Ukraine warns it is prepared for a 'full scale invasion at any moment' ahead of Kerry-Lavrov last-ditch talks in London
Gunmen kill dozens in northern Nigeria
Dozens of people have been killed in northern Nigeria in what is believed to be clashes between rival ethnic groups. The region has seen months of violence over farmland.
A large gang of gunmen on motorcycles swept through villages in Nigeria's northern Katsina state, about 400 kilometers (248 miles) north of the capital, Abuja.
The exact death toll is unclear, with police putting it at 40, while survivors have said it reaches beyond 100. The attacks are understood to have begun on Tuesday and continued again on Thursday when the group of armed men returned.
The chief imam of Maigora village in Katsina's Faskari local government area said the men wore either military uniforms or the typical clothes of Fulani herdsmen.
"The figure that I have is 40 dead and it was a clash between Hausa people and Fulani herdsmen," Katsina state police commissioner Hurdi Mohammed told Reuters.
Fighting for Assad, Hezbollah buries its own
Hezbollah has incurred its greatest casualties ever while fighting for the Assad regime in Syria. Emotional funerals for fallen 'martyrs' are a way to keep up morale.
The coffin, draped in the bright yellow flag of Hezbollah, was surrounded by a noisy crowd of mourners. They had come to help bury Mohammed Jaber Jaber, the latest fighter from the Lebanese Shiite militant group killed in the Syrian war.
Standing on stage, beneath a large poster showing the faces of other fallen fighters, a teenage boy led the prayer chants, guiding the throng with a confident and steady voice. The men slapped their chests with their right hands in time to the chanting, a traditional Shiite gesture of mourning.
This scene is replayed on a near-daily basis in Shiite-populated areas of Lebanon, as relatives, friends, and Hezbollah supporters converge to pay their respects to the slain fighters who are lauded as “martyrs." Hezbollah says the sacrifices are necessary to prevent Syria falling to Sunni jihadist forces.
Media squeeze tightens as Russia harks back to WW2
By Elizabeth Piper
Ilya Azar does not know whether he has been fired yet from one of Russia's most popular independent online news organizations, but he is pretty sure he soon will be.
His editor, Galina Timchenko, has already been sacked, and Azar says her departure was his fault, for interviewing a leader of Ukraine's right-wing paramilitary group Right Sector for their Lenta.ru website.
Lenta.ru's journalists say Timchenko's sacking, after 10 years running one of a handful of media organizations offering an alternative to state-controlled outlets, shows President Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip over news.
14 March 2014 Last updated at 01:10
Jamaica's marijuana growers split on legalisation
The Jamaican government has said it is planning to decriminalise possession of small amounts of marijuana by the end of this year. The BBC's Nick Davis travelled to Jamaica's interior to gauge the reaction of those currently growing the crop illegally.
In Jamaica, marijuana, or ganja, as it is more commonly known on the Caribbean island, is used in religious ceremonies by Rastafarians and as a herbal medicine by many others.
But it is not just grown for local consumption. According to the US state department, Jamaica remains the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the US as well as other Caribbean islands.
Cultivation and import of the drug have been illegal since 1913, although those caught with small amounts are rarely prosecuted.
Heartwarming, hilarious: Most bizarre hotel guest requests
March 14, 2014 -- Updated 0546 GMT (1346 HKT)
Concierge requests are typically predictable: tickets to a show, flowers, artisanal chocolates.
But some guests demand a truly outlandish hotel experience.
The ability to fulfill those peculiar requests separates the professional concierge from just the schmoes who work at the desk.
Life-size statue replicas in chocolate
Michael Romei, chief concierge of the The Towers Waldorf Astoria in New York, has seen various paranormal concierge requests during his tenure of 20-plus years.
He most vividly remembers the Australian couple crazy about candy.
They wanted near life-size statues of themselves for their wedding -- made out of chocolate.
"The pastry chef at the Waldorf had only their photographs to work with," Romei says.
It took several months and "several emails back and forth" to get the statues' dimensions just right.
No comments:
Post a Comment