Villeworth Security Services Ltd

week 46

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PORT HARCOURT AND ENVIRONS

Bayelsa Monarch Shot and Abducted

The political crisis rocking Bayelsa State has deepened with the shooting and abduction of the deputy chief of Otuokpoti Community in Ogbia, Chief Noble Ewege. The incident, which threw the quiet community into pandemonium, was unleashed by six gunmen who shot him and dragged him away into their waiting speedboat before disappearing into the creek. The unknown gunmen stormed the riverside settlement in a speedboat at about 3am on Monday. Ewege, on sighting the gun-wielding men, jumped out of his bed and attempted to escape, prompting his assailants to open fire on him. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state command, Eguaveon Emopkae, confirmed the incident.

4 Persons Die in Violent Clashes in Bayelsa

Four persons were reported killed on Wednesday following clashes between some cult groups in Yenagoa. Five persons had earlier been killed in a similar clash between some cult groups. The Bayelsa Police Command spokesman, Eguaveon Emokpai, confirmed the incident on Thursday. He said the incident occurred at the Ekeki suburb of the state capital, during which two persons died instantly, while the other two died at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa, where they were rushed to following gun injuries they sustained. Emokpai said the three suspects had made useful statements to the police. Eyewitness disclosed that youths, in three vehicles, stormed the Ekeki motor park at about 7.30p.m on Wednesday, and shot into the air before blocking the Azikoro Road junction. They were said to have, in the process, killed four persons.

Abducted Catholic Priest Regains Freedom

The Parish Priest of St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Onicha Enugu Ezike in Igboeze North LGA of Enugu State, Rev. Fr. Chijioke Amoke, who was kidnapped last week by unknown gunmen, was on Wednesday, released by his captors and picked up by a police patrol team. But an herbalist and native of same Onicha Enugu-Ezike, Roland Iyidah, who was kidnapped at the near-by Ogurute village by the kidnappers as they were taking the priest to their hideout was not so lucky, as he was killed by his abductors Tuesday night. He was allegedly shot severally in the head, stomach and chest and his corpse dumped at the premises of Anglican Church in Uda.

NUPENG Insists on Reinstatement of Sacked Workers

The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) says it has not shifted grounds on its demand for the reinstatement of 94 oil workers recently sacked at Mobil's Qua Iboe oil fields. The National Public Relations Officer of NUPENG, Mr. Harry Bassey, on Tuesday in Eket, said that the massive disengagement of its members was carried out without consultation with the union and violated the terms of the subsisting Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the Union, Management of Mobil and their contractors. The NUPENG image maker said the union recognised the rights of the employers of labour to ‘hire and fire,' but stressed that the union owed its members a duty to ensure that the process complied with existing legislation and the terms of the contract.

Shell Must Pay $1bn for Cleanup Ogoniland –Amnesty International

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) must pay $1 billion to start cleaning up the Ogoniland following two devastating oil spills in 2008 that caused serious environmental damage to the area, Amnesty International said Thursday. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in a report released in August accused SPDC of environmental contamination and threat to human lives in Ogoniland of Rivers State. The report said the devastating spills in the oil-rich region over the past five decades would cost $1billion to rectify and take up to 30 years to clean up. In a report to mark the 16th anniversary of the execution of environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa, by the General Sani Abacha administration, the human rights group said the two spills in 2008 in Bodo, Ogoniland, had wrecked the livelihoods of 69,000 people.

MASSOB Petitions President, IGP over Death of Member

Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) over the death of Dr. Sylvanus Amuta who died after he was manhandled by the police in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State during the Igbo Day celebration on September 29, 2011. Amuta was among the four police arrested after they were beaten to a pulp by the police at the Abakaliki Township Stadium. The Director of Information of MASSOB, Mr. Uchenna Madu, said that Madu died as a result of internal bleeding after battling to save his life from an internal injury and psychological trauma inflicted on him by the security agencies. MASSOB also condemned the continued detention of three of its juvenile members, aged 13, 14, and 16 at Abia state CID Umuahia since 29 September, 2011.

