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General news

Mothers want reports of panels on police brutality implemented speedily

 

Mothers want reports of panels on police brutality implemented speedily

By Isaac Aregbesola

Implementation

Abuja, Dec 30, 2020 (NAN) Mothers United and Mobilised (M.U.M.), an NGO, has called on the Federal and state governments to ensure speedy implementation of the reports of the various panels of enquiry on police brutality and related matters.

M.U.M. is a coalition of Nigerian mothers from all walks of life, ethnic and religious groups based in Nigeria and Diaspora.

Dr Boluwaji Onabolu, Convener of M.U.M., made the call at a media parley on Wednesday in Abuja.

Onabolu commended the states and Federal Government for setting up panels of enquiry into the police brutality and in particular the Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS).

According to her, the measure, however, must not stop at the fact findings but must facilitate dialogue, ensure accountability and redress.

“The findings of the panels of presidential and state panels of enquiry must be released and implemented with substantial involvement of the civil society organisations at all stages.

“More visible concrete steps should be taken towards police reform, to stop the continuous perpetration of the human rights violations that led to the #EndSARS protests.

“Redress for the numerous victims which include the #EndSARS protesters, policemen and other bystanders,” she said.

The group also, in a petition to the National Human Rights Commission, The Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and UN, said the findings of the panels must be made public.

Onabolu, in a copy of the petition signed by some mothers across the country and made available to newsmen, said that the mothers wanted those found guilty by the panels be held accountable.

“We reiterate our commitment to stand with the youths of Nigeria, our children who protested peacefully against the brutality of the police and in particular SARS,” she said.

According to her, the mothers want justice in all the petitions at the various panels across the country.

She said that the group, among other things, requested that the findings of the panels be implemented transparently.

“An immediate order to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reverse and halt the freezing of accounts of protesters and their supporters.

“An immediate cease and desist to government agencies to halt the unlawful detention, hunting and persecution of the #EndSARS protesters.

“Establishment of a funding mechanism to assist the victims, protesters and policy alike as well as granting of observer status to M.U.M. on the various panels,” she said

According to her, the group also requested that the youths should be given a voice and a platform to dialogue with the government on various issues they were agitating about.

She said that the group also requested partnership with similar organisations to mediate dialogue between the youth and government towards police reform and other critical issues that affect the realisation of the human rights of youths in Nigeria to survive, thrive and participate.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that M.U.M. had earlier donated N100,000 to a widow, Omobolanle Bakare, whose husband was killed by stray bullets during the EndSARS protests in Lagos.

The deceased, Rasheed Kareem, a 42-year-old car dealer, was hit by stray bullets and died on the spot at Stadium Hotel area in Surulere, Lagos during the EndSARS protest. (NAN)

IAA/WOJ

Edited by Wale Ojetimi

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Representatives of Mothers United & Mobilised (MUM), an NGO, Pat Marcus-Jinadu (Left) in presenting a cheque to support Omobolanle Bakare, (Middle) whose husband, Kareem Rasheed, was killed by stray bullet during the EndSARS protest in Lagos. With them is Mrs Tessy Ayo-Ajakaiye (Right) on Wednesday

 

 

Foreign

Storm wreaks havoc across France, Britain

Storm wreaks havoc across France, Britain

Storm

London/Paris, Dec. 27, 2020 (dpa/NAN) A major storm swept across Britain and into northern France on Sunday, leaving thousands of households without power.

Around 18,000 households in northern France are without electricity, with coastal regions of Brittany and Normandy worst affected, the AFP news agency reported, citing the network operator Enedis.

The weather service Meteo France warned of strong gusts and high waves on the Atlantic coast, while the prefecture of the department of Manche on the English Channel urged caution due to the strong winds.

Gusts of up to 145 kilometres per hour (km/h) were measured at the top of the Paris Eiffel Tower.

Earlier, the storm, which has been named Bella by meterologists, hit large parts of Britain with heavy rainfall and wind speeds of up to 112 km/h.

More than 100 flood warnings remained in place across the country on Sunday.

Houses were flooded in parts of Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire in eastern England.

Across south-eastern England, more than 1,300 people had been advised to leave their homes over the Christmas period.

