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(Nigeria) Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has inaugurated a Panel of Inquiry to probe the suspended Chairman, Vice Chairman and Councillors of Orhionmwon Local Government Area, who allegedly travelled to Italy without permission. Inaugurating the Committee in Benin City, Tuesday, Governor Oshiomhole said government’s action was in line with the Local Government Act. According to the governor “we are founded as a government on the principle of social democracy, accountability, transparency and above all respect for the electorate. We depend on votes, we don’t depend on any rigging machine and we know for a fact that for us to attract the votes, government must function and it functions better when at various levels of government the three ties of government complement the other. “And with the state government and the local government working together we are better able to deliver services to our people. However, it is now a matter of public secret that the Chairman, Vic

A Russian military expert was killed and another injured on Tuesday when gunmen driving a motorbike opened fire on them in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, local media reported. The two were advisers to the Yemeni armed forces, the Barakish news Website reported. Drive-by shootings and abductions have increased since the 2011 uprising against longtime leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down in 2012. Last week, a lawmaker was assassinated by assailants on a motorbike in Sana'a. Authorities have blamed the violence on militants linked to al-Qaeda. On Monday evening, 12 suspected members of al-Qaeda were killed in an air raid on the restive southern province of Abyan, according to a Website affiliated with the Defence Ministry. Authorities were trying to identify the bodies, it said. Yemen is a stronghold of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and United States drone strikes aimed at Islamist militants in Yemen have increased in recent month. Militants have repeat

Egyptian troops killed a key suspect Tuesday wanted over attacks on the army in the Sinai this year and deadly 2004 and 2006 bombings of tourist resorts, security officials said. Troops killed Mohamed Hussein Mohareb al-Shahir, his son and a third suspected militant in an operation south of the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuwayed, the officials said. Another four suspected militants were captured in the operation, part of an intensifying campaign by the army in the restive peninsula which borders both Israel and the Gaza Strip. Shahir was suspected of involvement in a spate of attacks on the security forces in the Sinai in recent months, including an August 19 ambush that killed 25 policemen in the deadliest attack of its kind in years. Security sources said he was also implicated in bombings of tourist resorts in the south of the peninsula that killed dozens of people, among them Israeli and Western holidaymakers, in 2004 and 2006. They said he had issued a fatwa, or relig

The police in Plateau on Tuesday confirmed that multiple attacks were carried out on four communities in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state on Monday. The report said many people were confirmed dead with several others injured in the attacks on the communities. Mrs Felicia Anselem, the spokesperson of the command, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos that the attacks were carried at 1 a.m. ``The attacks were carried out concurrently at four different locations at Rawuru, Tasu, Foron and Gurabok. There are many people dead and several others injured, but we cannot give the exact number of the casualties yet because our men are collating the figures,’’ Anselem said. The spokesperson, however, said that the casualty figure would be publicised after collation. Capt. Salisu Mustapha, the spokesperson of the Special Task Force, STF, in charge of security in Plateau also confirmed the attack to NAN. Mustapha said the STF was still gathering the details of the

(Nigeria) The Nigeria Football Association, NFA, on Monday, imposed a 10-year ban on a member of the board, Mr Olaleye Adepoju, for allegedly receiving bribe from a football club. The Chief Media Officer of the NFA, Mr Ademola Olajire, said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday. Also affected by the ban, according to Olajire, is a former Commissioner for Sports in Oyo State, Mr Dapo Lam-Adesina. Olajire said the decision to ban the two sports administrators was taken by the Emergency Committee of the NFA. He said the committee’s action followed a recommendation of the investigative committee headed by Mr Chris Green, also a board member of the NFA. By the ban, the duo had been prohibited from engaging in football activities for the entire duration of the ban. Olajire said   that the committee unanimously agreed that the case against Adepoju was proved beyond reasonable doubt. Adepoju was alleged to have collected N1.5 million from Shooting Stars Sports Club of I

(Nigeria) The Abubakar Baraje-led New Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP has appealed to elders in the party to intercede in its current crisis to rescue it from imminent doom. nPDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Chukwuemeka Eze, on Monday in Abuja, said “After a careful review of developments in our troubled party, PDP, the new PDP wishes to make a passionate appeal to PDP elders to take urgent steps to rescue the party from imminent doom. `We are forced to cry out because of the unbelievable silence of our revered party elders in the face of the chain of developments. ``PDP’s current challenge was instigated by its National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who had put the party at the edge of the precipice,’’ the statement alleged. It frowned at the suspension of Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Dr Sam Jaja, and PDP National Vice-Chairman, North West, Amb. Ibrahim Kazaure, on November 11. The statement said that their suspension from t