Flood Sacks Hundreds in Calabar

A heavy downpour in Calabar has again left tales of woes as hundreds of persons have been displaced. The flood water ravaged homes, destroying household property worth millions of Naira. The rains which started at about 7p.m. on Saturday gave no respite for about five hours, disrupting traffic flow and causing commotion everywhere. Most people who went out for Saturday events, such as weddings, were trapped and could only find their way home late into the night wading through perilous waters. One of the victims, Dr. Anthonia Monkom, whose home was flooded, said it was the first time such magnitude of flood had been experienced since her stay of over 20 years in the area. Management Agency (SEMA) Mr. Vincent Aquah, described the destruction caused by the flood as worrisome.

Fire Guts Shell Pipeline

Nigeria’s oil production has suffered yet another setback as the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) Wednesday shut in some of its crude oil production following a fire that erupted on its Okordia-Rumuekpe oil pipeline in Ikarama, Bayelsa State. The fire incident came barely 24 hours after the company received reports of oil spill on the line. SPDC spokesman, Mr. Precious Okolobo, confirmed this but did not disclose the actual volume of crude affected in the latest incident. Vice-President, Health Safety and Environment and Corporate Affairs, Shell Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr. Tony Attah, said recently that the company recorded six separate oil spill incidents on the Okordia-Rumuekpe trunk line between August 2 and 15 this year, all from hacksaw cuts by unknown persons.

Ex-Service Men Threaten Violence

Members of the Nigerian Military Pensioners Welfare Association (NMPWA) have said they would embark on a violent protest, if their allowances and pensions are not paid. The pensioners spoke on Tuesday in Port Harcourt through their National Chairman, Maj Danjuma Kibo, and National Secretary, Capt Don Pedro. The military pensioners said despite the promises made by President Goodluck Jonathan, they are yet to receive the arrears of their pensions and harmonisation. They urged the Federal Government to pay them their entitlements, to ensure lasting peace and stability in Nigeria.

Ex-Militants Storm Allege Neglect by Govt

Although they were stopped by a combined team of armed mobile policemen and men of the Joint Military Task Force, some aggrieved former militants in Bayelsa State used the wedding reception of President Goodluck Jonathan’s brother to make their plight public. The demonstrators, who claimed to be the third batch that protested earlier in the week and allegedly burnt a van belonging to a Lagos-based newspaper, were reported to have attempted to take their grievances to the event to draw attention of the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, to their plight. The plea of the armed policemen was ignored until the arrival of a team of soldiers, which changed the pattern of the protest. Head of the protesting group, Thomas Isaac, decried the plight of the agitators, alleging that their exclusion from the programme had subjected them to more hardship.

BENIN/WARRI/ESCRAVOS

Uduaghan Vows Tougher over Kidnapping

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has assured residents that his administration was doing everything possible to arrest the spate of kidnappings in the state. The governor said that the security measures put in place in the state to check crime were still in place contrary to insinuation that kidnappers are taking over following security lapses. Over 10 persons have been kidnapped in various locations in the state in recent months. Uduaghan also spoke sequel to increase in the rate of jungle justice action often melted on suspects caught in various criminal act in the metropolis by residents. Residents say they had lost faith in the police owing to the worsening crime situation in the state.

Group Threatens to Disrupt Operations of Oil Companies

The Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NIMRC) has threatened to disrupt operations of multinational oil companies that were yet to comply with the implementation of the Local Content Act. The group handed down the warning in a statement in Warri. The group vowed to visit hostility on other oil majors that were yet to embrace the Act aimed at encouraging empowerment of Nigerians, through award of contracts and employment of youths.

