innosreport

Pakistani forces killed 27 suspected militants in air strikes and a ground operation Thursday in the restive northwest hours after a roadside bomb killed three soldiers, officials said.

(Nigeria) Boko Haram has kidnapped no fewer than 185 people, including women and children, in northeast Nigeria, the latest mass abduction in a region where the military has repeatedly struggled to protect civilians, officials and witnesses said Thursday.

(Nigeria) The National Council on Privatisation, NCP on Thursday approved the sale of the liquidated Nigeria Telecommunication Plc. and its subsidiary, Mtel, to NATCOM Consortium for $252million.

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not rule out the possibility of a price conspiracy between Saudi Arabia and the United States on the market of energy resources but says it is not possible to confirm the data, reports Tass.

(Nigeria) The trial of 11 persons, members of Biafra Zionist Federation, accused of plotting a secession from Nigeria suffered a setback at the Federal High Court in Enugu State on Thursday as the trial judge, Justice D. Agishi, was absent. The accused persons, who were arrested by the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Enugu State, on June 4, were brought to court but were not docked as they were taken back to the prison due to the judge’s absence.

(Nigeria) Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governorship candidate, Chief Nyesom Wike has assured the Ogoni people of the state that he will ensure that they experience massive infrastructural and human development when he assumes office as the governor in 2015.

(Nigeria) A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, on Thursday sentenced two men, James Ettete and Jude Ekenne, to two years imprisonment each, for attempting to steal N480,000 from Skye Bank Plc. Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye handed the sentences to Etette, 40, and Ekenne, 54; after they pleaded guilty to the offences following their re-arraignment.

(Nigeria) A Lagos State Coroner's Court investigating the collapsed building of the Synagogue Church of All Nations on Thursday admitted the plan of the building and other adjoining structures as exhibits. Mr Bisi Adedire, a town planner and witness of the church, tendered the building plan to the inquest presided over by Mr Oyetade Komolafe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to fix Russia's economic woes within two years, voicing confidence that the plummeting ruble will recover and promising to diversify Russia's gas-dependent economy.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said Thursday that the Palestinian-pushed draft resolution submitted overnight to the United Nations Security Council is a declaration of war.

(Nigeria) The Nigerian Navy said the gunboats that were alleged to belong to ex-Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, actually belonged to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.

(Nigeria) The police in Rivers State on Wednesday said that it had rescued the Branch Manager of First City Monument Bank, FCMB in Choba, Mr Standfast Barnabas abducted on December 13. Police Public Relations Officer in the State, Mr Ahmad Muhammad, told newsmen in Port Harcourt that Barnabas was rescued on December 16 at Rumuola area of Port Harcourt.

(Nigeria) The governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Imo State, Mr Emmanuel Iheanacho, said he would win the 2015 governorship election because his party’s programmes were people-friendly.

(Nigeria) The All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate for the 2015 general elections, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday named Prof. Yemi Osibajo as his running mate, with a pledge to rescue Nigeria. Buhari announced the choice of Osibajo at a news conference in Abuja.

(Nigeria) The Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic  Party, PDP, in what appears to be a mockery, congratulated the outgoing governor of the state, Mr Rotimi Amaechi for losing his bid to grab the Vice Presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

(Nigeria) Justice E. Chukwu of a Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday adjourned ruling on the extradition proceedings brought by the office of Attorney General of the Federation against former Managing Director of Nigeria Security Minting and Printing Company, NSMPC, Ehidiamhem Okoyomon, to January 23, 2015.

Israel suffered back-to-back diplomatic setbacks in Europe on Wednesday as Palestinians headed to the United Nations to try to set a two-year deadline for an Israeli withdrawal.

A policeman in western Kenya shot dead a civilian and four of his colleagues before turning the gun on himself, an official and a witness said Wednesday.

A 28-year-old man, Joseph Agwugho, who allegedly killed one Enya Okpara by stabbing him on the face with a pair of scissors, on Wedneday, appeared before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates' Court in Lagos. When the murder charge was read, the investigative police officer,  Adejoke Ige, was called upon by the Magistrate, Mr Y.J. Adefioye, to give her evidence.

Justice A.A. Akinyemi of an Ogun State High Court, sitting in Abeokuta, has convicted one Kingswill Chiekezie and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment,  for stealing the sum of N6.354 million   belonging to Golden Rossy General Merchandise Limited.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned a Lagos business woman and legal practitioner, Stella Achebe, before Justice S. S. Ogunsanya of the Lagos State High Court, sitting in Ikeja on one-count charge bordering on issuance of dud cheque.

Afghan insurgents stormed a bank in the country's restive southern province of Helmand on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people, including three policemen, authorities said.

An Arab-backed draft resolution on ending Israel's occupation of lands captured in 1967 is to be submitted later Wednesday to the United Nations Security Council for a vote, the Palestinian foreign minister said.

  A Kenyan rescue official says a number of people are feared trapped or dead after a five-story residential building collapsed in downtown Nairobi, reports AP.

