Fraud : Bankers Docked For Forging SCUML Certificates

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission today July 31, 2017 arraigned the duo of Ebenezer Joshua and Franca Johnson before Justice Abbas Ahman of the Kebbi State High Court on a three count charge of forgery. 

The accused persons, who once worked together at a new generation ban,k allegedly conspired and forged the certificate of registration of the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML). 
The scam came to light when the SCUML received two registration forms for clearance from a new generation bank bearing the names, Noble Women for Better Tomorrow Initiative and another,  Support Initiative for Better Maternal Health. Upon receipt of the certificate, some abnormalities were discovered during verification, including the fact that the sector codes on the certificates were those allocated to construction companies and not NGOs.

After the conclusion of the discrete investigation, the officials of the NGO were invited and they volunteered statements. Also the accused persons were invited and after their statements were recorded, their offices were searched. An original Certificate of registration of SCUML and six forged ones were recovered in the process. 
The operatives also raided the business centre where the accused persons were said to be using to conduct their illegal activities. 
Upon conclusion of the investigation it was discovered that the first accused person, Ebenezer Joshua, was an employee of a new generation Bank and that he was approached by the Chairperson of the Noble Women for Better Tomorrow Initiative who wanted to open an account in the name of the NGO but she was told by the first accused person that she needed a certificate of registration from SCUML. 

Subsequently, the first accused person collected money from her to facilitate the issuance of SCUML certificate, which is actually done free of charge. He obtained a copy of the original certificate from the second accused person, reproduced a copy for the chairperson.
One of the count against the accused persons read that "You Ebenezer Joshua and Franca Johnson sometime in July,  2015 at Stanbic IBTC in Birnin Kebbi, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired among yourselves to commit offense,  to wit forgery,  punishable under Section 97(2) of the Penal Code Law. 

Both accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge. 
In view of the plea of the accused persons, prosecution counsel Rimamsomte Ezikeil asked the court for two clear days for commencement of the hearing of the matter.
Magnus Ihejirika for the first accused person informed the court that he was just briefed to handle the matter and could not file a formal bail application because of time. He therefore made oral bail application on behalf of his client.
However,  Hussaini Zakariyya for the second accused person applied formally that his client be admitted to bail. 

Prosecution counsel objected to the oral application made by the counsel to the first accused person. He argued that such application should be presented formally. In respect of the second accused person,  Ezikeil informed the court that he was just served with the bail application and needs time to respond.

Justice Ahman adjourned the matter to 4th and 5th October for the commencement of trial and referred the issue of bail to the vacation judge. - EFCC

''Republic of rob them i rob you'' ! Ex-President Jonathan's House Burgled

An Abuja home of former President Goodluck Jonathan has been burgled, PREMIUM TIMES can confirm.

However, in what appears a curious twist, the house was not burgled by known thieves, but by police officers assigned to guard the house.
The Nigeria Police have thus arrested three of its officers for stealing items valued at several millions of naira from the Abuja residence of the former president.
The items were alleged to have been stolen by the officers from the residence located at No. 89, Fourth Avenue in the Gwarimpa district of Abuja.
They include sets of furniture, dozens of plasma television sets, refrigerators, air-conditioner units and box-loads of clothes such as designer suits imprinted with the former president’s name, male and female Ijaw traditional attires, lace materials and bowler hats.

PREMIUM TIMES exclusively gathered that the three mobile police officers conducted a systematic looting over a period of three months beginning from around March 2016, until they totally stripped the house of all movable items, which they sold piecemeal to dealers at the Panteka second-hand materials market in Tipper Garage, Gwarimpa.
Mr. Jonathan’s spokesperson, Ikechukwu Eze, confirmed the theft to PREMIUM TIMES. He also confirmed that the affected officers have been arrested.

According to a security source involved in the investigation, by the time family members of the former president were made aware of the looting early this month, the house had been stripped bare.
On getting wind of the arrest of the policemen, two dealers who had been the main recipients of the stolen items were said to have closed down their shops at Panteka market and have since remained at large.
Mr. Jonathan had lived in the house for about a year when he was vice president. His mother was said to have assumed residence there after Mr. Jonathan moved to the Aso Rock Villa upon becoming Acting President in 2010.

