Boko Haram threat: Time running out for Nigeria

Abubakar Shekau claims to be the leader of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. (Boko Haram/ AFP)

Kano - Nigeria faces a race against time to tackle its worsening security situation, which has spread in scale and scope affecting all walks of life, an influential governor told AFP in an interview.

Kano state governor Rabiu Kwankwaso said the country was unprepared for the level of violence from Boko Haram Islamists and that a lack of political leadership had allowed the situation to worsen.

"Time is running out. Something has to be done, especially [in] the north-eastern part of this country," Kwankwaso, a former defence minister under president Olusegun Obasanjo, said late on Tuesday.

Kwankwaso, a leading figure in the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), was one of a number of governors from the mainly Muslim north to switch allegiance from the ruling People’s Democratic Party last year.

The defections, which also led to a number of lawmakers crossing the floor in parliament, threatening President Goodluck Jonathan's majority, were attributed in part to the head of state's perceived indifference to the north.

Kwankwaso said social and economic inequalities in the region compared to the richer, oil-producing south, had helped fuel the insurgency and needed to be tackled.

40 dead in latest Boko Haram attack

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau (Picture: AFP)

Kano - The Islamist militant group Boko Haram attacked a village Wednesday in the Nigerian state of Borno, killing at least 40 people and setting most of the houses ablaze, according to local media.

 A resident of the village said that the few villagers who escaped unscathed had fled into nearby Chad. 

The reported attack on a village followed Boko Haram's attacks on Tuesday on police stations and military outposts, in which dozens of people were killed in Yobe state.

Oscar's family dismisses tweet claims

Oscar Pistorius arrives at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital. (Picture: AFP)

Johannesburg - Murder accused Oscar Pistorius was at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital on Monday for a mental evaluation and was not at home, family spokesperson Anneliese Burgess said.

She denied a suggestion on Twitter that the athlete spent the day at home with a visiting pastor.

"This meeting took place over the weekend. Oscar spent the whole day at Weskoppies yesterday [Monday] as per the requirements of the court order," Burgess said on Tuesday.

Pistorius began a 30-day mental health evaluation at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria on Monday.

American pastor Robert Tillman Kendall posted a photograph of himself and Pistorius on Twitter on the same day just after 17:00.

Kendall tweeted: "Oscar Pistorius gave me lunch in his home today in Pretoria, S Africa. Please, please do pray for him."

Burgess said Pistorius was at the hospital the whole day on Monday.

Pistorius was admitted as a day patient by the hospital following an order by Judge Thokozile Masipa in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

Three psychiatrists and one clinical psychologist would evaluate Pistorius to determine whether his general anxiety disorder and his disability had an effect on him when he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.

One psychiatrist was appointed by the defence, one by the court, and another by the hospital.

Pistorius is charged with the murder of Steenkamp.

He shot her dead through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home. He has denied guilt, saying he thought she was an intruder about to open the door and attack him.

The State contends he shot her during an argument.

He is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act - one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Boko Haram kills 24 at Nigeria market

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau (Picture: AFP)

Cape Town - At least 24 people were killed by suspected members of Islamist extremist sect Boko Haram in northern Nigeria, local newspaper Vanguard reported on Monday.

More than 20 insurgents armed with assault rifles and explosives attacked the village of Kamuyya in Borno State during a weekly Sunday market.

The gunmen fired into the crowd before setting shops and vehicles on fire. More than 100 houses were burnt down, witnesses said.

"The militants, armed with sophisticated weapons, raided the area and proceeded to the major market. They began to shoot sporadically into the crowd, killing 24 people on the spot and burnt most of the shops in the market," said resident Bukar Umar.

"The invaders snatched several vehicles and loaded them with bags of foodstuff before fleeing the area," Umar added. The attack comes a day after a suicide bomber killed eight people in the central Nigerian town of Jos.

More than 100 people were killed in suspected Boko Haram attacks in central and northern Nigeria in the past week.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are officially married!

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in Paris. (AFP)

Florence - Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are married.

The couple, who went public with their relationship in April 2012 and have 11-month-old daughter North, exchanged vows in front of approximately 200 guests during an outdoor sunset ceremony at the Forte di Belvedere in Florence, Italy on Saturday

A source told PEOPLE.com that Rich Wilkerson Jr., a pastor from North Miami, performed the ceremony, which was organised by long-time Kardashian family friend and celebrity event planner Sharon Sacks, who also planned Kim's second wedding to Kris Humphries in 2011.

Kanye appeared to be very nervous beforehand, swigging obsessively from a bottle of water.


