​Nigerians say “NO” to National Grazing Reserves Bills

Herdsmen depend on their cattle as their means of livelihood the same way farmers depend on crops in their farms. To feed their cattle, the herdsmen, armed with long sticks must lead the animals out early in the morning from their settlement into the bush. In the course of grazing however, the animals strayed into the cultivated farmlands and had a field day on the crops of the farmers.This naturally resulted inclashes between the aggrieved farmers and the cattle rearers using cutlasses, bows and arrows to settle scores. In recent times, cattle rustlers armed with sophisticated weapons entered the scene, killingthe herdsmen and herding the cattle away to be sold in other parts of the country. Herdsmen therefore hadno choice than to abandon their traditionallong sticks for AK 47 rifles with which they now have an advantage over the farmers in any of their confrontations.In a bid to curb curb these violent clashes, a bill, sponsored by Senator Zainab Kure, representing Niger Central in the Seventh Senate was presented for consideration but was rejected by the last Senate. The Bill has however been revived in the present political dispensation and presently before the House of Representatives.Titled; “National Grazing Reserve (Establishment)Bill 2016”, sponsored by Hon. Sadiq Ibrahim, it provides for the establishment of the National Grazing Reserve Commission which shall have power to among other things establish at least one Cattle Reserve in each state of the federation.The Commission is also mandated to:*Manage, control and maintain the Cattle Reserves;*Prescribe the persons who may be licensed to use the Grazing Reserves and determine the type and number of   stock permitted therein;*Prescribe the manner inwhich the Grazing Reserves may be put to use;*Fix charges for the Grazing Reserves;*Maintain and Ensure, inco-operation with the Nigerian Police, the security of lives and property within theReserve;*Provide for and issue grazing permits to persons grazing within the Reserves;*Develop infrastructure and basic amenities such as clinic, schools, etc within the Reserves;*Demarcate the land boundaries of the Grazing Reserves;*And prosecute persons who graze outside the Grazing Reserves and other offenders of the Regulations of the Commission.A cross section of Nigerians were thereforeinterviewed to share their views on the proposed bill before the National Assembly. Majority of the respondents condemned the move bythe Federal Government to establish Grazing Reserves for cattle rearers in each state of the federation arguing that it is recipe for national chaos. Cattle rearing is a business and the owners of the business should take care of their business and not being provided land belonging to other people.  There were some respondents who believed however that the bill has some merits but cautioned the government to tread cautiously.

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​​ENUGU MASSACRE: Leave our land now or… Igbo youths tell Fulani herdsmen

•Say enough is enough•Attack on any Igbo soil is an attack on Nigeria—Iwuanyanwu•Displaced residents narrate ordeals•Nursing mothers, widows, bedridden patients now in exile—RepBy Anayo Okoli, Emman Ovuakporie, Vincent Ujumadu, Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Chinenyeh OzorUMUAHIA—As condemnations continueto trail the massacre of no fewer than 40 people of Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu by Fulani herdsmen last Monday, Igbo youths under the aegis of Ohaneze Youth Council (OYC) have given the herdsmen three days to leave Igbo land or they will be forced out.The Igbo youths gave the herdsmen till Monday to vacate all Igboland saying enough is enough even as it wasgathered that the attack by the herdsmen has forced nursing mothers, widows, children and bedridden patients from the affected communities into exile.An Igbo traditional ruler, Igwe Rowland Odegbo and Champion newspaper publisher, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu also condemned the massacre and tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to bring the perpetrators to justice.Rising from an emergency meeting heldin Enugu on Thursday, the Igbo youths in their communique noted that the herdsmen “are off-shoots of Boko Haram and must not be allowed any breeding ground in Igbo land. Any herdsman who fails to quit South East by Monday will have himself to blame”.The communique was signed by the National Vice President of the group, Mazi Obinna Achuonye and the Chairmen of OYC in seven Igbo- speaking states of Abia, Anambra,Ebonyi, Enugu, Delta, Imo and Rivers.Armed Fulani-herdsmenAccording to the communique, “never again will Igbo youths fold their arms and watch our people being massacred by blood-sucking terrorists under the guise of herdsmen. Urgent timesneed drastic measure. We warn all violent Fulani herdsmen to vacate our farmland, our backyards, our territories and boundaries on or before Mondaynext week.“Even though Ohanaeze Ndigbo will meet over the weekend to discuss this menace, Igbo youths will not wait until our people are massacred again before we take action.“If after Monday and the herdsmen are still around, we will direct Igbo vigilante groups set up by OYC in all the 95 LocalGovernment Areas in South Eastto force them out”.Continuing OYC said it had also uncovered plots through its intelligence unit that Ebonyi State has been marked as the next target of the rampaging herdsmen.“We have uncovered plots that their next target is Ebonyi State. They are coming from Taraba State to attack Ebonyi. We want the Governor of Ebonyi State and all the security agents in thestate to be at alert”, OYC alerted.OYC claimed that Igbo youths were already collaborating with Ijaw youths and Middle Belt youths on how to defend their people as the Federal Government under Buhari has failed to protect them.“Ijaw youths, and Middle Belt progressives are already waitingfor the expiration of the deadlineon Monday. Fulani herdsmen have pushed us to the wall, time to take action is now or never”, itwarned.Nursing mothers, widows, bedridden patients now in exile—RepMeanwhile, the barbaric murder of over 40 persons in Igboland by Fulani Herdsmen has forced nursing mothers, widows, children and bedridden patients in the area into exile, a member of the House of RepresentativesChime Oji has said.Speaking in an interview with Saturday Vanguard in Abuja, Oji who represents Enugu North/South Federal Constituency of Enugu State said that since the gruesome murder of innocent citizens by the herdsmen, the mood in the area had been that of total frustration, despair and anguish.According to him, “To the best ofmy knowledge, the killing was not an offhand attack. It was toocoordinated to be an impromptu or perfunctory misunderstanding. The damage is colossal to be dismissive by any right thinking and patriotic Nigerian.”Describing the mood in the area as that of anguish, he said, “it is total frustration, creating fear, despair, anguish and forced exile on the people, most of whom are infirm children, very old and pregnant women, nursing mothers and widows, including bedridden patients who were all compelled to leave their homes for exile.”Displaced residents narrate ordealsResidents of the community who fled their homes as a result of the attack and now taking refuge at petrol stations, churches, motor parks, hospitals, army barracks and uncompleted buildings have also recounted their ordeals. One of the displaced persons, John Ayogu of Nimbo community told Vanguard that his family survives at the mercy of good Samaritans who donate food, water and fairly used clothes.“We sleep at any available space at night and roam the town in the day time for food to eat, mostly for the teenagers who were forced out of school by the barbaric attack and killings in our community. People have been helpful to the residents of Nimbo, some people took some of us to their residential homes to take refuge,and many others buy food itemsand water for us. We fled our community without food and cloth. The number of death was too much for one community to bear. Our children were forced out of school for a good number of days now; we don’t know when it will be safe for us to go back to ours farms. We are predominantly farmers but the herdsmen could not allow us settle in our farms as they rape women and young girls. We no longer allow our younger girls to go to the farms for fear of being defiled by Fulani herdsmen”Utazi Chikodili of Nimbo in tears at Royal Cross hospital said, ‘’Fulani herdsmen have finished our people, turned indigenes of Nimbo to beggers. We wander about everyday looking for food and water to stay alive with the little ones who could do nothing but to cry when they are hungry. We sleep at this hospital every day and night, people do come here to give us food and water, and we take our bath at midnight because of space.Ajougwu Chisom (15) an SS 2 student at Community Secondary School, Nimbo and Ugwoke Regina (10) in primary six, said, ‘’we went to buy food items with the little money people gave to us. We are staying with our sister and our parents but we want to go back to school”Attack on any Igbo soil is an attack on Nigeria—IwuanyanwuChief Iwuanyanwu, in his reaction said “once again, innocent Igbo blood have been shed in Igboland by Fulani herdsmen. The activities of these herdsmen in the past 12 months have been of great concern to all men and women, who are committed to the unity, peace and economic development of Nigeria. These group of people have waged serious war against many Nigerian communities.“Wherever they attacked, they were reported to have used sophisticated weapons and other weapons of modern warfare. They have slaughtered people in a most brutal and uncivilized manner. They have raped women, including young girls, married women and the aged women. This matter has become a matter of grave concern to everybody.The recent attack in Ukpabi Nimbo in Enugu State, is very painful to Nigerians and Igbos inparticular. By Igbo culture and tradition, the greatest injury one can inflict on an Igboman, is to attack him and kill him in his home. It is even worse when his property is destroyed, some lives are lost, their women brazenly violated. Attack on any Igbo soil is an attack on Nigeria and an impunity on the peace loving Igbo people.“This matter should not be treated with levity but regarded as a matter that can seriously affect peace, unity and economic progress of this country, which all of us are trying to achieve.Today, most farmers in these areas are afraid to go to their farms for fear that they may be killed, kidnapped or raped by this group, resulting in poor agricultural production in Igbo land and other parts of Nigeria, where they are invading. The truth is that this matter has assumed a dangerous dimension.The Nigerian Police is over stretched. It is impossible for Nigeria to get enough policemento police Igbo farmland and other parts of the country, wherethe so called herdsmen are rampaging. Rather the following questions needs to be addressed and answered:*By the laws of Nigeria, individuals are not allowed to carry automatic weapons. Who allowed the herdsmen to carry automatic weapons?*Since this invasion, kidnapping and raping by the Fulani herdsmen commenced some years ago, no arrests or prosecution or conviction has been made against any of them.Set up panel of inquiry, Monarchtells BuhariSimilarly, the traditional ruler of Nteje in Oyi local government area of Anambra State, Igwe Rowland Odegbo has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a panel of inquiry to look into the remote and immediate causes of the activities of Fulani herdsmen who have been killing people in various parts of the country in recent times.Speaking in an interview, Igwe Odegbo, who is a prominent member of Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers, said the panel of inquiry should consist of security operatives, leaders of thought and traditional rulers.He described as unfortunate a situation whereby herdsmen swoop on communities and slaughter people and wondered “why people should be killed because of cows”He said: “President Buhari is a Fulani man and his silence on this matter is not sending any good signal. He was elected to protect the lives of all Nigerians irrespective of their tribe and he should not encourage a section of the country to threaten the lives of other Nigerians.“Grazing areas should only be established in the North for the people who do the business of rearing cows. They should not come down to the south to avoidconflict with communities who are mainly farmers.”

