Dozens Killed By Boko Haram In Fotokol After Chad Offensive

Fotokol (Cameroon) (AFP) - Nigerian Boko Haram fighters went on the rampage in the Cameroonian border town of Fotokol Wednesday, massacring dozens of civilians and torching a mosque before being repelled by regional forces.

The onslaught came a day after Chad sent troops across the border to flush the jihadists out of the Nigerian town of Gamboru, which lies some 500 metres (yards) from Fotokol on the other side of a bridge.

Chad's army said it had killed more than 200 Boko Haram militants in the intervention -- the first by regional forces against Boko Haram on its home ground. But some of the insurgents escaped, it added.

On the Cameroonian side of the border, the Boko Haram assault on Fotokol left nearly 70 civilians and six Cameroonian soldiers dead, a local security source told AFP.

There were also Boko Haram bodies "everywhere," the source added.

"Boko Haram inflicted so much damage here this morning. They have killed dozens of people," Umar Babakalli, a resident of Fotokol, told AFP by telephone.

Several residents said civilians' throats were slit and that the town's main mosque was torched.

"They burnt houses and killed civilians as well as soldiers," a source close to security forces said.

After several hours of clashes Cameroonian troops, backed by Chadian forces who scrambled back from Nigeria to help guard the town, managed to repel the assault.

No official death toll was immediately available.

On Tuesday, nine Chadian soldiers were killed and 21 were injured in Gamboru after around 2,000 troops backed by armoured vehicles poured across the border to take the fight to Boko Haram after days of clashes.

The sound of automatic gunfire could still be heard in the town later Wednesday as troops sought remaining rebel elements.

 The intervention came days after the African Union backed plans for a 7,500-strong five-nation regional force to take on the extremists, who control vast swathes of northeast Nigeria.

 Nigeria's military has drawn fierce criticism for failing to rein in the insurgents, who have stepped up their campaign of terror in the northeast in the run-up to presidential and parliamentary elections on February 14.

In recent months Boko Haram, which aims to establish an Islamic caliphate, has also carried out increasing cross-border raids, threatening regional security.

Viewing the widening field of Boko Haram activity a direct threat to its national interests, Chad has deployed its war-tested army to join the fight against the extremists, and has reportedly now entered Nigeria in at least two places.

According to several sources, Chad has also amassed forces and hundreds of vehicles along the border area between Nigeria and Niger -- a zone not far from Boko Haram's stronghold.

N'Djamena has not yet officially confirmed its troop movement into Niger, but it is now thought Chad may be positioning its forces to be able to trap Boko Haram in pincer offensives launched simultaneously from the north and south.

In Gamboru, the offensive, which was preceded by days of Chadian air strikes, had left scenes of desolation, with bodies lying on the ground, houses destroyed, shops gutted and trucks charred.

"We have routed this band of terrorists," the commander of the Chadian contingent Ahmat Dari told AFP Tuesday, vowing to "hunt them down everywhere."

Nigeria has reacted defensively to the presence of foreign troops on its soil.

"Nigeria's territorial integrity remains intact," defence spokesman Chris Olukolade insisted, claiming national forces had "planned and are driving the present onslaught against terrorists from all fronts in Nigeria, not the Chadian forces".

France is also supporting the operations by carrying out reconnaissance flights over border areas of Chad and Cameroon to provide them with intelligence, defence officials in Paris said.

At least 13,000 people have been killed and more than a million forced from their homes since Boko Haram launched an insurgency in 2009.

 

Living Fossil Species Dates Back 125 Million Years Caught In Australian Trawl Net

A rare goblin shark, this one a juvenile, was caught in a trawl net off Australia. Photo by Michael McMaster used by permission

A scary and creepy-looking goblin shark, a rare deep-water shark sometimes referred to as a living fossil, reared its ugly head in a fishing trawl net in deep waters off Australia last week.
Lochlainn Kelly, 22, fishing with his father Mike, was “more excited than frightened” when the goblin shark was discovered in their net along with a load of crayfish, The Sydney Morning Herald and Merimbula News reported.
Just as a rare goblin shark caught in a net in the Gulf of Mexico created a buzz in the scientific community, this one produced quite a bit of interest at The Wharf Aquarium in Merimbula where it was being examined.
A local fisherman named “old Errol” said he’d never seen one in all his decades fishing in local waters.

