Twins With Different Skin Colors

Hannah Yarker, who is white, and Kyle Armstrong, who is of mixed black and white heritage, have twin daughters with different skin tones — Myla is darker while Anaya is fair. Their proud mom says she can’t walk through the grocery store without being stopped multiple times, and she’s constantly explaining that the girls are twins, and yes, they’re both her daughters.

When Anaya and Myla were born in April 2015, Yarker didn’t notice that they looked different. “At first, both the girls had a purple tone to their skin, but they looked darker so I assumed they’d both taken after Kyle,” the Manchester, England, native told the Sun on Feb. 8. “But after two weeks, it was clear Myla takes after her dad with dark skin, brown eyes and brunette locks, while Anaya is more of a mummy’s girl with a pale complexion, fair hair and light eyes.”

South Sudan President Re-Appoints His Rival

                                            South Sudan's President Salva Kiir addresses the nation at the South Sudan                                                                                    National Parliament in Juba, November 18.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has re-appointed his rival Riek Machar as vice president, a decree said on Thursday, the culmination of a deal to try to end months of civil war in the world's newest nation.

The announcement returned the presidency to where it was soon before fighting erupted between supporters of the two men in December 2013 - a conflict that went on to kill thousands of people and force more than two million to flee.

Both sides, under pressure from Washington, the United Nations and other powers, signed an initial pact in August, and agreed to share out ministerial positions in January.

But that accord has repeatedly broken down and a U.N. report last month said both leaders qualified for sanctions over atrocities in the conflict.

The decree read out on state TV said Machar would be first vice president, his position before he was sacked in 2013, the move that eventually triggered the violence. There was no immediate announcement from Machar.

Oil-producing South Sudan split away from Sudan in 2011 amid mass celebrations and promises of aid and good will from most of the developed world.

But its regional and Western backers were dismayed when fighting erupted, often along ethnic lines.

Last month's confidential report by a U.N. panel that monitors the conflict in South Sudan for the Security Council stated that Kiir and Machar were still completely in charge of their forces and were therefore directly to blame for killing civilians and other actions that warrant sanctions.

According to the report, those violations include extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, extrajudicial arrest and detention, abductions, forced displacement, the use and recruitment of children, beatings, looting and the destruction of livelihoods and homes.

The report described how Kiir's government bought at least four Mi-24 attack helicopters in 2014 from a private Ukrainian company at a cost of nearly $43 million.

It added that Machar's forces were trying to "acquire shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to counter the threat of attack helicopters, specifically citing the need to continue and indeed escalate the fighting."

Russian Pm Warns Of New World War If Troops Sent Into Syria

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned of the possibility of a permanent or “world war” if countries begin sending ground troops to Syria, in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt.

Medvedev is currently in Munich for diplomatic talks on the Syria crisis, which have so far split participants into two camps: those opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the leader’s international partners such as Iran and Russia.

When asked where Russia stood on Saudi Arabia’s offer to send troops into Syria as part of a U.S.-led coalition, Medvedev said putting boots on the ground was not in anyone’s best interest.

“Russia will limit itself to the use of rockets and aircraft in the military operation in Syria and we will not resort to [deploying] ground troops during our participation in the conflict,” he said. According to him “a ground operation” in Syria, where several parties are carrying out air strikes, would result in “dragging everyone involved into war.”

The Russian prime minister warned that the start of ground operations in Syria could result in a prolonged conflict in the country,that “could last years, maybe even decades.” The politician urged world leaders to “remain seated at the negotiation table and not start yet another war on this Earth.”

“We know perfectly well what scenario all that leads to,” he said.

Medvedev is heading the Russian delegation in Munich that also includes Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as U.S., Middle Eastern and European diplomats continue to discuss the nature of the Syrian peace process.

On Friday, Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced all parties had agreed a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria. But they made the announcement with a pinch of salt, adding that the “real test” will be whether all parties to the Syrian conflict honour those commitments.

Teen who killed 5 family members to be sentenced as juvenile

A judge cleared the way Thursday for a New Mexico teenager who shot and killed his parents and three younger siblings to be sentenced as a juvenile and released from state custody by the time he turns 21 after the teen's attorneys argued he could be psychologically rehabilitated.