(Nigeria) Crew members on board a training aircraft of International Aviation College, Ilorin, Kwara State, escaped death as the plane crashed during a routine exercise. The minor incident occurred at 11.33 a.m. on Monday within the vicinity of Ilorin International Airport. The college’s acting Rector, Capt. Nuhu Abdulkareem, who announced the plane crash at a press conference in Ilorin, said it was the first recorded incident since its inception. Abdulkareem said the three crew members of the single engine Diamond aircraft with registration number 5N-BRD were later taken to the college’s clinic for proper check-up and were certified fit. He said the college had established contact with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Accident Investigation Bureau, statutory bodies responsible for regulating aviation safety and investigating incidents. He said the management of the college was awaiting the arrival of the officials of both agencies from Abuja to investigate the

(Nigeria) Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra, Monday, said that Saturday's supplementary election in Anambra State should be allowed to take place as scheduled, because it would favour the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, which is the reigning party in the state. MASSOB in statement by Chief Osondu Oni, Anambra State Coordinator and Chief Nnaemeka Okeke, Director of Communications, said that as a group that represents the genuine interest of Ndigbo, "we wish to state categorically that APGA is an Igbo political party because our leader, late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu is the National Leader and founder through Chief Chekwas Okorie. APGA is part of Ojukwuism, one of Ojukwu’s legacy that must be jealously protected and sustained. "APGA and MASSOB are products of Ojukwu, who tutored Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, the MASSOB leader; Chief Chekwas Okorie, former APGA national chairman; Chief victor Umeh, incumbent APGA national chairman and

  (Nigeria) Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State on Monday in Abuja said the Group of Seven (G7) governors were at liberty to leave the PDP if they felt aggrieved. He spoke to State House correspondents at the launch of the third phase of the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN) programme by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa. Akpabio, who is the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, was reacting to reports that the governors were fine-tuning arrangements to dump PDP for opposition party. The governor said that leaving one political party for other was a normal thing for politicians. He, however, warned that leaders who leave one party to the other should be aware that their followers might not follow them. ``I do not see a problem in the issues of certain politicians wanting to change party. It is a normal thing in politics that people move from one political party to the other. But what is important is that we move on and the c

(Nigeria) The Senate Committee on Aviation has directed the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, to suspend the new charges on airline operators pending the outcome of a stakeholders meeting. The Sen. Hope Uzodinma (PDP-Imo) led committee gave the directive on Monday in Abuja following a meeting with the relevant stakeholders in the aviation industry. The operators had complained to the committee that NAMA had contravened the Aviation Act by asking them to pay the fees without consulting the relevant stakeholders as was stipulated by law. Spokesman for the operators, Mr Bala Ibn Na’allah told the committee that if the contravention was allowed to subsist, it would be in disregard of democratic norms. ``The law in Section 12 says that all the powers given to the Civil Aviation Authority in the exercise of its powers to make regulations, the authority shall consult with stakeholders including airlines. The complaints of the non-schedule airline operators are that no one

(Nigeria) An Ado-Ekiti  Customary Court in Ekiti State on Monday dissolved a five-year-old marriage between Amodu Jamiu and his wife, Temitope for keeping of charms, deceit and unruly attitude of his wife. Amodu, 45,  had urged the court to dissolve his marriage to Temitope because shortly after their marriage, he got to know that his wife already had two children for another man. He told the court that Temitope, 31, did not avail him with the information before their marriage. The father of one said some local charms were also found in her wardrobe without knowing their purpose. He added that he caught his wife with another man in his house on a particular day he returned from a journey. Temitope, 31, in her defence told the court that she had never used or kept any local charms in her wardrobe as claimed by Amodu. She said that her husband was aware that she had two children before they met each other, contrary to his claim that the development was hidden from him. The

