Why July 1 has became one of Chelsea's most anticipated dates in some time

With Manchester City completing two high-profile signings within days and weeks of the football season finishing, expectations of fans were immediately doubled.

Chelsea fans are never far away from someone asking ‘Why haven’t we signed anyone yet?’ or the classic ‘We’re going to finish 10th again!’
The Blues are yet to officially complete any transfers yet, but reports have suggested that deals to sign Willy Caballero and Tiemoue Bakayoko are very close. Romelu Lukaku and Juventus’ Alex Sandro are also thought to be targets for Italian head coach Antonio Conte.

Many have suggested that the club’s incoming sponsors Nike are holding up the deal which is not only plausible but a great marketing tool for the global brand to have.
It was made official during the latter stages of 2016 that the club were ending their partnership with Adidas. The Premier League champions brought themselves out of their contract with their previous shirt sponsors and clinched a big-money deal with Nike, who themselves have produced some eye-catching kits over the years.

The new kit deal, which is the largest commercial deal in the club’s history, is thought to be worth around £60 million a year for the next 15 years and importantly, the partnership begins in July. Which has led all signs to point towards 1 July 2017 as a key date for the Blues.

What to expect in July?
Several reports have already suggested that Chelsea are preparing to announce their new signings in July.

Shirt sales are always a talking point among supporters at any level of football, but even for a club like Chelsea, who will have no problems selling them, especially a brand new kit, donning the famous Nike ‘Swoosh’ fitted with the golden Premier League badges, a sign of champions.
In a time where social media has largely dictated the way that the clubs announce their transfers, Nike find themselves in a perfect position to kick start their partnership alongside the Premier League champions with a bang.

You only need to look back to the way that Paul Pogba’s return to Manchester United was announced. The hashtag ‘#Pogback’ was trending on Twitter, through Adidas he had teamed up grime artist Stormzy, it was quite the performance that must have taken a considerable amount of planning and preparation.

Many considered the whole thing quite over the top and dramatic, and it’s unlikely that Chelsea will follow suit with something similar. But one thing is clear, the increased anticipation of transfers only leads to the increased demand from supporters.

Why do Nike need the air time?
Yes, I can hear you all asking the same question. Well, the truth is they don’t. They’re arguably the biggest sports company in the world. They sponsor some of the biggest athletes in world sport. LeBron James, Roger Federer and Tiger Woods are just a few names to reel off.

Speaking hypothetically: Chelsea announce the signing of Romelu Lukaku from Everton, he’s unveiled donning the new Nike kit. The move to bring the Belgian striker back is likely to be a big-money deal if it goes through. Chelsea, Lukaku and Nike get a lot of air time.

His (hypothetical) arrival will undoubtedly boost shirt sales. One thing you have to ask yourselves, why would Chelsea announce a player, holding or wearing a Chelsea shirt (as it’s accustomed to do nowadays) sponsored by Adidas, when their partnership with the club is days away from coming to an end?

Several images of kits that have been ‘leaked’ online, in particular, those shown above that are reportedly already on sale in the United States.
One thing is for sure, July is set to be a very busy month for Chelsea as they look to expand their squad and build for the Champions League and a title defence.

Signings will come in time, just like the new kit so Chelsea fans must remain patient, they will get their reward. - Read Sport

I do not want to continue for money – No China or MLS appeal for retired Arbeloa

Alvaro Arbeloa says he is no longer motivated in football and does not want to continue playing only for money in China or the United States, having announced his retirement.

The 34-year-old has called it quits after a career that saw him win the World Cup and two European titles with Spain, as well as two Champions league crowns and LaLiga as part of eight trophies with Real Madrid.

Arbeloa also represented Liverpool, Deportivo La Coruna and West Ham, for whom he only played three Premier League games last season prior to being released.

"Many people have encouraged me to continue, saying that I have the physique to continue playing, but it has been more of a mental issue," Arbeloa said to Marca.

"For me, football has been about fighting day by day, competing. Going to training in order to give your all, going in on your day off.
"The option to continue playing in China or the United States doesn't interest me. The time has come to say enough because what is being presented to me now is not what I like about football.

"I always thought that I would continue playing until my legs held out, but in the end it was a head and motivational issue. Things this season did not pan out as I had dreamed and I am being honest with myself when I say goodbye.

