ABUJA AMEBO'S BLOG

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A historic building just 650 feet from the White House was sold for $8.4 million to a foundation led by Chinese businessman Philip Qiu, raising national security concerns. Qiu previously worked as a detective with Shanghai’s Public Security Bureau and has held senior roles in groups linked to China’s United Front system. Security experts warn the building’s location could create opportunities for electronic surveillance or monitoring of communications near sensitive U.S. government facilities. However, there is currently no public evidence that the property is being used for espionage or any hostile intelligence activity. The purchase has sparked calls for greater government scrutiny, with national security advocates urging authorities to examine whether the property should face additional safeguards.

A historic building just 650 feet from the White House was sold for $8.4 million to a foundation led by Chinese businessman Philip Qiu, raising national security concerns. Qiu previously worked as a detective with Shanghai’s Public Security Bureau and has held senior roles in groups linked to China’s United Front system. Security experts warn the building’s location could create opportunities for electronic surveillance or monitoring of communications near sensitive U.S. government facilities. However, there is currently no public evidence that the property is being used for espionage or any hostile intelligence activity. The purchase has sparked calls for greater government scrutiny, with national security advocates urging authorities to examine whether the property should face additional safeguards.

High school dropout James Dacombe just became Europe’s youngest billionaire. At 25-years-old, he’s the founder of Olix, an AI chip maker that was valued at $3.3 billion this month. With an estimated 30% stake in the company, Dacombe’s fortune skyrocketed, too, making him a newly minted member of the three-comma-club at a roughly $1 billion net worth. The Under 30 alum started the London-based AI chip manufacturer two years ago, betting AI is becoming far too complex to rely on a one-size-fits-all chip approach. Full story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexyork/2026/08/21/meet-the-newest-under-30-ai-billionaire/?utm_source=ForbesMainFacebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ForbesMainFB 📸: Randy Shropshire via Getty Images

High school dropout James Dacombe just became Europe’s youngest billionaire. At 25-years-old, he’s the founder of Olix, an AI chip maker that was valued at $3.3 billion this month. With an estimated 30% stake in the company, Dacombe’s fortune skyrocketed, too, making him a newly minted member of the three-comma-club at a roughly $1 billion net worth. The Under 30 alum started the London-based AI chip manufacturer two years ago, betting AI is becoming far too complex to rely on a one-size-fits-all chip approach. Full story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexyork/2026/08/21/meet-the-newest-under-30-ai-billionaire/?utm_source=ForbesMainFacebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ForbesMainFB 📸: Randy Shropshire via Getty Images

Malawi’s DNA tests reveals 80% of paternity tests involving men who suspect infidelity show that the tested man is not the child’s biological father.🇲🇼 The figure comes from DNA testing facilities in Malawi. According to reports by Malawi’s Nation and Nyasa Times, two testing providers said they were seeing similar patterns in their results. This is raising concerns around paternity disputes, child maintenance, and the emotional impact on families. However, the 80% figure applies to men who seek paternity testing, not to all men or fathers in Malawi. #africanfolder

Malawi’s DNA tests reveals 80% of paternity tests involving men who suspect infidelity show that the tested man is not the child’s biological father.🇲🇼 The figure comes from DNA testing facilities in Malawi. According to reports by Malawi’s Nation and Nyasa Times, two testing providers said they were seeing similar patterns in their results. This is raising concerns around paternity disputes, child maintenance, and the emotional impact on families. However, the 80% figure applies to men who seek paternity testing, not to all men or fathers in Malawi. #africanfolder

José Salvador Alvarenga set out from a small fishing village in Mexico in late 2012, expecting to be back within two days. He never made it back on schedule. A violent storm struck his small boat shortly after he and his 22-year-old crewmate, Ezequiel Cordoba, left shore. The storm destroyed their engine and radio, leaving them adrift with no way to navigate or call for help. What began as a routine fishing trip turned into a fight for survival that would stretch on for over a year. With no food supply to speak of, Alvarenga and Cordoba survived by catching fish, turtles, and birds with their bare hands, eating them raw, and drinking rainwater along with their own urine when nothing else was available. Cordoba's body could not sustain the ordeal. He died roughly four months into their drift, reportedly after refusing to eat raw meat, leaving Alvarenga alone on the boat for the rest of the journey. Alvarenga continued drifting across the Pacific Ocean for months afterward, entirely alone. In January 2014, after approximately 438 days at sea, his boat washed ashore roughly 6,700 miles from where he started, on a remote atoll in the Marshall Islands. Local villagers who found him described him as nearly unrecognizable, severely malnourished, with matted hair and a swollen body from the prolonged exposure and starvation. His survival made international headlines, but the story did not end with his rescue. Cordoba's family later filed a lawsuit against Alvarenga seeking one million dollars, alleging that he had killed and eaten their son to survive rather than allowing him to die naturally. Alvarenga has consistently denied the allegation, maintaining that Cordoba died from natural causes brought on by their extreme circumstances.

