Gaza conflict: Hamas vows no Israel ceasefire

by bbc

A reclusive Hamas commander has rejected suggestions the Palestinian militants are ready for a ceasefire with Israel to end violence in Gaza.
In an audio recording, Mohammad Deif, commander of Hamas’ military wing, said his soldiers were “eager for death”.
Fighting continued into the early hours of Wednesday, with at least 32 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire overnight, Gaza health officials said.
At least 1,200 Palestinians and 55 Israelis have been killed since July 8.
Early on Wednesday, shelling on a UN school in Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp killed at least 15, medical sources said.
A UN official confirmed the shelling but gave a lower initial toll of 16 dead, AFP news agency reported.
Most of Palestinian deaths have been civilians, and 6,700 have been injured, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Israel has seen 53 of its soldiers die in the conflict with militant group Hamas. Two civilians and a Thai worker in Israel have also died.
Palestinian factions are expected to meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss a possible humanitarian ceasefire. Egyptian mediators are reportedly revising an earlier truce proposal that was accepted by Israel but not Hamas.
As international pressure for a ceasefire grows, Israel and Hamas have each reiterated their positions and aims.
“We don’t accept any condition of ceasefire,” the Associated Press quoted Hamas commander Mohammad Deif as saying. “There is no ceasefire without the stop of the aggression and the end of the siege.”
Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza and restricted the entry of goods since 2007.
The recording of Mohammad Deif’s statement emerged at the same time as a Hamas video of militants using a tunnel to attack an Israeli soldier.
Israel insists the existence of such tunnels, dug by militants to infiltrate Israel, are the key reason for pressing ahead with Operation Protective Edge.
The Israel Defense Forces want to continue operations to destroy the tunnels once any ceasefire is agreed.
Earlier on Tuesday a senior figure in the West Bank, Yasser Abed Rabbo, said a ceasefire was imminent and claimed to speak for Hamas.
But a spokesman for the group quickly denied that.

16 die as troops rescue Cameroon’s Vice PM’s wife

 by Kayode Idowu with Agency Reporter

The abducted wife of Cameroon’s Vice Prime Minister, Amadou Ali, has been rescued from her Boko Haram kidnappers.
The lady was kidnapped on Sunday, alongside a traditional ruler of Kolofata town in Cameroon.
The rescue operation was carried out by soldiers from Cameroon in an operation that was reported to have lasted several hours.
According to Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, 16 people died during the rescue operation.
Cameroon’s Minister of Information, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, confirmed the freedom of the vice prime minister’s wife.
Bakary said government was still investigating the number of casualties.
Meanwhile, some members of the deadly Boko Haram sect on Monday attacked Katarko village, in the outskirts of Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, killing eight persons and blowing off an important bridge.
Katarko is 22 kilometers south of Damaturu, Yobe State capital, and a community in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, which is believed to be one of the strongest hold of the sect in the north-eastern state.
Residents told journalists on the telephone that the insurgents stormed the town around 7.30 pm, and attacked the military base before moving to some houses, where eight persons were killed.
One of the residents who claimed that the siege was on for over seven hours, told journalists on Tuesday that, “They came here and launched an unsuccessful attack on the military base before embarking on some selective killings within the town living us with eight casualties presently being prepared for burial.”
He said the insurgents stormed the town around 7.30 pm and carried out their attack until 2.30 am without any form of resistance.
It was also gathered that during the siege the insurgents blew off the Katarko Bridge linking Damaturu to their stronghold; Buni Yadi, the headquarters of Gujba Local Government Area of the state. This area connects Yobe and neighbouring Borno and Adamawa states, all under emergency rule as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency.
This is the first time Boko Haram militants are attacking Katarko, since the commencement of their hostility in 2009.
In a similar report, two suspected members of the sect had been arrested in Damaturu metropolis for being in possession of Improvise Explosive Devices.They are believed to have the intention of causing havoc in the troubled town.
Although authorities declined comment on the arrest, residents confirmed that the suspects were arrested at separate locations within the metropolis with the devices.
They claimed that the first arrested insurgent gave out information on the second hoodlum, who was later picked up at another part of the troubled town.


@punchng.com

US, EU expand sanctions on Russia

by bbc

US President Barack Obama has announced new economic sanctions against Russia, saying they will make Russia’s “weak economy even weaker”.
He said the co-ordinated actions of the US and European Union would “have an even bigger bite” on Russia’s economy.
The new restrictions include banning Americans or people in the US from banking with three Russian banks.
The aim is to increase the cost to Russia of its continued support for pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow denies charges by the EU and US that it is supplying heavy weapons to the rebels.
Speaking at the White House, Obama said the US was widening its sanctions to target the key sectors of the Russian economy – energy, arms and finance.
“If Russia continues on this current path, the costs on Russia will continue to grow,” Obama said.
The US Treasury said the banks being targeting in this round of sanctions were VTB, the Bank of Moscow, and the Russian Agriculture Bank.
Earlier, the EU also adopted new economic sanctions against Russia, targeting the oil sector, defence equipment and sensitive technologies.