Bale’s thunderous header puts Madrid on top of La Liga

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Gareth Bale’s thunderous header 10 minutes from time moved an under-strength Real Madrid to the top of La Liga with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday.In the absence of the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, Bale stood outwith a brilliant individual display capped by the winner to register Madrid’s 10th straight La Liga win.Victory moves Real two points clear of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who are in action against Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano respectively later on Saturday.As well as the absent Ronaldo and Benzema, Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane rested Marcelo, Dani Carvajal and Toni Kroos with one eye on the return leg of their Champions League semi-final against Manchester City on Wednesday.Without the other two members of Madrid’s star ‘BBC’ frontline, Bale was charged with finding the goals and theWelshman did everything but score in afine first-half display.Bale pulled his first effort wide on his weaker right foot before James Rodriguez wasted the chance to open the scoring on a rare start in recent months as Geronimo Rulli turned away the Colombian’s effort at hisnear post.Madrid then began to show their power from set-pieces as captain Sergio Ramos and Bale saw headers fly just wide from corners before another powerful Bale header from Rodriguez’s inch-perfect cross also fell just the wrong side of the post as Madrid completely dominated the hosts before the break.The visitors continued topress after the break, but Rulli looked set to end their title hopes as the Argentine made brilliant save to deny Bale from another fine Rodriguez cross.Jese Rodriguez replacedteenage striker Borja Mayoral 20 minutes from time, but also found Rulli on top form with two fierce efforts on target.Yet, a week after leadingReal back from a two-goal deficit at Rayo Vallecano, Bale made the difference again when he got across his marker to bullet home a header from Lucas Vazquez’s cross.Sociedad had barely offered any threat on goal during the 90 minutes, but nearly snatched an equaliser instoppage time as David Zurutuza headed a free-kick towards goal instoppage time only to see Keylor Navas get down well to make his only significant save of the game.

​Bishop weds 109 couples in Nasarawa

Most Rev. Mathew Audu,the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lafia, Nasarawa State, on Saturday in Masaka wedded 109 couples and urged in-laws not to interfere in their affairs.Audu, who was on his third pastoral visit to St. Martin`s Catholic Church, Masaka, appealed to relatives of the new couples to allowthem to build their marriages.“As newly wedded couples, you must love each other just as ChristJesus loved the church and died to set souls free.“You must respect each other’s feelings; care for each other, share views and reason together in peace and unity.“You must not allow a third party to come into your matter; always invite God to intervene inyour case.“Ensure that you are coordinated in all your dealings and make the word of God your standard, your pillar, your faith and your hope.“If you can keep these entire commandments, your marriage will be perfect and other couples will want to copy from you,’’ he said.The Bishop, who also confirmed 1,390 faithful,blessed 56 Eucharistic Ministers and 76 lectors,saying the blessing would strengthen their faith.He said that the confirmation and the blessings the members received would energise them to evangelise to people and win more souls into the kingdom of God.Audu said that confirmation in the Catholic Church was the sacrament which reaffirmed a person’s status in the church.He advised the members who were confirmed to keep doctrines of the CatholicChurch and ensure that they carried out responsibilities given to them diligently.“The Catholic Church sees confirmation as a rite in which grace falls on the person confirmedas they announce their commitment to God and the Church,’’ he said.Earlier, Rev. Fr. Jude Maigari, Parish Priest of the parish, said that the mass wedding was a culture imbibed by the church to enable couples with little finances wed in the church.He encouraged the couples to heed the advice given by the bishop saying it would help them to live in peace and harmony.

Warren Buffett admires fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos

...it's Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger!For the first time ever, Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting was webcast live on Yahoo Finance for anyone to see.Berkshire meeting virgins probablyloved the Catskills comedy club-esque shtick.Buffett, 85, predictably joked aboutbeing the young one. Vice chairman Munger is 92.Buffett also continued to defend his investment in Coca-Cola -- despite concerns about the health effects of soda -- by simply professing his love for the product.He joked that a fictitious twin who ate more broccoli and didn't drink Coke would probably not have lived as long as he has. A glass of Cherry Coke was by Buffett's side.When one shareholder curiously tried to compare Berkshire to Hogwarts and Buffett to Professor Dumbledore, Buffett said he'd never read Harry Potter. (The shareholder also claimed Munger was Snape. Doesn't that mean Charlie has to kill Warren?!?)Buffett also defended Berkshire's long practice of not giving Wall Street any earnings guidance. He said it was "silly." But Berkshire is unique. What other company can get away with releasing their earnings on a Saturday like Berkshire does?The company's latest results were a mixed bag, by the way.Berkshire reported a sizable jump in net earnings thanks to investment gains. But its operatingprofit plunged due to weakness at the company's Geico insurance unit and Burlington Northern SantaFe railroad.There were some interesting insights from the morning sessionof the meeting.Buffett, well-known for not being the biggest fan of tech stocks, admitted his admiration for Amazon CEO and fellow uber-rich dude Jeff Bezos. (Bloomberg estimates Buffett's net worth as$68.4 billion and that Bezos is just behind him with $58.1 billion.)"We're not going to out-Bezos Bezos," Buffett said, in response toa question about the effect of online retail on traditional retailers.Buffett added that what the company has accomplished in a relatively short period of time is remarkable.It's a telling remark considering that Berkshire owns a large stake in Walmart -- which has arguably been hurt most by the rise of Amazon. Berkshire also is a big investor in Costco.Buffett conceded that Berkshire was "slow" to embrace the Internet. He said that he has tended to be resistant to thinking about new possibilities.But he added that Berkshire eventually jumped online with bothfeet and is now "well situated" digitally in all its businesses -- not just retail.To that end, Munger said that Berkshire's Geico insurance unit has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of e-commerce.Still, don't expect Buffett and Munger to invest in Amazon anytime soon. The two continue tobe quintessential value investors... and Amazon is trading at nearly 125 times this year's earnings forecasts.

Donald Trump's foreign policy: 'America first' By Jeremy Diamond and Stephen Collinson, CNN.

