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(Nigeria) Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State on Monday,  said he has no apology to tender to those who decamped from the All Progressives Congress, APC to a rival party, adding that he will never share the state’s resources, meant for developing the state, to them. Speaking at the presentation of staff of office to Alhaji Jackson Etokhana, as the Oghieavhianwu of Avhianwu,  Oshiomhole urged the new royal father to educate his people to distinguish and support only politicians who stand for the interest of the larger family, rather than personal interest or the interest of their immediate family.

Hamas has dismissed as a sign of weakness, warnings from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Gaza residents to leave any site where Palestinian fighters are operating, saying the locations could be attacked, reports Al-Jazeera news. In a statement on Sunday, Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said: "The [Israeli] occupation has failed in confronting the resistance in the field, and has resorted to threats of assassination and other threats designed to scare us.

Fighters from the Islamic State group have taken over an airbase in northeast Syria , capturing it from government forces after fighting that cost more than 500 lives, a monitoring group and state media have said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, SOHR, a London-based rights group, said at least 346 Islamic State fighters and more than 170 government forces had been killed since Tuesday in the fight over the Tabqa base, which was captured by fighters on Sunday.

Russia plans to send another humanitarian convoy into eastern Ukraine "in the next few days", Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. Mr Lavrov said the humanitarian situation there was "deteriorating" Ukraine did not authorise the first convoy, which returned to Russia at the weekend, fearing it carried military equipment for pro-Russia separatists.

An American journalist kidnapped nearly two years ago has been freed in Syria following Qatari mediation and handed over to United Nations peacekeepers in the Golan Heights . Peter Theo Curtis was handed over to UN peacekeepers in the village of al-Rafid, Quneitra, on Sunday. He has since been turned over to representatives from the United States government after undergoing medical check-up, the UN said.

Iran will retaliate for Israel's sending a drone aircraft to the site of its Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, a senior officer at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, said on Monday. “Arming of Palestinians on the West Bank may be speeded up,” said General Ali Haji Zadeh in a report posted on the IRGC’s official website.

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo say two people have died from Ebola in the country's north-west, reports BBC news. They are the first reported Ebola cases outside West Africa since the outbreak there began, although it is not clear if they are directly linked to that outbreak.

A British nurse who contracted the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone arrived in London by military plane on Sunday, BBC news reported. The patient, who is not "seriously unwell" according to the Department of Health, is to be treated at an isolation unit at a London hospital.

Israeli air strikes pounded Gaza Sunday, killing at least 16 people, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the bloody offensive would continue as long as necessary, reports AFP. Israel and Hamas, who have been fighting for 48 days, looked unlikely to end their deadly face-off even after Egypt called for an indefinite ceasefire and new truce talks to end a war that has killed more than 2,100 Palestinians and 68 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Ukraine does not supply dual technologies to Russia, the chief of the Ukrainian Security Service, SBU, Mr Valentin Nalivaichenko, said Sunday night as he spoke to the Kiev-based Channel 5. He dismissed the reports on supplies of weaponry and dual technologies to Russia by Ukrainian manufacturers as “not true to reality.”

(Nigeria) The Nigerian military has denied the claim of the leader of the extremist group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau  that the town of Gwoza in Borno State , seized by the insurgents earlier this month has been placed under an Islamic caliphate, in a new video. In a tweet on its twitter handle, the Defence Headquarters states that "the claim is empty. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Nigerian state is still intact.

Russian Defence Ministry has rejected reports which the Finnish Defence Ministry’s press service has made that a Russian warplane has allegedly transgressed the air space of that country on Saturday. “On August 23, a military transport airplane of Baltic Fleet’s sea aviation was on a planned flight from airfield Pushkin in [north-western Russia] Leningrad Region to airfield Chernyakhovsk in [Russian westernmost] Kaliningrad Region. The flight was made on the route set strictly beforehand. The warplane did not deviate from its itinerary during the flight according to air data device,” the Russian Defence Ministry’s press service and information department told reporters in comments on reports made by Finnish defence agency’s press service. “Aircraft of Russian armed forces are making flights in full compliance with all international treaties,” the press service of Russian defence agency said.

