A Nigerian man has been extradited to the United States to face charges in a sextortion case linked to the death of a 17-year-old American.

Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, from Osun state, arrived in the U.S. on Saturday after Nigerian authorities secured an agreement that he would not face the death penalty if convicted.

He appeared in a South Carolina federal court on Monday, wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackled, pleading not guilty to charges including child exploitation resulting in death. The charge carries a mandatory 30-year prison sentence and could lead to life behind bars.

Investigators say Lawal posed as a young woman online to lure Gavin Guffey, a teenager, into sending intimate images. He then allegedly blackmailed and harassed him for money, even targeting the boy’s family. Guffey later took his own life.

Lawal remains in custody without bail, with his next hearing set for Monday.

His extradition follows a growing crackdown on sextortion scams linked to Nigerian cybercriminals. Last year, two Nigerian brothers were sentenced in the U.S. for a similar scheme, marking the first successful prosecution of Nigerians for sextortion. Tech giant Meta has also removed thousands of accounts targeting victims in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s National Cyber Crime Centre has pledged more action, saying millions have been invested in technology to fight such crimes.

Kenya’s National Seed Bank stores more than 50,000 varieties of seed.

Founded in 1988, the facility has the goal of protecting seeds for research and reintroduction to farms.

The centre has become all the more important in the face of climate change, which has led to some traditional varieties being lost.

Desterio Nyamongo, Director of Genetic Resources Research Institute, says, “we realize that some of the traditional varieties that we had abandoned them are actually more resilient to climate change, so when you introduce them especially in marginal areas, those varieties outperform the improved varieties and therefore famers find them very useful.”

Some farmers argue that a 2012 law barring seed sharing has hampered efforts to improve the country’s seed system.

Among them is Francis Ngiri.

“I am practicing agro-ecology (organic farming) or that type of farming without using chemicals. That is what we have been practicing and also, I am also saving my own seeds. Indigenous seeds,” Ngiri says.

For the director of the National Seed Bank, farmers who cannot afford fertilisers needed for hybrid seeds should plant traditional varieties.

“It would be wrong for farmers, especially farmers in marginal areas, to start thinking that using the indigenous seed is backward. Far from it, because some of the indigenous varieties have adapted over time to the local conditions and therefore, they are more resilient,” Nyamongo says.

Seed sharing in Kenya is punishable by two years in prison or a fine; more than a dozen farmers have filed a case to challenge the law.

Inflation in Zimbabwe hiked up in January in dollar and local currency terms, rising by 14.6% and 10.5% respectively in a year-on-year comparison.

According to independent economist Prosper Chitambara, the increase in inflation is due to higher taxes and a regional drought last year, which put pressure on food prices.

The Finance Ministry notably introduced a 0.5% tax on fast food and a 10% tax on sports betting proceeds in its latest budget, which came into effect this month.

Zimbabwe launched a new gold-backed currency in April last year, but it was sharply devalued in September.

Most local transactions still rely on foreign currencies like the U.S. dollar.

Since the devaluation, the Zimbabwe Gold currency has fallen further.

It was trading around 26.3 to the dollar on Tuesday, according to the central bank’s website.

On Monday, a fire tore through the Booysens shack settlement in Johannesburg, South Africa, leaving hundreds of people homeless and destroying some 1,500 makeshift homes. Many of the shacks, which were built from flammable materials, quickly burned to the ground. Residents said the fire started when a paraffin stove exploded. Some were able to save their belongings, but most lost everything. Firefighters, assisted by local residents, brought the blaze under control, but relief efforts continue to help displaced families.

President Donald Trump said Monday evening that Microsoft is among the U.S. companies looking to take control of TikTok to help the popular app avert an effective ban that could kick-in in April.

“I would say yes,” Trump told reporters when asked if Microsoft was one of the companies interested in helping to bring about a new ownership of TikTok, a requirement set by Congress to keep the app functioning in the U.S.

Trump added that other companies were also interested in purchasing TikTok, but wouldn’t provide a list.

“I like bidding wars because you make your best deals,” Trump said as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying back to Washington from Miami, where Republican House members were holding a conference.

Microsoft declined to comment. Representatives for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In one of his first acts in office last week, Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to find new ownership that satisfies the government by 75 days, to April 4 from January 19.

The president has said that he’s looking for the ultimate purchaser to give the U.S. a 50% stake in the company, which is owned by China-based ByteDance. But the details remain murky, and its unclear whether he’s proposing control of the app by the government or another U.S. entity.

Last week, the artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI presented a new proposal to ByteDance that would allow the U.S. government to own up to 50% of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok’s U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Several other investors — including billionaire Frank McCourt and Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — have spoken publicly about their desire to purchase TikTok’s U.S. platform. Trump has also said he’s spoken to “many people” privately about the company.

After the bipartisan law was signed by former President Joe Biden in April, ByteDance said it did not have plans to sell the platform and fought the statute in court for months. China also rebuked Washington over the divestment push, though more recently it appears to be softening its stance.

In media interviews last week, Bill Ford, the chairman of the global investing firm General Atlantic and a ByteDance board member, said the company is prepared to engage with the Trump administration and Chinese officials to find a solution that keeps TikTok available. He also floated the idea that there could be a solution short of a full divesture by ByteDance.