Donald Trump had a foreign policy sales pitch for U.S. voters and a blunt message for the world Wednesday: America comes first.The Republican presidential front-runner proposed a sweeping redirection of America's global role in a major speech, part of a string of planned addresses designed to flesh out what a Trump administration would look like and to establish leadership credentials ahead of an increasingly probable general election clash with Democrat and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.The billionaire businessman simultaneously addressed restive American voters and global elites worried by his fiery rhetoric on national security: He stressed that the United States would always put its economic and foreign policyinterests first but said that allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East would benefit from a much stronger, less ambiguous U.S.role in the world -- as long as they were prepared to pay up."America first will be the overriding theme of my administration," Trump said in his remarks at Washington's Mayflower hotel, delivered from a prepared text and in a subdued fashion starkly at odds with the free-wheeling rhetorical style that has powered his political rise on the campaign trail."Under a Trump administration, no American citizen will ever again feel that their needs come second to the citizens of foreign countries," Trump said.He added, "My foreign policy will always put the interests of the American people and American security first."The speech appeared to be a multi-prongedattempt to reach out to a host of important constituencies.First, he appealed to a Republican foreign policy establishment that has been highly critical at points of his credentials on global national security policy. Second, he tried to reach wavering Republicans who may be excited by his harsh critique of the"Obama-Clinton" foreign policy. And third, he sought an affirmation to loyal supporters who have flocked to his "Make America Great" slogan amid claims that the United States is weak and not respected by its enemies or foes. His remarks immediately elicited criticism from Democrats, but some GOP insiders offered positive words that have until now been in short supply for Trump.He spoke the morning after a sweep of fiveprimary states that drew him markedly closer to the delegate total needed to claimthe Republican nomination and at a time when his campaign has begun a broad effort to cast him in a more presidential light.But Trump often lacked specifics, delivering little in the way of a recognizableforeign strategy and repeating many of his campaign trail declarations, and did not explain in detail how his ideas would be implemented or touch on the likely response from American allies and enemies to his sharp reorientation of U.S. global principles.In comments likely to cause shockwaves among U.S friends in Europe and Asia, Trump previewed early attempts to cut deals with Russia and China -- seen by many adversaries as bent on overthrowing the current security order guaranteed by America. If there was not a good deal to be had, Trump warned, he would be prepared to walk away.But he also said he would not rush to war, striking an isolationist note that contrasts with the last Republican administration of George W. Bush.However, Trump was introduced by Zalmay Khalilzad, President George W. Bush's former ambassador to Afghanistan,Iraq and the permanent representative to the United Nations."I will never send our finest into battle unless necessary, and I mean absolutely necessary, and will only do so if we have a plan for victory with a capital V," Trump emphasized.Trump opened his speech vowing to"shake the rust off America's foreign policy"and said he would outline a vision for a U.S. foreign policy "that replaces randomness with purpose, ideology with strategy and chaos with peace."The billionaire then tore into Obama's foreign policy, panning the Iran nuclear deal and claiming the President has"weakened our military by weakening our economy."He sought to wrap Clinton in his criticism of the Obama administration as well, referring to the "legacy of the Obama-Clinton interventions" as one of "weakness,confusion and disarray."At the same time, he offered an olive branch of sorts to Muslim allies of the United States in rare remarks pointing to the ways in which the U.S. can have constructive relations with the Muslim world."We're going to be working very closely with our friends in the Muslim world, whichare all at risk for violent attacks," he said.His comments on Muslims and Middle East partners have been lightning rods throughout the campaign.Trump had previously called for a temporary ban on Muslim foreigners entering the United States and suggested that U.S. Middle East allies need to shoulder more of the cost of American military involvement in the region.But he added that these countries also need to acknowledge America's contributions."This has to be a two-way street," he said."They must also be good to us. It's no longer one way, it's two way."Trump also put America's allies elsewhere on notice that they, too, must start making a more tangible financial contribution. He said he would call summits in Europe and Asia to discuss "a rebalancing of commitments."He previewed a substantial shift toward two of America's most important global rivals, China and Russia. He vowed to reverse China's "assault on America's jobs and wealth" and to use America's"economic power" over China to bring Beijing into line.But he also pledged to fix relations with therising Asian giant, saying that a stronger America would win more respect from its Communist leaders. But if that didn't work, Trump said he would be prepared to walk away, without offering specifics on the economic and national security consequences that would entail."We can both benefit or we can both go ourseparate ways. If need be, that's what's going to happen," he warned.Retired Adm. Charles Kubic, a member of Trump's national security advisory committee, conceded Wednesday that many world leaders have been "shaken" by Trump's brash rhetoric and at-times radicalpolicy positions."Sometimes it's hard when you believe a narrative for such a long time, and you have another narrative forced upon you. When somebody's saying, 'No, we're not going that direction,' it's very difficult to understand it," Kubic told CNN.But Kubic said that while it might sound"harsh" at first when Trump "speaks the truth," it begins to make sense once you think about it more.Reaction to Trump's speech from his political foes was swift and scathing.Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who supports Clinton, described his comments as a "simplistic" mixture of slogans and contradictions."He just underscored the fact that he is running the most reckless and dangerous presidential campaign in modern history," Albright said on a Clinton campaign conference call.On the same call, Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said that the last thing the worldneeded was an "unpredictable" United States, saying allies needed to know they could count on Washington and adversaries needed to understand there will consequences for acting against America.Trump's main Republican rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, said the speech showed that Trump "fails the presidential test" and pressured the billionaire to force any foreign policy advisers who have worked as lobbyists to declare their links to foreigngovernments.But GOP Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, praised the speech."Today, Donald Trump delivered a very good foreign policy speech in which he laidout his vision for American engagement in the world," Corker said. "I look forward to hearing more details, but in a year where angry rhetoric has defined the presidential race on both sides of the aisle, it is my hope that candidates in both parties will begin focusing not only on the problems we face but on solutions."And former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich tweeted that though elites would ridicule the speech, Trump had delivered a "serious" foreign policy addressworth thinking and arguing about.Trump later thanked Gingrich on Twitter forhis tweets.Though Trump noted ahead of time that hewouldn't be outlining a "doctrine," he did criticize Obama for too often telegraphing its military moves in advance, thereby tipping off enemies, a practice he pledged to end."We have to be unpredictable. And we haveto be unpredictable starting now," he said.And he offered a glimpse into his political purpose, saying it was time to flush out ineffective establishment foreign policy operatives, striking a similar note to his themes on domestic issues."We have to look to new people because many of the old people frankly don't know what they're doing, even though they may look awfully good writing in the New York Times or being watched on television."He closed by expanding on his trademark slogan: "We must make America respected again. We must make America truly wealthy again and we must, we have to and we will make America great again," he declared. "And if we do that, perhaps this century can be the most peaceful and prosperous the world has ever ever known."

Four 911 medical calls from Prince's homeBy Lisa Respers France, CNN

Prince was enigmatic in life. And a week after he was found unresponsive in an elevator in his home and declared dead, the circumstances of his death are still not completely clear.But new information has surfaced about emergency calls made to his beloved Paisley Park.Between 2013 and Prince's death on April 21, four medical emergency calls were made from Prince's home, according to reports from the Carver County Sheriff's Office.Officers responded to 911 calls for medicalassistance on October 23, 2013; August 9, 2015; September 6, 2015; and, of course, on April 21, 2016.The causes and outcomes of the first threecalls were not immediately known and are not a matter of public record. CNN has fileda request for information about the medical emergencies.The most detailed information available is about how the authorities found the superstar's body."On 4/21/2016 at about 0943 hours, sheriff's deputies were dispatched to a medical call at Paisley Park 7810 AudubonDr., Chanhassen, MN. Sheriff's deputies and emergency personnel from Chanhassen Fire and Ridgeview Ambulance arrived at or about 0948 and found an unresponsive adult male in the elevator. They tried to provide lifesaving CPR, but were unable to revive the victim. He was pronounced deceased at 1007 hours. He was identified as Prince Rogers Nelson (57) of Chanhassen."Investigators are awaiting autopsy and toxicology test results to determine why he died.The continued murkiness surrounding the singer's death is not surprising given the remarkably private life he lived. And there is also the matter of an ongoing investigation into exactly what led up to hisdeath.A Carver County judge sealed a search warrant for Prince's home and any evidence coming from it, according to court documents.A prosecutor and sheriff's deputy who requested that the warrant be sealed said in the documents that they did so out of concern that disclosure of the details could"compromise this law enforcement investigation."

