Nigeria's army on Wednesday released nearly 1,000 detainees, some of whom had been held for years, after clearing them of having links to the Boko Haram jihadist group.
A total of 983 people incarcerated in a military facility in the northeast city of Maiduguri were handed over to civilian officials for "rehabilitation and integration".
Commander Olusegun Adeniyi said at a ceremony that those released had been "screened, investigated and cleared".
The freed inmates, including five women, were handed over to the Borno state governor Babagana Umara Zulum at Giwa military barracks in the city.
Zulum said those released were not Boko Haram jihadists but suspects who "after due diligence and investigation" were "cleared of the offenses they were accused of committing".
Rights groups have accused the military of indiscriminate mass arrests of innocent citizens during the decade-long fight against the jihadist insurgency in northeast Nigeria.
Activists have criticised conditions inside the ..

Nigeria army frees hundreds of cleared 'Boko Haram' suspects

PTI Automatic

A 49-carat diamond which analysts estimate to be worth up to $12 million was among over a dozen jewel-encrusted items snatched from a German state museum in a spectacular heist, the museum confirmed Wednesday.
Publishing a list of the pieces taken in Monday's brazen raid, the Green Vault museum at Dresden's royal palace said the items stolen included a sword whose hilt is encrusted with nine large and 770 smaller diamonds, and a shoulderpiece which contains the famous 49-carat Dresden white diamond.
Eleven pieces were removed completely, while individual parts of a further three items were also missing.
The Dresden white is one of the most precious jewels in the collection of former Saxon ruler August the Strong.
Tobias Kormind, managing director of the diamond retailer 77Diamonds, told AFP that it could be worth up to $10 or $12 million, adding that thieves would have "hit the jackpot" if they did take it.
"None of the diamonds would have been in themselves extra special except for ..

German museum confirms 49-carat diamond among heist haul

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the United Arab Emirates Wednesday, as efforts to end the nearly five-year war in Yemen gain momentum.
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are close allies and key members of a military coalition backing the government in Yemen against the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels.
But an Emirati drawdown in July followed by fighting in southern Yemen between UAE-backed separatists and the government -- still backed by Riyadh -- had exposed rifts between the two Gulf powerhouses.
Earlier this month, a power-sharing agreement brokered by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi was reached between the southern secessionists and the Yemeni government.
This has raised hopes for peace talks to end the war in Yemen's main theatre, between the coalition backed central government and the Huthis.
The Saudi crown prince's visit reflects "agreement between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh... in addressing regional challenges", the official UAE state news agency WAM reported.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin 

Saudi crown prince visits UAE amid push to end Yemen war

More than a hundred Syrian refugees arrived in Rome on Wednesday, the latest wave of refugees from the war-torn country to be escorted to safety in Europe.
The 113 men, women and children arrived at Rome's Fiumicino airport from Lebanon where church groups had arranged their safe passage out of refugee camps.
"Viva Italy," shouted the approximately 30 children among the group, as a host families and volunteers greeted the new arrivals - some of them family members -- with smiles and tears.
"These kids have only known the war and refugee camps. But now they'll have a future in Italy," said Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Community of Sant'Egidio, which together with the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy (FCEI) and the Waldensian Evangelical Church, organised and financed the safe passage.
Since 2016, the groups have together brought over 3,000 Syrians to Italy, France, Belgium and Andorra, 1,800 of them to Italy alone.
For the new arrivals, the network provides housing ...

113 Syrian refugees welcomed in Italy

The US and Britain on Wednesday expressed concern over elections in Tanzania where strongman President John Magufuli's party won 99 percent of seats, saying the vote lacked credibility.
The long-ruling CCM party ran almost entirely unopposed in local government polls on November 24.
The opposition boycotted, citing violence and intimidation that rights groups say have become a hallmark of Magufuli's leadership.
His party clinched most of the 16,000 seats for street and village leaders -- influential posts essential for grassroots campaigning ahead of next year's presidential elections in which Magufuli is expected to run again.
Chadema, the main opposition party, refused to take part, saying their candidates were fearful or disqualified from running by stringent rules used to block them.
Five other smaller parties also joined the boycott.
Washington and London said Tanzania's refusal to provide accreditation to respected election monitors ahead of the poll eroded confidence in the ...