On the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, wind speeds of 170 km/h were measured overnight. The ongoing storm could cause rivers to rise further, experts warn. (dpa/NAN)

IAA

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

General news

Hundreds of Syrian refugees displaced after camp set ablaze

Hundreds of Syrian refugees displaced after camp set ablaze

Refugees

Cairo/Damascus Dec. 27, 2020 (dpa/NAN) Hundreds of Syrian refugees in Lebanon have been displaced after their camp was set on fire, Lebanese media and a watchdog reported on Sunday.

The incident took place in the area of Minieh in northern Lebanon following a fight between a local family and Syrian workers living in the tent camp on Saturday night, Lebanon’s state news agency NNA said.

Three people were injured in the fight, NNA reported without specifying the cause of the dispute.

Lebanese youth then torched dozens of tents at the site, forcing hundreds of residents to flee for safety, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Gas cylinders were heard exploding at the camp, Lebanese newspaper Annahar reported.

It took firefighters about four hours to put out the blaze, Lebanon’s civil defence said.

One person was hospitalized after suffering breathing problems as a result of the heavy smoke caused by the fire, it tweeted.

The Lebanese army said it had arrested an unspecified number of Lebanese citizens and six Syrians in connection with the incident.

It started with a “personal dispute” between a group of young Lebanese and Syrian workers, the army added in a statement.

The Lebanese then began shooting weapons into the air and set the camp alight, according to the statement.

Images carried by Lebanese media showed the site widely scarred by the fire. Some refugees gathered there to inspect their belongings.

The attack drew condemnation in Lebanon.

The country’s top Sunni Muslim cleric, Mufti Abdel-Latif Derian, called the torching a “heinous crime.”

He called on authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“The Syrian refugees in Lebanon are guests. We have to assist them until they return to their homeland,” Derian added.

A Syrian government official voiced “extreme regret” over the arson and called on Syrian refugees to return home.

“Syria expresses extreme regret over the fire to which the Syrian refugee camp was subjected, and urges the Lebanese judiciary and other Lebanese agencies to shoulder their responsibilities in handling the incident and ensuring protection for the refugees,” an unnamed official at the Foreign Ministry said.

“Syria renews the call for Syrian citizens, who were forced to leave the country because of the unjust war on Syria, to return to the homeland,” the official said.

An estimated 1 million Syrian refugees have fled their war-torn homeland to neighbouring Lebanon since 2011.

Most of them live in scattered, informal camps.(dpa/NAN)

IAA

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Foreign

Police arrest 5 for throwing illegal parties in Paris

Police arrest 5 for throwing illegal parties in Paris

Arrest

Paris, Dec. 27, 2020 (dpa/NAN) Five people suspected of organising illegal parties during the coronavirus pandemic have been arrested by police in Paris, authorities said on Sunday.

The suspects are accused of putting others in danger, according to a statement.

Officers cleared gatherings in a number of districts in the French capital over the weekend, as well as in the Tremblay-en-France suburb near the Charles de Gaulle airport.

In total, 93 partygoers received warnings after attending various events flouting coronavirus rules. Such warnings usually come with a fine.

France relaxed some of its restrictions in mid-December, although night-time rules remain in place, banning people from leaving their homes without good reason from 8 pm until 6 am.(dpa/NAN)

IAA

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Foreign

Egyptian delegation visits Tripoli, meets Libyan officials

Egyptian delegation visits Tripoli, meets Libyan officials

Visit

Cairo, Dec. 27, 2020 (dpa/NAN)An Egyptian delegation arrived in Tripoli on Sunday for talks with the Interior Minister of Libya’s UN-recognised government Fathi Bashagha, in the first such visit by Egyptian officials to the Libyan capital since 2014.

A statement by the Libyan Interior Ministry said the meeting was attended by Libyan intelligence chief Emad al-Trabelsi, with the two sides discussing joint security challenges and efforts to boost cooperation.

The talks also tackled ways to uphold the October ceasefire and the conclusions reached by a 5+5 military commission – consisting of five officers representing each side – to back UN efforts for political dialogue and a peaceful resolution to the current crisis.

Libya has been in turmoil since long-time ruler Moamer Gaddafi was toppled in 2011. The country became a proxy battleground for rival forces and foreign powers have been drawn into the conflict.

