NewsReports

KANO ( AFP) – Boko Haram’s leader said he has created an Islamic caliphate in a northeast Nigeria town seized by the insurgents earlier this month, in a video obtained by AFP on Sunday. “Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate,” Abubakar Shekau said …

Force Headquarters, yesterday, confirmed that following the deadly attack by suspected Boko Haram fighters  on the Mobile Police Training School, Gwoza, last week, 35 of its officers were still missing. The police, however, noted that search and rescue efforts had led to the recovery of scores of policemen, adding that the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, had ordered the …

The February 2015 general elections are just six months away. Expectedly, politicians are  already locked in a rat-race campaigning for various elective offices. Some serving senators are among those that have signified interest to contest 2015 governorship poll in their states. Today, Saturday Independent concludes its series on the chances of the senators. In Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, popularly known as …

A suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into an intelligence headquarters in Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least eight people, police and medical sources said. The attack came a day after Shi’ite militiamen machinegunned 68 Sunni worshipers at a village mosque in Diyala Province, raising the prospect of revenge attacks as politicians try to form a government capable of countering Islamic …

WASHINGTON — Earlier this year, President Obama likened the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to a junior varsity basketball squad, a group that posed little of the threat once presented by Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. But on Thursday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called ISIS an “imminent threat to every interest we have,” adding, “This is beyond anything …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said military operations will “intensify” after an Israeli boy was killed by fire from Gaza. The four-year-old died in a mortar attack on a southern Israeli village near the Gaza border. Meanwhile Israeli air strikes have continued, killing at least four people on Friday, Palestinian officials say. More than 2,090 Palestinians – mostly civilians …

•Fears Aspirants’ Gang-up Against Ribadu •I am sure of getting party’s waiver —Marwa •Imposition would affect party —Gulak AHEAD the  October 11 gubernatorial election in Adamawa State, strong indications emerged yesterday that the presidency may have bowed to criticisms trailing its support for former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, just as it has made a …

Pope Francis is giving his blessing on efforts to stop ISIS terrorists from attacking religious minorities in Iraq. Journalists asked the pope if he approves of U.S. air strikes against the jihadist army. He replied that it’s acceptable to “stop an unjust aggressor” and that Church teaching allows for just wars. The pontiff also said he’s considering visiting northern Iraq …

MORE than four months after unfruitful search for their abducted girls, parents of the kidnapped Chibok school girls said they want the matter closed. Since the girls have been missing for more than four months, the parents said they presumed the students to have died for which their funeral rites have already been performed in their (parents’) minds according to …

India has blocked the release of a film on the assassination of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, after complaints it glorified her killers. Intelligence agencies had warned of potential violence if it is released. The film, Kaum De Heere, or Diamonds Of The Community, had been scheduled for release on Friday. It tells the story of Ms Gandhi’s Sikh …