(Nigeria) Governor  Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has set up a peace and conflict resolution committee with a mandate to reconcile and mediate between warring  communities in the state. Speaking at the inauguration of the Committee headed by Chief Eduwu Ekhator, the Obasogie of Benin Kingdom, the governor said “If we can nip in the bud any sign of discontent, disagreement and tension, we could save the police of having to mobile men and materials to go and manage riots. We recognise that as government we cannot maintain peace alone without the support of the people. “There are all sorts of conflicts within communities and sometimes interest groups and all sorts of possible discontent within associations and there are all sorts of conflicts and areas of potential conflicts. Conflict is as old as the society. “There is nothing surprising if we find that within families, within local governments and among royal fathers that we sometimes have disagreement and discontent. What wil

(Nigeria) Switzerland is ready to assist Nigeria in the ongoing investigations into the alleged more than $6.8 billion (N1.1 trillion) fraudulent oil deals involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and Swiss oil trading companies. Mr Hans-Rudolf Hodel, the country’s ambassador to Nigeria, made the pledge on Monday in Abuja. Hodel told reporters that though no formal request for assistance had been made to his government on the issue by any representative of the Nigerian government, both countries had an existing mutual legal assistance. This, he said, entails providing banking information and freezing of bank accounts, ``if such accounts are identified in the criminal proceedings’’. Hodel said that the report issued by the Swiss-based non governmental organisation, Berne Declaration, which highlighted the transactions between NNPC and Swiss companies, did not represent the official position of the Swiss government. The report entitled ``Swiss Traders Opaqu

(Nigeria) A Wuse Zone 2 Chief Magistrate Court, Abuja, on Monday, ordered that an Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC official for Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Chukwujekwu Okeke, 54, be remanded in police custody till December 2. The Chief Magistrate, Mr Usman Shuaibu, ordered that the accused be remanded till December 2, after he was arraigned on a charge of negligence of duty, to enable the police complete its investigation on the matter. He also said that the accused’s application for bail would be considered on that day. Earlier, the prosecutor, Dsp Stanley Nwodo, from the Force CID, said that on November 16, the accused unlawfully breached his official duties at Idemili, where he was deployed. Nwodo informed the court that the accused deliberately withheld electoral materials designed for the elections, thereby, breaching electoral procedures. He prayed the court to give the police 14 days to enable it complete investigation into th

(Nigeria) The President, Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Dr Nasir Fagge, on Monday in Abuja called for appropriate remuneration of Nigeria’s  workforce to bolster the morale of workers. Fagge made the call at a two-day stakeholders forum organise by National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission, NSIWC. The forum was on the review of the existing job evaluation and grading system in the Nigerian public service. Fagge said that productivity in Nigeria was low because ``people who do not contribute to nation building earned the highest pay”. He said that a lot of well-meaning Nigerians had failed to contribute immensely to building the nation due to the anomalies related to remuneration. He advised the authorities to ensure that the recommendations arising from the forum were properly implemented. ``Productivity is not commensurate to remuneration in the country. There are a lot of people in Nigeria who do not contribute much to nation building but they earn t

(Nigeria) A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Monday reinstated, Timothy Nsirim, Chairman, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, suspended for alleged fraudulent practices. The chairman and the council’s councillors were suspended from office on May 2013 by the House of Assembly for alleged fraud. In her ruling, Justice Adanma Iyayi-Lamikanra, said the suspension of the chairman and the councilors was ``flawed and unconstitutional’’. In its reaction to the ruling, the state government in a statement signed by Ibim Semenitari,  the Commissioner for Information, said the government would abide by the ruling. ``As a responsible government, Rivers government will abide by the ruling,’’ the statement stated. Semenitari said ``we are constrained to note that the trail judge acted in total disregard for the Court of Appeal, which at the moment is entertaining an appeal in respect of the matter. ``We are aware that under the rules of court, where the

(Nigeria) Attacks in Baghdad and north Iraq killed 15 people Monday as France joined the list of countries offering help in combatting a protracted surge in bloodshed months ahead of elections. The rise in violence, which has left more than 150 people dead in the past week alone, has fuelled fears Iraq is on the brink of falling back into the brutal Sunni-Shiite sectarian war that plagued it years ago. Officials have also voiced concern over a resurgent Al-Qaeda emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has provided jihadist fighters in Iraq with rear bases to plan operations. Attacks on Monday struck the capital and predominantly Sunni Arab areas of north Iraq that have borne the brunt of the worsening unrest, which has killed more than 5,900 people this year. On Monday, a blast at a local market in central Baghdad killed at least four people and wounded 12 others, officials said, while a car bomb targeting a police station in the capital's northeastern ou

