At Least 5 Dead in Suicide Attack on Nigerian Market

NAIROBI – At least five people died and 30 were wounded Sunday in a suicide attack staged by a woman at a market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Potiskum, according to what several witnesses told Nigerian media.

The attack came about 1:25 p.m. when the terrorist blew herself up at the market entrance after getting into a dispute with the guards who were attempting to search her at the security checkpoint.

“I heard a loud noise from my house. When we went outside, we saw that the people were removing bodies and transporting them to the hospital,” local resident Mohammed Abbas told Nigeria’s Daily Trust newspaper.

The spokesman for the police in Yobe state, where Potiskum is located, Toyin Gbadegesin, confirmed the attack but did not provide any casualty figures.

However, according to what several witnesses told the daily, the bomb killed at least five people and wounded more than 30.

Despite the fact that there has, as yet, been no claim of responsibility for the attack, the prevailing suspicion is that it was the work of the Boko Haram jihadist group, which in recent months has staged a number of deadly attacks in public places in Potiskum.

The terrorists carried out a similar attack on the same market on Jan. 11, when two girls blew themselves up killing seven people.

Despite the deployment of the regional military force to fight the terrorists, attacks by Boko Haram are not only continuing but have become more intense in northern Nigeria, and they have even spread into Niger, Chad and Cameroon, which border on Africa’s most populous country

Islamic State Burns 43 People Alive in Western Iraq

BAGHDAD – The jihadist group Islamic State, or IS, burned alive on Saturday 43 people kidnapped in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, a security official told Efe.

The IS militants caged their hostages, who were mostly police and members of the pro-government Sunni militias called Salvation Councils, then set them on fire.

The radical group kidnapped the victims more than a week ago in the Al Baghdadi area of Anbar province.

The massacre recalled what happened several weeks ago when the IS aired a video of how it burned to death the Jordanian pilot Muaz Kasasbeh, captured in Syria last December after his plane crashed during an operation of the international coalition against the IS.

Last Feb. 17, the IS executed and burned more than 40 people in the same area, most of them members of the police and the Salvation Councils.

Anbar province is largely dominated by the jihadists, and Al Baghdadi was one of the few cities where the Iraqi government was still in control.

The United States, which leads an international alliance against the IS, has 300 soldiers deployed at the military base of Ain al-Asad, located some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Al Baghdadi, and which has been the target in recent days of some frustrated IS attacks. 

Iran - Masoume Zia ( female ) Sentenced to 74 Lashes and Imprisonment

Posted on: 22nd February, 2015

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HRANA News Agency – Masoume Zia, one of the Erfane Halghe activists has been sentenced to 74 lashes and 1 year imprisonment.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Masoume Zia who was arrested in a protest gathering of Erfane Halghe followers in front of Islamic Revolutionary Court, was sentenced to 74 lashes and 1 year imprisonment in a hearing on 7 February 2015 at Islamic Revolutionary court on the charges of disturbing public order and public safety by attending an illegal gathering.

Masoume Zia and 15 other Erfane Halghe instructors attended different hearings during February and in total received 37 years of imprisonment.

It is important to note that “Masoumeh Zia” was sentenced to 1 year suspended imprisonment back in 2006. This sentence was given to her based on the charge of attending the peaceful Women’s gathering which intended to change discriminatory laws against women on 12 June, 2006

Fears mount among Iran's neighbours over nuclear talks

Arak Heavy Water reactor

The emerging terms of a deal to curb Iran's quest for a nuclear bomb is striking fear to neighbouring Arab countries in the region.

Concerns are mounting that the US may allow the Iranian regime to continue with its nuclear programme for civilian purposes - and therefore maintain the technology needed to produce nuclear weapons.

The Washington Post newspaper said: "The direction of US diplomacy with Tehran has added fuel to fears in some Arab states of a nuclear-arms race in the region, as well as reviving talk about possibly extending a US nuclear umbrella to Middle East allies to counter any Iranian threat.

"The major Sunni states, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, have said that a final agreement could allow Shiite-dominated Iran, their regional rival, to keep the technologies needed to produce nuclear weapons, according to these officials, while removing many of the sanctions that have crippled its economy in recent years."

