U.S Secretary of state John Kerry To Visit Nigeria Next Week

The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry is expected in Nigeria next week (August 23-24, 2016).

Mr. Kerry will be visiting the nation’s capital, Abuja to hold talks with Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on counter-terrorism efforts, the Nigerian economy, the fight against corruption, and human rights issues.

In Abuja, Mr. Kerry will meet with a group of adolescent girls working to change community perceptions that devalue the role of girls in society. He will also meet with Northern Governors and religious leaders

Pistorius Gets Six Years Jail Term For Girlfriend’s Murder

South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

He was initially given a five-year term for manslaughter, but was found guilty of murder on appeal last December.

He was taken immediately to jail. Both the prosecution and defence can appeal, but his lawyers say they will not.

Pistorius, 29, shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door in February 2013.


He admitted shooting her, but said he had mistaken Ms Steenkamp for an intruder and acted out of fear.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said mitigating circumstances, such as rehabilitation and remorse, outweighed aggravating factors, such as his failure to fire a warning shot, for deviating from the prescribed 15-year sentence.

Laurel hotel shooting victim dies

A shooting under investigation at a Laurel hotel is now being investigated as a homicide, Anne Arundel County police announced Tuesday.

A 19-year-old man shot at the Knights Inn in Laurel on June 25 died of injuries on Sunday at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, police said.

The man was identified by police as Dalan Plummer, of Landover Hills.

Police announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects involved in his shooting death.

Police received a call of a shooting at the Knights Inn in Laurel at 3 p.m.

Upon arriving at the scene, authorities found one man suffering from a gunshot wound in the upper body.

He was taken to the Shock Trauma Center to be treated for injuries.

Witnesses told police two men approached the victim and after what appeared to be a brief conversation, one of the suspects pulled a gun and shot the victim.

Since January 2014, police have responded to 465 calls for service to hotels along the Route 198 corridor, including 136 calls to the Knights Inn, according to Anne Arundel County police data.

Plummer was not staying at the hotel. The shooting took place in the parking lot, not inside the hotel, said county police department spokeswoman Cpl. Jacklyn Davis.

Police released photos and video footage of two suspects last week.

Video footage from an Exxon gas station at 3384 Laurel Fort Meade Road shows the suspects traveling in a silver or gray Chevy Malibu, police said.

Detectives believe this was a targeted crime, but are unsure whether the victim was known to the suspects, Davis said.

Plummer's death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. His death is the sixth homicide being investigated by Anne Arundel County Police this year.

Christopher Allen Scheibe, 28, of no fixed address, was charged last month with the murder of Holly Carol Smith, 24, whose partially decomposed body was found behind an industrial complex in Parole.

It is unclear whether a court date has been scheduled for Scheibe. Online records indicate he is being held at the Calvert County Detention Center.

Charges have been filed in all of the homicides with the exception of one.

The stabbing death of Arnold Lee Bowman, 44, of Brooklyn Park, remains under investigation by county police. Bowman was attacked on January 7, and later died in a hospital of injuries.

Donald Trump Is “Blatantly Anti-Semitic” – Clinton

US Democratic presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton, has accused her Republican rival, Donald Trump of being “blatantly anti-semitic”.

“Donald Trump’s use of a blatantly anti-Semitic image from racist websites to promote his campaign would be disturbing enough, but the fact that it’s a part of a pattern should give voters major cause for concern,” Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said in a statement emailed to reporters on Monday.


This came after Trump posted a tweet that featured a six-pointed star and a shape resembling the Star of David.

It also included stacks of money, with a text describing Mrs Clinton as “most corrupt candidate ever!”

Though the tweet was later deleted then reposted with the slogan contained in a circle.

The Star of David features on the Israeli flag, and was used by the Nazis to identify Jews.


But Mr Trump said the media is “dishonest” for comparing it to the Star of David, a symbol of Judaism.

In a tweet on Monday, Trump said he had not meant the six-pointed star to refer to the Star of David, which is a symbol of Judaism. Rather, he said, the star could have referred to a sheriff’s badge, which is shaped similarly except for small circles at the ends of each of its six points, or a “plain star.”

Thousands gather in London to protest against Brexit vote

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in central London on Saturday to march in protest against last week's vote to leave the European Union, a result that has plunged Britain into political chaos and which most people in the capital rejected.

Most protestors were young adults, and many were draped in EU flags while others waved banners proclaiming slogans like "I'm with EU" or simply "Wrexit."

They chanted "what do we want to do? Stay in the EU," as they set off for the Westminster political district.

"I was genuinely stunned on the morning after the vote," said one marcher, Nathaniel Samson, 25, from Hertfordshire north of London.

