Don’t Call Me Commander-In-Chief Of The Armed Forces, Pres. Jonathan Tells Nigerians

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In what is a clear departure from the norm, the presidency has ordered all government functionaries to desist from addressing President Goodluck Jonathan as the “Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” at non-military functions.

The directive is contained in a strongly worded October 14 circular, No SGF/OP/1/S.3/X/664, by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim.

Continue after the break.

Israeli security forces shot dead three Palestinians, Peace Talk Canceled.

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Peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators expected on Monday have been shelved after Israeli security forces shot dead three Palestinians during clashes in the West Bank, a Palestinian official said.  "The meeting that was to take place in Jericho...today was cancelled because of the Israeli crime committed in Qalandiya today," said the official, referring to the refugee camp where the clashes erupted before dawn.

CIA and US special forces secretly training Syrian rebels - report

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The CIA and US special forces have been secretly training Syrian rebels since last year at bases in Jordan and Turkey, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

The Free Syrian Army was involved in two-week training programmes that included work with anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, a US official and a Syrian rebel commander told the Times.

White House spokesman Jay Carney would not comment on the report and also declined to outline what weapons the US could provide to the rebels, except to say "I cannot inventory for you all the elements of that assistance."

"The important point here is that, because of the actions we have seen the Assad regime take, we have decided to increase both the scope and scale of our assistance to the opposition, and we've been very clear about that over the last weeks and months," he said.

Syrian forces kill 3 Westerners believed to be fighting against forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad

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Syrian state-run television reported Thursday that forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad killed three Westerners, including an American woman and a British citizen, who they claim were fighting with the rebels and were found with weapons.

Syrian TV identified the woman, releasing what it claimed were images of her Michigan driver's license and U.S. passport. It also released what is said was the name and passport of a British citizen. It did not identify a third person who it claimed was a Westerner. The report said the three were ambushed in their car in the flashpoint province of Idlib in northwestern Syria, where government forces have been battling rebels for control. TV footage showed a bullet-riddled car and three bodies laid out. It also showed weapons, a computer, a hand-drawn map of a government military facility and a flag belonging to the al Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

Mild Drama At Armed Forces Remembrance Day As OBJ Refuses To Lay Wreath

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There was a mild drama at the armed forces remembrance day held at Arcade ground in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo shunned the traditional wreath laying ceremony.Obasanjo who was clad in a white flowing Agbada with a traditional blue cap,  shunned the State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s  request to lay a wreath.The mild episode ensued when his name was mentioned as part of the dignitaries that would lay the wreath and he vehemently rejected after he was persuaded by the governor.

Two Nigerians Docked For Hacking Into Ghana’s Armed Forces E-mails

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Two Nigerians have been arrested for allegedly attempting to divert $13,978 belonging to, Ghanaian peacekeepers after they had succeeded in hacking into the e-mails of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
The suspects, Peter Okechukwu, 32, and Emmanuel Ifedi, 31, were arrested by officials of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service at a branch of the United Bank of Africa (UBA) in Accra where they had gone to cash the money.