Headline

Charles III Arrives Germany In First Foreign Trip As king

Published

1 year ago

March 29, 2023

Editor

Britain’s Charles III arrived in Germany on Wednesday for his first state visit as king, with the trip billed as “an important European gesture” to maintain strong ties after Brexit.

The royals’ plane, with “United Kingdom” marked on the sides, landed at Berlin-Brandenburg airport shortly before 2:00 pm (1200 GMT).

“Ahead of our first State Visit to Germany, we are very much looking forward to meeting all of those who make this country so special. It is a great joy to be able to continue the deepening of the longstanding friendship between our two nations,” said Charles and Queen Consort Camilla on Twitter via the Royal Family’s account.

Standing at the top of the plane’s steps, the royal couple were greeted with a 21-gun salute as two military jets made a flypast.

The British Union Jack was flapping alongside the German and European Union flags along Berlin’s central Unter den Linden avenue, which leads to the Brandenburg Gate, where Charles will receive a formal welcome.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and German first lady Elke Buedenbender will greet the royal couple with military honours at the landmark, the first time it has provided a backdrop for receiving a state guest.

During his three-day visit, Charles will become the first monarch to address the German parliament, with a speech on Thursday, before travelling to the port city of Hamburg on Friday.

The decision to call on the EU heavyweight first is widely seen as an attempt to build post-Brexit bridges, with Steinmeier calling it “an important European gesture”.

The choice of Germany for Charles’s first visit, after a planned trip to Paris was postponed, showed Berlin was a “key partner” for Britain as it seeks to reset relations with the EU, daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote.

Well-wishers arrived at the Brandenburg Gate hours before the royal couple touched down in hope of getting a glimpse of them.

Anja Wieting, 50, who works at a clothing store, took days off to drive five hours to Berlin with her daughter Lili, 18, for the spectacle.

“It’s the visit of the king in Germany. We want to celebrate it, regardless of how long the queue is,” she told AFP, adding that she finds “big ceremonies and state visits by royals great”.

Teacher Sylke Freundentahl, 56, had been waiting in the queue since 9:15 am before being let into the secured zone.

“I am a royal fan,” she said, adding that she will try to travel on Friday to Hamburg as well.

– Public interest –

“The British royal family garners a lot of interest” in Germany, said Michael Hartmann, a sociology professor at Darmstadt Technical University, noting the bestseller status of the tell-all memoir by Charles’s son Prince Harry.

The fascination with the House of Windsor has not dimmed since the death last year of Elizabeth II, Hartmann told AFP.

The late queen first visited Berlin in 1965 when the city was divided between a capitalist West and communist East, a trip that was seen as a key step in post-war reconciliation.

Charles himself has been a regular visitor to Germany, with the British embassy in Berlin saying that he has been to the country 40 times.

“We will always be friends, partners and associates,” the then-Prince of Wales told the Bundestag in 2020 switching between English and German.

Charles’s command of German may be a nod to the British royal family’s roots in Germany notably through Charles’s great-great-great-grandfather Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, queen Victoria’s husband.

– Organic farm –
Following Wednesday’s welcome ceremony, Charles and his wife will travel to Steinmeier’s Bellevue Palace for a state banquet where vegetarian options like spinach tarts will be served along other dishes like free-range chicken.

On Thursday, Charles will speak to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and meet refugees recently arrived from Ukraine.

Steinmeier and the royal couple will then visit a British-German military unit and an organic farm in the surrounding state of Brandenburg.

In Hamburg on Friday, the king, who has for decades pushed an environmental agenda, is due to tour a renewable energy project.

And in what Bild daily has described as a gesture of deep significance, Charles will in Hamburg commemorate victims of 1943 air raids over the city.

The bombings, codenamed Operation Gomorrah, were carried out by night by the British air force, and by day by US forces.

Charles was initially supposed to travel to France before heading to Germany, but his trip was postponed in the wake of violent pension reform protests.

The visit was intended to highlight warming Franco-British relations but will now have to wait for another date.

Headline

PICTORIAL: C&S Church Ayo Ni O Installs New Leader

Published

10 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Editor

The Cherubim and Seraphim (S&S) Movement Church Worldwide, on Wednesday, formally installed Prophet Emmanuel Alogbo as the 6th Baba Aladura and spiritual head of the church.

Alogbo was appointed the acting spiritual head in November 2023 following the death of his predecessor, Samuel Abidoye, who died on November 12, at the age of 103.

A statement published on the official website of the church reads, “The ascension of Most Senior Special Prophet Dr. Emmanuel Abiodun Alogbo to the revered position of Spiritual Father and Chairman of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church signifies a pivotal moment in the history of the church, ushering in a new era of leadership and guidance for its global congregation.”

Alogbo’s installation was reported to have been attended by important figures in the church, “including the Olori of Cherubim and Seraphim Unification, His Most Eminence Pro. Dr. S. A. Alao J.Pil., who performed the anointment, which added to the solemnity and grandeur of the occasion.”

Alao was said to have charged the new Baba Aladura to embrace his role with strength and courage.

Congregants were also said to have recognised Alogbo as an embodiment of divine wisdom, compassion, and spiritual insight.

In his pledge to the CSMC Worldwide, the new Baba Adura was quoted assaying, “I solemnly pledge to continue the good work of moving our beloved church forward, which the late Baba Aladura Prophet Samuel Adefila Abidoye started.

