Syria Kurds retrieve body of Russian officer from IS

Syrian Kurdish forces have retrieved the remains of a Russian special forces officer from the Islamic State jihadist group, a source on the ground told AFP on Wednesday. “The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) managed to retrieve the body of a Russian soldier killed during the battle for Palmyra that was in the hands of IS,” the source said, without saying how.
Syrian troops recaptured the famed ancient city on March 27 in a major symbolic victory over the jihadists achieved with the support of intense Russian air strikes and special forces on the ground.
Three days earlier, Russian news agencies reported that a special forces officer had been killed while on a combat mission in the Palmyra area identifying targets for the air strikes.
The previous week, IS-linked media reported that five Russian special forces personnel had been killed near Palmyra and published pictures of what it said were their cellphones and video footage of a bloodied corpse.
But there was never any confirmation of those alleged deaths from Moscow.
The YPG, which controls a swathe of Kurdish-majority territory along the Turkish border, is regarded by Washington as the most effective fighting force against IS in Syria and has received US military support.
Moscow intervened in support of its Damascus ally in September last year and has since carried out hundreds of air strikes.
Commanders have been more tight-lipped about the presence of troops on the ground.
Russian sappers played a public role in clearing mines planted by IS in Palmyra’s UNESCO world heritage site after its recapture.
AFP correspondents also saw Russian gunners manning artillery during the battle for the city.

Civilian casualties from Boko Haram suicide attacks up in 2015

Suspected Boko Haram suicide bombings caused a massive increase in the number of civilian deaths and injuries in Nigeria last year, according to a new report published Wednesday.
Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) said the number of fatalities and injuries rose 190 percent in 2015 from the previous year, while the use of human bombs rose 167 percent in the same period.
The London-based non-profit group said the increase was part of a global trend that had seen a rise in civilian casualties from “explosive weapons” for the fourth consecutive year.
“Explosive weapons” include artillery shells, landmines, air strikes, improvised explosive devices, car bombs and suicide attacks.
The figures coincided with a warning from Nigeria’s military that Boko Haram had sabotaged farmers’ fields in the mainly rural northeast with landmines.
Of the 3,048 deaths recorded in 84 incidents in Nigeria in 2015, 2,920 were civilian casualties or 96 percent of the total, AOAV said in “Unacceptable Harm — Monitoring Explosive Violence in 2015”.
That made Nigeria the fourth worst-hit country in the world for deaths and injuries from conflict in 2015 behind Syria, Yemen and Iraq, with Afghanistan in fifth.
Boko Haram only rarely claims responsibility for attacks but no other group in the country is known to employ suicide bombers as a tactic.
– Boko Haram ‘most prolific’ –
Assuming the Islamists were behind the attacks, “then it would make them the most prolific user of suicide bombings recorded by the AOAV in 2015”, the report said.
Boko Haram has increasingly used suicide bombing in the insurgency, which began in 2009 and has claimed some 20,000 lives, since the military pushed it out of captured territory.
Young women and girls in particular have become a favoured method of inflicting maximum civilian casualties in northeast Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
AOAV said 923 civilians were killed or injured in Cameroon and Chad in 18 incidents in 2015.
Boko Haram’s use of guerrilla-style tactics has long made it difficult to combat, even though President Muhammadu Buhari maintains the group is “technically” defeated.
On Tuesday evening, the military warned the public in a statement that “fleeing remnant terrorists have laid landmines on stretches of farmland”.
“These latest tactics of the terrorists is a grand design to cause fear and panic among the farmers as well as the local populace,” it said.
Efforts were under way to “neutralise” the mines, it added, and advised people to be wary of “strange or suspicious objects” in the soil.
The warning risks complicating further the return of many of the over 2.6 million people displaced by the violence, amid concern about food shortages and post-conflict reconstruction costs.
According to the AOAV report, a total of 43,786 deaths and injuries were reported worldwide in 2015 as a result of the use of explosive weapons — up two percent from 2014.
Civilian deaths accounted for 33,307 or 76 percent of these deaths, it added. In the past five years, it has recorded a total of 188,331 deaths and injuries across the world.

Burundi govt won’t join crisis talks unless consulted

Burundi’s government on Wednesday refused to take part in stalled talks to end months of political crisis unless it was first consulted on who else was taking part.
In a statement from the president’s office broadcast over national radio and monitored in Nairobi, the government also demanded an official invitation before joining Monday’s fresh round of talks in the so-called Burundi “dialogue”.
“The Burundi government must be consulted (as) we must be in agreement on the persons who should be invited, the dates and the place,” said Willy Nyamitwe, communications officer for the presidency.
The authorities were also awaiting “an official invitation”, he added.
Burundi has been in political strife for a year, with a quarter of a million people in exile and up to 500 killed.
A regionally-mediated dialogue between all Burundians is being pushed by the international community as the best way to avoid civil war and ex Tanzania president Benjamin Mkapa last weekend announced a new round of talks for May 2 to 6 in Arusha.
The resumption of the dialogue was welcomed by the US state department in a statement late Tuesday “as the best means to restoring peace and stability to Burundi.”
It said (we) “strongly urge all stakeholders to fully participate without preconditions or red lines.”
But the government has repeatedly refused to sit at the same table as the main umbrella opposition group CRANED, including leaders who leaders are in exile, accusing them of fomenting the trouble.
Nyamitwe said on radio that “those who have attacked the lives of citizens, who hoped to overthrow institutions that were democratically elected, and others who are involved in armed insurrection in our country, cannot be summoned to this dialogue.”
The trouble erupted after President Pierre Annunziata’s controversial decision last April to run for a third term, a vote he won amid opposition boycotts in July.

