Somali money transfer companies moved more than $3.7 million in cash between suspected weapons traffickers in recent years, including to a Yemeni under U.S. sanctions for alleged militant links, according to a report seen by Reuters.The findings by a Geneva-based research group, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, could further complicate attempts by Somali transfer companies to retain access to international banking services.Though they provide a lifeline to millions in the anarchic Horn of Africa nation, few banks will do business with them because of the risk of falling foul of international transparency and anti-money laundering regulations.Asked about the report, the Central Bank of Somalia, which regulates money transfer firms, said it was unaware of the transfers but would investigate and was in general making progress in countering terrorism financing.Contacted by Reuters, the four companies each said they did their best to comply with global “know your customer” norms despite Somalia having no national identity card. The firms also said they maintained databases of internationally-sanctioned individuals.The Global Initiative analyzed nearly six years of transaction records from the city of Bossasso, matching them with mobile phone records provided by security sources and database searches.The report identified 176 transactions from the last six years that it said appeared to be linked to suspected weapons dealers in Somalia and Yemen. Nearly two-thirds were over the $10,000 threshold that should trigger an automatic report to regulatory authorities.They include two transfers totaling nearly $40,000 to numbers linked to Sayf Abdulrab Salem al-Hayashi after the U.S. Treasury sanctioned him in 2017 for allegedly providing weapons and financial support to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Islamic State in Yemen, the report said.Al Hayashi could not be reached for comment.Somalia-based Amal Express and Iftin Express handled the transactions, which used different combinations of his name and nickname, the report said.Amal Express said a transfer slip shown in the report and allegedly linked to al Hayashi was a forgery. Iftin Express said the transaction slip was a fake and added that it reported all transactions over $10,000 to Somali authorities.Multiple identities  The report did not find any instances where the other two companies, Dahabshiil and Taaj, made transfers to any sanctioned individuals. But it noted instances where individuals were able to make transfers with them using multiple names and numbers, a violation of Somali law.One man used 24 names between the four companies, the report said.All four companies said they did not allow customers to use multiple identities or phone numbers. Dahabshiil also said it has stopped doing transfers between Somalia and Yemen.The companies did not say whether the six men named in the report are in their databases.Apart from al Hayashi – the only one under U.S. sanctions – three others whose names appear in the suspect transactions were identified as suspected arms dealers in public reports by the United Nations panel of experts on Somalia.Two were flagged – one as a proxy for al Hayashi, and one as an arms trafficker – in a confidential annex to a 2018 report by the same panel.Few Somalis have bank accounts. Money transfer companies – often known as hawalas – are vital to economic activity and delivering humanitarian aid.Cutting companies off from banking is not the answer, said the report’s author, Jay Bahadur, former head of the U.N. panel of experts. “Excluding companies from international banking services will punish families that rely on them and drive financial flows underground,” he said.Identity card But he said companies must ensure their agents follow anti-money laundering laws and Somali authorities must improve enforcement.”Financial regulatory bodies in Somalia are understaffed, under-resourced, and aren’t trusted by domestic financial institutions,” he told Reuters. “They receive limited reporting data and aren’t able to take much action with what they do receive.”Abdirahman M. Abdullahi, governor of Somalia’s central bank, said cooperation was improving. Somalia is working with the World Bank on developing a national identity card, he told Reuters.He said arrests have been made for breaking anti-money laundering and terrorism financing law, citing the case of a trader convicted in August of running an unregistered bank.The Financial Reporting Center, a Somali government watchdog, did not respond to requests for comment.
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Thailand’s military-backed prime minister warned protesters on Thursday against heightening COVID-19 risks as they planned large anti-government demonstrations for the weekend.  
 
Demonstrators have held two months of near-daily rallies to demand former junta leader Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s removal and changes to a constitution they say were designed to extend military dominance after an election last year.  
 
Prayuth, a former army chief who says he was fairly elected, said in a televised speech that he understood the grievances but urged demonstrators to put “COVID first” for now.  
 
“When you gather in mobs, you are creating an enormous risk of new infections. And with that, you also create enormous risk to the livelihoods of tens of millions of fellow Thais,” he said.  
 
“Your protests delay economic recovery because you affect business confidence, and you affect the confidence of tourists to return to our country when we are ready to receive them.”  
 
Thailand has not seen a local coronavirus transmission for 14 days since Sept. 3, when a prison inmate tested positive after over 100 days of no new local cases.  
 
Foes say Prayuth is exploiting the health situation.  
 
“COVID is the government’s last card, the only trick left up its sleeve, to undermine the legitimacy of the protests,” said Anusorn Unno, a protester and lecturer at Bangkok’s Thammasat University.  
 
Protest leaders expect tens of thousands to gather at that university on Saturday and march to Government House on Sunday.  
 