30 Die in Edo-Abuja Road Mishap

About 30 persons are being feared dead in an accident involving two passengers’ buses on the Auchi-Abuja Expressway on Monday. One of the buses which was travelling to Kano had a head on collision with the other bus, which was heading towards Edo State from Abuja. The accident was said to have occurred at about 11 am between Okpella in Edo State and Okene axis of Kogi State. An eyewitness confirmed that all the passengers in the two vehicles lost their lives. Both vehicles were squeezed almost beyond recognition, trapping all passengers on board. It took several hours for officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSDC) to restore free flow of traffic.

LAGOS AND ENVIRONS

Navy Rounds Up Suspected Impostor in Lagos

Operatives of the Nigerian Navy have clamped down on a man, who allegedly specialised in using naval uniform to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians. The officers and men of the Nigerian Naval Ship (NNS) arrested the suspect, who was in full naval combat uniform at Coconut area, on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, while trying to rid the Expressway of traffic gridlock. Amudipe Oluwafisayo, 28, was alleged to have been notorious in the act of extorting money from hapless members of the society, claiming to be naval personnel. At the time of his arrest, the suspect allegedly claimed to be a midshipman (officer cadet) of the Nigerian Merchant Navy but unfortunately for him, he was wearing the rank of a Seaman (private).

OPC Members Sentenced for Dismembering Corpse

A Lagos High Court in Ikeja on Wednesday sentenced four members of the O’odua Peoples’ Congress (OPC) to two years imprisonment for dismembering the corpse of one Ibrahim Akande in 2005. The convicts were said to have carried out the act after Akande was shot dead by one of them. They were said to have disposed parts of the body in a nearby canal. One of the convicts, who admitted in his statement to the police that they dismembered the body to make the deceased unidentifiable, was arrested with the corpse’s head. The Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecution had, among other counts, charged them for “misconduct with regard to the deceased’s corpse.” The court however, discharged and acquitted the convicts on the counts of murder and accessory to the murder as the prosecution failed to prove the charges of murder and accessory to murder against them.

Police Arraign 30-Year-Old for Fraud in Lagos

A 30-year-old man, Kayode Sanusi, was, on Wednesday, arraigned by the police before a Lagos magistrate’s court on a six-count charge bordering on stealing, felony and obtaining by false pretense. Prosecutor, Barth Nwaokenye, alleged that Sanusi, had on January 20, 2011, obtained the sum of N2, 585, 000 from one Surajudeen Yusuf, with the pretense that he would remit it into his Zenith Bank account, while knowing that same is false. According to Nwaokenye, on the same date, Sanusi also stole three plain cheque leaves and made a withdrawal of N1, 485, 000 which is the property of Sarajudeen Yusuf. Sanusi pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was granted bail in the sum of N200, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

Robbers Raid 5 Banks in Ogun University

Robbers numbering about 20, on Thursday morning, raided five banks located within the permanent campus of the Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ogun State, carting away undisclosed amount of money. The bandits shot sporadically into the air to scare the people, mainly students, away from the scene of the operation. The robbers were said to have used explosives to perpetrate their dastardly acts. The operation, it was gathered, lasted for well over 30 minutes without hitch. When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr Sam Oyeleye, confirmed the incident and said that no casualty was recorded while the operations lasted.

Lagos Monarch Shot Dead by Policemen

A Local power tussle ended on a bloody note on Thursday in Lagos State as the traditional head of Bamgbelu in Ikorodu, Chief Oriyomi Jacob, was shot dead. Some policemen allegedly involved in the killing have been arrested and detained at the Ijede Police Station. It was learnt that the monarch was whisked away by four policemen and a few minutes after, he was found in his pool of blood. Hi sister, Mrs Otiki, alleged that the policemen kicked and brutalised him in their presence before taking him away. Otiki said there was a feud in the community, involving the monarch and other families “and because of the connection of the opposing families, he had suspected that he may be attacked until his fears were confirmed.

Fashola Orders Removal of Abandoned Vehicles in Lagos

In a fresh move to avert bomb blast in the state, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, issued a 14-day ultimatum to civil servants in the state to remove all abandoned and disused vehicles within and around the state secretariat and other government offices across the state. The measure, it was gathered, became necessary following increasing concern over the possibility of Boko Haram threat to extend its nefarious activities to the state.

