Boko Haram: Military to Conduct Verification of Retiree IDPs in Adamawa State

Source: THISDAY LIVE


The Military Pensions Board (MPB) has concluded arrangements to conduct a verification of military retirees displaced by the Boko Haram terrorist insurgency in Adamawa State.
This was disclosed Friday in a statement signed on behalf of Chairman, MPB, by Lt-Com. Samuel Odunsi, who said that the military will do everything to ensure that those pensioners displaced  by the terrorism in part of the North East would be accommodated.

Syria truce comes into effect but Aleppo excluded

Source: ALJAZEERA

The Syrian government has called local truces near Damascus and in the northern province of Latakia but has excluded the main battlefield in Aleppo.
A new "regime of calm" began at 1am on Saturday and is scheduled to last one day in the capital's eastern Ghouta suburb and three days in the northern countryside of the coastal province of Latakia, the army said in a statement.
By excluding the city of Aleppo, scene of the worst recent violence, the narrow truces were unlikely to resurrect a ceasefire and peace talks that have collapsed this week.
The surge in fighting in the city - home to more than two million people - showed "monstrous disregard" for civilian lives, the United Nations said.

China denies Hong Kong visit request by US carrier group: Pentagon

Source: CHANNEL NEWSASIA

WASHINGTON/HONGKONG: China has denied a request for a U.S. carrier strike group led by the USS John C. Stennis to visit to Hong Kong, the U.S. Defense Department said on Friday, amid heightened tensions over China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.
A Pentagon spokesman, Commander Bill Urban, said a U.S. warship, the USS Blue Ridge, was currently in Hong Kong on a port visit and the United States expected that to continue.
Urban said the request for the Hong Kong visit by the carrier and its accompanying vessels, which have been patrolling the South China Sea, was recently denied, despite a "long track record of successful port visits to Hong Kong."

Only 4% Indians filed tax returns in 2015-16, reveals govt's data

NEW DELHI: There are just over 10 lakh income tax assesses in India declaring income in excess of Rs 10 lakh a year, data released by the government showed.

There were less than 20,000 assesses in 2012-13 declaring income in excess of a Rs 1 crore a year. Of the 3.1 crore returns filed in the year, maximum 20 lakh were in the tax bracket Rs 5.5-9.5 lakh.

The Income Tax Department has released Time Series Data for Financial Year 2000-01 to 2014-15 to encourage wider use and analysis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was a "landmark" decision to publish income tax data.

Kremlin Calls Attack on Human Rights Event 'Hooliganism'

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

The Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called an attack on a human rights event by nationalist activists “hooliganism,” the TASS news agency reported Friday.
“It is hooliganism, it is a disgrace,” Peskov said. “Those, who hide behind the St. George ribbon, discredit it.” He stressed that it was “absolutely unacceptable,” Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.

It sounds crazy, but 'sell in May and go away' is good advice

Source: CNBC

Rhyming couplets can rarely be expected to serve as sound investment advice. But "sell in May and go away" may be a prominent exception.
"This old saying was proposed in the past … and it actually wasn't looked at until probably the late '90s. We looked at it, and indeed, it is persistent and it's economically just as strong as it was then," University of Miami associate professor Michael Fuerst told CNBC's "Trading Nation" this week.
Fuerst, along with fellow University of Miami professors Sandro Andrade and Vidhi Chhaochharia, reported in a 2012 paper that stock returns were 10 percent higher in the November-to-April half of the year than in the May-to-October period.

Anti-Trump protests break out for second day in California

Source: REUTERS



Protests erupted in California for the second day in a row on Friday against U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, who is moving closer to winning the Republican nomination after a string of victories this week.
The billionaire businessman was forced to halt his motorcade and go through a back entrance to a hotel to give a speech to the California Republican convention and avoid several hundred loud protesters gathered outside.
"That was not the easiest entrance I've ever made," Trump told the gathering in Burlingame, south of San Francisco, after weaving around a barrier and clambering across a road to get to the venue. "It felt like I was crossing the border actually."

Kenya flooding: Search for building collapse victims

Source: BBC

Rescuers in the Kenyan capital Nairobi are searching for dozens of people feared trapped after the collapse of a six-storey building in heavy rain.

TV coverage from the scene showed a crowd gathering at the Huruma residential estate as rescuers dug for survivors. At least three people are known to have died.
The Red Cross criticised "chaotic scenes" as rescuers arrived.
It is unclear how many people are trapped beneath six floors of concrete.
The rainfall in addition has caused landslides, washed away houses and flooded roads.