PREMIUM TIMES could not ascertain when and the reason Mr. Jonathan’s mother vacated the residence, leaving it under security guard of the police.

THE LOOTING
Our investigations revealed that the looting was discovered when a neighbour noticed “severe damage to the house” and called a member of Mr. Jonathan’s family to ask whether the house was undergoing renovation.
The former president was said to have personally gone to inspect the property after which he reported the vandalization to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.

After a team of officers dispatched to the scene confirmed the crime, Mr. Idris was said to have ordered the arrest of the three police officers who were still on guard duty at the residence.
“They were arrested about two weeks ago,” the police source familiar with the development told this newspaper last Tuesday.
A trader at the Panteka market, who confessed to being close to one of the fleeing buyers of the stolen items, was interviewed by PREMIUM TIMES undercover reporter.

According to the trader who declined to be named, the police officers first brought some items to the market for sale in early 2016.
“It all started sometimes around March 2016 when a mobile police sergeant came to Tipper Garage market and brought some items for sale. He approached one of the wholesalers to buy them, but the trader said he does not buy items from an unconfirmed owner,” he said.

“He identified himself as Sergeant Musa and told the trader that he was one of the security men guarding Mr. Jonathan’s private residence at Gwarimpa. He took the trader to follow him to confirm that he was not a thief who had come to sell off stolen properties in the market.
“The trader followed him to the residence where he met two other policemen, an inspector and a sergeant. They convinced him that the items were part of gifts to them.”

The source told PREMIUM TIMES that it was not long before he noticed that the stream of transaction had no end, as the Sergeant Musa continued to invite the trader to the residence to pick up fresh items.
“At a point, the trader became scared when he suspected foul play and told Sergeant Musa that he was no longer interested in the transaction,” he said.
He said Mr. Musa however got another customer, a wholesaler in the market, who would eventually buy almost 80 per cent of all the properties removed from Mr. Jonathan’s residence.

SELLING JONATHAN’S PROPERTY
When PREMIUM TIMES’ undercover reporter went to the Tipper Garage market, he found out that both the purchase and resale of the items were not hidden, as many of the traders were aware of the racket.
“Whenever particular or specific items of our interest were brought for sale from Mr. Jonathan’s residence, we used to buy from the wholesaler who bought them in large quantity,” a trader said.
Investigation by PREMIUM TIMES confirmed that the traders sold off the stolen items such as suits, women wears, traditional cloth popularly called ‘babban riga,’ Ankara fabrics at about N5,000.00 apiece and bowler hats. It could, however, not be confirmed how much the bowler hats were sold for.

A petty trader at the market said he witnessed the sale of one of the sets of furniture.
“The policeman sold one to the wholesaler who is now on the run at N50, 000.00. The wholesaler sold it at N180,000.00 to a lucky buyer in the market who in turn instantly sold it at N390,000.00.
“I personally bought babban riga, and a suit with Jonathan’s name printed underneath it at the cost of N5,000.00 each.”
The petty trader, who claimed to be an apprentice at Tipper Garage, said they were scared when they heard that the three police officers had been arrested in connection with the theft of the properties from Mr. Jonathan’s residence.

Tipper Garage and Panteka market at Gwarimpa are popular locations for buying and selling of second-hand items in Abuja.
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the spokesperson of the Police FCT Command, Mamza Anjuguri, on phone, he refused to confirm the alleged looting or arrest of the three policemen.
“You should give me time to make some inquiries,” he initially pleaded last week.
He subsequently did not pick the reporter’s calls or reply to his text messages.
The divisional police officer for Gwarimpa also declined to speak with our reporter.
“I cannot talk to the press. You can go and talk with our PPRO,” he said.

ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES AND FURNITURE ITEMS
1. 36 Plasma televisions.
2. About 25 refrigerators.
3. Five sets of furniture.
4. Two sets of sitting room chairs.