"When I ask myself what I'm going to do, I understand that I do not want to continue playing for money, I do not want to take my family away again, so I had nothing that motivated me."
On bowing out at the same time as former Madrid, Liverpool and Spain team-mate Xabi Alonso, Arbeloa said: "He retired well, by the front door! He has done it whilst still playing to a great level. 

"I'm happy because it ended like he always wanted. He was fortunate that going back to the Bernabeu wearing a rival shirt [Bayern Munich], he could take the ovation, it was something very special. He has understood my decision better than anyone else."

And Arbeloa is available should Madrid want him to fill a non-playing role at the club.
"Madrid know that I'll be there whenever they need me because it's my home, the club of my life," he said.
"But I will never call to ask. They know they can count on me.

Advertisement

"Many people think that I would be a good spokesman to protect the club. I've always tried to defend Real Madrid and to do so I think you shouldn't be afraid of certain consequences of doing that." - Goal.com

Fabinho edges closer to €45m Man Utd move

Monaco midfielder Fabinho is keen to join Manchester United this summer, with an agreement edging nearer, Goal understands.

Fabinho, who has played over 180 games for the principality club, scoring 23 goals, is valued at €45 million, and sources have confirmed that the transfer could be sealed in the coming days.
The defensive midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent months, as Jose Mourinho embarks on an aggressive summer of recruitment.

Victor Lindelof has already been signed from Benfica, and Fabinho is regarded as a versatile option by Mourinho and his coaching staff.
The 23-year-old, who has also played for Real Madrid, can play in both defence and midfield and his multifunctional abilities are prized by Mourinho.

The star has wished to join United for a number of years, and has repeatedly refused to scotch rumours of a move, instead smiling in front of cameras when asked of the club's interest.
"It’s a tempting invitation," Fabinho said earlier this week. "I would first talk to my agent, Monaco too, to decide everything is right.

"But it’s a great club, sure enough I would think well about it."

Advertisement

Manchester City have also been linked with a bid for Fabinho, but it appears a move to United has never been closer.

World Headquarter of corruption : EFCC Arraigns Judge For $260,000, N8.6m Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday, June 23, 2017, arraigned a Federal High Court judge, Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, before Justice Adedayo Akintoye of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Igbosere, Lagos on a 14-count charge bordering on unlawful enrichment and giving false information to the EFCC.

Justice Nganjiwa is facing trial for failure to disclose the source of the sum of over $260,000 that he allegedly received through his bank account between 2013 and 2015.

He also allegedly received the sum of N8.6 million from unknown sources within the same period.

During today’s proceedings, Justice Akintoye ruled on the preliminary objection to the charge.

The accused, through his counsel, Chief Robert Clarke, SAN, had filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the case.

The defence further stated that only the National Judicial Council, NJC, has the power to deal with the matter.

However, Justice Akintoye dismissed the application on the grounds that it lacked merit.

" The notice of preliminary objections is hereby dismissed, “he said.

The judge further ruled that the high Court of Lagos had jurisdiction to entertain the matter, despite the fact that the defendant is a judicial officer of Federal Government sitting in the Federal High Court, Asaba division.

 Counsel to the defendant, Clarke, also told the court that the prosecution failed to attached the title "Honourable Justice" to his client’s name.

In response, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, moved a motion orally to amend the charges.

Thereafter, the accused took his plea.

One of the charges reads: "That you HYELADZIRA AJIYA NGANJIWA between the 18th day of January and the 16th day of December, 2013 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, being a judge of the Federal High Court enriched yourself with an aggregate sum of $144,000.00 (One Hundred and Forty Four Thousand United State Dollars) through your account No. 328/446178/2/1/0 domiciled in Guaranty Trust Bank Plc so as to have a significant increase in your assets that you cannot reasonably explain the increase in relation to your lawful income."

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him.

In view of his plea, Oyedepo asked the court for a trial date and prayed that the accused be remanded in prison custody.

However, Clark urged the court to grant his client bail on self- recognizance.

Oyedepo, objected to the bail application.

 After listening to both counsel, Justice Akintoye granted the defendant bail on self-recognizance.

The accused was ordered to deposit his international passport with the Chief Registrar of the court within seven days. EFCC

The matter was adjourned to October 6 and10, 2017 for trial.

