights office is to hold up a mirror to governments’ actions, which requires speaking up.

    “We do not bring shame on governments – they shame themselves,” Al-Hussein added.

    “They shame themselves when they deprive their people of the basic necessities for a dignified life, they shame themselves when they discriminate against parts of their communities, they shame themselves when they stoke fear and make people fear that they have to bend to the will of government or face consequences,” he said.

    Al-Hussein acknowledged that he has burned some bridges with his sharp tongue, but said he has no regrets.

    “If I’m going to make a mistake, I would rather make a mistake speaking out – and not regretting that I didn’t say anything when I should have said something,” he said.

    Al-Hussein will leave his post at the end of August.

    His replacement has not yet been announced.(dpa/NAN)

  • UNHCR alarms as Mediterranean Sea deaths pass 1,500 mark

    No fewer than 1,500 refugees and migrants have lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean in the first seven months of 2018, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said.

    The refugee agency said the bleak milestone was confirmed after more than 850 lives were lost in June and July alone, marking the Mediterranean crossing as the deadliest sea route in the world.

    UNHCR said it was particularly concerned, as the rate of deaths was increasing, in spite of the total number of people arriving on European shores is significantly reduced compared to previous years.

    Around 60,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, about half as many as in 2017 and a return to pre-2014 levels.

    However, one in every 31 people attempting the crossing in June and July died or are missing, compared to one in 49 in 2017, the UN agency said.

    Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Mediterranean, said: “UNHCR urges States and authorities along transit routes to take all necessary action to dismantle smuggler networks.

    “In order to save lives at sea, we must use appropriate and necessary measures to hold to account, those who seek to gain profit from the exploitation of vulnerable human beings’’.

    Exploitative traffickers and smugglers were reportedly organising increasingly dangerous crossings, in ever-more unseaworthy and flimsy vessels.

    These boats, which smugglers severely overloaded with passengers, are then left to sail out at sea in the hope that a rescue will come in time, UNHCR regretted.

    Without further action, more people are expected to perish at sea in the months ahead, as traffickers look to exploit the opportunities offered by improved weather conditions, the refugee agency warned.

    Unlike in previous years, when Italy received the majority of new arrivals, Spain has become the primary destination with more than 23,500 people arriving by sea, compared to around 18,500 in Italy and 16,000 in Greece.

    In July, UNHCR urged for search and rescue capacities on the Mediterranean Sea to be strengthened, after various legal and logistical restrictions were placed on NGO boats looking to rescue people in distress at sea.

    Earlier in 2018, a number of boats carrying rescued passengers were left stranded at sea for days on end after being refused initial opportunities to disembark.

    “Enhanced search and rescue capacities and a clear and predictable mechanism for disembarkation are cornerstones of the Joint Concept Note put forward by UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    They are calling for a regional and collaborative approach to saving lives on the Mediterranean Sea.

    “Without a harmonised and collaborative way forward, that brings coastal states and key stakeholders from the maritime and shipping industry together, we are certain to see the tragedy of the Mediterranean Sea continue.

    “With so many lives at stake, it’s vital that we give shipmasters confidence that they will be able to dock rescued passengers and thereby ensure that the long-standing principle of rescuing people in distress at sea is protected,’’ Cochetel said.

    Refugees fleeing Syria make up around 13.5 per cent of all new sea arrivals in Europe, the largest nationality group, highlighting the continued desperation faced by those affected by the world’s largest refugee crisis.

    UNHCR reiterated its call for the international community to address the root causes of displacement that are driving people from their homes and forcing them to take increasingly dangerous and perilous journeys. (NAN)

  • Pompeo ‘optimistic’ about ending North Korea’s Nuclear Programme

    Pompeo ‘optimistic’ about ending North Korea’s Nuclear Programme

    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday expressed optimism that the North Korea’s nuclear programme though it might take time but would soon end.

    It assured that programme would be achieved within a timeline set by the leaders of the two countries.

    It was important to maintain diplomatic and economic pressure, Pompeo said on the sidelines of an Asian regional conference, adding that the United States took very seriously any relaxation of U.N. sanctions against North Korea.

    “I’m optimistic that we will get this done in the timeline and the world will celebrate what the U.N. Security Council has demanded,’’ Pompeo told a news conference.