5. Several air conditioner units.

LIST OF CLOTHES SAID TO HAVE BEEN STOLEN AND SOLD

1. Niger Delta traditional attires in about 20 Ghana-must-go sacks.
2. Suits, each one with “President Jonathan” inscribed in the inner side, in five big Ghana-must-go sacks.
3. About 10 big Ghana-must-go sacks of women attires made from lace materials sewn in Niger Delta style.
4. More than 10 bundles of Ankara materials, known as Atamfa.
5. About 10 sets of babban riga.
6. One big Ghana-must-go sack containing clothes with PDP logo neatly sewn on each one.
7. About 20 Niger Delta bowler hats.
- Premium Times

Arsenal owner launches controversial online TV channel

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke faces a backlash from animal rights activists over a controversial new app launched in the United Kingdom.

Subscription channel My Outdoor TV (MOTV) allows viewers to watch shows dedicated to bloodsports, including those depicting endangered animals, such as African elephants, being killed.
Speaking to The Times, Simon Barr, the channel’s spokesperson, said: “MOTV will present ethical, fair chase hunting and as long as it’s legal it will be on there.

“I'm sure people won't like all the content on MOTV, but it won't be censored. On every film there's an explanation of what hunting does for conservation and the local community.”
Philippa King, CEO of the League Against Cruel Sports, hit back, stating: “We’re living in a world now where most people can see how brutal and shameful trophy hunting is, yet the Arsenal boss is choosing to launch his sick TV channel in the UK.
“I’m not sure in what way an idiot with a gun against an elephant is a fair chase.

“Mr Kroenke could do the world a great favour by stopping peddling this kind of sickening TV and turning his focus on helping animals he apparently likes to see killed.”

Kroenke is reportedly worth €7.4 billion, though his Arsenal side have failed to win the Premier League title since 2003-04. - Goal 

Newborn Twins and Daughter Orphaned After Mother Dies the Same Day as Their Father's Funeral

A series of tragic events claimed the lives of two parents within days of one another, leaving their newborn twins and 1-year-old daughter orphaned.

Family and friends have gathered online to help raise funds for the three small children, who lost their parents in a very short period of time.
The horrible events began on July 11, when Jevaughn Suckoo, 26, was shot and killed in his West Palm Beach apartment complex, the Associated Press reported.
Three days later, as his funeral services were being held, Suckoo’s girlfriend Stephanie Caceres died after giving birth to their twins Jevaughn Jr. and Lailah, the Palm Beach Post reported. She had been in the intensive care unit for 10 days prior. An an infection from her C-section lead to her death.

The couple had lived together with their daughter, who will turn two in a few months, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Suckoo’s death has been ruled a homicide, the AP reported. The assailants who fatally shot him are still unknown.
Caceres, 27, had worked in the office of the Juan E. Batista Pediatrics in Lake Clarke shores for four years. On Thursday, family, friends and co-workers gathered in front of the center to give donations to the family, the Palm Beach Post reported.

“We’re just trying to figure out how to move forward from here,” Suckoo’s aunt, Joni Saunders said at the charity drive, the Palm Beach Post reported.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Caceres’s manager Lina Niemczyk for the three children and has has raised over $33,000 of its $50,000 goal.

“Thankfully Stephanie and Jevaughn were raised by a beautiful family that have accepted the challenge set forth by God,” she wrote. “The grandparents are going to start over, now raising their grandchildren.”

Niemczyk says she’s been in close contact with the children’s grandmother, and that the funds raised will be used to provide health, education, maintenance and support for them — as put in a trust that will be managed according to state and federal law by trustees, guardians or the children’s adoptive grandparents. - People

Ronaldo to Appear in Court After Accusations of €15m Tax Evasion

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo will appear in court on Monday over allegations of tax evasion.

Reports in Spain in May say the Portugal international is suspected of defrauding €15m between 2011 and 2014 and Ronaldo reportedly wanted to leave the club after the allegations surfaced.