Corruption zone : $40m Scam: How Azibaola, Jonathan’s Cousin, Siphoned Funds for Supply of Tactical Communication Kits

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja has adjourned to July 7, 2017 the trial of a cousin to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Azibaola Robert; his wife, Stella and their company, One Plus Holdings, after a stunning revelation by the tenth prosecution witness, David Nkpe, on how One Plus shared to various companies the sum of $40million received from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA.

Azibaola and his co-accused allegedly diverted $40million (Forty Million United State Dollars) purportedly meant for supply of Tactical Communication kits for Special Forces which was transferred from the account of the ONSA with the Central Bank of Nigeria to the domiciliary account of their company, One Plus Holdings.

At the resumed sitting today, Nkpe told the court that, analysis of documents relating to ‘One Plus Holdings Nigeria Ltd’, showed that the company received the sum of $40million from ONSA.
According to him, investigation was extended to ONSA to ascertain the purpose for which the payment was made.

“EFCC wrote to ONSA to avail them with documents regarding the payment mandate and the reply came”, Nkpe said.
According to him, the payment for that particular mandate was for the "Supply of Tactical Communication Kits for Special Forces".

He went on: “We investigated the utilisation of the funds and discovered that the funds were transferred to other companies including Bureau de Change and some of the funds transferred offshore to countries like London and United Arab Emirates”.

Asked if he could recall some of the beneficiaries, Nkpe said that, “there were several of them, but I remember that $6.6mmillion was transferred to a company called ‘Karahyna’ between October 2014 and April 2015, which was specifically done in eight tranches. I also recall that the sum of $1.5million was transferred to ‘Reya Telecommunication’ which is a company under One Plus Holdings group.

He added that, “Another sum of $1.493million was transferred to ‘Kakatar El Ltd’ which is also a company under One Plus Holdings; a sum of $2million was transferred to ‘Capitafield Investment Ltd’ and another $330,000 transferred to a company called ‘Teledom’.”
The PW10 told the court that investigation did not find any tactical communication kits procured from that fund. “Most of the companies that received the money did not supply any goods”, he said.

The witness said that, the analysis carried out on the account of the third defendant (One Plus Holdings) on September 9, 2014 showed that the $40m was the only major inflow into the account and from the time of that receipt, all the transactions in the account were outflows, which is the distribution of the said $40m.

He said the credit balance in the account before the transaction was $17,277.50.
Thereafter, documents were presented and admitted as exhibits including: petition from the ONSA to EFCC as exhibit ASO 16 (1&2), Search warrant dated March 23, 2016; two power of attorney as exhibit ASO 18a &18b; Deed of Assignment as exhibit ASO 19a, 19b, 19c; transfer mandate from One Plus Holdings to Zenith Bank as ASO 20 (1-39); the two statement of the first defendant dated March 23 & 24, 2016 marked as exhibit ASO 21a & ASO 21b
Justice Dimgba, thereafter, adjourned for cross-examination of the prosecution witness.

Top athlete robbed of shoes at gunpoint

A top South African marathon runner  has been mugged at gunpoint while out on his morning run.

Nine-time Comrades Marathon winner Bruce Fordyce was robbed of his trainers and watch by two men who pulled up in a car near his home in Parktown, Johannesburg.

The Times newspaper quoted Fordyce as saying the muggers were "welcome" to his old running shoes, noting they had done about 621 miles and "smelled like camembert"

Mr Fordyce, 61, said he returned home after the mugging to get another pair of shoes before completing his run.

The ultra-marathon he once won eight times in a row between 1981-88, is approximately 56 miles long

Billionaire kidnapper: Evans unveils informants, how they shared ransom

Kidnap kingpin, Chukwudi Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, has said some prominent businessmen in the South-East provided information on victims and got a percentage from the ransom received.

The Nation reports that the suspect gave some names to the police.

Evans also confessed that some of his accomplices were based in Europe and were into drug business.
According to a source, Evans explained that he usually shared the loot with his informants on a 60%-40% basis. He has reportedly threatened to make a public announcement, if the police fails to arrest those he mentioned.

“It is true. He has mentioned some very prominent businessmen from the southeast as those who provided information on people he kidnapped.

