The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BBC

  • Idris Elba back on set for BBC’s special

    Idris Elba back on set for BBC’s special

    Filming has begun on BBC One’s two-part Luther special, with Idris Elba back on set to reprise his iconic role.

    The special sees Luther pitted against his most chilling adversary yet, haunted by the ghosts of his past and hell-bent on retribution but he’s soon drawn into a terrifyingly complex case that pushes him closer to the edge than he’s ever been.

    Elba says: “It’s great we’ve been able to do this Luther special. John is so close to my heart, he’s part of me. The fans won’t be disappointed with his return  it’s explosive and definitely goes up a gear!”

    Michael Smiley and Dermot Crowley returning as Benny Silver and DSU Martin Schenk respectively.

    The cast also includes Rose Leslie (Game Of Thrones, Downton Abbey), Laura Haddock (Guardians Of The Galaxy, The Inbetweeners Movie), Darren Boyd (Fortitude, Spy), John Heffernan (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Ripper Street) and Patrick Malahide (Indian Summers, The Paradise).

    Written and created by Emmy nominated Neil Cross and directed by Sam Miller, the special is due to air on BBC One this autumn.

    Executive Producer Elizabeth Kilgarriff said: “It’s very exciting to have Idris Elba back as DCI John Luther and to be in east London shooting the show’s fourth instalment.”

  • Afghan militants ‘may join Islamic State’

    Fighters from a militant Islamic group in Afghanistan, allied to the Taliban, have told the BBC they are considering joining forces with Islamic State (IS).

    Their commander also said they would still fight the Afghan government, even after Nato forces left in 2014.

    Commander Mirwais said that if IS, which he called by its Arabic acronym Daish, proved a true Islamic caliphate, they would link up with it.

    The news comes amid an ongoing row over Afghanistan’s presidential poll.

    The June election remains disputed, with no declared winner, while an audit of votes is taking place.

    “We know Daish and we have links with some Daish members. We are waiting to see if they meet the requirements for an Islamic caliphate,” Commander Mirwais said.

    Islamic State has gained a reputation for brutal rule in the areas that it controls

    The threat is a disturbing one. If the Taliban do link up with IS, it would add an entirely new dimension to the struggle.

    One of them is around Pul-e-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province in northern Afghanistan. It is less than 200km (120 miles) from Kabul, but it takes seven hours to drive there, across the mountains and through the Salang Pass.

    The roads are often atrocious thanks to the web of local corruption, despite the huge amounts of Western money that have been lavished on them.

    Through an intermediary, we had made contact with Commander Mirais, whose group is fighting on the outskirts of Pul-e-Khumri.

    Much of Baghlan province is mountainous and remote, making travel to Pul-e-Khumri a time-consuming task

    Commander Mirwais has moved from group to group in the past, but now he belongs to Hezb-e-Islami, a group with a good deal of blood on its hands.

    Over the years, Hezb-e-Islami has become famous for its ferocity, which has sometimes alienated even the Taliban themselves.

    In the end our Afghan cameraman had to go and see Commander Mirwais on his own.

    A leading politician and intelligence expert in Kabul, Amrullah Saleh, dismisses the idea that the Taliban and their extremist allies could take power in Afghanistan. He maintains that politics and society there have changed too greatly for that to be possible.

    Yet there is no doubt that the Taliban do present a serious challenge to the Kabul government. Especially if they link up with the ultra-Islamists of IS in Iraq and Syria.

    Afghanistan, surrounded by its mountains and deserts, has always been deeply cut off from the outside world. Now, for the first time, its insurgents are considering making common cause with groups far from their borders.

     

     

  • Thailand coup: Ex-minister arrested

    Thailand coup: Ex-minister arrested

    Soldiers have detained a prominent minister in the ousted Thai government who emerged from hiding to criticise last week’s coup.

    Shortly before he was held, Chaturon Chaisaeng told the BBC he believed the coup would be a disaster for Thailand.

