Saturday, June 7, 2014

German FM warns Kiev against extreme use of force in eastern Ukraine



German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned the Kiev authorities against using too much force in the east of the country.

"We should prevent the growing number of federalisation supporters as a result of the military operation in the east of Ukraine," he said in an interview for the newspaper Tagesspiegel am Sonntag. Extracts from this interview were posted in the electronic version of the newspaper today.
According to Steinmeier, in the current situation it is important to "act carefully and adequately when using weapons."

Photo: Assistant head of the Donetsk People's Republic and deputy of City Council Maxim Petruhin shot





Assistant head of the Donetsk People's Republic and deputy of City Council Maxim Petruhin shot in his own car "Toyota Camry" in the center of Donetsk Regional State Administration next to the building. He oversaw the DPR delivery of humanitarian assistance to the population.  Denis Pushilin said that the brutal murder of his assistant Maxim Petrukhina that was committed in the center of Donetsk, is directly related to the inauguration of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

New head of European conservatives dismisses UK Cameron's demands



The new head of the biggest group of conservatives in the European Parliament dismissed on Saturday demands by British Prime Minister David Cameron to put the brakes on European integration.

Manfred Weber, the new chairman of the European People's Party (EPP), also told a German paper that the group still backed its candidate Jean-Claude Juncker to be the next Commission president despite opposition from Britain.

Crimea leaders rule out ever rejoining Ukraine



Crimea's acting head of administration, Sergei Aksyonov, on Saturday ruled out the possibility of the peninsula ever becoming part of Ukraine again.

"Crimea will never again be part of Ukraine. That is undoubtedly a thing of the past. We have the Crimean self-defense force, it is due to receive official status on Wednesday and will stand ready to fulfill any orders from the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Federation," Aksyonov told reporters.

Putin orders Border Service to tighten Russian-Ukrainian border security - Kremlin



Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian State Border Service to take appropriate steps to tighten control on the Russian-Ukrainian border to curb illegal crossings. ITAR-TASS reports that this information comes from the Russian president’s press-service.

Recently, the Russian authorities have registered a growing number of Ukrainian citizens wishing to enter Russian territory. For example, on Friday 6 June, Russian children’s rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov reported that over 12,000 people had arrived in the Rostov Region from Ukraine. On 5 June, he said that over 8,000 Ukrainian citizens crossed the border on Russia in 24 hours.

Russian PM confronts Kiev on its false claim that Ukraine has no refugees in Russia



Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that about 4,000 refugees from Ukraine had already arrived in Russia, while Kiev turned a blind eye to the looming humanitarian crisis in the violence-hit east.

"People are frightened, scared. At the same time, the Ukrainian government fails to notice a humanitarian proble and says there are no refugees. It's lies and it's sad to hear," he said.
Russian PM Medvedev calls G7 attitude to Ukraine's Armed Forces 'cynical'

Somali pirates release seven Bangladeshi crew of hijacked ship



Somali pirates have released seven Bangladeshi crew members of a Malaysian-flagged ship hijacked more than three-and-a-half years ago, the government in Dhaka said Saturday.

The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said the crew of the hijacked MV Albedo was flown to Nairobi by a special aircraft of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.  The MV Albedo with 23 crew on board was hijacked on November 26, 2010, in Somali waters.  "All seven Bangladeshi nationals are in good health and would be staying at a local hotel in Nairobi where they will be provided with food, medicine and clothing," said the ministry.  It did not mention the other crew members, who are from Pakistan, Iran and Sri Lanka.

Vatican signs deals on financial intelligence with Britain & France



The Vatican announced on Saturday that its financial crimes watchdog had signed cooperation deals with Britain, France and four other nations - Malta, Poland, Romania and Peru. A statement said that under the agreements, the Financial Intelligence Authority agreed to "exchange of financial information to fight money laundering and combat terrorist financing".

Similar deals are already in place with nine other countries, including Italy, Germany and the United States. Last year, the AIF was admitted into the Egmont Group, a worldwide association of financial regulators. In recent years, the Vatican has acted on international pressure to clean up its act in financial matters.

Storages of explosive materials are set on fire in Donetsk region



Unknown criminals have set aflame the state storages of explosive materials of “Pavlovgrad chemicals producer” in Donetsk region, informs the Ukraine General Prosecutor office in their report on Saturday.

According to the report, unidentified masked and camouflaged individuals assaulted the storages of research and production association “Pavlovgrad chemicals producer”, located on the skirts of the city Ambrosievka.

30 killed in inter-ethnic conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo





At least 30 killed in east Democratic Republic of Congo inter-ethnic conflict - official says.

At least 30 people, including women and children, have been killed overnight in inter-ethnic fighting in the province of South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - local sources said on Saturday.
A town councillor said "eight women, 14 women, 10 children and a soldier" were killed in the fighting in South Kivu's Mutarule village. According to AFP, the victims of the attack were people of the tribe bafuliru. Jean-Julien Miruho​​, Interior Minister of South Kivu province, said that an armed attack is brobably an act of revenge for the kidnapping of cattle.
The victims had been shot, stabbed or burned inside their homes. Some of the bodies lay inside a village church, according to a Reuters cameraman on the scene.

