Foreign

*Victims Lost Homes, Retirement Savings, Money For Medicals, College Funds To His Fraud *A Fraud Of Epic Generational Scale -Judge Do Kwon, the entrepreneur behind two cryptocurrencies that lost $40bn (£29.8bn) three years ago and caused the sector to crash, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud. The South Korean, 34, had pleaded guilty to two counts of US charges of conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud. Kwon, who co-founded Singapore-based Terraform Labs and developed the TerraUSD and Luna currencies, was sentenced at a hearing in New York. The US district judge Paul Engelmayer called his crimes…

There are fears for the wellbeing of the 2023 Nobel Peace prize winner, Narges Mohammadi, after she was detained by Iranian security forces at a memorial ceremony for a human rights lawyer in the eastern city of Mashhad. Mohammadi, 53, who was granted temporary leave from prison on medical grounds in December 2024, was newly detained along with several other activists at the memorial for Khosro Alikordi, who was found dead in his office last week. Mohammadi’s brother Mehdi, who was present at the ceremony, confirmed her arrest, her foundation said. Speaking to the Guardian UK, a member of Mohammadi’s…

*Additional To Processing Fee N21.7m *Background Check On Applicant Compulsory *Companies To Pay Annual Maintenance Fee N29m *Firms Switching Visa From Employee To Employee N150m Each *Scheme To Rake In Billions Of $ *'US Doesn't Want Immigrants Who Can't Pay To Stay In America' US President Donald Trump launched a new program that will allow wealthy foreign individuals to buy a US “golden visa” for $1m (about N1.448b) and trailed a “platinum” version for $5m. “A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent,” Trump wrote…

*War Storms Thicken War drums beat louder for Venezuela and the United States (US) today as the Venezuelan government responded defiantly to the heightened pressure by the US government, including Donald Trump’s statements earlier today that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed in its entirety. In a statement, the Venezuelan government described Trump’s comments as a “colonialist threat” against their sovereignty and violates international law. The government demanded respect for its airspace, saying it would not accept foreign orders or threats. Trump had on his Truth Social post, today, said: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers,…

US President Donald Trump said today that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed in its entirety. Trump, in a Truth Social post wrote: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.” Venezuela’s Communications Ministry, which handles all press inquiries for the government, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Trump’s post. The US War Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the Guardian UK. US strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean…

*Sack Electoral Process With President, Rival Claiming Victory In Poll *Give No Terminal Date For Military Interregnum Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau have announced they are taking “total control” of the West African country, three days after elections that both the two main presidential contenders claim to have won. Military officers said they were suspending Guinea-Bissau’s electoral process and closing its borders, in a statement read out at the army’s headquarters in the capital Bissau and broadcast on state TV. They said they had formed “the high military command for the restoration of order”, which would rule the country until further notice.…

*FG Denies Claims It appears the noose is being readied for persons involved in alleged killing of Christians in Nigeria as America's top diplomat in the United Nations (UN) has spoken of the West African country's religious situation, saying entire church congregations have been wiped out in what he alleged is a genocide. It was gathered that the statement,made at a public event, is part of US' moves to galvanize global opinion ahead of any intended practical action by President Donald Trump, if Nigeria's authorities fail to stamp out the alleged slaughters. Ambassador Mike Waltz described the recent killings of…

*'Red Zone' To Be Left In Ruins The US is planning for the long-term division of Gaza into a “green zone” under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction would start, and a “red zone” to be left in ruins. Foreign forces will initially deploy alongside Israeli soldiers in the east of Gaza, leaving the devastated strip divided by the current Israeli-controlled “yellow line”, according to US military planning documents seen by the Guardian UK and sources briefed on American plans. “Ideally you would want to make it all whole, right? But that’s aspirational,” said a US official, speaking on…

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy said his time in prison was a nightmare, gruelling and really hard. Released from prison today by an Appeal Court to pursue his appeal, he said he wants to “prove his innocence” against his conviction for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain election campaign funds from late Muammar Gaddafi's Libya. After 20 days in jail that he had earlier described as “gruelling” and a “nightmare”, the former French President was driven away from La Santé prison in Paris today accompanied by his wife, the celebrity singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Sarkozy, who served as France’s rightwing…

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a politician and daughter of the former South African president Jacob Zuma, has pleaded not guilty to incitement to commit terrorism and public violence over deadly riots in 2021. The trial, which began today in the coastal city of Durban, is the first prosecution in South Africa in which terrorism‑related charges are being brought based on social media posts. In July 2021, Zuma handed himself in to police to serve a 15-month sentence for contempt of court over his refusal to appear before a commission investigating widespread corruption – often referred to as “state capture”. He served only…