    But the former education minister said he had no intention of going underground or mobilising resistance.

    On Monday the coup leaders consolidated their legal hold on the country after receiving the endorsement of the king.

    The military seized power in the South East Asian nation last week, saying it planned to return stability to Thailand after months of unrest.

    The move followed six months of political deadlock as protesters tried to oust the government of Yingluck Shinawatra. At least 28 people were killed and several hundred injured over the course of the protests.

    But the coup – which removed an elected government – has drawn widespread international criticism.

    Mr Chaturon is one of more than 100 opposition figures, academics and activists summoned to report to the military after the coup.

    In a televised interview with the BBC just before his detention, he said he was ready to be arrested.

    “When I said I would not report to the (military) council I also said that I was not going to escape, I was not going to go underground or mobilise people to resist the military. When it is the right time I will be ready to be arrested. Now is the time because the coup makers got the royal proclamation. According to the Thai legal system the coup is accomplished,” he said.

    The current deadlock dates from 2006, when the military ousted Ms Yingluck’s brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, in a coup.

    Mr Thaksin and Ms Yingluck have strong support in rural areas, propelling them to successive election victories.

    But they are bitterly opposed by many in the middle class and urban elite, who formed the heart of the protest movement that began working to oust Ms Yingluck in November 2013.

    Ms Yingluck was among those taken into custody after the coup but a military spokesman told AFP news agency she had now been released.

    Human rights groups, meanwhile, have expressed alarm over the tight restrictions on the media and over the detention of dozens of people.

     

  • Abduction: We saw no soldiers in bush, say victims’ parents

    Abduction: We saw no soldiers in bush, say victims’ parents

    •Borno still searching for 84 school girls

    PARENTS and relations of students of the Girls Secondary School Chibok in Borno State abducted by suspected insurgents returned home yesterday without any of the girls.

    They alleged no soldier went in search of the girls because none of them was at sight throughout their stints in the farthest parts of the bush.

    The parents told the Hausa service of the BBC that throughout their 12- hour search in the forest, they did not come in contact with any soldier but found abandoned huts, breads and vehicles possibly belonging to security agents.

    There was no trace of the girls, the parents added.

    One of the parents, who spoke with the BBC on condition of anonymity, said throughout their fruitless search in the Sambisa forest, they did not come in contact with any Nigerian soldier in the forest.

    He said they began their search in the forest at about 6 am but could not trace any of the abducted female students until they gave up the search at about 6 pm.

    According to him: “We were about 200 in the forest but we had to return back. We couldn’t sleep there; we saw nothing but make shift huts that were erected in the bushes.

    “We saw vehicles like that of security agents in the bush, there were so many things, and there was even bread.

    “We however saw a different set of people who asked of our mission and we told them. It is a very thick forest and anyone would be scared to explore the forest.

    “Contrary to claims by the authorities that soldiers were in the forest trying to rescue the school girls, we saw nobody; we didn’t see any vigilante agent too. We did not see any security agent, even in our dreams. These soldiers, we didn’t see any”.

    The Borno State Government yesterday said it is searching for 84 students of the Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok.

    It said although one of the missing students returned to the school yesterday, she was not among those abducted.

    The Commissioner for Education, Mr. Musa Kubo, made the disclosure in an update last night against the backdrop of sustained search for the school girls by parents and volunteers.

    It was learnt that those in the search team were locked up in the forest to secure the release of the girls.

    The statement by Kubo said: “I am afraid we do not have an update that is as encouraging as Friday’s. Only one of our missing students returned today (Saturday).

    “She was not among those abducted. She was however one of the 129 girls at the hostel on that black day the Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok was attacked.

    “She ran out of the school during the attack and thereafter, went to her parents. She was brought back by her mother on Saturday.”

    Kubo, who gave a breakdown of the rescue operation, said the 45 girls in the school are being reconnected with their families.

    He added: “So far, we now have 45 students back in school. Out of this number, 28 escaped from abduction while 17 fled home during the attack and returned home.