2-Week-Old Baby Girl Dumped in Ekiti

A two-week-old baby was found dumped at Eke Olere Close in Moferere Area of Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Tuesday. The baby girl was found wrapped in a white shawl and placed in a ventilated carton in front of the home of a former chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the area. The baby was taken to the Erelu Adebayo Children’s Home at Iyin, in Irepodun/Ifelodun LGA of the state by the police. Inhabitants of the home of the NURTW chieftain, identified simply as Chief Eke Olere, heard the cry of the baby at about 11pm on Monday. The wife of the ex-NURTW boss heard the baby crying again on Tuesday morning and quickly alerted residents of the area.

GENERAL

JTF Recovers Dangerous Weapons in Maiduguri

Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State has said that two improvised devices and dangerous weapons were discovered in Maiduguri during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. Mohammed said the devices were hidden in a container in an uncompleted stadium in the metropolis. He said the task force also discovered a grenade and a pistol in a gutter along Damboa road as well as a gun at the Ramat square praying ground. According to him, the JTF is combat ready to deal with criminals in the state, and is urging the people to feel free to go about their normal businesses. He urged anybody who comes across any suspicious containers or bags to immediately report such to security operatives to safeguard lives and property.

NSA, SSS Dismiss US Warning

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Andrew Owoye Azazi, has dismissed the warning by the United States of a plot by Boko Haram to bomb three Luxury hotels in Abuja. The US warned last weekend that that Islamist sect’s next targets were luxury hotels frequented by diplomats, top politicians, and industrialists. The alert followed a bloody weekend when Boko Haram attacked Army and police formations in Damaturu, Potiskum in Yobe State and Maiduguri, Borno State which claimed over 100 lives but the police put the death toll at 53.

Total Discovers Oil Off Nigeria

Total’s Nigerian subsidiary has announced it has made a new oil discovery at its offshore Etisong North 1 well. The well was drilled to a total depth of 2,387 metres in 80 metres of water. One of the three reservoirs encountered tested at 8,500 barrels per day of 40 degree API oil, the company confirmed in a statement on Monday. Total’s senior vice president for exploration Marc Blaizot said the find was part of a two-pronged strategy the French player was mounting in Nigeria. Total operates OML 102 with a 40% working interest, while partner Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation holds the remainder.  It is the second discovery in the lease, following on from the Etisong main find in December 2008, increasing the feasibility of developing OML 102 as a hub, according to the company.

NYSC Bars Corps Members from Borno, Yobe

The orientation course for Batch ‘C’ of the National Youth Service Corps in Borno and Yobe states has been put off indefinitely in order to protect corps members from Boko Haram attacks. The NYSC  in a statement on Wednesday announced the indefinite suspension and asked corps members already posted to the two states harried by members of the violent Islamic sect last Friday to remain in their homes to await further directive. Registration for new corps members begins on Tuesday, November 15. Boko Haram recently bombed drinking joints, churches, mosques and police stations in both Maiduguri and Damaturu, capitals of Borno and Yobe respectively, killing nearly 150 people.

Boko Haram Attacks Police Station in Borno

The Commissioner of Police in Borno, Mr. Simeon Midenda, on Thursday in Maiduguri confirmed that some suspected members of the Boko Haram sect attacked a police out-post in Minok village, on the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road. Midenda said that the state police had already closed down the out-station, which had four police officers, some months ago. Midenda said the criminal group struck in the night and burnt down the station, adding that no life was lost. The force, according to him had put all necessary measures in place to protect the state and federal establishments in the area. He advised people in the state to report any suspicious movement to the security agencies for prompt action.