    “The work has begun. The process of achieving denuclearisation of the (Korean) peninsula is one that I think we have all known would take some time.’’

    He said there was every reason to believe the reports about Russia’s issuance of visas to North Korean workers were accurate, which would be in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

    “I want to remind every nation that has supported these resolutions that this is a serious issue and something that we will discuss with Moscow.

    “We expect the Russians and all countries to abide by the U.N. Security Council resolutions and enforce sanctions on North Korea,’’ he said.

    Russia has denied a report by the Wall Street Journal that said Moscow was allowing thousands of fresh North Korean labourers into the country and granting them work permits in a potential breach of U.N sanctions.

    Russia’s ambassador to North Korea also denied Moscow was flouting U.N. restrictions on oil supplies to North Korea.

    Pompeo flew to Singapore, where the U.S. and North Korean leaders held a landmark summit in June, to attend meetings of the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as China, Russia, Japan and South Korea.

    At a group photo session at an ASEAN security forum, Pompeo walked up to North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, who was also attending, shook hands, exchanged words and smiles.

    Pompeo, who has been leading the U.S. negotiations to get the North to abandon its nuclear programme, had primarily engaged with Kim Yong Chol, a top North Korean party official and former spy agency chief, and not Ri.

    U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim, who has long been a key negotiator on the nuclear issue, said earlier he had no plans to meet the North Koreans in Singapore.

    At the summit on June 12, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who is seeking relief from tough sanctions, committed to work toward denuclearisation, but Pyongyang has offered no details on how it might go about this.

    Pompeo suggested on Friday on the flight to Singapore that continued work on weapons programmes by North Korea saying it was inconsistent with its leader’s commitment to denuclearise.

    Pompeo says North Korea has ‘ways to go’ to denuke

    On Monday, a senior U.S. official said U.S. spy satellites had detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States.

    According to a confidential UN report seen by Reuters on Friday, North Korea has not stopped its nuclear and missile programmes.

    On Saturday, Pompeo was more upbeat about making progress on the denuclearisation agreement, saying: “we’ve been working since then to develop the process by which that would be achieved.’’ (Reuters/NAN)

  • Death of Nigerian asylum-seekers in Cameroon shocks UN

    The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was shocked to learn of the tragic death of six Nigerian asylum-seekers, among them three children, who were killed in a blast in the far north of Cameroon.

    The UN refugee agency, said it had learnt that on July 29, 12 asylum-seekers were being forcibly returned to Banki, Nigeria, in a Cameroonian army truck, which drove over an improvised explosive device that exploded.

    UNHCR added that six Cameroonian soldiers and six other asylum-seekers were also injured in the incident, which took place in Homaka, Mayo Sava Division.

    Director of UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Africa, Valentin Tapsoba, condemned the forcible return of Nigerias asylum-seekers from Cameroon.

    “This tragic incident is a disappointing testament of continuing forced returns (refoulements) of refugees and asylum-seekers from Cameroon, despite numerous appeals by UNHCR to the Government of Cameroon to respect its obligations.

    “The forced return of refugees and asylum-seekers is in violation of the principle of non-refoulement, which constitutes the cornerstone of international refugee law to which the Cameroonian State is party,” Tapsoba said.

    No fewer than 800 Nigerian refugees and asylum-seekers in Cameroon had been forcibly returned to Nigeria since the beginning of 2018, the UN refugee agency said.

    Tapsoba further said: “UNHCR once again calls upon the government of Cameroon to refrain from carrying out further forced returns of Nigerian refugees and asylum-seekers.

    “It also reminds Cameroon of its obligations under international law relating to the protection of refugees and asylum-seekers and the commitments it made by signing the Tripartite Agreement for the voluntary repatriation of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon in March 2017.

    “UNHCR reiterates its appeal to authorities to provide Nigerian refugees with unhindered access to asylum and stands ready to support Cameroon to ensure all individuals seeking safety have access to efficient screening, registration and documentation procedures”.

    Some 96,000 Nigerian refugees had sought safety in the Far North region of Cameroon, with more than 8,000 new refugees registered since the beginning of 2018, UNHCR said.

    According to the UN refugee agency, Cameroon currently hosts more than 367,000 refugees and asylum-seekers. (NAN)