    “As at yesterday, we had 44 students. Today, we have 45 while 84 are yet to be found. Like I explained in yesterday’s release, all the accounted girls are being reconnected with their families as a tactical measure pending the return of their colleagues and subsequent decision by the State Governor on the way forward.

    “Like I also said yesterday, we are hopefully expecting the return of our 84 students as intensive search and rescue efforts continue. I once again like always, acknowledge the combined efforts of the security agencies and civilian volunteers for their patriotism”.

    A top security source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Most parents, local vigilante groups and sympathisers involved in the search have opted to remain in the forest to secure the release of the girls. This is the level of patriotism which parents and locals have demonstrated so far.”

     

  • Malaysia Airlines MH370: Chinese families vent fury

    Malaysia Airlines MH370: Chinese families vent fury

    Angry relatives of passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines plane have clashed with police outside Malaysia’s embassy in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

    It came after Malaysian PM Najib Razak said a new analysis of satellite data showed the plane had ended its journey in remote seas south-west of Australia.

    China has asked to see the data on which Malaysia’s conclusion was based.

    The search for missing flight MH370 has been suspended because of bad weather.

    A multinational search effort has focused on seas some 2,500km (1,500 miles) to the south-west of the Australian city of Perth.

    Flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying a total of 239 people, including 153 Chinese nationals.

    In Beijing, relatives of passengers on board the plane released a statement accusing the Malaysian government of trying to “delay, distort and hide the truth”.

    Dozens of them then left their Beijing hotel on a protest bound for the Malaysian embassy, carrying banners asking Kuala Lumpur to be truthful with the relatives.

    Police stopped their buses from leaving, so they left the buses and walked there themselves, with scuffles then erupting outside the diplomatic mission.

    The protesters threw water bottles at the embassy and tried to storm the building, demanding to meet the ambassador.

    There was a heavy police presence at the embassy, and there was a brief scuffle between police and a group of relatives who tried to approach journalists, according to the Associated Press news agency.

    The families also appear to be becoming more critical of the Chinese authorities themselves, the BBC’s Celia Hatton reports from Beijing.

    While some defended the authorities, other relatives shouted slogans denouncing the Chinese government as “corrupt”, she reports.

    The protest in Beijing came a day after the Malaysian leader said it had to be concluded “with deep sadness and regret” that according to new data “flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”

    Mr Najib said the conclusion the plane was lost was based on new satellite analysis by British firm Inmarsat and information from the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

    But Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng issued a statement saying: “We demand the Malaysian side state the detailed evidence that leads them to this judgement, as well as supply all the relevant information and evidence about the satellite data analysis.

    “The search and rescue work cannot stop now. We demand the Malaysian side continue to finish all the work including search and rescue.”

     

    make arrangements to fly relatives of those on board MH370 to Australia.

    Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said his department was working with the airline and Beijing to arrange visas.

    In a BBC interview, Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya defended his company against criticism from the families, saying the situation was far from a normal aircraft tragedy.

    “I think it’s unfair,” he said. “I think we’ve done all we can within our means to help them.”

    Planes from several nations, supported by an Australian warship, have been scouring waters far off Perth for signs of the missing plane, in a search co-ordinated by Australia.

    BBC asks airline boss Ahmad Jauhari Yahya if he feels “personally responsible”

    Hishammuddin Hussein: “All search efforts are now focused in the southern part of the southern corridor.”

    There have been several sightings of debris, but none has yet been confirmed as being linked to the plane.

    In a statement announcing the suspension of search operations on Tuesday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said it had undertaken a risk assessment “and determined that the current weather conditions would make any air and sea search activities hazardous and pose a risk to crew”.

    Australia’s Defence Minister David Johnston said search efforts were unlikely to start again for “at least another 24 hours”.

    He described the search as a “massive logistical exercise” in an “extremely remote” part of the world.

    Mark Binskin, vice-chief of the Australian Defence Force, said: “We’re not searching for a needle in a haystack. We’re still trying to define where the haystack is.”