Nehemiah Griego was 15 when he opened fire in his family's home south of Albuquerque, killing his mother as she slept and then his 9-year-old brother and two sisters, ages 5 and 2, authorities said. Griego's father was the last to die: The teen waited in a bathroom and ambushed the gang member turned pastor after he returned home, sheriff's officials said.

Now 18, Griego has undergone nearly two years of therapy at a state adolescent treatment center — where his teachers, psychiatrists and others say he has made significant progress after being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and some learning disabilities.

NATO says it’s adding a significant number of troops in Eastern Europe

In a move sure to anger Russia, NATO announced on Wednesday firm plans to deploy a significant number of troops into Eastern Europe. After a day of meeting with alliance members, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement during a press conference.

Though he was vague on details, he added that final decisions regarding the make-up of the multi-national force will be ironed out in June, and voted upon at the next NATO meeting in July. “We will have as much presence in the east as needed,” Stoltenberg said, adding that the forces will be non-permanent and constantly rotating. NATO’s new so-called “deterrent” posture was touted by Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter

Putin says Black Sea troops ready to defend Russia after NATO announcement

The Russian military practiced a wide range of combat maneuvers in the Black Sea as part of its snap drill this week, following NATO’s decision to reinforce its presence in the region, it has been announced. NATO defense ministers have agreed on a more “enhanced forward presence in the eastern part of our alliance”, Secretary General Jens Stoltenbeg said at a meeting on Wednesday.

 The presence, Stoltenberg said, would be rotational and in the form of frequent military exercises. After Stoltenberg’s announcement, the Russian Ministry of Defence issued a detailed breakdown of the types of combat Russia had been practising—anti-ship, anti-aircraft, anti-submarine warfare and combat against amphibious landing groups.

The latest rumor from North Korea: Another general executed

Yet another North Korean general is killed by the Pyongyang regime. That’s the story that’s been doing the rounds this week after a South Korean news agency quoted an anonymous South Korean official from an unnamed South Korean agency as saying that Ri Yong Gil, chief of the Korean People’s Army [KPA] general staff, had been executed for corruption.

 It fits with the pattern that has emerged since Kim Jong Un took over the leadership of North Korea from his father at the end of 2011: Aging members of the old guard dispatched by young upstart leader. After all, it happened with Hyon Yong Chol, the defense minister executed by anti-aircraft gun for insubordination and treason.

Cameroon soldiers kill 27 Boko Haram fighters across border

Cameroon soldiers killed at least 27 Boko Haram fighters after launching a cross-border operation in the Nigerian locality of Goshi that also resulted in the death of one soldier, a senior military official said.

At least seven other soldiers were injured in the operation early Thursday, said Gen. Jacob Kodji. The Nigerian Islamic extremist group launched a series of attacks in Cameroon earlier this week, said Kodji. Ashigashiya straddles the border of northern Cameroon and Nigeria.

“At least 27 Boko Haram fighters were killed in Thursday morning’s operation,” said Kodji, commander of Cameroon troops in the area. The soldiers remain on the battle front there, he said.

How To Raise Highly Successful Kids

Everything else flows from this. It’s why you care more about their success than your own. It’s tricky though, this doesn’t mean simply telling them each day (although that’s a good idea), and it certainly doesn’t mean giving in to their every whim.

Instead, it’s all about honesty and maturity. Can you honestly say that when they’re 20 or 30 or 40 or more, they’ll recognise that you do what you do because you always want the best for them?

You want to treat your kids like adults so they’ll behave like adults, but kids by definition aren’t adults. Yet, it seems a lot of parents, in the hope of respecting their kids’ choices and encouraging them to make decisions, wind up stepping aside and meekly letting their children make adult decisions.

 You want your kids to learn to turn problems into opportunities. When they’re immature however, they’re more likely to turn opportunities into trouble and there’s probably no place in the 21st Century that’s more of a minefield than in personal technology. We’re not just talking about kids stumbling into the netherworlds of the Internet and seeing things that are clearly inappropriate; we’re also talking about the sheer addiction to screens that is even adults to succumb to.

You now find kids at 10, 12, 14, 16 years of age who have their phone in their bedroom at two (o’clock) in the morning. No child should have a phone in their bedroom unsupervised.

We all have a lot of things going on. Yet, kids need you often to set those ambitions aside in order simply to spend time with them. Rule number one to make that clear. Eat dinner together every single day.