“He claimed that they shared from the ransoms he collected.
“Evans claimed that most of his accomplices were based in Europe and that they were into drug business.
“The information he provided is being investigated. You do not expect the police to go and arrest people just like that.

“We have to be sure there is a connection between Evans and those mentioned. Once that is established, they would all be arrested.
“But he has been threatening to go public, if people mentioned are not arrested,” he said.

E-Money is not into drugs – KCee

Singer Kcee has insisted his brother, E-Money, is not into drugs or fraud.

In a recent interview with Punch, Kcee revealed how his family was evicted from their apartment in Ajegunle, because they could not afford the rent.

On rumours that his brother was into illegal businesses, the Limpopo crooner said they are from a Christian home and would never indulge in such act.

“My brother is not into drugs or anything illegal. We are from a Christian home and we are very careful with our lifestyle and what we do. Our only weakness is that we show off. We like the good life. My brother is a hard worker.

“For about 17 years, people have been saying that we do drugs or 419 but why have we never been caught? Why haven’t we made a mistake? Why hasn’t someone come to expose us? When we had issues with some of our team members that left recently, a lot of people were waiting to hear that we were into illegality but they did not say that.

“My brother is a hard worker who is into clearing and forwarding, oil business, real estate, etc. He started from the scratch. He used to be my manager when I was with Presh but he left to start his own business. It is just the grace of God.

“When I was playing football, I was doing very well. I started with football and the first time I travelled out of this country, it was through football. I never saw music coming and it was something I did by the side. My brother and I laugh whenever people make statement like that. He does not do anything negative. If not, people would have come out to expose it. I am sorry but no one can make us change our lifestyle because it is in our DNA,” he said. - Daily Post

Meal program bridges cultural divisions, 1 plate at a time

 On the menu, the flavor profiles seemed incongruous: Chinese dumplings, Italian-style roast pork and a Mexican chicken dish featuring an edible weed.

But when dinner was served, the guests seated and plates bearing foods of three different cultures shared, it all made sense.
The meal was part of "Breaking Bread; Breaking Barriers," a yearlong program that brings people of different backgrounds together for a meal featuring their cultural favorites, bridging differences one plate at a time.

"People cooking and eating together happens every day, but it doesn't often happen across our social boundaries," said Anuj Gupta, general manager of Reading Terminal Market, the historic and sprawling indoor market and home to the program. "It's an incredibly powerful tool to cut through whatever social barriers you want to erect."

Jews and Muslims have shared Jewish apple cake and baklava as part of the program. Members of the African-American and Korean communities have come together to compare fried chicken recipes.

During the most recent gathering, residents of the city's Chinese and Mexican communities enjoyed dinner with members of the Philadelphia Mummers Association, a 10,000-strong civic association behind the city's annual New Year's Day parade.

For much of their history, Mummers groups included only white men. Women weren't allowed in the parade until a few decades ago. The tradition is also a family legacy, with many clubs based in southern Philadelphia.
While the 2017 parade was controversy-free, past parades were tainted by performances dubbed racist or culturally insensitive. The Mummers have tried to diversity, creating a division in 2015 specifically for ethnic groups.

The dinner consisted of Chinese dumplings with pork or kale; verdolagas con pollo (verdolagas is an herb also known as purslane that's largely considered a weed by Americans); and roasted pork rolled with spinach, roasted peppers and provolone cheese, the Mummer contribution in a nod to a popular Italian-American dish served on New Year's Day.

Before the meal, Chef Alice Ye taught Mummer Jay Polakoff how to make Chinese dumplings as the other diners watched. Someone noted that Polakoff's seemed a little, well, misshapen.
"It's actually a hamentashen," Polakoff said, referring to the tri-cornered confection associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim.

Gathered at tables, the 40 community members shared details about the cultural backgrounds and favorite foods. In one grouping, the diners — of Irish, German, Polish, Mexican, Cambodian and Italian descents — talked about a dumpling being a universal food, with multiple cultures having a version: pierogi, ravioli, empanadas, kreplach. The conversation flowed thanks to a facilitator from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations.

In discussing the shared meal, Oscar Galvan, a mechanic who is native of Mexico, said he was tempted to put hot sauce on his Italian pork dish.
They also reflected on how food related to friends and family.
"One of the neatest ways to promote friendship is to share your ethnic food, something you're so proud of," said Carol Wong, an educator of Chinese descent.

