Curator

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Russian warplanes have launched a series of strikes against Islamic State group jihadists fleeing their Syrian stronghold Raqa, Moscow said Thursday, as US-backed forces edge closer to the city. The defence ministry in Moscow said Russian aviation bombed IS convoys leaving their de-facto capital to the south in the direction of the ancient city of Palmyra on May 25 and overnight from May 29 to May 30. The second strike destroyed dozens of cars and pickup trucks and killed scores of IS fighters, the ministry claimed in a statement. “Russian commanders in Syria have warned that any attempt by IS fighters to leave Raqa through the open corridor towards Palmyra will be decisively intercepted,” the ministry said. The latest announcement comes a day after Moscow said it fired four cruise missiles from a submarine and warship in the Mediterranean Sea at IS fighters who had moved close to Palmyra from Raqa. A US-backed alliance of Kurdish-Arab fighters, the Syri...

http://ift.tt/2qEMWRS Afghan volunteers bring the body of a resident killed in a car bomb attack to the Wazir Akbar Khan hospital in Kabul on May 31, 2017. The death toll in a massive blast which tore through Kabul's diplomatic quarter May 31 has climbed to at least 64, the interior ministry said, with 320 wounded including women and children. / AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR At least 80 people were killed and hundreds wounded Wednesday when a massive truck bomb ripped through Kabul’s diplomatic quarter, bringing carnage to the streets of the Afghan capital and shattering windows hundreds of metres away. Bodies littered the scene and a towering plume of smoke rose from the area, which houses foreign embassies, after the blast in the morning rush hour blew out the windows of several missions and residences. Witnesses described dozens of cars choking the roads as wounded survivors and panicked schoolgirls sought safety. Men and women struggled to get through security checkpoints to s...

http://ift.tt/2pv93cY South Korea's new President Moon Jae-In speaks during a press conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on May 10, 2017. Moon was sworn in just a day after a landslide election victory, and immediately declared his willingness to visit Pyongyang amid high tensions with the nuclear-armed North. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / JUNG YEON-JE South Korea’s won advanced in Asian trade Wednesday as Moon Jae-In’s landslide presidential election win helped investors look past fresh warnings of a nuclear test from the North. However, Seoul’s KOSPI index dipped on profit-taking, while other Asian markets struggled to extend a rally and the dollar faced pressure from news President Donald Trump had fired the head of the FBI James Comey, rattling investors. Moon swept to power on Monday in an unprecedented election that was called after his predecessor Park Geun-Hye was impeached over a corruption scandal. While the vote focused on the economy, there are hopes th...

http://ift.tt/2qFIeYl Masked Kashmiri protestors throw stones towards Indian government forces during clashes after Friday congregational prayers outside The Jamia Masjid in Srinagar on May 5, 2017.TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP Suspected militants launched an attack in Indian Kashmir killing three civilians and a policeman, the latest violence to hit the restive valley, authorities said on Sunday. One of the militants was also killed when they attacked policemen clearing the site of a road accident late Saturday near Kulgam district. “A police party was at the accident site when they were attacked. In the cross-fire, one policeman and three civilians died. One of the attackers also died,” a police source told AFP. On Sunday, thousands of local residents gathered to mourn the dead militant at a funeral where rebels fired shots into the air as a mark of respect. The Press Trust of India said the attacker had been identified as Fayaz Ahmed Ashwar, who carried a bounty of 200,000 rupe...

http://ift.tt/2pfXUxv PHOTO: google.com/search A Kogi High Court sitting in Okene on Thursday sentenced two trans-border cattle rustlers – Muhammed Lawal Jauro and Yusuf Sanni – to death by hanging. The duo got the sentence after Justice Josiah Majebi found them guilty of cattle rustling and culpable homicide. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused were arraigned on a three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide, contrary to various sections of the Penal Code. The prosecution had told the court that sometimes in January 2016, one Dauda Abdullahi made a report of a gruesome murder and theft of cows, belonging to one Haruna, in one of the farm centres in Okene. He said that upon investigation, the accused persons were arrested at Ajase-Ipo in Kwara State, while their leader, Awaijo Wetti, escaped and was still at large. The prosecution further submitted that the suspects, who had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges,...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J When the Holy Bible declares that the heart of man is desperately wicked, who would have imagined that such doctrinal revelation could be redefined and taken to a new low by those who physically appear in the cloak of academics but in reality are the very definitions of sadists, traducers, shadow chasers, rabble rousers, chatterboxes, negative propagandists, spin masters and Pull-Him-Down Syndrome? Well, if you are astonished, astounded and at a loss trying to imagine where such people could possibly exist, the truth is that a small enclave of such elements have found a safe haven in Kogi State University. They are the academic version of the axis of evil whose stock in trade and whose penchant for seeing nothing good in those with intimidating credentials has become an incurable second nature. It is therefore not surprising that as seasoned academics, student unions, socio-cultural organisations, political organisations, reputable diplomats, accomplished person...