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Showing posts from October 7, 2017

Trump on North Korea: 'Only one thing will work'

President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday that 25 years of agreements with North Korea have failed, "making fools" of US negotiators. Then he added cryptically that "only one thing will work." In a pair of Tweets sent Saturday afternoon, Trump said that past agreements with North Korea have all been violated. "Presidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid ... hasn't worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, makings fools of U.S. negotiators," Trump wrote. "Sorry, but only one thing will work!"   Asked by reporters later Saturday about the cryptic tweet, Trump would only say: "You'll figure that out pretty soon."   Reached for comment on Trump's tweet, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed that all options are still on the table and that she had nothing further to add at this time.   This

Donald Trump is ‘keeping the world from chaos’ – White House

US President Donald Trump has “tremendous accomplishments on the international stage” and he is “keeping the world from chaos,” the White House has claimed. White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders made the remarks on Friday in a response to Republican Senator Bob Corker’s who suggested that a select group of Trump administration officials “help separate our country from chaos.” “I think the president is the one that’s keeping the world from chaos,” Sanders said. “He has an incredible team around him that’s helping him lead that effort, and he’s had tremendous accomplishments on the international stage by working with allies and confronting enemies.” “We’re going to continue doing that. We’re going to continue doing that as a team with the president leading that effort,” she said. Corker told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis and White House chief of staff John Kelly were helping

Nigeria’s Super Eagles qualify for Russia 2018 World Cup

Nigeria became the first African country to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, after they beat Zambia 1-0 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital. The first half of the encounter ended goalless, with the Chipolopolo the better side, troubling the Super Eagles with their pace in attack. However, in the second half, the game swung the hosts’ way, after Gernot Rohr introduced Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi for Simon Moses. Iwobi finished off a fine move down the right, following nice combination play between Victor Moses and Shehu Abdullahi. Nigeria now have 13 points at the top of Group and an unassailable six-point lead ahead of Zambia, with one round of games left. They join other countries like Brazil, Spain, Mexico, England, Germany, Iran, South Korea, etc. who have also booked their places at next year’s tournament.

US says it’s ‘deeply concerned’ about Kenya’s political environment

The U.S. government is “deeply concerned” about the political environment in Kenya as police and protesters clashed ahead of its presidential election on Oct. 26, the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Friday. It said that while the United States did not back any party or candidate, it fully supports the work of an election board, adding: “Unfortunately, in recent weeks actors on all sides have undermined the electoral commission and stoked tensions.” The main opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) party led by Raila Odinga is holding weekly protests calling for reforms at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). The U.S. government is “deeply concerned” about the political environment in Kenya as police and protesters clashed ahead of its presidential election on Oct. 26, the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Friday.

Two rebels killed in militia attack on UN base in east DR Congo

Militia fighters in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo attacked a U.N. peacekeeping base on Friday, triggering clashes that left two of the fighters dead and two peacekeepers slightly wounded, the U.N. mission said. Thirty-four rebels from a Mai-Mai militia have been killed in fighting with Congo’s army in the past week, local army spokesman Jules Ngongo said, a spike in violence he attributed to an army crackdown on the militia’s harassment of local residents. Friday’s attack, in which two rebels were also wounded, was a rare frontal assault on U.N. forces charged with protecting civilians in Congo’s east, where dozens of armed groups exploit mineral resources and prey on local residents. “Very early this morning, about 30 Mai-Mai attacked,” mission spokeswoman Florence Marchal told Reuters, adding that U.N. forces drove off the assailants. It was not immediately clear which Mai-Mai group attacked nor what their objective was. The Mai-Mai comprise a number of armed bands that

