Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested a 59-year-old businessman who allegedly attempted to smuggle 700 grams of cocaine in his stomach through Lagos’ main airport, officials said Sunday.
Ezeokoli Sylva, who had lived in Brazil for 35 years, was apprehended Friday at the E-Arrival hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport after arriving on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from São Paulo via Addis Ababa.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said body scanning revealed foreign objects in Sylva’s stomach. Under observation, the suspect expelled 29 wraps that tested positive for cocaine.
“In his statement, the suspect claimed he operates an African store in Brazil where he sells provisions, shoes, and clothes,” Babafemi said. “He added that he bought the illicit consignment in São Paulo to resell in Nigeria to raise substantial capital to boost his business.”
The mother of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, wrote a scathing email to her son in 2018 criticizing his treatment of women, The New York Times reported Friday, adding new complications to his expected confirmation battle.
According to the Times, Penelope Hegseth told her son there are “many” women whom he has “abused in some way” and urged him to “get some help.” The email emerged as the former Fox News host faces scrutiny over a 2017 sexual assault allegation.
“I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth,” Penelope Hegseth wrote in the April 30, 2018 email, sent during her son’s divorce from his second wife.
Penelope Hegseth told the Times Friday she wrote the email “in anger, with emotion” and immediately apologized, saying her characterization “has never been true.” Trump communications director Steven Cheung called the report “despicable,” describing it as “an out-of-context snippet of an illegally-obtained private email exchange.”
The revelation comes as Hegseth, who has no prior government experience, faces questions about a sexual assault allegation from October 2017 in Monterey, California. While no charges were filed, Hegseth later paid the accuser in a confidential settlement agreement. His attorney Timothy Parlatore said Hegseth settled to protect his Fox News job during the “Me Too” movement.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee that would hold confirmation hearings, defended Hegseth, telling CNN he “absolutely” believes the nominee’s account that the encounter was consensual. Mullin noted Hegseth wasn’t charged and said the police report supports his version of events.
Hegseth recently told Republicans on a prayer call that “the battle is just beginning” as he faces confirmation challenges, saying his family has received “an outpouring of support” since Trump’s announcement. “That’s the reason why we can endure the attacks and the onslaughts,” he said.
A 72-year-old grandfather was fatally shot on Thanksgiving Day during an argument over loud music at a gated apartment complex, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
Hureleyon McLean was killed around 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Somerset Drive apartments after confronting a downstairs neighbor who had complained about music volume from McLean’s unit, authorities said.
“He was playing his music, and the guy said he was playing it too loud,” McLean’s wife Rose told NBC South Florida. “So my husband, he went down to him.” She reported hearing a single gunshot and finding her husband “lying face down in the blood.”
The widow said the alleged shooter showed no remorse and threatened her life. “He wasn’t sorry. He was just standing, looking at me with his gun in his hand,” she told WSVN. “And I go up to him and say, ‘Why did you shoot my husband? Why?’ And he said to me, ‘If I didn’t shut my mouth, he would shoot me, too.'”
The suspect remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, claiming self-defense, police said. The case will be referred to the Broward County State Attorney’s Office following the investigation to determine potential charges.
A $2.8 million mansion burned to the ground Thursday afternoon after a turkey-frying attempt in the garage sparked a massive blaze during Thanksgiving celebrations, Connecticut fire officials said.
The 10,000-square-foot home burst into flames around 3:40 p.m., with firefighters responding to an automatic alarm followed by multiple 911 calls. About 25 holiday guests escaped without injury, though the house was later deemed uninhabitable.
“When we arrived, the whole garage end of the house was on fire – like a third of the house,” Connecticut’s Weston Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Pokorny told CT Insider. “It accelerated really rapidly.”
Intense heat kept firefighters from approaching the blaze directly. A water supply line was briefly interrupted when a vehicle drove over it, complicating the response. Fire crews battled the inferno for 16 hours with assistance from neighboring departments, facing dangerous conditions and structural collapse that prevented aggressive firefighting tactics.