He will now appear in court on Monday in Pozuelo, regarding the allegations claiming the former Manchester United winger defrauded Spanish authorities of tax money.
Ronaldo is not the only high profile football star to have been implicated in the claims, with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi being associated with the tax avoidance matters.
Mourinho has denied the claims while Spain's Supreme Court handed Messi a 21-month jail term last year but the Argentina international is unlikely to go to prison.

Messi and father Jorge, who is in charge of the 30-year-old's finances, were both convicted of defrauding Spain of €4.1m in taxes.
Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano admitted to two counts of fraud after failing to declare earnings in 2011 and 2012, with the 33-year-old alleged to attempted to conceal earnings from his image via foreign companies he owns.

PL news : Wenger calm on 'ideal' contracts

Arsene Wenger rejects the notion that he faces a major issue at Arsenal due to a number of his first-team players entering the final year of their contracts, claiming it is "an ideal situation".

Arsenal's star players Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are both yet to sign extensions to their deals beyond next summer while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs could also leave on a free in 12 months time.
However, Wenger suggested that all of his players will perform to their maximum level regardless of how long they have remaining on their contracts.

Speaking after Arsenal's 2-1 Emirates Cup defeat to Sevilla, Wenger said: "I think it is an ideal situation. When you are a football player you perform until the last days of your contract.
"I think the performance on the day does not depend on the length of the contract, if that was true we would sign everyone for 20 years and be happy."

Sanchez has been strongly linked with a move away from Arsenal with Sky Sources reporting that PSG are willing to offer the Chilean £250,000 per week, although Wenger is adamant he will play for the club next term.
Wenger also stated his belief that more players will see out their contracts at their clubs in the future due to the spiralling transfer fees and wages.

"In the future, I think you will see more often players going to the end of their contracts," he said.
"Why? Because transfers are becoming so high even for normal players that you will see more players going to the end of their contracts because no-one is going to want to pay what is demanded.
"I'm convinced in the next 10 years that will become usual." - SKY

Again Badoo kills couple, kids in Ikorodu

A man, his wife and two children were at the wee hours of Sunday murdered by suspected members of ritual gang, Badoo.

One member of the family identified simply as Feyin, it was gathered, survived the attack and was being treated at an undisclosed hospital.
The incident occurred at the family’s room and parlour apartment situated at 4, Ile Baba Shade Mosque, Oke Otta, Ajose in Ibeshe, Ikorodu, Lagos.
It was gathered that two of the three children, who were minors, were raped before their brains were smashed.

This killing is coming at a time calm was returning to Ikorodu after months of continuous attack by the murderous gang.
Although two children were alive when residents discovered them on Sunday evening, one later passed on at the hospital, it was learnt.
According to a resident, the couple and a daughter died before morning, while their last born and the second daughter, were found unconscious and rushed to the hospital.
Their killers, she said, removed one of the glass windows to access the house while the family was asleep, adding that there was no burglary proof there.

She said the incident occurred very close to the community mosque, adding that it drew the ire of residents, who stormed the palace of the monarch.
She said that policemen were invited to evacuate the corpses when they were discovered yesterday, adding that youths in the community were already spoiling for war.

Another source told The Nation that the incident occurred close to where the very first attack from the ritual gang was recorded in Ikorodu.
At the time of filing this report, the identities of the victims were yet to be ascertained.
Contacted, the command’s spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) said investigation has commenced.
He said: “Police operatives were notified of the incident and they mobilised to the scene. They found it extremely difficult to locate the house, which was situated in a thick forest. It is remotely impossible for anybody to identify a dwelling house in the area.

“They arrived the scene eventually and discovered an open window. Five members of the family were attacked and three dies on the spot. One died while receiving treatment and the last family member is alive and responding to treatment.
“Investigation has commenced. There is no visible trace of violence and no clue linked to the cult group was found. No stone was found at the scene, which does not fit in the modus operandi of the cult group.

“A case of murder is being investigated by police detectives. The Lagos State Police Command is using this opportunity to call on council, Community Development Association (CDA) Chairmen, traditional rulers who know persons staying in isolated areas, which are no longer safe to come and report/identify with the police in order to stop people from packing into obscure areas without proper social structures.