A European Union court has ordered the Palestinian group Hamas removed from the EU terrorist list for procedural reasons, but says the bloc can maintain asset freezes against Hamas members.

Dozens of former Congolese rebels escaped when Ugandan authorities started to repatriate a first group of fighters to their home country, United Nations and military sources said Tuesday.

(Nigeria) The Department of State Services, DSS, has vowed that it will serve justice to all those who sponsor or partake in the publication of subversive reports against the country. Ms Marilyn Ogar, spokeswoman for the service, made the promise when she showed seven suspects to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.

(Nigeria) Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ President, Mohammed Garba, on Tuesday in Abuja, called for adequate security for journalists to enable them to carry out their constitutional role effectively during the 2015 general elections.

(Nigeria) A civil society advocacy group engaged in creating and spreading security awareness among Nigerians,  Citizens Initiative for Security Awareness, CISA, has cried out against terrorists using innocent women and children for the perpetration of terrorism activities.

(Nigeria) A 13-year-old boy, (name withheld) has been arrested by the Police in Bauchi State on allegation of killing a six-year-old boy in a bid to snatch N500 from him.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday that the silence regime in Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine) was real and not declarative, reports Tass.

(Nigeria) Complaints arising from electricity distribution topped the list of cases received by the Lagos State Office of the Public Complaints Commission in 2014, an official said on Tuesday. Mr Funso Olukoga, the Federal Commissioner, Public Complaints Commission, Lagos State Office, made this known while briefing journalists in Lagos.

(Nigeria) A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday slammed a N2 million bail on a businessman, John Obi, over his attempt to export 21.69 kilogrammes of Methamphetamine to South Africa. Obi, whose address was not mentioned, is standing trial on a count charge of unlawful possession of illicit drug.

(Nigeria) Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Chief Nyesom Wike has said that he was on a mission to revive institutions of government destroyed by the outgoing administration in the state and set democracy on the right path.

(Nigeria) A chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic party, PDP, in Edo State, Mr. Nathaniel Awala has given kudos to the Governor of Edo State, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, for the quality projects embarked on by his administration which have put smiles on the faces of Edo people.

(Nigeria) A 40-year old driver, Adeyeye Adefioye, was on Tuesday docked at an Okitipupa Magistrates’ Court in Ondo State over alleged manslaughter of a 35-year old woman, Kike Taiwo. The accused, of no fixed address, is standing trial on two-count charge of manslaughter and dangerous driving.

Former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry announced his retirement on Tuesday, ending a 20-year career in which he earned a place in the pantheon of modern greats.

 Islamist militants of the Taliban stormed a military-run school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday, killing 126 people, officials said, in the worst attack to hit the country in years.

Sydney police say three people have died, including the gunman, during a hostage crisis that ended when officers stormed a downtown cafe.

The families of nine of the 26 people killed and a teacher wounded two years ago at the Sandy Hook Elementary School filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer, distributor and seller of the rifle used in the shooting.

(Nigeria) An Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrates' Court on Monday remanded three accused persons, Sunday Daramola,20, Tope Olatunji,27, and Seun Adeniyi, 20, in prison for allegedly raping a teenager. The prosecutor, Sgt. Bamikola Olasunkanmi, told the court that the accused committed the offence on Dec.8 at Okeoja St., Igbemo -Ekiti.

(Nigeria) Motorists in Abuja on Monday decried the three-day warning strike embarked upon by the major oil workers in parts of the country. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, recently gave a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet their demands or face industrial action.

(Nigeria) A 22-year-old banker employed by Skye Bank Plc., Gbemisola Owoeye, was on Monday charged with stealing N2.9 million belonging to the bank at a Tinubu Chief Magistrates' Court in Lagos. Owoeye of No. 2, Ayo Idowu Close, Surulere, Lagos State, is facing a charge of stealing. He, however, denied the charge.

(Nigeria) The Federal Government on Monday declared as ``erroneous and unfortunate”, the repatriation of 30 Nigerians by Sudan over suspicion of them being infected by the Ebola Virus Disease. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Nigerian government had already protested the ill-treatment of Nigerians by the country to the Sudanese authority and was seeking appropriate redress.

 The Ukrainian government is failing in its legal duty to protect citizens in rebel-held areas from growing economic misery, the United Nations human rights office said Monday, urging Kiev to rethink its policy of stopping public services in the east, reports dpa.

Philippine government prosecutors charged a United States Marine with murder Monday in the killing of a Filipino, saying the suspect acknowledged attacking the victim after he found out she was a transgender.

Islamist fighters Monday said they had taken control of a key government base in north-central Syria. Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front said, on a Twitter account it uses for updates from Idlib province, that Wadi Deif base in Idlib province had been captured, reports dpa.

Three major airports - Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia - have been closed indefinitely, Ukraine’s State Air Traffic Service said on its website on Monday.

Palestinian officials will on Wednesday submit a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council that would set a two-year deadline to ending the Israeli occupation, leaders said.

A gunman is holding several hostages Monday in a Sydney cafe, after witnesses reported gunshots and footage showed an Islamist flag held up to the window.