Punished after rape at Brigham Young University

The horror of rape or sexual assault is traumatizing enough for any victim. But formultiple young women at Brigham Young University, they claim they received backlash, instead of support, after reporting sexual violence to the school.Brooke's nightmare began in February 2014, when she was a freshman. She said she had taken hallucinogenic drugs just before being assaulted. She was with a group of guys at an off-campus apartment.She admitted that she took the drugs voluntarily, thinking everyone else was going to do them, too. But she said she ended up being the only one.Her voice shook slightly as she described feeling sick as the "acid" started to take effect. Then, she said, she was pulled into a bedroom."He started, like, touching me and stuff, so Itried to get up and leave. And then, right when I was leaving, two other guys came inand grabbed me and were like, 'You can't leave.' And then they shut the door and locked it," Brooke said.Brooke, who does not want her last name made public, alleges that all three men "didstuff" to her. "Then the other two left, and it was just the main guy, and basically over the course of the next 45 minutes, in different ways, he raped me," she said.When her alleged attacker left, Brooke grabbed a blanket and ran from the apartment to get help. Police responded and took her report. Ten days later, she decided not to move forward with any charges, afraid of reliving the horror over and over again through the often long and arduous trial process.However, Brooke told her story to BYU's Title IX office, which handles student sexual harassment and sexual violence investigations. She said her rapist was a student, and she wanted to make sure he didn't victimize anyone else."I thought there would be some mercy, you know," Brooke said. "I told them everything,and because of the fact that I was on drugs, they used that reason to kick me outof school after reporting it."The Honor CodeThe university, which is run by the MormonChurch, determined that Brooke had violated its Honor Code, a student code of conduct and moral compass that prohibits students from engaging in on- and off-campus activities such as drug and alcohol use, premarital sex and even goinginto the bedroom of someone of the opposite gender. Upon enrollment, students agree to "live a chaste and virtuous life" demonstrating the values"encompassed in the gospel of Jesus Christ."University spokeswoman Carri Jenkins adamantly defends the school's policy and treatment of alleged victims such as Brooke, saying, "A student would never, never, never have an Honor Code review for reporting sexual assaults, for being a victim of sexual assault." While Jenkins wouldn't comment on any specific case, she said it would have to be an "egregious violation" that would prompt an Honor Code investigation stemming from details revealed in a sexual violence report.But Brooke isn't the only one who says she was disciplined after making a rape report.Madi Barney said she, too, suffered repercussions after her police report endedup in BYU's hands.Barney, who agreed to be named, told Provo Police of her alleged rape in September, when she was a sophomore. She had no intentions of reporting it to the university since it happened off-campus and her alleged attacker wasn't a student."I waited about four days to report becauseI was scared of my standing at BYU," Barney said. "I remember sitting at the police station, sobbing on the bench. I was just sitting there crying, saying, 'I don't want to report. I can't do this. What if BYU finds out?' "Barney was shocked when she got a call from the university, telling her it had her police report.While Jenkins said students "can choose todecline a Title IX investigation," Barney said she was told that if she didn't comply, the university was going to forward her case to the Honor Code office."I felt so angry. I mean, here she had an over-20-page police report with every little detail of the rape," Barney said. "I feel almost as violated by the school as I do by my rapist."Barney said she's now facing backlash from BYU for not answering all its questions. Her attorney told her not to talk about details of her case until after the trialof her alleged rapist this fall. However, the university won't let her register for future classes until she cooperates with the Honor Code office."They like to say a victim of sexual assault will never be referred to the Honor Code office for being a victim of sexual assault," said Barney. "But they would've never known about these Honor Code allegationshad I chosen not to report my rape. And I think that's what bothers me and makes me feel so betrayed."When asked about this, Jenkins said, "BYU cannot comment on individual cases because of federal guidelines." However, she added, "every Honor Code review is done on a case-by-case basis with the facts and circumstances taken into consideration."More victims come forwardFor Madeline MacDonald, the worst part was feeling like the school didn't believe her.She said she was sexually assaulted by a man she met online when she was a freshman at BYU in 2014. She agreed to meet him for coffee. Instead, she said, he drove her into the mountains near campus,which is in the town of Provo. Once there, he did "everything but rape" her, she said."He went straight up to that line, but because he didn't actually rape me, there wasn't a rape kit for me to get," MacDonaldsaid.When she reported her assault and met with BYU's Title IX coordinator, Sarah Westerberg, MacDonald said, the response was far from sympathetic."She told me, almost all, in her opinion, almost all of the reported rapes and assaults at BYU are false reports made by women that feel ... morally bad after they'rehaving consensual activities," MacDonald recalled.CNN made multiple requests for an interview with Westerberg, which were denied. Jenkins responded to MacDonald'sclaim: "I have shared this comment with Sarah Westerberg, and she has confirmed that there is no truth to this statement, nor has she ever said it to a student."BYU's investigation eventually concluded that MacDonald was, indeed, sexually assaulted. But MacDonald left that first meeting full of self-doubt and fear.Margot Crandall knows the feeling all too well.While a junior at BYU in 2014, she was raped by a man who stalked her online. He had obtained an indecent photo of Crandalland blackmailed her into meeting him.Crandall vividly remembers feeling scared of being judged, or worse, being blamed."I was just scared of anyone finding out. I was scared of BYU finding out," she said. "Ifelt really shameful about it."She spent two years in and out of court and took a break from school to heal physically and emotionally. Her rapist was convicted in August and sentenced to five years to life in prison.She never told BYU about her rape, but somehow the school found out, Crandall said. After the trial was over and Crandall was ready to start school again, she said, she had to sit down with the Title IX office to answer questions about her rape and show them the conviction documents."As soon as they found out it had gone to trial and they verified that he had been convicted, that's when they met with me and offered me the accommodations" of allowing her to withdraw and re-enroll in school, she said.Crandall wonders whether she was treated better than others because her father is a professor at the school or because her criminal trial had already taken place. But her heart aches for other BYU sexual assault victims who weren't treated as well."It makes me so sick," said Crandall. "That makes me so sad."Calls for changeThe pressure is mounting on BYU to make policy changes, especially as the topic of how colleges handle sexual violence on campus has become a hot-button issue, not just in Provo but nationwide.As of April 20, the U.S. Department of Education had 224 open sexual violence cases under investigation at 178 post-secondary institutions. There are no cases at BYU being investigated as of April.Barney hopes to change that. She has fileda complaint against BYU with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights.She also helped craft an online petition urging the university to give "immunity" to those who make sexual violence reports and not investigate them for Honor Code violations.More than a hundred thousand people have signed the petition. Last week, dozens of current and former students gathered at BYU with members of the greater Salt Lake City community to protest, holding signs that read "BYU: Protect victims, don't shame them." They marched through campus to deliver the petition and signatures to school administrators.Brent Webb, BYU's academic vice president, met with the group and assured them that university President Kevin Worthen is committed "to study this issue carefully and welcomes input both within the university and outside."Jenkins said the study will look at the relationship between the Title IX office and the Honor Code office. "We want to look at whether and how information is shared. Wewant to look at the perception students have," she said."It's not a perception. It's something that is actually happening, and that's them, again, not believing us," Barney said. "They need to take accountability. They need to say, 'Yeah, we screwed up, but we're going to find it.' "

Kenya sets fire to huge ivory stockpile

This fire will keep burning for a number of days, reports Anne Soy in Nairobi

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has set fire to a huge stockpile of ivory in an effort to show his country's commitment to saving Africa's elephants.

More than 100 tonnes of ivory was stacked up in pyres in Nairobi National Park where it is expected to burn for several days.

The ivory represents nearly the entire stock confiscated by Kenya, amounting to the tusks of about 6,700 elephants.

Some disagree with Kenya's approach, saying it can encourage poaching.

Before igniting the first pyre, Mr Kenyatta said: "The height of the pile of ivory before us marks the strength of our resolve.

"No-one, and I repeat no-one, has any business in trading in ivory, for this trade means death of our elephants and death of our natural heritage."

Does burning actually destroy ivory?

The burning comes after African leaders meeting in Kenya urged an end to illegal trade in ivory.

Experts have warned Africa's elephants could be extinct within decades.

But some conservationists have expressed opposition to the ivory burn in Kenya, the biggest in history.

They say destroying so much of a rare commodity could increase its value and encourage more poaching rather than less.