“The command also wishes to inform members of the public to come forward with useful information to aid the police and not resort to jungle justice in order not to jeopardise the investigation that may lead to the arrest of the alleged suspects who are on the command’s watch list.”

CNN mocks Nigeria over Buhari’s long absence

It’s been 84 days since President Muhammadu Buhari travelled out of the country — and reports of his absence have continued to dominate news headlines locally and around the world.

On Sunday, US news network CNN made a mockery of his absence on GPS, a programme hosted by Fareed Zakaria.
The American journalist, during a segment called ‘GPS challenge,’ posed a trivia to viewers of his show.
“The head of state from which country has not set foot in his homeland in over two months?” read the trivia which had multiple options, including Syria, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Nigeria.

President Buhari has been in the UK since May 7, where he has been receiving medical treatment.
Though he has been rarely seen in public since his trip, news of his improving health and wellbeing has been widely reported as well as photos of him receiving seven governors that recently paid him a visit in London.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, who had also paid Buhari a visit, announced that he would soon be back home.

This is the second time the president is visiting the UK for medical vacation in 2017, the first being shorter than the present.
Governors and several public figures have come out to defend Buhari’s absence, and to say he has made a miraculous recovery. - Cable Nigeria

PL news : 'I'm not going to lose my hair' - Mourinho shrugs off Conte jibe

Jose Mourinho largely refrained from hitting back at Antonio Conte over an unflattering remark about the Manchester United manager's most recent departure from Stamford Bridge, the boss of the Red Devils sufficing himself instead with what may have been a sly reference to the Italian's elaborately restored hairline. 

As Chelsea prepare to try and retain the crown they earned last term, Conte warned his players they will need to avoid a season similar to the one Mourinho was in charge of in 2015-16 after winning the title the year before. 
The Blues finished 10th under caretaker Guus Hiddink that term, Mourinho having been sacked before Christmas amid a succession of nightmare performances. 

Speaking after United's 3-0 friendly win over Valerenga on Sunday, the Portuguese was reluctant to return fire directly, although he did perhaps squeeze in a subtle acknowledgement of the efforts made by the previously follicly-challenged Juventus and Italy player. 
"I don't know," he said.
"I could answer in many different ways but I'm not going to lose my hair to speak about Antonio Conte."

United continued their largely impressive pre-season form, bouncing back from an International Champions Cup loss to Barcelona by winning thanks to goals from Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay.
With one more friendly – against Sampdoria on Wednesday – to come before the UEFA Super Cup clash against Real Madrid, Mourinho said he was happy with his team's preparations so far.
"It was good for us because of the good pitch, the opponent was very well organised, trying to play from the back," he said.

"After the U.S. and jet lag, it was a good match where I could play 45 minutes each player and now a little rest before the Sampdoria match.
"Until now, no injuries, so let's see if we can start the season in this positive situation." - Goal

Ake : Conte is wrong, I had to leave Chelsea to play

Nathan Ake has told Antonio Conte he has to make the most of a short career in football after the Chelsea boss questioned the young players who have left Stamford Bridge in the transfer window.

Bournemouth signed Ake in a club-record move reportedly worth £20 million last month, while Dominic Solanke left for Liverpool, Bertrand Traore signed at Lyon and Nathaniel Chalobah joined Watford.
Conte said he felt young players were wrong to lose patience in their search for first-team football and believes they are receiving poor advice from their representatives.

But Netherlands international Ake does not feel he would have been a regular for Chelsea in 2017-18 and wants to make the most of his time in the game.
"It is a short career, but I'm 22 now and I feel like I have had a good experience playing games and you just want to continue doing that," Ake told reporters when asked about Conte's remarks after Bournemouth's 1-0 friendly defeat to Valencia.

"I understand what he said but I think we also know that Chelsea is a big club and for myself it was going to be difficult to come in and play straight away.
"The decision to come here was to be able to play more games which is important for me and that is why I came here.

"There are no guarantees that I will play coming here but if I train hard and play well then I will have a chance. Hopefully, I can be in the team from the start of the season."

