African Country Seeks to Recover Millions Lost in Banking Glitch
A banking system glitch in Ethiopia over the weekend allowed customers to withdraw more than they had in their accounts, with the East African nation’s largest bank reportedly scrambling to recover more than $40 million lost in the incident.
According to local media, long lines formed at cash machines across the country on Saturday after the issue was discovered at the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).
CBE President Abe Sano told reporters on Monday that university students who spread word of the malfunction on social media withdrew a large portion of the funds. He said half a million transactions were completed during the glitch, but did not specify the amount of money withdrawn. The Addis Fortune newspaper reported that nearly 2.4 billion Ethiopian birr ($42 million) has been lost.
In an earlier statement, the National Bank of Ethiopia, which regulates the financial sector, said the “service disruption” at the CEB was caused by a “regular system update and inspection” and not a cyberattack.
“The National Bank of Ethiopia will carry out the necessary investigations and inform the public about the problems caused by the problem, including the abuse of customers,” the central bank said on Sunday.
It reportedly took several hours for the institution, which has been in operation for over eight decades and currently serves approximately 40 million customers, to freeze transactions.
READ MORE: African state to address ‘urgent’ issues with peace agreement
On Wednesday, Abe warned in an interview with the BBC that clients who withdrew more than was in their accounts would be prosecuted if they did not return the money by the end of the week.
“There is no way that they can escape because they are digital [transactions] and they are our customers. We know them. They are traceable and they are legally accountable for what they did,” he said.
He added that while the bank is in the process of filing a police report, an audit will be completed later this week in order to determine the exact amount taken.
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VIDEO: Learn Why Democrats Use Fake Voices
Alex Jones hilariously broke down the bizarre phenomenon of Democrats using fake voices to pander to constituents on his Wednesday show.
“They’re sociopath chameleons,” Jones said.
He went on to explain how insane the left is.
“Oh man these people are nuts,” Jones said. “What type of person gets up in front of a group… the disrespect if I got up there and went ‘hello, do you want a taco?… a normal person does not do that.”
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Russia Strips Citizenship Over ‘Disinformation About Army’ For First Time
A man convicted last summer of knowingly spreading disinformation about the Russia’s army has had his Russian citizenship rescinded, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday.
This marks the first time Russian nationality has been revoked for spreading statements considered to be false about the armed forces.
Moldova-born Aleksander Somryakov was sentenced to six years in prison in July 2023 for spreading disinformation about the Russian army’s actions in Ukraine after he published ”a message on his social network page that was unreliable and refuted by official sources of information.”
Since Russia began military action in Ukraine in February 2022, there have been numerous convictions for seeking to undermine the Russian armed forces by accusing them of actions in Ukraine for which there is no evidence.
In November the same year, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed canceling citizenship for spreading fake news about the Russian army.
Read more Russia to toughen law on anti-military ‘fakes’
In 2023, the law about the citizenship of the Russian Federation came into effect, allowing courts to withdraw naturalized citizenship from people found guilty of crimes that put personal or public safety at risk. People with Russian nationality at birth are not affected.
In court, Somryakov partially admitted his guilt when he professed he knew the information was false, but he wanted to ”expose it to public judgment,” in the hopes of gaining followers, likes and comments. He was deprived of his acquired Russian passport, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday, citing a source in the judicial system.
The law also says that knowingly spreading fake information about Russia’s use of its armed forces is punishable by a fine up to five million rubles ($54,000), or – if the act ”has led to severe consequences” – punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
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The American Journal: Globalists Pushing WWIII Via Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine, China-Taiwan & Iran
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UK Troops Won’t ‘Fight Side by Side’ With Ukrainians – London
London has no plans to send troops to fight Russia alongside Ukrainian soldiers, a UK government spokesman told TASS news agency on Wednesday.
The comment came after French President Emmanuel Macron said he would not rule out an eventual presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil, as the conflict between Kiev and Moscow continues.
The French leader initially floated the idea in late February and later doubled down, describing Russia as an “adversary.” He denied that Paris was “waging a war”against Moscow, however.
Following Macron’s statements, Le Monde reported that France had been contemplating the idea of deploying troops since at least June 2023.
The head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, said on Tuesday that Paris is preparing to send around 2,000 soldiers to Ukraine.
London has no such plans, a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office told TASS. British soldiers will not “fight side by side” with Ukrainians, the official stated, adding that the government has ruled out a “full-blown military deployment.”
Read more West poses no threat to Russia – UK defense chief
The UK government told reporters last month that it would not send additional troops “beyond the small number of personnel we do have in the country supporting the armed forces of Ukraine.”
Commenting on a potential NATO deployment to Ukraine earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that this would be “one step shy of a full-scale World War III.”
NATO member states have also said they have no plans to send troops to Ukraine. The US-led bloc has maintained that it does not wish to become a party to the conflict, but will continue to support Kiev with arms and money for “as long as it takes.”
READ MORE: France considering Ukraine military deployment – Odessa MP
Russia has warned that the delivery of Western weapons already makes NATO countries de facto participants in the conflict and risks further escalation. Putin said last month that Moscow has no intention of attacking NATO members, unless it is attacked first.
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VIDEO: Ron Paul Warned Ukraine Could Trigger WWIII 10 Years Ago
On his Wednesday show, Alex Jones broke down how former Congressman Ron Paul has been warning that Western intervention in Ukraine could lead to world war for the last decade.
“We’ve already spent $5 billion over the last 10 years trying to pick and choose the leadership of Ukraine and then we participated in the overthrow of the Yanukovych government,” Paul said 10 years ago.
Recently, Paul appeared on the Tucker Carlson show to cover the current situation in Ukraine which has only gotten more dire.
“Folks it’s not hype to say we’re in the greatest danger of nuclear war we’ve ever been,” Jones said. “This has to stop now.”
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