Thousands of people gathered in Germany on Sunday to bid farewell to a young German student of Turkish descent who was fatally beaten after trying to help two women who were being harassed at a restaurant in the city of Offenbach.
Tuğçe Albayrak, a 22-year-old student, went into a coma on November 15 after she was beaten with a bat for intervening as the women were being harassed by three men of Serbian descent.
She was brutally beaten by one of the attackers, an 18-year-old identified as Sanel M., in the parking lot an hour after she had stepped in to try to help the two German women, who were screaming for help in front of the restaurant’s restroom.
Her family and friends hoped for the best as she lay in a coma for more than 10 days, but doctors said on November 26 that she had been left brain dead by the attack.
Albayrak's parents decided to take her off of life support on Friday, which was her 23rd birthday.
Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade speaks to journalists from The Associated Press in an interview in Abuja, Nigeria, on Thursday, May 30, 2013.
The Defence Headquarters, DHQ, yesterday, expressly warned local hunters to steer clear of the ongoing military operations against the Boko Haram insurgency group in the North East, as their presence and contributions were fast breeding mischief and thus becoming irrelevant to the system.
Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, who spoke with reporters in Abuja,stressed that the military would however make use of them if it becomes relevant.
There have been claims over time, especially with the recent one in Mubi, Adamawa State, that the local hunters were the ones prosecuting and winning the war against the Boko Haram insurgents and reclaiming captured towns, to spite the military.
However, General Olukolade dismissed this as totally untrue, stating that their flimsy contributions were just being mischievously exaggerated. He said, “For as long as they are relevant, we will continue to use them, not as if it is a blanket offer,” said that the military had several other people it uses too as its sources, and it must not necessarily be the local hunters.
He disclosed that the military was aware that certain persons were merely using the contributions of the local hunters to achieve their mischievous purposes, which was unhealthy for the military, country and the ongoing operations.
Olukolade, who insisted that there was nothing so spectacular about the hunters’ contributions, said that they were only being used to get information, as well as identify the people in the localities since they were part of those localities.
The DHQ had earlier in the week, posted on its official blog that the involvement of the hunters in the counter-terrorism was misrepresented.
According to the DHQ, “All the flimsy and exaggerated claims of hunters’ exploits in the ongoing operations are simply intended to foster a mischievous campaign aimed at disparaging and depreciating the professional efforts of the Nigerian military at containing the terrorists especially in Adamawa. It is obvious that the intention is to ridicule and discourage the military. We are not moved.
“While appreciating the effort of the hunters and citizens who have been supporting our troops in the onslaught, the military still remains in the vanguard of the mission to rid the nation of terrorists and their activities.
We will remain focused and utilise only well-meaning support and advice in the ongoing campaign to wipe out terrorists.”
A court in Egypt has dropped charges against former President Hosni Mubarak over the killing of 239 protesters during the 2011 uprising against him.
The Cairo court erupted in cheers when the judge said Mubarak should not have been a defendant in the case as the charges against him were added late.
Charges against seven senior ex-officials were also dropped. The decision could be appealed.
Victims’ relatives expressed dismay and frustration.
In a television interview after the ruling, Mubarak said he had done “nothing wrong at all.”
The former president, 86, is serving a separate three-year sentence for embezzlement of public funds.
He is currently being held in a military hospital, and is expected to serve at least a few more months of this sentence.
Mubarak, his former interior minister, Habib al-Adly, and six others had been convicted of conspiracy to kill and were sentenced to life in prison in June 2012, but a retrial was ordered last year on a technicality.
In all, about 800 people are thought to have been killed as security forces battled protesters in the weeks before Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011.
However, the court documents at the retrial related to the deaths of 239 people and injuries sustained by 1,588, across 11 of the country’s regions.
As well as the murder charge, Mubarak was cleared of a corruption charge involving gas exports to Israel.
His sons, Gamal and Alaa, were also cleared of separate corruption charges by the same court on Saturday. As supporters cheered the verdict, his sons and co-defendants stooped down to kiss his forehead.
Mubarak’s lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, told Agence France Presse the verdict was a “good ruling that proved the integrity of Mubarak’s era.”
Doctors have warned Diana Barrett, 22, that she should have checks for her own sake and that of her one-year-old son Darcy
A young mother who lost her mum, dad and sister to cancer has refused tests for the disease – as she fears being handed a death sentence.