The goblin shark typically inhabits waters 3,000 to 4,000 feet deep. Photo by Michael McMaster used by permission

The goblin shark is the world’s rarest shark, and a contender for the world’s ugliest sea creature. It is the lone surviving member of the Mitsukurinidae family, which dates back 125 million years.
Alan Scrymgeour of the Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre described the deep-water shark to the Morning Herald as belonging to an “evolutionary dead end,” as it stopped evolving about 70 million years ago during the dinosaur era.
The goblin shark has a unique elongated, paddle-like snout that features hundreds of small sensors that can detect small electrical fields produced by the crustaceans and cephalopods they feed on.

The goblin shark grows to more than 12 feet long. Photo by Michael McMaster used by permission

Adult goblin sharks grow to over 12 feet long and live in waters 3,000 to 4,000 feet deep. This one was caught in 2,000 feet of water. It was a juvenile between 2 to 3 years old, measuring just under 4 feet long.
“They are a very deep-water shark that has been rarely recorded from Australian waters,” Michael McMaster, curator at the Wharf Aquarium in Merimbula, told GrindTV in an email. “[It] does not mean that they are rare in the waters in which they live, it is just that very little fishing is done at the depth in which they live. Because so few have been studied very little is known about them.”

The elongated, paddle-like nose of a goblin shark features hundreds of small sensors used to hunt for food. Photo by Michael McMaster used by permission

The Kellys were trawling southeast of Gabo Island south of Eden in New South Wales when they made the unusual catch.
“We just winched up the wire and brought the net on and the shark was in the net,” Kelly said. “I wasn’t [freaked out], if anything I was pretty excited. I’ve seen photos of them before, but I’ve never seen one before.”
Soon, others will be able to see one, too. The fish is to be sent to the Australian Museum in Sydney for its collection.

Suge Knight's Initial Bail Of $2 Million Was Revoked Monday

Former hip-hop music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was charged on Monday with murder and attempted murder after he struck two men with his pickup truck last week.

Prosecutors allege that Knight intended to run down a friend and another man after an argument on a movie set. One of the men was killed.
Attorney James Blatt says Knight accidentally ran over the men on Thursday as he tried to escape a vicious attack. He turned himself in to police on Friday.
Knight's initial bail of $2 million was revoked Monday after a court commissioner agreed with authorities that he was a potential flight risk and could intimidate witnesses.
The ruling came after detectives told the bail commissioner that the 49-year-old founder of Death Row Records could face a lengthy prison sentence because of a violent criminal past and had the potential to intimidate witnesses, Los Angeles County sheriff's spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said.
Knight is scheduled to appear in court in Compton on Tuesday to be arraigned on four felony counts, which include murder in the death of 55-year-old Terry Carter, "attempted, willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder" involving victim 51-year-old Cle "Bone" Sloan, plus two charges of hit-and-run.
Knight was out on bail in a separate robbery case when the men were hit.
Knight was at the center of one of the most notorious rap conflicts of the 1990s, pitting Tupac Shakur against Biggie Smalls in an East Coast-West Coast rivalry.
Knight was sent to prison for nearly five years for badly beating a rival with Shakur at a Las Vegas hotel, just hours before Shakur was fatally shot while riding in Knight's car just east of the Strip.
In the current case, Knight struck two men with his pickup truck in a Compton burger stand parking lot. The collision killed his friend, Carter, a founder and owner of Heavyweight Records who was viewed as a local father figure and tried to help mentor young men in the community, said Doug Young, a friend and hip-hop music promoter. The collision injured Sloan, an actor and film consultant.
Authorities have said Knight argued with Sloan who was working earlier at a location for the film "Straight Outta Compton" about the rise of the rap group N.W.A. Knight was told by sheriff's deputies providing security to leave the film set.
The argument resumed in the parking lot where Knight and Sloan exchanged punches through a window of the pickup truck before the two men were run down, authorities said.
Blatt has said Knight was attacked by four people, including Sloan, and that Knight hit the gas and fled in fear.
Because a conviction in the case could result in Knight's third serious felony under California's three strikes sentencing law, Knight could face up to life in prison if he's convicted.
Thursday's incident came less than six months after Knight was shot six times at a West Hollywood nightclub in August — the second shooting he has survived. No arrests have been made in that case.
At 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) and weighing 325 pounds (148 kilograms), Knight is an imposing figure who is credited, in part, with helping create Death Row Records when he strong-armed another label to release Dr. Dre from his contract, said Chuck Creekmur, CEO of allhiphop.com.
Knight and Dre later had a falling out, and Dre left the record company that eventually declared bankruptcy and was auctioned off.
In November, Knight pleaded not guilty to a robbery charge filed after a celebrity photographer accused him of stealing her camera in Beverly Hills. Because of prior convictions, he could face up to 30 years in prison in that case.