“Really, the issue was the fire had progressed so much by the time we arrived on scene,” Pokorny said. By Friday, only a partially burned exterior deck remained identifiable among the ruins of charred wood and furniture, according to photos published by Weston Today.
While officials believe the fire started from turkey frying in the garage, they have not announced an official cause. Firefighters remained on scene Friday extinguishing hotspots in the debris. “You get pieces of debris and it’s burning underneath and the water from the top just doesn’t get to it,” Pokorny explained.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday he will nominate Charles Kushner, a wealthy New Jersey real estate developer and father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the next U.S. ambassador to France.
Trump praised the Kushner Companies founder on Truth Social as “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, and dealmaker” who “will be a strong advocate representing our Country and its interests.” He noted Jared Kushner’s White House work on “Operation Warp Speed, Criminal Justice Reform, and the Abraham Accords.”
Kushner, 70, was convicted in 2005 of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering in a case prosecuted by then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie. As part of a plea agreement, he admitted to orchestrating a scheme involving a prostitute to retaliate against his brother-in-law, resulting in a two-year prison sentence.
Trump pardoned Kushner in 2020 along with 25 others. Kushner’s son Jared, who married Trump’s daughter Ivanka in 2009, served as a senior advisor during Trump’s first administration.
“Together, we will strengthen America’s partnership with France, our oldest Ally, and one of our greatest!” Trump wrote of the appointment.
Mexican immigration authorities have broken up two migrant caravans heading toward the United States, offering some travelers bus rides to southern cities and others transit papers, activists said Saturday.
Rights activist Luis García Villagrán characterized the actions as part of “an agreement between the president of Mexico and the president of the United States,” following President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican products unless the country stems migrant flow.
The first caravan, which began November 5 in Tapachula near the Guatemalan border with about 2,500 people, had reached Tehuantepec in Oaxaca state after walking 270 miles. Immigration officials there offered free transportation to southern and central Mexican cities.
“They took some of us to Acapulco, others to Morelia, and others from our group to Oaxaca city,” said Bárbara Rodríguez, who left Venezuela after recent contested elections. Officials said migrants “voluntarily accepted” rides to areas with medical assistance for immigration status review.
A second group of about 1,500 migrants, departing November 20, reached Tonala, Chiapas, about 140 miles into their journey before authorities offered 20-day transit visas for travel across Mexico.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote Wednesday that “migrants and caravans are taken care of before they reach the border,” following a call with Trump. No caravan has reached the U.S. border intact since 2018-2019, when larger groups received partial bus transportation north.
Kosovo police arrested eight people Saturday following an explosion at a canal supplying water to two main power plants, recovering a large weapons cache in raids as tensions escalated with neighboring Serbia.
Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla announced the arrests during a live-streamed press conference, calling the Friday evening blast a “terrorist act” by Serbia, an accusation Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic immediately rejected as “baseless.”
Police Commander Gazmend Hoxha said investigators determined attackers used 15-20 kilograms of explosives. In subsequent raids at 10 locations, authorities seized more than 200 military uniforms, six shoulder-fired rocket launchers, and various weapons and ammunition. Most suspects allegedly belong to Civilna Zastita (Civil Protection), which Kosovo has designated a terrorist organization.
The explosion has heightened tensions between the Balkan neighbors, particularly in Kosovo’s Serb-majority north where the blast occurred. Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 following a guerrilla uprising, remains unrecognized by Serbia, and northern Serbs still consider Belgrade their capital.
Kosovo’s Security Council held emergency talks Saturday, activating armed forces to prevent similar attacks. Security was already elevated after recent hand grenade attacks on a police station and municipality building in the north.
NATO, which has maintained peacekeepers in Kosovo since 1999, condemned the attack and deployed personnel to secure the canal and surrounding area. While power supplies remained largely intact, some areas lost drinking water access. Energy Minister Artane Rizvanolli said Kosovo is coordinating with Albania for additional electricity while water trucks serve affected regions.