Doctors have warned Diana Barrett, 22, that she should have checks for her own sake and that of her one-year-old son Darcy.
But after losing her entire family at a young age, she says she would rather live in blissful ignorance than be told she and her boy are doomed to develop the disease.
She said: “I know people will think it’s irresponsible, but after everything that’s happened to my family I’m terrified what doctors might say. I’d rather not know.”
Diana, of Coleford, Gloucester, was just eight years old when her father Robert died from bowel cancer aged 35 in 2001.
Nine years later mum Tracey died of the same disease aged 40.
Then Diana’s sister Sherrie developed a brain tumour and died last year, aged 26.
She said: “Nothing can prepare you for losing a mother or father but I lost everyone so young.
“But I’ve kept going, and when I held Darcy in my arms for the first time I felt an overwhelming love for him. We’re a little family but we’re a happy one.”
When their dad died, Diana was comforted by older sister Sherrie, who was 13 at the time.
Family life briefly returned to happiness some years later as their mum Tracey met a new partner and had two children with him.
But in late 2007, when Diana was just 14, Tracey was diagnosed with colon cancer. She died on Mother’s Day in March 2009.
A year later there was another glimmer of happiness as Sherrie found she was pregnant at 21.
But 36 weeks into the pregnancy she started suffering severe headaches and an MRI scan revealed a brain tumour the size of a pear.
Her baby was born by emergency caesarian, healthy and weighing 7.3lbs, so Sherrie could undergo surgery.
Then Diana too fell pregnant.
She said: “I was over the moon but also terrified to bring a baby into the world in case I or the baby suffered my family’s fate.”
Newsteam / SWNS
Fears: Diana Barrett with baby boy Darcy Kempton
When Sherrie died soon after, Diana says: “I cried every day, but I had to stay strong as I had a baby who depended on me.”
Explaining her decision not to have tests, she said: “If they told me I was likely to develop cancer it’d be hard to carry on every day.
“Of course I think about it, more than ever now I’m a mother, but I can’t curl up and die, I have to keep going for the sake of my son. I cherish every day.”
A 13-year-old boy who had been reported missing four years ago was discovered alive, hidden behind a FAKE WALL.
The lad was discovered in a home near Atlanta, Georgia, and was reunited with his mother early this morning, police said.
Five people living in the home in Jonesboro, 17 miles south of Atlanta, were taken into custody.
Among them were two adults who face charges of false imprisonment and cruelty to children, said Sgt. Kevin Hughes of the Clayton County police. Three juveniles also in the home were facing obstruction charges, Hughes said.
Clayton County police were called to the home on Friday to perform a welfare check on a child, but residents said they had no information about the boy who authorities were seeking, Hughes said.
Several hours later, authorities were called back to the home. As police searched the residence, the boy was able to make phone contact with his mother, who relayed to officers where he was hidden, Hughes said.
The child was apparently able to get to a phone recently and contact his mother to let her know his whereabouts, authorities said.
"They discovered him hidden behind a false wall in the interior portion of the home," he said. Heartwarming Moment: This is the moment a 13-year-old boy reported missing four years ago was reunited with his mother
It was unclear how long the boy had been hidden behind the fake wall, or if he was kept there only when visitors were at the house. Authorities said they would release more details about the case as they became available.
The boy, who appeared to be in good physical health, was reunited with his mother, who had come to Georgia from out of state, Hughes said.
Local media captured video of the boy crying and hugging his mother at the police station after they were reunited.
The teen was reported missing in 2010 while visiting his father in Florida, WSBTV reported. His father was one of the two adults arrested, the station said.
The boy's mother apparently reported him missing to child welfare authorities but not to police.
Another air disaster was averted at the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport, Abuja on Monday as a Med-View Airlines aircraft from Lagos suddenly took to the air again at the point of landing in Abuja.
The pilot told the passengers that he took to the air again to avoid a collision with another aircraft on the tarmac.
The airline Flight VL2104 took off from the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos at noon and was scheduled to land in Abuja at about 1.05pm.
The pilot had already announced final descent into Abuja and asked all passengers and cabin crew to fasten their seat belts but the pilot suddenly took off to the air again with barely 30 seconds to touch ground.
