Putin condemns riots at US anti-racism protests

Russian President, Vladimir Putin on Sunday criticised anti-racism protests in the United States for sparking crowd violence, in his first comments on the issue.

“If this fight for natural rights, legal rights, turns into mayhem and rioting, I see nothing good for the country,” Putin said in an interview with Rossiya-1 television to be broadcast in full Sunday evening. We have never supported this,” he said.

The Russian leader stressed he supported black Americans’ struggle for equality, calling this “a long-standing problem of the United States”.

“We always in the USSR and in modern Russia had a lot of sympathy for the struggle of Afro-Americans for their natural rights,” he insisted.

But Putin added that “when – even after crimes are committed – this takes on elements of radical nationalism and extremism, nothing good will come of this.”

Putin also described the protests as a sign of “deep-seated internal crises” in the United States, linking the unrest to the coronavirus pandemic, which he said “has shone a spotlight on general problems”.

He said he nevertheless expected that the “fundamental basis of American democracy will allow the country to escape this series of crisis events”.

Asked about reactions to the US protests including demonstrations in Europe and statues being pulled down, Putin said “this is undoubtedly a destructive phenomenon”.

He suggested protesters wanted only Afro-American doctors to treat Afro-Americans and said this would be impossible in “multi-ethnic Russia”.

The interview was billed as Putin’s first since the start of the pandemic though it is not clear when it was recorded.

The president made his first public appearance at an open-air event in Moscow on Friday after weeks of lockdown at his country residence.

Breaking : Nigeria and US fight for the custody of Hushpuppi

It has come to our notice that the question of the custody of Nigerian big boy, Hushpuppi is being debated between Nigeria and the US. 

It can be recalled that earlier this week, the news of the arrest of Hushpuppi spread like wildfire on Nigerian social media.

We learnt that the arrest of Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Hushpuppi has pitted Nigerian detectives against their counterparts from the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Nigeria and the U.S. launched the battle for the possession of Mr Raymond, a.k.a Hushpuppi, following his arrest and detention by Emirati authorities earlier this week, according to two officials familiar with the development.

“Immediately we got confirmation that he had been arrested in Dubai, we all started fighting to get him,” a senior Nigerian detective said.

“He is a subject of multiple and conflicting interests between Nigeria and the United States.”

Officials said the F.B.I. has been leading America’s effort to take possession of Mr Raymond because many of those he allegedly scammed in years of advance fee fraud were Americans.

Officials could not immediately estimate the financial value of Mr Raymond’ alleged fraud, citing poor cooperation from Dubai authorities, but they expressed confidence his exploits spanned across Europe, U.S. and Nigeria.

Mr Raymond’ arrest was first rumoured on Nigerian social media on Tuesday. Even then, two officials who confirmed knowledge of the arrest and offered preliminary information elected not to do so on the record — fearing that USA officials could jettison back channel negotiations that began on Thursday morning.

Nigerian officials said UAE authorities have frustrated all their attempts to obtain more than a cursory account of Hushpuppi’s arrest, including when and where he was held.

"They are even reluctant to tell us the preliminary charges that they have against him so we could weigh them with the charges that we have against him in Nigeria,” one of the officials said. 

“We know that the money involved would be much for the Americans, but we are optimistic that we will prevail in bringing him to Nigeria to face trial.”

US sues Chinese firm over fake N95 masks

The US Department of Justice has sued a Chinese company for selling nearly half a million fake and substandard N95 masks to US buyers. This happened in April as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the country.

In a complaint filed in the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, the department said that the Guangdong-based King Year Packaging and Printing shipped three batches of purported N95 masks, needed to protect medical and other personnel from the coronavirus, to US buyers.

The company falsely claimed the 495,200 masks it shipped were met the N95 standard and also falsely claimed they were certified by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, according to the complaint.

The complaint indicated the importer of the masks paid more than $1 million for them.

“The charges alleged in this complaint show a blatant disregard for the safety of American citizens,” FBI agent Douglas Korneski, who investigated the masks deal, said in a statement.

“Had it not been for the actions of the investigative team, this defendant would have put first responders, hospital employees, and other front line workers directly in harm’s way with faulty equipment just to make a buck.”

The Chinese company was charged with four counts of importing misbranded and substandard health products and making false to the US Food and Drug Administration.

Each charge carries a maximum fine of $500,000, or if greater, twice what the company earned in selling the masks.