(The wedding venue. AFP)

An eyewitness said: “It was funny how nervous he was. He clearly knew the gravity of what he was about to do. This morning he was all smiles, but as it got closer, you could see that the nerves were kicking in. It's common for most grooms. I've seen it all before.”

Another source told E! News that Kim arrived at their wedding venue with her grandmother, Mary Jo Shannon, shortly after catching a private jet with her bridal party, including sisters, Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian, and mother, Kris Jenner, from Paris, where the couple enjoyed a pre-wedding celebration at the Palace of Versailles on Friday night.

An eyewitness said: “A convoy of cars arrived at around 15:00 local time. Kim was in the first car, which was a Mercedes-Benz. They drove the car right up and her assistant opened the door and Kim dashed in. She looked to be wearing white.

“Kourtney was carrying her daughter Penelope and her son Mason--in a red-striped outfit - followed behind.

“Kris Jenner got out of second car wearing black suit. And she put a big professional camera on a strap on her shoulders. She has obviously been taking professional pictures to remember the occasion.”


(Fans outside the wedding venue. AFP)

The New Slaves hitmaker surprised the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star by proposing to her on her 33rd birthday on October 21 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

The couple started dating just months after the reality TV star split from ex-husband Kris in October 2011 after 72 days of marriage.

UN imposes sanctions on Nigeria’s Boko Haram

Boko Haram Islamists leader Abubakar Shekau. (File AFP

New York - The United Nations blacklisted and imposed sanctions on Boko Haram as an al-Qaeda-linked terror group on Thursday, a month after it claimed the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls.

The designation, which was immediately welcomed by Britain and the United States, came into effect after no objections were raised by the Security Council's 15 members.

The move subjects Boko Haram to UN sanctions, including an arms embargo, asset freeze and travel ban.

The group, which was created 10 years ago, demands the creation of an Islamic state in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria. Their attacks have left thousands dead since 2009.

US ambassador Samantha Power hailed the move as "an important step" in support of Nigeria's efforts "to defeat Boko Haram and hold its murderous leadership accountable for atrocities".

Nigeria, criticised by the United States for failing to react quickly enough to the rise of Boko Haram, had asked the al-Qaeda sanctions committee to blacklist the group and impose sanctions.

"It is [a] significant step," Nigerian ambassador Joy Ogwu told reporters in anticipation on Wednesday. "The important thing is to attack the problem and that is terrorism," she added.

Sanctions scepticism 

Experts question whether sanctions will have any real impact on a group based in a part of Nigeria that operates on a cash economy.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in mid-April of more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, in northeastern Nigeria which sparked international outrage.

The imposition of UN sanctions was recommended last Saturday at a conference in Paris that brought together Benin, Britain, Chad, Cameroon, France Niger, Nigeria and the United States.

The United States and a number of other countries have already designated Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation in an attempt to cut off any overseas funding for the group.

Power said the United States would continue doing everything possible to help bring back the kidnapped schoolgirls and to work with the government of Nigeria to eliminate Boko Haram.

"The Security Council has helped to close off important avenues of funding, travel and weapons to Boko Haram, and shown global unity against their savage actions," she said in a statement.

Escalation of violence 

In the last five weeks, Boko Haram has stepped up attacks outside the northeast, worst affected by the insurgency, leading to fears of an escalation of violence across the country.

Hours before the girls' kidnapping, the group bombed a crowded bus station in the Abuja suburb of Nyanya, killing 75. A copy-cat bombing at the same location on 1 May left 19 dead.

On Tuesday, two car bombs ripped through a busy market within 20 minutes of each other in the central city of Jos, killing at least 118, in Nigeria's deadliest such attack.

Nigeria has concentrated on a mainly military response to Boko Haram.

More than 2 000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed this year alone as a result of the violence and the military's response, according to human rights and monitoring groups.

Critics have called into question the military's reliance on conventional tactics to fight an enemy waging a guerrilla war and urged "soft power" strategies to be used at the same time.

South African Police Services smash international cybercrime network. One SA woman , 11 Nigerian men and 9 Canadian & USA criminals arrested

Pretoria - Police said on Wednesday they have smashed an international cybercrime network operating out of Pretoria and made several arrests in a joint operation with the United States.

US homeland security officers worked with South African police to bring down "a West African criminal enterprise operating from South Africa with strong links to the United States", the South African Police Service said.

A briefing later on Wednesday "will announce arrests and charges" in the case.

Arrests have been made in several countries including Canada, South Africa and the United States, police spokesperson Paul Ramaloko told AFP, without giving numbers.