"I feel deeply uncertain about my future," he added. "I'm on the march to voice my discontentment. I am accepting the result, but it's to show that we won't accept it quietly."

London voted 60 per cent in favour of remaining in the EU in last Thursday's referendum, with younger voters widely in favour of staying in the bloc, but 52 per cent of Britons overall cast ballots in favour of leaving.

Rally organiser, King's College graduate Kieran MacDermott, said: "We can prevent Brexit by refusing to accept the referendum as the final say and take our finger off the self-destruct button."

Parliament should have the final say on whether Britain should leave, he told the BBC.

The vote to leave has prompted a battle within the ruling Conservative party to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron who said he would resign after the result.

The main opposition Labour Party has also turned on itself, with most of its lawmakers in parliament having voted to withdraw support for party leader Jeremy Corbyn after what they saw as his lacklustre contribution to the referendum campaign. 

Uganda multiple accident kills 20

A pile-up on a busy highway outside the Ugandan capital Kampala left at least 20 people dead Sunday and injured several more, some seriously, police said.


“Twenty people have so far died and several are in hospital with major injuries,” area police spokesman Phillip Mukasa told AFP.


“Five vehicles were involved in the accident on the Kampala-Masaka highway when a private car was overtaking many vehicles at a busy section of the road” some 150 kilometres (95 miles) south west of the capital, he added.

U.S. lifts ban on transgender military service

The Pentagon on Friday announced that transgender individuals can now serve openly in U.S. armed forces.

U.S. defence chief Ash Carter said this at a press conference in Washington.

``Effective immediately, transgender Americans may serve openly, and they can no longer be discharged or otherwise separated from the military just for being transgender.

``Americans who want to serve and can meet our standards should be afforded the opportunity to compete to do so,’’ Carter said, adding that the policy will be phased in during a one-year period.


According to 2014 study by RAND Corporation, about 2,500 people out of roughly 1.3 million U.S. active-duty service members and about 1,500 out of 825,000 reserve service members are transgender.

He said that the end of the ban on transgender service was the latest step by the Pentagon to be more inclusive.

However, the U.S. military has also ended the ban on gays serving openly and opened all combat jobs to women.

20 hostages killed in Bangladesh terrorists attack

The Bangladesh military spokesman, on Saturday confirmed the death of 20 hostages during a siege in Dhaka, when terrorists stormed a restaurant.

Brig.-Gen. Nayeem Chowdhry, the spokesman, said six of the terrorists holding the hostages were killed.

He said the victims were chopped to death by sharp weapons inside the Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant in the Gulshan diplomatic district of Dhaka.

Chowdhry said that a search operation was launched as the militants were killed after 12 to 13 minutes of commando operations.

“The forces found a number of firearms – including pistols, AK-22 rifles and sharp weapons at the scene.

Some diplomats said on condition of anonymity that some of the foreign hostages included several Italians and one or more Japanese citizens.

“Two of the 13 hostages rescued are Sri Lankan nationals and one is Japanese, but more information would be available on the deceased after investigations,” he said.

He said the gunmen entered the restaurant at about 8.45pm on Friday as customers were eating.

The spokesperson said tense standoff carried into early morning after two police officers were killed in an initial exchange of gunfire.

The Islamic State terrorist organisation reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

Other reports said American officials suspected al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent, which the US declared a terrorist group the day before.

It added that thousands of alleged radical militants had been arrested in Bangladesh in recent weeks.

Vietnam sentences 73-year-old Australian citizen to death over drugs

A Vietnamese court has sentenced an elderly Australian woman to death for heroin trafficking, local media reported on Thursday.

The officials said that Nguyen Thi Huong, 73, left Ho Chi Minh City airport in December 2014 for Australia.

They also found 1.6 kilogrammes of heroin in her luggage disguised as 36 bars of soap.

Huong said at her trial that she accepted the bars in good faith from a woman named Helen while holidaying at the beachside city of Vung Tau in southern Vietnam.

The court did not find any evidence of Helen or the incident described, meanwhile Huong was sentenced to death.

Drunk woman ‘drove 1km with man’s body in windscreen’

A woman, Esteysi Sanchez also known as Stacy Sanchez has been accused of driving almost a mile with a dead man’s corpse embedded in her windscreen after a marathon night of drinking in California.

According to Washington post, the police said the 29-year-old was driving home from a marathon night of drinking at several different bars in her hometown, Oceanside, when she collided with a pedestrian.

The woman had struck the homeless person so hard that one of his legs was ripped from his torso and landed on the car’s boot.

“From what I understand, she was out partying all night and was on the way home,” Sgt. Jeff Brandt of the Oceanside Police told The Washington Post.

