Clooney's fiancee named to UN Gaza inquiry team!

Hollywood star George Clooney's fiancee Amal Alamuddin is to join fellow human rights experts probing Israel's Gaza offensive, the United Nations said Monday.

The Lebanese-born British lawyer was one of three top experts appointed to a commission of inquiry by the UN Human Rights Council, which ordered the investigation last month.

Alamuddin's family, who are from Lebanon's Druze community, fled to Britain during the country's 1975-1990 civil war.

The 36-year-old, who is fluent in Arabic, French and English, studied at a French school in London and holds degrees from Oxford and New York University.

She is reportedly due to wed 53-year-old Clooney -- who is known both for his acting and his peace campaigning -- in Italy in September.

News that she had stolen the heart of one of Hollywood's most celebrated bachelors caused an international media frenzy back in April.

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Alamuddin is no stranger to international investigations and conflicts.

She worked with the international tribunal examining the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri and assisted ex-UN head Kofi Annan in efforts to make peace in Syria.

Among her legal clients have been Ukraine's former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and the controversial founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange.

The other members of the inquiry team are Doudou Diene of Senegal, who has previously served as the UN's watchdog on racism and on post-conflict Ivory Coast, and Canadian international lawyer William Schabas.

In the face of fierce opposition from Israel and the United States, the 47-member UN Human Rights Council voted on July 23 to create the commission of inquiry.

The decision came after a marathon seven-hour emergency session of the top UN human rights body, where the Israelis and the Palestinians traded accusations over war crimes.

The probe team has been tasked with reporting back to the council by March.

FBI to Conduct Probe Into Missouri Teen's Shooting!

The Federal Bureau of Investigation opened a probe Monday into the shooting of an unarmed teenager in this St. Louis suburb, as business owners cleaned up from a night of looting and widespread property damage and local officials called for calm.

The FBI will conduct a parallel investigation to one already under way by St. Louis county police officials into a shooting by a Ferguson police officer that left Michael Brown dead. The FBI review will focus on possible civil-rights violations in the shooting of the 18-year-old black male, a federal law-enforcement official said. 

Mr. Brown's death on Saturday touched off protests in the community, with a vigil Sunday night giving way to mass looting and property destruction. Police reported arresting 32 people as they responded to thousands of calls, including reports of shots fired and looting at stores such as Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Foot Locker.

"We had a tremendous amount of property damage. And as it was, we had no injuries or fatalities," said St. Louis County Police chief Jon Belmar, who had 500 officers on scene to help quell the unrest.

Protests continued Monday in this city of about 21,000 residents, two-thirds of whom are black. Outside police headquarters, a small group of protesters confronted officers in riot gear, including shields and batons. Many local businesses were closed for the day.

One protester held a sign that said, "Mike Brown was shot multiple times in cold blood and unarmed!! Justice 4 Mike.

" Some protesters were holding their hands up when they saw police, saying "Hands up, don't shoot," which became a rallying cry.

Protesters said there has been a history of tension between Ferguson police and African-American residents. Rika Tyler, a 21-year-old student, came out to protest the shooting, which happened near where she was babysitting over the weekend.

"I always hear about the police doing things like this, but I saw the body and I thought I have to get out and do something," she said. "I feel like it could have been me."

The shooting is garnering national attention from civil-rights activists. Rev. Alsharpton said he's been in touch with Mr. Brown's family and stands with them as they look to a achieve a fair investigation and justice. Florida attorney Benjamin L. Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American shot to death by a Florida neighborhood watchman, has been hired by family of Mr. Brown.

County officials called for calm Monday, and while they didn't expect further looting, officers stood ready to respond. St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said steps were being taken to keep residents safe and businesses protected in the days ahead. He added that while people were frustrated, they need to be patient because of the complexities surrounding the investigation.

"I want the truth, and you want the truth," Mr. Dooley said at a news conference Monday. "As we go forward, we have to remember this is going to be an open and transparent process. It is not going to be a quick process."