(Nigeria) The Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Lagos State council, has instituted a N50 million suit against TOS Funeral Services Limited, over alleged assault of a Lagos based photo journalist, Benedict Uwalaka before a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja. Already, hearing in the case has been adjourned fixed for November 27, before an Ikeja. Defendants in the suit alongside are Bayo Ogunsola, a Director of TOS funeral, the Lagos State Hospital Management Board and the Attorney general of Lagos State. The judge hearing the suit is Justice Lateefa Okunnu. In the suit,  the NUJ is asking for a "declaration that the assault, beating, battery or wounding of Uwalaka on August 9, 2012 by Ogunsola and his associates who are privies of the government by contract, was capable of infringing on his right to life guaranteed under Section 33 (1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999." NUJ is also asking for "a declaration that the assaul

(Nigeria) The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, on Monday requested the Federal Government to revisit the issue of pay rise for its workers. TUC in a statement by its President, Mr Bobboi Kaigama and the Secretary General, Mr Musa Lawal in Lagos, also urged President Goodluck Jonathan to commemorate his 56th birthday by granting Nigerians relief in some fundamental areas noting that ``Nigerian workers are not well paid’’. `` Investigations have revealed that Nigerian workers are among the least paid in the sub-Saharan Africa, and this ought not to be so,’’ the statement added. ``We join other Nigerians to celebrate with the President on his 56th birthday. We indeed thank the Almighty God who has kept him alive and given him the grace to lead the most populous black nation in the world. `` God has indeed been kind to him. We expect him to be kind to Nigerians and do the right things for the nation.’’ The statement noted that there was also the need to readdress the failu

(Nigeria) A housewife, Chioma Ngene, on Monday urged a Mararaba Upper Area Court to dissolve her two-year-old marriage to her husband, Emmanuel, for constant beating. Chioma of Ruga Auta in Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, told the court that her husband was fond of beating and insulting her. ``My husband always beats me whenever we have misunderstanding, and he also calls me a witch. I want an end to this marriage because I cannot cope with a man who beats his wife,” she said. She said the marriage was contracted in 2011 according to Igbo native law and customs, and blessed with two children, Ebube and Esther. Emmanuel, however, told the court that he still had interest in the marriage. ``I promise to change and stop beating her for the sake of my children,’’ Emmanuel said. Emmanu applied for an adjournment for them to be reconciled. The Presiding Judge, Mr Vincent Gwehemba, adjourned the case to December 11 for possible reconciliation or continuation of hea

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday ordered the remand a 41-years-old man, Oluwaseun Oladipupo charged with alleged drug trafficking. Trial judge in the matter is Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia. Oladipupo, a resident of Ikorodu area of Lagos State, who pleaded guilty to the offence was remanded at the Kirikiri Prisons, Lagos. The accused was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on a count charge of dealing on a restricted narcotic, "Cannabis Sativa", otherwise known as Indian hemp. The Prosecutor, Mr Oriji Kalu, told the court that the accused committed the offence on June 8. He said the accused was arrested at Imota, a Lagos suburb, following a tip-off and that about 300 grammes of the substance was recovered from him. Kalu told the court that the accused was in the business of selling the substance to touts in the area. He said the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 11 (c), of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30 Laws of the

(Nigeria) A Yaba Magistrate Court in Lagos on Monday held that a 35-year-old Medical Doctor, Edeye Monday, had a case to answer over his alleged murder of a 22-year-old pregnant woman, Tolani Aderoju. The Police Prosecutor, Insp. Godwin Anyanwun, while arraigning Monday in court on July 31, 2012, said the accused on May 29, 2012, injected Aderoju with some unknown drugs, while attempting to abort her pregnancy. The prosecutor had told the court that Aderoju’s mother, in her complaint, said her daughter had informed her that she was pregnant for one Mufutau Alonge. She said that Alonge had taken her daughter to Monday’s private clinic for an abortion. According to the prosecutor, the accused, after injecting Aderoju with drugs, but could not terminate the pregnancy, rushed her to another hospital, where she died. Anyanwun said that the offence contravened Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011, and that the penalty was the death sentence. But the court adjour