The plane had 150 passengers on board. A correspondent of The PUNCH was one of the passengers.
After about three minutes of gaining altitude, the pilot announced that he decided to take off again to avoid colliding with an aircraft that was on ground.
He said that after he had been granted clearance to land, it was later discovered that the other aircraft was not fast enough, hence his decision to take off.
The aircraft hovered for another 20 minutes in the air before finally landing at about 1.30pm.
While the drama lasted, the passengers were panic-stricken, especially when the plane entered into turbulent weather on air.
The PUNCH correspondent said that among the passengers were five different complete families.
One of the passengers, a nursing mother, who was breastfeeding her son at the time the pilot took off again reportedly withdrew the breast from the boy’s mouth and started praying profusely while the baby’s cry rented the air.
When the plane finally landed, the passengers struggled to disembark.
“Are you still sitting down? Let me rush down in case it will suddenly take off again,” a middle-aged man was heard teasing one of his co-passengers.
The incident came less than a month after an Embraer aircraft operated by Associated Airlines with registration number SCD 361, conveying the corpse of a former Governor of Ondo State, Chief Olusegun Agagu, from Lagos to Akure for burial, crashed on October 3 shortly after take-off at Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.
Thirteen passengers in the crashed plane were killed, including a commissioner in Ondo State, Deji Falae.
A woman by the name of Jackie told a US radio station she had seen two men wearing protective suits on the surface of the Red Planet
Mysterious: Have humans already been on Mars?
A woman who says she is a former Nasa employee has claimed she saw humans on MARS 35 years ago.
The lady, known only as Jackie, insisted she had seen suited men running on the surface of the Red Planet when she called up US radio station Coast to Coast AM.
Jackie said she was working as part of a team downloading data from a Viking Lander when she saw the humans on a live feed.
She asked the presenter: "I wonder if you could solve a 27-year-old mystery for me.
"That old Viking rover was running around.
"Then I saw two men in space suits - not the bulky suits we normally used, but they looked protective.
"They came over the horizon walking to the Viking Explorer."
Jackie also claimed six other Nasa employees saw the two men walking on the surface of the planet, located an average 140 million miles from Earth.
She added: "We ran upstairs – but they locked the door, and taped paper over the door so we couldn't see.
"My question is – were they our guys?"
The Viking Mars mission involved two spacecraft, Viking 1 and Viking 2 They were launched within a few weeks of one another in the 1970s.
Residents in Okpoko of Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State were, on Thursday, shocked when the news broke that a housewife in the community, names withheld, had dumped her newborn baby into the toilet.
She was said to have a protruded stomach, a peculiar nature that made many people in the area, not to be aware that she was pregnant.
She decided to dump the newborn baby into the toilet, to save her the agony of nursing a baby, which, she said, could disturb her business.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that when a member of the family, her brother-in-law, wanted to use the toilet, he discovered that water could not flush the waste, as his faeces remained floating.
Her brother-in-law, a soource revealed, therefore, decided to deep his hand into the toilet, and discovered, to his surprise, that a placenta had been dumped into the toilet, a situation which made him to scream, attracting other residents to the scene, who in utter disbelief, removed the lifeless baby from the toilet.
When the whole family met shortly after the incident and summoned other family members, some of them saw traces of blood stain on the woman’s clothes, the wife of their elder brother, but she refused to give details of the bizarre act, and even denied knowledge of what happened.
She was thereafter taken to a maternity home where it was confirmed that she had given birth to a baby, but when the husband was contacted, he said his wife was in police custody and declined further comments.
A retired school principal and Guru Maharaji devotee, Dr. Chimezie Osigwe, who was arrested May last year by the Imo State police command for hiding the embalmed body of his 78-year-old mother, Lucy Osigwe, in his wardrobe for ten years, has been acquitted by the court after giving chilling reasons for his action.
Osigwe who was arraigned on a one count of murder by the state, told the court that he did not kill his mother for ritual purposes as he was earlier accused but was framed up by people who did not understand his intentions.
According to him, he kept his mother’s corpse in his wardrobe for ten years as evidence in a suit he filed against Chevron Oil Company that he accused of causing the death of his mother.