Chad announced Thursday it is terminating its defense cooperation agreement with France, marking a historic break with its former colonial ruler as the Central African nation moves to redefine its sovereignty after more than 60 years of independence.
The decision leaves France with diminishing influence in the Sahel region, having already been ousted from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso in recent years. Chad had been one of the last countries maintaining a significant French military presence, with approximately 1,000 troops stationed there.
“This decision would allow Chad to redefine its strategic partnerships in line with national priorities,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah said in a statement. The announcement did not specify when French forces must depart.
Analysts suggest the move by interim President Mahamat Deby Itno, who seized power after his father’s death fighting rebels in 2021, could open opportunities for other nations, particularly Russia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. “Deby has been seeking to diversify its security partnerships away from exclusive deals. He doesn’t trust (French President Emmanuel) Macron… He can also not ignore widespread anti-French sentiment,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at Konrad Adenauer foundation in Mali.
The shift away from French military presence appears to be gaining momentum across former colonies. Hours after Chad’s announcement, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye told Le Monde it was “obvious” French troops would soon leave his country, where 350 personnel remain. “It’s not because the French have been there since the slavery period that it’s impossible to do otherwise,” Faye said.
Chad emphasized that the termination does not question historical ties with France and expressed desire to maintain relations in other areas of common interest.
The death toll from Wednesday’s landslides in eastern Uganda climbed to 20 on Friday as rescue teams recovered more bodies from the mud and one injured victim died in hospital, officials reported.
Heavy rains triggered the landslides that devastated six villages in the mountainous Bulambuli district, located 280 kilometers east of Kampala. The disaster destroyed 125 houses and displaced 750 people, with 216 taking shelter at a neighboring school while others stayed with relatives, according to the Uganda Red Cross Society.
“More bodies are still buried under the heaps of soils and stones and we are trying as much as we can to recover them,” said Bulambuli Resident District Commissioner Faheera Mpalanyi. The military has deployed soldiers to assist with excavation efforts.
Local officials reported difficulties accessing the approximately 50-acre impact zone, with mud-covered roads and continuing rainfall hampering rescue operations. An excavator planned for the recovery work has struggled to reach the area, where homesteads and farmlands spread across the downhill terrain.
“Waterfalls are everywhere, and the rainfall is excessive,” said Bulambuli district lawmaker Irene Muloni, who urged residents who lost homes to seek refuge with relatives and “leave this dangerous place.” The government has pledged to help relocate residents from the landslide-prone region.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned to Canada Saturday without securing assurances that President-elect Donald Trump would abandon plans to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian products, following their hastily arranged dinner at Mar-a-Lago.
While both leaders described their three-hour Florida meeting as productive, Trump showed no signs of retreating from his pledge to tax imports from Canada, which he has controversially grouped with Mexico over border security concerns. The meeting came after Trudeau reached out to Trump following Monday’s tariff announcement.
“We shared a productive wide-ranging discussion” focused on “collaboration and strengthening our relationship,” Trudeau’s office said. Trump, posting on Truth Social, said they discussed “many important topics,” including fentanyl, immigration, and trade deficits, claiming Trudeau committed to addressing drug trafficking concerns.
The stakes are particularly high for Canada, which sends 77% of its exports to the United States. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) in goods and services cross the border daily, with Canada serving as the top export destination for 36 U.S. states.
Critical trade links include 60% of U.S. crude oil imports and 85% of electricity imports coming from Canada, which is also America’s largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum, and uranium. The Pentagon relies on Canada for 34 critical minerals essential to national security.
“Our responsibility is to point out that he would not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States, but he would actually be raising prices for Americans citizens as well and hurting American industry and business,” Trudeau said before the meeting.
The threatened tariffs could undermine the North American trade agreement negotiated during Trump’s first term. When Trump previously imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum in 2018, Canada responded with billions in retaliatory duties.
“Tariffs are a crucial issue for Canada and a bold move was in order. Perhaps it was a risk, but a risk worth taking,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.