Man Who Walks 21 Miles Every Day To work In Detroit

A story about a Detroit man who commutes about 21 miles a day on foot to and from work has spurred reaction from across the nation, including social media fundraisers that have netted more than $35,000.

Because buses don't cover the full distance between James Robertson's home in Detroit and his job in Rochester Hills, he walks a little more than seven miles headed to work and about 13 miles home, five days a week. His story has inspired hundreds to offer money to buy him a car, pay his insurance and professional help in managing the donations.
Robertson said Sunday he was flattered by the attention he'd gotten for his arduous commutes after the Free Press published a front-page story about him — and amazed that complete strangers would respond so generously, some by offering to buy him a new car and others offering to give him one.
"Are you serious?" he said to a reporter who told him of one crowd-funding effort alone that, by 9:30 ET Sunday night, had raised $35,000 — thousands more than the goal of the originator, a Wayne State University student.
Evan Leedy, 19, of Macomb Township, a WSU student studying computer science, said he was struck by the article and by the sudden torrent of people commenting online, many of them asking how they could help Robertson. Leedy said he decided to act.
"I just used my phone. I created the go-funding site and within an hour we had $2,000," he said.
"I set the goal at the beginning of $5,000. Right now my page has more than $30,000" as of 6pm Sunday, Leedy said.
Two other people created GoFundMe sites, "so I contacted them so we could coordinate this, and they've raised $3,000," he added.
Leedy said he wanted to take steps that would ensure that the money goes directly to Robertson and that publicity about it doesn't put him at risk of being pressured to share it.
 "And I think some of it should be set aside for his insurance and gas and maintenance," Leedy said.
And a Downriver car dealership offered to give him a 2014 Chevrolet Cruz or Sonic. "He gets to choose," said Angela Osborne, customer service specialist at Rodgers Chevrolet in Woodhaven.
"We were just impressed with his determination," Osborne said.
Sales manager Darwin Filey said he read about Robertson after a fellow Facebook friend shared the story with him.
"When I saw the story I said 'wow.' Some people said you guys have got to do something. Then I called my owner and she read the story and said put something together," Filey said.
He said Robertson would have to pay the tax on the car, which would be about $900.
"We've never done anything like this at all," Filey said. "We've given to various causes but nothing at this magnitude," said Filey, who has been with the dealership for 2 1/2 years.
Meanwhile, the modest Detroiter who walks an amazing 21 miles on his daily commutes to work in suburban Detroit said not even Sunday's snowstorm would keep him from getting to his job Monday.
Eyeing the snow piling up around his white-frame house in Detroit, Robertson sounded not a bit worried.
"I've had worse. This is reminiscent of those snowstorms last year, and I made it then," said the man with a perfect attendance record in more than a dozen years at Schain Mold & Engineering in Rochester Hills.
Robertson said he likes walking and being outdoors but knows he can't keep it up forever.
Robertson's aging Honda Accord quit on him in 2005, and after repeated cutbacks in bus service the walking segments of his daily commutes grew years ago to take more time than he spends in his eight-hour factory shifts molding parts.
As for the possibility that a new federal program, available from Detroit's bus system, might provide a small-bus service that would pick Robertson up at home and deliver him directly to his job temporarily, he said: "I'd rather they spent that money on a 24-hour bus system, not on some little bus for me. This city needs buses going 24/7. You can tell the city council and mayor I said that."
Like hundreds of other Detroiters, the cost of car insurance is a factor Robertson knows he will have to deal with in acquiring his own transportation. A nationwide survey conducted last week found car insurance in Detroit to be the costliest in the nation, at an average of about $5,000 a year.
Darwin said it's not uncommon for Detroit motorists to have insurance premiums higher than car payments.
"I'm not an insurance agent, if I'm guessing it's going to be about ($2,100) to $2,200 for six months." He added insurance companies often provide discounts for a year's payment upfront.
"I can work that insurance thing out," Robertson said. "It might be tough, but my dad used to say, tough times don't last — tough people do."
UBS banker Blake Pollock, who befriended Robertson while stopped in Oakland County and has given him dozens of rides this winter, said he was thrilled but wary about the outpouring of donations.
During his own commutes to his office in Troy, Pollock last year began noting Robertson's foot-slogging commutes, day after day, and finally offered him a ride. Now, they're fast friends.
On Sunday, Pollock said he planned to set up a board "of several professionals" to oversee the donations rolling in for Robertson.
"Putting a car in his driveway and just handing James the keys or filling his pockets with cash is not the answer. But with these resources now, we should be able to do something very positive for the guy," said Pollock, a vice president at UBS.
"I think the hundreds of donors want this to go to James and not have this go out of his hands. So, if we can set up this little board to manage his money, I think that can happen.
"When I'm with him tomorrow, I'm going to talk to him about that" — during the Monday-morning ride that Pollock planned to give Robertson after a bus gets him from Detroit to Troy.

