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| German woman leads fight against Nigerian fraudsters LAGOS, Nov 23: Five years ago, three Nigerian men tracked frieda springer-beck to her village in Bavaria, put a....more Security
tightened ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: Pakistani authorities have cancelled the leaves of security forces for end-of-ramadan ...more No order
yet to use TBILISI, Nov 23: Georgia’s Defence Minister David Tevzadze said today he had received no orders from President......more 3 dead in
turkish ISTANBUL, Nov 23: Three workers were killed in an explosion at a coal mine in southern Turkey and another ......more |
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Bush near to important domestic health victory WASHINGTON, Nov 23: The US senate continued Saturday to debate the question of insurance coverage for....more Japan
defence chief TOKYO, Nov 23: Japanese Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba said today Tokyo should defy threats from terrorists....more Son of
nobel laurate SANTA CRISTINA, ITALY, Nov 23: The dirt road to Alcatraz, leading uphill from the central Italian city of Perugia....more China
Premier WASHINGTON, Nov 23: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in remarks published yesterday that the United...more |
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German woman leads fight against Nigerian fraudsters LAGOS, Nov 23: Five years ago, three Nigerian men tracked frieda springer-beck to her village in Bavaria, put a gun to her head and told her to drop charges against a man she accused of staging an elaborate international fraud. Now the 54-year-old German woman’s fight against Nigeria’s notorious junk-mail conmen is starting to see results. Since May, Nigeria’s new anti-fraud unit, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (SFCC), has arrested more than 200 people for junk mail scams, including the man springer-beck says duped her out of 360,000 dollars in 1993. The so-called 419 scam, named after the article in Nigeria’s criminal code outlawing it, has become so successful over the last 20 years that campaigners say it is now one of the African country’s biggest exports after oil, natural gas and cocoa. The fraud swindles hundreds of millions of dollars every year from people across the world, who respond to junk e-mails promising them a share of non-existent fortunes in return for an advance fee. "I know through my own experience how you feel when you say you have been cheated. Nobody is in a position to help you or wants to listen at all," said Springer-Beck, who moved to Lagos last year to push ahead with her campaign. In 1994 Springer-Beck formed the international Nigerian interest group, an association of fraud victims battling the swindlers through Nigeria’s notoriously slow and corrupt justice system. The association is currently handling 89 cases. None has led to a conviction and, up until may, the association had brought about only one arrest. Nigeria’s inaction over the fraud helped earn it the dubious distinction of the world’s second most corrupt country after Bangladesh from the sleaze watchdog transparency international. Nuhu Ribadu, who heads the EFCC, said property worth 200 million dollars has now been confiscated in connection with more than 30 cases now before Court. A member of Parliament was among those arrested, and others are being held for the biggest ever 419 swindle, which was worth 180 million dollars and brought down a Brazilian bank. "Our intention is to bring them to justice for the first time...To return the money to the victims," said Ribadu. "419 has destroyed the credibility of our country. As a result of this it is almost impossible to do business. No one takes us seriously," he said. Springer-Beck’s own 419 saga began in 1993, when a letter arrived for her recently deceased husband asking him to come to Nigeria to collect his interest on an investment in a Nigerian electricity plant. She got in touch with the author of the letter, who recommended a lawyer to help her get all the information she needed. She took on the lawyer only after checking his credentials with the German embassy. On her first of several trips to Lagos, Springer-Beck was taken to what she thought were the offices of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Officials presented her with documents displaying her late husband’s letterhead, showing he had invested a large, but undisclosed, amount of money in the country. "Today I know it was the building in front of the Central Bank of Nigeria," she said, adding that she was fooled by security guards wearing CBN uniforms at the gate. Although doubtful at first, she eventually paid her lawyer the 360,000 dollars he requested as a down-payment for staking her claim to the investment. After five months she realised she had fallen victim to a scam. In August 1993, she tracked the alleged fraudster to his home in downtown Lagos and confronted him. "He laughed at me, called me a snake," she said. "I told him if you don’t give me back my money I will find a way you will never forget me." In 1995 the lawyer was arrested and held on remand for two years only to be released without standing trial, and the case has been adjourned repeatedly since. But in may this year, he was arrested again by the newly created EFCC, and charged with defrauding a Dutchman of 1.7 million dollars. Springer-Beck is optimistic. "The cases will be successful. It is only a matter of time. You can’t change things at once which grew up over 20 years." (AGENCIES) |