Ighalo's father buried same day according to his wish

The father of footballer Jude Ighalo, Pa Paul Ighalo, who died on Monday April 25th, has been buried according to his wish. According to Family members, the 90 year old man had asked his family members not to keep his remains in the mortuary as he wants to be buried immediately after his demise.

To honor him, his family members after he was certified dead, moved his body from their family compound at number 58 Salami Street, Green Land area of Ajegunle, Lagos State to his village, Agidigbo Imadu in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State where he was buried on the same day.

He is survived by his wife and many children. May his soul rest in peace Amen.

Photos of some of the victims in Fulani herdsmen attack in Enugu

Pictured above is one of the victims of the attack carried out by Fulani herdsmen in Nimbo community in Enugu state on Monday April 25th.

Belgium extradites Paris Terror suspect Salah Abdeslam to France to face prosecution

According to Belgian Police Authorities, Paris Terror attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has been extradited to France to face prosecution. 26 year old Salah, who is a Belgium born French Citizen was extradited to France on Wednesday morning to face prosecution for crimes committed in France against the state in November, 2015

Abdeslam is due to appear before the investigating magistrate the same day, and would be placed in provisional custody, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

In the shoot out on March 15, prior to Salah's arrest in Belgium, Salah injured four police officers and was charged with attempted murder over his alleged role in the shootout.

Pregnant woman among 4 killed in east Ukraine

Four civilians including a pregnant woman were killed and eight others wounded early Wednesday when their cars came under mortar fire in war-torn eastern Ukraine, rebel officials said. The shelling attack occurred in the rebel-controlled village of Olenivka just 300 meters (yards) from a demarcation line separating pro-Russian rebels and government forces.
The body of a pregnant woman could be seen in the back seat of one of the damaged cars, mobile phone ringing constantly, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.
Another victim could be seen in the front seat of another car, while the remains of two other people lay in the road surrounded by shell fragments and water-filled craters.
“According to preliminary information, another eight people were injured”, rebel commander Eduard Basurin told AFP, blaming a mortar attack.
There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian military.
The attack was the latest in a fresh upsurge of violence in eastern Ukraine, which has killed at least six Ukrainian soldiers over the past week — the heaviest toll in the separatist east in nearly two months.
Around 9,200 people have died and more than 21,000 have been wounded since the revolt against Ukraine’s pro-Western leadership erupted exactly two years ago in eastern Ukraine.
A series of truce agreements have helped reduce the violence, although sporadic clashes persist and prevent the two sides from reaching a political reconciliation deal.

Man City ‘not afraid’ of Real Madrid

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini vowed that his team would play with no fear in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid following a 0-0 first-leg draw.
Missing the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, Madrid created the better chances in Tuesday’s game, but substitute Jese saw a header hit the bar and City goalkeeper Joe Hart produced late saves to thwart Casemiro and Pepe.
City, appearing in their first semi-final, did not work visiting goalkeeper Keylor Navas until Kevin De Bruyne found the target with a stoppage-time free-kick, but Pellegrini said that his side would show a greater cutting edge in next week’s return leg in the Spanish capital.
“I don’t think they are favourites,” said the Chilean, who was sacked after only one season as Madrid head coach in 2010.
“We have the same option as Real Madrid. Of course they have the advantage to play the first game away, so they try to manage the tempo of the game.
“After that they finish at home. But this team play away very similar to how we play at the Etihad. We had good results playing away against Paris Saint-Germain, against Dynamo Kiev and against Sevilla.
“We are not afraid to go to the Bernabeu and we will see which team plays better in that game.”
Pellegrini claimed that his side had shown the “most intent to win the game” and that Madrid had arrived at the Etihad Stadium “with a result in mind”.
His opposite number, Zinedine Zidane, contested the claim, asserting that his team “always go out to win”, but he agreed that neither side had procured an outright advantage.
“We could have scored a goal, but even with scoring a goal we would not have been sure of being in the final,” said the Frenchman, whose memorable volley against Bayer Leverkusen inspired Madrid to Champions League glory in 2002.
“I think it is still 50-50. We have got a game at home. We know what we are capable of. Right until the death it will be the same. We are going to have to work hard.”
Both teams have fitness concerns ahead of the second leg, but Zidane was upbeat about both Ronaldo, who missed out with a thigh strain, and Karim Benzema, who went off at half-time due to a knee problem.
– ‘Good old-fashioned rumble’ –
“We hope that they can both be in the second leg,” he said.
Pellegrini was more pessimistic about David Silva’s chances of gracing the Bernabeu after the Spaniard suffered a hamstring injury in a first-half challenge on Gareth Bale that earned him a booking.
“It is quite tough for him to recover in one week,” Pellegrini said. “We will have a clearer picture tomorrow.”
The City manager also expressed a measure of annoyance that his side will have a day less to recover for the return fixture due to the scheduling of their Premier League game at Southampton on Sunday.
“Unfortunately for us, we are going to have one day’s less rest than Real Madrid (who visit Real Sociedad on Saturday),” he said.
“We tried to change our game and it was impossible, so we need to play on Sunday.
“But we trust in what we are going to do and we are sure we will give all we can to arrive to the final.”
Hart was typically bullish, buoyed by two late saves that saw him thwart Casemiro and then, brilliantly, Pepe from point-blank range.
“We’ve set it up for a good, old-fashioned rumble at the Bernabeu,” said the England international.
“We are not disappointed with the result. Bring it on.”
Bale, meanwhile, backed the Bernabeu crowd to make their presence felt.
“We’re quite happy with it,” the former Tottenham Hotspur winger told BT Sport.
“We’re very, very strong at home. The crowd gets behind us. It’s going to be a difficult game, we know that, but one we’re confident about and looking forward to.”