Tanzania elections irregular, lacked credibility: US, UK

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the UEFA president Wednesday that his country would do its best to organise the Euro 2020 football tournament as Moscow risks a possible four-year doping ban.
"We will do everything not to let down you, fans and players," Putin told Aleksander Ceferin in Saint Petersburg, which is due to host four games in the finals.
On Tuesday, a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) source said however that the Euro 2020 football tournament would be excluded from the potential ban.
Saint Petersburg is one of 12 locations across Europe scheduled to host matches in next year's tournament.
"This will be a special championship," Putin said.
"This means a lot for us because when the first championship took place 60 years ago, the Soviet Union team won," the Russian leader added, referring to the first European Football Championship.
Ceferin for his part praised the country's ability to host major sporting events.  Stressing that he was not a diplomat, Ceferin said that ...

Putin says Russia 'will do everything' not to let down UEFA, fans

A pair of storms packing heavy snow and hurricane-force winds wreaked havoc Wednesday for Americans on the move for the Thanksgiving holiday.
On one of the busiest travel days of the year in America -- an estimated 55 million people planning to drive or fly -- highways in the West and Midwest were closed because of snow and hundreds of flights were canceled.
A cherished staple -- giant, colorful character balloons floating through Manhattan during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade -- might be grounded for Thursday's festivities because of gusting winds in the Big Apple.
"An extremely active weather pattern is in place across much of the US," the National Weather Service said.
A snow storm that caused near white-out blizzard conditions in Colorado dumped a foot of snow in Wyoming on Tuesday, and was barreling eastward toward the Great Lakes region in the central US.
Ploughs worked through the night at the airport in Minneapolis, a snow-savvy city girding for possibly its biggest ...

Storms snarl Thanksgiving travel in US

Atletico Madrid's Portuguese international Joao Felix was named the winner of the 'Golden Boy' trophy on Wednesday, awarded by Italian newspaper Tuttosport to the best under-21 footballer in Europe.
The 20-year-old forward took the prize ahead of Borussia Dortmund's English winger Jadon Sancho and Bayer Leverkusen's German midfielder Kai Havertz.
He succeeds Dutch defender Matthijs De Ligt, who won last year while playing for Ajax before moving to Juventus.
Felix moved from Benfica this season to Atletico Madrid on a transfer worth around 120 million euros ($131 million).
He scored 15 goals for Benfica last season, and this season has scored three goal for Atletico.
"Thank you to everyone at Tuttosport for the Golden Boy 2019 Award, I am very proud," he said in a video message.
"It's the second time that an Atletico Madrid player has won this trophy and I am very happy.
"Thank you also to Benfica, in particular my coach Bruno Lage for all he did for me, and my family for always ...

Portugal's Joao Felix wins 'Golden Boy' award

The German army was hit by another equipment problem  Wednesday, as it was forced to keep its new Airbus Sea Lion helicopter on the ground because key technical documents were riddled with irregularities.
The Bundeswehr took delivery of the first N90 Sea Lion chopper a month ago, but "because of the inadequate and incomplete documentation, it is not possible" for the Navy's personnel to fly the helicopters.
Irregularities were found in "well over 150 positions" in the technical documentation that describes how to use, maintain and repair the chopper.
"In all, these are considerable errors that do not permit the safe operation of the flight for the moment," added the army.
The Bundeswehr has ordered a total of 18 Sea Lion helicopters with deliveries set to be completed by 2022.
The latest equipment setback is just one in a long-list of embarrassing problems plaguing the German army.
Just two weeks ago, the air force said it refused delivery of two Airbus A400M transport planes due to ..

German army grounds new chopper in fresh hardware woes

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said his sanctions-hit country had foiled a "very dangerous" plot after violent demonstrations triggered by a fuel price hike.
New York-based Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, accused Tehran of "deliberately covering up" more than 100 deaths and thousands of arrests during the crackdown.
The demonstrations first flared on November 15, hours after a midnight shock announcement that petrol prices would immediately go up by as much as 200 percent in the Islamic republic.
A near-total internet blockout was imposed as the protests turned violent, with police stations attacked, petrol pumps torched and shops looted.
Connectivity was restored for much of the country after the unrest was quashed within days, and mobile access was returning late Wednesday.
The outage had apparently been enforced to temper shows of dissent and stem the flow of videos of violence being shared online.
But it also made it difficult to know the full extent of ..