He said suspects were due to appear in court in Pretoria later on Wednesday before being extradited to the United States.

Local media have said there were Nigerian nationals among those arrested.

4 specialists to evaluate Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius speaks to his brother Carl in the North Gauteng High Court, which ordered that he be admitted as a day-patient at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital for mental observation. 

Pretoria - Four specialists will evaluate murder-accused Oscar Pistorius when he is admitted as a day-patient for mental observation, the North Gauteng High Court ordered on Tuesday.

"The accused [will] be an outpatient at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital," Judge Thokozile Masipa said.

"[The evaluation will] inquire whether the accused... was at the time of the commission of the offence criminally responsible."

It would also determine if Pistorius could appreciate the "wrongfulness of his actions and act according to that appreciation".

Pistorius would go to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital at 09:00 on 26 May and every weekday thereafter. He would stay until 16:00, or until he had been excused, said Masipa.

Evaluation

Three psychiatrists and one clinical psychologist would evaluate Pistorius to determine whether his general anxiety disorder and his disability had an effect on him when he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.

One psychiatrist was appointed by the defence, one by the court, and another by the hospital.

Pistorius's evaluation would not exceed 30 days, she said.

The psychiatric report would be handed to the registrar of the court, the National Prosecuting Authority, and the defence once it had been completed.

Masipa postponed the matter to 30 June. She said records of the trial proceedings would be made available to the specialists.

Before court started on Tuesday, Pistorius sat chatting to a member of his defence team. After the order was handed down, he spoke to his lawyers before leaving court with his older brother Carl and his security detail.

General anxiety disorder

Last Monday, forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster, testifying for the defence, told the court Pistorius had general anxiety disorder. Based on this, the State applied to have him referred.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said it was necessary in case his disorder had affected his behaviour when he shot Steenkamp.

Pistorius is charged with the murder of Steenkamp. He shot her dead through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home. He has denied guilt, saying he thought she was an intruder about to open the door and attack him. The State contends he shot her during an argument.

He is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act - one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges as well.

Fire sweeps through Joburg CBD shops

(File)

Johannesburg - A fire swept through five shops in the Johannesburg city centre on Monday morning, the city's emergency services said.

"No one was in the shops," said spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi.

"We are still busy extinguishing it."

The cause of the fire, which was reported at around 06:00, was unknown.

The five shops were situated along Bree and Mooi streets.

Mulaudzi said motorists should be cautious when driving in the vicinity.

Metro police spokesperson Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said traffic was being diverted.

He said the damage of the fire was extensive. 

Jay Z and Solange issue statment about elevator fight

Following days of silence (and a few telling Instagram posts from Beyonce) Jay Z and Solange have issued a statement about that time Solange fly-kicked Jay in an elevator while Beyonce looked on.

In response to the leaked security camera footage of the pair having a huge bust-up following the Met Gala in New York, Jay and Solange have issued an exclusive statement to the Associated Press. 

While it reveals very little about the incident, the statement is the first time the pair have publicly acknowledged the fight. It also specifically states that reports of Solange being intoxicated or acting erratically throughout the evening are false. Except for that one thing that happened in the elevator.

Jay Z and Solange’s jointstatement

 

“As a result of the public release of the elevator security footage from Monday, May 5th, there has been a great deal of speculation about what triggered the unfortunate incident. But the most important thing is that our family has worked through it. Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred. They both acknowledge their role in this private matter that has played out in the public. They both have apologized to each other and we have moved forward as a united family.The reports of Solange being intoxicated or displaying erratic behavior throughout that evening are simply false. At the end of the day families have problems and we’re no different. We love each other and above all we are family. We’ve put this behind us and hope everyone else will do the same.”

Judge Masipa: Don’t want to punish Pistorius twice

Judge Thokozile Masipa 

Pretoria - The aim of referring Oscar Pistorius for mental observation was not to punish him “twice”, said Judge Thokozile Masipa on Wednesday. 

Mental observation would ensure Pistorius gets a fair trial, Masipa said.

She ordered that he be sent for psychiatric evaluation after forensic psychiatrist Dr Merryll Vorster testified that he had general anxiety disorder. This prompted the State to lodge an application to refer him for observation.

"This is not about anyone's convenience but rather about justice being served," Masipa said granting the State’s application.

"I am satisfied that a case has been made out for the application, or the relief as sought by the State, and I shall grant that order."

Masipa said she was aware that the referral would cause more delays, but she believed it was in the interest of justice.

Defence’s opposition to order ‘strange’

She said the State should consider the possibility of admitting him as an out-patient.