Namibia plans to stop oil and gas companies from carrying out off-shore exploration for part of the year, to protect the fishing industry, a senior official said Monday. Amid concerns that seismic surveys may be disrupting the migratory routes of tuna, senior fisheries ministry official Anna Erastus told AFP such tests would now only take place from May to September. "This arrangement is to be communicated to the companies that are issued with such licences by the ministry of mines," said Erastus. Brazilian oil firms HRT and Petrobras, as well as Spain's Repsol have exploration licenses in Namibia. Offshore exploration began in Namibia in the late 1960's and resulted in major gas finds, though little in the way of oil. But technological advances mean there are now high hopes that Namibia can become a crude producer on a similar scale to neighbouring Angola, Africa's second-biggest producer after Nigeria. A rush of companies are now carrying out seis

Women in England and Wales will be able to check police records to see if their partner has a history of domestic violence, the government said on Monday. The "Clare's Law" scheme -- named after 36-year-old Clare Wood who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2009 -- is expected to come into force in March following a year-long pilot in several parts of Britain. Wood, a mother-of-one, had met George Appleton on Facebook and was unaware of his history of violence against women, including the kidnapping of another girlfriend at knifepoint. He strangled Wood and set her body on fire before hanging himself. Home Secretary Theresa May said 88 British women had been killed by a violent partner or ex-partner last year, and that there was "considerable confusion" about whether police could share information on someone's violent past with the public. "Domestic abuse shatters lives -- Clare's Law provides people with the information they need to es

Clashes between Libyan troops and militants in the eastern city of Benghazi on Monday killed at least three people and wounded dozens during a military operation, officials have said. Libya's new military, which is still in training, is struggling to curb Islamist militants and militias who fought in the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi but have refused to disarm. Reports indicate that the development presents a delicate situation as the militants and militias control parts of the country. However, security and medical officials on Monday said gunfire and explosions could be heard in Benghazi while thick smoke rose from the Ras Obeida area. The army has since ordered residents to stay off the city streets, witnesses said. Benghazi city security officials said fighting broke out when an army Special Forces Unit pursued a suspect into an area where Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia operates its own checkpoints. Ansar al-Sharia was blamed for the attack on the U

(Nigeria) Two men, Muyideen Jubril and Lanre Sofela, who allegedly raped a teenager at night, on Monday appeared before an Abeokuta Magistrate' Court sitting at Isabo, Ogun State. The police charged Jubril and Sofela, aged 23 and 22 respectively, with raping a 17-year-old. The Prosecutor, Insp Sunday Eigbejiale, told the court that the accused committed the offences on November 8 at Ago Oko in Abeokuta. ``They convinced the girl that they will take her home on their bike; on their way, they blindfolded her with a piece of cloth and raped her,'' he said. The prosecutor said the offences contravened Sections 516, 357 and 358 of the Criminal Law of Ogun, 2006. The court did not take the pleas of the accused because they did not have legal counsel. The Magistrate, Mr Matins Akinyemi, however, granted them bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties each. Akinyemi adjourned the case to February 13, 2014 for mention.

(Nigeria) The Abia State Commissioner for Transport, Chief Ikechukwu Emesobum, on Monday said an airport would be constructed in the state before May 29, 2015. Emesobum told News Agency of Nigeria in Umuahia that all the formalities for the acquisition of land and other preliminary arrangements to get the site ready had been completed. He said the location would soon be announced to the public. ``A committee, under the chairmanship of the Abia Deputy Governor, Chief Emeka Ananaba, has already received land offers from more than seven communities across the state. ``Because the people love and welcome the idea, they are willing to offer their lands and government is making its choice based on the template for the establishment of an airport,’’ the commissioner said. He said further that Abia had met all the requirements for the construction of the airport. Emesobum said the proximity of the airports in Owerri, Port Harcourt and Enugu does not invalidate the viability of

