AL-QAEDA REBELS IN SYRIA TELL CHRISTIANS TO LEAVE OR DIE

The Islamist rebels running the northern Syrian city of Raqqa have made the Christians living in the area an offer they can’t refuse: pay for protection, convert to Islam, or “face the sword. In a statement posted to Jihadi websites and signed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-designated emir of the future Islamic caliphate of Raqqa, as well as the founder of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] rebel brigade, Christians are urged to pay a tax in order to continue living under ISIS’s protection. The terms are simple: twice a year wealthy Christians must pay the equivalent of half an ounce of gold — about $664 by today’s market value. Middle-class Christians have to come up with half that sum, and poor Christians can get away with paying a quarter, or about $166.

      Terrorism analyst Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi offers a translation of the statement for the Syria Comment blog. ISIS’s so-called “dhimmi pact,” which refers to an ancient piece of legislation that allowed Christians and Jews to live and practice their religion in Islamic kingdoms as long as they paid a tax and submitted to specific rules, lays out what they can expect in return. Their churches will not be attacked, their wealth will not be confiscated, and they will not be physically harmed. They will have the right to practice their religion — as long as they keep their crosses, their Bibles and their churches out of sight. They are not allowed to ring bells, evangelize or pray within earshot of a Muslim, nor are they allowed to sell pork and alcohol to Muslims or bear arms.

         Raqqa, the only Syrian city completely under rebel control, was seized by ISIS in May. Since then the group, which was an al-Qaeda franchise until last month, when it was expelled for being too radical, has attempted to establish a new Islamic kingdom governed by laws dating back to the days of the Prophet Mohammad and his successors. www.newssporteducation.blogspot.com Fierce battles between ISIS and other rebel groups aligned against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad over the direction of the revolution have resulted in some 2,000 dead over the past few months. ISIS’s latest dictate will raise hackles, but there is little that the other rebel groups can do, short of opening another front in their war.

        In the statement, ISIS members said that some 20 Christian leaders had already agreed to the terms. It’s a figure that has many scratching their heads. Before the Syrian conflict started three years ago, less than one percent of Raqqa’s 300,000 population was Christian. Most of those Christians had already fled by the time ISIS moved in. “I find it hard to believe that after all that happened, there are any Christians at all left in Raqqa,” says Bassel, a 36-year-old Christian from nearby Aleppo, who asked to use only one name in order to protect his family still in Syria. To Bassel, the attention the statement has garnered outweighs the impact and has diverted attention from more important issues, like civilian casualties. The Syrian regime has long used Islamists’ threats against Christians and other minorities to justify their assertion that all rebels are terrorists. ISIS, on the other hand, gets to highlight its Islamist bona fides. Christians, says Bassel, are an easy way to focus the world’s attention.

JOINT TAX FORCE JTF ARREST 8 SUSPECTS

Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield, on Sunday said that it arrested eight suspected oil thieves and destroyed 17 illegal refineries in multiple raids. A statement issued by Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, Media Coordination of JTF in Yenagoa, said the anti-oil theft raids were conducted from Feb. 11 to Feb. 18. Nwachukwu said that several items were seized during the operation in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Edo. He said that the JTF troops in Edo and Delta destroyed five illegal oil distillation sites and 40 boats and seized 300 metal tanks, 64 plastic storage tanks, 72 drums and 68 cooking ovens. He added that four pumping machines and one Lister Generator were seized at Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta.

            The spokesman said the troops also intercepted a locally made tug boat conveying 30 drums of stolen petroleum at Ajide on Benin River in Edo. He said that six suspects were arrested during the operation and moved to the Tactical Headquarters of the Battalions for preliminary investigation. In another development, Nwachukwu said JTF personnel patrolling the waterways and creeks on Soku-Ofumakiri, Bolo, Oloma and Isaka in Rivers, destroyed four illegal refineries. He said 40 cooking ovens, 30 plastic storage tanks, 50 drums, one welding machine, two pumping machines and a 45 KVA generator were seized.