Ben Stokes will not travel to Australia with the rest of the England squad for the Ashes, the ECB have confirmed. All-rounder Stokes, who is currently under police investigation having been arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm last month, has been suspended indefinitely alongside teammate Alex Hales and both aren't being considered for selection in any format of the game until further notice. The ECB are yet to make a final decision on Stokes' involvement in this winter's tour Down Under but, if he does feature, the 26-year-old will travel later.Middlesex seamer Steven Finn has been added to the squad and will travel with the rest of the side for the five-match Test series later this month. Both Stokes and Hales have, however, been retained on central contracts with director of England Cricket Andrew Strauss confirming the news on Friday. “With the Ashes just around the corner, it’s important to give the players, the coaching staff and supporters some clarity around a complex situation," he said. “This decision will help us in the weeks ahead and give every player and the whole England set-up the best chance to focus on the challenge ahead in Australia. “Steven is a high-quality cricketer, with considerable experience of both international cricket and Australian conditions. The selectors believe he will add to the range of options and the squad will be further supported by the arrival of the Lions in Australia in November.”“We have spoken to Ben and assured him that our decision in no way prejudges the outcome of the ongoing police investigation or Cricket Discipline Commission process, as can be seen by the award of central contracts. “On these, I would like to congratulate all of those who have received England contracts for 2017/18, ahead of a busy year of international cricket.” In a separate matter, the ECB has also fined and issued a written warning to Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball and Liam Plunkett following a disciplinary investigation into behaviour during the recent one-day series against West Indies.

Argentina   are in peril of missing their first World Cup since 1970 after they were held to a 0-0 draw against   Peru . Even a sell-out home crowd in Buenos Aires' La Bombonera was not enough to rally  Lionel  Messi 's side, who slipped further from qualifying places. Manager  Jorge Sampaoli  granted Boca Juniors striker Dario Benedetto his first full debut alongside Papu Gomez up front, although still it was not enough to invigorate the struggling team Their World Cup fate is now out of their hands and they now need other results to go their way if they are to book their place in Russia next summer. There is one final round of qualifying left for CONMEBOL teams – and here is how it all breaks down. Argentina have it all to do in their final match, against Ecuador. If they win their final match they are guaranteed a playoff space, and would go through automatically if their rivals Brazil avoid defeat to Chile. A draw would also be good enough to go straight through if

England confirm Ben Stokes will not travel to Australia with the rest of the squad for the Ashes series

Ben Stokes   will not travel to Australia with the rest of the   England   squad for the Ashes, the ECB have confirmed. All-rounder Stokes, who is currently under police investigation having been arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm last month, has been suspended indefinitely alongside teammate Alex Hales and both aren't being considered for selection in any format of the game until further notice. The ECB are yet to make a final decision on Stokes' involvement in this winter's tour Down Under but, if he does feature, the 26-year-old will travel later. Middlesex seamer Steven Finn has been added to the squad and will travel with the rest of the side for the five-match Test series later this month. Both Stokes and Hales have, however, been retained on central contracts with director of England Cricket Andrew Strauss confirming the news on Friday. “With the Ashes just around the corner, it’s important to give the players, the coaching staff and suppo

United States rout Panama, edge closer to World Cup

Christian Pulisic ran riot in Orlando to fire the United States to within touching distance of Russia 2018 with a 4-0 win over Panama. The brilliant 19-year-old scored one and made another to cap a sensational 19-minute burst at the start of this crucial World Cup qualifier to see off a shellshocked Panama team and help the US take a firm step towards next year’s finals. Pulisic opened the scoring on eight minutes and beautifully set up strike partner Jozy Altidore to make it two and compound a nightmare start for Panama, who now look destined to settle for a play-off match against either Syria or Australia to land a World Cup place for the first time in their history. Honduras, whose match in Costa Rica was put back a day because of adverse weather, also remain in the mix. For the Americans, however, a win against bottom of the hexagonal table Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday will seal their ticket for an eighth consecutive finals and even a point should do it. “It was a