Sanchez reported the incident to her husband after she got home, who then called police, according to the report.

She was arrested after she confessed to driving while intoxicated.

She has been charged with felony Driving Under the Influence and vehicular manslaughter.

Police have not released the victim’s name but he is believed to have been a known ‘transient’ in the area.

U.S. President to hit campaign trail with Hillary Clinton

U.S. President Barack Obama has said he will campaign with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for the first time at a rally in North Carolina, her campaign said on Wednesday.

The campaign said in a statement that the duo will discuss building on the progress made and their vision for an America during the rally in Charlotte coming up in July 5.

Obama endorsed Clinton this month after she won enough delegates to secure the party's presidential nomination, but had yet to actively campaign for her.

Meanwhile, an earlier planned appearance was canceled in the wake of the terrorist attack in Orlando, Florida that claimed 49 victims.

Clinton is expected to face Republican Donald Trump in U.S. presidential elections in November, and Obama has stressed the importance of keeping a Democrat in the White House to continue his policies.

Clinton has had a strong lead in most recent opinion surveys.

However, a poll by Quinnipiac University on Thursday found Clinton in a dead heat with 42 per cent support for Clinton to 40 per cent to Trump.
Voters told the survey they believed neither candidate would be a good president.

EU president amazed that Brexiteers have no plan for post exit

European Commission’s President Jean-Claude Juncker criticised British politicians who campaigned for their country's exit from the EU for having no plan for fulfilling their objective.

The `Leave camp’ in Britain are "totally unable to tell us what they want," Juncker complains after summit talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
He says London should trigger exit negotiations "as soon as possible" because "we don’t have months to mediate, we have to act."

US relationship with Britain, EU enduring, says Obama

Britain and the European Union will both "remain indispensable partners for the United States", President Barack Obama says, following a vote by Britain to leave European Union.

"The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision", Obama says, noting the "special relationship" between the US and Britain and pointing to its role as a NATO ally.

The White House also praised the European Union for its work promoting stability, economic growth and the spread of democratic values.

"The United Kingdom and the European Union will remain indispensable partners of the United States even as they begin negotiating their ongoing relationship to ensure continued stability, security and prosperity for Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the world", he says in a statement.

Obama had said ahead of the vote that the decision was up to the British people, but stressed that the US benefited from a strong Britain within the European Union.

Al Shabaab Militants Kill Five Policemen In Northern Kenya

Somalia’s Al Shabaab militants killed five police officers in a border region in northeastern Kenya on Monday, a regional official said.

There was no immediate statement from Al Shabaab, which has made a series of deadly incursions into neighbouring Kenya, saying it will continue until Nairobi withdraws troops from an African Union force fighting the militants in Somalia.

“We condemn the attack by Al Shabaab at Dimu this morning, five police officers killed,” Mandera County Governor, Ali Roba, said on his Twitter account.

Diplomats say Kenya’s northeastern border with Somalia is a security weak spot, given the challenge of policing a long frontier, poor coordination between security services and a culture of corruption that allows those prepared to pay a bribe to pass unchallenged.

Al Shabaab has targeted the Mandera region in the past.

Russia strikes U.S.backed rebels in Syria

Russia warplanes struck at rebels battling Islamic State militants, including forces backed by the United States, in southern Syria on Thursday, a senior U.S. defense official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, criticized the Russian air strikes near al-Tanf and said no Russia or Syrian ground forces were in the area at the time.

"Russia's latest actions raise serious concern about Russian intentions," the official said.

"We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action and assurances this will not happen again.‎"

In a related development a British-based monitoring group said warplanes had struck a meeting of U.S.-backed forces fighting against Islamic State in al-Tanf village killing two fighters and wounding four others.

The group known as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was unclear whose planes had carried out the attack, however.

Washington has consistently refused to join forces with Russia in Syria against Islamic State ever since Moscow launched its campaign of air strikes in September last year.

It accused Moscow of acting solely to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The U.S. has called on Assad to step down. 

Death toll in southern Ghana city flood rises to 10

 The death toll in the flood in the southern Ghana city of Cape Coast has increased from five to 10, an official of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) said

Sandy Amartey, the Regional Coordinator of NADMO, said the flood followed four days of torrential rains which wreaked havoc in the coastal city, about 144 km west of the capital.

He said some of the victims were swept away by the strong running water, while others were electrocuted, while the rest were hit accidentally by broken walls.

He added that ``the bodies have been deposited at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.

``Officials of NADMO are still continuing with their assistance of the affected persons.''

Ghana's coastal and middle belts have been experiencing continuous rains since last week.

