Authorities in Ghana have busted a fake U.S. embassy in the capital Accra run by a criminal network that for a decade issued illegally obtained authentic visas, the U.S. State Department said. Until it was shut down this summer, the sham embassy was housed in a run-down, pink two-story building with a corrugated iron roof and flew a U.S. flag outside. Inside hung a portrait of President Barack Obama. “It was not operated by the United States government, but by figures from both Ghanaian and Turkish organized crime rings and a Ghanaian attorney practicing immigration and criminal law,” the State Department said in a statement released late on Friday. Turkish citizens, who spoke English and Dutch, posed as consular officers and staffed the operation. Investigations also uncovered a fake Dutch embassy, the State Department said. The crime ring issued fraudulently obtained but legitimate U.S. visas and false identification documents, including birth certificates at a cost of $6,000 each, the statement said. (Reuters http://buff.ly/2gTXw3R)
Top Stories
Floods brought by torrential rain since late November have killed at least 13 people in central Vietnam while more heavy rain is expected in coming days, the government and state media said on Sunday. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2g86SLd)
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak led a protest rally Sunday against what he called a “genocide” of Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority, as he urged Asian neighbors and the world to step up the pressure to stop the violence. (AP https://yhoo.it/2g7Yz1O)
The US and UK have been holding talks to explore ways to airdrop food and medical supplies to eastern Aleppo and other besieged populations in Syria. (Guardian http://bit.ly/2gQ95Jg)
An amended law that toughens penalties for female genital mutilation to up to 15 years in jail has come into effect, Egypt’s health ministry announced Sunday. (AFP https://yhoo.it/2gVzy8Y)
Demonstrators marched in major cities across Brazil on Sunday, protesting government corruption and a recent vote in Congress that was widely perceived as an effort to intimidate judges and prosecutors currently leading graft probes. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2gVxWvK)
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are likely to fall irrespective of the pro-coal policies of President-elect Donald Trump, who may still surprise the world by embracing global action to limit climate change, former vice president Al Gore said. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2g81kQE)
Opinion/Blogs
Podcast: Carolyn Miles of Save the Children on protecting kids in today’s world (Humanosphere http://buff.ly/2h2sA0x)
Another Crazy 2016 Election Result. This time in a Tiny West African Country With Big Implications (UN Dispatch http://buff.ly/2fWtSxZ)
No Fair Deal for Women (IPS http://bit.ly/2g7OK43)
Fleeing Aleppo fighting, Syrians describe terrifying choices (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2g80UcW)
Don’t Rob Our Girls of Their Childhood (The Daily Star http://bit.ly/2g80Jyn)
The state is an enabler of sexual violence. So what hope for the victims? (Guardian http://buff.ly/2h2sdDk)
Was Trump’s Taiwan contact a policy shift or a misstep? (AP https://yhoo.it/2gQfZhU)
What Happens to Millions of Syrian Refugees if Assad Remains in Power? (VOA http://bit.ly/2h2oDZF)
New Leadership in The Gambia is Good News for the International Criminal Court (Justice in Conflict http://buff.ly/2fWzU1E)
In Somalia, better education alone is not enough to challenge extremism (Devex http://buff.ly/2fWuqnP)