MH17 black boxes show crash caused by rocket shrapnel

• 
  View PhotoAFP/AFP/File - Debris from the fuselage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 lies at the crash site near the Ukrainian village of Hrabove (Grabovo), on July 25, 2014

Black boxes recovered from downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in rebel-held east Ukraine show shrapnel from a rocket explosion caused the passenger jet to crash, a Ukrainian security official said Monday.

International investigators "indicated that data from flight recorders show that the reason for the destruction and crash of the plane was massive explosive decompression arising from multiple shrapnel perforations from a rocket explosion," Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, said.
Data from the doomed airliner's black boxes was decrypted in Britain after being handed over to Malaysian officials by pro-Russian rebels controlling the crash site of MH17.
Investigators leading the probe in the Netherlands -- which lost 193 citizens on the doomed jet -- refused to confirm the latest information from Kiev, saying that they were "waiting to get a more complete idea of what happened."
Kiev and its Western allies have accused insurgents of shooting down the plane, killing all 298 people on board.

Argentina hours away from bond default

by bbc

Argentina’s economy minister is expected to return to the negotiating table on Wednesday in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the country defaulting on its bonds.
Axel Kicillof’s talks with “hold-out” investors ended late on Tuesday night in New York without agreement.
They are demanding a full pay-out of $1.3bn (£766m) on the bonds they hold.
A US judge has ruled that the “hold-outs” must be paid by Wednesday night if no deal is agreed.
But thousands of miles away in Buenos Aires, many are sceptical that there can be any agreement.
The government’s rhetoric has been clear.
The “hold-outs” are US hedge funds that bought debt on the cheap during Argentina’s darkest hours and never agreed to restructuring.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner calls them vultures, accusing them of taking advantage of Argentina’s debt problems to make a big profit.
What makes the problem worse is that if the “hold-outs” get their way, other bondholders who agreed to take cuts of up to 70% in what they are owed may also demand full repayment.
Ask people on the street about their view on Argentina’s debt troubles and most admit it is too complicated for them to understand.
But the two words they do know are “fondos buitres” – “vulture funds” in Spanish.
Despite the defiant tone of the government, many people seem resigned. Argentina has defaulted before and it will do it again.
I met Carina Etchegaray, the mother of two children aged 14 and 16.
When Argentina last defaulted at the end of 2001, she lost huge amounts of savings.
She had wanted to buy a house for her young family. But at the end of 2001, the government introduced what was known as the “corralito”. It literally means a small enclosure in Spanish, but refers to when the government partially froze bank accounts and people were stopped from taking money out.
“When we finally had the money, because of devaluation, we could only buy a car for the same quantity of money we had for a house,” she says.
But she is also practical.
“We live with this shadow of crisis. You have to continue with your life because you have children and have to work.
“You have to adapt – in this country, it’s the way of life.”
And that is what entrepreneur Federico Dumas is doing too – but not in the way that Argentina would hope.
He has a software company, but says he is not investing as he would like to.
“I’m afraid of everything and my customers are not willing to invest, so that will affect my business,” he says, adding that he is hopeful Argentina’s problems will be solved reasonably.
“But if the country goes into default, I’m very afraid of what’s going to happen to my business and my employees.”

Guinea concert stampede kills 24

by bbc

At least 24 people have died in a stampede at a beach concert in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The president’s office has declared a week of national mourning after what it called a “tragic drama” at a concert by the Guinean rap group Instinct Killers.
Dozens of people were injured, said police sources quoted by AFP.
The concert took place on Tuesday evening on a beach in Ratoma, a northern suburb of Conakry.
The authorities were “shocked by the tragic drama caused by mass movements at a cultural event,” said a statement from the president’s office.
Hospital sources said there were 13 girls among the dead.