FIFA boss wants North-South Korea friendly

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Wednesday he was willing to try and set up a football match between North and South Korea as a way of easing hostility on the divided peninsula. On a visit to South Korea which coincided with a recent upsurge in tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang, Infantino said such a match would highlight the spirit of football as a game “beyond borders” that can unify rather than divide.
“We should bring everyone together around a football match… I’m ready to help and assist in whatever way is necessary,” Infantino told reporters.
Military tensions have been running high on the peninsula following North Korea’s nuclear test in January and a ballistic missile test staged a month later.
Cross-border relations have sunk to their lowest level in years, with almost all official communications cut off.
The two Koreas last held a friendly match in Seoul in 2005. Before that they played two consecutive games in October 1990, in Seoul and Pyongyang, under the title “Inter-Korea Unification” matches.
Sporting exchanges pretty much halted, along with other ties, as relations soured.
“Sometimes imagination can come true. Sometimes dreams can come true. These things can become a reality,” Infantino said.
The FIFA boss also defended moves to increase the number of teams participating in the World Cup to 40, beginning in 2026.
“I believe that it’s important to increase the number of teams on the World Cup because we have to be more inclusive,” he said.
“Eight more teams will be perfectly justifiable,” he said, adding he was considering six more berths for the Asia region.

Photo: The trial of eight Nigerian men charged with drug trafficking in Cambodia resumes

The trial of eight Nigerians and a Cambodian woman arrested on allegations of drug trafficking resumed at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday April 25, with police saying that the group worked together as team despite several of the defendants’ denials.
All eight Nigerians (pictured arriving at Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday)    were arrested on January 8, 2015, at three different places, while their alleged ringleader, Obieze Kenneth Uche, also known as John or Jack, is still at large. Morm Vanyong, a Cambodian woman who allegedly worked in the operation, was also arrested.

Police found drugs and scales in Uche’s apartment, and anti-drug police official Yin Panharith said the arrests were made after months of surveillance and undercover activities.

"They had a structure. Their leader is Jack, who had a Cambodian wife. Jack told all the suspects to bring drugs to the buyers by passing them through their agents, one to one," Panharith said.

Defendant Tony Chukwuonye testified on Monday that he had brought drugs from Uche to Vanyong only once, though police had accused him of doing it several times, most recently bringing her four packages of drugs and receiving almost $20,000 from her. Police also said they found two sets of scales at Chukwuonye’s house.

Judge Khy Chai also questioned defendants Okorom Nhabui Favour and Okorom Kizito Chimedu, brothers who were arrested in a church near Boeung Tompun, asking Favour why did not cooperate with the police.

"You locked the door and went upstairs for three hours until the police broke the door down. Why did you do that?"  Chai asked.

Favour responded he had been frightened by the sight of men in plain clothes with guns, but Panharith accused him and two other suspects of trying to destroy evidence.

Fellow defendant Francis Nnamdi, meanwhile, admitted to meeting Vanyong, but said he had believed the meeting was related to a community organisation he was involved with. He denied having any knowledge of the other defendants.

Four other defendants – Okarom Kizito Chimedu, Simon Maduka Ukandu, Sunday Nwa Buisi and Nna Mezie Victor – denied any involvement in the trafficking, but said they had seen each other at church.

Vanyong and the last Nigerian defendant, Izuchukwu Chukwuma, did not testify yesterday, and judge Chai said he wanted to try Vanyong separately.
The hearing will resume at an unspecified date.