    An Australian navy support vessel, Ocean Shield – equipped with US acoustic detection equipment in an attempt to detect the plane’s “black box” flight recorder – is expected to be deployed to the search zone next week.

    Six Chinese ships are also being deployed to the region to assist with search operations.

  • Inside Boko Haram camp, by escapees

    Inside Boko Haram camp, by escapees

    •We killed 18 insurgents, says DHQ

    Two women who escaped from the captivity of Boko Haram insurgents have relived their horrendous experience.

    Liatu and Janet told the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) monitored in Kaduna how they escaped from the insurgents after spending several days with them.

    Liatu, 23, who claimed to have spent 12 days with her abductors inside the Sambisa forest, said she was captured by the insurgents on her way to her village. The insurgents, according to her, barricaded the road near the Bama Bridge, killing some people and abducting others.

    One of the men who was also abducted, she said, suggested that they should escape. “One man suggested that we run away because one can only die once. We took a golf car and ran away, the Boko Haram people chased us on a motorbike, shooting at us and killed those who sat at the back. When we were approaching Bama, they retreated and went back,” Liatu said.

    Liatu, a Christian, claimed that the Boko Haram members had earlier asked her to accept Islam as a religion. She watched while they slaughtered about 50 people.

    Also sharing her experience with the BBC, Janet claimed that she spent about three months with the insurgents who tried to conscript her after severally violating her. They took her to Gwoza town in the state where they killed people.

    Liatu claimed that the insurgents gave her a knife and instructed her to slaughter one of the five people, a task she said she could not perform, adding that the wife of the Boko Haram leader later carried out the task on her behalf.

    Janet said she has continued to live with the nightmare, and the gory details of what transpired when the victims were killed, adding that most of the Boko Haram members were known faces to her because they were neighbours.

    She claimed that she escaped from her captors after feigning illness and was allowed to seek medical attention. “I feigned illness for two weeks; they said I had AIDS and should be taken to their hospital for test. I told them it was stomach pain. That was how I escaped.

    “The Boko Haram men hide in caves and mountains. They sight jets and other aircraft. I felt happy whenever I saw soldiers, but they could not locate the Boko Haram who were mostly, along the Liman Kara and Gwoza axis.

    “They took many of us into the bush. If they searched and found ID card, they will say they had warned that people should not work for the government, and they will kill the person. For those Konduga girls, they will select those who perm their hair and kill them.”

    Also yesterday, the Defence Headquarters said government troops at the weekend, killed 18 suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Bama and Ngurosoye in Borno State.

    A statement by the Director Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said the insurgents were dislodged while attempting to attack some settlements.

    According to the DHQ, 16 AK 47 rifles, five pick up vans and seven Gulf cars belonging to the insurgents were destroyed.

    The statement however said the attack at Bama market in which about 20 persons were reported killed had not been verified, adding that 75 villagers were screened and released in the course of cordon and search in the adjoining communities.

    The statement added: “In a related development, a total of 16 AK47 rifles were recovered in the course of cordon and search of communities, while mop up operations are ongoing on Mandara mountains and Haraza hills.

    “Troops eventually overran camps in the outskirts of Gombole, Mele, Kecheri, Dufrfada, Yuwe, and others around Mandara mountains and Sambisa forests after stiff resistance. Many terrorists died in the encounter. A soldier lost his life and five others were wounded.

    “The Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) has also stepped up patrols of the banks of Lake Chad as well as surrounding communities in addition to air surveillance and patrols designed to smoke out the remnants of the terrorists.

    “The air raids on some camps sited on Islands have also recorded successes in dislodging the terrorists located there.

    “Cordon and search for the terrorists have been focused on thorough screening of the villagers in surrounding communities. Many terrorists have been identified and subsequently apprehended by troops in the process.

    “Meanwhile, troops morale and fighting spirit have remained noticeably high while some of the terrorists camps falling to the forces in the ongoing counter terrorists campaign have been found deserted.