Authorities said the shooting occurred around noon Saturday, when a Ferguson police officer encountered two men in the street.

When the officer tried to exit his vehicle, Mr. Belmar said one of the two, an 18-year-old male, pushed the officer back into the cruiser. The suspect allegedly assaulted the officer in the car and the two struggled over his gun. 

At least one shot was fired inside the vehicle. A few moments later, Mr. Belmar said the officer allegedly fired multiple shots outside the vehicle that killed the suspect, about 35 feet away from the cruiser. The shell casings recovered all belonged to the police officer's gun.

Police haven't identified the officer involved in the shooting. The officer has been placed on leave.

Source: The wall Street Journal

USA Today and Abati - Two Views On the Chibok Abduction!

When a vicious militant group kidnapped nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls in April, much of the world was outraged. The Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls went viral, spawning broad concern from people around the globe -- and smug derision from critics of digital advocacy.

Four months later, about 60 of the girls have managed to escape and the rest remain missing. The world has mostly moved on, distracted by such events as wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the shoot down of a Malaysian jetliner and the immigration crisis at the U.S. border.

But amid all the horrors that regularly compete for the world's attention, this one shouldn't be forgotten.

For one thing, the teenage captives are symbols of the importance of educating girls. They were all seized after returning to school in a dangerous area to take their final exams. Among them are future lawyers, doctors and teachers -- women who could someday help lead their country.

For another, there's evidence that the international uproar might have helped raise the cost of harming the girls too high even for Boko Haram, an extremist group that regularly kidnaps and kills in its quest to bring a brutal form of fundamentalist Islam to parts of Africa.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that U.S. surveillance flights spotted large groups of girls, suspected of being the captives, in remote parts of Nigeria. That dovetails with reports that Boko Haram -- whose name means "Western education is forbidden" -- is treating at least some of the kidnapped girls with unusual care.

Leaders of the group, after first warning that the girls would be sold into slavery, later offered to trade them for Boko Haram prisoners held by the Nigerian government. The world's focus on the girls has made them both valuable pawns and risky victims.

The response of the Nigerian government, which has often seemed overmatched in its five-year struggle with Boko Haram, doesn't inspire much confidence. President Goodluck Jonathan at first largely ignored the incident, then claimed activists invented it, and finally yielded to pressure to accept international assistance.

Jonathan, in Washington this week for a U.S.-Africa summit, says his government is making every effort to find the girls. But he offers no evidence, is dismissive of the foreign help and argues that divulging any details could compromise the mission.

Jonathan has said repeatedly that a military operation to free the girls would probably result in the deaths of many, all but ruling it out. In the place of military action is bargaining, and Nigerian leaders have sent ambiguous signals about who is negotiating and what's on the table.

The challenge of fighting militants who casually sacrifice civilian lives in the name of religion isn't confined to Nigeria. American forces have struggled inconclusively with extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a decade.

The world's anger can sometimes seem a weak candle next to the flame of intolerance and murder, but in the case of the captive Nigerian schoolgirls, it's important to keep it burning.

The Guardian-Lagos

Asari Dokubo Denies Assassination Plot!

A Nigerian youth leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, (NDPVF), has denied allegations he planned the recent bombings in Kaduna to assassinate former president Muhammadu Buhari, ahead of next year's general elections.

Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari says the accusations against him are a calculated attempt by opponents of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) to undermine his support for President Goodluck Jonathan in the run-up to the vote.

"This thing is preposterous and is so laughable," said Dokubo-Asari. "What do I have to do with Buhari? Is Buhari a threat to Goodluck Jonathan's ambitions? These people are so desperate that they can go to any level to make accusations."

Dokubo-Asari cited his arrest last year in Benin where he was accused of being the leader and a financier of Boko Haram, as well as engaged in money laundering among other charges. He said the latest accusations are politically motivated by opponents of the president.