 
 

The Huruma neighbourhood is a poor district on the outskirts of Nairobi made up of narrow streets, meaning firefighters struggled to get to the scene and were delayed by large crowds.
After some time, the army took charge of the rescue - with the help of the Kenyan Red Cross.
"We can still hear voices of people who are still inside," Red Cross spokesman Venant Ndigila said.
"[So far] we [have] managed again to rescue at least 12 people - and there are signs that there are still some people who are still alive."

NEW DELHI: More tigers killed so far this year than in all of 2015: Census

 Source: TIMES OF INDIA

NEW DELHI: More tigers have been killed already this year than in the whole of 2015, a census showed Friday, raising doubts about India's anti-poaching efforts.

The Wildlife Protection Society of India said 28 tigers had been poached by April 26, three more than all of last year.

Did Putin just create his own ‘personal’ army?

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

Russian President Vladimir Putin could be forging a "personal" army to deal with rising domestic tensions, according to analysts who have been watching an overhaul of the country's security services.

Executive orders published by the Kremlin this month proposed the creation of a new National Guard, which will be led by Putin's former bodyguard, Viktor Zolotov, who would report directly to the president himself.
The guard will draw on internal troops from the country's interior ministry, and has been described by Russian media as a major reorganization of the country's security services.

Alexander Nemenov | AFP | Getty Images

Kremlin documents say the new body will serve in part as a counter terrorism force and ensure national and public security, as well as guard governmental facilities and protect state borders. It is also expected to help enforce any state of emergency and "carry out other relevant tasks."

North Korea sentences Korean American to 10 years hard labor

Source: REUTERS


North Korea's Supreme Court on Friday sentenced a Korean American man to 10 years of hard labor for subversion, North Korean media reported, in the latest conviction of a foreigner for crimes against the isolated state.
Kim Dong Chul, 62, was arrested in North Korea in October and had admitted to committing "unpardonable espionage" including stealing military secrets, the North's official KCNA news agency reported earlier.

African leaders meet for Giants Club elephant summit

Source: BBC

African leaders are to meet in Kenya to discuss how to save the continent's elephants from extinction.

The inaugural summit of the so-called Giants Club will be led by the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
As well as heads of state, the conservation group will bring together business leaders and scientists.
Experts say Africa's elephant population has fallen by 90% over the past century and warn that the animal could be extinct within decades.
Among those expected to attend the summit are Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and President Ali Bongo from the west African nation of Gabon.
The war on elephants

Finally Buhari Orders Security Chiefs to Apprehend Marauding Herdsmen

Source: THISDAY LIVE

Tobi Soniyi, Omololu Ogunmade, Adebiyi Adedapo in Abuja and Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu
Following the outrage that followed the attack on the Ukpabi Nimbo community in Enugu State on Monday leading to the deaths of scores of people, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday finally broke his silence on the rising waves of attacks by unknown cattle rearers in different parts of the country.

He ordered the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Solomon Arase, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, and the Department of State Services (DSS) to fish out the herdsmen who terrorise and kill innocent Nigerians.

China won't allow chaos or war on Korean peninsula: Xi

Source: CHANNEL NEWSASIA

BEIJING: China will not allow chaos and war to break out on the Korean peninsula, which would be to no one's advantage, Chinese President Xi Jinping told a group of Asian foreign ministers on Thursday.
North Korea's drive to develop a nuclear weapons capability, in defiance of U.N. resolutions, has angered China and raised tension in the region.
"As a close neighbour of the peninsula, we will absolutely not permit war or chaos on the peninsula. This situation would not benefit anyone," Xi said in a speech to a Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia.
North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed that with tests of various missiles that could deliver such a weapon.

LATUR SHUT ON DRAUGHT

Source: TIMES OF INDIA

LATUR: Mahesh Malang had a flourishing business in Latur. His three steel plants worth Rs 100 crore produced 300 tonnes of steel a day and had a 1,700-strong workforce. But that was until 2011. Today, all workers have left and the plants have shut because there is no water.

Malang was already struggling to compete with Chinese products till eight months ago. But he shut shop after it became difficult to afford 3 lakh litres of water daily. A tanker with 5,000-6,000 litres of water would cost around Rs 1,000.

Hospital hit in Syria as UN warns talks unravelling

Source: ALJAZEERA

At least 16 people have been killed in a Syrian government air strike on a hospital in the city of Aleppo as the UN warned that a delicate ceasefire was crumbling.
The attack on the Al Quds hospital on Wednesday evening killed several medical staff and other civilians, including Dr Wasem Maaz, one of the last remaining pediatricians in the rebel-held part of the city.

AliExpress First Foreign Company to Accept Russia's Mir Payment Cards

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

Chinese online retail giant AliExpress will be the first foreign company to accept Russia's national card payment system, the Vedomosti newspaper reported Wednesday.
Customers will be able to pay for purchases on AliExpress with Mir bank cards starting next fall, Vedomosti reported.
The Mir card payment system was created by the Russian Central Bank to cut reliance on US-based firms Visa and MasterCard. Both companies cut ties with a number of Russian banks subject to US sanctions in 2014.

