Headline

FULL LIST: All Allegations Made Against US Rapper, P Diddy

Published

1 year ago

September 26, 2024

Sean Combs, known as P Diddy or Puff Daddy, the rapper and music mogul credited with launching the careers of major stars, has been in the spotlight recently for legal troubles.

Combs was arrested on Monday, September 16, by federal agents in New York after facing months of civil lawsuits alleging sex trafficking, sexual abuse and rape.

Combs, who was denied bail twice, is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

According to The Independent, federal prosecutors in a newly unsealed indictment accuse Combs and his associates of coercing and abusing women to fulfil his sexual desires, including forcing victims into recorded sexual activities, which he allegedly called “Freak Outs.”

Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, called the rapper “an innocent man.”

“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Agnifilo told The Independent via email.

Sky News reports that the charges relate to sex trafficking, drug possession and firearms offences.

The three major charges outlined by the Southern District of New York in a legal indictment are racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.

The indictment, as reported by Sky News, alleges the following:

Combs is alleged to have “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct” dating back to at least 2008.

The 54-year-old is accused of leveraging his employees, resources, and industry influence to establish a “criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice”.

He is accused of coercing female victims and male sex workers into participating in drug-fueled sexual acts, referred to as “Freak Offs,” according to the legal document.

According to Sky News, the document mentions “Freak Offs” 16 times, describing them as elaborate, staged sexual performances that Combs orchestrated, directed, and often recorded, while also engaging in the acts.

Prosecutors claim that victims were administered controlled substances during events that sometimes lasted for days, keeping them “obedient and compliant.” Combs allegedly subjected them to “physical, emotional, and verbal abuse” to compel their participation.

The indictment further alleges that Combs and his business associates “engaged in acts of violence, threats of harm, both physical and reputational and verbal abuse.” These acts reportedly included kidnapping and arson when individuals who witnessed the alleged abuse challenged his authority or reputation.

The Independent also published all the allegations against Sean Combs, noting that lawsuits against the rapper began on November 16, 2023, when he was sued by singer and dancer Casandra Ventura, also known as Cassie, his former partner, who alleged years of abuse.

Allegations

Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura

R&B singer Casandra Ventura, also known as Cassie, filed a 2023 lawsuit accusing Combs of subjecting her to a decade-long pattern of trafficking, rape, and physical abuse.

A 2016 surveillance footage, obtained by CNN on May 17, 2024, appeared to validate aspects of Ventura’s allegations, capturing Combs chasing and violently assaulting her in a Los Angeles hotel corridor.

In a swift resolution, Ventura settled the lawsuit with Combs for an undisclosed sum just one day after filing, stating she preferred to “resolve this matter amicably.”

Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, a 51-year-old inmate, filed a lawsuit alleging Combs drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party three decades ago, as revealed in court documents obtained by Detroit’s Metro Times.

Combs’ failure to attend a virtual hearing resulted in a $100 million default judgment in favour of Cardello-Smith on September 9.

Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones
A February 2024 lawsuit in New York accuses Combs of subjecting music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones to a prolonged campaign of sexual harassment, intimidation and exploitation.

Jones, who worked for Combs from September 2022 to November 2023, alleged unwanted advances by Combs’ associates and forced into encounters with sex workers hired by Combs.

Joie Dickerson-Neal
Joie Dickerson-Neal filed a lawsuit in November 2023, accusing Combs of drugging, sexually assaulting, and secretly recording the assault without her consent in 1991, while she was a college student, according to NBC News, citing court documents.

Crystal McKinney
Following the release of CCTV footage showing Combs attacking Ventura, former model Crystal McKinney filed a lawsuit in May alleging Combs sexually assaulted her at his New York City recording studio in 2003.

April Lampros
Shortly after McKinney’s lawsuit, April Lampros came forward alleging Combs sexually assaulted her multiple times between 1995 and the early 2000s, following their initial meeting while she was a student.

Dawn Richard
Dawn Richard, a former bandmate, sued Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York federal court, alleging years of physical and sexual abuse starting in 2009.

Richard accuses Combs of withholding payment, groping, making lewd comments, physical violence, and death threats, also claiming he enabled the sexual exploitation of underage girls and abused singer Cassie.

Combs has denied all allegations and vowed to defend himself, pleading not guilty to all charges.

“Diddy is an imperfect person but is not criminal,” Combs’ lawyer had said.

“To his credit, Mr Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.

“Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court,” his lawyer added.
AFP/PUNCH

Headline

Sweden To Charge 18-year-old Over IS Terror Plot

Published

21 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said Tuesday it intended to charge an 18-year-old man for planning a terrorist act in Stockholm on behalf of the Islamic State group.