Botswana, which is home to about half of Africa's elephants, is opposed to the burn and its president did not attend the event in Nairobi.

Demand for ivory comes largely from Asia, with the main trafficking route being through the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

The war on elephants, by Alastair Leithead, BBC News

The ivory is getting through because people are prepared to pay for it. Stopping the men with arrows and the corrupt officials is just one part of the solution - the other is destroying the hunger for ivory.

The love of ivory goes back millennia. Its pure, translucent beauty and the ease with which a tusk can be carved into intricate sculptures have given it a lasting value throughout the ages.

Tackling demand and destroying the market are both important but there are also ways of making elephants more valuable alive than dead.

In the parks and game reserves of Africa, close encounters with the most remarkable animals on the planet lie in wait - you just need time, patience and a good eye.

Alastair's report in depth

The stockpile burned includes seized ivory carvings and statues

The African push to tackle ivory poaching, by BBC Monitoring

• Kenya is struggling with poaching, and tough laws with huge fines and prison sentences do not seem to be a deterrent. Kenya Wildlife Service says it suffers from staff and equipment shortages.

• Uganda is a conservation success story. Elephant populations have increased to around 5,000 after reaching a low of 700 in the 1980s. Kampala has set up a wildlife crime unit, and plans cross-border programmes with its neighbours.

• Gabon uses paratroops to crack down on poachers who target elephants living in dense equatorial forests. The wildlife service has expanded 10-fold to over 650 guards with a much-increased budget.

• Botswana adopted a shoot-to-kill policy in December 2013 in an effort to curb elephant poaching. It also placed a total ban on hunting in 2014 which extends to all animal species.

• Tanzania's government has increased routine patrols, netting over 1,000 suspected poachers by the end of 2015.

Africa is home to between 450,000 and 500,000 elephants but more than 30,000 are killed every year for their tusks. Tanzania has lost 65% of its elephant population in the past five years.

The Kenyan ivory pyres are seven times the size of any stockpile destruction so far, and represent about 5% of global ivory stores.

Some 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn will also be burned.

The street value of the ivory to be destroyed is estimated at more than $100m (£70m), and the rhino horn at $80m.

"We don't believe there is any intrinsic value in ivory, and therefore we're going to burn all our stockpiles and demonstrate to the world that ivory is only valuable on elephants," said Kitili Mbathi, director general of the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Shia protesters storm Iraq parliament .

Protesters have entered the Iraqi parliament building

Hundreds of Shia Muslim activists have stormed Iraq's parliament in Baghdad, in protest against continuing deadlock in approving a new cabinet.

Supporters of cleric Moqtada Sadr broke through barricades of the fortified Green Zone for the first time, after MPs failed to convene for a vote.

A state of emergency was declared and security forces near the US embassy fired tear gas.

Protesters now seem to leaving the parliament but camping outside.

They are planning a sit-in in the Triumphal Arch area at the heart of the Green Zone, the BBC's Ahmad Maher reports.

Mr Sadr wants Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to commit to a plan to replace ministers with non-partisan technocrats.

Powerful parties in parliament have refused to approve the change for several weeks.

Earlier this week, hundreds of thousands of people marched towards the Green Zone, the most secure part of Baghdad that houses embassies and government buildings, to protest against the political deadlock.

Iraqi President Fuad Masum has called on the protesters to vacate parliament and politicians to enact the cabinet reshuffle.

Escalation

A new protest outside the zone escalated after parliament again failed to reach a quorum on Saturday.

Groups marched on the district soon after the end of a televised appearance by Mr Sadr, although he did not call for the storming of parliament.

The Shia protesters unfurled banners after storming parliament

Delighted protesters cheered and posed for photos

Protesters toppled blast walls to reach the building

The demonstrators streamed through the Green Zone's defences

Stones were thrown at cars thought to be carrying MPs away

The protesters tried to stop lawmakers attempting to flee the building.

Inside the chamber, jubilant demonstrators took up the seats of the deputies and posed for photos.

One protester, Ali Mohammed, said they were angry at the politicians' failure to act.

"The people have come to the right place, to rule themselves," he told Reuters news agency.

"The people are now staging a sit-in inside parliament. Our legitimate and only demand is to dismiss the government and replace it with an independent cabinet of technocrats."

The state of emergency declared does not feature a curfew.

Crisis escalates - BBC Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher

This is a major escalation of a political crisis that's been brewing for months. The Iraqi prime minister set out an ambitious programme for reform last year - intended to foster a sense of political unity and accountability to help Iraq tackle the challenge of a failing economy and even more urgently, the battle against IS.

But he's met fierce opposition at every turn in his attempt to cut off the political and financial corruption that's enriched and empowered the elite for so long.

Moqtada Sadr has ostensibly supported him in this aim - having reinvented himself as the voice of the angry Iraqi people, fed up with the status quo.

But with the storming of parliament by his followers, there must now be a big question over whether he offers support to the beleaguered prime minister, or a challenge.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini criticised the protesters' actions, saying it was in the interests of the Iraqi people to restore order rapidly.

"It appears a deliberate disruption of the democratic process," she said in a statement.

'Lockdown'

The protesters are reported to have begun ransacking parliament buildings. United Nations and embassy staff were on lockdown inside their compounds, Reuters reports.

Iraq's system of sharing government jobs has long been criticised for promoting unqualified candidates and encouraging corruption.

Mr Abadi, who came to power in 2014, has promised to stamp out corruption and ease sectarian tensions, but he has failed to far to introduce a new technocratic cabinet.

A survey by the Pew Research Centre in 2011 found that 51% of Iraqi Muslims identified themselves as Shia, compared with 42% Sunni.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, a car bomb targeted a group of Shia Muslim pilgrims on Saturday, killing at least 21 people.

Ryan Reynolds writes goodbye to fan

Reynolds screened Deadpool for Connor before anyone else

Actor Ryan Reynolds has written an emotional goodbye to a young Canadian fan who died of cancer earlier this week.

The Deadpool star had been visiting 13-year-old Connor McGrath of Edmonton for past three years through the Make a Wish Foundation.

Reynolds and Connor bonded over Connor's favourite superhero Deadpool.

"We met because he loved Deadpool. In a certain sense he WAS Deadpool," Reynolds wrote.

"Or, at least everything Deadpool aspires to be; balancing pain, fearlessness, love and a filthy (filthy!) sense of humour in one body. I wish he could've stuck around a lot longer."

Reynolds and Connor bonded over Connor's favourite superhero Deadpool

In the comic books, Wade Wilson is a cancer patient who undergoes an experimental treatment to become the foul-mouthed anti-hero Deadpool.

Earlier this year, Reynolds arranged for Connor to see an early version of Deadpool before it was released in cinemas.

"Before you jump down my throat for showing a 13-year-old an R-Rated film," Reynolds wrote on Facebook. "Please know this kid knew more swear words than a British chef."

Russia challenges US after jet face-off

Navy video captures Russian flyby in mid-April

Russia says it was right to confront a US Air Force reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea on Friday.

The Pentagon said a Russian jet fighter acted in an "unsafe and unprofessional manner", and performed a barrel roll over its plane.

Russia said that the American jet had turned off its transponder signal, which helps others identify it.

It is the second incident in the Baltic this month in which the US has accused Russian planes of flying aggressively.

"All flights of Russian planes are conducted in accordance with international regulations on the use of airspace," a statement by the Russian defence ministry said. "The US Air Force has two solutions: either not to fly near our borders or to turn the transponder on for identification."

US jets "regularly" try to approach Russia's borders with transponders switched off, the statement said. Over the past 18 months, Russia has been repeatedly accused of the same practice over the Baltic and near UK waters.

It is not clear how close to Russia's waters Friday's incident occurred.

On Friday, Pentagon spokesman Daniel Hernandez said there had been "repeated incidents over the last year where Russian military aircraft have come close enough to other air and sea traffic to raise serious safety concerns".

"The US aircraft was operating in international airspace and at no time crossed into Russian territory," he said.

"This unsafe and unprofessional air intercept has the potential to cause serious harm and injury to all air crews involved."

Such actions could "unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries," he said.

Mr Hernandez said the Su-27's "erratic and aggressive manoeuvres" also threatened the safety of the US aircrew, coming within 7.6m (25ft) of the fuselage of the American plane before conducting its barrel roll.