Japanese economy continues to recover, BoJ says

Source: CNBC

Our live blog is tracking market reactions after the BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the Japanese economy is continuing modest recovery. The yen soared against the dollar after the BoJ decided to keep its monetary policy steady.

Cape Verde 'shooter' found after manhunt

Source: BBC

A soldier suspected of killing 11 people at a military barracks in Cape Verde has been arrested after a 24-hour manhunt, the authorities say.

The government of the islands off the north-west of Africa believes "personal motives" led to the shootings.
The deaths were not an attempted coup or connected to the drugs trade, it said.
The victims included eight soldiers and three civilians, two of whom were Spanish nationals.

Facebook revenue smashes expectations as mobile ad sales surge

Source:  REUTERS

Facebook Inc's (FB.O) quarterly revenue rose more than 50 percent, handily beating Wall Street expectations as its wildly popular mobile app and a push into live video lured new advertisers and encouraged existing ones to boost spending.
The company's shares rose 9.5 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday to $118.39, setting it on track to open at a new high on Thursday, at nearly triple its initial public offering four years ago.
Facebook also announced it will create a new class of non-voting shares in a move aimed at letting Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg give away his wealth without relinquishing control of the social media juggernaut he founded.

Apple's 9-year iPhone juggernaut stops with first sales decline

 Source: TIMES OF INDIA

Apple Inc on Tuesday posted its first-ever decline in iPhone sales and its first revenue drop in 13 years as the company credited with inventing the smartphone struggles with an increasingly saturated market.

The company's sales dropped by more than a quarter in China, its most important market after the United States, and it also forecast another disappointing quarter for global revenues.

Canada PM Trudeau says no to ransoms

• PHOTOS

 

Source: CHANNEL NEWSASIA

 

OTTAWA: Canada will not pay ransoms for the release of its citizens held hostage overseas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday (Apr 26) after the gruesome killing of a Canadian in the Philippines.
"Canada does not and will not pay ransom to terrorists, directly or indirectly," Trudeau said, vowing instead to hunt down and prosecute hostage-takers.
His comments come after Trudeau delivered the grim news on Monday that Canadian John Ridsdel had been killed by his captors - the Abu Sayyaf militant group - in the Philippines. Efforts, however, were continuing to try to secure the release of three others, including another Canadian national, he said.

UN rejects Israel's claim over Syria's Golan Heights

Source: ALJAZEERA


The UN Security Council has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that the annexed Golan Heights in Syria would "forever" remain under Israeli control.
The 15-member council agreed on Tuesday that the status of the Golan, which Israel seized from Syria in 1967, "remains unchanged," Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi, who holds this month's council presidency said.

Muscovites Relieved as Shawarmageddon Averted

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

Fans of Moscow street food can breathe a sigh of relief as city authorities have denied that there are plans to remove stalls selling shawarma [kebabs] from the city's streets.
The capital's trade department head Alexei Nemeryuk, said that a statement about the fast food kiosks that he made in the interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper was misinterpreted due to “technical problems.”

Asia mixed; Aussie dollar drops over 1% after inflation unexpectedly drops

Source: CNBC

Asia markets were mixed in morning trade on Wednesday, ahead of key central bank decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand this week.
Australia's benchmark ASX 200 was up 1.07 percent, led by advances in the financials, energy and materials sub-indexes. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 initially advanced 0.25 percent before giving up gains to trade down 0.53 percent, while across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was down 0.13 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was flat, while Taiwan's Taiex dropped 0.06 percent.
Chinese mainland markets were higher, with the Shanghai composite up 0.21 percent and the Shenzhen composite adding 0.46 percent.

US election 2016: Trump and Clinton clinch more wins

Source: BBC

Donald Trump has won presidential primaries in all five north-eastern US states voting for their nominee while Hillary Clinton is top in three, US media project.

Mr Trump looks set to cement his lead in the Republican race with victories in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
For the Democrats, Mrs Clinton has won three states and Bernie Sanders one.
Mr Trump's rivals have already shifted their attention to upcoming states.
Ted Cruz and John Kasich have teamed up to help each other in the Indiana, Oregon and New Mexico primaries.
Mr Trump has condemned their pact as a sign of weakness and desperation.

South Sudan rebel chief Riek Machar sworn in as vice-president

Source: BBC

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar has been sworn in as vice-president in a boost for a peace deal aimed at ending more than two years of conflict.