“It is my firm commitment to ensure that the C&S Movement Church continues to march on, spreading its message of faith and love to all corners of the globe.”

Headline

Nigerian Man Extradited From Malaysia, Convicted For $6.3m Fraud In US

Published

12 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Editor

A federal jury in New Haven, Connecticut, Wednesday, convicted an extradited Nigerian national, Okechukwu Osuji, for engaging in a business email compromise scheme out of multiple countries, including the United States.

This was revealed in a statement by the US Department of Justice on Thursday, saying that Osuji and his accomplices, John Wamuigah and Tolulope Bodunde defrauded their victims of over $6.3 million.

The jury convicted Osuji of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said, “Osuji led a network of scammers in Malaysia and elsewhere in a sophisticated business email compromise scheme to defraud victims of millions of dollars.”

“Today’s conviction is another example of how the department’s collaboration with international law enforcement partners enables us to bring cybercriminals to justice in the United States.”

US Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery for the District of Connecticut added, “While it is often difficult to identify and bring to justice cybercriminals operating overseas, today’s verdict demonstrates the expertise of the FBI and Stamford Police in uncovering this criminal network, and the shared commitment of our counterparts in Malaysia to ensure that fraudsters are held accountable in a court of law.

“We will continue to work to root out those who engage in internet fraud schemes, no matter where in the world they operate, and achieve justice for victims of these crimes.”

“The defendant perpetrated a complex international business email compromise scheme and laundered millions in stolen proceeds,” said Executive Assistant Director Timothy R. Langan Jr. of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch.

“This conviction is the result of hard work and close collaboration between the FBI and our local and international partners. Together, we will work aggressively to bring to justice anyone who engages in fraud and theft against Americans, no matter where they are in the world.”

“Today’s verdict provides a bit of closure to some victims of these often financially crippling crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Fuller of the FBI New Haven Field Office.

“It also displays our international ability to bring criminal actors to justice despite the complexities of their crimes. We want to thank all of our law enforcement partners here and abroad, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s office, for their dedication to serving justice.”

Osuji who was deported by Osuji is slated to be sentenced on July 24 and faces a mandatory minimum of two years on the identity theft count and a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison on the wire fraud and conspiracy counts.

A Federal District Court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Osuji was arrested in Malaysia and extradited to the US in 2022. His alleged co-conspirator, Wamuigah, remains in Malaysia and is pending extradition proceedings, while another co-conspirator, Bodunde, pleaded guilty on February 16.

Headline

How Two Kenyan School Dropouts Made Prosthetic Arms For People With Disabilities

Published

20 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Editor

Two young Kenyan inventors have invented bio-robotic prosthetic arms from waste materials to help improve the lives of the physically challenged people in 2021.

Both David Gathu and Moses Kiuna were at the age of 29 when they designed a bio-robotic prosthetic arm in helping the people that have lost their limbs.

Recounting their ordeal before venturing into the invention, the duo said they were forced to drop out of college because of the expensive school fees but did not let the challenges steal their vision.

Gathu and Kiuna accomplished their dream to help their communities in a workshop in Kiambu county in Kikuyu, Kenya, north of the capital Nairobi.

According to Face to Face Africa, the workshop was basically a shed made out of worn-out rusted iron sheets standing next to a chicken coop.

The floor was covered with gravel, making the ground outside the shop and the interior all but indistinguishable, as brown broken glass with tape all around fits the window frame.

Brain signal bio-robotic arm
Another significant thing about the invention was being the world’s first bio-robotic arm operated by brain signals. The invention, which is controlled by brain signals, has been billed as a game-changer in the lives of disabled people in Kenya.

Gathu and Kinyua’s invention was unique and different from most prosthetic technology which is powered by a person’s muscles.

The arm works by converting brain signals into an electric current by a “NeuroNode” biopotential headset receiver. NeuroNode biopotential was originally invented to help people suffering from paralysis and speech loss.

Also, the inventors narrated that the idea to develop an electronic prosthetic came to them during the pandemic as part of their contribution towards assisting Kenya to battle the pandemic. It was initially created to help COVID-19 sanitisation efforts.

“When the virus hit our country, we decided to create a machine that could help us decontaminate surfaces. It can also be used in schools, restaurants, hospitals,” Shoppe Black quotes Kinyua as saying.

Using waste products

According to a report by Anadolu Agency, the Kenyan inventors solved two problems with their innovations, first, by using waste products to make the environment clean and safe, and helping a community of people living with disabilities.

“People throw away a lot of things that are harmful to the environment just because they don’t work. If they don’t work, it might be just one component that’s faulty but all the other components still work and can be recycled,” Gathu said.

“We’ve recycled everything that you see here. They throw it away, we pick it up and use it. This has saved us from spending a lot of money because we’re not backed up financially by anyone to come up with our innovations.”

They picked up “junk” that people threw away – things like plastic, rubber, wiring, old computer motherboards, LED lights, USB devices, switches, optical drives, heat sinks, fans, and power supply units – components that they say could be quite expensive to purchase from a shop.

Helping the community

Speaking about the physically challenged people, he said, “The main reason we came up with this is to help people in our community who have lost their limbs. We don’t want these people to feel like they can’t do anything, we want them to be dependent on themselves.”

The arm can do many more tasks. They say they are still perfecting their device, but lack of funds has been a challenge.

David Mathenge from the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK), a charity NGO, says: “Such inventions are the future of the science of artificial limbs. This is the science we need to ease the challenges people with disabilities face.”