He disclosed that the exploration activities of the oil company in his community, Ejemekwuru, in Oguta Council Area of the state, resulted in partial landslide that cracked most buildings in the community, including his family’s building, where he was living with his deceased mother.
His words: “My mother woke up around 1am that fateful day to ease herself but the wall of the toilet which has been damaged collapsed and fell on her and I heard her shout and rushed down to her room with my two sisters, She died before the day finally broke. I then reported the case to the police and an autopsy was carried out and I took the embalmed body and preserved it in my wardrobe as I intended to sue the oil company for causing the death of my mother.
“My siblings both those in the Diaspora and at home, were aware of my plan and they gave their support that the body be kept as an evidence for the case.”
Delivering judgment on the suit with No.HOG/23C/2013, Justice Goddy Anunihu, ruled that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was responsible for the death of the victim.
He ruled that the prosecution counsel lacked evidence to prosecute the defendant who was alleged to have murdered his mother in August 2004 in his compound
More than 250,000 animals are being lined up for slaughter as Nepal embarks on a two-day religious festival where buffalo, birds and goats are sacrificed to appease a Hindu goddess.
Millions of Hindus flock to the ceremony, which is held every five years at the temple of Gadhimai, the goddess of power, in Bariyarpur, Nepal, near the Indian border.
The last time the festival was held, in 2009, more than 250,000 animals were killed, according to animal rights organisation PETA, who is campaigning to put a stop to the practice.
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Offer to the gods: Thousands of buffalo lie dead in a field after being sacrificed for a religious holiday in near the Indian border in Nepal
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A butcher walks with a bloodied blade as he looks for an animal to kill during a mass slaughter to celebrate the start of the Gadhimai festival
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Religious killing: A butcher gets ready to kill a buffalo during a mass slaughter of the animals for the Gadhimai festival inside a walled enclosure in the village of Bariyapur, near the temple of Gadhimai, the goddess of power
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Field of meat: The festival is held for two days and is kicked off with a mass-slaughter of buffalo, after which hundreds of thousands of animals are sacrificed to the goddess
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A severely injured water buffalo awaits its slaughter as a devotee prepares to cut off the animal's head in front of watching crowds
The festival is 'kicked off' with the ritual slaughter of five thousand buffalo in a field near the temple, after which two days of ritual animal slaughter takes place.
Animal rights activists such as PETA are campaigning to halt the mass animal-slaughter, but despite their efforts, the organisers of the festival has promised that this year will be the biggest yet.
About 2.5 million devotees have turned out for the festival, according to local government official Yogendra Prasad Dulal, who said it was 'impossible to estimate' the total number of animals sacrificed so far.
An angry mob had unleashed terror on a 32-year-old man named Valentino Abeyta Barreraob for allegedly using a knife to threaten a pensioner in his bid to rob the victim in Chilean, capital of Santiego.
In a jungle justice action, Barreraob he was stripped naked and then wrapped head to foot in clingfilm and tied to a lamppost while onlookers took snapshots of him in Chilean capital Santiago’s 27-degree heat, with his underpants around his ankles according to Metro UK reports on Friday, November 28, 2014.
The mob left him 20 minutes before the arrival of police operatives and the alleged thief refused to explain why he was there but kept pleading with the police to release him.
Alleged thief who attempted to rob pensioner with knife is stripped naked and clingfilmed to a lamppost in Santiago. (Photo Credit: CEN)
Alleged thief who attempted to rob pensioner with knife is stripped naked and clingfilmed to a lamppost in Santiago. (Photo Credit: CEN)
Much to expectations, the photographs stirred up discussion online about vigilante justice and Barrera was freed, as his alleged victim did not make a complaint to police
A source identified as Daniela Montoya Pazo, opined that the actions of the angry mob was uncalled for.
‘They just had to arrest him, not beat him. This kind of things put us at the same level as the criminals,’ he said.
Another source, Daichi Yuka, added, ‘I would like to do the same thing to the thief who threatened me with a weapon this morning.’
Eventually, the alleged thief was released and taken to the police station but the police were unable to press any charges against him and were forced to let him go because his alleged victim did not file any complaint about the case to them.
A police spokesman said, ‘Unless the man who was tied to the lamppost or his alleged victim want to file a complaint, there is not much we can do.’