He returned earlier to the capital, Juba, to take the post in a new unity government led by President Salva Kiir.
Tens of thousands have been killed and about two million people left homeless in the conflict in South Sudan, which became independent in 2011.
Mr Machar fled Juba at the start of the civil war in December 2013.

Oil hits 2016 high after U.S. crude draw report, gasoline rally

Source: REUTERS


Crude oil prices hit 2016 highs on Tuesday on the back of a rally in the gasoline market and after an industry group reported a surprise draw in U.S. crude stockpiles.
Brent and U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures finished regular trading about 3 percent higher, riding on the coattails of a gasoline rally that hit August highs after a series of refinery hikes.

NIGERIA: Activities of Fulani Herdsmen Threaten Peaceful Co-Existence, Says Emir of Ilorin

Source: THISDAY LIVE

The Kwara state chairman of Traditional Council and Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, on Tuesday declared that, the current activities of Fulani herdsmen in some parts of the country was a serious threat to the corporate and peaceful existence of the nation.

He however charged the federal government to put in all efforts to curtail the activities of Fulani herdsmen in the country.

Speaking in Ilorin, the state capital, while receiving the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, and his entourage at his palace, Oja- Oba, Ilorin, Alhaji Gambari said that there was need for the federal government to take urgent step to address the issue before it gets out hand so as not to degenerate into the current full blown Boko Haram activities.

Six Turkish sailors abducted off Nigeria released

Source:GUARDIAN NIGERIA

Six Turkish sailors kidnapped early this month from aboard their vessel off the coast of Nigeria have been released unhurt, a maritime consultancy firm said on Tuesday.
Pirates attacked the merchant tanker used for crude oil operations on April 11 while it was steaming through the oil-rich Niger Delta and seized the sailors, including the captain.
Dirk Steffen, director of maritime security at the Denmark-based Risk Intelligence firm, told AFP the abducted men had been freed and that they were in “good health”.
He did not say whether ransom had been paid before the sailors were released in a region increasingly hit by piracy.

Two gay rights activists hacked to death in Bangladesh

Source: ALJAZEERA

Two people, including the editor of a magazine for the transgender community, have been hacked to death in the capital of Bangladesh.
A third person, a security guard at the apartment building where the killings took place, was seriously wounded in Monday's attack in Dhaka, in which six attackers murdered Julhas Mannan and Tanay Mojumdar.
Mannan was the editor of Rupban, the only LGBT magazine in the country.
"Unidentified attackers entered an apartment at Kalabagan and hacked two people to death," Maruf Hossain Sarder, a Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman, told the AFP news agency.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Hasina vowed to hunt down and prosecute those responsible.
She accused the country's opposition party and what she called allied armed groups of being behind the killings. The opposition has denied the allegations.

BP runs up first-quarter pretax loss of $865M

Source: CNBC

Oil major BP reported a pretax loss of $865 million in the first quarter of 2016 as low oil prices continue to plague the company.
First-quarter replacement cost loss came in at $485 million, compared with a profit of $2.1 billion a year ago. The replacement cost loss came in well above expectations of $140 million in a poll of analysts provided by the company.
Replacement cost profit is a common accounting measure to report profits in the oil industry which takes into account the fluctuations in the price of oil. Oil prices have seen something of a rebound since BP's last earnings when a barrel was trading around $33 with Brent crude now fetching around $44 a barrel but there is no sign of major producers curtailing output in a bid to support prices further.
In a statement accompanying the results, BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said that despite the challenging environment, the company was "driving towards our near-term goal of rebalancing BP's cash flows. Operational performance is strong and our work to reset costs has considerable momentum and is delivering results.

Mitsubishi Motors admits cheating fuel tests since 1991

Source: BBC

Mitsubishi Motors has admitted using improper fuel tests since 1991.

The admission follows last week's revelation that it had falsified fuel economy data for more than 600,000 vehicles sold in Japan.
Tetsuro Aikawa, its president, said an investigation was continuing, suggesting that more irregularities might be found.
So much remained unknown that it was uncertain how the company would react, he said.
It was not clear how many cars were affected.

Sudan's Darfur votes to retain multi-state system

Source: BBC


More than 97% of voters in a referendum chose to remain as five states rather than form a single region, it said.
The vote was boycotted by major rebel and opposition groups which say a united region would have more autonomy.
The referendum was part of a peace process to end 13 years of conflict that has left 300,000 people dead.
Ahead of the vote, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes charges related to Darfur, said it would be a free and fair poll.
However, the US state department warned that the referendum could not be considered credible "under current rules and conditions".

North Korea to halt nuke tests if US stops drills

Source; CNBC

North Korea is ready to halt its nuclear tests if the United States suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea, the North Korean foreign minister told The Associated Press in an interview in which he also warned that his country won't be cowed by international sanctions.
Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong defended the country's right to maintain a nuclear deterrent, and for those waiting for the North's regime to collapse, he had this to say: Don't hold your breath.
"Stop the nuclear war exercises in the Korean Peninsula, then we should also cease our nuclear tests," he said in his first interview Saturday with a Western news organization.