    “Food items earlier seized by the terrorists from the villagers are often found stockpiled along with other items such as electronics and power generators. The camps were swiftly razed by the troops”.

     

  • Ukrainian forces withdraw from Crimean military bases

    Ukraine’s armed forces have started withdrawal from their military bases in Crimea, correspondents say.

    Ukraine’s interim president earlier ordered the pullout of troops due to “Russian threats to the lives of military staff and their families”.

    A Ukrainian defence official has told the BBC that every Crimean military base is now under Russian control.

    The move completes Russia’s annexation of Crimea, following a referendum that Kiev and the West considered illegal.

    The G7 group of industrialised countries was to consider a collective response to the crisis during talks in The Hague later on Monday.

    G7 leaders are meeting on the sidelines of a long-planned summit on global threats to nuclear security.

    Speaking ahead of the talks, United States (US) President Barack Obama said Europe and America were united in their support of the Ukrainian government and its people.

  • Obama warns Netanyahu over peace talks failure

    Obama warns Netanyahu over peace talks failure

    President Barack Obama has warned Israel of “international fallout” if it does not endorse a US framework for a peace deal with the Palestinians.

    Ahead of talks at the White House, Mr Obama told the Bloomberg news agency that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needed to “seize the moment”.

    But Mr Netanyahu reacted defiantly, vowing: “I won’t give in to pressure.”

    There has been little sign of progress from the direct talks that resumed in July after a three-year hiatus.

    At the time, Washington said it sought to achieve a deal on a solution to the decades-old conflict by 29 April, but officials say a framework accord on core issues would enable negotiations to continue beyond that date.

    The BBC’s Kim Ghattas in Washington says Mr Netanyahu wants Monday’s talks to focus on Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.

    He believes the US and other world powers are being naive in their negotiations with Tehran, and he is opposed to an agreement that would allow uranium enrichment to continue at low levels.

  • Egypt: Morsi defiant at jailbreak trial

    Egypt: Morsi defiant at jailbreak trial

    Egypt’s former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi has struck a defiant tone at the beginning of his trial over his escape from prison in 2011.

    Mr Morsi started shouting: “I am the president of the republic, how can I be kept in a dump for weeks?”

    Egypt’s first freely elected president was deposed by the military in July 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

    He is now facing four separate criminal trials on various charges.

    Mr Morsi and other defendants in the case are appearing in a sound-proofed glass box during the trial. He will only be permitted to address the court after raising his hand.

    At one point, journalists were given the chance to hear what was going on in the glass cage, the BBC’s Abdel Bassir Hassan reports from the courtroom.

    The defendants started shouting: “Down with military rule” and the judge cut off the sound.

    Later, Mr Morsi began shouting that he was still the legitimate president and demanded: “Who are you, who are you?”

    The defendants also made the four-finger “Rabaa” protest sign, referring to the clearing of the pro-Morsi Rabaa al-Adawiya protest camp in August.

    Yesterday was the third anniversary of the jailbreak at the centre of the case, during which police officers were killed.

     

    Mr Morsi has previously said local residents freed the inmates.

    Mr Morsi was taken to the court in Cairo by helicopter from a prison in Alexandria, Mena news agency reports.

    Tight security was in evidence around the Police Academy in Cairo hosting the trial, with armoured vehicles, police officers and military helicopters all visible, the BBC’s Sally Nabil reports from outside the building.

    Supporters of Field Marshal Sisi have gathered outside the building, but no pro-Morsi supporters have appeared.