Military encounters between Russia and the US and its allies have escalated significantly over the past two years, ever since Russia's annexation of Crimea and the breakdown of relations between East and West.

Two Russian planes flew close to a US guided missile destroyer almost a dozen times in the Baltic on 13 April.

The BBC's Gary O'Donoghue in Washington reported after the destroyer incident that Russia's actions were regarded by defence analysts as a flexing of muscle, a reminder that Russia has military might and cannot be pushed around.

Dynel Lane jailed over foetus-cutting attack

Dynel Lane did not speak in her own defence and has expressed no remorse for the attack

A woman in the US state of Colorado has been sentenced to 100 years in prison for cutting a nearly eight-month-old foetus from a stranger's womb.

Dynel Lane was convicted of attempting to kill Michelle Wilkins and of the unlawful termination of her pregnancy.

Prosecutors could not charge her with murdering the baby because a coroner found no evidence that it had lived.

Lane, 36, had pretended to be pregnant for months, deceiving a man she told would be her child's father.

The court in the city of Boulder heard that her deceit had extended to downloading ultrasound mages from the internet to trick the man.

In March last year, she lured the pregnant Ms Wilkins, then 26, to her house with an advert for maternity clothes posted on the Craigslist website.

She then attacked her and cut the baby from her womb.

Maximum penalties

The victim was able to make an emergency call, but was said to be barely conscious when officers arrived.

Lane had already left the scene.

Police said she had told the man who lived with her, David Ridley, that she had experienced a miscarriage. He rushed her and the baby to the hospital.

Lane has two children of her own, and she and Mr Ridley had been trying for another.

She did not know the victim, police said.

Michelle Wilkins said she believed justice had been served

Judge Maria Berkenkotter said the brutality of the attack justified sentencing Lane to the maximum penalties available under the charges.

Asked in court if she wanted to speak, Lane said "no".

"Judge Berkenkotter was clearly listening to everything that we were saying,'' Ms Wilkins told reporters afterwards, adding she believed justice had been served.

Lane herself has expressed no remorse for the attack and did not speak at the trial in her own defence.

Her mother apologised in court to Ms Wilkins and her family, as did her father in a letter read by his wife.

The inability of prosecutors to charge Lane with murdering the baby led Colorado Republicans to introduce legislation that would have allowed a murder charge.

But Democrats rejected that measure - the third time the proposal has failed in Colorado.

Elsewhere in the US, 38 states have made killing a foetus a crime of murder with intent.

Discussion Point : How does foetus killing differ from abortion that is legalised? 

Protesters delay Trump speech

There have been widespread protests in California against Donald Trump's candidacy

Hundreds of protesters broke through barricades and threw eggs at police outside a California hotel where Republican Party front-runner Donald Trump was due to address the state's Republican convention.

The demonstrations in the city of Burlingame temporarily delayed a speech by the billionaire businessman.

Because of the protest, Mr Trump had to enter the hotel via a rear entrance.

Mr Trump's rallies have been dogged by violence.

On Thursday, a police car had its windows smashed as Mr Trump spoke inside a hall in the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Some 20 arrests were made.

The Trump campaign had to cancel several rallies in March after hundreds of protesters threatened to disrupt events in Chicago and St Louis.

Protesters pushed through police barriers several times

Police in riot gear dealt with the large numbers of protesters

Demonstrators carried signs protesting against Mr Trump's policies

Before his speech on Friday, news helicopters showed Mr Trump and his security detail crossing a motorway before entering the hotel via a side door.

On stage, Mr Trump joked about the protesters, saying "that was not the easiest entrance I ever made."

"I felt like I was crossing the border," he said, and that he walked through "dirt and mud" to get to the building outside of San Francisco.

Many of the protesters outside his speech were arguing against his positions on immigration. He has advocated building a border wall with Mexico which he says Mexico would pay for.

He has also referred to Mexicans as "rapists" and criminals responsible for bringing illegal drugs into the US.

Mr Trump is extremely unpopular among Latino voters and California has a large Mexican-American population.

Protests are expected to continue until the California primary is held on 7 June.

Mr Trump has called himself the Republican "presumptive nominee" after a string of primary wins.

In terms of delegate support, the property tycoon is far ahead of his nearest rivals, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and John Kasich, the governor of Ohio.

On the other side of the race, Hillary Clinton is expected to beat Bernie Sanders to the Democratic nomination and fight for the presidency in November's general election.

New fighting rocks Syria's second

Dr Vickie Hawkins, executive director of Doctors Without Borders: Attack on hospital is "absolutely devastating"

Syria's divided second city of Aleppo had endured another day of deadly clashes.

State media said rebels shelled a mosque in the government-held district of Bab al-Faraj, killing 15 people.

In the rebel-held east, government air strikes reportedly left at least 11 dead and destroyed a medical facility - the second to be hit in a week.

A statement said it would last for 24 hours in Damascus and the Eastern Ghouta region outside the capital, and for 72 hours in the northern countryside of Latakia province.

It did not explain why the halt was only temporary, nor was there any mention of Aleppo, where a week of escalating violence has left more than 200 civilians dead.

State television said rebels unleashed a barrage of rocket fire into the government-held western part of Aleppo just as people were coming out of Friday prayers.

The Malla Khan mosque in Bab al-Faraj was hit, it said, causing heavy casualties. Some of the injured were in a serious condition and were likely to die, it added.

Activists meanwhile reported that government aircraft carried out more attacks on rebel-held parts of the city, after hostilities had eased for a short time overnight.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said 11 people were killed, while the Local Co-ordination Committees, an opposition activist network, put the death toll at 14.

The LCC reported that six died when government helicopters dropped barrel bombs - large cylindrical containers filled with explosives and shrapnel - on the Firdous district and four others in a barrel bomb attack in Mughair.

Opposition activists said government helicopters dropped barrel bombs on the Firdous district

Six people were killed in the attack on Firdous, according to the Local Co-ordination Committees

The Syrian Civil Defence, whose volunteer emergency response workers are known as the "White Helmets", said that among the sites targeted by warplanes was a clinic in the Marja area. A nurse was among several people hurt.

On Wednesday night, the al-Quds Hospital in the rebel-held Sukkari district was destroyed in air strikes that US Secretary of State John Kerry said appeared to have been "deliberate".

Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which supported the hospital, said on Friday that 50 people, including six members of staff, were now believed to have been killed.

"The attack on al-Quds Hospital has destroyed one of the last remaining places in Aleppo in which you could still find humanity. Aleppo is already a shell of what it once was, this most recent assault appears determined to eliminate even that," said MSF's head of mission in Syria, Muskilda Zancada.

Ms Zancada also expressed concern at reports that government forces were preparing for a major offensive to encircle rebel-held areas of the city.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that Aleppo was being "pushed further to the brink of humanitarian disaster".

The US said the air strikes that destroyed the al-Quds Hospital appeared to be deliberate

Large parts of the city have been destroyed and its infrastructure has been severely damaged, leaving civilians without water and electricity for months.

In an interview with the BBC, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Syria's leaders had to "go beyond their narrow personal perspectives" and call a halt to the destruction of their country.

"How long are they going to fight? They are destroying their people and infrastructure. How will this be resolved?" he asked.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, said the failure of the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court was "an example of the most shameful form of realpolitik".

"In the minds of a many, the world's great powers have in effect become accomplices to the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of human beings, and the displacement of millions," he added.

Russia and the US are backing opposing sides in the conflict.

'Aleppo is burning': Regional media reaction

The latest reports from Aleppo have alarmed regional media outlets opposed to the Syrian regime, with fire being the image of choice.

"Aleppo is burning" reads a stark headline in the Saudi paper al-Riyadh, while an editorial in the Lebanese daily al-Mustaqbal accuses President Bashar al-Assad of "burning Syria while the whole world watches".

An Arabic hashtag translating as "Aleppo is burning" had been re-tweeted more than 180,000 times by Friday morning.

In Syria itself, Nasser Qandil, in pro-governmental-Thawra, warns rebels in the city that a "war of all wars" will be unleashed on them in the coming weeks.

Many regional commentators fear the worst in Syria's second city, with London-based Arabic paper al-Sharq al-Awsat predicting a "war of annihilation" by government forces.

Meanwhile Maher Abu Tair, in Jordan's al-Dustur, criticises the wider Arab and Muslim world for "standing and watching the carnage", while Asaad Haider in al-Mustaqbal argues the "world cannot remain blind in the face of a catastrophe".