          He said two suspects arrested in the operation were assisting investigators at the Sector 2 of the JTF in Port Harcourt. Our troops patrolling the waterways in Bayelsa have shutdown eight illegal crude oil distillation sites. The troops also destroyed six “cotonou“ boats used by oil thieves in Tebidaba and Igbematoru communities of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa. Nwachukwu said, the operatives also destroyed 69 metal drums and two pumping machines used by the oil thieves to operate their illegal refineries. He said that the eight suspects would be handed over to relevant prosecuting agencies after preliminary investigations. (NAN)

WHO WILL RESCUE US? 70% OF NIGERIAN ARE SUFFERING BITTERLY

 There is need to seek divine assistance for the nation to witness change from poverty, diseases, violence, blood shedding among other problems. It was under probability that the country would soon experience genuine turnaround. Nigeria is shining outside. It is known to be flamboyant but 70 percent of the people in the nation are suffering. All forms of sickness we have never heard before are happening.
        What an evil is happening in this nation, greed, fornication, shedding of innocent blood, idolatory. Tonight we should be sober.
In the book of 2nd Chronicles chapter 15 says; Who can be against us, If the lord be for us.
          Millions of Nigerians are now living below standard which is not suppose to be. this is the country that has resources with many thing to leave a convenient life. Some people go to dustbin or where they throw refuges to get their daily meal. People are dying of hunger on a daily basis.
Can we now put blame on our leaders or whose fault?
        Some people replied that, we cannot blame only the leaders for corruption and 419. The leaders are Mirrors. The head of state and his goverment reflect the collective consciousness, be it military regime, democracies, or anarchies. If a government is unstable or corrupt, or if a tyrann comes to power, it is because the collective consciousness is at that level. If the results of a government are limited, its is because the consciousness of the nation is limited. A government can never be better than its people. Nowadays, the focus is on the fruits, while it should be on the root.
      Should Nigerian citizen make a Protest and march to Abuja,Lagos? some people suggest that, we should make a protest, in fact all over Nigeria and make a Heavily protest to shut down the Airport like Thailand did to remove all the bad leader.Thailand does not have the resources Nigeria Had but they have the power to say whatever they want to say.You are there doing 419,Steal,Burn peoples Alive, 1 million Nigeria can march down to Abuja,Lagos shut down every Important investment in Nigeria,The hole World will look on Us and there will be a Solution and then they will give us Answer. We are here playing Innocent Soul who work his hard earn money to play for Fraud.and they said we are rock of Africa. Who will rescue us from this suffering?

Cultists kill LAUTECH student and mutilate body

 It wasa tragedy news when a 100-level student in the Department of Transport Management at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Mba Ikechukwu, has been killed by cultists. His body was mutilated. It was learnt that the cultists stormed Mba’s hostel on Tuesday evening and shot into the air many times. Sources said they went into Mba’s room, where they shot him and removed his arms. Mba’s body was deposited in the mortuary by the police.

       The university’s management met with security agencies on Wednesday on how to apprehend Mba’s killers and tighten security in hostels. LAUTECH is an off-campus institution. Security has been beefed up in hostels. Student held a peaceful rally on campus to mourn Mba and sensitise one another on the ills of cultism. Academic activities are going on smoothly at the institution.

          The Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr. Tunde Olabiyisi, debunked rumours that the institution had been closed for two days (yesterday and today) to douse tension. He said: “You can see for yourself that the campus is peaceful and students are receiving lectures. There is no disruption whatsoever. Everywhere is peaceful. The incident happened outside the campus and appropriate actions are being taken. though, investigation is still on.