     

  • Komla Dumor; 8-hour day; Okada gift; Oil blocks; Solar Fund?  Revenue Formula

    Komla Dumor; 8-hour day; Okada gift; Oil blocks; Solar Fund?  Revenue Formula

    We join the BBC in mourning the death at 41 of  Komla Dumor. May he Rest In Peace. He was a wonderful voice and presence to watch on BBC Inside Africa programmes and others. Death can occur at any time. However, I hope it was not from overwork. If everyone was forced to work no more than eight hours a day, salaries would go down but there would be work to go around and there would be many more jobs. Some offices will need to employ two or three people to do the 24 hours on call demanded of certain offices in power. The work madness in banks should stop. This would cut the unemployment in at least half. Just look at the case of the UK banker-trainees including the poor young man who committed suicide after a 20-hour work load. In years to come there will be a Gold Medal for eight-hour job compliance.

    Millions of Nigerians have been unable to exit the ‘Pit of Political and economic Hell’. Every time Nigerians work hard enough or accumulate sufficient funds, some government agent or agency fails to deliver water, electricity, trains, roads or education or else devalues the naira against the dollar forcing them all back into poverty.  This failure costs families funds and happiness the index now used by the UN to judge well-being. How many millions of Nigerians were injured, orphaned, maimed, killed and affected by the okada motorcycle -a political gift, a Trojan Horse, to the nation and double edged sword?

    Will the new political party APC, comprising progressives and plucked and fallen fruit mainly from the PDP, offer any different future? No doubt the experts are busy preparing the blueprints to be offered Nigerians as inducements to vote for them when the time comes. It requires a creative ‘Massive New Emergency Power Policy’ and needs to supply power in three months like Japan replaced the Fukushima nuclear plant with alternative emergency power. This will change Nigeria in one year. The new party should plan solar loans to millions. Under good leadership Nigeria will become the next big ‘Solar Country’ destination. Under Sanusi, or the next governor, CBN can secure N100billion for cheap long solar loans, reducing the power of the new generation of ‘Generals and Mandarins in Electricity Power’ like Abdulsalami. It will also use God’s gift to Nigeria and Africa -the sun. We saw on NTA this week that the Federal Government had used solar energy to light up four communities in the FCT using a German contractor and the President was there to launch the effort. Amen. Hopefully it is a pilot scheme and it will grow exponentially. May government which still has a year plus in power, multiply this effort by 10,000 times immediately. Please note that we have been appealing to each and every government to go solar. Solar will get cheaper as the cost of equipment has nosedived in the last two years and will get cheaper with the application of plastic solar panels cells. The governments need to have their experts on top of the solar and other power supply technology. Every government should take solar energy seriously and do something positive this year. The CBN could create a fund say $1billion soft loan for solar powering rural areas and even city citizens to bring immediate relief to millions of suffering.  Nigerians are used to maximum suffering with minimal survival.

    Do we sell oilfields outright and forever? Why not a 10 or 20-year lease with an annual rent fixed at 10% of the profit going to the local community, a tax for the state and the nation in an agreed formula? What is the community stake in any oil field what about the corporate stake in the community?

    Only when a politician is heckled will he think and listen. Look at what happened to Zuma during Mandela’s funeral.

    So there are only 700,000 slaves in Nigeria? I thought we were all slaves of the political class. Na wa O. Odumegwu and now Sanusi’s revelations, show that truth is dangerous to your ‘reputation’ and working health. The revenue allocation formula is the most potent of weapons of federal power in Nigeria. Some heads of state have walked away with 50% of the budget, leaving the rest to civil servants. Nigerians have witnessed the power of the state to destroy lives and delay development. Many Nigerians states are larger or have larger populations than 40 other countries and deserve to be given financial power to serve their people better and also deserve to be treated as nearly sovereign units within the Nigerian nation. The massive theft and incompetence at the centre is manifest by the appalling state of major roads and the inability to rapidly fund maintenance of such roads. Every region has roads and bridge failures. Properly funded roads and hospitals should never have a federal/ state dichotomy in quality or service delivery. The less the federal fiscal budget, the more for states and local governments and the happier Nigerians will be. A figure of 30% federal seems popular but 28% is better, with 40% for the states, 30% for LGAs if they must be kept, and 2% for compulsory savings and investments. The fiscal federation issue of the revenue allocation is the foundation of Nigerian happiness.