By communicating that time at home as a family is our highest priority, you are sending the message that family matters. So many kids are in the race to nowhere, trying to add things on to their resume through extracurricular activities with no sense of why. They just burn out at 15 years of age.

Offer support all the time, but offer real praise when it’s really worthy. The first thing is to teach humility, because so many kids have been indoctrinated in their own awesomeness with no understanding of how this culture of bloated self-esteem leads to resentment.

Money is important. Even Bernie Sanders would agree with that. Having it opens a world of choices; not having it forecloses opportunity. But is money more important than everything else? Teach the meaning of life. It cannot be just about getting a good job. It’s not just about achievement. It’s about who you are as a human being. You must have an answer.

Director-General Of UNESCO Becomes Candidate For Next Secretary-General

Bulgaria has officially submitted the application of Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, as a candidate for the position of the next Secretary-General to Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 70th session of the General Assembly.

The Spokesman of President Mogens Lykketoft, disclosed this on Friday in New York in a statement.

He added that this was because an election was due to be held in 2016 to determine the successor of Ban Ki-moon, whose term as the eighth UN Secretary-General would conclude on Dec. 31, 2016.

He said Bokova, born on July 12, 1952 in Bulgaria has been the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 2009, and was re-elected for a second term in 2013.

2016 Budget Fraud: Buhari orders probe; wants questionable allocations scrapped

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an immediate investigation into allegations of fraudulent padding of allocations in the 2016 budget, with strict orders that all cases of discrepancies, errors and ambiguities be resolved promptly, a senior government official told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday.

An extensive analysis of the budget by PREMIUM TIMES exposed questionable details, with the National Assembly on Tuesday suspending deliberations on the document indefinitely.

The chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Danjuma Goje, (APC-Gombe State), and his House of Representatives counterpart, Abdulmumin Jibrin (APC-Kano), said the suspension was necessary to enable the National Assembly carry out “proper clean-up” of the budget.

Earlier, a senior presidency official blamed “budget mafia” for the controversial contents, in reference to civil servants responsible for preparing the budget.

Another top administration official on Thursday gave PREMIUM TIMES further details on how the government was responding to the embarrassing budget allocations.

He pleaded anonymity, and said the government was avoiding publicly stating its position on the matter for now to avoid playing into the hands of its critics.

The official said both the Finance and Budget & National Planning ministries were determined to effect the necessary corrections and turn in a clean copy of the document for approval.

APC Rejects Supreme Court Verdict on A’Ibom Governorship Poll, Calls for Probe

About a week after the Supreme Court verdict on the April 11, 2015, governorship election in Akwa Ibom State affirming Governor Udom Emmanuel of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the elected governor, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state has rejected the judgment.

Accordingly, the party has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the judgment by instituting an inquiry into the various and widely held notion that the Supreme Court judgment was procured through huge financial inducements.

“We believe such enquiry is inevitable to address the possible consequences of the Supreme Court judgment which is bound to encourage resort to self-help, violence and all forms of illegality and barbarity in the quest for power.

“We believe that this purchased judgment from the Supreme Court does not reflect the president’s desire to weed corruption from our society,” the party stressed.

Drama as suspected thief falls into well in attempt to scale fence

A 35-year-old unidentified man suspected to be a burglar on Thursday, drowned in a well on Modupe Ajayi Close in the Alagbado area of Lagos State, The Punch reports.
Reports say he attempted to scale the fence into the compound at about 1am when he landed in the well.

Residents were said to have been woken up by his groans, after which they alerted the police and officials of the Lagos State Fire Service.

The Director of the Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, said efforts were ongoing to ascertain the identity of the victim but an official of the fire service who didn’t want his name mentioned, said “Somebody ran into our Agege station around 1am and said a man had fallen into their well.

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Dolapo Badmos, said “At about 1.30am, one Tosin Babatunde of Modupe Ajayi Close, Alagbado, came to the station and reported that a man of unknown identity, suspected to be a thief, scaled the fence into their compound and landed in a well.”

Protests as monarch accuses Fayose of destroying billboard

Protests erupted in Ikere Ekiti on Wednesday following the destruction of a billboard with the picture of the Olukere of Ikere Ekiti, Oba Ganiyu Ayodele Obasoyin, allegedly on the orders of   Governor Ayodele Fayose.

The Olukere, who has been at loggerheads with the Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, Oba Adejimi Adu, who is believed to enjoy strong backing from the governor, alleged that Fayose personally tore his picture on the billboard in the heart of the town.