Equatorial Guinea election: Incumbent expected to win

Source: ALJAZEERA

Citizens of Equatorial Guinea are heading to the polls in a vote expected to hand the incumbent president, Africa's longest serving leader, another seven-year term in office.
The country's opposition leaders and international civil society groups have already dismissed Sunday's vote as "not credible"
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo faces six mostly unknown opponents, with most of the opposition boycotting the poll.
Obiang, who has ruled Equatorial Guinea for nearly 37 years after overthrowing his uncle in a coup, is accused of presiding over one of the world's most corrupt and repressive governments.
Critics accuse the 73-year-old of failing to distribute the country's oil wealth to the population of about 700,000.

Reports of Russia Firing at Israeli Planes 'Far From Reality' - Kremlin

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

The Kremlin has denounced reports of Russian jets firing on Israeli planes in Syria, the RBC news website reported Friday.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the claims were “far from reality.”
Earlier on Friday, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Russian fighters in Syria had fired on Israeli warplanes on two occasions. The paper didn't specify when or where in Syria the incidents allegedly took place.
The alleged shooting incidents were discussed by Israeli and Russian leaders during the visit of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to Moscow on March 15, the RBC newspaper reported, citing the original Israeli reports. At that time, Putin told Rivlin that he wasn't aware of the incident, the report said.

US shale could drive prices after Doha disaster

Source: CNBC

U.S. shale drillers created the world's oil glut, and now they could be the biggest force in ending it.
With the failure of OPEC and other major oil-producing nations to reach a deal to cap output, focus shifts to the U.S. industry's role as a relatively new "swing producer."
"The U.S. has always been a factor. ... It will remain the biggest factor in the rebalancing of the market," said Edward Morse, global head of commodities research at Citigroup. "The U.S. is going to make a disproportional contribution to the market's rebalancing."

Brad Quick | CNBC

Workers wash off hoses that are part of the oil rig owned by Liberty Resources, located just outside of Tioga, ND in the Bakken region of US.

Migrant crisis: Hundreds dead after capsize, say survivors

Source: BBC

Hundreds of migrants drowned when their boat capsized in the Mediterranean, survivors have told the BBC - although there is no official confirmation.

The 41 survivors say they were transferred to another vessel when it sank in the middle of the night.
They said that up to 500 people died, but coastguards in the region have been unable to confirm their accounts.
Numbers of migrants making the dangerous sea route from Libya to Italy have surged this year.

Afghanistan: Deadly suicide bomb hits Kabul

Source: BBC

Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said a suicide attacker had detonated a vehicle. Gunfire can still be heard.
A Taliban spokesman said the group carried out the attack.
It comes a week after it said it was launching its "spring offensive", warning of "large-scale attacks".
Tuesday's bombing happened during the morning rush hour in a residential neighbourhood close to the ministry of defence and military compounds.

Six corpses found in migrant boat, 108 rescued: Italy coast guard

Source: REUTERS

Six bodies were recovered and 108 migrants were rescued from a semi-submerged rubber dinghy, Italy's coast guard said on Monday, as boat arrivals accelerate amid calm seas.
A private rescue ship called Aquarius run by humanitarian group SOS Mediterranee found the bodies on the rubber dingy on Sunday, a coast guard spokesman said. Five women were among those rescued. The coast guard had no details about the nationality of the migrants.
The migrants and the six corpses are being taken to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the coast guard said.

Oil prices slide after demise of freeze plan

Source: REUTERS


Oil prices slid on Monday after a meeting between major producing nations on a proposed output freeze fell apart, leaving the world grappling with an excess of unwanted crude.
Oil exporting nations, including non-OPEC Russia, had gathered in the Qatari capital of Doha for what was expected to be the rubber-stamping of a deal to stabilize output at January levels until October.

US 'extra troops' to aid Iraq war on IS

According to BBC US is to send 200 extra troops to Iraq to help fight against so-called Islamic State, officials say

Ethiopia army seeks to rescue Gambella's abducted children

Source: BBC

Ethiopia's army is trying to rescue 108 women and children abducted in a cross-border raid in the western Gambella region, the government says.

It blamed Friday's raid, in which 208 people died, on the Murle community from neighbouring South Sudan.
The government said the army has killed 60 of those who carried out the attack.
The Murle have previously been accused of carrying out cattle raids and stealing children to raise as their own.

Ukraine finds Russian 'soldiers' guilty of waging war

Source: BBC

A Ukrainian court has convicted two alleged Russian special forces soldiers of crimes including terrorism and sentenced them to 14 years in jail.