2 Killed in Attacks on Police Station, FRSC Office

Two men were reportedly killed when some gunmen suspected to be of Boko Haram sect attacked and bombed a police outpost and the office of the Federal Road Safety (FRSC) in Borno on Thursday. It was gathered that the gunmen stormed Mainok, a small town in Kaga LGA at about 6pm, bombed the police outpost and subsequently attacked the FRSC office. They were said to have shot sporadically for about 30 minutes before leaving the town. JTF Spokesman, Lt. Col. Hassan Mohammed confirmed the incident that left two people dead. Borno State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Simeon Midenda also confirmed the attack.

Police Arrest Man over Withdrawal of Money from Slain Woman’s Account

Police have arrested a man who attempted to withdraw huge sum of money from the bank account of a female senior staff of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), murdered, penultimate Friday in Abuja. The deceased identified as Mrs. Abdullahi, was reportedly strangled to death by her driver in connivance with a young man whose identity had not been ascertained presently, and her body dumped inside a deep freezer which she just purchased. However, as a joint team of homicide and anti-robbery detectives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command spread their dragnets in a manhunt for the perpetrators of the evil act, a middle-aged man has been caught in Imo State, after he withdrew money from her account. It is suspected that the cheque booklet used by the man caught in Imo State was among the documents stolen.

16 Killed in Kogi Road Accident

Sixteen people including a pregnant woman lost their lives in a ghastly motor accident in Kogi State on Monday. The accident occurred along Ogori- Auchi Road when one of the vehicles coming from Benin was said to have dangerously overtaken another bus and in the process collided with other vehicles coming from Abuja. The accident, reported to be one of the worst in recent times in the area generated so much empathy that many traders locked up their shops while residents were said to have given voluntary blood donation to rescue the lives of those on danger list. The Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Sunday Maku confirmed that 16 people died in the accident.

Boko Haram Enters Yobe

The radical Islamic sect behind the bombings and gun attacks in the North, Boko Haram, has relocated its operational headquarters from Maiduguri, Borno State to Damaturu, Yobe State. A source said government had received intelligence that showed that the Islamic sect had shifted base to Yobe. This move might be connected to the house-to-house arms search launched by the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Maiduguri recently. Maiduguri is the operational base of the sect and the place where most of its attacks have taken place. The JTF spokesman, Lt Col. Hassan Mohammed, recently disclosed that about 5000 assorted arms and ammunition were recovered during the search.

Farmers-Fulani Clash Claims 2 Lives in Katsina

Two Fulani herdsmen were on Tuesday feared dead and nine others injured in two separate Farmers/Fulani clashes in Jibia and Kaita LGAs of Katsina State. The incident occurred in Maje village of Jibia LGA when some Fulani herdsmen invaded the village of some farmers with their cattle. The Fulani herdsmen, who were said to have come from the neighbouring Niger Republic, had pushed scores of their animals into the farms thereby destroying farm produce. Consequently, fighting ensued between the farmers and the herdsmen, which led to the death of one Fulani and killing and injuring of many cows. However, the Fulani herdsmen moved away with the remaining of their flocks to the neighbouring Kaita LGA after the attack, resulting in another clash.

US Trains Nigerian Soldiers on Counter Terrorism

Following the continued deadly attacks of Boko Haram, the Nigerian military may have resorted to seeking help from the United States government which has offered to train its soldiers on how to counter the terrorist attacks. In a report by The Guardian of London, military authorities in Nigeria were said to have confirmed that Nigerian soldiers were undertaking trainings in the US.  Over 100 people were killed by the sect last weekend. The latest attacks, including an apparent suicide car bombing, targeted the police state headquarters in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, as well as police housing, government buildings, banks, and at least six churches. The Police claimed that 36 sect members were killed in the attacks.

Policemen Beat up Army Captain, Pregnant Wife at Checkpoint

Some policemen on duty during the Eid-el Kabir have beaten up a Nigerian Army Captain while his seven months pregnant wife was similarly manhandled.  The incident which caused panic and anger happened at the popular Gidan Mai Roundabout. A relative of the victims said the Captain who was in mufti and in company with his wife in his car reached the police checkpoint and was ordered by the policemen on duty to open his boot for checking just like other motorists. The relative said further that the captain who was stopped by the policemen and demanded for his vehicle particulars tried to explain to them that he was an officer in the Nigeria army.