Everyone agreed.

"In Mexico, it's all about food," said Ivette Compean, who moved to the U.S. from Mexico six months ago. "They're always feeding you. It's how they tell us they love us."

"Breaking Bread; Breaking Barriers" was created with an $85,000 grant from the nonprofit John S. and James L Knight Foundation. Gupta said he was inspired to seek the funding after reading sociologist Elijah Anderson's "The Cosmopolitan Canopy/Race and Civility in Everyday Life."

Anderson, who lives in Philadelphia and taught at the University of Pennsylvania, found there are certain places in cities where people of different cultures and backgrounds unite without conflict. Reading Terminal Market — a bustling home to butchers and fishmongers, sandwich stalls and Amish farmers — was one of them.

"It's a place of refuge and convergence, old and young, black and white, coming together and feeling good around issues of food," Anderson said. "It's a place where people get along even though we know there are fault lines. It's a beautiful thing. It's inspiring."

The program hosted one of its most emotional dinners in January, Gupta said. It brought together Syrian refugees and residents deeply rooted in their northeastern Philadelphia neighborhood. The Syrian contributions included falafel and hummus. The American offerings were blackened catfish and collard greens.
During the meal, held a few days after the announcement of President Donald Trump's original travel ban that included Syrian refugees, the refugees shared stories of their lost homes and changed lives.

At evening's end, Gupta said, one of the refugees — a woman in her 50s who had been quiet during the meal — stood up and shared her thoughts with the help of an interpreter.
"I thought this evening was just going to be about food," she said. "It turns out it was about unity." - Associated Press 

If Baghdadi is dead, next Islamic State leader likely to be Saddam-era officer

If Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is confirmed dead, he is likely to be succeeded by one of his top two lieutenants, both of whom were Iraqi army officers under late dictator Saddam Hussein.

Experts on Islamist groups see no clear successor but regard Iyad al-Obaidi and Ayad al-Jumaili as the leading contenders, though neither would be likely to assume Baghdadi's title of "caliph", or overall commander of Muslims.

Russia's defence ministry said last week Baghdadi may have been killed in an air strike in Syria and Interfax news agency quoted a senior Russian parliamentarian on Friday as saying the likelihood that he had been killed was close to 100 percent.
But armed groups fighting in the region and many regional officials are sceptical about the reports.

"We don't have any concrete evidence on whether or not he's dead either," U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the international coalition battling Islamic State, told a Pentagon briefing.
Obaidi, who is in his 50s, has been serving as war minister. Jumaili, in his late 40s, is head of the group's Amniya security agency. In April Iraqi state TV said Jumaili had been killed, but that was not confirmed.

Both joined the Sunni Salafist insurgency in Iraq in 2003, following the U.S.-led invasion which Saddam and empowered Iraq's Shi'ite majority.
They have been Baghdadi's top aides since air strikes in 2016 killed his then deputy Abu Ali al-Anbari, his Chechen war minister Abu Omar al-Shishani and his Syrian chief propagandist, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani.

"Jumaili recognises Obaidi as his senior but there is no clear successor and, depending on conditions, it can be either of the two (who succeeds Baghdadi)," said Hisham al-Hashimi, who advises several Middle East governments on IS affairs.

Baghdadi awarded himself the title of caliph - the chief Muslim civil and religious ruler, regarded as the successor of the Prophet Mohammad - in 2014. Obaidi or Jumaili would be unlikely to become caliph because they lack religious standing and Islamic State has lost much of its territory.

NO "LAND TO RULE"
"They don't belong to the Prophet Mohammad's lineage. The group has no longer 'a land to rule' or 'Ardh al-Tamkeen'. And none is well versed in Islamic theology," said Fadhel Abu Ragheef, another Iraqi expert on the extremist group.
"A caliph has to have an Ardh al-Tamkeen, which he rules in accordance with Islamic law. Failing that, the successor will just be recognised as the emir," said Hashimi.

Emir is Arabic for prince, and is a title that jihadists often use to describe their leaders.
By contrast, Baghdadi, born as Ibrahim Awad al-Samarrai' in 1971, comes from a family of preachers and studied Islamic law in Baghdad.