Libya militias seize Benghazi special forces base

by bbc

A special forces base in the Libyan city of Benghazi has been seized by militias, fighters and officials say.
The site was captured by Islamist-led militias after days of fighting in the eastern city, officials said.
Meanwhile, Italy has offered to help extinguish a huge blaze that has engulfed the biggest fuel depot in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
Libya has been gripped by instability since the 2011 uprising, with swathes of the country controlled by militias.
“We have withdrawn from the [Benghazi] army base after heavy shelling,” Special Forces officer Fadel al-Hassi told reporters on Tuesday.
The fighters also confirmed in a statement that they had taken control of the base.
On Monday, officials said that at least 38 people had been killed in clashes between troops loyal to the Libyan government and Islamist fighters in Benghazi.
At least 97 people have also been killed in fighting between rival militias battling for control of Tripoli’s main airport in the past week.
The government has blamed clashes between the armed groups for starting the fire at the Tripoli fuel depot, and preventing firefighters from putting out the blaze.
The depot is about 10km (six miles) from Tripoli on the road to the international airport.
The government has been unable to disarm the numerous armed groups controlling large parts of the country, which are behind Libya’s worst violence since the 2011 uprising that toppled Col Muammar Gaddafi.
It has led some Western governments to urge their nationals to leave and withdraw foreign staff from their embassies in Tripoli.

Fani-Kayode dares APC to explain links with B’Haram

You are here: Home / News / Fani-Kayode dares APC to explain links with B’Haram

by Allwell Okpi

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode

A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has again challenged the All Progressives Congress to explain its relationship with the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, saying the party was not able to controvert him, few months ago, when he accused it of sponsoring the sect.

While speaking with journalists in Osogbo, Osun State capital, after attending a campaign rally of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Tuesday, Fani-Kayode insisted that some members of the APC, particularly those from the North, were sponsoring the operations of Boko Haram.

He said, “The APC in the North is the political wing of Boko Haram in the northern part of Nigeria. This, I have said before and no one among them was bold enough to challenge me. I will continue to say it again and again. The northern elements in the APC have to explain to all Nigerians why some of their leaders in the North support, encourage and defend Boko Haram members.

“No member of the APC has been bold enough to controvert what I said about their relationship with the Boko Haram members in the North. I stand to be challenged if any of them has a contrary view.”

Fani-Kayode, who recently defected from the APC to the PDP, also said he had met with the people that matter in the PDP including President Goodluck Jonathan and they had assured him of an enabling stay in the ruling party.

He said he would work for the victory of the PDP in the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State and would also contribute to the victory of the party in the 2015 general elections.

He added that the PDP remained the only national party in the country.

When asked to comment on his meeting with President Jonathan, Fani-Kayode said, “I will not like to reveal what we discussed in the secret. It was a closed- door meeting and let us leave that for now.”

In his reaction to Fani-Kayode’s comments, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told our correspondent that the party would rather spend its time on more productive ventures than respond to the former aviation minister’s allegations.

“We will not spend time again defending the obvious. We will rather spend our time on more productive ventures,” Mohammed said.

@punchng.com

Dokubo-Asari faults Jonathan’s comments on Buhari

 by Friday Olokor

Dokubo-Asari
| credits: File copy

The Leader of Niger-Delta Peoples Volunteers Force, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, on Tuesday slammed President Goodluck Jonathan over his comment that Nigeria would have boiled if a former Head of State Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) had died in the Kaduna blast.

He also exonerated himself from the allegation that he paid the alleged masterminds of the Kaduna blast N5m to carry out the attacks, saying people were out to tarnish his image.

While describing the President’s comment as unnecessary, he stated that placing the life of one Nigerian above the over 80 persons who died in the incident was wrong.

“I do not work for Jonathan. What the President said was wrong. The life of Buhari is not more important than 87 people that died in that blast. It is unfortunate that the President made such a statement. I wonder why the President will be promoting one person above other Nigerians. That statement from the President was very unfortunate. I do not have the capacity to tell the President to apologise, but I still insist that he should not have made such a statement,” Dokubo-Asari told journalists on Tuesday in Abuja.

He recalled that, “Soon after the blast, a cross-gender person came out and was arrested. Even the mother of the person arrested said he was insane. Social media reports said I gave them N5m to carry out the attack. These things are masterminded. The first one is against President Jonathan and the other one is against me.

“I did not pay anybody to carry out any assassination attempt on Buhari. I do not have anything against him. He is not a threat. He will fail in 2015. For the records, I do not operate a Twitter account and anyone saying I tweeted that there would be more attacks is only using my name.”

Dokubo-Asari also raised the alarm that all the calculated attacks on him were geared towards shutting him up ahead of the 2015 presidential election.

He said, “They want to silence me because they know the role I will play in 2015. They have also sponsored reports in Benin Republic that I am the person financing Boko Haram. Another Islamic scholar also said I am the one sponsoring Boko Haram to destroy the North on behalf of President Jonathan.

