Splash Instablog

Frank-Walter Steinmeier was quoted by the Bild newspaper's website Saturday as saying that a "symbolic tank parade on the eastern border of the alliance" would not ensure security. He argued for "embedding Russia in an international partnership of responsibility" through cooperation on arms control, the Middle East, and efforts to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Some 31,000 troops from 24 NATO and partner nations last week rehearsed defensive operations in Poland and Lithuania. German troops were among them. Russia's conflict with non-NATO member Ukraine has led to financial sanctions against Moscow and more attention to military readiness, but Western governments sometimes differ on how tough a stance to take. The 28 European Union member countries last week extended for another year sanctions imposed on Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region barring imports from there. A diff...

Police officers carry the coffins of the two police officials killed by an extremist claiming allegiance to IS, during a ceremony, Friday June 17, 2016 in Versailles, near Paris. Police commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his companion, police administrator Jessica Schneider were stabbed Monday by attacker Larossi Abballa, who was killed in a police raid. here was a morning deadline to release Charaf-Din Aberouz and Saad Rajraji or pursue charges, and the prosecutor moved to prolong their detention. The decision to charge the suspects will be technically validated by an anti-terrorism judge later Saturday. Both individuals, aged 27 and 29, had been convicted along with the police killer, Larossi Abballa, in September 2013 for their roles in a jihadi network on the Pakistan-Afghan border and claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group. Larossi Abballa, 25, knifed to death Officer Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and police administrator Jessica Schneider in the...

Members of the media set up outside Westminster Magistrates Court, London, Saturday June 18, 2016, where Thomas Mair was due to appear charged with the murder of British Member of Parliament Jo Cox. Labour Party lawmaker Cox, 41, was shot and stabbed to death Thursday after getting out of her car in the town of Birstall in her home constituency. This courtroom sketch by Elizabeth Cook shows Thomas Mair, center, appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, London, Saturday June 18, 2016, charged with the murder of British Member of Parliament Jo Cox. Labour Party lawmaker Cox, 41, was shot and stabbed to death Thursday after getting out of her car in the town of Birstall in her home constituency.

BENIN-CITY- Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has responded to critics of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, saying the President is already delivering on his electoral promises and the APC Change agenda. Speaking at the National Executive Committee Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association where President of the Association, Mr. Augustine Alegeh asked the Niger Delta Avengers to sheathe their sword and embrace dialogue, Oshiomhole said “I know that right now, everybody is talking in the country. Is this the change we asked for? And my answer is Yes. It is the change we asked for. For all of us in this hall, you know that the challenge of fixing a house that has been destroyed is much more cumbersome than even building a completely new house because for the one that has been destroyed, you have to start by removing the debris. You have to check whether the foundations are weak so that you remove them. You must first do a lot of cleansing and excavation. Read mor...

In mid-June, the bodies of 34 migrants were found in the Niger desert, 20 of them were children. They had been abandoned by smugglers. On June 3, Boko Haram carried out an attack in the Diffa region of eastern Niger. More than 30 soldiers were killed, and around 50,000 people were forced to flee. The people of Niger, a landlocked country almost entirely covered by the Sahara Desert, face unemployment, the threat of armed groups, hunger, poverty and drought.  Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and one with the highest percentage of people under the age of 20. Yet, hope remains for many young Nigeriens who are most affected by the country's lack of opportunities. In March 2016, we sat down with three young people in Niamey, the capital of Niger, to find out what they want to accomplish and what the dangers are as they try to build a future in an uncertain environment. In a Niamey neighbourhood, we meet Abdel Nasser Boubacar who has bui...

He spoke at the Center for Fine Arts (BOZAR) in Brussels while attending the Center’s 2016 Summer Photography Exhibition as a Special Guest of Honour. The exhibition, which largely focused on Lagos under the theme ‘Dey Your Lane – Lagos Variations’, was an attempt to understand Lagos through those who feel it the most and can express these cognitive and emotional responses in an engaging and creative manner. Governor Ambode seized the opportunity to call on all political leaders to partner with artists so that they can benefit from their creative and artistic imagination to tackle some of the challenges confronting megacities such as exponential urbanization. He also used the medium to announce his administration’s determination to develop a new museum in the State. Governor Ambode emphasized that his government’s engagement with the art, culture and entertainment sector, was in fulfillment of one of his key campaign promises, to vigorously pursue Project THESE, which sta...

  Military police officers attend the scene of a deadly shooting in Vihti, Finland Saturday, June 18, 2016. Authorities in Finland say a shooter has killed a police officer and seriously wounded another after they approached a remote countryside property where gunfire had been reported. Police in Vihti, northwest of Helsinki, dispatched several officers to the property late Friday. They were targeted by gunfire as they approached the house and one shot fatally wounded a 30-year-old policeman and seriously wounded another. The condition of the wounded policeman was not immediately known. The shooter eventually committed suicide, possibly by shooting himself, police told a news conference. President Sauli Niinisto said Saturday the Nordic country was "upset" and Interior Minister Petteri Orpo wrote on Twitter that he was "shocked." Since Finland's independence from Russia in 1917, 130 police officers have been kill...