WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
Governments must take greater action to ensure school remains a safe place for boys and girls, the head of the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said on May 25, following the latest deadly school shooting in the United States.
At least 19 children and two teachers were killed May 24 when 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos opened fire at Robb Elementary School in the small city of Uvalde, Texas, located near the border with Mexico.
Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s Executive Director, said there have already been “horrific attacks” this year on schools in Afghanistan, Ukraine, the US, West Africa and beyond.
“Tragedy after tragedy, shooting after shooting, young life after young life: how many more children will die before government leaders act to keep children and their schools safe? Because until they do, these horrors will continue,” she said in a statement.
Ms. Russell emphasized that outside of their homes, school is the one place where children should feel safest.
She noted that in addition to the lives lost, “many more children, teachers and school staff who witnessed the carnage will bear the emotional and psychological scars for the rest of their lives.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres was deeply shocked and saddened by “the heinous mass shooting,” saying it was particularly heart-wrenching that most of the victims are children.
Mr. Guterres has extended his heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims and to the entire community, his Spokesperson said in a statement.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed expressed her outrage in a post on Twitter.
“When children go to school, they should only be concerned about learning,” she wrote. “Children should not go to school fearing for their lives!”
Ms. Mohammed said her heartfelt prayers are with the families, classmates and teachers who are mourning this “devastating loss.”
EUROPE
MONKEYPOX SPREADING IN UK
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected 11 additional cases of monkeypox in England.
The latest cases, as of May 30, bring the total number confirmed in England since May 7 to 183. There are currently 4 confirmed cases in Scotland, 2 in Northern Ireland and 1 in Wales, taking the UK total to 190.
The risk to the UK population remains low, but authorities are asking people to be alert to any new rashes or lesions, which would appear like spots, ulcers or blisters, on any part of their body.
Although this advice applies to everyone, the majority of the cases identified to date have been among men who are gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men, so those people in particular are asked to be aware of the symptoms, particularly if they have recently had a new sexual partner.
UKHSA urges people to call NHS 111 or a sexual health center immediately if they have a rash with blisters. They are also asked not go to a sexual health clinic without contacting them first, and to stay at home and avoid close contact with other people until they’ve been told what to do.”
Dr. Ruth Milton, Senior Medical Advisor at UKHSA, said, “The risk to the general public from monkeypox is still low, but it’s important that we work to limit the virus being passed on. We remind people that they should be alert to new spots, ulcers or blisters on any part of their body. If anyone suspects they might have these, particularly if they have recently had a new sexual partner, they should limit their contact with others and contact NHS 111 or their local sexual health service as soon as possible, though please phone ahead before attending in person.”
UKHSA health protection teams are contacting people considered to be high-risk contacts of confirmed cases and are advising those who have been risk assessed and remain well to isolate at home for up to 21 days.
ASIA
HUGE DRUG HAUL ALARMS AUTHORITIES
More than one billion methamphetamine tablets were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned.
The staggering drugs haul across the vast region is further proof that illicit manufacturing there continues to expand unchecked, with “extreme volumes of methamphetamine” in production, along with a decreasing number of new synthetic psychoactive substances.
Organized crime syndicates and armed gangs are behind the booming industry, where an abundance of supply linked to the use of unregulated chemicals has resulted in “continuously decreasing drug prices”, in particular for crystalline methamphetamine – more commonly known as meth.
In a new report published on May 30, UNODC pointed to the lack of official checks and controls that have resulted from the pandemic and political instability in the so-called “Golden Triangle” of countries, where the highly addictive stimulant originates, or is moved across porous borders – in particular, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.
Given the cheap price of meth along with its apparent abundance and high purity, UNODC said that the narcotic remains “the primary drug of concern” to all countries in East and Southeast Asia, from China to Japan and from Indonesia to Singapore.
UNODC also noted that in contrast to record methamphetamine tablet seizures, the amount of the drug in crystalline and powder form decreased, by 3.2 tons and 1.5 tons respectively. Liquid methamphetamine seizures also dropped from 6.4 tons in 2020 to 908 kilograms in 2021.
Among other illegal drugs circulating in the region, UNODC noted that demand for ecstasy remains relatively low, while its price has remained stable.
Europe is the main source of ecstasy tablets trafficked into the region through northeastern provinces bordering Laos, the UN agency explained, noting also that ecstasy seizures dropped significantly in 2021, from 8.9 million tablets in 2020 to 3.7 million tablets in 2021.
Other synthetic drugs continue to be produced to attract new users, UNODC said, noting that only 50 “new psychoactive substances” were identified in 2021, compared to more than double that number in 2020.
Nonetheless, new substances “continue to evolve and emerge,” UNODC maintained, adding that Ketamine “remains a concern, with signs pointing to increasing supply from within and outside the region.”
Turning to Cambodia, the UN agency said that organized crime groups have increasingly used the country as its base.
Although only two “clandestine laboratories” were dismantled last year in Cambodia, at least one was producing ketamine and other synthetic stimulants “on an industrial scale.”
The last two years have also seen an exponential rise in confiscations of chemicals that can be used to make illegal synthetic drugs, UNODC said, with 165 tons of compounds seized from three warehouses in Cambodia in January this year.
AFRICA
OPERATION “KILLER BEE” STINGS FRAUDSTERS
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested the suspects in a sting operation conducted simultaneously in the Lagos suburb of Ajegunle and in Benin City, 300 km to the East of the commercial capital.
The Nigerian sting operation comes as part of a global operation codenamed “Killer Bee” involving INTERPOL’s General Secretariat headquarters and National Central Bureaus (NCBs) and law enforcement agencies in 11 countries across Southeast Asia.
Arrests made follow the publication of an INTERPOL Cyber Report linking a suspected syndicate of Nigerian fraudsters operating from the West Coast of Africa to the use of a malicious Remote Access Trojan (RAT) known as Agent Tesla.
The men are thought to have used the RAT to reroute financial transactions, stealing confidential online connection details from corporate organizations, including oil and gas companies in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
One of the scammers, Hendrix Omorume, has been charged and convicted of three counts of serious financial fraud and now faces a 12-month prison sentence. The two other men are still on trial.
“Through its global police network and constant monitoring of cyberspace, INTERPOL had the globally sourced intelligence needed to alert Nigeria to a serious security threat where millions could have been lost without swift police action,” said INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime, Craig Jones.
“Further arrests and prosecutions are foreseen across the world as intelligence continues to come in and investigations unfold,” added Jones.
INTERPOL assisted in examining the laptops and mobile phones seized by EFCC during the arrests, helping to confirm the systematic use of “Agent Tesla” malware to access business computers and divert monetary transactions to their own accounts.
“Cybercrime is spreading at a fast pace, with new trends constantly emerging. Through operations like Killer Bee, INTERPOL supports EFCC in keeping pace with new technologies and understanding the possibilities they create for criminals and how they can be used as tools for fighting cybercrime,” said EFCC’s Director of Operations, Abdulkarim Chukkol.
“The enforcement actions led by Nigeria and coordinated with INTERPOL send a clear message that cybercrime will have serious repercussions for those involved in business email compromise fraud, particularly in Nigeria,” added Chukkol.
The three men, aged between 31 and 38, were each arrested in possession of fake documents, including fraudulent invoices and forged official letters.
Operation Killer Bee is led by the ASEAN Cybercrime Operations Desk, which is funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) 2.0 and supported by the Singapore Government.
INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate initiated the operation based on intelligence received from private-sector partner, Trend Micro, under the Gateway framework, about the emergence and usage of “Agent Tesla” malware.
Operational partners included Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