Dokubo-Asari also alleged that the late leader of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, funded Buhari’s elections in 2011.

He said, “In March 2010, I was a guest of Maummar Gaddafi. He told me that Sule Armah and Buba Galadima were in Libya ahead of the 2011 elections. Gaddafi told me that he had been funding Buhari’s elections in the past. I want the Department of State Security to investigate if these names I have mentioned were not in Libya during the period I am talking about.”

But a Buhari’s ally and a former spokesperson for the defunct Congress for Progress Change, Alhaji Buba Galadima, said Dokubo’s allegations were unfounded.

@punchng.com

EU 'must absorb sanctions impact'

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  View PhotoPress Association - Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the European Union must be prepared for any impact as a result of sanctions levelled on Russia

European countries must be prepared to absorb the impact of economic sanctions on Russia in order to encourage president Vladimir Putin's regime to behave "properly" in Ukraine, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said.

Mr Hammond was speaking after the European Union and US agreed new measures targeting sectors of the Russian economy in the wake of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which has been blamed on Moscow-backed rebels in Ukraine.
The new EU sanctions include an arms embargo, a ban on the sale of dual use and sensitive technologies, and a ban on the sale of bonds and equities by state-owned Russian banks in European capital markets.
Eight more officials - including four members of Mr Putin's inner circle - are also expected to be subjected to asset bans and travel freezes.
The White House swiftly followed up the EU's announcement with a fresh round of sanctions of its own, targeting three Russian banks.
Mr Hammond told Sky News that the measures had been "d esigned to maximise the impact on Russia and minimise the impact on EU economies".
But he added: "Y ou can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, and if we want to impose economic pain on Russia in order to try to encourage it to behave properly in eastern Ukraine and to give access to the crash site, then we have to be prepared to take these measures."
US president Barack Obama said: "Today Russia is once again isolating itself from the international community, setting back decades of genuine progress. It does not have to be this way. This a choice Russia and president Putin has made."
Prime Minister David Cameron said the new sanctions should send a message to Mr Putin that his behaviour in Ukraine was unacceptable" and Russia could expect "tough action" from the international community until it changed course.
The measures were agreed as world aviation chiefs set up a "senior level" international task force to deal with the threat to passenger planes following the downing of flight MH17.
A top-level safety conference involving more than 190 nations will also take place in February under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Following a meeting of global aviation bodies in Montreal, ICAO's secretary general Raymond Benjamin said all the aviation bodies "strongly condemned the use of weapons against the civilian aircraft".
European Council president Herman van Rompuy said the new EU sanctions had been imposed after Russia ignored calls to seek a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Ukraine, with arms and fighters continuing to flow across the border in support of the pro-Moscow separatist rebels.
"It is meant as a strong warning: illegal annexation of territory and deliberate destabilisation of a neighbouring sovereign country cannot be accepted in 21st century Europe," he said.
"Furthermore, when the violence created spirals out of control and leads to the killing of almost 300 innocent civilians in their flight from the Netherlands to Malaysia, the situation requires an urgent and determined response."
Meanwhile, US secretary of state John Kerry accused separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine of showing "an appalling disrespect for human decency" in carrying on fighting close to the site where MH17 crashed after apparently being shot out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile.
The fact that not all the remains of the 298 victims of the disaster had yet been recovered had placed "an unsupportable burden on families", who "clearly deserve a thorough, international investigation", Mr Kerry said in a Washington DC press conference.
Mr Cameron met families of Britons killed in the MH17 crash at 10 Downing Street yesterday, as the parents of one victim said they were "angry and frustrated" his body had not yet been returned.
Barry Sweeney, whose 28-year-old son Liam died in the July 17 crash, said: " We basically asked Mr Cameron just to help. The talking I suppose has got to stop and the doing has got to be done.
"I feel very angry and frustrated. It would be nice if they could just stop fighting for a little bit so that we could get all our boys and girls home."
Signs were emerging of concern in the City of London about the possible blowback sanctions on Russia could inflict on the UK economy.
Energy giant BP - which owns a 20% stake in Russian oil firm Rosneft - warned that further international sanctions could have a "material adverse impact" on the company's business in Russia and its own financial position.

I will sell Mikel, Torres or Cech – Mourinho

by Agency reporter

Mikel Obi

Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho has declared that Nigerian midfielder, John Obi Mikel, could be on his way out of the club.

Mikel has been consistently linked with a move away from Chelsea but it seems the arrival of Ivorian marksman, Didier Drogba, has finally sounded the death knell on the time of the Nigerian at the club.

The return of Drogba means Chelsea’s anticipated first-team squad has one too many foreign players under Premier League and Champions League rules relating to the home-grown quota.