Just in: Prof. Dora Akunyili Dies



We've heard rumours of her death several times before but unfortunately now it's for real. Former Director General of NAFDAC and former Minister of Information Prof. Dora Akunyili has died. She died in the Indian hospital where she was taken fully to on May 11 to get medical treatment after her health deteriorated.

Various reliable sources have confirmed her passing. She was only 59.
RIP

Friday, June 6, 2014

Boko Haram: Army court-martials officers for cowardice, others



As security operatives and top government officials intensify moves to ensure the release of the abducted girls of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, the military authorities have started the court martial of some of its men and officers for cowardice and negligence among others.
Saturday PUNCH investigations revealed that the military authorities opened two centres for the court martial at the Headquarters of One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, under Maj.- Gen KC Osuji and the Army Headquarters Garrison Command, under Brig.-Gen Ndiomu, at the Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja.

Chilling revelations: escaped chibok girl raped 15 times by 15 men every day



More chilling revelations have emerged to shed some light on the agonising experience of the missing Chibok girls, based on the account of one of the escapees.
Three of the girls have so far escaped from the terrorist group, Boko Haram, who abducted over 200 girls from a government secondary school in Chibok, Borno State on the night of April 14, 2014.
A clergy and expert on counter-terrorism, Oladimeji Thompson, of The Omoluabi Network, who has been working with other groups to assist victims of the abduction overcome their pains, gave a chilling narration based on an account of one of the escapees.
He said, “One of the girls I interviewed was being raped 15 times by 15 men every day.” He said the girl was traumatised and confused.
“It’s obvious this girl needs to be managed. She looked confused. She found it hard to talk to me but after much prodding, she confessed to me that she was raped 15 times by 15 men throughout the time she was with the Islamic insurgents before she could escape from their den.

Gratuitous military, SSS assault on the press





IN an unprecedented assault on the press, not seen since the dark days of military dictatorship, soldiers and State Security Service personnel fanned out across the country on Friday morning to intercept, seize and, in some cases, destroy newspapers as they were being distributed. The brazen assault on press freedom signposts the rapid descent of a discredited government and its security agencies into undisguised tyranny.

They will not succeed. Nigerians and the press have endured and triumphed over tyrannical forces – colonial and home-grown, military and civilian – and this latest violence to our cherished freedoms will certainly not be different.

Police Arrested Group claiming Biafran Members



 A photo of the Biafra Zionist Movement members, BZM, led by Barrister Benjamin Onwuka, who yesterday launched an attack on the Enugu State Broadcasting Service, ESBS, has been released. 

According to reports,  Onwuka, a United Kingdom-based lawyer, armed with a CD Rom for a broadcast to declare a “Republic of Biafra”, had yesterday, as early as 4:30am, sneaked his members, numbering about 20, into the premises of the radio station where he intended to broadcast the rebirth of the Republic of Biafra. 

Popular Yoruba Leader Killed in Kano; they Ripped his Stomach





Violent crimes is gradually becoming order of the day. A prominent Yoruba leader, Alhaji Ganiyu Akanbi Bello has been found dead at his residence at Race Course general area of Nasarawa GRA in Kano metropolis after he was allegedly murdered by yet to be identified assailants in his sleep.

A strange situation of not seeing Alhaji Bello at his sitting room since dawn till about 11.00am made family his members raise the alarm and the eldest son, Nuru Bello to report to the police.
Armed officers were then sent over to the house by the police, who were said to have broken into his room on arrival and found Alhaji Bello in a pool of his own blood...

38 Men Gang Up-molested A Teenage Girl



Malaysian police on Wednesday detained 13 men and looking for other suspects following allegations that a 15-year old girl was molested by 38 men in an abandoned hut.

Media accounts, quoting information from District Police Chief, Azham Otham, said 38 men were involved.  Report says the assault took place in the northern state of Kelantan on May 20 when the girl met a girlfriend and was lured to an empty hut said to be a local drug haunt.

Terrible: 18-Yr-Old Girl Shot Twice, Thrown In Canal For Marrying The Man [PIX]




As the world is still reeling from the gruesome death of a Pakistani woman who was stoned to death and had her head smashed by her family because she married for love, the trend of “honour killing’ has affected yet another victim.

18-year-old Saba Maqsood was attacked by her her father, uncle, brother and aunt and she was shot twice, put in a sack and thrown in a canal.

UNILAG students march to the street over hike in registration fee, shut down campus



There is a protest currently going on at the University of Lagos. Students are protesting UNILAG authority demanding that some students pay N20,000 for late editing or registration of Course Forms.

The students first converged at the University's Senate Building where they shouted slogans and sang protest songs, demanding that the school ends this kind of exploitation today, while accusing their VC of corruption. They left the senate building and proceeded a rampage through all of the faculties in UNILAG demanding their rights.

Soldiers invade office of The Nation and Leadership newspapers, destroy today's edition



 Going by tweets on the timeline of the Nation newspapers and a report on their site, military men this morning stormed company of the Nation newspapers in Benin City and Warri and confiscated their publication for today. The soldiers from the 3 Battalion of the Nigerian Army at Okwuokoko, Delta State seized a van conveying the day's newspapers to Warri and Benin City.
 
According to the newspaper, a source near to the soldiers said they are working on orders from above.  
See more tweets after the break....

ST

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