The university said last week it would not allow the gathering on its campus. Police also said marching to Government House could break a law prohibiting large gatherings near restricted sites.  
 
The demonstrations, though largely peaceful, have revived memories of more than a decade of intermittent unrest and protracted street rallies that culminated in a 2014 coup led by Prayuth against the government of Yingluck Shinawatra.
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A Rwandan court could decide Thursday whether the man who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda” will be granted bail after being charged earlier this week with terrorism, complicity in murder and forming an armed rebel group.Paul Rusesabagina, who has been detained since late last month, is asking to be released because of poor health.Rusesabagina refused to plead to all 13 charges on Monday, including being linked to murders, claiming some of the charges are baseless.Prosecutors accuse Rusesabagina of orchestrating crimes against unarmed, innocent Rwandan civilians in 2018.The film “Hotel Rwanda” portrayed Rusesabagina, a former hotel manager, as a hero who protected Tutsis fleeing the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.He is credited with saving more than 1,000 lives.
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Російська компанія «Роснєфть» програла в Європейському суді справу, яка стосується санкцій проти компанії через Україну.

«Суд підтримав рішення Європейського суду загальної юрисдикції, який відхилив позов проти обмежувальних заходів щодо російських нафтових компаній, що входять до групи «Роснєфть», у контексті української кризи. Сьогодні своїм рішенням суд повністю відхиляє апеляцію компаній», – заявили в Європейському суді.

