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page 41 CAMEROON Bodies of 42 fishermen pulled from Lake Chad The bodies of 42 fishermen, who were killed by the Islamist group, Boko Haram, have been pulled from Lake Chad in Cameroon, the country’s military has announced. The men had been seized on 8 June from the village of Darak, located near the Nigerian […]

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CAMEROON

Bodies of 42 fishermen pulled from Lake Chad

The bodies of 42 fishermen, who were killed by the Islamist group, Boko Haram, have been pulled from Lake Chad in Cameroon, the country’s military has announced.

The men had been seized on 8 June from the village of Darak, located near the Nigerian border, by militants who also killed 10 fishermen in nearby Touboun Ali on 6 June and 32 soldiers in Bosso, Niger on 3 June.

“Cameroonian sailors and villagers… saw several bodies floating on the water and immediately alerted security forces,” Cololenl Nomo Jean Claude told the African news website the Daily Sabah. “We recovered 42 bodies from the water between Saturday and Sunday. After identification, we found they were of Cameroonian, Nigerian and Chadian nationality. The bodies were immediately handed over to the families for burial.”

S/AFRICA

Pistorius walks on stumps to show court his disability

Oscar Pistorius has removed his prosthetic limbs and hobbled around the courtroom at his sentencing hearing in South Africa.

The former athlete was on his stumps when he shot his girlfriend through a door at his home in 2013, and his defence made much of his vulnerability.

His defence argues that he mistook Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder.

The hearing in Pretoria was called after a court convicted him of murder, overturning a manslaughter verdict.

On Wednesday, the court heard testimony from Ms Steenkamp’s cousin Kim Martin, who said the victim had not loved Pistorius though she had been fond of him.

The double amputee faces a jail term of 15 years but it may be reduced due to time already spent in prison and mitigating factors.

UK

Mosque launches anti-Isis classes for Muslim children

British Muslim children as young as 11 are being given classes to prevent them being radicalised by violent Islamic State (Daesh) jihadists.

This comes after community leaders feared they were being targeted by extremist online propaganda.

Imams and Islamic teachers warned a war of ideologies is currently being fought in their own mosques, communities, and on social media following the rise of terror groups in Syria and Iraq.

The Al-Hira mosque, home to one of the largest madrassas in Luton, is in its first year of giving “anti-Daesh” classes for pupils aged 11 to 16.

Started eight months ago, the classes are described by the mosque’s leaders as part of a new “grassroots” strategy which they say has become more effective than the government’s own anti-extremism programme.

UNITED STATES

Orlando gunman’s wife could be charged

The wife of the gunman who killed 49 people at an Orlando gay nightclub could face criminal charges as early as Wednesday after a federal grand jury was convened to study possible wrongdoing by her, a law enforcement source said.

Omar Mateen’s wife, Noor Salman, knew of his plans for what became the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, said the law enforcement source, who has been briefed on the matter.

U.S. Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which received a briefing on the investigation into Sunday’s massacre, told CNN it appeared Salman had “some knowledge” of what was going on.

“She definitely is, I guess you would say, a person of interest right now and appears to be cooperating and can provide us with some important information,” King said.

SYRIA

Aleppo bombardment kills dozens including children

At least 34 people have died in another day of bombardment in the Syrian city of Aleppo, a source inside the city said.

The deaths on Tuesday came amid aerial bombardment, shelling and the use of barrel bombs by government helicopters over rebel-held districts.

Barrel bombs fell on the Salhen, Ferdos, and Jisr al-Haj districts of Aleppo, killing nine people including two children.

Further shelling and air strikes in the Salahadeen, Sukary, Malaah, and Castello areas caused the deaths of 25 people, among them women and children.

Raids by warplanes continued overnight into Wednesday morning.

Those wounded in the strikes included independent journalist and activist Hadi al-Abdullah, who has been covering the battle for Aleppo from rebel-held areas.

LIBYA

UN backs naval crackdown on arms smuggling

The United Nations Security Council has approved a crackdown on arms smuggling in the waters off the Libyan coast.

Under the resolution, European Union boats charged with seizing migrant-smuggling vessels in the Mediterranean Sea will also be asked to stop vessels suspected of smuggling arms.

The UN had become concerned that arms trafficked to the country were being used by so-called Islamic State (IS).

There are 20m weapons in the country of 6m people, the UN envoy to Libya said.

“These weapons do not fall from the sky, but come increasingly through illegal shipments by sea and by land.

“The arms fuel the conflict. These shipments must end if there is any serious hope of bringing peace to Libya,” said Martin Kobler.

GERMANY

Polygamy: Minister says migrants must abide by the law

Germany will not recognise polygamy or marriages involving minors, Justice Minister Heiko Maas has said

“No-one who comes here has the right to put his cultural values or religious beliefs above our law,” he told Bild.

In some Islamic countries, men are allowed to take up to four wives, but in Germany polygamy is banned by law.

Concern about polygamy and underage marriage has risen recently, as Germany has been taking in record numbers of migrants, many from Muslim countries.

The law in Germany is clear: no-one is allowed to be married to more than one person at a time, and that includes recent arrivals in the country.

Uganda

Opposition chief to face treason trial in court

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye should be tried for treason in court and not a high security prison as the prosecution had requested, a judge ruled on Wednesday.

Besigye, who claimed fraud after coming second in February’s presidential election, was arrested last month for holding a mock swearing-in ceremony and charged with treason.

He appeared briefly in court on Wednesday before being returned to the maximum security Luzira Prison in the capital Kampala, with his next court appearance set for June 29.

“The court ruled that Besigye continues to be tried in the court where he was arraigned,” judiciary spokesman Solomon Muyita said.

It turned down an application, “to have him tried inside Luzira prison over what the state calls security concerns,” he said.

IRAN

Tehran charges British-Iranian with trying to topple government

A British-Iranian woman being detained in Iran has been charged with attempting to overthrow the country’s government.

Iranian news agencies reported Wednesday that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is accused of taking part in media and intelligence projects aimed at causing the “soft toppling of the Islamic Republic.”

The agencies quoted a statement from Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 37, was arrested at Tehran Airport on April 3 as she prepared to leave the country with her daughter after visiting family in Iran. The statement from the Guards said she is now being held at a prison in southeastern Kerman province.

BURUNDI

Schools probed after president’s photos defaced

Nine schools are being investigated in eastern Burundi after photos of the president were defaced in text books.

More than 230 pupils were suspended on Monday for refusing to own up to the defacement of 27 books at their school.

Eleven students in other provinces are already being prosecuted for insulting the president by defacing his photo, punishable by five to 10 years in jail.

Burundi has experienced unrest over the last year triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s third term in office.

His decision to stand for another five-year term and his subsequent re-election sparked protests from opposition supporters who said the move was unconstitutional.