"It has far-reaching political implications. You remember that there was a report... that I was leader of Boko Haram, I was arrested, it was investigated it was found to be false," said Dokubo-Asari. "They know that whatever they are doing against Goodluck Jonathan will fail. And they know that if I am around in 2015, I will be a major stumbling block to whatever they are plotting against Goodluck Jonathan."

Buhari who is a leading member of the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) survived two explosions that reportedly targeted his convoy in Kaduna last month. The blasts left at least 50 people dead and scores injured.

The government has launched an investigation into the twin bomb blasts. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack although the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram has been blamed. The group has often threatened the former president's life.

Dokubo-Asari says he supports efforts by the administration to fully investigate the circumstances that led to the attack. But he expressed doubts about the alleged assassination attempt describing it as "stage-managed."

"I have written to the state security service that this must be done and I think it should be investigated," said Dokubo-Asari.

Officials of the opposition APC say the party is not to blame for the accusation against Dokubo-Asari.

They dismissed Dokubo-Asari's description that the twin bomb blast was stage-managed. The APC also called for an independent investigation into the alleged assassination attempt on Buhari's life.

Buhari is seen by some analysts as a strong contender to lead the APC as the presidential candidate in next year's election.
Source: VOA

The 'Cures' Offered to Date for Ebola Are Simply Hoaxes!

Will bathing in hot water and salt save you from Ebola? Or eating kola nuts? Perhaps a homeopathic solution concocted from rattlesnake venom? These 'cures' are exploitative hoaxes.

Will bathing in hot water and salt save you from Ebola? Or eating kola nuts? Perhaps a homeopathic solution concocted from rattlesnake venom? These are some of the claims that have gone viral as the death toll exacted by the Ebola virus in West Africa has mounted in recent weeks.

Are these in fact cures, palliative treatments or simply hoaxes? A number of readers asked us to check the claims they made.

What is Ebola?

Ebola is an often deadly virus which claimed its first known victims in 1976 in what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Since then, outbreaks have primarily been confined to Central Africa but in February 2014, a new outbreak was found in the southeastern forests of Guinea. And since then it has spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and more recently Nigeria.

As of 6 August 2014, the World Health Organisation has recorded 1,779 confirmed or probable cases, resulting in 961 deaths, and declared an "international health emergency".

The "possible consequences of further international spread are particularly serious in view of the virulence of the virus, the intensive community and health facility transmission patterns, and the weak health systems in the currently affected and most at-risk countries," the WHO warned.

Is there a cure?

Other than time, there is as yet no known cure. As the science writer David Quammen, who has investigated the origins and spread of the virus, writes RNA viruses such as Ebola "produce acute infections, severe for a short time and then gone. Either they soon disappear or they kill you."

Currently, researchers are working on a vaccination, with pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline announcing that they hope to start with clinical trials in humans later this year. An experimental drug given to two American missionary workers is also raising hopes. But, for now, there is no cure.

What about 'cures' and 'treatments' offered online?

In Nigeria last week, a rumour was spread online and via a BBM message that bathing in warm, salty water was an effective treatment.

"Please ensure that you and your family and all your neighbours bath with hot water and salt before daybreak today because of Ebola virus which is spreading through the air," the message read.

A Twitter user from Lagos relayed another version of the rumour: "Mum got this text msg. 'Take Your Bath With Dettol, Salt & Hot Water Before 7am 2day, Ebola Is Now Air-Borne 4 More Text EbolaNews to 35777' "

Earlier, Nigeria's The Sun newspaper reported that "a plant has been found to halt the deadly Ebola virus in its tracks in laboratory tests". They were referring to kola nuts. But the story was simply a recycled BBC report from 1998 which reported on research at that time suggesting that extracts from kola nuts might offer a solution. Medical groups later refuted the claims.

Over the weekend, a popular blogger outlined a number of what he described as homeopathic "remedies" that were "highly effective in epidemics", telling readers "you will find the means to help you survive an Ebola virus infection" on his blog.

Source:Africacheck

Nigeria, Others to Have Largest Working-Age Population By 2035'!