Going over her order on Wednesday, Masipa said it was strange that the defence opposed the State's application.

Vorster's evidence had brought to the court's attention Pistorius's criminal capacity when he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius had a long history of general anxiety disorder that appeared to be increasing with time, Vorster said.

Masipa said the court would not be able to determine Pistorius’s mental capacity "without the guidance of expert psychiatrists".

"There is also a possibility that there may be diminished criminal responsibility," she said.

"This court… is ill-equipped to deal with the issues raised in Dr Vorster’s evidence in this case… Dr Vorster's report cannot replace a proper inquiry."

Masipa said Vorster only had two interviews with Pistorius, on 2 and 7 May, and she might have had little time to compile a report.

Proper inquiry ‘ensures a fair trial’

"A proper inquiry… would ensure that the accused gets a fair trial,” she said.

Pistorius is charged with murdering Steenkamp. He shot her dead through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home on 14 February last year. 

He has denied guilt, saying he thought she was an intruder about to open the door and attack him. The State contends he shot her during an argument.

Masipa said there had been allegations during the trial that Pistorius was not criminally responsible at the time of the shooting and that could not be ignored.

Zimbabwean Couple caught with gold worth R6m in Limpopo border

 

Gold

A Zimbabwean couple has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle gold bricks worth R6m into South Africa at the Beit Bridge border post, police said on Sunday.

"A dog handler from the SA Revenue Service was doing his routine inspection when he spotted a suspicious-looking black Audi sedan with a Zimbabwean registration number," Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said in a statement.

A subsequent search found six bricks of gold inside the arm rest compartment of the passenger seat. The man, aged 39, and his wife, aged 37, were arrested at the border post, near Musina, Limpopo.

They were arrested on Friday afternoon and are due to appear in the Musina Magistrate's Court on Monday.

They would face charges of unlawful possession of precious metals.

Police were investigating whether they could be linked to similar cases.

Chris Brown jail sentence extended on Friday

Singer Chris Brown will serve an additional 131 days in jail after admitting to violating his probation.

The R&B star admitted to a court in Los Angeles on Friday that he committed a crime in Washington DC last October.

The Los Angeles judge sentenced Brown to 365 days but gave him credit for 234 days he has spent in rehab and jail.

Brown has been under court supervision since 2009 when he pleaded guilty to assaulting pop singer Rihanna, who was his girlfriend at the time.

The Grammy winner has been in custody since March, when he was arrested over alleged violations of his rehab sentence.

His latest probation violation relates to an altercation in the nation's capital last year.

Brown faces a misdemeanour assault charge after a man accused the singer of punching him outside a Washington hotel.

Oscar sells his house - report

Oscar's R5+ million mansion 

Johannesburg - Murder-accused Oscar Pistorius has found a buyer for the Pretoria home where he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, Beeld newspaper reported on Friday.

His estate agent, Ansie Louw, confirmed the offer to purchase but would not say for how much he was selling the house in the Silver Woods security estate.

"All I can say is that the transfer process is underway. I cannot make more details public," said Louw.

She said the house was sold through a closed bidding process.

"We went through all the offers and accepted one of them."

Beeld said the house's market value was around R5m.

Pistorius is currently on trial in the High Court in Pretoria on a charge of murdering Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year. He shot her dead through a closed bathroom door.

He has denied guilt on the murder charge, saying he believed that she was an intruder and that the shooting was an accident.

Factors may have delayed 'gastric emptying'

Reeva Steenkamp (Picture: AP)

An expert took the North Gauteng High Court on Thursday through several factors which may have delayed Reeva Steenkamp emptying her stomach on the night she was killed.

Professor Christina Lundgren was called by Oscar Pistorius's defence to give expert evidence on factors which influence gastric emptying.

The anaesthetist said it was not proven that a stomach emptied after four hours. She said there was consensus on gastric emptying after six hours of eating.

"About 10% of a low fat meal would remain in the stomach after four hours," she said.

Factors including sleeping, exercise, anxiety and pain, smoking, and certain medication could delay gastric emptying.

She said the topic of gastric emptying was "not an exact science".

Lundgren said Steenkamp's last meal, chicken stir fry, could have delayed gastric emptying if it contained indigestible fibre.

Yoga also delays gastric emptying - expert

She said it had also been said Steenkamp did some yoga before going to bed, which could also have delayed gastric emptying.

In April, Pistorius was unable to explain why there was still food in Steenkamp's stomach when she died on the morning of 14 February 2013.

At the time, prosecutor Gerrie Nel suggested Steenkamp "must have eaten within two hours of her death".