31 липня 2014 року Рада Європи запровадила обмежувальні заходи, зокрема проти нафтового сектора Росії. Санкції стали відповіддю на дії Росії для дестабілізації ситуації в Україні. Вони включали заборону на експорт окремих «сенситивних» продуктів та технологій до Росії та обмеження на доступ окремих російських операторів до ринку Європейського союзу.
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Data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week reveal that members of minorities younger than 21 years old are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 compared to white Americans in the same age group.Between February 21 and July 31, 121 people under the age of 21 died of the disease, according to data compiled from 27 states. More than 75% of those young people were Hispanic, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, even though they represent just 41% of the U.S. population.A further breakdown of the numbers shows that Hispanic children made up 44% of the fatalities and Black children made up 29%, compared to 14% being white children. American Indian and Alaska Natives accounted for 4% of COVID-19 deaths, with Asian and Pacific Islanders making up the same amount.The CDC report also found that 75% of those who died had at least one underlying health condition, such as asthma, obesity, neurologic and developmental conditions or cardiovascular conditions. Researchers pointed out that certain social conditions, including crowded living conditions, food and housing insecurity, and wealth and education gaps, could be contributing factors in the high fatality rates among minority children.The CDC on Wednesday outlined details of a plan to begin distributing a vaccine within 24 hours of official approval. Under the plan, the drug would be distributed once the Food and Drug Administration authorized either an emergency use order or full formal approval, and would likely be administered first to essential personnel such as health care workers.The agency said the vaccine would be administered free of charge for all Americans once it becomes widely available.The announcement of the plan came on the same day President Donald Trump contradicted CDC Director Robert Redfield on when Americans would get a reliable COVID-19 vaccine. Redfield told a Senate committee that a vaccine could be generally available to the American public in the second or third quarter of next year with those most at risk, such as the elderly and those with preexisting health conditions, to be prioritized for vaccination.However, in a news conference hours later, Trump made clear he did not like Redfield expressing a more cautious timeline. “I think he made a mistake when he said that. That’s just incorrect information,” Trump told reporters. “Under no circumstance will it be as late as the doctor said.”Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
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Oklahoma was once home to more than 50 all-Black towns — more than anywhere else in the United States. Most of those towns, established primarily by freed slaves, have vanished. But as VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, the battle is on to save what’s left of the 13 all-Black towns that remain.
Camera: Jeremy Gossett       Produced by: Bronwyn Benito/Jeremy Gossett 
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South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit fired longtime Finance Minister Salvatore Garang Mabiordit Wol in an executive order read on national television Wednesday.Mabiordit is the eighth finance minister dismissed by Kiir since 2011. The country’s new finance minister is Athian Diing Athian.Kiir also fired Erjok Bullen, acting commissioner of the National Revenue Authority, and Chol Deng Thon Abel, head of the Nile Petroleum Corporation, or Nilepet, the country’s institution overseeing oil production.Jok Madut Jok, co-founder and former director of the Juba-based Sudd Institute, said changing ministers will not solve the country’s economic crisis.”But it is not just about changing faces,” he said. “It is particularly about building institutions of the nation. If it were a nation where institutions count, there is no way we can be convinced if so-and-so steals money. And yet at the end of the day, they walk away with their misdeeds and mistakes.”No paychecks since AprilMabiordit said last week his ministry did not have the money to pay government workers who have been waiting for paychecks since April. He was summoned earlier in September by the National Assembly’s business committee to explain why the civil servants had not been paid.Diplomats at various South Sudan missions abroad, including Washington, have not received their salaries for the past 19 months.A source at the South Sudan Ministry of Foreign Affairs who is not authorized to speak to the media told South Sudan In Focus that South Sudan’s embassy in Washington received an eviction notice, and its bank account is on the verge of closure due to a lack of funds.Mabiordit told lawmakers that the COVID-19 lockdown, coupled with the devastated global economy, affected crude oil prices and reduced revenue from South Sudan’s oil production.South Sudanese on social media were satisfied with Kiir’s shakeup at the major financial and oil institutions.South Sudanese are strugglingJok said the changes meant nothing to the majority of South Sudanese, who are struggling to put food on the table.”The only thing that can change this (situation) is for us to have institutional regulations,” he said. “There are laws to be sustained, and the legislature should question national ministers about their behaviors. There are other laws like economic security laws where if you misbehave (with public funds), security (officials) will investigate you.”The auditor general’s office and the Anti-Corruption Commission should be empowered to hold corrupt official accountable, said Jok.Kiir formed a crisis management committee in August to look at the root causes of the continuous economic hurdles facing South Sudan. The committee is yet to release its findings. 
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As the pandemic continues to put enormous stress on first responders and health care workers, a constant worry is a shortage of personal protective equipment such as face shields and masks.  Researchers from universities across the U.S. have been working on ways to sanitize masks and create shields.  VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.Producers: Elizabeth Lee, Rod James. Videographers: Carlos Andres Cuervo, Elizabeth Lee.
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Belarusian opposition leader and human rights advocate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has expressed regret that President Alexander Lukashenko met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as a leading human rights organization accused Belarusian security forces of unlawfully arresting thousands of people and torturing hundreds of others. The two authoritarian leaders met Monday at a Black Sea resort in Sochi, when Putin granted the Belarusian government a $1.5 billion loan during a period of unrest in Belarus. The meeting was their first since mass protests erupted in Belarus after Lukashenko was reelected to a sixth term in an election widely viewed as rigged.   FILE – Opposition supporters take part in a rally against police brutality following protests to reject the presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sept. 13, 2020.Tsikhanouskaya, Lukashenko’s election opponent who has left Belarus, said she and other opposition leaders do not consider Lukashenko the legitimate president and that his meeting with Putin is further evidence of the need for change “after new fair elections when the new president will be in power.” Putin recognizes Lukashenko as the legitimate leader of Belarus, despite the ongoing mass protests. Detentions, tortureEarlier this week, Human Rights Watch accused Belarusian security forces of detaining and torturing people in the days after Lukashenko’s reelection. HRW said its findings were based on interviews with 27 former detainees, most of whom were arrested between Aug. 8 and 12, 14 people with knowledge of the arrests, and an examination of 67 videos and written accounts from former detainees and their relatives. FILE – People detained during recent rallies of opposition supporters, who accuse Alexander Lukashenko of falsifying the polls in the presidential election, show their marks from beatings as they leave the Okrestina prison, in Minsk, Aug. 14, 2020.The detainees said they were subject to beatings, electric shocks and other forms of torture, resulting in injuries such as broken bones, electrical burns, mild traumatic brain injuries, kidney damage and cracked teeth. At least one detainee was allegedly raped. Mass arrests resumed in the first week of September. The Interior Ministry reported that 600 people were apprehended Sept. 6 alone. The Ministry said another 774 people were arrested in Minsk and other Belarusian cities for holding unsanctioned demonstrations Sunday. Belarusian authorities also have targeted foreign journalists and local reporters working for foreign and local independent media organizations. HRW said dozens of the journalists have had their media credentials revoked, or have been expelled or harassed.  A journalist in Hrodna said he was arrested despite showing authorities his media credentials. He suffered two broken wrists at the hands of an officer with a Russian special police unit. Exiled Belarus Opposition Leader Pleads for ‘Help Now’ Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged international pressure, including sanctions on Alexander Lukashenko and his government following a disputed election Response from Lukashenko Opposition parties, the United States and the European Union allege the election was rigged.  Lukashenko denies the voting was fraudulent and blamed the unrest on meddling by western countries. Russian news agencies quoted him this week saying he has nothing to discuss with the opposition, and that he would be open to constitutional reforms and a potential new presidential election. During his meeting with Lukashenko, Putin endorsed the possibility of Belarus amending its constitution to lay the groundwork for new elections. VOA’s Ukrainian Service contributed to this report.  
 