The pair - Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov - were captured in eastern Ukraine last May.
Russia denies sending troops to the region and has said the men were volunteers who had left active service.
A fragile ceasefire is in place in eastern Ukraine between the army and pro-Russian rebels.
The court in Kiev found Yerofeyev and Alexandrov guilty of waging an "aggressive war" against Ukraine, committing a terrorist act and using weapons to provoke an armed conflict, the Interfax news agency reported.

Boko Haram Offering Different Groups of Chibok Girls for Ransom

Source: THISDAY LIVE

Following the broadcast of the proof of life video showing 15 of the abducted Chibok girls by US cable news network, CNN on Wednesday, THISDAY has confirmed that the 219 girls who were kidnapped from their secondary school in Chibok, Borno State, exactly two years ago have been broken up into groups and are being offered by different Boko Haram cells to federal government negotiators in exchange for huge sums of money.
Their abduction sparked a social media campaign and global outrage which drew attention to the horror of the six-year-old insurgency in the Northeast.

Troops called in after fresh Japan earthquake

Source: ALJAZEERA

Troops have been called in after a second, more powerful earthquake hit southern Japan, killing at least 19 people, toppling large buildings and causing a massive landslide just over a day after an earlier tremor left nine dead.
Friday's earthquake was the second major tremor to rock Japan's south in 24 hours after a 6.2 quake hit near Mashiki town on Thursday, killing nine people and injuring about 1,000 others.
Over 1,500 people have been injured, 80 of them seriously, by the two quakes on the southwestern Kyushu island, Yoshihide Suga, Japanese government spokesperson, said.

Navy's strength key to protecting Singapore's maritime borders: Teo Chee Hean

• PHOTOS

The Sovereignty. (Photo: Faris Mokhtar)

 

Source: CHANNEL NEWSASIA

 

SINGAPORE: Amid an increasingly complex and challenging maritime security landscape, it is important to safeguard Singapore's maritime borders and a key way of doing that is for the navy to remain a strong force, Acting Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Saturday (Apr 16).
He noted that Singapore's ports sit along one the world's busiest waterways, with more than 1,000 vessels passing through the Singapore Strait on a daily basis. However, he added that the country's geo-strategic location and large volume of maritime traffic also makes it vulnerable.

Mark Zuckerberg buys domain name from engineering student in Kochi

 Source: TIMES OF INDIA

KOCHI: Mark Zuckerberg may have started the online social networking revolution and made billions of dollars from his game-changing Facebook (FB). But this maverick internet entrepreneur surely didn't reckon with city boy Amal Augustine.

Amal has 'beaten' the master at his own game and closed a deal with FB, trading the registration rights of maxchanzuckerberg.org on Monday.

China economy: Are traders overestimating its health?

Source: CNBC

Judging by the reaction of financial markets, traders seem encouraged by the recent round of Chinese economic data, from gross domestic product and exports to industrial production and retail sales.
But those traders may be leaping to conclusions.

STR | AFP | Getty Images

"In the short term, it reinforces what we've been trying to get investors to listen to — China is not headed for a hard landing. Retail sales witnessing double-digit growth. Housing market looks like it is stabilizing ... indicating that the stimulus put in place by the central bank is starting to work," said Sameer Samana, global quantitative strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
But Wall Street veterans including Samana caution that investors should not buy into the idea of a Chinese recovery too quickly — turnarounds take time. At least three to four months of consistently good numbers representing a gradual rebound in China's industrial and services sectors will be needed before any seasoned economist will be able to label China as a "turnaround story."

Kenya bid to overturn gay sex ban filed in High Court

Source: BBC

A gay rights campaign group has filed a case in Kenya's High Court calling for the decriminalisation of gay sex.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Kenya, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission says the law violates constitutional rights to equality, dignity and privacy.
Last year, Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto said there was no room for gay people in the country.

Former TV 'Apprentices' denounce Trump White House bid

Source: REUTERS

A group of former contestants on Donald Trump's reality television show "The Apprentice" put their old boss in the hot seat on Friday, saying the U.S. Republican front-runner has widened racial divisions and should not be president.
Trump's one-time admirers, most from racial minorities, urged the New York billionaire to tamp down his divisive rhetoric as he campaigns to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama in the Nov. 8 election.
"We are all disappointed and in some ways shocked to see what is being spewed from Donald regarding his views on women, immigrants, and the list goes on," said Randal Pinkett, winner of the 2005 fourth season of the reality television show.

