Nigeria widows lose their fortune

Nigeria's anti-corruption body has made its largest single seizure of illegally acquired assets belonging to a dead electoral official and pastor.

The $55m estate of Timothy Olufemi Akanni came to the attention of the authorities after his two widows rowed about who should inherit it.

It was only after his death in a plane crash last October that it was discovered he had a secret second wife.

The ex-electoral commission director's assets now pass to the state.

Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) made the seizures through an order it obtained from the High Court in the capital, Abuja.

The BBC's Sola Odunfa in Lagos says the forfeited assets include 23 bank accounts in various names; shares in leading Nigerian banks; houses and land in the most sought-after parts of Lagos and Abuja; schools in Abuja and a variety of motor vehicles.

Our correspondent says Mr Akanni, who was a Pentecostal Church pastor in Abuja, was eulogised at his death for being a patriotic and selfless Nigerian.

The posthumous discovery of his second wife and fortune has shocked many of his friends and family.

When the family became divided over the inheritance, the EFFC was informed of Mr Akanni's previously unknown wealth.

After months of investigation the EFCC discovered assets far greater in value than his total legitimate earnings in life.

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Airline bans 'fire fear' laptops

South Korea's largest airline has banned some battery-powered laptops from its flights over fears they may start fires, according to a report.

Korean Air has barred all Dell laptops and some Apple models being used after they were subject to a battery recall.

Passengers will still be able to use the machines if they are run from the in-seat power supply and the batteries are removed, Associated Press said.

Dell last month recalled 4.1 million lithium-ion batteries made by Sony.

Apple followed suit, saying 1.8 million of its Sony-made Powerbook batteries may have been affected.

Recall

The recalls were issued after six confirmed instances of overheating or fire in Dell laptops.

Those Dell laptops affected were shipped between April 2004 and July 2006, including the Latitude, Inspiron, XPS and Precision notebook models.

According to a Dell spokesperson, it affected about 15% of the batteries the company sold in that period.

Dell is offering consumers free replacements.

The affected Apple laptops - the iBook G4 and Powerbook G4 - were sold between October 2003 and August 2006.

Safety watchdog the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said it was the biggest recall of electrical products in its history.

Korean Air's ban applies to all Dell machines and Apple's iBook and Powerbook range.

Other airlines have adopted similar policies.

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Red Cross fined for breaking safety laws

ANDREW BRIDGES,
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The American Red Cross said money it makes selling blood will help cover the atest in a series of multimillion-dollar government fines.

The Food and Drug Administration ordered the Red Cross on Friday to pay $4.2 million for violating blood-safety laws. The record fine is on top of $5.7 million the Red Cross already has been assessed by the FDA since a court settlement reached in 2003.

The latest fine is for violations that include failing to reject donors who had traveled to malarial areas and allowing blood and related products to be distributed without proper testing, said Margaret Glavin, the FDA's associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.

The FDA stressed it had no evidence of serious health consequences resulting from the violations and that the nation's blood supply remains safe.

The Red Cross provides nearly half the nation's blood supply, selling blood products to health facilities.

The fine stems from Red Cross recalls carried out between 2003 and 2005 that could have been prevented, the FDA said. The recalls involved about 12,000 units of blood and blood products. That number largely explains the size of the fine, Glavin said.

"FDA does not consider the current situation acceptable," Glavin said. "We will continue to work to make sure that the quality system is improved in its design and in its implementation, so these types of problems do not continue to occur."

In a statement, the American Red Cross said its senior management is committed to comply with the 2003 settlement and all applicable federal regulations. It planned to respond to the FDA within 20 days.

Red Cross spokesman Ryland Dodge said it will not use donated money to pay the fine, but instead will rely on operating funds, including revenue from the sale of blood products.b

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False accusation creates a 9/11 footnote

TOM HAYS,
Associated Press Writers

NEW YORK - They were different men going in different directions — one a visiting Egyptian student on scholarship, the other an ex-cop in a dead-end job as a hotel security guard. But an aviation radio left in a high-rise hotel brought Abdallah Higazy and Ronald Ferry together in an unfortunate footnote to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In his zeal to fight terror, Ferry twisted the truth about the radio — capable of contacting commercial pilots from the ground — and triggered an investigation that needlessly landed Higazy in jail for a month.

Five years later, Higazy, 35, is back in Egypt, where he views his case as a parable about the false suspicions endured by innocent young Arab and Muslim men following the attacks.

"Not all the victims of 9/11 were in the twin towers and Pentagon

he said in a recent interview. "There were other victims, too."

Attempts by The Associated Press to contact Ferry, 53, were unsuccessful. There was no telephone listing for him, and his former attorney said they were out of touch.

Speaking by phone from Cairo, Higazy recalled being thrilled when he arrived in the United States on Aug. 27, 2001, to begin a graduate program in computers. His college temporarily put him up in a room on the 51st floor at the Millennium Hotel, in the shadow of the World Trade Center.

He was there on the morning of Sept. 11 when the planes struck with a force that shook the hotel. During an evacuation, he managed to grab only his student identification and cash. He later found housing in Brooklyn and began school.

Enter Ferry.