SOLDIER PICK RACE AS BOKO HARM KILLS 37 IN ADAMAWA

            It was Yobe State on last week tuesday where 59 schoolchildren were massacred. On Wednesday, the bloodletting extended to Adamawa State where Boko Haram terrorists, armed with rocket-propelled grenades nearly sacked four communities. An official death toll in the attacks was not available as of 9.40pm on Thursday. But the British Broadcasting Corporation Hausa Service put it at 37 while the Agence France Presse reported 33. 

            Banks, shops, part of a local government secretariat and houses were reported to have been looted and burnt during the six-hour simultenous raids on the three communities – Michika, Gulak , Shuwa and Krichinga – by the militants. It was gathered that in Shuwa, Madagali Local Government Area, a repeat of the Yobe massacre was averted when the insurgents attacked the Christians Teacher College, Christian Secondary School and a Catholic Convent.
           A resident told The PUNCH that the head of the Christian Secondary School, on hearing gunshots in the community, advised his pupils to run into nearby bushes to avoid being killed by the terrorists. The resident, who declined to give his name, added that when the hoodlums eventually arrived and saw the school deserted, they burnt down almost all the structures on the premises.
           He however did not say if all the pupils came out of the bushes unhurt since the incident took place at night. A pastor in Shuwa told the AFP that soldiers retreated when the armed insurgents invaded the community. When the soldiers at the military checkpoints saw the number of the attackers, they retreated into the nearby bushes as the gunmen operated without challenge during the operation that lasted throughout the night,” the cleric said. It was also gathered that among the over 20 persons killed in Shuwa, was a priest at St. Augustine Catholic Church. The home of a former commissioner in the state, Idris Nuhu, was among those burnt in the community.
          In Michika, Michika LGA, another group of Boko Haram gunmen burnt three banks, a police station, part of the Michika LGA secretariat and shops.  A resident, who identified himself simply as Fide, told the News Agency of Nigeria, that the attackers, who arrived in nine vans firing guns and throwing explosives, killed a banker and a villager. Fide said, “They burnt three banks, a police station, shops and part of the Michika LGA secretariat. One of the dead body is that of a member of staff of the Bank of Agriculture. Some other residents of Michika said they slept in the hills and nearby bushes during the mayhem that lasted for about five hours.
           The BBC Hausa Service quoted witnesses as saying that some of those killed in Michika and Shuwa either had gunshot wounds or had their throats slit. The Chairman of the Michika LGA, Ulama Maina, confirmed to journalists that banks, police station, shops and some houses were torched. Maina however did not give the casualty figure.
            The spokesman for the 23rd Armoured Brigade, Yola, Capt. Ja’afaru Nuhu, who also confirmed that communities in Madagali and Michika LGAs were attacked, told NAN that details of the incident would be released at a later stage. Grace Hassan, an indigene of Michika, told The Punch that the attacks that started at about 8pm lasted till 2am, adding that information at her disposal indicated that the mayhem sent fears into the hearts of residents of Lassa, a neighbouring town in Borno State. According to her, the residents of the community fled into the bushes to avoid being killed.
           A resident of Lassa, Peter Satumari, said many of them fled their homes into the bushes when the sound of gunshots and explosives were becoming unbearable. Satumari said, “No one could sleep because of the sound of gunshots which we thought were being fired from our village. We had to run into the bushes believing they might come to attack our houses. It was later on Thursday morning that we saw smoke billowing from afar and got to know there were attacks in Shuwa, Gulak and Michika, all in Adamawa State. It was also gathered that the sect attacked Krichinga, a village about five kilometres east of Shuwa. There, four people lost their lives and many were injured.
          A furious governor of the state Gov. Murtala Nyako suggested there must be collusion with the Boko Haram terrorist network. Nyako, a former navy chief of staff, said the attacks ridiculed President Goodluck Jonathan’s insistence that the military was winning the war against Islamic militants. When Borno state Governor Kashim Shettima claimed that Boko Haram fighters were “better armed and better motivated,” than the troops fighting them, Jonathan upbraided him.
           The Defence Headquarters has however launched what it described as specialised campaign against the Boko Haram insurgents.