Thirteen dead in Norway helicopter crash

Emergency services try to reach the site of the crash

Thirteen people are presumed dead after a helicopter crashed west of the Norwegian city of Bergen, rescuers say.

Eleven of those on board were Norwegian, one was British and one Italian. No survivors have been found.

A major rescue operation was launched but ended within hours of the crash.

Meanwhile, Norway's civil aviation authority has imposed a flight ban on the type of helicopter that crashed - the Eurocopter (EC) 225L Super Puma. Reports say it was "totally destroyed".

Its officials told VG newspaper (in Norwegian) that servicing for the helicopter which crashed had been delayed twice in 2015, for a total of 200 flying hours.

The British Civilian Aviation Authority later said it was suspending commercial use of the Super Puma, so it would be unable to carry oil and gas workers but could still fly for other purposes.

The aircraft was flying from the Gullfaks oil field to Bergen, a centre for the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Eleven bodies have been found, and two other people are still missing.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said news of the crash was "horrible".

King Harald and Queen Sonja cancelled a trip to Sweden, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported.

'Peculiar engine sound'

Oil company Statoil said the aircraft was "on assignment". All the passengers were Statoil employees.

Both Statoil and the UK energy company BP have suspended use of the Super Puma.

Statoil has also suspended oil production at the Gullfaks B platform "so that we can take care of the staff in the best way possible", company vice-president Arne Sigve Nylund told journalists.

The helicopter came down near the small island of Turoey, just west of the village of Solsvik.

Smoke was visible at the scene of the crash

Firefighters were among those involved in the big rescue operation

Eyewitnesses reported seeing the helicopter's rotor blade come loose and shear off.

"There was an explosion and a very peculiar engine sound, so I looked out the window. I saw the helicopter falling quickly into the sea. Then I saw a big explosion," a resident told local newspaper Bergensavisen.

Photos from the scene showed thick smoke coming from an area of rocky islets.

Local media said the helicopter dropped 640m (2,200ft) in the last 10 seconds before it crashed. Some wreckage was found on the rocks, and parts of the fuselage are in the sea.

Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma

• Widely used in offshore oil and gas industry around the world

• More than 220 in service

• Can also be used in search and rescue and fire-fighting roles

• Carries 19 passengers plus two crew and can fly for up to five-and-a-half hours

• Safety features include self-deployable emergency flotation device, and traffic collision and avoidance system

Filling stations still sell petrol above N150 per litre in Owerri — investigation

In spite of the directive to petroleum products marketers to sell at the official pump price, some marketers in Owerri still sell at nearly double the approved N86.50 price. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Department of Petroleum Resources had constituted a task force which sealed up five filling stations on Tuesday for infringing on the directive. Fuel crisis The DPR Controller at its South East zonal office in Owerri, Chief Morrison Nwokedi, led the team that sealed up the five erring filling stations. Investigation by NAN on Friday, however, showed that independent marketers still sold petrol for between N150 and N170. It also showed that even the filling stations visited by the DPR team had returned to the high price they were selling when the department ordered them to revert to the official rate. An official of the DPR in Owerri said its enforcement team had visited some filling stations to ensure that the mangers complied with the official pump price. When NAN visited some of the filling stations on Port Harcourt road, MCC road, Okigwe road, Bank road and Orlu road, on Friday, none of them sold petrol at N86.50 per litre. A motorist, Chinedu Nwoke, said it was a big surprise that after the DPR had directed marketers to revert to the official pump price, the dealers still flouted the order. “I was privileged to be here on Tuesday when the DPR team came to visit some of the stations and they immediately reverted to sell at N86.50 per litre. “It was indeed a surprise that less than two days after, they returned to the outrageous price regime,’’ he said. Nwoke, however, called on the DPR to ensure that petrol marketers complied with the official pump price. A dealer who preferred anonymity said he could only revert to the government approved price after selling off the product which he had sourced at an exorbitant rate. “The petrol we have in stock was bought from private tank farms in Lagos and Port Harcourt at a very high rate. “It will be unfair for anybody to compel us to sell at N86.50 when we sourced it above N130 per litre,’’ he said. Meanwhile, Nwokedi insisted on Friday that the DPR would ensure that petrol sold at government official rate, adding that any defaulting station would be sanctioned. He urged member of the public to inform his office of any station selling above the official price.

Fulani herdsmen’s attacks: Knocks, kudos greet Buhari 's directive.

LAGOS — HARD knocks and kudos, yesterday, heralded President Muhammadu Buhari’s order to the Chief of Defence Staff and Inspector General of Police to crack down on rampaging herdsmen, who have been attacking many villages and killing hundreds of people across the country. President Buhari President Buhari’s order came on the heels of the latest attack on Ukpabi Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State on Monday, in which about 40 persons were killed and 11 buildings destroyed. Among those, who spoke on the issue, yesterday, were Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka; Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; former presidential candidate and Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Olu Falae; former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav; former Transport Minister, Chief Ebenezer Babatope; National Publicity of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Muhammad Ibrahim; National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin; founder of the Igbo Youths Movement, IYM, Evangelist Elliot Uko; President of Arewa Consultative Youths Forum, ACYF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima and Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo. Soyinka blasts Buhari over killings In clear terms, Professor Soyinka criticised the President over his seeming inability to rein in the violent activities of herdsmen across the country. In his address to the National Conference on Culture and Tourism, Wednesday, Soyinka said the President Buhari-led government was yet to come up with an articulate solution to tackle the menace. He said: “I have yet to hear this government articulate a firm policy of non-tolerance for the serial massacres that have become the nation’s identification stamp. I have not heard an order given that any cattle herder caught with sophisticated firearms be instantly disarmed, arrested, placed on trial, and his cattle confiscated. The nation is treated to an 18month optimistic plan which, to make matters worse, smacks of abject appeasement and encouragement of violence on innocents. “Let me repeat, and of course I only ask to be corrected if wrong: I have yet to encounter a terse, rigorous, soldierly and uncompromising language from this leadership, one that threatens a response to this unconscionable blood-letting that would make even Boko Haram repudiate its founding clerics. “When I read a short while ago, the Presidential assurance to this nation that the current homicidal escalation between the cattle prowlers and farming communities would soon be over, I felt mortified. “He had the solution, he said. Cattle ranches were being set up, and in another 18 months, rustlings, destruction of livelihood and killings from herdsmen would be ‘a thing of the past’. 18 months, he assured the nation. I believe his Minister of Agriculture echoed that later, but with a less dispiriting time schema.” Senate summons service chiefs Worried by these developments, the Senate, yesterday, summoned the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, to brief the lawmakers on the efforts put in place to address the problem. Also to appear before the Senate today are the National Security Adviser, NSA, General Babagana Monguno (retd); Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Yusuf Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok- Ete Ekwe Ibas; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar; and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshall Mirgan Riku. According to the Senate, inviting the service chiefs would enable it get briefs on the fleeing terrorists to ensure that measures are put in place to forestall spread of terrorists activities all over the country as well as carry out an investigation of the incidents and suggest ways of stopping the attacks before the affected communities resort to self- help. The Senate also set up a six-member ad-hoc committee to investigate cases of killing by suspected herdsmen across the country and come up with solutions to the problems, with the Senate leader, Senator Ali Ndume, APC, Borno South representing North East, as chairman. The committee has been given next week to commence work with a public hearing. Meanwhile, Senator Ben Murray Bruce, in his contribution, noted that Fulani herdsmen had killed Nigerians on annual basis more than Boko Haram sect. “The herdsmen are now considered one of the worst terrorist organisations in the world today. They are a deadly force, they have turned Nigeria into a very dangerous country,” he said. ACF commends Buhari, says attacks unfortunate The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, said the country could not afford to graduate from Boko Haram insurgency to an unwarranted attack by unknown gunmen alleged to be Fulani herdsmen. In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, the ACF said: “The attack was most unfortunate, barbaric and condemnable. Arewa Consultative Forum commends the prompt action taken by President Muhammadu Buhari by directing the Chief of Defence Staff and the Inspector General of Police to not only secure the affected communities under attacks by herdsmen but also ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly acts are fished out and brought to justice.” It can result in self-help — Ohanaeze The apex Igbo group, Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo, has warned that the ugly development was capable of resulting in reprisal attacks unless the Federal Government puts measures in place to stop the killings across the country. This came as Abia State House of Assembly directed security agencies in the state to thoroughly search all trucks and other vehicles conveying cattle, onions, tomatoes, fruits and other goods from northern part of the country to the state, for arms and ammunition. Similarly, Anglican Communion, traders and other residents of Enugu protested the killings of innocent villagers at Nimboe as well as previous killings of Ndigbo in the South-East President-General of Ohanaeze, Gary Enwo-Igariwey, at briefing, yesterday, warned that the failure of security agents to arrest these herdsmen would only result in the communities resorting to self-help to defend themselves. He said it was very dangerous to allow gun trotting youths to continue to run riots on unsuspecting communities, adding that the Federal Government had much to do to ensure the continuous corporate existence of the country. Govt should not stop at just sending security forces —Tsav Also speaking, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, said: “Apart from what the President has said, I believe the only thing that will be the lasting solution to the killings by Fulani herdsmen is for the government to set up an inquiry committee to find out why they are doing so. Sending security agencies after them will not be enough because they are masters of the bush; they live in the bush and are very united.” Buhari’s directive reassuring – Falae Chief Olu Falae, who was kidnapped by the herdsmen at his farm in Ondo State, recently, said the President’s statement was reassuring. “It is a welcome development and it is most reassuring. As you know, I was a victim of these herdsmen terrorism. So, I am happy that the president has declared war on this terrorism which has the potential to destabilize Nigeria. So, I am happy but I hope that the security forces will take the order from the president and ensure that we all feel safe and secured in our respective communities. It’s too late – Adebanjo Chief Ayo Adebanjo said the president’s comment was belated. “Too late to comment. It does not show that he was conscious of the lives of the people that have been killed in the last three months. It was the same thing we accused Jonathan of saying nothing about the Boko Haram. Anyway, it is better late than never and now the excuses being made is that they are not Fulani, including some responsible people. “What evidences have the police provided to arrest those who are not Fulani but are calling themselves Fulani? At what stage did it occur to them that they are just hoodlums? Buhari should act fast — Babatope Chief Ebenezer Babatope urged Buhari to act fast on the herdsmen’s murderous activities to avert mayhem. He said: “I think the President has capacity to arrest the situation and he must act very fast for the purpose of unity of this country. The killings are becoming too much and Nigerians are tired of these senseless killings.” President should ‘ve addressed the nation – Odumakin On his part, National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr Yinka Odumakin, said the president should have addressed the nation on the matter rather than speak through an aide. He said: “For public relations, the president should have spoken to the nation directly on this kind of matter, rather than speaking through an aide..” It’s a welcome development – Shettima For the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, no one should hide under any guise to commit crime. Its National President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima said: “It is a good development because nobody is above the law. Making a bold statement like this is a good development because we cannot continue to live in a country where there is law and order and people take laws into their hands and get away with it as if we are running a banana republic. We cannot accept that.”