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tightened in Pakistan in view of ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: Pakistani authorities have cancelled the leaves of security forces for end-of-ramadan festivities and put 11 major cities on alert following the recent terrorist attacks in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, news reports said today. Apart from international terrorism, authorities have apprehended a backlash from militants from among the six Islamic groups that were "banned" by the Government in the past week, the newspaper Ausaf reported. Another report said the Pakistani Government is "all set" to ban religious publications which propagate extremist views and jihad, or holy war. Preliminary scrutiny of religious literature being produced by certain organizations has been completed. The federal government has sent a confidential list of sectarian activists and leaders to all provincial governments so they can keep an eye on them, the newspaper the news reported. "Banning such religious extremists and sealing their offices is a very basic thing. The real challenge is to dismantle their infrastructure and propagation of their views," the newspaper quoted an unidentified official as saying. The Pakistani Government’s crackdown on Islamic groups and tribals, who allegedly have been harbouring taliban and al-qaeda suspects, is not popular as it is seen as an action plan dictated by the United States. (DPA) |
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No order yet to use force, says Georgian Defmin TBILISI, Nov 23: Georgia’s Defence Minister David Tevzadze said today he had received no orders from President Eduard Shevardnadze, his commander in Chief, to use force to restore order but was ready to stop the escalation of "chaos". His comments implied he was still taking orders from the veteran leader, who was holed up in his residence on the outskirts of Georgia’s capital. "The army has not received orders from the Commander General to use force," said the minister, speaking for the first time after opposition leaders stormed Parliament yesterday, forcing Shevardnadze to flee the building. "The army is paying a lot of attention to the events and is ready to stop the escalation of chaos and to fulfil its responsibility," he told reporters. Tevzadze said the declaration of a state of emergency did not necessarily envisage the use of force. But yesterday, Shevardnadze’s spokesman said the army could be brought in to take control if the new Paliament failed to approve a law announcing the state of emergency within 48 hours. Tevzadze said: "As far as I know opposition leaders have taken the responsibility upon themselves to maintain social order... There is the legitimate authority (in georgia), but on the other hand there are those, who I cannot call the authorities, who are influencing events." (AGENCIES) |
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3 dead in turkish coal mine blast, 7 missing ISTANBUL, Nov 23: Three workers were killed in an explosion at a coal mine in southern Turkey and another seven were missing and feared dead, state-run anatolian news agency said today. Two mine managers were detained in connection with the blast which triggered a collapse of part of the mine at a depth of 300 metres, it said. (AGENCIES) |
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Bush near to important domestic health victory WASHINGTON, Nov 23: The US senate continued Saturday to debate the question of insurance coverage for medicines used by seniors citizens yesterday - a key domestic item for US President George Bush in need of a respite from foreign policy woes. Earlier yesterday, the house of representatives narrowly handed bush half a victory, voting 220 to 215 to pass the measure. Democratic and some republican senators threatened to hold up approval using a parliamentary manoeuvre. The senate was slated to spend a second day of debate today before the first votes were to be held tomorrow, but it was not likely the bill would fail. The legislation, if passed, would be the most far reaching reform in health coverage for older people since the first insurance was passed in the 1960s. It would provide for the first time coverage for drug prescriptions, and open the door for private insurance companies to participate in both prescription as well as overall health care coverage for the elderly and disabled. Seniors would be free to choose between remaining in the Government plan or buying private insurance. Bush raced back from his visit to England, where he put on a joint show of force and unity with Prime Minister Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth in the face of a brewing insurgent war in Iraq, to press for the bill’s passage. Isolated by critics abroad and dropping in approval polling at home over the war, Bush was telephoning borderline legislators until the wee hours of the morning. "Seniors with the highest drug bills would save the most, and seniors with the greatest need would get the most help," Bush said in his weekly radio address. (DPA) |