           The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said during a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, that the campaign had already taken off in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states which are under emergency rule. He explained that part of the arrangement was to pursue and prevent the insurgents from escaping from the country. The Defence spokesman said that terrorists fleeing towards Nigeria’s borders with Cameroun had severely attacked some communities in desperation for food and money.
             He said, “The purpose of this briefing is to intimate you with the elevation of counter terrorism campaign in the country. The new approach marks another phase in the operations designed to further contain the terrorists and their activities.
            The specialised campaign which has commenced is being undertaken simultaneously in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states. This operation is also in furtherance of efforts at apprehending the terrorists and ensuring they do not escape out of Nigeria as they are now desperate to do. Unfortunately, however, they have in the course of their flight towards various borders, continued to perpetrate mayhem as noticed in some parts of Adamawa State yesterday (Wednesday), where they attacked communities. In desperation for money and food, they looted and burnt banks, shops and filling stations along their way through Michika as they headed for the Camerounian border.”
            Olukolade said that three civilians and a soldier were killed in the attacks on the Adamawa communities while six insurgents were gunned down and two captured alive. He said that the DHQ believed that the insurgents who attacked the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in Yobe State were the same people behind the Michika onslaught.

SOUTHAMPTON READY TO KEEP SHAW IN SUMMER

Southampton's fast-increasing "prestige" can help keep England new boy Luke Shaw at St Mary's beyond the summer, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Saints boss Pochettino hailed full-back Shaw's first senior England call-up for Wednesday's friendly clash with Denmark at Wembley. Pochettino said teenager Shaw's England elevation can aid the fight to fend off the circling Manchester City and Chelsea, with both Barclays Premier League giants keen on prising the 18-year-old away from the south coast.
       The Argentine manager backed Southampton's England quartet to force their way into Roy Hodgson's World Cup squad for the summer tournament in Brazil.
"That's clearly our intention; we want to keep hold of our young players, such as Luke Shaw: we want to keep hold of our young, talented players, and that's our intention for the future," said Pochettino.
"It's very important that Southampton have four players in the England squad, that's a massive boost for this club, but it also enhances the prestige of this club, so it's a very important thing."
Southampton academy graduate Shaw has joined Rickie Lambert, Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana in the full England squad. Pochettino believes all four have a realistic opportunity to make England's final World Cup roster.
          For any player it's a massive boost to get called up to the English national side, especially looking at the fact there's such a short time until the World Cup," he said. It's a great opportunity for them, and it's a great chance for them to actually be on that plane to Brazil."
        Southampton will give defender Jos Hooiveld and midfielder Victor Wanyama as long as possible to prove their fitness for the home Barclays Premier League clash with Liverpool. Hooiveld missed the league encounter at West Ham last weekend with an eye injury while Kenyan midfielder Wanyama is set to remain sidelined by the unspecified knock which kept him out of the squad to face the Hammers.
          Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho has returned to training after two months out with a hamstring injury but Daniel Agger will retain his place at centre-back for the trip. Midfielder Lucas Leiva is back working with the first-team group after a six-week absence with a knee injury but will not be considered for the weekend. Left-back Jose Enrique continues his rehabilitation from a knee operation which has sidelined him since early November. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is less concerned about his defence than he is about winning their way to a successful end to the season.
         Liverpool have kept just two clean sheets in their last 11 games stretching back to mid-December, have conceded seven goals in their last three matches and their defensive record is the second-worst of the top 11 teams. But, in contrast, they are the Premier League's leading scorers with 70 in 27 games and their superior firepower in their last two league matches against Fulham and Swansea is what has kept them afloat in the title race.
          That does not mean defence is not an area Rodgers wants to improve but with just over two months of the season remaining results become ever more important. We obviously conceded disappointing goals last weekend (in beating Swansea 4-3) but ultimately at this stage of the season it is about winning," said Rodgers. We conceded one goal from a free-kick, another was a penalty and another was an incredible finish by Jonjo Shelvey. We have put in some outstanding team performances over the last four to six weeks and been so exciting to watch going forward. It's a collective effort. When we attack and score the goals we have it is because of the squad. If we've scored 70 goals and are the highest goalscorers it is because we are building a platform for the team to go forward and play. If we defend (badly) it is because we haven't pressed the ball high enough at the top of the field and that is a consequence for the rest of the team. It is just (having) that composure and focus but it is not just the back four and goalkeeper. Ultimately we won the game.
          This is a team evolving and improving all the time, and I will never move that to the side. You can never stop: performance is important for us because winning is a natural consequence of that. We don't put the team out every week to look nice, we are working to win. We won't play perfect football but we have put ourselves in a great position with 11 games to go."