Clubs can only name 17 foreign players over the age of 21 in their official 25-man squads and Chelsea have 18 overseas stars who are realistically vying for those places.

British newspaper, Telegraph, reports that Mourinho has decided that one of Fernando Torres, Peter Cech or Mikel will be asked to leave the club this summer.

“From the group you are expecting us to have as a squad, I have to send one away because we have one extra foreign player.

“So from all these players, if you think all of them have to stay, you are wrong. One of them has to go,” Mourinho said.

Mikel has made over 200 league appearances since joining Chelsea in 2006.

National interest saved Jonathan from impeachment – Senator

by Alexander Okere

Domingo Obende

A senator representing Edo North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Domingo Obende, has said that the senate jettisoned impeachment moves against President Goodluck Jonathan in the interest of stability.

Domingo, who spoke to newsmen at his country home, Igarra in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of the Edo State, decried the use of power by the Peoples Democratic Party-controlled Federal Government to intimidate the opposition.

The senator said that the red chamber decided to stop plans to impeach the President, who had “committed an impeachable offence,” in order to avoid national crisis.

He explained, “What are we even talking about? Who is saying that the President himself has not committed an impeachable offence?

“That is what the National Assembly ought to be looking at, but because of stability. And the leaderships of the two chambers of the National Assembly are mature in the way they are handling the issues, and we look at Nigeria as an entity that must be salvaged.

“And, of course, the whole of African nations are looking at us as the giant of Africa.

“Are we going to be a giant in rascality?

The lawmaker, who is also the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, however, expressed fear that Nigeria’s democracy would face greater danger, if the wave of impeachment was left unchecked.

Domingo said, “What is happening is very surprising to a lot of us. First and foremost, there is danger around the corner, there is danger in the political arena, because we are a political system that ought to be stable but encumber itself with impeachment threat and processes.”

He said, “To me, I see it as a clear parliamentary misbehaviour, where a governor, who was given a mandate by his people, is not allowed to exercise his rights. And if he sure does, it is only the people who can call for his recall.

“I think if you asked me, there should be a total repeal of these sections of harassment of impeachment.

“Let it go through the court process first. And if you win in the courts, you can now come to the House and seek for an impeachment. And of course, they must query the chief judge, who will just set up a panel without having to know if the cases are right that such a person should be impeached.”

He described the sitting by the nine PDP lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly as “illegal,” since they had been instructed by the courts to obey the rules of the Assembly.

“For me, from what is happening in Edo State, they know what they are doing. They know it is illegal because the courts have told them to go and obey the law of the House. They are internal laws that govern what they are doing.

“I have never heard or seen two chambers sitting on state matters.

“Some are legislating and transmitting to Abuja or the EFCC or wherever we have a body, and that is the state assembly commission,” Domingo said.

@punchng.com

Who Thinks President Obama Will Be Impeached? The White House

BY RICK KLEIN

Rick Klein More from Rick »

Political Director

Follow @rickklein

President Barack Obama speaks in this June 10, 2014 file photo in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington.

Susan Walsh/AP Photo

Don't dismiss the possibility of the House of Representatives bringing articles of impeachment against President Obama, senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer said today.

"I think a lot of people in this town laugh that off," Pfeiffer said at a breaking with reporters in Washington hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. "I would not discount that possibility. I think that Speaker [John] Boehner, by going down this path of this lawsuit, has opened the door to Republicans possibly considering impeachment at some point in the future."

He went on to say that the executive actions being considered by the White House on immigration would probably “up the likelihood” of impeachment, making the point that lawmakers such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, already have said the president is violating the law with his unilateral moves on immigration.

 

House Judiciary Chair Goodlatte Dismisses Calls for Obama Impeachment

 

Rep. Paul Broun Would Back Obama Impeachment

Pfeiffer noted that the House is set to file a formal lawsuit next week against the president over his executive actions. While the idea of impeachment is only being discussed by the likes of Sarah Palin -– and very few elected lawmakers –- that could change.

He went on to say that the White House views the lawsuit as “validation” of its “year of action” strategy, saying of executive actions: “If they were small-ball, the Republicans would not be suing over them.”

Asked whether impeachment would be good for the president, Pfeiffer said: “No, I don’t think so.”

Boehner, who has publicly ruled out impeachment, responded in a statement through his spokesman.

"We have a humanitarian crisis at our border, and the White House is making matters worse with inattention and mixed signals,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement. “It is telling, and sad, that a senior White House official is focused on political games, rather than helping these kids and securing the border." 

@abcnews.go.com