(Nigeria) Some 300 gunmen stormed a mostly Christian village in Plateau State on Sunday, killing five people and burning scores of homes, police said. The early morning attack targeted the village of Kuka in Plateau State, which roughly falls on the dividing line between Nigeria's mainly Christian south and predominately Muslim north. "Five people were killed and many houses were burnt," said Plateau's police spokeswoman Felicia Anslem. "About 300 attackers invaded the community early on Sunday," she added. The decade-long mostly sectarian conflict in Plateau has left thousands dead. Herdsmen from the Fulani-Hausa ethnic group, which is mostly Muslim, have been blamed for scores of attacks on the primarily Christian Berom community. The Berom are considered the state's indigenous people, which legally gives them enhanced rights, including better access to land, education and public offices. Fulani leaders have for years claimed that the vio

Seventeen people were slightly injured and around 50 evacuated Sunday when a fire swept through a restaurant in the Swiss city of Lausanne, police said. The fire broke out around 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) in a restaurant on the ground floor of a six- or seven-storey building, local police spokesman Michel Gandillon told AFP. Seventeen people suffered light burns or smoke inhalation and were sent to hospital for a control, he said. Firefighters brought the flames under control within about an hour. According to media reports, a wedding celebration had been going on at the time in the Ethiopian restaurant in the centre of the picturesque city on the shores of Lake Geneva. Party-dressed people came rushing out as thick black smoke billowed out of the building, some screaming and others falling to their knees, the ATS news agency reported. Police said it remained unclear how the fire had started, but the 20Minutes website quoted witnesses saying a firecracker set off inside during th

The International Criminal Court, ICC, has classified the conflict going on in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe of Nigeria to have met all the conditions of a civil war. According to a report released by the Office of the Prosecutor, OTP of the ICC on the situations under preliminary examination by the court, “In terms of organisation, the Office has considered the hierarchical structure of Boko Haram; its command rules and ability to impose discipline among its members; the weapons used by the group; its ability to plan and carry out coordinated attacks; and the number of Boko Haram forces under command. The Office has concluded that Boko Haram fulfils a sufficient number of relevant criteria to be considered an organised armed group capable of planning and carrying out military activities. “With respect to the level of intensity of the armed confrontations between Boko Haram and Nigerian security forces, the Office has analysed over 200 incidents occurring between July 20

The Israeli cabinet approved Sunday measures aimed at deporting thousands of Africans who illegally entered the country and who are perceived by it as a threat to its Jewish character. A statement from the prime minister's office said that beyond the measures, which include a crackdown on employers and financial incentives for home-bound Africans, the interior ministry has drafted a bill that would enable to detain illegal migrants for one year without trial. The new bill, which will be brought before parliament on Monday for an initial hearing and vote, was formulated after a previous law from 2012 allowing the three-year detainment without trial of illegals was overturned by Israel's supreme court in September. According to the statement, a "closed facility" will serve as detention centre for migrants who manage to enter the Jewish state, which has nearly finished the construction of a fence along its southern border, as well as for those already in Israel

(Nigeria) The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has blamed the recent nationwide power rationing on vandalism of the gas pipeline, supplying gas to the Okpai Power Plant in Delta State. TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Seun Olagunju, on Sunday in Abuja in a statement,  explained that there had been about 450MW reduction in electricity generation since the vandalism on Saturday and that this would last till November 26, when repair work would be completed. It said that all relevant stakeholders were currently working hard on the repair of the vandalised plant which that had also been shut down. ``The repair work is expected to be completed within three days and Okpai Power Plant will expectedly resume generation on November 26," it said. The TCN appealed to electricity consumers nationwide to bear with the temporary inconvenience, pleading with them to help government in protecting TCN installations. ``TCN regrets inconveniences to the Federal Government a

(Nigeria) A 12-year-old girl, Miss Chisom Okechukwu, has committed suicide, hanging herself at her family compound at Nnoche-Uduke Community in Okpoitumo in the Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, reports NAN. Chisom, a primary five pupil at Nnoche-Uduke Primary School, was said to have left home on Saturday and was not seen until Sunday morning, hanging on a tree at the back of her compound. Her dangling body was discovered by her younger sister, Ndidi, who was going to the toilet dug at the back of the compound. An eye-wtness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that Ndidi raised an alarm which attracted their parents and other members of the community who came and brought the down. ``The whole scenario brought tension and confusion in the community as people were seen in clusters discussing the death.  ``People, especially some members of Okechukwu's family are of the opinion that she did not commit suicide and insisted on a thorough investigation