Pistorius insisted the couple ate around 19:00 on 13 February and went to bed soon after. Steenkamp was killed at around 03:00 the following morning.

Pistorius has claimed he thought Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her dead in his Pretoria home. He has been charged with murder.

Pistorius is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act - one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public.

ANC Women's League pays for Reeva's mom to attend Oscar trial

June Steenkamp, mother of the late Reeva Steenkamp, is seen in court. (Werner Beukes, Sapa, Pool)

Johannesburg - The ANC Women's League is footing the bill for June Steenkamp's travel and accommodation costs allowing her to attend the Oscar Pistorius murder trial, Beeld reported on Tuesday.

"She will attend the trial for as long as the ANC Women's League is able to pay for her travel and accommodation costs," Steenkamp's lawyer, Dup de Bruyn, told the Afrikaans daily.

Pistorius is charged with the murder of her daughter, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day last year. He has pleaded not guilty in the North Gauteng High Court, saying the shooting was an accident.

Gauteng African National Congress Women's League spokesperson Jacqui Mofokeng confirmed to Beeld that the organisation was paying with the help of the Progressive Women's Movement of SA and individual donations.

"We are doing this so that she can get some closure," said Mofokeng.

Steenkamp lives in Port Elizabeth.

Her husband is not attending the trial, so the ANCWL is also helping to pay for the costs of her friend, Jenny Strydom.

Oscar torn apart after shooting Reeva, court hears

Oscar Pistorius 

Pretoria - Oscar Pistorius's murder trial resumed on Monday with a neighbour and friend giving a heart-wrenching account of finding the "broken" athlete coming down the stairs, holding his dead girlfriend in his arms.

After a two-week break in the trial, the defence called Johan Stander, the first man to arrive at the crime scene after the Paralympian shot Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.

"Oom [uncle] Johan, please, please, please come to my house, I shot Reeva," Stander says Pistorius told him over the phone.

When he arrived at Pistorius's Pretoria home, Stander described seeing the athlete carrying Steenkamp down the stairs.

"He was screaming, he was crying, he was praying," said Stander, a man with grey hair and glasses who spoke in a hoarse voice.

"The expression on his face, an expression of sorrow, an expression of pain, he's crying, he's praying," said Stander. "It was as if he was torn apart."

Stander, who said he considered himself a friend of the 27-year-old Pistorius, said the night was not something he would want to experience again.

Pistorius was "broken, desperate, pleading”, said Stander. "How he begged God to keep her alive."

"I saw the truth that morning, I saw it and I feel it," he said.

Defence on the attack

Pistorius's lawyers will spend at least the next two weeks trying to firm up the athlete's account of the killing and counter the State's claim he shot his girlfriend after an argument.

Under days of ferocious cross-examination last month, Pistorius appeared to change his defence, casting doubt on his credibility.

The runner initially told the court that he shot Steenkamp through a locked toilet door, thinking she was an intruder coming to attack him in the dead of night.

But buckling under pressure, the Paralympian - who soared to international fame as the first double-amputee to run against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics - changed his testimony to say he fired the four shots accidentally.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel has accused the athlete of "tailoring" his evidence, calling his account of the killing "a lie".

Beginning his cross-examination of Stander, Nel asked him if Pistorius ever said to him that he had fired accidentally.

"He never said I accidentally shot her," said Nel. "He said... thought she was an intruder."

Defence lawyer Barry Roux later called Stander's daughter Carice Viljoen, who said she heard a man calling for help in the dead of the night, apparently supporting the defence version of events that it wasn't Steenkamp screaming, but Pistorius.

Postponements

"I could hear a man shouting, meaning there must be terrible trouble...," she said.

Pistorius, nicknamed the "Blade Runner”, faces up to 25 years in prison if he is found guilty of premeditated murder.

He fired four bullets through a toilet door, killing Steenkamp who was in the cubicle inside the athlete's house in an upmarket housing complex in the capital Pretoria.

Prosecutors have argued that the Valentine's Day shooting came after a row between the couple who had been dating for around three months.

The trial was adjourned until Tuesday after Roux said he had no more witnesses to call on Monday.

Proceedings will also break on Wednesday for the general elections before resuming on Thursday.

Among the witnesses expected to give evidence this week is a psychologist who will speak to the athlete's physical vulnerability, after details emerged in court of his obsession with guns.

Pistorius’s emotional outbursts, including loud wailing and sobbing on several occasions, have forced presiding Judge Thokozile Masipa to halt the proceedings several times to allow the accused to compose himself.