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The U.S. government announced sanctions Wednesday on two Russian nationals for their role in the theft of at least $16.8 million worth of cryptocurrency.In the phishing scheme, which was conducted in 2017 and 2018, Danil Potekhin and Dmitrii Karasavidi allegedly created web sites that looked like legitimate currency exchange sites. Victims would enter their information, which was then used to access real accounts.The two, who were identified by the Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security, then allegedly laundered the stolen cryptocurrencies through multiple virtual currency exchanges using fake profiles.“The individuals who administered this scheme defrauded American citizens, businesses and others by deceiving them and stealing virtual currency from their accounts,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement. “The Treasury Department will continue to use our authorities to target cybercriminals and remains committed to the safe and secure use of emerging technologies in the financial sector.”According to the statement, the government seized millions of dollars in virtual currency and U.S. dollars in an account owned by Karasavidi.
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Національний банк України поновив продаж американської валюти на міжбанківському ринку для стримування знецінення гривні. За даними сайту «Мінфін», 15 вересня регулятор виставив на продаж понад 20 мільйонів доларів за курсом 28,11 гривні (є також дані про продаж близько 35 мільйонів гривень).

«Це перший його продаж, починаючи з 23 липня 2020 року; майже два місяці регулятор тільки купував валюту. У разі, якщо сьогодні Нацбанк вирішить продовжити стримувати інтервенції, до нього можуть підключитися спекулянти і спробувати підвищеним обсягом пропозиції валюти зіграти на зниження, щоб заробити на падінні курсу долара», – ідеться в повідомленні.

За повідомленнями учасників торгів, 16 вересня НБУ пропонує долар по 28,15 гривні.

За даними Finance.ua, дії регулятора зупинили зростання котирувань долара. Максимальні значення сягали 28 гривень 12,5–14,5 копійки, але станом на 12:30 опустилися до 28 гривень 11–13 копійок за долар.

Довідкове значення курсу НБУ встановив на рівні 28 гривень 13 копійок за долар, це на 7 копійок більше за офіційний курс на 16 вересня.

Ще місяць тому, 17 серпня, долар оцінювався на міжбанку значно дешевше, тоді торги завершилися на рівні 27 гривень 23,5–25,5 копійки за одиницю американської валюти.
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Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in several pickup trucks opened fire on Wasaram, 90 kilometers (55 miles) from regional capital Maiduguri on Tuesday, killing eight villagers and injuring 20, they said. Three villagers were also killed in a separate attack in Auno earlier that day.  “We recovered 11 bodies from the two attacks which occurred yesterday in Kaga district,” militia leader Ibrahim Liman told AFP. The insurgents had accused the villagers of alerting troops about their movement on their way to rob traders in the nearby town of Ngamdu, he said. Soldiers intercepted the jihadists and engaged them in a gun battle, forcing them to retreat, said militiaman Umar Ari, who gave the same death toll. “They (ISWAP) attacked the village on their way back, accusing residents of informing soldiers about their movement to rob local traders at the weekly market”, Ari told AFP. Earlier on Tuesday, ISWAP fighters slaughtered three farmers that they seized as they worked on their fields outside Auno village, 65 kilometers away, the militia leaders added. ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016 and initially focused on attacking the military, has increasingly been targeting civilians, in particular abducting and killing motorists at bogus checkpoints on highways. Meanwhile, eight people were injured late Tuesday when gunmen from a rival Boko Haram faction ambushed a civilian convoy under military escort outside the town of Banki near the border with Cameroon, security sources told AFP. “Four of the victims were taken to a hospital in Mora on the Cameroonian side because of the severity of their injuries,” said a security source, who asked not to be identified. The decade-old jihadist insurgency in mainly-Muslim northern Nigeria has claimed 36,000 lives and forced two million others to flee their homes. The conflict has spilled over to Cameroon, Chad and Niger, prompting a regional military force to be formed to fight off the insurgents. 
 
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Kenya’s 47 county governments will shut down some of their services and close hospitals to new patients after their representatives in the Senate failed to resolve a dispute over a new scheme to share revenue between them.  
 
The scheme aims to distribute cash by population size. Critics say it takes away funds from less-populated, poor regions and gives them to those that are economically stronger. Supporters of the plan say it will ensure a more equitable distribution of cash.  
 
The deadlock in the Senate means no cash has been disbursed to local authorities, since a new formula needs to be in place for the cash to be released.  
 
County health facilities will not admit new patients, the council of county governors said in a notice to its members on Wednesday, saying the hospitals will only offer limited outpatient services.  
 
“All non-essential services are hereby suspended and county employees are advised to proceed on leave for two weeks,” the council said in the notice.  
 
There was no immediate comment from the Senate or the national government.  
 
Established by a new constitution in 2010 to try and spread national wealth to more people in the grassroots, the county governments have opened a new front in the East African nation’s fractious politics.  
 
On Tuesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta offered to add 50 billion shillings ($462 million), to the 15% of national revenue that counties are entitled to, in the financial year starting from next July, in an attempt to break the standoff.
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