The appointment of the new leader would require the approval of an eight-member shoura council, an advisory body to the caliph. But its members would be unlikely to meet for security reasons so would make their opinion known through couriers.
Six members of the council are Iraqis, one Jordanian and one Saudi, and all are veterans of the Sunni salafist insurgency.

A ninth member, the group's Bahraini chief cleric, Turki al-Bin’ali, was killed in an air strike in Syria on May 31.
In Washington, two U.S. intelligence officials said they believed Islamic State had moved most of its leaders to al-Mayadin in Syria'a Euphrates Valley, southeast of the group's besieged capital there, Raqqa.

Among the operations moved to al-Mayadin, about 80 km (50 miles) west of the Iraqi border, were its online propaganda operation and its limited command and control of attacks in Europe and elsewhere, they said. - Reuters

Photos : Teacher dies in car crash while having sex

An English teacher, John Malone, has died in a horror car crash in Thailand while having sex on the back seat.

Malone, who hails from Ireland was travelling in a speeding black Suzuki when it lost control and hit a concrete post.

Horrific CCTV shows the car spinning several times as sparks fly and glass smashes, before it comes to a stop further down the road in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

39-yr-old Malone was pulled half-naked from the wreckage having been on the backseat with a naked Thai woman found in the car.

Rescuers arrived and pulled out Malone wearing just a small blue t-shirt from the car unconscious while a naked Thai woman was on the back passenger seat. Neither had seat belts on.

The male driver – who was clothed – and the female front seat passenger who were both Thai were treated at Kasemrad Sriburin General Hospital.

According to DAILY MAIL, the volunteer rescue foundation – Siam Ruam – which attended to the crash said police authorities were now investigating.

A spokesman for the foundation said today: ‘One foreign man died in the crash. The staff helped to bring out the bodies and give first aid.

“This was a black Suziki Swift and it was speeding.

“We think the man was having sex in the the car.
“There were three Thai people and one foreign man.
“They were injured and the driver was unconscious but only the man died.

“How it happened exactly we do not know yet. From the scene we know that the two passengers did not have clothes on. The man had a small t-shirt.“We don’t know how the driver crashed. We have not been able to investigate with him yet.”
The rescue foundation said that all three of the other people involved in the crash were Thai and that John, originally from County Longford, was the only foreigner.
The driver and the front seat passenger are in a serious condition.

Malone had been working for a number of years as a teacher at ‘The Learning Center’ in Chiang Rai, a small city in northern Thailand on the border with Laos and Myanmar.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland confirmed that they are aware of the incident and are ‘providing consular assistance’.

     

 

'I buried my smallest child under a bush': starvation and sorrow in South Sudan

The news spreads fast during the day. The raiders are coming. Two columns of fighters, each thousands strong, armed with assault rifles. 

“We will fight them. We will take our guns and defend ourselves,” says Simon Logocho, a stall holder in a scruffy market in Pibor, a remote town in eastern South Sudan.

Previous attacks – launched in a never-ending cycle of raid and counter-raid by rival tribes – have left hundreds dead and caused widespread destruction. The smaller town of Likuangole, about 30 miles away, was badly damaged earlier this year, while outlying villages were obliterated.

The raiders are still some days’ march away and there is hope they may decide Pibor is too large and too poor to be an attractive target. There is not much to loot in the town, a few hundred huts made of plastic and wood scattered between a river crossing and a dirt airstrip. There are almost no cattle any more, and only one trader retains a few sacks of rice.

Even the poorly armed, ill-disciplined soldiers – sent from Juba, the capital, to keep order and fend off the rebels – are hungry. Parents send their children to forage for wild fruit, berries and leaves, not to lessons.
“There is no food. Everyone is hungry. We have nothing left,” said Nadia Mayigu, a 32-year-old primary school teacher.

But the raiders are hungry too. Last week the UN said South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, was facing its “highest ever level of food insecurity”. About 7.5 million people, almost two-thirds of the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance. In some areas half the population are malnourished. An appeal by the UN for more money has faltered, with less than half of the $1.64bn (£1.2bn) budget requested for 2017 so far funded.