Why EFCC, ICPC continue to lose corruption cases – Akin Olujimi

Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Nigeria, Akin Olujimi, has said that the fight against corruption in the country would remain shallow if anti-graft and security agencies were only keen on rushing to court to satisfy Nigerians’ thirst for conviction. Olujimi said the police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), continued to lose corruption cases in court owing to lack of thorough investigation and its attendant insufficient evidence for due prosecution. Olujimi spoke as Chairman at the 2017 summit of The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, Oyo State branch, themed, “The Roles of Professionals in Fighting Corruption in Nigeria”, held in Ibadan, on Friday. He also enjoined Nigerians not to expect hurried judgements when corruption cases were brought before the courts. “From 2003 till today, even though the EFCC, ICPC and police make arrests and take people to court, corruption still seems t

Russia strikes kill 120 IS fighters, over 60 ‘foreign mercenaries’ in Syria

Some 120 Islamic State fighters and 60 foreign mercenaries were killed in a series of Russian air strikes in Syria over the past 24 hours, the defence ministry in Moscow said on Saturday. “A command post of the terrorists and up to 80 (IS) fighters including nine natives of the Northern Caucasus were destroyed in the area of Mayadeen,” the ministry said, adding some 40 IS fighters were killed around the town of Albu Kamal. As a result of an air strike more than 60 foreign mercenaries from the former Soviet Union, Tunisia, and Egypt were killed south of Deir Ezzor. The ministry said the “large numbers of foreign mercenaries” were coming into the Syrian border town of Albu Kamal from Iraq. Mayadeen is one of the Islamic State group’s last bastions in Syria. The advances against IS in Deir Ezzor have cost a heavy civilian death toll from Russian and coalition air raids. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian air strikes on Thursday night killed 14

Donald Trump sends lieutenants to Pakistan with tough message

President Donald Trump will dispatch his top diplomatic and military advisors to Pakistan in the coming weeks, turning up the heat on a nuclear-armed ally accused of harboring terror groups. Weeks after Trump angrily accused Islamabad of providing safe have to “agents of chaos,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to depart for Pakistan late this month. He will be followed by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, according to US and Pakistani sources. The one-two punch is designed to drill home Trump’s message that Pakistani state support for jihadist groups has to end, according to officials briefed on the visits. Washington has long been frustrated by Pakistan’s willingness to offer cross-border safe havens to Taliban factions and armed jihadist groups fighting US troops and their Afghan allies. The relationship reached the breaking point in 2011, when president Barack Obama sent commandos into Pakistan in 2011 to kill Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was living in a m

Mexican photojournalist found dead after kidnapping

A photojournalist who received threats over his work has been found dead in northern Mexico a day after he was kidnapped, officials said Friday, making him the 11th journalist killed in the country this year. The government’s Mechanism to Protect Journalists and Rights Activists called for an “immediate and effective investigation” into the killing of Edgar Daniel Esqueda Castro, 23, who was reportedly kidnapped Thursday by gunmen posing as police officers in the city of San Luis Potosi. There were immediate protests in Mexico, which drug wars and corruption have made one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the press, according to rights groups. Esqueda’s body was found dumped near the San Luis Potosi airport, bound and bearing signs of torture, according to local media reports and the rights group Reporters Without Borders. His wife told the press freedom watchdog that gunmen claiming to be police had burst into their home while they slept early Thursday, th

Mumbai fights to fix its crowded, crumbling and deadly rail network

At least 23 dead in Mumbai station stampede. 00:51 Mumbai fights to fix its crowded, crumbling and deadly rail network Mumbai, India  It's a typical workday morning in Mumbai and commuters are rushing to get on and off trains at Prabhadevi station. Every day in this city, seven and a half million people pack into commuter trains and steel themselves for the daily ordeal of traveling to and from work. The veneer of Bollywood and billionaires may lend India's financial heart an aura of glamor, but the workers in the country's most densely packed city, from office staff to snack sellers, risk their lives every day while navigating a transport system meant to serve an earlier century. On a sunny morning several days on from the stampede, passengers trudge down the same stairs where the tragedy took place. Some squeeze past the exiting passengers to head up the stairs with wide bundles on their heads. "Every day, we face death while traveling,"