(Nigeria) Three people were killed when two fuel-laden articulated vehicles exploded at Gyazama village, along the Funtua-Birnin Gwari Road in Dandume Local Government Area of Katsina State. Alhaji Abdulkadir Muhammad, the Transition Committee Chairman of Dandume Local Government Council, told News Agency of Nigeria in Dandume that four other persons sustained burns of various degrees. He also said that six houses were also burnt in the resultant inferno which occurred on Saturday evening. NAN reports that the blaze started when some drivers were transferring fuel from a broken-down vehicle to another through the use of a pumping machine. Muhammad said that two of the deceased were the operators of the pumping machine, while those who sustained burns were receiving treatment at Funtua General Hospital. He added that the houses were burnt because of the fuel which spilled from the scene of the incident. Muhammad, who was an eye-witness, explained that the fire could not be

(Nigeria) The Joint Task Force, JTF, in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield said on Sunday that it had dismantled a militant camp in the Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State. A statement by the Media Coordinator of the JTF, Lt.-Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said that various arms were recovered from the camp. ``During the clamp down, the troops recovered 24 x 7.62mm round cartons, five Browning Machine Gun, ammunition, 3 x 7.62mm round special and seven live cartridges. ``Other items recovered from the camp include four machine gun belts and one passport fibre boat, belonging to the Inland Water Ways Agency,'' JTF stated. According to Nwachukwu, the camp known in local parlance as ‘Efut Esighi Militant Camp, served as operational base for pirates and militants from where they attacked their victims. ``JTF operatives destroyed three illegal crude oil distillation camps concealed in a forest at Agbede village and Egwua 2 general ar

(Nigeria) The Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, on Sunday said that the bureau would privatise the four refineries in the country next year. Mr Chigbo Anichebe, the Bureau’s Head, Public Communications, told News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that the refineries’ privatisation was part of the ongoing oil sector’s reforms. Earlier last week, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, told Bloomberg TV Africa in London that the country would privatise its four government-owned refineries in the first quarter of next year. This is the second time the Federal Government is disclosing plans to privatise its refineries. President Olusegun Obasanjo approved the sale of the refineries during his administration but the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007 reversed the sale of the refineries for lack of transparency in the transaction. However, President Goodluck Jonathan in November 2012 recommended that the refineries should be sold due to inadequate finance

The six world powers (five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany) and Iran agreed on the text of a treaty by 98 percent and are debating the issue of uranium enrichment, a source in the Iranian delegation told reporters, reports ITAR-TASS. “I can say that we have agreed on the text by 98 percent,” he noted. “We continue the talks on problematic issues, particularly uranium enrichment,” he said. The source noted that the parties to the talks may complete the talks in Geneva within next two hours. He did not give the direct answer to the question whether Iran and the six world powers will sign an agreement. “We will not go out as long as we obtain the signing of a document,” the source said.

(Nigeria) Authorities of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, said on Sunday that they did not have any immediate plan to re-open blocked GSM networks in Borno State. Maj.-Gen. Obidah Ethan, the GOC of the division, announced this when he spoke with newsmen in Maiduguri. It will be recalled that all the GSM networks in Borno were blocked in May, immediately after the Federal Government declared a state of emergency to enable it to checkmate Boko Haram insurgents. Ethan, reacting to calls by Borno residents to restore the GSM networks, noted that the blockage had ensured the success of military operations against the insurgents. ``What I will say is that for now, the GSM blockage is helping our operations. ``But, if the situation improves, we might think of reviewing the issue,'' he said. Ethan advised the people, especially parents who wished to maintain regular contact with their children in school, to seek alternative ways of communicating with them p

(Nigeria) Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have killed 12 people in Nigeria's restive northeast, burning homes and stealing cars in an area repeatedly attacked by the insurgent group, police and residents said Saturday. The attack in the Sandiya village happened Thursday in Borno state, Boko Haram's stronghold, but details were slow to emerge given the communication shutdown in the area. Borno is one of three Nigerian areas where a state of emergency has been imposed and where the military has shut down the mobile phone network in an attempt to block Islamists from coordinating attacks. "Hoodlums invaded the community and killed 12 people," Borno's police commissioner Lawal Tanko told journalists in an emailed statement. He said they burnt scores of houses and stole several vehicles in the village some 85 kilometres (50 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri. "The gunmen were on a revenge mission," said Sandiya resident Sabitu Ali, who iden