As elsewhere in Africa where mass starvation threatens, the crisis in South Sudan has been caused by war, not climatic catastrophe. The country has substantial revenues from oil and swaths of fertile agricultural land. But corruption and mismanagement have led to economic collapse, while widespread violence means empty fields, looted seed stocks, displaced farmers and disrupted transport. Pibor, which depends on the road to Juba for all supplies, has been cut off for months.

The crisis in the town has established a hierarchy of hunger.
Few have sufficient resources to be able to eat well, but some can still buy bags of rice at hugely inflated prices.

“Business is OK. There are still some who can pay,” says Ibrahim Adam, a trader from neighbouring Sudan who runs the single stall in the market with a significant stock of food.
Yards away, Juma Gocho, 25, who invested in a jerrycan of cooking oil and a sack of salt a month ago, sells tiny quantities of each. For weeks this has earned him enough to buy a glass of flour each day, which he shares among his family.

“It stops us getting too hungry, just enough to sleep. But if the road doesn’t open soon, my children will die,” Gocho says.
Though the rains have come, turning Pibor’s all-pervading dust to glutinous mud, it will be weeks before even those who have tiny plots of land can harvest crops of maize or sorghum. 

The violence in South Sudan is complex. Some fighting pits government forces loyal to Salva Kiir, the president since independence, against a rough coalition of opposition groups. Some is motivated by hatred and competition between major ethnic groups such as the Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk and, around Pibor, the Murle tribes. Some is the consequence of local power grabs as much of the country slips into outright anarchy. Some is simply over cattle, or food.

But all is accompanied by widespread atrocities committed against civilians, including the abduction of children, massacres and gang rapes. Aid workers have also been targeted: six were killed on the road between Pibor and Juba last month. South Sudan’s leaders have been accused of “deliberate starvation tactics”.

The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, which costs $1bn s year, has been repeatedly criticised for failing to stop such crimes. Since a peace deal between the president and his main rival Riek Machar collapsed last year, the mission’s 12,000 troops have been told to patrol more aggressively and are being reinforced by regional forces. A detachment of British military engineers has also arrived – one of the biggest peacekeeping deployments by the UK for decades.
But this effort has not halted the flow of desperate people seeking safety on islands, in swamps, in the UN’s overcrowded “civilian protection camps”, or in neighbouring countries.

Nor does it reassure the people of Pibor, who are far from certain the 200 Indian troops stationed there will protect them.
“I think they will stay on their base if the raiders come,” said Benjamin Korem, 21, an unemployed administrator.

South Sudan map

The UN does distribute vast amounts of international food aid, largely through a hugely expensive airlift operation. During the rainy season even the few existing roads are impassable troughs of mud. Though one of the biggest aid efforts in the world, it is still inadequate, reaching only half of those in need.

Near the bottom of the hierarchy of hunger in Pibor, and scores of places like it around the country, are people like Mary Kadai, 33. The soldier’s wife depends on handouts from neighbours and relatives who themselves have almost nothing to give. “I had some things, some goats, clothes, but everything is gone,” Kadai says.

But even she is better placed than those in isolated outlying villages or those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
In the single feeding centre established in Pibor, supported by Unicef and run by a local NGO, dozens of women arrive each morning carrying their children. In February, the centre registered 38 children who were severely malnourished. Last month the total was 256.

“It’s because of the conflict. Their cattle are killed; sometimes their husbands or brothers. They have to move and leave everything. They sleep under trees. They eat grass,” said Harrison Jowang, the centre manager.

“They tell me of those who have died. There are many of them. The children often die on their way here, because people come so late … They tell me about those who are dying, out in the villages. There are many of them too.”

The full toll exacted by either fighting or the malnutrition it causes in South Sudan is unclear. So much of the country is without road or telephonic communication that news of massacres, raids, outbreaks of disease and even the deaths of hundreds of starving children takes weeks, even months, to reach the capitals and international agencies. A rough count of those killed by an intensifying outbreak of cholera – 250 in the past year – is thought to be a gross underestimate. “The truth is that no one is counting the dead,” said a veteran European aid worker in Juba.

One who has not been counted is the three-year-old daughter of Mary Cholil, 31, who died a month ago as her mother wandered in search of food and shelter near her burned out village, a five-day walk from Pibor.