Ake spent the first half of 2016-17 on loan at Bournemouth, making 10 Premier League appearances before being recalled by Conte in January.

Transfer news : 'World-class' Sturridge like two new signings, says Lallana

"World-class" Daniel Sturridge will be like two new signings for Liverpool if he is fit and firing this season, according to team-mate Adam Lallana.

Despite links with Paris Saint-Germain and West Ham earlier in the transfer window, the striker has remained at Anfield and Lallana feels he is looking better than ever, tipping him for a huge 2017-18 campaign.
Liverpool face Bayern Munich in the Audi Cup on Tuesday, having beaten Hertha Berlin 3-0 on Saturday as part of a pre-season campaign that has seen Sturridge play in all five games.

While Jurgen Klopp's men have so far failed to land Virgil van Dijk from Southampton and could not bring in Naby Keita from RB Leipzig, Lallana is buoyed by the form of Sturridge as the new campaign draws closer.
"Studge has been absolutely brilliant in pre-season so far," Lallana told reporters.
"He's looking really sharp and to have him firing on all cylinders would be like having two new signings, if we can keep him on the pitch and get him scoring goals. He is a world-class player.
"He has come back from the summer in brilliant shape, so fit. He is going to be a massive player for us this season. I can feel it. You couldn't put a price on him. Every footballer gets injuries – Jordan Henderson has had a tough couple of years.

"We all have to deal with it at some stage in our career. But we have got plenty of options and if we keep everyone fit, who knows what can happen? We're looking good at the minute.
"The last week has been strictly about football here in Germany and that's what you want as a player. We have done a lot of sessions and I'm sure it is great for the manager to get to spend 24 hours a day with us."
Liverpool's are hoping for further signings after the arrivals of Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson and Dominic Solanke, but Lallana is not fazed by the prospect of other additions at Anfield.

"I want the best players to be linked with Liverpool and coming to Liverpool," said Lallana.

"If you are talking about it from a personal point of view, the pressure to get better and the competition for places is healthy. That is what we need.
"At times last year, our bench probably wasn't as strong as we'd have liked it to be. If we are going to achieve something, we are going to need a strong bench. You only have to look at the substitutions the manager is making. He can replace pace with pace and goals with goals.
"We need a strong squad and players need to be on their toes. It's all good. We don't need major changes just little tweaks."- Goal

Jose Mourinho reacts to Nemanja Matic transfer news

Jose Mourinho believes Nemanja Matic's desire to join Manchester United gave them a better chance of signing him than Juventus. 

Matic, 28, had his United medical on Sunday and could be unveiled by the club on Monday ahead of a possible first appearance in the friendly against Sampdoria in Dublin on Wednesday.
Mourinho earmarked Matic as a priority signing months ago and the Serbia international was intent on reuniting with his former Chelsea manager at the end of last season.
Serie A champions Juventus were also interested but conceded defeat when it transpired Matic was determined to join United.

"I’m waiting for news," Mourinho said after United's friendly win over Valerenga in Oslo. "I'm waiting for news. I know that he wants that very, very much and when a player wants very, very much the chance is bigger, the chance is bigger.
"So I think we have a chance but in football until it’s official, I saw so many things happen that I refuse to say more than I am telling you now."

Matic sported the number 31 - previously occupied by Bastian Schweinsteiger until he left in March - on his training kit in a legitimate picture which circulated on Twitter and Mourinho was asked about the image.
"I don’t know because I was not there [at United's Carrington training complex]," he replied. "I don't know. I really don't know. -  Manchester news

Angelina Jolie reacts to shocking report about children's auditions

Angelina Jolie says accounts of her casting process for children to appear in her film "First They Killed My Father" are false and upsetting. An excerpt from a Vanity Fair profile of the director sparked backlash online earlier this week from people who criticized the methods as being cruel and exploitative.

Adapted from Loung Ung's memoir, the biographical drama centers on her childhood under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. Jolie co-wrote and directed the film, which she talked about in a recent Vanity Fair profile.
The article described a scene in which casting directors in their attempt to find a child actress to play the lead role presented money to impoverished children only to take it away from them as an acting exercise.