And Arab officials said any deal could drive Saudi Arabia and other states to try to match Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

One Arab official said: "At this stage, we prefer a collapse of the diplomatic process to a bad deal."

The Obama administration initially said its policy was to completely dismantle Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure as a means to protect Washington’s Middle East allies, the paper said.

But it added: "Arab officials have increasingly spoken about a possible nuclear arms race in the Mideast as the negotiations have continued for 18 months, having been extended twice."

Arab leaders said they are committed to supporting the US coalition fighting Islamic State. But they said the campaign is complicated by fears Washington is aligning with Tehran, it added.

Four Geologists Kidnapped by Suspected Rebels in Northern Colombia

BOGOTA – Four geologists have been kidnapped in a rural area of the northern Colombian province of Norte de Santander, according to the Colombian Geological Service, or SGC, which said ELN leftist rebels are the likely culprits.

A group of people “intercepted and apparently detained” the geologists, employees of the company GEMI S.A.S. who were working as contractors for the SGC, the service said in a statement.

It said it has not yet been able to reestablish communication with the kidnap victims.

The geologists “apparently were approached by the ELN (National Liberation Army),” which has a strong presence in the area, the National Police commander for Norte de Santander, Col. John Jairo Aroca, told reporters.

They were abducted Thursday in the rural district of Santa Ines, part of the municipality of El Carmen, while conducting a water study, Aroca added.

Although the SGC did not provide the names of the four victims, local media identified them as Henry Botero, John Rios, Hernan Ayala and Karina Banquez.

The geologists’ work was essential for planning development and human activities in that area of the country, the service said.

The Colombian government and the ELN are currently involved in “exploratory dialogues” intended to lead to the opening of peace negotiations like the ones Bogota has held for more than two years in Cuba with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Latin America’s largest insurgency.

Former First Lady of Virginia Sentenced to Prison

Wife of Former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell Sentenced to One Year and One Day in Prison in Public Corruption Case

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA — The former First Lady of Virginia, Maureen G. McDonnell, 60, of Glen Allen, Virginia, was sentenced Friday to one year and one day in prison, for soliciting and obtaining payments, loans, gifts and other items from Star Scientific, a Virginia-based corporation, and Jonnie R. Williams Sr., Star Scientific’s then chief executive officer, in violation of federal public corruption laws.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; Richard Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer.

Former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell and his wife, Maureen McDonnell, were convicted on Sept. 4, 2014, following a jury trial of one count of conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to obtain property under color of official right. Maureen McDonnell also was convicted of two counts of honest-services wire fraud and four counts of obtaining property under color of official right, while Robert McDonnell was convicted of three counts of honest-services wire fraud and six counts of obtaining property under color of official right. In total, Maureen McDonnell was convicted of eight of 13 counts and Robert McDonnell was convicted of 11 of 13 counts.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from April 2011 through March 2013, the McDonnell’s participated in a scheme to use the former governor’s official position to enrich themselves and their family members by soliciting and obtaining payments, loans, gifts and other things of value from Star Scientific and Jonnie R. Williams Sr. The McDonnell’s obtained these items in exchange for the former governor performing official actions to legitimize, promote and obtain research studies for Star’s products, including the dietary supplement Anatabloc.

According to evidence presented at trial, the McDonnell’s obtained from Williams more than $170,000 in direct payments as gifts and loans, thousands of dollars in golf outings, and numerous items. As part of the scheme, Robert McDonnell arranged meetings for Williams with Virginia government officials, hosted and attended events at the Governor’s Mansion designed to encourage Virginia university researchers to initiate studies of Star’s products and to promote Star’s products to doctors, contacted other Virginia government officials to encourage Virginia state research universities to initiate studies of Star’s products, and promoted Star’s products and facilitated its relationships with Virginia government officials.

The evidence further showed that the McDonnell’s attempted to conceal the things of value received from Williams and Star to hide the nature and scope of their dealings with Williams from the citizens of Virginia by, for example, routing gifts and loans through family members and corporate entities controlled by the former governor to avoid annual disclosure requirements.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael S. Dry, Jessica D. Aber, and Ryan S. Faulconer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Deputy Chief David V. Harbach II of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Division, IRS-CI, and the Virginia State Police.

Gunmen kidnap at least 89 boys in South Sudan