12 Policemen Held over Robbery

No fewer than 12 policemen are being interrogated at the Adamawa State Police Command over their alleged involvement in criminal activities, including robbery and theft of firearms. A former DSP, who was said to have been the armourer while in service, was alleged to be in the habit of renting out sophisticated guns including AK47 rifles to robbers. One of the constables being interrogated was alleged to have a fleet of cars. Six of the suspects were allegedly fingered by some robbery suspects who were arrested in parts of the state by members of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad in the state. The suspects, who implicated their police accomplices, were alleged to have opened up following ‘’intensive police interrogation’,’’ adding that ‘’they usually collected assorted weapons from police armourers, which they returned after each successful operations with the fees.’’

Violence Rocks Kafanchan

The police have imposed a 24-hour curfew as violence erupted in Kafanchan, Kaduna state. Violence broke out in the town following the discovery of a corpse at Ungwan Katsit near the palace of the Emir of Jema’a, Alhaji Muhammadu Isa Muhammadu. It was learnt that upon the discovery on Wednesday morning that the corpse was that of a member of the Hausa Muslim community, the youths went wild, creating tension in the town. It was not clear as to whether the victim was killed by Southern Kaduna people youths of the area mounted road blocks, started bonfires and were preventing people from coming into the town or leaving. Security men were drafted to area, but the youths, confronted the soldiers on sight, according to reports.

FG Orders 24-Hour Surveillance over Bomb Alert

To curb the activities of Boko Haram and other anti-state groups, the Federal Government has ordered 24-hour surveillance around all hotels that have over 50 rooms capacity in the country while all public infrastructure and private recreational centres would now to be manned by plain clothes security operatives. The order, which emanated from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), General Andrew Azazi (retd), following the security alert issued by the United States (US) Government to its citizens to steer clear of some prominent hotels in Abuja, also include the immediate installation of top security equipment in the country, before the end of November.

924 Nigerians on Death Row –LEDAP

A non-governmental organization, Legal Defense and Assistance Project (LEDAP) has disclosed that 924 Nigerians have been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution in Nigeria. According to LEDAP, South West Coordinator, Mr. Dare Adeoye, the finding is contained in the recent publication of the organization, disclosing that eight out of the condemned people are female. The offences that carried death penalty are murder, armed robbery, treason and conspiracy to treason, kidnapping (Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states), instigating an invasion of Nigeria, fabricating false evidence leading to the conviction and death of an innocent person and aiding the suicide of a child or lunatic.

17 Die in Bauchi Auto Crash

Seventeen people, on Wednesday, lost their lives in an auto crash on the Azare-Potiskum road in Katagum LGA of Bauchi State, while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries in the accident. Confirming the accident, the Bauchi State Sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Zakaria Mamman, explained that the accident, involving an 18-seater Toyota commercial bus and a Peugeot station wagon. He stated that investigation conducted by men of the FRSC from Azare, revealed that the accident was partly caused as a result of dangerous overtaking and overloading by the colliding vehicles. While warning members of the public, particularly passengers, against boarding overloaded vehicles, the sector commander advised drivers to always obey speed limits when driving.

OPEC Oil Output Hits 30.05mbpd

Crude oil output of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October to 30.05 million b/d (mbpd) up from 30mbpd in September, as recovering production in Libya offsets drops in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. A just-released Platt’s survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts showed a 260,000 b/d month-on-month increase in Libyan production, up from just 90,000 bpd in September to 350,000 bpd in October. In Nigeria, volumes were down by around 50,000 bpd. Shell lifted a force majeure on Bonny Light crude oil in August, but declared another on Forcados crude exports after an attack on a major pipeline. Iran, which currently holds the OPEC presidency, will likely press the group to endorse output allocations agreed in late 2008 when oil prices were tumbling amid a deepening global economic recession.

