COLU @ CONCEPTS

Buhari begs Nigerians to be patient, not to lose hope Kano – President Muhammadu Buhari has said that ‎his government’s change mantra required perseverance and endurance from Nigerians.‎ President Muhammadu  Buhari ‎Buhari made the remark during the inauguration of the North-West zone of the National Committee of Buhari Support Group in Kano on Thursday. He said he was desirous of seeing that Nigerians imbibed the ideals of “Change Begins with Me” as the much needed strategy of the present administration aimed at achieving the goals of a better Nigeria.‎ Buhari, who expressed gratitude to Nigerians for their prayers and support, assured that Nigeria will be a country that cared for them all very soon.‎ ‎The President, who was represented by the Senate Leader, Sen. Ahmad Lawan, further assured the people that their sacrifice and perseverance would not go in vain as the administration was doing everything in its capacity to get the country out the current recession.‎ ‎“W...

Russia sends troops to North Korea border as tensions escalate Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly mobilising troops towards the North Korean border (Picture: AP) More Russian president Vladimir Putin has reportedly ordered troops and weapons to be sent to the country’s border  with North Korea  as tensions continue to escalate. Unverified video footage appears to show a train, believed to be one of three, loaded with military equipment and headed towards the 11-mile border between Russia and the secretive hermit state. Another video appears to show military helicopters moving towards the Russian border as well as army combat vehicles moving across rugged terrain. A report from primemedia.RU claims: ‘Railway trains loaded with military equipment moving towards Primorsky region via Khabarovsk have been noticed by locals. A military official added: ‘The movement of military equipment by different means of transport to southern areas is being ob...

After sex video, S. Korea accused of targeting gay soldiers SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A watchdog group says South Korea's army is hunting down and prosecuting gay servicemen after a video of two male soldiers having sex was posted on the internet earlier this year, stoking fear in an already persecuted minority group. Military investigators looking into the case have threatened soldiers to out their gay peers, confiscated cellphones to check communication records, and even used dating apps to dupe soldiers into revealing their sexual identity, said Lim Tae-hoon, the head of the Military Human Rights Center for Korea, which tracks down abuses in the armed forces. South Korea's army says it's conducting a proper criminal investigation into soldiers allegedly involved with filming and uploading the video, which is a violation of the country's communications laws and a military penal code that makes homosexual activity punishable by up to two years in prison. ...

Progress on depression slow in China as stigmas persist BEIJING (AP) — Kerry Yang speaks openly to foreigners about the bouts of depression that have haunted her for a decade — her emotional meltdowns in college, the bruises she inflicted upon her body as a coping mechanism, her initial unsuccessful attempts at treatment. Yet despite such candor, the 30-year-old public relations consultant from Beijing often can't bring herself to discuss her problems with her fellow Chinese, including members of her own family. "There's a saying in China that if you display your emotions, you display weakness," Yang said. Depression as an illness went widely unacknowledged for decades in China, even as the brutalities of the Cultural Revolution and, more recently, frenetic economic growth left emotional scars. Public attitudes have shifted in recent years, propelled in part by the adoption of the nation's first mental health law five years ago. Yet Yang's ca...

Hunger strike puts jailed Palestinian leader in spotlight RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — From deep within an Israeli prison, Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti has once again thrust himself to the forefront of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. By organizing a mass hunger strike by hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Barghouti has solidified his standing as a likely successor to President Mahmoud Abbas. He also has proven to Israel that, despite serving multiple life sentences, he cannot be ignored as the country marks 50 years of control over the Palestinian territories. Barghouti is the most prominent of the thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, and even after 15 years behind bars, he continues to cast a long shadow over the region. While viewed by Israel as an arch terrorist, he is seen by Palestinians as a national hero, often drawing comparisons to the late South African President Nelson Mandela. He has called the new hunger strike the "long w...

Venezuela opposition plans silent procession, road sit-ins CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's energized opposition is planning sit-ins on roads, silent marches in white to commemorate the dead and other nontraditional protests as it tries to build on the momentum of recent street demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of the South American country again Thursday to demand elections and denounce what they consider an essentially dictatorial government. They were met by curtains of tear gas and rubber bullets as they tried to march to downtown Caracas. Later in the day, opposition leaders gathered in a show of unity at an outdoor news conference in the eastern Caracas neighborhood that has been at the heart of three weeks of near-daily protests. Some residents came out on balconies to cheer as the politicians urged supporters to don white and march silently through Caracas on Satur...

In wake of tense Trump call, Pence aims to soothe Australia SYDNEY (AP) — More than two months after President Donald Trump got into a spat with the leader of Australia, Vice President Mike Pence will be working to smooth over any lingering hard feelings. Pence will meet with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday as part of his 10-day, four-country trip to Asia. His agenda includes reassuring Turnbull about the state of the unusually strained U.S.-Australia alliance and laying out the new administration's priorities for the Pacific Rim. "Partly, you could call it a diplomatic clean-up mission," said Michael Auslin of the American Enterprise Institute, an analyst on Asian security issues. Auslin said Pence will be more focused on offering Turnbull a roadmap for how the two countries can work together during Trump's presidency. "It's about re-establishing relations." The affection the longtime allies usually share for ea...

Babies of the IS caliphate languish in limbo, prison TUNIS, Tunisia (P) — Hundreds of children fathered by the Islamic State's foreign fighters or brought to the self-proclaimed caliphate by their parents are now imprisoned or in limbo with nowhere to go, collateral victims as the militant group retreats and home countries hesitate to take them back. One young Tunisian orphan, Tamim Jaboudi, has been in a prison in Tripoli, Libya, for well over a year. He passed his second birthday behind bars and is nearing another, turning 3 on April 30. His parents, both Tunisians who left home to join the Islamic State group, died in American airstrikes in Libya in February 2016, according to the child's grandfather, who is trying to win the child's return. Tamim now lives among two dozen Tunisian women and their children in Tripoli's Mitiga prison, raised by a woman who herself willingly joined the Islamic State group. The captives are under guard by a militia that tigh...

Arkansas conducts first execution since 2005, plans 3 more VARNER, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas was able to conduct its first execution in nearly a dozen years despite a flurry of legal challenges that had spared three convicted killers, but courts still could scuttle the remainder the nation's most ambitious death penalty schedule since capital punishment was restored in 1976. Ledell Lee was pronounced dead at 11:56 p.m. Thursday, four minutes before his death warrant was due to expire at midnight, capping a chaotic week of legal wrangling. Arkansas originally wanted to put eight inmates to death before the state's supply of midazolam, one of three drugs used in its lethal injection process, expires at the end of April. Three of those executions were canceled this week because of court decisions. Another inmate scheduled for execution next week has received a stay. But Arkansas wants to put two other inmates to death Monday, and one next Thursday. Lee, 51, was put on death ...

After attack, France looks toward weekend presidential vote PARIS (AP) — France began picking itself up Friday from another deadly shooting claimed by the Islamic State group, with President Francois Hollande convening the government's security council and his would-be successors in the presidential election campaign treading carefully before voting this weekend. Investigators found a pump-action shotgun and knives in the car of the gunman who targeted police on the Champs-Elysees, and were working to determine whether he had accomplices. The prime minister said the government has reviewed its already extensive election security measures and says it is "fully mobilized" for Sunday's vote. One of the key questions was whether, and how, the attack that killed one police officer and wounded three other people might impact voting intentions. The risk for the main candidates was that misjudging the public mood, making an ill-perceived gesture or comment, coul...