José Salvador Alvarenga set out from a small fishing village in Mexico in late 2012, expecting to be back within two days. He never made it back on schedule. A violent storm struck his small boat shortly after he and his 22-year-old crewmate, Ezequiel Cordoba, left shore. The storm destroyed their engine and radio, leaving them adrift with no way to navigate or call for help. What began as a routine fishing trip turned into a fight for survival that would stretch on for over a year. With no food supply to speak of, Alvarenga and Cordoba survived by catching fish, turtles, and birds with their bare hands, eating them raw, and drinking rainwater along with their own urine when nothing else was available. Cordoba's body could not sustain the ordeal. He died roughly four months into their drift, reportedly after refusing to eat raw meat, leaving Alvarenga alone on the boat for the rest of the journey. Alvarenga continued drifting across the Pacific Ocean for months afterward, ent...

United States returns 48 ancient Egyptian artifacts to them from three historical eras. The FBI handed the artifacts to Egyptian officials during a ceremony in Los Angeles on Friday, August 21. The collection includes carved figures, jewellery, statues, amulets, funerary objects, tomb equipment and ancient inscriptions dating from three major periods of Egyptian history, the Pharaonic, Roman and Coptic eras. The FBI said an investigation found that all 48 objects originated from Egypt and had no record of being legally removed from the country. The return is part of ongoing US-Egypt cooperation on protecting cultural heritage. #africanfolder

United States returns 48 ancient Egyptian artifacts to them from three historical eras. The FBI handed the artifacts to Egyptian officials during a ceremony in Los Angeles on Friday, August 21. The collection includes carved figures, jewellery, statues, amulets, funerary objects, tomb equipment and ancient inscriptions dating from three major periods of Egyptian history, the Pharaonic, Roman and Coptic eras. The FBI said an investigation found that all 48 objects originated from Egypt and had no record of being legally removed from the country. The return is part of ongoing US-Egypt cooperation on protecting cultural heritage. #africanfolder

In 2008, Jennifer Fitzgerald’s ex-boyfriend, Brandon Preveau, purchased a 1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for $600 and registered the vehicle under her name without her knowledge. Following their breakup, Preveau drove the car to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and abandoned it in an employee parking lot. Because the car sat untouched for nearly three years, Chicago parking authorities continuously slapped citations onto the windshield instead of towing it right away. Fitzgerald was caught in a bureaucratic nightmare, she didn't have the keys or paperwork to legally access or remove the car, yet she was held entirely responsible for the tickets. By the time the story made headlines, the vehicle had racked up 678 tickets, ballooning her debt to an astounding $105,761.80. The massive bill led to her driver’s license being suspended and her state tax refunds being seized. After a lengthy court battle, a settlement was finally reached in 2013. The city towed the abandoned Chevy, dismissed the overwhelming majority of the debt, and ordered Preveau to pay a reduced fine of $4,470, finally clearing Fitzgerald’s name and bringing the saga to an end. #Parking #thehistoriansden

In 2008, Jennifer Fitzgerald’s ex-boyfriend, Brandon Preveau, purchased a 1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for $600 and registered the vehicle under her name without her knowledge. Following their breakup, Preveau drove the car to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and abandoned it in an employee parking lot. Because the car sat untouched for nearly three years, Chicago parking authorities continuously slapped citations onto the windshield instead of towing it right away. Fitzgerald was caught in a bureaucratic nightmare, she didn't have the keys or paperwork to legally access or remove the car, yet she was held entirely responsible for the tickets. By the time the story made headlines, the vehicle had racked up 678 tickets, ballooning her debt to an astounding $105,761.80. The massive bill led to her driver’s license being suspended and her state tax refunds being seized. After a lengthy court battle, a settlement was finally reached in 2013. The city towed the abandoned Chevy...