Jolly Tumuhiirwe, the 22-year-old maid who physically assaulted 18-month old baby, Arnella Kamanzi, is speaking out about why she committed the heinous act.
Tumuhiirwe, who is currently in prison, and facing attempted murder charges, is asking the world to forgive her for the incident, and revealed that reason why she beat Kamanzi is that she was frustrated because her bosses wouldn’t give her money, and that they accused of her of things she hadn’t done, Ugandaonline.net reports.
My dad in Kabale was very sick and yet my mom did not have any money. I asked my bosses for some money to send to my dad but they told me that I hadn’t made a month yet and my father was dying, so it kept on haunting me.” That is the more reason I referred the anger to the baby but I’m sorry. But that madam (Arnella’s mom) is not easy. She used to say that I steal money from the clothes and Eric’s wallet, I eat the babies food…and yet I can’t eat the food, I’m not a baby, those were all lies, so, I was also not happy from my heart.” I feel guilty..ok when I was doing it I thought I was disciplining the baby because also the mother sometimes slaps her, I also saw from the mom. The torch I used was small and it’s not hard. I think, I will never do it again… It’s not good at all even my fellow prisoners don’t want to associate with me, they want to beat me up. In fact they were saying that I should join them in their rooms, nobody likes me and I’m feeling bad I will never do it again, I ask the world to forgive me and also tell the bosses who have maids to treat them well…
The Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Perry Calderwood, on Friday said training of Nigerian police personnel by Canadian Police investigation experts would build capacity in the investigation of post blast scenes in the country.
According to him, it will also enhance response by the police.
Calderwood made the remark at the end of a two-week Post-Blast Investigation Course for Nigerian Police personnel.
This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja by Ms Ezinne Uluocha, the Public Affairs official of the High Commission.
The statement also quoted the envoy as saying: “this will result in an increase in the capacity to investigate a crime scene, obtain and analyse evidence that withstands the test of the judicial system in order to bring criminals to justice.” The statement said officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Police College during the programme delivered the courses to Nigerian investigators, forensic technicians and explosive technicians.
He said the training was to improve their capacity to respond to improvised explosive device attacks by terrorists.
It said “Canada also provided post-blast investigation technical equipment to the Nigerian Federal Police.
The statement quoted Calderwood as saying that the course provided opportunity for law enforcement officials to learn and apply internationally recognised methods for investigating the aftermath of an explosion.
According to it, “this cooperation in training is building upon the commitment made by Canada via the Bi-National Commission established with Nigeria in October 2012 to assist Nigerian security forces in combating terrorism.
“In 2014, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police delivered three courses to the Nigerian Police.Force
“Canada will continue to stand by the people of Nigeria as they confront violent extremism,” the statement said
"They started shooting randomly at worshippers" - Muhammad
Bello was near the mosque when the explosions
began
Dozens have been killed in a gun and
bomb attack during Friday prayers at one of the biggest mosques in the Nigerian
city of Kano, reports say.
Many more people have been hurt, with one rescue official putting casualty
figures at almost 400.
The Central Mosque is where the influential Muslim leader, the Emir of Kano,
usually leads prayers.
The emir recently called for people to arm themselves against Islamist
militant group Boko Haram.
The group has been waging an insurgency in Nigeria since 2009 and has killed
more than 2,000 people this year, rights groups say.
BBC Hausa's Mansur Liman: After the explosions gunmen started
shooting
President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the attack, calling on all Nigerians
"to remain united to confront the common enemy".
He said the government would "continue to take every step to put an end to
the reprehensible acts of all groups and persons involved in acts of
terrorism". 'Helter-skelter'
The rescue official, speaking to Agence France-Presse, put the casualty toll
at 120 dead and 270 hurt, although this has not been independently
confirmed.
Muhammad Sanusi II (C), one of Nigeria's most
powerful Muslim leaders, is in Saudi Arabia
Three explosions were reported in and around the mosque. The attackers also
turned gunfire on worshippers.
One eyewitness told the BBC's Focus on Africa: "The imam was about to start
prayer when he saw somebody in a car trying to force himself into the mosque.
But when people stopped him, he detonated the explosions. People started running
helter-skelter."
BBC Hausa editor Mansur Liman said one witness at a local hospital had
described the scenes there as being the most horrible he had ever seen.