Asia markets mixed; Nikkei down 0.2%, ASX up 0.2%, Kospi flat

Source: CNBC

Asia markets were mixed in early trade on the final day of the trading week, as investors looked ahead for the release of China's first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) numbers, due at 10 a.m. HK/SIN time.
Experts predict growth to have moderately eased in the world's second-largest economy in the first quarter of 2016, with the economy estimated to have expanded by 6.7 percent on-year, according to a Reuters poll, compared with a 6.8 percent reading in the December quarter.

Australia's ASX 200 was up 0.19 percent, boosted by a 0.44 percent uptick in the heavily-weighted financials subindex, which offset losses of 1.04 and 0.83 percent in the energy and materials subindexes, respectively.

Heatwave sweeps India, claims 130 lives

 Source: TIMES OF INDIA

Heatwave continued to sweep many parts of India on Thursday, taking the toll to at least 130 as temperatures broke records at several places.

As central and peninsular India continued to witness the hottest April in recent years, there is no respite in sight with the weatherman predicting that temperatures would rise by one to two degrees in the next two-three days, particularly in western India, Telangana and Rayalseema. The Met office said pockets of north India too would witness heatwave conditions as days are likely to get hotter by 2-4 degrees in the region, including NCR, over the next two-three days. However, temperatures are expected to come down a notch or two by Sunday, when isolated dust-storms and thundershowers may cool the northern plains

Nigerian Military: New Chibok Girls Video ‘Concocted’ Propaganda Tool

Source: THISDAY LIVE

The Nigerian military has branded the latest video by Boko Haram terrorists allegedly showing healthy-looking Chibok girls as propaganda by the terrorists to divert attention from the ongoing rescue operations.

The Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brig-Gen. Rabe Abubakar (rtd), while responding to injuries on Thursday, said that the military cannot authenticate the new video.

Strong quake in southwestern Japan kills nine, topples homes

• PHOTOS

Residents stand on the street following an earthq
Source: CHANNELS NEWSASIA
 
TOKYO: Nine people were killed after a powerful earthquake hit southern Japan, collapsing homes, sparking fires and injuring hundreds, officials said on Friday (Apr 15) as rescuers worked through the night to find residents feared trapped in rubble.
Tens of thousands of people reportedly fled their homes and television footage showed damaged buildings, buckled roads and lumps of broken concrete in the streets after the 6.5-magnitude quake struck the southwestern island of Kyushu.
NHK footage showed what appeared to be a house ablaze and firefighters dousing it with water, one of several fires reportedly sparked by the quake that left at least 780 injured, according to the public broadcaster.

Russian Defense Ministry Denies Warplane Shot Down in Syria

Sourece: THE MOSCOW TIMES

Russia's Defense Ministry has denied reports that one of its aircraft was shot down near the Syrian city of Raqqa on Thursday, the Interfax news agency reported.
The statement came after claims by some media outlets that a Russian warplane had been downed by the Islamic State, a terrorist organization banned in Russia.
A post by the Raqqa_SL Twitter account sparked the reports, reading: “Fighters say they shot down a Russian warplane in Mansoura West Raqqa capture two pilots.”
The account is generally considered to be a reliable source of information from the Islamic State capital.

North Korea deploys ballistic missiles

Source: ALJAZEERA

North Korea has deployed one or two intermediate-range ballistic missiles on its east coast, possibly preparing for launch on or ahead of the birthday of the country's late founder on Friday.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency - citing multiple South Korean government sources - reported a mobile launcher was spotted carrying up to two Musudan missiles on Thursday following North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch the next month, which led to fresh UN sanctions.

Boko Haram abductions: Freed 'bride' tells of stigma ordeal

Source:BBC

Zara is 17 years old and she has a terrible story. It is the story of Boko Haram and what this brutal Islamist group is doing to thousands of people in north-eastern Nigeria and surrounding countries.

Zara was kidnapped by Boko Haram and then freed by the army, but now finds herself sometimes wishing she was back in the forest rather than suffering the stigma of life as a Boko Haram bride.
She wasn't one of the missing Chibok schoolgirls, and until now didn't have her own social media hashtag, but like thousands of others - free or still captive - is deeply traumatised.
In telling #ZarasStory it's the first time she has spoken to outsiders about her terrible experience a year on, and the pain she still suffers to this day.
"They gave us a choice - to be married, or to be a slave. I decided to marry," she said.
There is little difference, but for the child she was soon bearing.

NYC pension dumps hedge funds

Source: REUTERS


New York City's largest public pension is exiting all hedge fund investments in the latest sign that the $4 trillion public pension sector is losing patience with these often secretive portfolios at a time of poor performance and high fees.
The board of the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) voted to leave blue chip firms such as Brevan Howard and D.E. Shaw after their consultants said they can reach their targeted investment returns with less risky funds.
The move by the fund, which had $51.2 billion in assets as of Jan. 31, follows a similar actions by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers), the nation's largest public pension fund, and public pensions in Illinois.