The Millennium security guard — who had quit the Newark, N.J., police force because of a drug problem — was assigned in October to inventory items left behind by guests, court papers said. He reported to a supervisor that among the belongings found in a safe in Room 5101 were the aviation radio and an Egyptian passport — Higazy's.

The discovery was troubling to investigators who believed a conspirator could have used the handheld device to coordinate with the hijackers aiming airliners at the twin towers. It was considered "an extremely important item of evidence," one government filing said.

When Higazy was summoned to the hotel in December to retrieve his belongings, the FBI confronted him with the radio.

"I'm sorry, this isn't mine," he told agents.

The FBI brushed aside his denials and arrested him as a material witness. He was sure someone would quickly realize he'd been framed — until he spotted Zacarias Moussaoui inside a jail in lower Manhattan.

The man already known as "20th Hijacker" was lodged in the same maximum-security wing. Being in Moussaoui's company — and being strip-searched, shackled and insulted by guards — was unnerving to a moderate Muslim who had never even read the Koran.

"That's when it really sunk in that I was in a very, very serious situation," he said.

Higazy agreed to a polygraph examination. He stuck to the truth, he said, until an FBI agent made veiled threats against his family in Egypt.

He broke down and responded with wild and contradictory tales: He found the radio in the subway. No, he stole it from the Egyptian military.

Citing his "confession," federal authorities charged him on Jan. 11, 2002, with making false statements. Three days later, a private pilot who was staying one floor below Higazy at the Millennium on Sept. 11, returned to the hotel looking for his aviation radio.

Ferry recanted his story on Jan. 16, court papers said. The same day, with no explanation, a deputy U.S. marshal removed Higazy's shackles and told him, "You're free to go."

About a year later, Higazy sued the hotel and the FBI agent who coerced his false confession for $20 million. He reached an undisclosed settlement with the hotel; a judge later cleared the agent — a ruling that's still being appealed.

Now married and teaching computer courses, Higazy still blames Ferry for "fooling the government." But he also has fond memories of New Yorkers who, after recognizing him from news accounts, greeted him with kind words after he was freed.

"Aren't you the Egyptian man?" he recalled some saying. "We're sorry."

Ferry, who pleaded guilty on Feb. 27, 2002, to lying to the FBI about the radio, served his sentence of weekends in jail for six months, then faded back into obscurity. His motives remain murky as well.

"That was during a time of patriotism," he said at his sentencing, "and I'm very, very sorry for that mistake."

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Man murdered over child sex slur

A man who was wrongly accused of being a paedophile was stabbed to death in a brutal and prolonged attack, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court has heard.

Paul Cooper, 42, of Walton Road in Heywood, Greater Manchester, was found at his flat on 18 March.

Neil Read, 23, of Higher Lomax Lane in Heywood, was deemed unfit to plead earlier this week.

On Friday he was ordered to go to Ashworth high security hospital, where he will be held in a psychiatric unit.

He is to be held without limit of time.

Read attacked and killed Mr Cooper after becoming fixated with the idea he had been indecently assaulted by him when he was a child.

Det Ch Insp Jeff McMahon said: "Paul and Read knew each other from years earlier.

"We have never received any allegation that Paul indecently assaulted Read at any time.

"There is no evidence to suggest that Paul was ever involved in any sexual offence.

"He had never been arrested, questioned or convicted of any crime of a sexual nature.

"Neil Read had, over a prolonged period of time, persuaded a number of people in the community that Paul Cooper, and others in the area, were sex offenders. "Many of those he spoke to believed him and this misinformation hampered our investigation in its early stages."

Story from BBC NEWS:

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USCIS HELPS BUST MARRIAGE FRAUD CASE

WASHINGTON The first of 22 individuals involved in a marriage and immigration fraud scheme were arrested today as part of a three-year law enforcement task force operation in the National Capitol area. As described in the government’s affidavit, the defendants are alleged to have arranged marriages between aliens seeking immigration benefits and United States citizens willing to enter into sham marriages in exchange for money.

“This is an important example of the effective cooperation among Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entities and federal, state and local law enforcement partners to maintain the integrity of our national immigration system,” said USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez. “Because they are the first to review the suspect cases, USCIS immigration officers serve on the front lines of our Nation’s security and are actively involved in the detection of fraud and abuse.”

Today’s arrests were a result of the efforts of a task force of federal and local law enforcement agencies including: USCIS, ICE, the Arlington County (Va.) Police Department, the Fairfax County (Va.) Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the Departments of State and Commerce. Aliens who participated in this fraud scheme were primarily from Ghana and generally paid large fees, between $2,500 and $6,000, to the defendants who facilitated the sham marriages.

When USCIS employees detect suspect patterns of immigration fraud, they refer the case to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to determine whether the case should be pursued criminally. If so, ICE conducts a criminal investigation and upon proving fraud, pursues prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s office. If ICE decides not to conduct a criminal investigation, the case is returned to USCIS, who then conducts an administrative investigation through its Office of Fraud Detection and National Security. Should that administrative investigation substantiate the fraud, USCIS will deny the immigration benefit and place the applicant into possible removal proceedings

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