GUILTY OF MURDER!!! South African Appeals Court Convicts Pistorius Of Murder

Oscar Pistorius

A South African appeals court on Thursday convicted Oscar Pistorius of murder, overturning a lower court's conviction of the double-amputee Olympian on the lesser charge of manslaughter for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp to death in 2013. Justice Lorimer Eric Leach of the Supreme Court of Appeal delivered the ruling by the five-judge appeals court in Bloemfontein and directed the trial court, the North Gauteng High Court, to impose sentence.

"The accused ought to have been found guilty of murder," Leach said to the courtroom, in which Steenkamp's mother sat.

Yaya Toure To Go On Trial For 'Speeding At 123mph' On M6

Yaya Toure is expected to give evidence

Manchester City star Yaya Toure is set to go on trial accused of speeding at more than 120mph on a motorway in a turbo-charged Porsche. The 32-year-old Côte d'Ivoire international is expected to give evidence during a trial at Burton Magistrates' Court in Staffordshire.

Wanted ‘Potential’ Child Suicide Bomber Arrested In IDP Camp

The youngest face on the photograph of 100-wanted Boko Haram suspect, Master Usman Modu Tella, 11 years old, was yesterday arrested by soldiers in one of the camps for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Maiduguri, Borno State, army authority has said. The young boy, who said he was in the camp to carry out suicide at attack at a future date, told those who apprehended him that some Boko Haram bomb experts had trained him and three other kids.

2-IN-1 STORY: Dasuki Lists Ex-Governors, PDP Chiefs In US$2b Deals; Okonjo-Iweala Denies Role In Arms Deals

Sambo Dasuki, former National Security Adviser

Former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki has made some “mind-boggling” revelations on the US$2billion “phony” arms contracts, a source said yesterday. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and a Federal Government committee are probing how huge sums of money meant for procurement of arms went down the drain during the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration.

FIFA Officials Again Subject Of Pre-Dawn Raids

FIFA Headquarters raid in May 28, 2015 (Image source: thenation.com)

The New York Times says Swiss authorities have conducted another series of pre-dawn raids and arrests as part of investigations into corruption in international soccer. 

Cambodian Doctor Guilty Of Infecting Patients With HIV

Yem Chroeum, 55, is escorted by Cambodian police officials at a court in Battambang province, on October 20, 2015 ©- (AFP)

An unlicensed Cambodian doctor was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday after he was found guilty of infecting more than 200 people with HIV, including some who later died. The case has shone a spotlight on the chronically underfunded healthcare system in the impoverished nation where many have to rely on self-taught or unlicensed medics to receive treatment.

14 Dead, More Than 17 Wounded In California Shooting

Armed police and armored vehicles were captured on live TV surrounding a black SUV near the Cornerstone Assembly of God church on San Bernardino Avenue - a mile and a half from the Inland Regional Center where the mass shooting occurred this morning. The dark vehicle was captured on broadcast helicopters with its windows apparently completely shot out and a smashed windscreen. (Image source: mailonline.com)

At least two heavily armed attackers opened fire on a holiday banquet at a social services centre for the disabled Wednesday, killing 14 people and seriously wounding more than a dozen others in a precision assault that looked "as if they were on a mission," authorities said. 

FOR THE RECORD: Zuckerberg Leads New Approach To Philanthropy

Mark Zuckerberg, chairman and chief executive of Facebook, and his wife Priscilla Chan The couple have said they plan to give away 99 percent of their fortune in Facebook stock to a new charity the couple were creating, while announcing the birth of their first child Max

Established donors line up to praise Facebook founder as he promises to give away his fortune

Mark Zuckerberg’s pledge to devote 99 per cent of his Facebook shares to philanthropic causes was immediately notable for its size - US$45billion at the current stock price - but the way he has crafted the promise may ultimately be as significant as the amount. By creating a limited liability company to use the money for political activism and for-profit investing, as well as traditional giving, Mr Zuckerberg revealed how a new generation of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs may approach the philanthropic world.

FOR THE RECORD: Adeosun To Establish Expenditure Benchmarks For MDAs

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has inaugurated a government spending control team called 'The Efficiency Unit' (E-Unit).

The Federal Government is to come up with new price benchmarks to drive its expenditure guidelines in the pursuit of cut in cost of governance. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, disclosed this while inaugurating the Efficiency Unit, E-UNIT, in Abuja, on Monday.

Her words: “We are going to issue a circular to all MDAs, saying, this is the cost of (a realm) paper and if you go above it, the Permanent Secretary or whoever is approving it must have a reason to say, for instance, in this area, this is the price.

“We are just trying to establish benchmarks and we believe in so doing, we are going to make everybody much more cost conscious on how they spend public funds. At the moment, there is no guideline and where there is no law, there is no sin. So we need to establish such guidelines to guide how people spend (government) money.”

‘Simply Don't Know Where They Are’: 14,000 Illegal Migrants Vanish, Swedish Police Say

© Janerik Henriksson / Reuters

About 14,000 illegal migrants, who were awaiting deportation, simply disappeared off the radar, Swedish police told local media, adding they “don’t know where these asylum seekers are.” At the end of October, Swedish police asked to enforce deportation of at least 21,748 people. Of these, 14 140 people registered by police as 'wanted' have vanished, police told Swedish Aftonbladet tabloid newspaper. 

"We simply don't know where they are," Patrik Engström, head of the national border police, said.

