The International Problem of Online Sextortion

June 20, 20244:51 PM ET

A growing number of children in the U.S. are being targeted in sextortion schemes— a scam in which a cybercriminal obtains and then threatens to release nude or sexually compromising photos, blackmailing victims for a ransom. And sadly dozens of young victims have died by suicide in the last few years. Cybercriminals are often based abroad and it is a particular problem in Nigeria. Our correspondent in Lagos, Nigeria tells us about the issue, about the tragic case of one 17 year-old victim who took his own life, and about what the FBI is doing to combat the problem.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, please get support. In the U.S. you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

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Man killed in Pakistan for allegedly desecrating Quran

Man killed in Pakistan for allegedly desecrating Quran

FILE – Protesters rally against a woman arrested on blasphemy charges in Lahore, Pakistan, April 17, 2023. Officials in northwest Pakistan said June 20, 2024, that a crowd stormed a police station, took a detainee facing blasphemy charges and killed him.

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Indian court grants bail to one of Modi’s chief opponents 

Indian court grants bail to one of Modi’s chief opponents

FILE – Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party, shows his inked finger after voting in New Delhi, May 25, 2024. Kejriwal was arrested earlier this year on corruption allegations stemming from a bribery investigation, but a court granted him bail on June 20.

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African leaders, French president seek vaccines for Africa

African leaders, French president seek vaccines for Africa

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, welcomes Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame to the Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation at the French Foreign Ministry in Paris, June 20, 2024. Macron and African leaders are working to make vaccines more available in Africa.

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South Africa’s ANC and opposition announce a unity government, in a big power shift

June 14, 202412:44 PM ET
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa raises his hand as he is sworn is as a member of Parliament ahead of an expected vote by lawmakers to decide if he is reelected as leader of the country in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday. At right is Pemmy Majodina, a lawmaker with his African National Congress party.

Jerome Delay/AP

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Jerome Delay/AP

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The African National Congress party has signed a deal to form a coalition government with the main opposition, party officials announced Friday after weeks of fevered negotiations.
Dubbed the government of national unity, this marks a seismic shift in South African politics, which has been dominated by the ANC since the end of apartheid 30 years ago. It aligns the party of the late legendary leader Nelson Mandela with its rival, the white-led, pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA) party. The coalition also includes the smaller Inkatha Freedom Party.
Will i..

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Haitian police meet Kenyan commanders ahead of deployment

Haitian police meet Kenyan commanders ahead of deployment

FILE – Kenyan police patrol the streets of Nairobi on March 12, 2024. Kenya is expected to lead a multinational peacekeeping mission in Haiti, which has been overrun by gang violence. Haitian police officials visited Kenya on June 18, 2024, to meet with Kenyan police leaders.

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India, US to strengthen high technology cooperation 

India, US to strengthen high technology cooperation

In this image released by the Prime Minister of India, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, during a meeting with him, in New Delhi, June 17, 2024. (The Prime Minister of India via AP)

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Russian oil tanks burn after drone attack

Russian oil tanks burn after drone attack

Members of the Russian emergencies ministry work to extinguish fire at an oil storage tank after an alleged drone attack in the town of Azov in Rostov, Russia, June 18, 2024, in this still image ttaken from video. Russian Emergencies Ministry/Handout via REUTERS.

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Nearly 120 million people were displaced around the world in 2023, UNHCR report says

June 13, 20247:18 AM ET
South Sudanese who fled from Sudan sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, May 16, 2023. Fighting in Sudan has displaced 10 million people, according to U.N. figures.

Sam Mednick/AP

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Sam Mednick/AP

Almost 120 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced in 2023, the 12th year in a row that figure has risen, according to a new report by the United Nations’ refugees agency.
That means 1 in 69 people on the planet have been forced from their homes, either displaced to other parts of their own country, or across an international border. Just a decade ago, that comparable ratio was just 1 in 125, meaning the proportion of the global population has almost doubled.
There are multiple factors driving these annual increases, Kelly Clements, the deputy high commissioner for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, told NPR. “We’ve got wars and conflicts that wage on without a solution in places like Afghani..

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Diplomat: US committed to work with Bangladesh on corruption

Diplomat: US committed to work with Bangladesh on corruption

Then-Ambassador to Albania Donald Lu speaks during a meeting in Tirana, Feb. 2, 2017. Now the U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, Lu said in a June 10, 2024, interview that he is optimistic about restoring trust between the U.S. and Bangladesh.

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This chef in Rwanda wants to create a revolution in African cuisine

June 3, 20245:00 AM ET
Enlarge this imageChef Dieuveil Malonga runs the show at Meza Malonga.

Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR

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Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR

Chef Dieuveil Malonga runs the show at Meza Malonga.

Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR

KIGALI, Rwanda — Chef Dieuveil Malonga gives off something of a Willy Wonka vibe. His infectious smile feels impish, mischievous.
At his restaurant Meza Malonga in Kigali, Rwanda, there’s no chocolate river, but there is an entire wall full of seeds, spices and fermented fruits in wide-mouthed glass jars. Malonga calls this his laboratory. It bursts with elements ripe for experimentation. Baobab from Tanzania. Black lemon from Egypt. “The base of the cuisine,” Malonga calls it.
He reaches for one jar and pops off the lid. It’s full of a spice called pebe. A spice which, when fermented, has the aroma of onions and garlic sizzling on a stove.
Each jar is like this. A sense memory. Vibrant and specific.
He take..

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In a historic election, South Africa’s ANC loses majority for the first time

June 1, 20248:30 AM ET
African National Congress (ANC) polling agents set up a tent decorated with party paraphernalia outside a polling station in Umlazi on May 29, during South Africa’s general election.

Zinyange Auntony/AFP via Getty Images
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Zinyange Auntony/AFP via Getty Images
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party has lost its outright majority for the first time in a devastating blow for the party once led by Nelson Mandela. The ANC has dominated South African politics since winning in the first post-apartheid elections 30 years ago.
The ANC was braced for a disappointing outcome, predicted by polls before Wednesday’s elections, but the final results are even more sobering. It won 40 percent of the vote, falling from 57% in 2019.
Tessa Dooms, a director at Rivonia Circle, a think tank in South Africa, said it was a historic result that diminished the ANC’s three decades hold on power. “The electio..

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Israeli nationalists march through Jerusalem’s Old City

Israeli nationalists march through Jerusalem’s Old City

With some of them chanting “Death to Arabs”, Israelis wave national flags during a march marking Jerusalem Day, an Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, in front of the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City, June 5, 2024.

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