Young Girl Reunited With Father After Being Kidnapped Nine Years Ago

A young girl who was kidnapped on her way home from school in China has been reunited with her father - nine years after she was abducted.

Cheng Ying was six years old in 2005 when she was taken by traffickers in Xi'an City, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
When her father arrived at the school an hour later, he could not find his daughter, so he gathered all his relatives together to go out and look for her. On the second day, he called the police.
Cheng Zhu spent the next decade travelling the country in search for his daughter, frequently uploading photos of her on the internet in an attempt to trigger people's memories and keep them on the lookout.
In 2007, a stranger called him and said a flower seller in Shenzhen City in southern China could be his daughter. He travelled immediately to the city: "I had to drive for two days without sleep. However, I couldn't even connect with the stranger after I arrived at Shenzhen," Cheng said.
Come 2008, Cheng also began helping the families of other abducted children, collecting information and images and displaying them on his mini-van. He says he drove his van across 200,000 kilometres and spent about 400,000 (£42,500) yuan looking for his child.
His daughter, who is now 15, said she was kidnapped by a woman and taken to Yanchang County in Shaanxi Province, and then was resold to a couple in central China's Henan Province.
She said that she went online and asked anyone whether they knew where Dabaiyang Street was and that a woman on the internet promised to help her.
"I think she can feel for me as she is a mother, so I told her my story. She found out files about my father looking for me, saying she might have found out my parents," said Cheng Ying.
The woman eventually reconnected Cheng with her father on January 5 in Chengdu. He waited for the DNA confirmation for eight days.
"The eight days were even harder for me than the past decade. I was so close to my child within 10 meters, but I just couldn't give her a hug," he said.
 

68-Year-Old Man Jailed For Sexually Assaulting Six-Year-Old

A 68-year-old man has been jailed for four years after he sexually assaulted a six-year-old boy in the public toilets of Kings Cross McDonalds in the middle of the day.

Brain Lucking followed the young child into the toilets off the Caledonian Road branch of the fast food chain at roughly 1.30pm and abused him while the boy’s mother waited outside on 19 July last year.
The boy immediately told his mother who managed to get a photograph of Lucking as he fled the restaurant before calling the police who arrested him two hours later.
Lucking, who pleaded guilty to one count of sexually assaulting a male under the age of 14 years on 23 October, was sentenced on Friday at Blackfriars Crown Court.
 He will serve four years in prison and will receive an extended six years on licence for the attack.
Detective Inspector Neil Smithson from the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command commended the young child and his mother for their actions.
“I would like to praise the boy and his family for their quick reactions at the scene and for their bravery throughout this whole process,” he said in a statement released to the press.
Det Smithson continued: “Lucking targeted a young boy in a relatively public location. Thankfully, this sort of assault is rare, but the sentence should demonstrate the seriousness with which the police and the courts view these matters.”
“Whilst this was an isolated incident, the method of Mr Lucking’s offending suggests there may be other unreported offences and as such police are appealing for any other victims of Mr Lucking to come forward,” he added.