The oil-rich country has two main competing administrations: the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, and a government based in the eastern city of Tobruk, allied with military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who leads forces in the country’s east.

Egypt, along with the United Arab Emirates and Russia, has been a backer of Haftar’s forces.

On October 23, the two warring sides signed a country-wide ceasefire agreement in Geneva.(dpa/NAN)

IAA

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

General news

U.S. executes second inmate at federal prison in 2 days

U.S. executes second inmate at federal prison in 2 days

Execution

Washington, Dec. 12, 2020 (dpa/NAN) The Federal Government of outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump allowed the execution on Friday of a man convicted of murder, the second of it within two days.

Alfred Bourgeois, 56, died by lethal injection on Friday evening at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, according to media reports.

In 2004 he was found guilty of abusing, torturing and killing his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

On Thursday, 40-year-old Brandon Bernard died by lethal injection, also at the Correctional Complex in Terre Haute.

Bernard was arrested for a double murder committed as an 18-year-old gang member and sentenced to death by a jury.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West expressed strong opposition to him receiving the death penalty.

The U.S. Supreme Court had rejected a motion to stay the execution of Bernard on Thursday evening.

The U.S. Justice Department is planning several federal executions of convicted criminals before president-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20.

Biden, a Democrat, rejects the death penalty. Trump, a Republican, enforced the reintroduction of executions at the federal level.

While many U.S. states enforce the death penalty there have been no federal executions since 2003. Since then, federal courts have continued to hand down the death penalty, but it has not been carried out until recently.

The Department of Justice resumed executions in July after a 17-year hiatus on the federal level.(dpa/NAN)

IAA

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Foreign

Experts crack Serial killer’s code 51 years after

Experts crack Serial killer’s code 51 years after being sent to U.S. paper

Code

New York, Dec. 12, 2020 (tca/dpa/NAN) A coded message sent by the Zodiac Killer to The San Francisco Chronicle in 1969 has finally been cracked, the newspaper reported on Friday.

A team of code breakers solved the vexing cryptogram after 51 years, opening a window into the mind of the still unidentified serial killer thought to have murdered at least five people in the Bay Area from December 1968 to October 1969.

The puzzle, known as the 340 Cipher, was solved by a sleuthing team with members in the U.S., Australia and Belgium, The Chronicle reported.

“I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me,” the chilling message says.

“I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradise all the sooner because I now have enough slaves to work for me,” it stated.

Many hoped the long-standing stumper would reveal the killer’s name, but it does not.

“Last weekend, a team I’m on solved the 340 and submitted it to the FBI,” code-breaking expert David Oranchak said in an email to The Chronicle Friday.

“They have confirmed the solution. No joke! This is the real deal.”

A spokesperson for the FBI’s San Francisco office said Oranchak’s claim was accurate.

“The FBI is aware that a cipher attributed to the Zodiac Killer was recently solved by private citizens.

“The Zodiac Killer case remains an ongoing investigation for the FBI San Francisco division and our local law enforcement partners,” the spokesperson, Cameron Polan, said.

“The Zodiac Killer terrorized multiple communities across northern California and, even though decades have gone by, we continue to seek justice for the victims of these brutal crimes,” she said.

“Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, and out of respect for the victims and their families, we will not be providing further comment at this time,” Polan said.

The 340 Cipher is the second Zodiac cipher to be solved.

The first one — a long message broken into pieces sent to The Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald in 1969 — was previously cracked by a high school history teacher from Salinas, California, and his wife. (tca/dpa/NAN)

IAA

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Foreign

U.S. judge whose son was killed by gunman speaks out

Gunman

New York, Aug. 3, 2020 (tca/dpa/NAN) A U.S. Federal Judge whose son was killed and husband wounded by a gunman disguised as a FedEx driver detailed her last moments with her only child in an emotional video posted online.

“Two weeks ago, my life as I knew it changed in an instant and my family will never be the same,” United States District Judge Esther Salas said in the video posted to YouTube on Monday.

The attack on Salas’ family in New Jersey happened July 19. The accused gunman, attorney Roy Den Hollander, was later found dead in an apparent suicide in upstate New York.

He is described as an anti-feminist lawyer, and officials said Salas had recently presided over one of his cases.

That morning the Salas family was getting ready to clean up after a party. They had just celebrated her son’s 20th birthday.