 In scenes reminiscent of the famous July 1944 march-past of more than 56,000 Nazi prisoners of war down the streets of Moscow, several hundred captive Ukrainian Army Servicemen were convoyed in a column down the streets of Donetsk Sunday, eyewitnesses said in personal accounts from spot, reports Itar-Tass. Several thousand local residents standing on the sidewalks booed at the former military.

The Ukrainian army has lost five servicemen in its military operation in the country’s east in the past 24 hours and another eight have been wounded, spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Andriy Lysenko said on Sunday, reports Itar-Tass. Meanwhile, the army of the Donetsk People’s Republic has reported that self-defense fighters have destroyed over 150 Ukrainian troops, four Smerch multiple launch rocket systems, 12 Grad rocket launches, 17 tanks, over 30 combat armored vehicles and about 50 vehicles with ammunition in their counter-offensive in the last two days.

(Nigeria) The Federal Road Safety Commission,  FRSC, has appointed Corps Commander Stella Uchegbu as the new Corps Public Education Officer to replace Assistant Corps Marshal Jonas Agwu, who is now Zonal Commanding Officer in charge of Zone RS7 Abuja at Gwagwalada. Until her new assignment, Stella Uchegbu, was the Nodal Officer at the FRSC SERVICOM Unit at the Abuja national headquarters,  during which the Corps received commendable ratings for consistent compliance with SERVICOM principles.

Unidentified war planes have attacked targets in the Libyan capital hours after fighters from the city of Misrata said they had seized the main airport from a rival fighter brigade, reports Al-Jazeera. Reuters news agency reported that Tripoli residents heard jets followed by explosions at dawn on Saturday but no more details were immediately available.

( Nigeria ) The Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board on Sunday issued a four-day ultimatum to intending female pilgrims who had not undergone pregnancy test to do so or forfeit their Hajj seats. The Public Relations Officer of the board, Alhaji Nuhu Badamasi, gave the ultimatum in an interview with NAN in Kano . Badamasi said any intending female pilgrims, who failed to undergo the test, would not perform the 2014 pilgrimage.

(Nigeria ) The Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, has suspended its 55 days strike to resume work on Monday. Briefing newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, the NMA President, Dr Lawrence Obembe, asked members to resume normal work on August 25. Obembe explained that the suspension was the outcome of the emergency delegates meeting held on Saturday (August 23) in Abuja .

A Spanish police helicopter flying to rescue a mountain climber with a broken ankle crashed on Sunday, killing all three crew members on board, emergency services said. According to AFP, the helicopter's blades struck the side of a mountain close to the Picos de Europa range in the northwestern province of Leon . The aircraft then slid down the rock face, regional emergency services said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the military operation in Gaza will go on until Israel's security goals are reached, reports Xinhua. "We've proven in the last days that there will not be any immunity to those who fire at Israeli citizens," Netanyahu said ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting, held at Tel Aviv's Kirya military headquarters, according to a statement from his office.

Eighteen bodies were found Sunday aboard an inflatable dinghy adrift off Italy , media reported, amid a new surge of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean into Europe, reports AFP . The dinghy, which was reportedly carrying 99 people, began to sink just as a rescue helicopter flew over it, an Italian navy captain told local television.

  A British healthcare worker who contracted the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone is being flown to London for treatment, the Department of Health said on Sunday, reports AFP. Officials said the patient was currently on a military plane en route back to Britain and, while not seriously ill, would be treated at an isolation unit at a London hospital.

Boko Haram's leader said he has created an Islamic caliphate in a northeast Nigeria town seized by the insurgents earlier this month, in a video obtained by AFP on Sunday. "Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate," Abubakar Shekau said in the 52-minute video.