Syria claims presence of German and French forces in its territory

The Syrian Government on Wednesday, claimed that German and French Special Forces were present in the northern part of the war-torn country.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry called the alleged military presence a ``flagrant and unjustified aggression" on the country's sovereignty.

``The effective and legal combat of terrorism requires cooperation with the legitimate Syrian government,’’ it said.

The German Defence Ministry has denied the allegations and said that the reports were incorrect.

Damascus' allegations followed claims by some media and activists that German and French militaries were based in northern Syrian areas.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab alliance, the Democratic Forces of Syria (DFS), has been fighting to retake the strategic town of Minbij, near the Turkish border from Islamic State.

Pro-Damascus broadcaster, al-Mayadeen, based in Lebanon, claimed on Tuesday that dozens of German Special Forces had entered northern Syria and joined French and U.S. troops there.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said that German military advisors and French forces were supporting the DFS in the battle for Minbij.

A Kurdish official in northern Syria, Idriss Nassan, told newsmen that he could confirm the presence of French and U.S. troops, but could not confirm there were Germans.

The DSF started an offensive to seize Minbij on May 31 which has been under Islamic State control since 2014.

Euro 2016: Two England fans arrested after Marseille clash

Two England football fans have been arrested after police used tear gas during a clash with locals in Marseille ahead of the first Euro 2016 games.

Police said one of the fans was arrested for assaulting a barman and the other for violent disorder.

Ch Supt Steve Neill, a British policeman in charge of England fan security in Marseille, said the "confrontation" was between local youths and some England fans.

It happened about midnight on Thursday.

The clash with locals took place outside the Queen Victoria pub in the Old Port district.

Four French policemen were lightly injured in the clash with England fans, the news website France Bleu reported. Many of the fans were drunk, it said.

After the tear gas was released the police restored calm to the Old Port district at about 02:30

There was no damage to local property, the police said

Ch Supt Steve Neill said "About midnight last night there was confrontation between a group of local youths and some England supporters.

"Local police moved in very quickly and utilised some tear gas to disperse the local youths and close the pub.

"The use of tear gas seems quite dramatic to us from England and the United Kingdom because we are not used to seeing it - but in mainland Europe it is a regular tactic and they restored order fairly quickly."

Footage of the incident showed men hurling chairs, a fist fight outside a McDonald's and chanting England fans surrounded by police officers with dogs.

Ambulances were seen arriving after police carrying riot shields moved in to separate the crowd and tear gas was used to clear the area.

"We need to keep it in context - there are thousands of England supporters who will come here and have a fantastic time," Ch Supt Neill said.

"There is a small minority who drink too much and get involved in some anti-social behaviour."

Supporters have travelled to Marseille ahead of England's game with Russia on Saturday.

Paris, Brussels terrorism suspect Abrini to be tried in France

Mohamed Abrini, one of the suspects in November terrorist attacks in Paris and suicide bombings in Brussels this year, will be transferred to French custody, Belgian authorities said on Thursday.

The state prosecution said in a statement, without giving further details, that the court has decided to transfer both men to France.

Abrini, long sought in connection with the November 2015 attacks in Paris which killed 130, was arrested in Belgium on April 8.

He later confessed to being the surviving bomber who fled Brussels airport on March 22, when more than 30 were killed in coordinated attacks at the airport and an underground station in the Belgian capital.

A European Arrest Warrant was issued at France's request last week for Abrini, as well as suspects identified as Hamza A, Mohammed A, Ali O and Mohamed Bakkali.

A pre-trial court agreed last week to hand over Hamza A, Mohammed A and Ali O to the French authorities, while the decisions on Abrini and Bakkali were put on hold.

Abrini's exact role in the Paris killings is not known.

He was spotted with key suspect Salah Abdeslam in the preceding days, and his fingerprints and DNA were found in a car used in the attacks, as well as at terrorist hideouts in Brussels.

Abdeslam was also arrested in Brussels, days before the attacks in the Belgian capital, and is now in French custody

Earthquake panics residents in eastern Indonesia

An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale sent residents having a Ramadan meal in eastern Indonesia scrambling out of their homes early on Wednesday, official said.

Many residents on Halmahera Island and the city of Manado had suhur, a pre-dawn meal before Ramadan fasting, outside their homes

fearing another quake, said Sutopo Nugroho, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.
He said there were no reports of damage, officials said.
"Residents felt the quake strongly for about five to 10 seconds," Sutopo said.

The quake struck at 04:15 a.m. on Tuesday with the epicentre 124 km North-West of Ternate city, at a depth of 58 km, according to the Meteorology, Geophysics and Climatology Agency.