Search Called Off For Man Swept Out To Sea As He Spread His Sister's Ashes

Coastguards yesterday called off their search for a man who went missing at sea on Saturday afternoon, after he was caught by a large wave as he scattered his sister’s ashes.

Shane Galliers, 51, from Launceston was last seen at around 5pm on Saturday at Port William, near the village of Tintagel in north Cornwall, as he said goodbye to his sister Michelle Galliers.
The group had waited for the tide to go out before each scattered a pot of Ms Galliers' ashes, but her brother ventured out a little further as he paid his respects.
Despite gale-force winds and rough seas, his brother-in-law attempted to rescue him, but was unsuccessful.
Following a thorough search operation in treacherous conditions, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said Mr Galliers had not been found.
Mr Galliers' mother, Patricia Howells, spoke of her devastation at losing a second child, after Ms Galliers passed away last November.
"It's all a very big shock for all of us. First I lost my daughter and now I have lost my son, it's so difficult to come to terms with," she told The Telegraph.
Jasmine Bird, whose mother's ashes Mr Galliers was scattering, said: "This is a very personal spot for the family.
"Most members of the family that have passed away are brought here to be scattered.
"My mum and him were incredibly close. They kept each other sane throughout the entirety of their lives."
The family said that while the official search had been called off they, they hoped members of the public would keep their eyes open for Mr Galliers.
A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said: “The search, coordinated by Falmouth Coastguard, for the man who was washed into the sea from the north Cornwall coast has now finished, although sadly no sign has been found of him.
"Coastguard teams from Port Isaac and Boscastle have been carrying out a shoreline search this morning."
On Sunday, Falmouth Coastguard scrambled a search and rescue helicopter from RAF Chivenor.
The coastguard rescue teams from Boscastle and Port Isaac carried out a search and a request was made for the Padstow RNLI Lifeboat to launch.
Neil Oliver, Falmouth Coastguard watch manager, last night said that conditions had been unfavourable due to gale force winds and rough seas.
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said that officers were called at about 5pm on Sunday to reports that a male had fallen into the sea at Tintagel, North Cornwall.
The spokesman said: "Despite treacherous conditions with gale force winds and heavy seas, two other members of the group that he was with went into the sea in an attempt to rescue him but were unsuccessful.
"The two members of the group who attempted the rescue managed to get ashore safely. The male who was swept into the sea remains missing."

Power Ranger Ricardo Medina Jr Arrested For Allegedly Murdering Man With A Sword

Actor Ricardo Medina Jr has been arrested on suspicion of murder, after allegedly stabbing his roommate with a sword.

Joshua Sutter, 36, was stabbed in the abdomen following an argument on Saturday afternoon at his residence in an isolated area of the Los Angeles mountains.
According to police, Medina and his girlfriend went into his bedroom and closed the door, but when Sutter forced entry Medina stabbed him with the blade which he kept behind his bedroom door.
The 37-year-old played Red Ranger Cole Evans in 2002's Power Rangers Wild Force, and most recently Deker in 2012's Power Rangers Samurai.
Swords were his character's weapon of choice in the franchise.
Power Rangers Samurai was criticised for its on-screen violence, though a new Power Rangers feature film was announced to be in the works last year after Saban Capital bought the rights to the franchise.
Medina called police around 15 minutes after the incident took place, according to The Wrap, and he was later arrested on suspicion of murder with bail set at $1 million.
Sutter was rushed to hospital where he was later pronounced dead

Former leader Of The International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn Accused Of Pimping

The disgraced former head of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn will today stand trial in France accused of pimping.