Iran supreme leader says 'very dangerous' plot foiled

Thirteen people were killed Wednesday in eastern DR Congo by an armed group blamed for a string of massacres that have sparked deadly protests against the UN's peacekeeping mission, officials said.
Thirteen people near the town of Oicha, 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the city of Beni, were "killed at dawn," the spokesman for the UN mission MONUSCO told AFP, while local administrator Donat Kibwana said 14 bodies had arrived at the Oicha morgue.
"The army is already at the site and is pursuing" the attackers, Kibwana said by phone from Oicha.
Ninety-four civilians in the Beni area have been killed by armed groups since November 5, following the launch of an offensive by the country's army, according to the Congo Research Group (CRG), a not-for-profit organisation.
The "vast majority" of killings have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a notorious militia that has plagued eastern DR Congo since the 1990s, a CRG specialist said.
Fear and anger have prompted local ...

Thirteen killed by suspected militia in troubled east DR Congo

Teenager Angela Ndungwa Munguti became the 43rd Kenyan runner suspended for doping this year when she was handed a four-year ban, announced by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) on Wednesday.
Munguti, a 17-year-old former African Youth Games 800m silver medallist tested positive for Norandrosterone, a metabolite of anabolic steroid Nandrolone, the AIU, the independent anti-doping watchdog for track and field, said in its decision.
The drug showed up in a sample taken on 7 October 2018 in an out-of-competition doping control programme at the Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
Her ban is from the date of the test.
Munguti, the first Kenyan teenager to be banned for doping, joins a growing list of runners from the running powerhouse to fail drug tests.
Forty-three Kenyan athletes, including the women's 2016 Olympic marathon champion Jemima Sumgong and three-time World 1,500m winner Asbel Kiprop have been banned this year.
Earlier in November, two top long distances athletes, Abraham .

Kenyan 17-year-old Angela Munguti given four-year drug ban

Eden Hazard's ankle injury is not as serious as first feared, with Real Madrid confirming on Wednesday he only suffered "bruising" during Tuesday's draw against Paris Saint-Germain.
Hazard was forced off in the second half of the 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu with Real coach Zinedine Zidane saying afterwards the Belgian had twisted his ankle.
But Hazard is expected to return within two weeks, meaning he should be fit for the first Clasico of the season against Barcelona at Camp Nou on December 18.
"After the tests performed on our player Eden Hazard by the Real Madrid medical services he has been diagnosed with bruising in his right leg," Real Madrid said in a statement.
Hazard will miss Madrid's game away at Alaves in La Liga on Saturday but could be back for their last Champions League group match against Club Brugge on December 11.
In between, Madrid play at home to Espanyol in the league on December 7.
Brugge's draw with Galatasaray on Tuesday means Zidane's team are ...

Relief for Real Madrid over Hazard injury

Manchester City want to keep Pep Guardiola at the helm for many years to come, says the English champions chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
Guardiola -- who stayed for four seasons with Barcelona and three terms with Bayern Munich -- took over at City in 2016 and is under contract till 2021.
The Spaniard -- who has guided City to successive league titles and an unprecedented domestic treble last term -- nipped speculation in the bud that he would leave at the end of this campaign by saying last week he wanted to stay longer.
This season has been a testing one for him in the title race, though, with Liverpool holding a nine point lead over City with just over a third of the campaign gone.
Whilst they reached the knockout stages of the Champions League on Tuesday they still have hanging over them a possible ban from the competition next season over allegedly breaching UEFA's financial fair play rules.
Al Mubarak said Guardiola was much more than just a great manager and he would like him to 

City want to keep Guardiola for years to come, says chairman

Spain's returning coach Luis Enrique described his predecessor Robert Moreno as "disloyal" on Wednesday and confirmed he will not be part of his coaching team for Euro 2020.
Moreno was removed as coach last week to make way for Luis Enrique's return, despite Moreno leading Spain through an unbeaten qualifying campaign that ended with a 5-0 thrashing of Romania.
After the game, Moreno did not appear for his post-match press conference and reportedly left the players' dressing room in tears.
He had been promoted from assistant to head coach after Luis Enrique resigned in June to take care of his daughter, Xana, who died in August of cancer.
Luis Enrique and Moreno had been close friends after previously working together at Barcelona, Celta Vigo and Roma.
"The only one responsible for Moreno not being part of my staff is me," said Luis Enrique at his unveiling on Wednesday.
"The disagreement came on September 12, it is the only day I had contact with him. He called me and we met at my ...