( Nigeria ) The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Rivers State Chapter has again accused the Governor Rotimi Amaechi administration of not keeping its promises to Rivers people and of plot to recall overseas scholarship students. The PDP is reacting to the alleged cries and lamentation of students of the state origin sent to the United Kingdom to study medicine by the State Government through the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency, RSSDA since 2010, who have just been given a marching order by the agency to come home when they are yet to start their medical programme, MBBS, for which scholarship was offered.

The Donetsk People’s Republic has put on display the Ukrainian army’ combat hardware destroyed by self-defense fighters, eyewitnesses said on Sunday, reports Itar-Tass. The exhibits displayed on Lenin Square in the center of Donetsk comprise multiple launch rocket systems, howitzers, infantry and airborne combat vehicles that were used by the Ukrainian army in its military operation in the country’s east and destroyed by local self-defense fighters.

(Nigeria) The Police have begun investigation into the allegation that one policeman attempted to open fire on the Commandant-General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Dr Ade Abolurin. This is contained in a statement by Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu, the Force Public Relations Officer, on Friday in Abuja. It said the NSCDC spokesman, Mr Emmanuel Okeh, made the allegation on Friday, saying the incident occurred in Lagos on Friday. ``The allegation is being investigated by the force and the outcome will be made public soonest. Okeh had alleged that an unnamed police inspector single-handedly made the attempt,’’ the statement said. It quoted Okeh as saying the attempt was made on Abolurin and over 200 members of his committee. The statement said the members included representatives of the Nigerian Army, Economic and Financial Crimres Commision,  EFCC, Independent Corrupt PPractices Commission,  ICPC and Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, among others.

NATO is utterly indifferent to the disastrous humanitarian situation in the southeast of Ukraine and it shows no interest in a prompt settlement of the crisis, Russia’s permanent representative at NATO, Aleksandr Grushko has said, reports Itar-Tass. “There can be just one conclusion. The alliance is completely indifferent to the humanitarian situation in the southeast of the country and by no means interested in an early settlement of the crisis,” he said. “On the contrary, connivance with the Kiev authorities’ criminal suppression of their own people is continuing. It is an absurdity theatre. This is the sole way of assessing statements to this effect by NATO’s Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. “Just imagine,” Grushko said. “NATO‘s secretary-general accuses Russia of sending humanitarian aid to the population of Ukraine’s south-eastern regions. He claims that the humanitarian convoy carrying food and medicines to civilians who are in appalling conditions is a provocation aim

Russia’s United Nations envoy Vitaly Churkin has likened Friday evening’s discussion on the situation in Ukraine to what he described as a Kingdom of Curved Mirrors. He explained he got this impression because some Security Council members looked worried not so much about the humanitarian disaster in the east of the country as the Russian truck convoy that had delivered humanitarian aid to Lugansk. “What was happening in the UN Security Council reminded me of a Kingdom of Curved Mirrors, because some members did not care at all civilians were dying in the east of Ukraine. Nor did they care about the humanitarian disaster there. They were mostly alarmed by Russia’s humanitarian aid being delivered to people in the line of fire,” the diplomat said. According to Itar-Tass, Churkin explained that Russia was keeping in touch with the Ukrainian authorities and hoped that there would be no problems with the delivery of humanitarian aid to its destination. “After that discussion the tensio

( Nigeria ) Many Nigerians from different walks of life on Friday defied the downpour in Enugu to attend the wake-keep of a former Minister of Information, the late Prof. Dora Akunyili. Among these were Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, represented by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Chuks Ugwoke, and the Chief of Staff to the governor, Mrs Ifeoma Nwobodo. Others are the State Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), and members of the state’s Executive Council. Also in attendance were a renowned actor, Mr Pete Edochie, and captains of industry in Enugu State and Anambra. In a sermon, Rev. Fr. Godswill Ibekwe of the Holy Ghost Cathedral in Enugu called on Christians to reflect on their lives to be able to make heaven in the event of death. ``Today, we have come to honour our sister, Prof. Dora Akunyili. She lived a humble, courageous and God-fearing life. ``We pray God to accept her soul in His bosom. We as Christians should reflect