McKinsey & Co, a global management consulting firm has predicted that the working-age population of Nigeria and other African countries will be the largest in the world by 2035.

The New York-based company specifically stated in a report titled "Lions Go Global: Deepening Africa's Ties to the United States," that the working-age population in Africa would be larger than that of China or India by 2035.

It pointed out that in a world where many countries are aging, including China, Africa stands out for the relative youthfulness of its population-a potential demographic dividend. However, it noted that the task ahead would be for Africa's leaders to bolster education and provide young people with the skills they need to secure employment, and to accelerate job creation.

In 2012, only 29 percent of Africa's labor force had stable, wage-paying jobs. The rest were employed in a variety of self-employment and household enterprises, scraping a living from subsistence agriculture or informal jobs in urban areas.

"Africa's trade ties with the world are expanding. In 2012, the continent's flows of goods, services, and finance were worth $1.6 trillion, or 82 per cent of gross democratic product (GDP), up from just $400 billion, or 60 percent of GDP, in 2000. 

"As in other countries, goods flows are Africa's largest, with inflows and outflows worth $1 trillion in 2012. Flows of services and finance are smaller, totaling around $300 billion each," it noted.

Although commodities continue to be a large share of Africa's exports, they account for less than half of goods exported by the continent. Capital-intensive goods, labor-intensive manufactured goods, and knowledge-intensive manufactured goods together comprise the majority of the continent's exports.

This, the report noted is a clear sign of structural change in Africa's economies, adding that the shift toward manufacturing and services needs to be accelerated.

It pointed out that in many African countries; the share of manufacturing in the economy had been stagnant or even declining over the past decade.

"Today may present a historic opportunity to boost Africa's goods flows even further. As wages rise in China, production is shifting to lower-wage Asian economies-and to some African countries.

"Manufacturing already receives most of the FDI in some countries including Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, Mozambique, and Egypt. "On current trends, manufacturing is set to create eight million jobs by 2020, a testament to wages and productivity levels that are competitive with other global low-cost manufacturing hubs," the report stated.

According to the report, evidence showed that productivity of African workers in well-managed factories was comparable with that in other countries.

However, it noted that Africa was yet to be fully engaged in the global economy as its potential suggests it could be.

The new McKinsey Global Institute Connectedness Index ranks countries based on goods, services, finance, people, and data and communication flows. The index shows that Africa ranks the lowest of any region in the world on its connections to the global economy.

Source: ThisDay news

Newly Wed Nurse Is Ebola Case No 10!

According to reports, a newly wed nurse who treated Patrick Sawyer in hospital is the 10th confirmed case to test positive for Ebola virus disease, 22 days after the disease hit Nigeria.

The nurse joined seven others in quarantine and treatment after she was diagnosed at the weekend, but her husband is under surveillance, health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said.

Some 177 people are now under surveillance, up from 139 announced Friday.

Treatment of the eight people quarantined in past weeks has primarily involved antibiotics, electrolytes replacement to combat dehydration in the absence of definite response from the United States for experimental drug ZMapp, which was administered to two American doctors who contracted the virus in Liberia.

But Chukwu said the eight on treatment were responding and getting "ready to go."

Case fatality rate for Ebola in Nigeria still is under 30% in Nigeria, compared with 55% in the three other affected countries in West Africa where death toll from the disease nears 1,000.

Chukwu said Nigeria and its partners in the subregion would continue struggle against ebola but would not close its borders until it absolutely has to.

He ruled out possibility that Sawyer's deliberate evasion of authorities and trip which imported Ebola to Nigeria would be construed as a diplomatic incident.

"The Liberian Government has expressed its deepest sympathies and regrets that Mr. Sawyer had even embarked on this tragic journey, which has brought needless sufferings, death and has placed an unnecessary stress on our health system," he said.

"In the same spirit, we share in solidarity, the grief of the governments and people of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone as we confront this challenge together."

Source: Daily Trust