No place for 'disloyal' Moreno in Spanish coaching team, says Enrique

The Kremlin on Wednesday said it regrets a proposed four-year ban for the country's athletes over doping but Russia is still open to cooperation to resolve the scandal.
"This is definitely concerning information. We regret this," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Anti-doping watchdog WADA's compliance review committee on Monday recommended a four-year sporting ban over falsified lab data it received from Russia.
If WADA chiefs adopt the review committee's recommendations, Russia faces exclusion from key sporting events including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In the Kremlin's first reaction, Peskov stressed that Moscow was still open to cooperation with international authorities.
"You know the Russian sporting authorities have been, are and will remain as open as possible to cooperation and collaboration with the international sporting community and also with WADA," he said.
The doping scandal has tainted Russia's sporting reputation for the last five ...

Risking doping ban, Russia pledges 'cooperation'

The parent company of Premier League champions Manchester City has been given a global record sports valuation of ?3.73 billion ($4.8 billion) after US equity firm Silver Lake acquired just over 10 percent of the company on Wednesday.
Silver Lake have signed a definitive agreement to make a ?389 million ($500 million) investment in City Football Group (CFG).
CFG, which has a stake in seven football clubs globally, including in the US, Australia, Japan and China, already has 12 percent of its equity held by a consortium of Chinese institutional investors led by Chinese media and entertainment conglomerate CMC Inc.
California-based Silver Lake has moved into entertainment in recent years after being primarily known for investing in technology companies such as Alibaba, Dell and Skype.
CFG chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement the investment would help the company grow.
"We and Silver Lake share the strong belief in the opportunities being presented by the convergence of ...

Manchester City owners in record valuation after US investment

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has acquired roughly a quarter of the shares in Stockholm-based football team Hammarby, the club said Wednesday.
The 38-year-old former Juventus, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United forward has bought 50 percent of American sporting and entertainment company Anschutz Entertainment Group's (AEG) stake in the Swedish team, according to a separate statement by AEG.
AEG also owns LA Galaxy where Ibrahimovic has played the last two MLS seasons, although he has confirmed he will leave when his contract runs out at the end of the year.
Ibrahimovic had hinted that something was in the works earlier this week when he posted a short video on Instagram showing a football jersey in Hammarby's colours and the name Ibrahimovic on the back.
He said he would not have a playing role for Hammarby.
"For 10 years I've said I won't return to Allsvenskan (Sweden's top league). It's not going to happen," he told sports magazine Sportbladet.
"I had agreed with the team ...

Ibrahimovic invests in Swedish club Hammarby

Amnesty International warned on Wednesday that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government had built a "parallel justice system" to crack down on critics and dissent.
The London-based rights watchdog said the key tools of repression were the Supreme State Security Prosecution service, known as the SSSP, as well as counter-terrorism courts and special police forces.
"In Sisi's Egypt, all critics of the government are seen as potential terrorists," Amnesty's France director Katia Roux said at the launch of the 60-page report in Paris.
"The situation is getting worse. Repression is hardening." In its report entitled "Permanent State of Exception", Amnesty said it had observed a sharp rise in cases prosecuted by the SSSP -- from 529 in 2013 to 1,739 cases last year.
The prosecution -- which deals with activities deemed threats to state security -- regularly probes political dissidents and Islamist figures including from the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
Philip Luther, ...

Amnesty warns of Egypt's 'parallel justice system'

At least 13 people were killed in a new massacre near the eastern DR Congo city of Beni, blamed on a notorious militia, a local official and a UN source said.
"We have the figure of 13 killed at dawn," a spokesman for the UN mission in the country, MONUSCO, told AFP, while local administrator Donat Kibwana said by telephone that 14 bodies had arrived at a morgue north of the city.

At least 13 dead in new massacre near east DR Congo's Beni: local govt, UN

At least two demonstrators were shot dead in Baghdad during clashes between protesters and security forces Wednesday, Iraqi medical and security sources said.
An AFP correspondent at the scene reported volleys of gunfire from behind concrete barricades where security forces were deployed.
The capital's historic Rasheed Street and its nearby colonnaded alleys where riot police have clashed with demonstrators has become a major flashpoint.
Young demonstrators donned helmets and medical masks to face off with security forces unleashing tear gas.
In southern Iraq, protesters sealed off streets with burning tyres as schools and public offices stayed shut a day after anti-government rallies descended into bloodshed.
For nearly two months, the capital and Shiite-majority south have been gripped by the largest protests since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The street violence has left more than 350 people dead and around 15,000 wounded since the start of October.

AFP

AFP

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