STOKE CITY COACH (HUGHES CONFIRMS OLIC INTEREST

Stoke boss Mark Hughes has confirmed the club's interest in signing Wolfsburg and Croatia striker Ivica Olic. Olic, whose current contract runs out in the summer, was quoted in the last few days by Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List as saying he had held talks with Hughes and the Potters hierarchy. He said he had been made an offer by the Staffordshire outfit and that he was yet to choose between that and an offer of a new deal from Wolfsburg.

          Asked on Friday about the 34-year-old, Hughes said: "It is fair to say he is an interesting player - one I have faced in the past and have always been impressed with.

"There is an interest there and we'll see how it progresses."

Hughes has also given his thoughts on the contract situations of Stoke stalwart Andy Wilkinson.

Defender Wilkinson, a Potters academy graduate, is on a deal that expires at the end of the season.

He has already indicated he has been offered a new one and that, despite his frustration at a lack of game time this term, he hopes to stay put.

         Hughes said of the 29-year-old: "We'd like Andy to stay - I think he typifies the Stoke attitude and he has good ability. "He is a local guy, has been here a long time and is very much part of the fabric of the place, and you can't have too many of those type of players in your club.

"So we'll be delighted if Andy can agree a new deal and is here for a longer time."

Stoke will check on the condition of Peter Odemwingie ahead of Saturday's Barclays Premier League home clash with Arsenal after he sustained a calf problem.

Fellow Potters forward Jon Walters has missed a couple of days of training this week due to illness but is expected to be available, and on-loan Manchester City striker John Guidetti is eligible once again after sitting out last weekend's defeat at his parent club.

         Defender Robert Huth, who last played for the Stoke first team in November and has been recovering from knee surgery, successfully came through 45 minutes of a behind-closed-doors friendly on Tuesday but is not yet ready for a competitive return. On-loan Liverpool winger Oussama Assaidi (knee) remains sidelined. Mesut Ozil will return after hip trouble and a two-day rest for Arsenal.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger will leave a decision on whether or not to field fit-again defender Thomas Vermaelen at left-back to the last minute.

      Nacho Monreal (ankle) and Kieran Gibbs (gluteus) both remain doubtful, and if neither make it back in time for the Potters clash, Wenger could deploy Vermaelen, fully recovered from a shin problem, on the left of his defence. Tony Pulis' muscular Stoke side intimidated Arsenal's cosmopolitan crew into untold headaches over the years, but now new boss Hughes is battling to expand that regimented gameplan.

Wenger admitted Arsenal may be more suited to taking on a team built by the former Manchester United and Wales striker than facing up to Pulis' pressgang tactics. "We had some bad memories but also some good ones as well," said Wenger. It's a stadium where before, first of all the pitch was narrow and difficult to play, a bit more open to the wind. But recently we have shown as well it's down to the performance on the day.

        If you perform on Saturday that's all that counts. Yes it probably is better for us now though, because we went sometimes to Stoke, who had a rough style, we had young players and it was difficult. But they have good players, they have done well in the league, they qualified for the Europa league. So they are a real challenge. Every manager has his own style, he (Hughes) has experience and has shown he can do well.