Kim K Reaches Another Weight Loss Milestone

Reality TV’s reigning queen, Kim Kardashian West, has once again shared a personal milestone with her million of followers on several social media platforms.

Kim announced on Snapchat that she is only 5 pounds away from her pre-baby weight. And while this might sound like a trivial milestone for some, it is a big deal for the 34-year old reality star, as she has documented her weight loss journey since the birth of her son, Saint West, in December.

Kim wasn’t shy to share her frustrations with picking up baby weight this time around. When she was pregnant with her first child – daughter North West – she scrutinized for her weight gain, but decided to share her journey with her followers the second time around.

Kim shared a picture on Snapchat of her standing on a scale showing her current weight as 139.6 pounds.

She captioned the photo:

“YOU GUYS!!!!! PRE BABY WEIGHT WAS 135!!!!!”

Kim has worked hard over the past 5 months since giving birth to Saint and has lost more than 50 pounds already.

Congrats, Kimmie!

Ogoni clean up begins June 2

     by AbiodunComments                    
             The Federal government will on June 2 launch the kick-off of Ogoni clean-up programme as contained in the United Nations Environment Programme Report, UNEP. The Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina Muhammed, said this yesterday in Port Harcourt during a visit to Governor Nyeson Wike of Rivers State. Represented by Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman, she said the visit was to seek the collaboration of all stakeholders in the exercise. She said: “The programme is expected to be launched on June 2. It has been designed to be driven by all stakeholders in the region. The essence of this is to ensure that the people of Ogoni and the region at large benefitted from the process.”

US election 2016: Clashes near Trump rally in California

               

Republican road to the White House

Hundreds of demonstrators have blocked traffic outside a venue in California where Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump was holding a rally.

A police car had its windows smashed as Mr Trump spoke inside a hall in the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Some 20 arrests were made.
Mr Trump has vowed to deport millions of illegal immigrants if he is elected US president in November.
He faces strong opposition in parts of California, particularly among Latinos.
California, the biggest prize for Republican candidates in the nomination race, holds its primaries on 7 June.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump called himself the Republican "presumptive nominee" after five new primary wins in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

'Build that wall!'

The Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa was filled to its capacity of about 18,000 people and hundreds more were turned away.
Heated exchanges could be heard between Trump supporters and the protesters outside, with supporters chanting "Build that wall! Build that wall!", a reference to the candidate's call for a barrier between the US and Mexico to stop illegal border crossings.

                            

Image caption Police kept rival crowds apart as people gathered for the rally

                           

Image caption California is the biggest prize of the primaries for Republicans

                            

Image caption Mr Trump addressed a packed house

                            

Image caption Outside, riot police were deployed

                            

Image caption County sheriff's deputies were sent in

Police in riot gear and officers on horseback moved in to separate the two groups.
Reports from the scene say some protesters threw stones at motorists while others jumped on top of a police car, smashing its windows, the BBC's James Cook reports from Los Angeles.
The protesters dispersed by 23:00 (06:00 GMT Friday), the Orange County Sheriff's Department reports.
Mr Trump's campaign has been dogged by violence between his supporters and protesters, most notably at the University of Illinois in Chicago on 11 March, when a rally was called off after fighting broke out in the auditorium.

Media captionJohn Boehner told an audience at Stanford University that Ted Cruz 'is Lucifer in the flesh'

In terms of delegate support, the property tycoon is far ahead of his nearest rivals, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and John Kasich, the governor of Ohio.
In the Democratic camp, Hillary Clinton has a commanding lead over Bernie Sanders.
The presidential election on 8 November will see America vote for a successor to Barack Obama, a Democratic president standing down after two terms in office which have seen the Republicans take control of both houses of Congress.

Boko Haram stalls completion of N17bn roads, bridges in Borno

             By Ndahi Marama
 MAIDUGURI—Borno State Government yesterday, lamented that one of negative effects of the activities of the Boko Haram insurgency in the state was the inability to complete N17 billion roads and bridges projects in Maiduguri metropolis, including three-kilometre Lagos Street Bridge awarded in 2012. The insurgents, according to government officials had targeted roads construction workers especially engineers and the routes through which building materials were transported to various projects sites in the state. The roads projects cover a total distance of 48 kilometres, including the Old Maiduguri 7.5 kilometer dual carriage way. Commissioner of Works and Transport, Alhaji Adamu Lawan disclosed this at the Maiduguri-Bulumkutu and Lagos Street project sites, while briefing newsmen over the uncompleted roads projects.. The affected construction firms, according to him; include Eighteenth Engineering Company, EEC, Grand Scope Company and a Kano-based Hajaig Construction Company handling the Bulumkutu roads projects that had been stalled by insurgency and insecurity of engineers and other workers. According to him: “The non-completion of these roads and bridges in Maiduguri in metropolis was caused by the insurgency. We are very frustrated over this development. It prevented the haulage of roads construction materials and equipment to sites; while the lives of sites engineers were threatened, including the killings of some contracting partners in 2013 and 2014 at three different project sites in Borno State. “Hajaig firm had; for example, brought in its laterite from Damboa, 87 kilometres from Maiduguri, unfortunately the road was closed to motorists for almost two years ago. Other roads construction equipment had to be transported from far away Kano to this Bulumkutu project site. The state government had wanted to revoke this contract, but doing so could lead to the loss of over N2 billion.” He however said the Bulumkutu high density community roads complex had reached 98 per cent completion, explaining that the remaining two per cent, included roads’ marking and painting.