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Japan defence chief vows to send troops to Iraq TOKYO, Nov 23: Japanese Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba said today Tokyo should defy threats from terrorists and stick to its controversial plan to send troops to help rebuild Iraq. Ishiba’s remarks follow recent media reports that Al-Qaeda warned Japan it would infiltrate deep into Tokyo and attack the capital as soon as Japanese troops set foot on Iraq. "If we are intimidated and do not dispatch self-defence forces (military), Japan will be seen as a country that backs down if threatened," Ishiba told TV Asahi. "It is not different in essence from an argument that because North Korea has missiles, we do as we are told by them." But Ishiba did not say when Japanese troops would be deployed to Iraq. Japan, one of America’s closest allies in Asia, has still to decide when to send non-combat troops to Iraq as voters grow increasingly nervous about the danger of backing the United States. Ishiba stressed that the resource-poor Japan, which relies heavily on the west Asia for oil, should join other countries in rebuilding Iraq. "Stability in the region is a matter of life or death for Japan," he said. Japan had been expected to commit about 150 non-combat troops to Iraq before the end of the year and perhaps as many as 1,200 soldiers and civilians eventually, but the plan was put on hold after a string of recent attacks in Iraq and elsewhere. Fukushiro Nukaga, policy chief of the ruling liberal democratic party, said today Japan would decide what to do after receiving a report from a fact-finding mission sent to Iraq earlier this month. Most voters opposed the Iraq war and many are wary about sending Japan’s troops, known as the Self-Defence Forces (SDF), to Iraq, gripped by a string of suicide bombings. (AGENCIES) |
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Son of nobel laurate declares war on Italian television SANTA CRISTINA, ITALY, Nov 23: The dirt road to Alcatraz, leading uphill from the central Italian city of Perugia and past the devil’s home hamlet, is enveloped in thick fog. But after a few more twists and turns, the country lane rises high above the haze to reveal a stunning view of the umbria countryside basking in glorious sunshine. A yellow signpost guides visitors to their final destination: A distinctly alternative holiday resort and the headquarters of a modest but significant cultural revolution taking place in Italy. Despite what the name might suggest, Alcatraz is a beautifully quiet place full of olive trees, fig trees, junipers and oak forests. Alcatraz is owned by Jacopo fo, a 48-year-old theatre director and son of nobel Laureate Dario Fo. And it is from this Idyllic location, far away from the centres of power in Rome and Milan, that Jacopo has decided to wage his war against Italian television. For on top of offering visitors rustic bed-and-breakfast accommodation, lessons in Shiatsu and comedy therapy, Alcatraz also hosts the broadcasting studios of his television network, Atlantide TV. Atlantide TV was born out of Jacopo’s revulsion towards the staple diet of trash and conformist programmes offered by most of Italy’s national television networks. "We want to provide a space in which the kind of issues standard television has always abhorred can be discussed," Jacopo says. On any given day, viewers may be treated to a documentary on the allegedly devastating effects of depleted uranium munitions on Iraqi new-born children, an expose on Italian butter and corrupt politicians, or lessons in oriental meditation techniques. (DPA) |
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China Premier warns on Taiwan independence-report WASHINGTON, Nov 23: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in remarks published yesterday that the United States should make clear it opposed an independent Taiwan and he vowed China would "pay any price" to block independence. "The Chinese people will pay any price to safeguard the unity of the motherland," Wen told the Washington Post in an interview conducted on Friday and posted on the newspaper’s web site yesterday. Wen, who visits Washington in early December, said he was shocked by the US decision to impose tariffs on imports of bras, dressing gowns and knit fabrics from China, the post reported. The interview came two weeks after Taiwan President Chen Shui-Bian declared his bid for re-election with an aggressive assertion that Taiwan is a separate country from China. Washington shifted its diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979 and has repeatedly said it views Taiwan as being part of China. US Secretary of State Colin Powell reaffirmed Washington’s "one China" policy earlier this month. Nevertheless, the United States remains Taiwan’s biggest ally and arms supplier and Beijing remains highly sensitive to any sign of US