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday said the movement of over 100 Russian aid trucks into Ukrainian territory was a blatant violation of international law, reports Itar-Tass. “The movement of the Russian humanitarian convoy into Ukrainian territory without customs and border control and without being accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross is a blatant violation of international law,” Poroshenko said at a meeting with visiting Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius. “We will do everything we can to ensure this does not lead to more dramatic consequences,” he said. Poroshenko said he had instructed his chief of staff Boris Lozhkin and Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin to contact their Russian counterparts “to tell them about our concern and resolve the issue on the basis of international law”.

All trucks from the Russian humanitarian convoy for southeastern Ukraine’s residents have arrived in the city of Lugansk in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, a city administration spokesman said Friday, reports Itar-Tass. “Unloading of humanitarian cargoes has started. The cargoes will then be distributed among residents,” the spokesman said. He did not rule out that part of the aid will later be sent to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry sent a convoy of 262 trucks with relief supplies for residents of the war-torn southeast of Ukraine on August 12. The cargo contains some 2,000 metric tons of humanitarian aid, including food (grain, sugar, baby food), medications, sleeping bags and portable power generators. When the trucks were on the border, efforts to reach an agreement between Kiev, Moscow and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on specific terms of the convoy’s travel in Ukraine dragged on for

A plane with a group of medics has left Moscow and headed for Guinea to help African countries deal with the Ebola virus disease, EVD, outbreak, the Emergencies Ministry said on Thursday, reports Itar-Tass. Eight Russian epidemiologists, virologists and bacteriologists will go to Guinea later in the day.  Valentin Safronov, head of a specialised anti-epidemic team of the Russian Plague Control Research Institute, said before the departure, “We will be working in shifts, staying there for a maximum of five months overall.”

Two United States missionaries have left a hospital in Atlanta , U.S. after what one of them termed a "miraculous" recovery from the Ebola virus. Dr Kent Brantly and health worker Nancy Writebol had recovered from the virus and posed no public health threat, doctors at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta said on Thursday.

South Africa 's cabinet on Thursday issued a travel ban for non-citizens arriving from Ebola-hit West African countries of Liberia , Sierra Leone and Guinea . South Africa ’s Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said South Africans coming from Guinea , Liberia , Sierra Leone or Nigeria would be questioned and medically examined, if necessary. Also, a spokesman for South Africa 's health ministry, Jo Maila said the travel ban would be in place for as long as necessary.

( Nigeria ) President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday assured Nigerians that his administration will implement the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, promising that its report and delegates’ efforts would not be wasted. Jonathan said at the ceremony to mark the submission of the National Conference Report in Abuja that government’s executive arm would immediately act on those aspects required of it. He also said the other aspects of the recommendations would be sent to the Council of State and the National Assembly for incorporation into the country’s constitution.

Lawyers for three Al Jazeera English staff jailed in Egypt have appealed against their convictions. The case will now be heard before the Court of Cassation, which will examine all the grounds of the appeal during hearing, for which a date has not been set. According to Al-Jazeera, Thursday's announcement by the lawyers for Peter Greste, Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy comes just days after leading human rights lawyer, Amal Alamuddin, demanded the release of the trio, saying the case was an example of how to set up a "kangaroo court".

Funerals have been held for three Hamas commanders killed in the latest round of Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip that left a total of 29 Palestinians dead. According to Al-Jazeera, te al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, said Mohamed Abo Shamaleh, Raed al-Attar and Mohamed Barhoum were killed in an attack in Rafah on Thursday, little more than a day after an attempt on the life of its leader Mohammed Deif.