“All our family is scattered because of the fighting. I learned about the centre too late for my smallest one. I buried her under a bush,” she says.
There is little chance of any immediate improvement for South Sudan. The international community is distracted by events elsewhere. 

Regional powers show little commitment to resolving the shattered country’s problems.
Outside Pibor’s battered primary school a group of schoolgirls gather as goats are handed over by an aid agency to the families of former child soldiers. The students form a line and dance slowly and carefully.

“There is no more rejoicing in our country. There is no more moving together in our country. But in the name of Jesus, we hope for ever,” they sing. - The Guardian 

White police officer shoots off-duty black officer in St Louis

A black off-duty police officer has been shot by a white colleague who “feared for his safety” in the US.

The white officer was among those chasing gunmen in a stolen car when the officer with 11 years of service came out of his home armed with his police-issue gun to help.
He was shot in the arm and was taken to hospital in St Louis, Missouri.

The St Louis Metropolitan Police Department described the shooting as a “friendly fire incident” but the injured officer’s lawyer said he had been “automatically feared” as a black man.

Acting police chief Lawrence O'Toole said officers were pursuing stolen car when three suspects inside opened fire on Wednesday night.
They chased the vehicle until it crashed, with the men getting out with guns and attempting to flee on foot.

“Fearing for their safety, the two officers fired shots at the suspects, striking suspect one in the ankle,” Mr O'Toole said.
“The victim/police officer was off-duty and inside his nearby residence when he heard the commotion and responded outside, armed with his department-issued weapon.

“Two officers challenged the off-duty officer and ordered him to the ground, to which he complied.”
During the process, the two officers recognised their 38-year-old colleague and told him to stand up and walk toward them.

But a third officer, a 36-year-old white man who had been in the force for eight years, allegedly misinterpreted the scene.
“At this time, a responding officer just arriving in the area observed this and fearing for his safety and apparently not recognising the off-duty officer, discharged a shot, striking the off-duty officer in the arm,” Mr O'Toole said.

“He was conveyed to a hospital, listed as stable and has since been released.”
Two of the suspects, both 17-year-old black boys, were arrested at the scene and had their guns seized, while a third escaped and remains at large.
The officer who opened fire and six others have been placed on administrative leave as a probe by the Force Investigation Unit continues.

The victim’s lawyer, Rufus J Tate Jr, told local media that the shooting was part of a wider problem in the US with the perception of black men.

“This is the first time that we are aware, that a black professional, in law enforcement, himself being shot and treated as an ordinary black guy on the street - this is a real problem,” he said, according to Newsweek.

“This been a national discussion for the past two years. There is this perception that a black man is automatically feared.”
The shooting came days after protests swept Minnesota over the acquittal of a police officer who shot a black man dead in front of his girlfriend and daughter in an incident broadcast on Facebook Live.

Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter after claiming he feared for his life as Philando Castile reached for his wallet to produce his firearms licence.

Advertisement

His death was one of a number of fatal police shootings in recent years that have sparked sometimes protests across the US.
Riots and unrest flared in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson in 2014 after Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot dead by a white officer.

Donald Trump said he was “very troubled” by the killing of an unarmed black man in Oklahoma on the campaign trail but has been criticised for failing to denounce police brutality and shootings since taking office.

Parliament hit by cyber-security attack

Parliament has been hit by a cyber-security attack, according to Liberal Democrat peer Baron Rennard as reported by Evening Standard.

Baron Chris Rennard tweeted: "Cyber Security attack on Westminster. Parliamentary e-mails may not work properly. Text urgent messages."

 Parliamentary authorities confirmed that MPs and Peers have been left unable to remotely access their emails as a result of the incident.

A House of Commons spokeswoman said: "The Houses of Parliament have discovered unauthorised attempts to access parliamentary user accounts.
"We are continuing to investigate this incident and take further measures to secure the computer network, liaising with the National Cyber Security Centre.

"We have systems in place to protect member and staff accounts and are taking the necessary steps to protect our systems."

The spokeswoman said that the lack of remote access for users was not part of the attack, but due to protection measures dealing with the incident.
The attack comes just over a month after networks in 48 NHS trusts were brought down by a ransomware attack which hit organisations in 99 countries.

Advertisement

And it follows reports that passwords for MPs and officials were being sold online by hackers.