But Fayose, through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, has dismissed the allegation as “unfounded.”

It was learnt that the incident happened when Fayose was returning to Ekiti from Akure, the capital of Ondo State, after visiting Akwa Ibom State.

The protesters, who gathered at the popular Odo Oja junction at about 6pm on Wednesday, chanted anti-government slogans in condemnation of the action.

Angry youths, who barricaded roads leading to   the town,   attacked billboards with Ogoga’s picture in Ikere Ekiti in retaliation.

Following the development, commuters from Akure, Ita Ogbolu, Iju, Ise, Emure, Ado Ekiti and other communities were left stranded for hours, as they could not pass through Ikere to their destinations.

Jonathan’s ADC in trouble over N10b for PDP chiefs

Detectives are questioning former President Goodluck Jonathan’s ex-Aide-De-Camp (ADC) on the disbursement of more than N10 billion oil proceeds to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nomination convention delegates.

Col. Ojogbane Adegbe is being detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is on the trail of another key aide to the former President – Waripamowei Dudafa, former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs.

Adegbe and Dudafa collected the cash —   $47m and some Euros from the Office of the National Security Adviser(ONSA), it was learnt.

The money was diverted by ONSA from a Signature Bonus Account in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The EFCC believes Dudafa is either in Dubai or somewhere on the Caribbean Islands.

The N10billion is believed to have been diverted from oil receipts as follows: USD5.0M(November 14,2014); $47m( November 27,  2014); Euro 4.0M (December 3, 2014) and Euro 1.6M(December 24, 2014)

It was learnt that the former ADC was yesterday relocated from Mogadishu Cantonment for quizzing by the EFCC on the disbursement of the cash.

Army sends 7 Generals, others for EFCC probe

The Army last night released 12 senior officers to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for probe.

The EFCC is investigating their role in the $2.1billion arms deals.

Those found guilty of fraud by the EFCC will be tried by a Military Court Martial, The Army said.

A statement by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, which did not release the names of the affected officers, said: “The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the public that 12 Army officers have been sent to the EFCC for investigation.

“These comprise three serving Major-Generals and one retired, three Brigadier-Generals, four colonels, and one Lieutenant Colonel.

“However it should be noted that at the end of the commission’s investigations, those found culpable will be tried by a Military Court Martial.”

If I open up, Nigeria’ll burn –Jonathan’s ex-ADC

Former aide-de-camp to former president Goodluck Jonathan, Col. Ojogbane Adegbe has said another Dasukigate may be imminent if he reveals what transpired in that administration.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) picked up Adegbe on Wednesday in Lagos where he was interrogated before he was flown to Abuja yesterday.

It was gathered that ongoing interrogation of the former ADC by operatives of the EFCC could open up a new can of worms, which “could surpass what is now called Dasukigate.”

In December 2015, the Department of State Security (DSS) arrested Jonathan’s National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki and turned him over to the EFCC over his role in the $2.1 billion arms purchase scandal.

The money, meant to purchase arms for the military fighting insurgency in the North-East, was allegedly diverted by the office of the NSA as 2015 campaign funds for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was the ruling party then.

EFCC sources said the former ADC may soon give details of all he knows with regards to financial transactions and the dramatic personae involved in the last administration.

Preliminary findings, including recovered documents, were said to have hinted of large-scale questionable expenditure with funds sourced from and outside the arms purchase deals.

Another source said “most of the funds were reportedly diverted soon after the election was postponed from the originally scheduled date of February 14, 2015 to March 28, 2015…”

Mosquitoes carrying Zika virus exist in Nigeria —Health Minister

Isaac Adewole, the Nigerian Minister of Health, has said that the mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus are in Nigeria and urged Nigerians to protect themselves by using mosquito nets.

He also called on Nigerians to remain calm, be vigilant and report any suspected case of an acute febrile illness in pregnant women, in particular, to any nearest health facility.

Adewole made this disclosure at a press briefing, yesterday, in Abuja, where he explained that the mosquitoes were active and flying, adding that they bite during the day and early morning.

He said: “Nigerian scientists working in Western Nigeria in 1954 discovered Zika virus in Nigeria. Further studies in the years 1975 to 1979 showed that 40 per cent of Nigeria adults and 25 per cent of Nigerian children have antibodies to Zika virus, meaning they are protected against this virus.