Lawmakers and officials in both parties have raised national security concerns about Chinese ownership and potential manipulation on the immensely popular platform, which is used by more than 170 million U.S. users.

Trump was in favor of a TikTok ban before he reversed his position last year. He credits the platform with helping him win more young voters during the recent presidential election.

Microsoft, along with Walmart, made a failed bid for TikTok during Trump’s first term after Trump tried to ban the app. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella later described it as the “strangest thing I’ve ever worked on.”

Hundreds of young Congolese men took to the streets of Kinshasa to express their outrage at the entry of the M23 rebels in the eastern city of Goma.

They barricaded roads and attacked the embassies of Rwanda, Uganda, France, and the United States.

The French embassy was set on fire and vandalized.

The locals accuse the governments of the foreign missions of supporting Rwanda which UN experts earlier said was backing the M23 rebels.

Rwanda has denied the charge and blamed the DRC of supporting a Hutu militia seeking to topple its government.

On Monday the M23 rebels marched into the city of Goma and said they had captured it from government forces.

But fighting has been going on for the control of the strategic city that is the capital of the mineral-rich province of North Kivu.

The African Union and the United Nations Security Council are set to hold emergency meetings to discuss ways of preventing the conflict from escalating further.

At least 18 people died and 10 others were injured in southern Nigeria after a gasoline tanker exploded, officials said.

The accident happened along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway in the southeastern state of Enugu after the tanker, laden with gasoline, lost control and rammed into 17 vehicles, and burst into flames, Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps said in a statement Saturday evening.

Those who died were “burnt beyond recognition,” the spokesperson of the safety corps rescue teams, Olusegun Ogungbemide, said. Besides the 10 injured, rescuers extracted three others who were unharmed.

Because Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, lacks an efficient railway system to transport cargo, fatal truck accidents are common along most major roads.

Earlier this month, 98 people were killed in a gasoline tanker blast in north-central Nigeria, near the Suleja area of Niger state, after individuals attempted to transfer gasoline from a crashed oil tanker into another truck using a generator.

Some bystanders were at the scene to scoop gasoline. Authorities then began a nationwide campaign against the scooping of gasoline from fallen tankers and other practices that could lead to death.

“Gasoline tanker accidents do not have to lead to the loss of lives,” Lanre Issa-Onilu, director-general of the National Orientation Agency, the body tasked with communicating government policy, said at an event close to the Suleja area on Saturday.

The gasoline prices in Africa’s most populous country have soared since President Bola Tinubu’s government removed subsidies more than a year ago. The policy, which attempted to channel resources to more developmental purposes, has caused hardship to locals.

Scooping gasoline from a fallen tanker is common in Nigeria, as some people either use it or sell it for a profit.

At least 20 Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding officer, were killed in a suspected attack by fighters from the ISIL-linked group, ISWAP, on Friday. The attack targeted the 149th Battalion at an army base in Malam-Fatori, Borno State, near the border with Niger.

The assault lasted over three hours, with ISWAP militants arriving in gun trucks, overwhelming the troops, according to a surviving soldier. “They rained bullets everywhere,” the soldier said, describing how they fought back but were eventually overpowered.

Local sources confirmed the attackers burned buildings and forced residents to flee. Some militants were reportedly seen in the area into Saturday night.

ISWAP, which broke away from Boko Haram in 2016, has been responsible for increasing violence in northeastern Nigeria this year. The region’s 15-year conflict has killed nearly 40,000 people and displaced over two million, spilling into neighbouring countries and prompting a regional military coalition to respond.

Kylian Mbappé scored his first-ever hat-trick for Real Madrid in a dominant 3-0 victory over Real Valladolid. The 26-year-old is on fire, having found the back of the net eight times in his last five matches across all competitions.

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti was full of praise for Mbappé’s performance, highlighting how the forward’s recent form is adding real value to the team.

“He’s been playing really well, and this is his first hat-trick for us. He’s bringing so much to the team. Over the last two months, he’s really found his rhythm. And of course, that’s a huge plus for us because he’s a player with a lot of quality.”

With 49 points, Real Madrid sit comfortably at the top of La Liga, four points ahead of second-placed Atlético Madrid, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal.

Footage filmed late on Sunday showed flashes of light in the night sky and the sound of gunfire near the city of Goma.

As heavy fighting continues in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels early on Monday claimed to have captured the regional capital.

Their statement came minutes before a 48-hour deadline expired that had been imposed by the group for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons.

The United Nations described “mass panic” among the city’s two million inhabitants.

Goma has also been the last safe haven for thousands of people who have fled intense fighting in the region over the past few weeks.

Rebels urged residents of Goma to remain calm and for members of the Congolese military to assemble at the central stadium.

Congo’s government says the rebel’s advance amounts to was a “declaration of war”.

The M23 rebels’ offensive in the heart of the mineral-rich region threatens to dramatically worsen one of Africa’s longest wars and further displace civilians.

The United Nations says over a third of the population of North Kivu province where Goma is located are currently displaced and the capture of the city will likely exacerbate the situation.