Jolie and producer Rithy Panh issued joint statements Sunday responding to the outrage and refuting claims that the production was exploitative through a representative from Netflix, which is producing and distributing the film.
"I am upset that a pretend exercise in an improvisation, from an actual scene in the film, has been written about as if it was a real scenario. The suggestion that real money was taken from a child during an audition is false and upsetting," Jolie said. "I would be outraged myself if this had happened."

Jolie said parents, guardians and doctors were on set daily to care for the children and "make sure that no one was in any way hurt by participating in the recreation of such a painful part of their country's history."
Panh, who himself is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge, added that casting "was done in the most sensitive way possible."

He described a process that was informed both by families' preferences and NGO (non-governmental organization) guidelines in which the children understood that they would be acting out a scene.
"The children were not tricked or entrapped, as some have suggested," Panh said. "They understood very well that this was acting, and make believe."

The Vanity Fair article went into more detail about the production than the one paragraph that circulated on Twitter, which sparked the initial outrage.
A representative from Vanity Fair issued a statement Sunday saying that author Evgenia Peretz "clearly describes what happened during the casting process as a 'game' " and "that the filmmakers went to extraordinary lengths to be sensitive in addressing the psychological stresses on the cast and crew that were inevitable in making a movie about the genocide carried out in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge." - AP

Russia orders 755 US staff to leave

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday the United States would have to cut its embassy and consulate staff in Russia by 755, heightening tensions between Washington and Moscow three days after the U.S. Congress approved sanctions against Russia.

In response, the U.S. State Department deemed it "a regrettable and uncalled for act."

Russian's Foreign Ministry on Friday ordered a reduction by Sept. 1 in the number of U.S. diplomatic personnel in Russia. It said it is ordering the U.S. Embassy to limit the number of embassy and consular employees in the country to 455 in response to approval of the new package of American sanctions. The White House has said U.S. President Donald Trump would sign those sanctions into law.

The legislation, which also targets Iran and North Korea, seeks to punish Moscow for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and for its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria.
"We had hoped that the situation will somehow change, but apparently if it changes, it won't be soon," Putin said in an interview televised on Rossiya 1, explaining why Moscow decided to retaliate. "I thought it was the time to show that we're not going to leave it without an answer."
Russia is open to cooperating with the U.S. on various issues, including terrorism and cybercrime, but instead it "only hears unfounded accusations of meddling in U.S. domestic affairs," he said.

Putin said more than 1,000 people are currently employed at the Moscow embassy and three U.S. consulates in Russia. They include both Americans and Russians hired to work in the diplomatic offices.

The Russian leader did not explain how the figure of 755 positions was calculated.
In a statement, the State Department said: "This is a regrettable and uncalled for act. We are assessing the impact of such a limitation and how we will respond to it. We have no further comment at this time."
The State Department declined to give an exact number of American diplomats or other U.S. officials in Russia, but the figure is believed to be about 400, some of whom have families accompanying them on diplomatic passports.

The vast majority of the more than 1,000 employees at the various US diplomatic missions in Russia, including the embassy in Moscow and consulates in St. Petersburg, Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg, are local employees.
Asked about the potential for additional sanctions against Washington, Putin described the reduction in diplomatic staff as "painful" and said he currently opposes further measures.
"We certainly have something to respond with and restrict those areas of joint cooperation that will be painful for the American side, but I don't think we need to do it," he said, adding that such steps could also harm Russian interests.

Putin mentioned space and energy as the main areas where Russia and the United States have successfully pursued projects together.
Along with the cap on the size of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Russia, the Russian foreign ministry on Friday said it also was closing down a U.S. recreational retreat on the outskirts of Moscow as well as warehouse facilities.

The diplomatic tit-for-tat started under former U.S. President Barack Obama. - AP

International : EFCC Chair gets Global Endorsement as Nigeria Makes Progress in TI Corruption Index

The Chairman of the  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu has received the endorsement of 25 countries around the world, applauding his work in fighting corruption in Nigeria. This unique validation is the outcome of an opinion poll conducted by United Kingdom based Global Peace Movement International. The poll result is coming a week after Transparency International released its latest transparency index in which Nigeria, for the first time in over a decade, moved up in the global anti corruption and transparency ranking, a move analysts said is directly related to the efforts of the EFCC.