“Daniel always wanted to spend his birthdays with his dad and me so he asked that we host a party for a few of his Catholic University of America friends,” she says in the video.

Despite the pandemic, they agreed.

“We thought we could adhere to safety guidelines,” she says.

After going to church with her husband, Salas said she went alone to the basement to wake up her son.

“We were chatting, as we always do, and Daniel said, ‘Mom, let’s keep talking. I love talking to you, Mom,'” Salas says, struggling to hold back tears. “And it was at that exact moment that the doorbell rang.”

Her son ran upstairs. Moments later, she heard gunshots and screams.

“I later learned that this monster, who had a FedEx package in his hand, opened fire,” she says in the video, her voice shaking.

“But Daniel, being Daniel, protected his father and he took the shooter’s first bullet directly to the chest.”

Her son later died. Her husband, Mark Anderl, a 63-year-old criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor, was shot three times, she explains. One bullet struck his chest, another his stomach, and the third his right forearm.

“While my husband is still in the hospital recovering from his multiple surgeries, we are living every parent’s worst nightmare,” she pauses for a moment, before adding: “Making preparations to bury our only child, Daniel.”

Salas noted that the gunman was easily able to find her personal information online. She then pleads for lawmakers to help protect the private details of federal judges, so no one else suffers the same fate as she and her family.

“My son’s death cannot be in vain, which is why I am begging those in power to do something to help my brothers and sisters on the bench,” she says. (tca/dpa/NAN)

IAA

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Foreign

Insect can escape after being eaten by frog, scientists find

Frog

Tokyo, Aug. 3, 2020 (dpa/NAN) The insect Regimbartia attenuata can escape even after being devoured by certain species of frog, among them Pelophylax nigromaculatus, Japanese ecologist Shinji Sugiura of Kobe University announced on Monday.

Like other kinds of frog, Pelophylax nigromaculatus’ lack of teeth makes it unable to kill the insect before eating it. This is done instead by the digestive tract.

But that mostly doesn’t work with Regimbartia attenuata, which, Sugiura says, stimulates the frog to defecate and, like Tim Robbins’ wrongly imprisoned Andy Dufresne in 1994 film “The Shawshank Redemption,” crawls through a river of excrement to its freedom.

It’s the first time that the flight of prey after consumption has been documented scientifically, according to researchers from the magazine Current Biology.

The aforementioned insect and frog are found in the same paddy fields in Japan. To investigate the insect’s capacity for self-defence, Sugiura fed it to young and adult frogs.

The frogs made light work of chowing down the insects. But, within six hours, 93.3 per cent of the impudent invertebrates had come out the other end – and all were as chirpy as ever after their improbable journey.

The insect apparently moves from the frog’s digestive tract to its intended exit at the anus, researchers said. Pressure from the frog’s sphincter keeps its anus closed, prompting the insect to stimulate the frog’s intestine.

This causes the sphincter to relax and allows the insect to take a triumphant log ride to freedom on the frog’s stool.

Researchers observed the same thing happen after consumption of the insect to four other species of frog: Pelophylax porosus, Glandirana rugosa, Fejervarya kawamurai und Hyla japonica. (dpa/NAN)

IAA

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Foreign

Missing sailors found in Micronesia thanks to SOS written in sand

Sailor

Canberra, Aug. 3, 2020 (dpa/NAN) Three missing sailors have been found on a tiny island in the western Pacific after they wrote an outsized SOS in the sand that was spotted from the air, according to a statement by Australia’s Defence Ministry.

The men were found on Sunday after they had been missing for three days and media reports say they are in good health.

Their call for help, written on the beach of Pikelot Island, 190 km west of where they had set out, was seen by Australian and U.S. aircraft, the statement said.

A ship, the HMAS Canberra, headed to the sailors’ aid and a helicopter landed on the beach, bringing water and food for the men and carrying out identity and health checks.

The men were reportedly sailing between the atolls Poluwat and Pulap, a journey of 42 km, when they veered off course and ran out of fuel.

Pikelot Island, which is only 450 metres long, is part of the Caroline Islands, a scattered archipelago in the western Pacific.

A Micronesian patrol vessel, FSS Independence, is heading to the island to pick up the men.(dpa/NAN)

IAA

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola