Still on Boko Haram: New video shows abducted girls begging for help

President Goodluck Jonathan was reportedly sent a new video of the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in which they begged him to save them from the hands of the insurgents, Vanguard reports.

The footage which was not made public, was said to have shown some of the school girls having health challenges in different camps outside the country.

The Nigerian Military "unearthes" new smear campaign

The military said it had uncovered a campaign aimed at attracting its international condemnation and indictment of its operations in the northern parts of the country where terror is rife.

“Defence Headquarters has been alerted of a plot by some interest groups to embark on a renewed campaign aimed at attracting international condemnation and indictment of the Nigerian military and its operations in the Northern part of the country,” read a statement the Defence issued in Abuja on Monday.

It added that the campaign would rely heavily on “doctored and falsified audio visual materials, some of which are already trending in the social media is funded by a prominent political leader whose state is presently under the State of Emergency.”

Boko Haram turns tourist hotspot into a ghost town

 
With a famous nature reserve, elephant safaris, and a reputation as a peaceful haven, the small town of Waza in the far north of Cameroon used to buzz with tourists.
Today, it is like a ghost town. The walls of the hotels are crumbling and guest bedrooms remain stubbornly empty. By early evening, one local official says, the streets are deserted.
Located just a few kilometres from the border with Nigeria, Waza has been gripped by "general panic" since an attack by suspected Boko Haram Islamists who kidnapped 10 Chinese in mid-May, said the secretary-general of the town, Tandjo.
The security forces searching for them believe they were quickly taken back over the border, to the northeastern region of Nigeria that has become Boko Haram's stronghold.
It was the latest in a series of incursions into northern Cameroon by the group, who officials say take advantage of a porous border to evade detection.

British Woman Sentenced To 20 Years In a hellhole in Iran For Facebook Comment!

 
A British woman has reportedly been sentenced to 20 years in a hellhole Iranian prison for posting comments on Facebook allegedly criticising the country’s leadership.
Roya Nobakht, 47, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, was arrested last October when she was visiting the south-western city of Shiraz.
She was accused of gathering crowds, putting national security at risk and insulting Islam after criticising former Iranian supreme leader the Ayatollah Khomeini on the social media site.

Woman wants to ‘shoot everyone’ over stale snack

A woman in South Carolina in the US was arrested after she threatened to shoot everyone at a Burger King over a stale Cinnabon roll.

Andrea Ann McCullough, 33, was apparently so grouchy-hungry that she started yelling after she bit into the not-so-fresh carbo-treat, Huffington Post reports.

Nigerian singer, Burna Boy snubs Nigerian collaborations

Dance-hall singer, Burna Boy has officially announced that he is no longer interested in collaborating with Nigerian musicians, reports Information Nigeria.

The 'Run My Race' singer, who made this known at an MTV media chat held in Lagos, says he has put international collaborations on his front burner.

Burna boy says he will like to work with American R&B star, John Legend.

'Break the silence' video dedicated to the release of the abducted Chibock girls is out

The video for 2face Idibia’s Million Voices for Peace (MVP) project  titled Break the silence has been released.

The song which calls for the immediate release of the abducted Chibok girls and the restoration of peace in Nigeria, brings together musicians to articulate this message.

The song which features features 2face Idibia, Precision Productions (Trinidad & Tobago), Samini (Ghana), K-Slim, PKD, Squadee (Ghana), Spyke, Sound Sultan, Essence, Righteousman, Joe El, Ferre Galo (DRC) and Machel Montano (Trinidad & Tobago), will be used to raise funds to support the work of the Nigerian Red Cross.

Oil workers give strike notice

  The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has threatened to go on a nationwide strike over the lingering leadership crisis rocking the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).

The Union has therefore given the federal government a 14-day ultimatum to intervene in the crisis to save the nation from another round of petroleum products scarcity, reports Leadership.

Igwe Achese, NUPENG President, said the strike action would be taken to protect the interest and welfare of members of NUPENG who constitute a majority of the workforce in IPMAN.

India celebrates as it gets new state

Celebrations erupted in southern India to mark the creation of the new state of Telangana on Monday at the culmination of a separatist campaign stretching back nearly six decades.

Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, who at one stage went on hunger strike as part of the push to create what is India's 29th state, was sworn in as chief minister during a morning ceremony in Hyderabad.

Residents broke into celebrations on the stroke of midnight, with a fireworks display lighting up the skies over the city.

India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to congratulate Rao, promising his "complete support to the people & Government of Telangana" in a message on Twitter.

"India gets a new state! We welcome Telangana as our 29th state. Telangana will add strength to our development journey in the coming years," Modi added.

Jonathan meets Malian leader over insurgency

Abuja - President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday met with the President of Mali, Muhammadou Keita in continuation of consultations to solve the problems of insurgency in Northern Mali and North-Eastern Nigeria.

The meeting was held behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Addressing State House Correspondents after the meeting, Keita said "I have come to meet my brother on the issue of insecurity, to see what we can do, that is why I am here."

It will be recalled that Jonathan, Keita and other ECOWAS leaders had met on the same issue in Accra, Ghana on Friday.

The President also met with some clerics from Senegal led by Khalifah Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Inyass, the grandson of Late Shehu Tijjani Ibrahim Inyass, the founder of the Tijjaniya sect.