INTERNATIONAL

Gambari Condemns Attack on Peacekeepers

The Joint Special Representative for Darfur, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, has condemned Sunday's attack on the joint United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur. He said the attack led to the death of one soldier while two others were injured in the latest incident in the Sudanese region. At least 34 UNAMID (UN African Mission in Darfur) personnel have been killed since the mission was deployed nearly four years ago. Gambari explained that any attack on international peacekeepers was a war crime, and called on the Sudanese authorities to start a full investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Liberia Election: Violent Protests Erupt

At least one person has died after shots were reportedly fired during an opposition protest in Monrovia ahead of Liberia's presidential run-off. Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) candidate, Winston Tubman, pulled out of Tuesday's vote, alleging fraud. Nobel Peace laureate Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state, is running for another term. She was first elected after Liberia's first post-war election in 2005. These are the first elections organised by Liberians since the 14-year conflict ended. The previous ones were run by the large UN peacekeeping mission. Justice Minister, Christiana Tah, said that security would be stepped up for the elections following the violence and that an investigation would be opened.

Soldier Found Guilty Of Murdering Afghans, Sentenced To Life

Army Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs has been sentenced to life in military prison with eligibility for parole in 10 years. A military court-martial Thursday found Gibbs guilty of murdering three Afghan civilians, illegally cutting off pieces of their corpses to keep as "souvenirs" and planting weapons to make the men appear as if they were Taliban fighters killed in legitimate firefights. He was reduced in rank to private and ordered to forfeit all pay and benefits. Gibbs already has served 547 days of pre-trial confinement, which will be subtracted from the 10-year sentence. Gibbs' attorney, Phillip Stackhouse, had asked the court for a sentence of life with parole so Gibbs would have the opportunity to be with his now-3-year-old son again. Gibbs is the highest ranking of five soldiers charged with being part of a rogue "kill squad" that targeted civilians. Gibbs had pleaded not guilty.

Rescue Teams Search For Survivors in another Earthquake in Turkey

Rescue teams are searching for dozens of people trapped in rubble after a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, killing at least seven people. Twenty-five buildings have collapsed, including a six-storey hotel in the city of Van, where journalists and aid workers were staying, officials said. Emergency workers said 23 people had been rescued alive but that up to 100 more remained unaccounted for. Last month, a 7.2-magnitude quake in the same area killed 600 people. There have been hundreds of aftershocks since that disaster and thousands of people are still camping out in tents in freezing conditions in the area.

Afghan Woman and Daughter Stoned and Shot Dead

A group of armed men have stoned and shot dead a woman and her daughter in Afghanistan's Ghazni province. The officials blamed the Taliban, who they said had accused the women of "moral deviation and adultery". The police said two men had been arrested in connection with the murder. The incident happened on Thursday in the Khawaja Hakim area of Ghazni city, where the family lived. Security officials said armed men entered the house where the young widow lived with her daughter and took them out to the yard, where they were initially stoned and then shot dead. "Neighbours did not help or inform the authorities on time," an official said.

IAEA Reports Iran Studying Nuclear Weapons

The UN's nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says it has information indicating Iran has carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device". In its latest report on Iran, the IAEA says the research includes computer models that could only be used to develop a nuclear bomb trigger. Iran condemned the findings as politically motivated. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, says his country’s nuclear programme is solely to generate civilian power. The report does not state that Iran is actually building a nuclear weapon.

US Senators Warn China on Military Parts

Two US senators have angrily pressed China to crack down on firms blamed for counterfeit electronics that end up in US military hardware, warning such components could endanger US national security. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman, Carl Levin, accused Beijing of tolerating "a brazenly open market" in the city of Shenzhen, which he described as the epicentre of the illicit trade. Levin slammed China's embassy for denying committee investigators the necessary visas to travel to mainland China and quoted one official as saying the probe concerned "sensitive" issues that could be "damaging" to bilateral relations. Senator John McCain noted that counterfeit electronics - used parts made to look new and are sold as new - had turned up at the US Missile Defense Agency, in a submarine-hunting helicopter, and in a military cargo jet.