The crematorium in Liberia 's capital Monrovia is being overwhelmed by the number of dead Ebola victims being brought in, the Red Cross has said, reports Al-Jazeera. Fayah Tamba, the secretary-general of the Liberian division of the charity, said on Thursday workers were having to return corpses to a hospital in the city after being told there was no capacity to cremate all the victims.

(Nigeria ) The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC on Thursday advised motorists and transporters against overloading to reduce the spread of Ebola virus disease. Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen after he received officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW in Abuja.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine for the duration of the humanitarian mission in the region, reports Itar-Tass. A UN spokesperson said this message would be delivered to the Ukrainian authorities by UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman who is currently on a visit to Kiev.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Thursday asked for the government’s permission to call up 10,000 reservists. The reservists will be called up to take part in combat operations and serve in rear-echelon units, Israel’s oldest daily newspaper Haaretz writes.

Britain ’s Department for International Development, DfID and the Wellcome Trust on Thursday in London launched a 6.5 million pounds appeal fund for research on combating the Ebola virus, reports Reuters. Justine Greening, International Development Secretary, challenged experts worldwide to come forward urgently with research proposals leading to more effective ways of managing the current outbreak. He said Ebola outbreak was the worst on record, and controlling the future outbreak of the deadly virus had become imperative.

Militia forces will not target Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, drones but do not rule out that the unmanned aircraft can be destroyed in fighting, a member of the Security Council of the Donetsk People’s Republic said on Thursday, reports Itar-Tass. “We have no intention to shoot down OSCE drones but they are small aircraft, and it is impossible to spot them in the air,” Sergei Kavtaradze said.

The Council of Europe on Thursday expressed concern about the excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators in the American city of Ferguson, Missouri, which has been gripped by mass protests after the killing of a black teenager by police a week ago. According to Itar-Tass, “I am particularly concerned by the reported use of excessive force by the police against peaceful protesters and their arrest, including journalists covering the events, as this undermines the full exercise of human rights, starting with the rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression,” the Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland said.

Saudi Arabia has executed 19 people since August 4, Human Rights Watch stated on Thursday, including eight executed for non-violent offenses, and one for sorcery. The watchdog said more executions were likely planned. Families have expressed fears for loved ones on death row.

Luhansk remains without water and electricity as the Ukrainian army continues to shell the east Ukrainian city, the local administration said on Thursday. According to Itar-Tass, an administrative building of the Luhansk casting and mechanical plant has burned down, and residential buildings have been damaged in the city over the past twenty-four hours, the mayor’s office said.

The United States of America “attempted a rescue operation recently to free a number of American hostages held in Syria”, the Pentagon said in a statement. It said the operation “involved air and ground components and was focused on a particular captor network within ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – former name of the Islamic State group)”. “Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location,” the Pentagon said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will sign a decree to dissolve the country's parliament Verkhovna Rada, next week, presidential adviser Oleg Medvedev said live on Liberty Radio without specifying the exact date of the step. A 30-day deadline to create a new coalition is about to expire and “the Ukrainian president has lawful grounds to dissolve the parliament,” he said.

Russian researches and their counterparts abroad hope to finalize work on a vaccine for the so far incurable Ebola virus shortly, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said Thursday, reports Itar-Tass. She said a team of representatives of Russia’s sanitary and consumer rights supervision agency, Rospotrebnadzor, and the nation’s best virologists were leaving for Guinea Thursday “to join scientists from other countries who are developing a new preparation, which will help curb the new disease that has, unfortunately, been identified.”

The Rivers State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has expressed shock that Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s Health Commissioner, Dr Sampson Parker was still deceiving Rivers people over the precarious issue of the proposed Karibi Whyte Mega Hospital, which does not exist anywhere. Reacting to Dr Parker’s alleged false claim that the Hospital project is on course following the startling disclosure of the sharp practices surrounding the botched hospital project by the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, PDP in a statement by Jerry Needam, Special Adviser on Media to the state Chairman, Prince Felix Obuah in Port Harcourt on Thursday,  insisted on the minister’s allegation that the hospital project was a big fraud.