Once tipped as the country’s next presidential hopeful, Mr Strauss-Kahn, 65, described by witnesses as “the king of the party”, stands accused of procuring sex workers internationally for an alleged prostitution ring based in a hotel in Lille.
Mr Strauss-Kahn has admitted attending sex parties in Lille but claims he did not know the women were prostitutes.
The former IMF leader faces a charge of “aggravated pimping” and stands accused of using his business contacts to hire women for sex parties in Washington, New York, Paris and Brussels.
The court is expected to hear how Mr Strauss-Kahn, while in Washington, instigated more than 15 “soirees” between 2009 and 2011, during which the economist is accused of having group sex with multiple prostitutes, in scenes described by witnesses as “carnage”.
Prosecutors argue that it would have been impossible for Mr Strauss-Kahn to be unaware that the women were paid, adding that the activities were organised around his busy international schedule and that the lack of condoms used suggested the women participating could only have been paid.
In confiscated messages, which are expected to be seen by the court, Mr Strauss-Kahn refers to the women involved as “gifts”, Le Parisen claims.
Some of the sex workers who encountered him have claimed they were told not to mention they had been paid. Another, whose testimony was quoted by Journal du Dimanche, claimed as an escort it was unusual to meet someone who had as little respect as Mr Strauss-Kahn.
He will appear in court alongside 13 others, including the owner of the brothel, Dominique Alderweireld – better known as “Dodo the pimp”. Mr Alderwirdeld reportedly prepared for the case by having his teeth whitened in Spain.
If convicted Mr Strauss-Kahn faces up to 10 years in prison and fines possibly totalling 1.5 million.
Mr Straus-Kahn and his 13 co-defendants deny the charges.
The former IMF leader described the allegations of pimping as “dangerous and malicious insinuations and extrapolations”.
In 2011 his lawyer, Henri LeClerc, said: “I challenge you to tell the difference between a naked prostitute and a naked woman of the world,” after Mr Strauss-Kahn admitted partaking in group sex but denied knowing that the women were prostitutes.
It’s the latest sex-related scandal to further dirty his already tarnished reputation.
In 2011 he stepped down from the IMF after New York hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo accused him of attempted rape.
The charges were later dropped and Ms Diallo received an undisclosed settlement from Mr Strauss-Kahn.
Two other cases against him, alleging sexual assaults and gang rape, have also been dropped.

Fresh Start As Croatia Wipes Out The Debts Of Thousands Of Its Poorest Citizens

Starting Monday, thousands of Croatia's poorest citizens will benefit from an unusual gift: They will have their debts wiped out. Named "fresh start," the government scheme aims to help some of the 317,000 Croatians whose bank accounts have been blocked due to their debts.

Given that Croatia is a relatively small Mediterranean country of only 4.4 million inhabitants, the number of indebted citizens is significant and has become a major economic burden for the country. After six years of recession, growth predictions for Croatia's economy remain low for this year.
"We assess that this measure will be applicable to some 60,000 citizens," Deputy Prime Minister Milanka Opacic was quoted as saying by Reuters. "Thus they will be given a chance for a new start without a burden of debt," Opacic said earlier this month.
To be eligible, Croats need to fulfill certain criteria: Their debt must be lower than 35,000 kuna ($5,100), and their monthly income should not be higher than 1,250 kuna ($138). Those applying for the scheme are not allowed to own any property or have any savings.
Although the program is expected to cost up to 210 million Croatian kuna ($31 million), according to Austrian press agency APA, the Croatian government expects economic long-term benefits that will outweigh the short-term investment. Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic has convinced multiple cities, public and private companies, the country's major telecommunications providers, as well as nine banks to clear some of their citizens of their debt. The government will not refund the companies for their losses.

Overall, the debt of all Croats amounts to $4.11 billion -- and the debt that is about to be wiped out accounts for less than 1 percent of that. However, for those who are eligible the agreement will make a significant difference by enabling them to gain access to their bank accounts. By reducing debt by less than 1 percent, Croatia frees nearly 20 percent of the country's debtors from their obligations.
Some economists, among them Baker, are skeptical whether the scheme will succeed: "I am not sure that this is the best way to help low-income people. If lenders think this can happen again they will charge very high interest rates to low-income borrowers," Baker said.