Car Feud Kills Eight in Philippines

Eight people were killed as two warring Muslim clans clashed in a long-running feud stemming from the sale of a car. Soldiers were deployed in a remote region of the southern island of Mindanao to stop the fighting that broke out on Friday, said local military commander, Colonel Daniel Lucero. At least eight people have been killed on both sides since the fighting erupted, according to Lucero said. The feud between the families of two local politicians has raged since 2002, according to Lucero. The eight people killed in violence over the past few days were armed members of the rival clans and their followers, according to Lucero. Violent feuds between families over land, political power and business influence have long existed across the Philippines.

Iran Accuses US, Israel of Planning for Military Strike

Iran accused Israel and the United States of seeking world support for a military strike on its nuclear facilities, which Russia warned, on Monday, would be "a very serious mistake." The spike in tension comes ahead of the release this week of a report into Iran's nuclear drive by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which diplomats say will focus on the Islamic republic's alleged efforts to put fissile material in a warhead and developing missiles. Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned against a military attack on Iran and again insisted Tehran's atomic programme was for peaceful purposes only. Germany said that it would call for "greater pressure" on Iran to comply with international commitments on its nuclear programme.

US Empties Biggest Iraq Base

The U.S. military is vacating Saddam Hussein's ornate palaces at its war headquarters in Baghdad and will turn the property over to Iraq next month, but Saddam's prison toilet is leaving with the Americans. The stainless steel commode and a reinforced steel door have been removed from the cell where the dictator spent two years before his 2006 execution and is destined for a military police museum in the United States. The villa where American troops built a maximum-security jail for Saddam and his henchman, Chemical Ali sits on a U.S. complex near Baghdad's airport known as Victory Base, which is scheduled to be handed over to Iraq's government in December as U.S. forces withdraw completely.

Roadside Bomb Kills 11 in Afghan

A roadside bomb targeting police in rural north-western Afghanistan killed at least nine members of an Afghan family and two policemen on Monday, the Interior Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. The family members killed included two women and six children who were riding in police vehicles. Several people were wounded. The attack occurred during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. Police were helping the family of poor people by giving them a ride to the Qadis district's centre when the bomb exploded. The Taliban did not immediately respond to queries on whether they were responsible. The bomb came a day after seven civilians were killed and 15 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a mosque in Baghlan province in the north of the country.

44 Die in Deadly Colombia Mudslide

Searchers on Tuesday recovered more bodies from the debris of a massive weekend mudslide in Colombia, raising the death toll to 44, authorities said. The mudslide in Manizales, swept through the Cervantes neighbourhood, penultimate Saturday, demolishing as many as 14 houses. Sandra Calvo, a spokeswoman for Colombia's Risk Management Office said rescue work was briefly interrupted Tuesday morning due to rainfall. Scores of Colombians were still awaiting news of loved ones buried since Saturday, as the likelihood of finding more survivors diminished by the hour. State weather monitors warn that the heavy rain that has been soaking Colombia since September will last through the first months of 2012 due to the cyclical La Nina weather phenomenon.

Arabs Urged to Take Action as Syria Death Toll Rises

The Arab League on Tuesday came under mounting pressure to act after Syria's regime failed to implement its peace blueprint and tightened a bloody siege on the flashpoint city of Homs. The United Nations (UN) says that the regime's crackdown on protesters has left more than 3,500 people dead. Syrians are protesting against President Bashar al-Assad long rule. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 people were killed across the country on Tuesday as soldiers pressed on a military campaign in the central industrial hub. Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, described the situation in the embattled neighbourhood as "appalling," with residents deprived of food, water and medical supplies for the past week.