THE KING CAN DO NO WRONG! Zulu King 'Not Guilty' Of Fuelling Anti-Foreigner Attacks

The king (c) told foreigners to leave South Africa AFP

A preliminary investigation in South Africa has cleared the powerful Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini of inciting the anti-foreigner violence that swept through the country earlier this year.  The king had not made a call to arms, but was guilty of making “hurtful and harmful” comments against foreigners, the Human Rights Commission (HRC) said in a preliminary report.

Aung San Suu Kyi Meets Myanmar President, Army Chief For Power Shift Talks

President Thein Sein meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw on December 2, 2015 ©Myanmar News Agency (Myanmar News Agency/AFP)

Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi held talks Wednesday with the president and military chief about the handover of power, the first such discussions since her opposition party's election triumph. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won nearly 80 percent of contested seats in a November 8 election that appears set to end the military's decades-long chokehold on the country.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (L), Myanmar Commander In-Chief shakes hands with National League for Democracy (NLD) party leader Aung San Suu Kyi before their meeting in Naypyidaw on December 2, 2015 ©Soe Zeya Tun (Pool/AFP)

Immediately after the poll she had appealed for "national reconciliation" talks with President Thein Sein and the powerful army chief.

Once-Destitute US Couple Drops US$500,000 Check In Salvation Army Kettle

© Paul J. Richards / Reuters

A Minnesota, US couple who used to scrape by on thrown-away food from grocery stores put a check for US$500,000 in a Salvation Army collection pot. It may be the largest donation the charity has received anywhere in the US. The couple, who have chosen to remain unnamed, dropped the check in a distinctive red Salvation Army pot in front of a grocery store in Rosemount, Minnesota, about 20 miles south of Minneapolis.

“The check did clear and was deposited in the bank,” said spokeswoman Julie Borgen, declining to identify the mystery benefactors. “They feel very strongly about the gift being anonymous.”

Double Suicide Blast In Cameroon Kills At Least Three; Boko Haram: Cameroon Army Kills 100 Militant Fighters And Frees 900

Cameroonian soldiers patrolling in city of Waza, northern Cameroon. Cameroon's army says it has killed Boko Haram militants and detained 1,000 people suspected of links to the Islamist group. Getty Images

Suspected Boko Haram militants detonated two suicide bombs in north Cameroon overnight, killing at least three people, an official and security sources said on Wednesday. Suicide bombings, often carried out by young women recruited by the Islamist militant group in neighbouring Nigeria, are becoming almost daily occurrences in Cameroon's Far North region.

"There was a double suicide attack last night in Waza in the far north of Cameroon with a toll of six dead, including the three kamikazes (attackers)," said Michel Oumarou, deputy prefect for the town of Waza.

Nigeria Police Warn Biafra Activists

BBC

The police have warned members of a secessionist movement calling for the creation of the breakaway state of Biafra to stop "threatening public order". It follows a protest yesterday by activists of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) group in the south-east of the country. 

On Tuesday, police said protesters attempted to block the strategic bridge across the Niger river, which links the south-east with the rest of Nigeria and was the de facto border during the 1967-1970 civil war, Reuters news agency reports.

FOR THE RECORD: Canadian University Students Fear Deportation After Nigerian State Government Fails To Pay Tuition

Gift Amadi is a political science student at the University of Manitoba who says the Nigerian scholarship agency that sent him to Canada is failing to keep its promises. (Facebook)

Nigerian students say they are struggling to pay rent, eat without allowances from Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA). About $250,000 is owed to the University of Manitoba in tuition fees for students sponsored by a Nigerian government-funded scholarship program, according to the school administration.

UPDATE: Arms Deal: Dasuki, Bafarawa, Dokpesi Arrested

L-R: Sambo Dasuki, Attahiru Bafarawa, Raymond Dokpesi (Image source: Daily Trust)

Former Sokoto state governor Attahiru Bafarawa and Chairman Africa Independent Television (AIT) Raymond Dokpesi, were also arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday in connection with the alleged ₦2 billion arms deal. Agents of Department of State Service (DSS) yesterday arrested former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, ending a three-week siege to his house in Abuja.

Mayor Of Alaska's Capital Found Dead One Month After Election

Greg Fisk © facebook.com

Juneau mayor Stephen ‘Greg’ Fisk was found dead one month into his three-year term. The police are investigating rumors of a possible assault. Fisk’s body was found at home by his adult son on Monday afternoon. Emergency services pronounced the 70-year-old dead at the scene.

Juneau Police Department acknowledged rumors of a possible assault. 

Southern India Flooding Closes Airport, Cuts Off Power

Indians help a man carry his two-wheeler on a cycle cart as they wade through a waterlogged subway in Chennai, India, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (Image source: www.accuweather.com)

Weeks of torrential rains have forced an airport in southern India to close and have cut off several roads and highways, leaving tens of thousands of people stranded in their homes, government officials said Wednesday. Junior Home Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters that the annual winter monsoon rains in Tamil Nadu state have been the heaviest the region has seen in decades. Army and naval rescue teams have joined several teams of National Disaster Response Force to help evacuate residents stranded in low-lying areas.

Guinean Ex-Transitional President Pleads Guilty To Smuggling Cash Into US

In this Sept. 21, 2010, photo, Guinea's acting President General Sekouba Konate salutes after addressing presidential candidates and elections officials at the People's Hall in Conakry, Guinea. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Sekouba Konate, ex-Guinea general who briefly served as the president of Guinea pleaded guilty Tuesday to smuggling tens of thousands of dollars in cash into the U.S. Sekouba Konate, 51, had been scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on charges of bulk cash smuggling and making false statements. Instead, he entered a guilty plea that could result in a prison sentence of up to five years when he is sentenced in February.