Favor Toward what it sees as a renegade province. "The US side must be crystal clear in opposing the use of a referendum or writing of a constitution or all other tactics used by the leader of the Taiwan authorities to pursue his separatist agenda," the post quoted Wen as saying. Wen said he hoped the United States would "recognize the gravity and danger" of the situation and "not send any wrong signals," the paper said. On the contentious issue of US-China trade, the paper said wen proposed a "mechanism for regular discussion" to resolve disputes and said the textile issue should be resolved through consultation. US officials have criticized Beijing’s policy of pegging the value of its currency, the yuan or renminbi, to the dollar — which American manufacturers charge has cost US jobs. China ran a record 103 billion trade surplus with the United States in 2002 and that figure is projected to grow to about 120 billion this year. "I don’t think the exchange rate of the renminbi is an important contributor to the trade imbalance between China and the United States," Wen told the post. "If there is any important contributor to the trade imbalance, I think it is the abundant supply of competitive labor in China’s market." The paper said wen said he did not know if North Korea possessed nuclear weapons. He also said progress had been made in narrowing differences between the United States and North Korean and that further progress was possible if both sides stuck with multilateral talks in Beijing, according to the post. (ASGENCIES) |
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Prostitutes locked up in men’s prison in Hong Kong HONG KONG, Nov 23: A men’s prison in Hong Kong has been converted into a female jail because of the huge numbers of prostitutes being arrested, a news report said today. The emergency measure to place women in Ma hang prison in Stanley comes as women’s jails in the territory are in some cases filled to double their capacity. The converted prison is already holding 177 inmates, 26 per cent more than its capacity, according to the English-language Sunday morning post. Two thirds of all inmates in Hong Kong are women from mainland China, most of them arrested for prostitution-related offences, the newspaper said. More than 7,000 women have been arrested for prostitution so far this year, a sharp rise on last year’s figures and more than double the number arrested in 2001. Most come from neighbouring southern China where gang-led rackets provide a steady stream of women across the border to service brothels and karaoke lounges in Hong Kong’s red light districts in Kowloon. (DPA Early holiday shopping can be
tough SINGAPORE, Nov 23: Early Christmas shopping can be tough on the nerves, a survey said today. Shopping, it claims, is considerably more stressful than being stuck in a traffic jam, and as tough on the nerves as having an argument with a partner, according to the findings in the Sunday times. Psychologist aric sigman monitored the heart rate and blood pressure of a male and female shopper. He found the average number of heartbeats per minute increased by 10 per cent in both subjects at the mere sight of a checkout queue. The female subject’s blood pressure rose by more than 13 per cent when Laden with gifts and pushing through busy crowds. Engaging in so-called "retail therapy" is actually one of the most emotionally and physically taxing experiences in our lives, the survey was quoted as saying. By the end of the day, both subjects said their feelings of tiredness, stress, anger and agression had increased seven-fold. The female noted a greater increase in violent thoughts towards fellow shoppers. Shopping online was found to be considerably less stressful. (DPA) US and UN urge restraint in Georgia WASHINGTON, Nov 23: US Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan have urged Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze to act with restraint in dealing with an opposition protest that drove him from Parliament, a state department spokesman said. "The secretary and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke together this afternoon with President Shevardnadze," the spokesman said. "They encouraged him to deal with the current crisis with restraint and within the framework of the Georgian constitution." Georgian opposition protesters stormed Parliament earlier yesterday, forcing shevardnadze to flee to his home where he declared a state of emergency. The State Department spokesman said Shevardnadze had discussed his efforts to bring stability to the situation in the phone call with Powell and Annan. "The Secretary and the Secretary-General said that they would continue to follow the situation closely and stay in touch with President Shevardnadze," the spokesman said. He said powell had reiterated a long-standing desire to visit Georgia but that no visit was planned at this time. The protest in Georgia, in which tens of thousands took to the streets demanding the veteran leader Shevardnadze quit, follows parliamentary elections earlier this month that the United States has said was marked with massive fraud. (AGENCIES) |
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