Nigeria sanctioned 20 mining companies in 2016 – Official

                 

The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has sanctioned no fewer than 20 mining companies in 2016 over non-compliance with Nigeria’s laws and regulations.

Salim Salaam, Director, Mines Environmental Compliance Department said this to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.

Mr. Salaam said that the infractions ranged from failure to conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Community Development Agreement (CDA), Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Programme (EPRP), first study plan and annual reclamation statement as provided by law

He said that four mining companies were sanctioned in Niger State, eight in Calabar, Cross River, two in Ondo and two in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The director said that some of the affected companies claimed to be new in the industry, while others hinged their inability to comply to the high cost.

“Honestly speaking, the level of mining companies compliance with the ministry’s law and regulation is very low.

“We have started a sensitisation programme across all the zones, educating them on why it is mandatory to adhere to our law to avoid sanctions, ” he said.

The director said the ministry has come up with a new plan to compile list of defaulters, who would be given two months grace to comply before imposing appropriate sanctions.

German court sentences men to jail over church robberies

                     

A court has sentenced some men to jail time after the group broke into churches to allegedly fund fighters in Syria. Although some had links to the Salafist scene, the court found no ties to "Islamic State."

A group of eight men between the ages of 35 and 37 were found guilty of taking part in several church and school robberies over a period of four years, ruled a court in Cologne on Monday.

The sentences range from two years and seven months to four years and ten months in prison for aggravated theft carried out by a gang as well as grievous bodily harm. Although some of the accused had ties to the radical Salafist scene in Germany, the men did not appear to be linked to the militant "Islamic State" group.

Prosecutors said the men carried out the break-ins to raise money for armed fighters in Syria, or as the judge previously said, they were "stealing for Jihad." They were accused of stealing offertory collection boxes, crosses, chalices and various other objects from churches.

However, presiding judge Ralf-Peter Sossna said there was not demonstrable proof that "significant amounts" accrued from their burglaries were funneled to fighters in Syria.

The judge likewise said there was not enough evidence to suggest that the robbers were planning to carry out a serious act of violence in Germany.

At the center of the gang is a Moroccan man who prosecutors say appeared in the German section of a YouTube video, which encourages Muslims to fight in so-called jihad.

Following several burglaries in the German cities of Cologne and Siegen, the men were arrested in police raids in November 2014. Monday's decision marks the end of a trial that began in October 2015.

Trump Deflects Migrant Ban Chaos by Blaming Protesters

                                      

President Donald Trump defended the immigration clampdown that sparked a global backlash over the weekend by blaming the confusion at airports on protesters and on a computer outage at Delta Air Lines Inc. that caused flight cancellations.

“Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage” and “protesters,” Trump said in a series of Twitter messages Monday. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly “said that all is going well with very few problems.”

Trump was defending an executive order issued two days earlier that sets new barriers to entry for people from seven mostly Islamic countries. Refugees, visa holders and permanent U.S. residents were all among those affected, at least initially. But White House aides sought to minimize the impact of the order Monday after allies from the U.K. to Germany condemned the move and major international companies said it threatened to strangle the free flow of workers and commerce.

The computer interruption at Delta didn’t begin until about 7 p.m. New York time on Sunday, more than 48 hours after Trump signed the executive order. While it grounded about 170 flights, it lasted less than three hours and didn’t affect international flights.

Trump compared his order to one issued by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and effectively told fellow Republicans who criticized him to mind their own business.