Nigeria Chibok girls 'shown alive' in Boko Haram video

Source: BBC

A video released by Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram appears to show some of the schoolgirls kidnapped two years ago from the town of Chibok.

The video, apparently filmed in December, was sent to the Nigerian government and shows 15 girls in black robes identifying themselves as pupils abducted from the school.
Some of those filmed have been identified by their parents.
It is the first footage of the girls to be seen since May 2014.
The kidnapping of the 276 girls triggered the global social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls, involving US first lady Michelle Obama and a host of celebrities.
But despite their efforts, most of the girls are still missing.

Republican Paul Ryan on 2016 presidential race: Count me out

Source: REUTERS

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Tuesday he would reject any attempt to draft him as a Republican presidential candidate, trying to quash speculation that he could surface as a unity choice should Donald Trump or Ted Cruz falter.
"Let me be clear: I do not want nor will I accept the nomination of our party," Ryan said in remarks at the Republican National Committee's Washington headquarters.
Ryan, the top elected Republican in Washington and the party's 2012 vice presidential candidate, has been the subject of persistent speculation that he could emerge as the nominee if an impasse over the party's pick develops at the July 18-21 Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
Ryan has repeatedly said he is not interested in entering the presidential race, but advocates for such a scenario have pointed out that he was cool to becoming House speaker until he was finally persuaded to take over from John Boehner last year.

France Seizes $700M of Money Owed to Russian Companies Over Yukos Lawsuit

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

France seized $700 million in payments to Russian space companies Roscosmos and Russian Satellite Communications in connection with the case of former shareholders of defunct oil company Yukos, The American Lawyer magazine reported Monday.
In total, France has seized Russian assets worth $1 billion following the Kremlin's refusal to pay damages to former Yukos shareholders.

In July 2014, The Hague international arbitration court ruled that Russia must pay $50 billion for expropriating the assets of Yukos.

Three men blow themselves up outside police station in southern Russia

Source: REUTERS


Three men blew themselves up outside a rural police station in southern Russia on Monday after trying to gain entry to the building as part of an unsuccessful attack, Russian investigators said in a statement.
The attack took place in Novoselitskoe, a village in Russia's Stavropol region close to the volatile North Caucasus area, where Islamist militants intent on carving out a breakaway caliphate have targeted policemen in a series of car bombings and shootings.

Trump hammers successful Cruz delegate strategy as 'crooked'

Source: REUTERS

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's concerns about how delegates are allotted turned into a roar on Monday as he accused the campaign of rival Ted Cruz of buying votes after his weekend win in Colorado.
The New York billionaire, who has won many state contests for a delegate lead, is confronting Cruz's strategy of using state party rules to secure more delegates in hopes of winning the nomination at a brokered Republican convention in July.
Cruz's campaign has worked effectively in states that have a complex delegate allocation process, including Colorado, where the U.S. senator from Texas picked up 34 delegates on Saturday at the state Republican convention.

South Africa's Winnie Madikizela-Mandela fails to inherit home

Source: BBC

Nelson Mandela's ex-wife has lost her legal bid for ownership of the former president's rural home in South Africa.

A High Court dismissed Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's application and ordered her to pay all legal costs.
She argued that the house in Qunu village belonged to her under customary law.
Mr Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, bequeathed the property to his family when he died in 2013 aged 95.
The government opposed Ms Madikizela-Mandela's bid to inherit the home after she launched court action in 2014.

ABUJA: Buhari Receives Full Details of 2016 Budget

Source: THISDAY LIVE

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday received the full details of the 2016 budget from the National Assembly.

The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, alongside his colleague, Hon. Ismaila Kawu, who brought the document to the Presidential Villa confirmed its receipt to State House correspondents.
He said: “The budget details have been transmitted to His Excellency, Mr. President today. The constitutional process begins thereafter.

Malaysian opposition MP due to be charged in court over 1MDB leak

• PHOTOS

Rafizi Ramli. (Photo: AFP/Saeed Khan)

Source: CHANNEL NEWSASIA

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition lawmaker Rafizi Ramli is due to be charged in court under the Official Secrets Act on Friday (Apr 8) after leaking classified information about the state fund 1MDB.

He was arrested outside the parliament gates on Tuesday for releasing information from the classified Auditor-General's report on state-owned development company 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Panama Papers: Argentina's Macri has 'nothing to hide'

Source: ALJAZEERA

Argentine President Mauricio Macri said he had nothing to hide after revelations in the Panama Papers that he had links with an offshore company.
A federal prosecutor has called for an investigation into Macri's involvement on Thursday.
The president was among scores of global politicians and business figures named in documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specialises in setting up offshore companies.