 

According to the report by Transparency International, the corruption perception index ranked 176 countries on a scale of 0 (perceived to be corrupt) to 100(perceived to be clean).In the report released, Somalia was ranked the most corrupt country in the world for the tenth straight year.

 

Speaking on the poll, President General of Global Peace Movement International, Dr Mike Uyi, said Magu explained that the decision to conduct the poll was based on the need to conduct an international survey to be to ascertain global opinion on the work of the EFCC, pointing out the EFCC Chairman secured more than 96 percent endorsement by respondents, with the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, Canada, China and Belgium all commending the work of the Commission.

 

According to the report of the survey, the United States of America lead the list of countries that endorsed the EFCC chairman with 92 percent responding in favour of the work Magu was doing, while 7 percent responded in the negative.

 

The United Kingdom returned a 96 percent affirmative and France 85.

 

Other results of the poll showed 90 percent Germans voting in favour of the EFCC chairman, while 9 percent disapproved. Russia had 62 percent in favour of Magu, while 29 percent disapproved. Greece was 73 percent in favour, with 22 percent going the other way.

 

Malta had 80 percent in favour with 17 percent disapproval; Sweden, 85 percent approval, and 7 percent disapproval; Belgium, 85 approvals and 8 disapproval; Switzerland had 76 approval, and 11 percent disapproval; Norway, 85 approval and 8 percent against; Austria, 81 percent approval and 6 percent disapproval, while India had 53 percent approval and   26 percent against.

 

Others are Brazil with 65 percent approval and 27 percent disapproval, same with China having 65 percent approval rating for the EFCC chairman while 22 percent disapproved, Denmark had 84 percent approval and   4 percent disapproval, while Canada had a 91 percent approval and 3 percent disapproval.

 

Japan was 92 percent approval and 3 disapproval, Luxembourg, 83 percent approval and 4 disapproval, Mexico, 83 percent approval and 7 disapproval, Portugal, 68 percent and 22 percent, South Korea, 74 percent and 16 percent, Principality of Monaco had 80 percent approval and   11 percent disapproval, The Netherlands, 82 percent approval and 5 percent disapproval, while Lithuania had a 72 approval and 13 for the EFCC chairman.

 

Dr Uyi, said the results of the survey on other public elected or appointed officials in Nigeria will soon be released to the public. - EFCC

 

 

EFCC Charges Corps Members on Anti-Corruption Crusade

Nigerian youths have been called upon to see the fight against corruption as a course needed to be taken with utmost priority, in order to sustainably address the issue of unemployment and poverty bedeviling the country. 

John Sendere, Head of Operation, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Gombe Zonal Office, gave the charge while making a presentation on Thursday, July 27, 2017 at a function organized by the EFCC Anti-Corruption CDS Group in Damaturu, Yobe State.

 

He said: “It is stating the obvious that our country has massive corruption problems that have eroded almost all the benefits that we should be enjoying from our natural resources”.

According to him, the current leadership of the EFCC was not resting on its oars to further trace and recover monies that had been fraudulently stolen from the nation’s treasury stressing that, “it is only when we all join voices to SAY NO TO CORRUPTION that the future of our country and indeed the youths can be guaranteed”.

 

While calling on youths and individuals to take up the gauntlet of championing the anti-corruption crusade, Sendere assured that “the EFCC under the watch of Ibrahim Magu is determined to attain its vision and mission of being the anti-graft agency leading the fight to rid Nigeria of economic and financial crimes.”

 

The EFCC boss commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s led administration for making corruption fight its cardinal focus and expressed delight in the feat recorded by the Commission so far especially in the area of recovery of stolen assets and convictions of some high profile corruption suspects.

 

The occasion was graced by representatives of: State Coordinator, NYSC Damaturu; Commission of Police and Commissioner of Education.

in Nigeria will soon be released to the public. - EFCC