$2.1bn ARMS PROBE: NAF fires indicted officers, appoints new AOCs, PSOs

The Nigerian Airforce High Command stepped up its anti-corruption war, yesterday, with the removal of officers, including Air Officers Commanding, AOCs, fingered in the $2.1billion arms scandal and appointed new officers to replace them.

As a result, Vanguard gathered that about four senior officers, Air Vice Marshals, AVMs, and Commodores, (names with-held) are now under house arrest at Niger Barracks, Abuja, awaiting completion of interrogation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before they would know their fate. That is besides RA Ojuawo, an Air Vice Marshal, arrested Tuesday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on his way to Germany, by EFCC operatives.

It was also gathered that a former service chief, who was allowed to go home the first time he was invited, had been detained since Wednesday when he was re-invited and may be detained for up to two more weeks, following approval by the courts for his continued detention.

This development came on a day more military personnel fingered in the disbursement of the $2.1bn arms money were arrested and questioned by the Military high command, even as the Director of Military Intelligence, Brig-General Mohammed Sa’ad, was sacked over alleged connection with the arms scam.

Russia warns foreign troops risk 'world war' over Syria

                                                      Vladimir Putin

Moscow said today it had made a "quite specific" ceasefire proposal for Syria as foreign ministers gathered in Munich, hoping to revive a floundering peace process amid warnings of a "new world war".

With Syria peace talks derailed by the regime onslaught on Aleppo, the UN said 51,000 Syrians had fled the northern city this month as government forces backed by Russian bombers and Iranian fighters left the opposition there virtually surrounded.

"We made propositions for a ceasefire that are quite specific," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said as he sat down for talks with US counterpart John Kerry.

Moscow has refused to confirm reports that its ceasefire would take effect only on March 1, giving another three weeks to an offensive which the UN says could place 300,000 people under siege.

Observers say the bombardments on Aleppo have killed 500 people since they began on February 1.

South Korea warns North Korea over `illegal` asset freeze

South Korea warned North Korea on Friday that it had acted "illegally" in freezing the assets of South Korean companies and staff expelled from the jointly run Kaesong industrial zone.

Seoul`s Unification Minister Hong Yong-Pyo said Pyongyang`s decision to kick out the South Korean firms was "very regrettable" and added the North would have to take full responsibility for any consequences.

North Korea on Thursday said it was closing Kaesong completely and placing it under military control.

All South Koreans working in the zone, which lies 10 kilometres (six miles) inside North Korea, were expelled and told they could only take their personal belongings.

It also ordered a "complete freeze" of all assets left behind, including raw materials, products and equipment.

CIA director says Islamic State group has used, can make chemical weapons

 CIA director John Brennan has said that Islamic State fighters have used chemical weapons and have the capability to make small quantities of chlorine and mustard gas, CBS News reported Thursday.

"We have a number of instances where ISIL has used chemical munitions on the battlefield," Brennan told CBS News, which released excerpts of an interview to air in full on the "60 Minutes" news program on Sunday.

The network added that he told "60 Minutes" the CIA believes that the IS group has the ability to make small amounts of mustard or chlorine gas for weapons.

"There are reports that ISIS has access to chemical precursors and munitions that they can use," Brennan said.

Brennan also warned of the possibility that the Islamic State group could seek to export the weapons to the West for financial gain.

Nigerian Suicide Bomber Gets Cold Feet, Refuses To Kill

Strapped with a booby-trapped vest and sent by Boko Haram to kill as many people as possible, the young teenage girl tore off the explosives and fled as soon as she was out of sight of her handlers.

Her two companions, however, completed their grisly mission and walked into a crowd of hundreds at Dikwa refugee camp in northeast Nigeria and blew themselves up, killing 58 people.

Later found by local self-defense forces, the girl's tearful account is one of the first indications that at least some of the child bombers used by Boko Haram are aware that they are about to die and kill others.

"She said she was scared because she knew she would kill people, but she was also frightened of going against the instructions of the men who brought her to the camp," said Modu Awami, a self-defense fighter who helped question the girl.

Her story was corroborated when she led soldiers to the unexploded vest, Awami said Thursday by phone from the refugee camp, which holds 50,000 people who have fled Boko Haram's Islamic uprising.

Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny Files Lawsuit Against Vladimir Putin

 Russian anti-corruption campaigner and opposition figure Alexei Navalny said on Thursday he had filed a lawsuit against Vladimir Putin after a company in which the Russian leader's son-in-law is a shareholder received $1.75 billion in state support.

The suit cited a Reuters investigation which reported that Putin's son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov, is a major shareholder in petrochemicals producer Sibur, which received $1.75 billion in funding from Russia's National Wealth Fund at an unusually low interest rate last year.

Navalny said Putin had violated Russian corruption laws by failing to declare a conflict of interest when he personally approved the financing. Navalny said he had filed the suit with the Tverskoi court, in Moscow.

In the suit, a copy of which was posted on his blog, Navalny asked the court to rule unlawful Putin's failure to act in preventing a conflict of interest.

It also asked the court to require Putin to recuse himself from any decisions about providing state funds for the Sibur project which benefited from the financing.

"Kirill Shamalov is the spouse of Putin's daughter. Putin giving money to a company where the beneficiary is his child's partner is a classic conflict of interest. Straight out of a textbook," Navalny wrote in a post on his blog.

Google Developing Virtual Reality Headset: Wall Street Journal

Google is developing a virtual reality headset that works without a smartphone or computer, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The headset will include a screen, high-powered processors and outward-facing cameras, the Journal reported, citing one person.

Alphabet Inc's Google currently sells a virtual reality device made of cardboard into which users slide in their mobile phones.

Since the launch in 2014, Google has shipped five million Google Cardboards.
The company declined to comment on the Journal report.

George W Bush To Make First Appearance For Brother Jeb Bush

Republican George W Bush on Monday will seek to give a fresh burst of enthusiasm to his brother Jeb Bush's White House bid in South Carolina, marking the former president's first appearance on the 2016 campaign trail.

George W Bush will appear with his younger brother at a rally in North Charleston, SC, early on Monday evening, the Jeb Bush campaign said on Thursday.

The 69-year-old former president is highly popular in the Republican Party and particularly among South Carolina Republicans, who supported his 2000 and 2004 races for president.

South Carolina has a sizable presence of US military facilities and military veterans who have supported the former commander-in-chief.

It will be the most public role George W Bush has taken to date in his brother's campaign. Jeb Bush brought his mother, Barbara Bush, on the campaign trail in New Hampshire last week.

George W Bush has headlined several private fundraisers for Jeb Bush and on Wednesday his voice was heard on a radio ad in South Carolina.

Francois Hollande Urges Russia To Stop Backing Bashar al-Assad

 French President Francois Hollande on Thursday called on Russia to stop harming civilians in Syria and reiterated calls for President Bashar al-Assad to leave power.

"I ask that the Russian actions stop because we have thousands of people displaced by the bombardments," Hollande said in a televised interview after a cabinet reshuffle in France. "We have to ensure that Bashar al-Assad leaves power."

He said that Assad was massacring his people, helped by Moscow. Hollande praised his new Foreign Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, as an experienced former prime minister suited to take over France's work in Syria, replacing Laurent Fabius.
 

3 Dead In Venezuela After Contracting Zika: President Nicolas Maduro

Three people have died in Venezuela from complications linked to Zika, President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday -- the first fatalities reported in the country in connection with the mosquito-borne virus.

Speaking on national television, Maduro said there were 319 confirmed cases of the virus in the South American country, adding: "Unfortunately we have had three deaths from Zika nationwide."

Maduro said 68 patients with complications "have been in intensive care," adding that the country had the necessary drugs to treat them.

Without providing any details, Maduro said that 5,221 suspected cases of Zika had been reported from November 5 until February 8.

Maduro's comments came as other South American countries are boosting efforts to contain the virus, which is thought to cause brain damage in babies.

The vast majority of Zika cases are mild but it has been linked to a rapid rise in the number of children born with microcephaly -- abnormally small heads and brains -- to mothers infected during pregnancy.

On January 28, Venezuelan Health Minister Luisana Melo said the country had recorded 4,700 suspected cases.

It was the first such toll from the government in the South American country of 30 million people, which is struggling with an economic and political crisis.

She added that Venezuela had also recorded 255 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological disorder that can cause paralysis or even death.

Doctors have warned that acute shortages of medicine and poor access to water -- which has led locals to store water in open containers thereby creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes -- threaten to exacerbate the outbreak of the virus.