Honeymoon murder suspect loses court bid

Updated: 05:02, Saturday February 1, 2014

British honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani has lost a High Court bid to block his extradition to South Africa until he is fit to stand trial.
Lawyers for Dewani, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, argued that he should not be sent there until he is fit to plead over the murder of his Swedish wife Anni in a township outside Cape Town in November 2010.
Judges ruled it would not be 'unjust and oppressive' to extradite him if the South African government agrees to return him to Britain if he never recovers sufficient health to go on trial.
The court heard that South Africa has indicated it was willing to give such a guarantee and has 14 days to do so.
'We're required to undertake that if he becomes unfit to stand trial while he is here, the government must send him back to Britain,' said Bulelwa Makeke.
'That is obviously understandable and the state has agreed to make that undertaking.'
Dewani has been fighting extradition from Britain to face proceedings over his wife's death until he has recovered from mental health problems, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dewani, who has been committed to a mental hospital, is accused of ordering the killing of his 28-year-old wife, who was shot as the taxi the couple were travelling in was apparently carjacked.
Dewani denies any involvement in the killing.
Anni Dewani's family, who were present in the High Court, welcomed the ruling.
Amit Karia, a cousin, speaking on their behalf, told reporters afterwards: 'We are happy with the judgment. We have waited for it for three years, three months.'
He warned Dewani could still appeal to the Supreme Court, the highest court in Britain.
'We are always worried and don't take anything for granted,' he said.

Gunmen Kill Family of Seven in Kaduna

Gunmen Kill Family of Seven in Kaduna

31 Jan 2014

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Suspected gunmen


By John Shiklam 

A family of seven was reportedly wiped out in Manyi Akuru village, near Manchok, Kaura local government area of Kaduna state following an attack  by  gunmen identified    to be Fulani herdsmen.

The incident was said to have occurred at about 10:30pm on Thursday throwing the community into confusion.

Angry youths from the community were said to have protested the continuous attacks on them by gun men when the Kaduna state governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Yero visited the area to commiserate with them over the incident

The angry youths were reported to have booed   the governor and pelted his convoy with stones, accusing him of failing to adopt security measures that will bring an end to the attacks.
Details to follow

UN slams Israel destruction of Jordan Valley homes

Saturday, 01 February 2014 02:01

Posted by Muhammad Iqbal

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JERUSALEM: The UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories on Friday criticised Israel's demolition of 36 homes in the Jordan Valley and urged a halt to such actions in the West Bank.

Hundreds of activists, meanwhile, staged an overnight demonstration in the Jordan Valley region.

The demolitions in the Jordan Valley community of Ain el-Helwe on Thursday displaced 66 people, including 36 children, James Rawley said in a statement.

"I am deeply concerned about the ongoing displacement and dispossession of Palestinians along the Jordan Valley where the number of structures demolished more than doubled in the last year," he said.

"This activity not only deprives Palestinians of access to shelter and basic services, it also runs counter to international law."

His office said more than 1,000 people had been displaced last year in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem by demolitions on the grounds that homes had been built without Israeli permits, "which are virtually impossible to obtain."

On Friday, around 300 Palestinians together with Israeli and foreign activists set up camp in abandoned houses near Jericho in the West Bank to protest against Israel's refusal to pull out of the Jordan Valley in case of a peace deal, an AFP photographer said.

The demonstrators in Ain Hijleh village were equipped with generators and said they planned to spend the night in around a dozen of the houses, as Israeli troops and police kept watch from a distance.

3 Indians who were kidnapped from ship off Equatorial Guinea are rescued in Nigeria

Published January 31, 2014

Associated Press

LAGOS, NIGERIA –  An official says Nigeria's military has helped rescue three Indian nationals who were kidnapped from a cargo ship off Equatorial Guinea and held hostage in Nigeria.

Marilyn Ogar, a spokeswoman for Nigeria's government, says no ransom was paid and five kidnappers were arrested during Thursday's operation that freed the captives in Nigeria's Rivers state.

She provided few details about the operation.

The Indians were kidnapped Jan. 3 from the MV San Miguel, a ship belonging to Equatorial Guinea company Martinez Hermanos Limitada.

After being freed, they were handed over to the Indian High Commission and the Equatorial Guinea Embassy in Nigeria. Ogar said the leader of the kidnappers remains at large.

The International Maritime Bureau says piracy around the world fell in 2013, but increased in West Africa.

Syrian government accused of 'starve or surrender' policy against civilians

• US condemns Assad regime tactics in rebel-held cities
• Geneva eace talks fail to reach any discernible agreement

Civilians walk for safety amid dust following an alleged air strike by government forces in Aleppo on Friday. Photograph: Mohammed al-Khatieb/AFP/Getty Images

The United States accused Syria of enacting a “starve or surrender” policy toward civilians in rebel-held areas on Friday, after peace negotiations between the regime and opposition groups failed to achieve any discernible progress.
There had been hope that the first round of talks, which ended on Friday, would yield an agreement to allow aid convoys to deliver food and medicine to hundreds of thousands in the suburbs of Damascus and Homs.
The United Nations mediator, Lakhdar Brahimi, said that the fact the two sides had sat down together marked a “modest beginning”, but conceded there had been no significant advances. “We haven't made any progress to speak of,” he said.