According to prosecutors, the planning took place between August 2024 and February 2025.

“We believe the purpose of the preparations was to induce serious fear in the population, in the name of the Islamic State. The criminal act could have seriously harmed Sweden,” Deputy Chief Prosecutor Henrik Olin said in a statement.

Prosecutors did not provide details of the plan but said the man was also suspected of “preparation for serious crimes under the act on flammable and explosive goods and training for terrorism”.

Prosecutors said they planned to file the charges on Thursday and that a press conference would be held the same day.

The young man will also be charged alongside a 17-year-old boy with attempted murder in Germany in August 2024.

Both of them are also suspected of “participation in a terrorist organisation,” according to the statement.

The man was arrested in Stockholm on February 11 and has been in custody since then.

AFP

Headline

US Shutdown Hits 35 Days, Tying Longest In History

Published

21 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

The US government shutdown entered its 35th day on Tuesday, matching a record set during President Donald Trump’s first term, as lawmakers voiced hope over progress behind the scenes to end the dispute.

The federal closure appears almost certain to become the longest in history, with no breakthroughs expected before it goes into its sixth week at midnight — although there were fragile signs in Congress that an off-ramp is closer than ever.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune set the buoyant mood music on Monday when he told reporters he felt “optimistic” that newly energised talks between warring Republicans and Democrats could end in a deal before next week.

The government has been grinding to a halt since Congress failed to pass a bill to keep federal departments and agencies funded past the end of the last financial year on September 30.

“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think any of us expected that it would drag on this long. We didn’t believe, we couldn’t have imagined,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told a news conference arranged to mark the six-week milestone.

“It’s now tied for the longest shutdown in US history. And we didn’t think we’d have to come in here every single day — day after day after day — and repeat the obvious facts to the American people and to put on display every day what is happening here.”

Some 1.4 million federal workers — from air traffic controllers to park wardens — have been placed on enforced leave without pay or made to work for nothing, while vital welfare programs and even paychecks for active-duty troops are under threat.

Both sides remain dug in over the main sticking point — health care spending.

Democrats say they will only provide votes to end the funding lapse after a deal has been struck to extend expiring insurance subsidies that make health care affordable for millions of Americans.

But Republicans insist they will only address health care once Democrats have voted to switch the lights back on in Washington.

While both sides’ leadership have shown little appetite for compromise, there have been signs of life on the back benches, with a handful of moderate Democrats working to find an escape hatch.

A separate bipartisan group of four centrist House members unveiled a compromise framework Monday for lowering health insurance costs.

Democrats believe that millions of Americans seeing skyrocketing premiums as they enroll onto health insurance programs for next year will pressure Republicans into seeking compromise.

But Trump has held firm on refusing to negotiate, telling CBS News in an interview broadcast Sunday that he would “not be extorted.”

The president has sought to apply his own pressure to force Democrats to cave, by threatening mass layoffs of federal workers and using the shutdown to target progressive priorities.

Last week his administration threatened to cut off a vital aid programme that helps 42 million Americans pay for groceries for the first time in its more than 60-year history, before the move was blocked in court.

And the president has returned to a familiar playbook of demanding the elimination of the Senate filibuster — the 60-vote threshold for passing most legislation — so Republicans can pass government funding themselves.

“Terminate the filibuster now, end the ridiculous shutdown immediately, and then, most importantly, pass every wonderful Republican policy that we have dreamt of for years, but never gotten,” Trump fulminated in an all-caps social media post.

Preserving the filibuster — which senators say protects the voice of the minority — is one of the few issues on which Republicans are willing to defy Trump and radical reform seems highly unlikely.

“The votes aren’t there,” Thune told reporters on Monday.

AFP

Headline

China Backs Nigeria, Warns Against Foreign Interference

Published

21 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

China has urged the international community to respect Nigeria’s sovereignty following a US threat of military action.

The Chinese government reiterated its support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration, commending the government for guiding the country along a development path tailored to its national conditions.

According to a report sourced from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China’s website, the Spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, stated this at a press briefing on Tuesday in Beijing.

She said, “As Nigeria’s strategic partner, China opposes any attempt by foreign powers to use religion or human rights as a pretext to meddle in another country’s internal affairs or impose sanctions and military threats.”

Recently, the US threatened Nigeria with possible military action due to the alleged persecution of Christians in the country.

The United States President, Donald Trump, had threatened to deploy military forces in Nigeria if the alleged genocide against Christians is not stopped in the country.