The confirmed death toll from the Sewol ferry disaster has reached 244, South Korean officials have announced.
Meanwhile President Park Geun-hye met relatives of those on board.
Park Geun-hye told family members that those responsible for the ferry sinking on April 16 would be “punished severely”.
The confirmed death toll from the Sewol ferry disaster has reached 244 (photo AP)
The Sewol ferry had 476 passengers on board when it sank – 174 were rescued, and 58 remain unaccounted for.
Prosecutors say the ferry owner ignored safety warnings and allowed the ship to be overloaded.
Park Geun-hye visited Jindo island, close to where the ship sank, on Sunday. It was her second meeting with the family members.
Speaking to relatives, the president said: “I feel a sense of unlimited responsibility… it is heart-rending to imagine how you must be feeling.”
“A thorough investigation will be conducted to find those who were responsible and criminally at fault… and they will be punished severely,” she added.
Authorities are investigating whether the ship sank from overloading and changes in the structure of the ship.
Anger has also been directed at the ship’s captain and crew members, who delayed giving evacuation orders.
Last week, South Korean PM Chung Hong-won resigned amid criticism of the government’s handling of the disaster.
Divers have been navigating the sunken ship in an attempt to retrieve the remaining bodies. However, the search has been hampered by strong currents, debris, and poor visibility.
Several divers were suffering from decompression sickness, Yonhap news agency reported on Friday.
This week Prince Harry had decided to part ways after a solid two-year relationship with Cressida Bonas.
And Prince Harry has wasted no time getting back to his single life.
A blue-blooded, blond, leggy former model, Cressida Bonas had all the makings of a princess. But it was not to be.
Born in February 1989, Cressy, as she is known to friends, is the daughter of Jeffrey Bonas and Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon. She has one sister and three half-siblings from her mother’s first marriage.
Cressida Bonas studied dance at the University of Leeds but is also known to have tried her hand at stage acting. She has been pictured frequenting music festivals and is said to love partying on the dance floor.
It is believed that Princess Eugenie was the one to introduce Cressida Bonas and Prince Harry in June 2012
It’s believed that Princess Eugenie, who is a mutual and close friend to both, was the one to introduce Cressida Bonas and Prince Harry in June 2012.
Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas were first photographed together after the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in 2012 before hitting clubs and theaters together later that year.
As a couple, Cressida Bonas and Prince Harry were low-key and rarely gave the press a chance to catch them together.
They had a bumpy and sometimes turbulent relationship: Prince Harry was pictured partying in Miami in 2012, which is said to have temporarily put the brakes on their romance. But the pair managed to patch things up and got more serious than ever.
Cressida Bonas is said to have been unhappy at the amount of attention given to her by the press and overwhelmed at the possibility of becoming a royal.
When it was announced, Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas split surprised even the most avid royal-watchers.
“Nobody had any idea that this was coming,” Ingrid Seward, editor in chief of Majesty magazine, told PEOPLE magazine.
“She was moving into her new flat and getting on with her life. I thought they were very happy together.”
Cressida Bonas has reportedly been granted compassionate leave from her job after ending her two-year relationship with Prince Harry last week.
Cressida Bonas has reportedly been granted compassionate leave from her job after ending her two-year relationship with Prince Harry last week
According to sources, Cressida Bonas, who is currently working for a marketing company in London’s Soho, has been given compassionate leave from work, while she gets over the break up.
Cressida Bonas was photographed earlier this week looking tired and drawn as she made her way to the office, and hasn’t been seen since then.
When Kate Middleton and Prince William broke up in 2007, she was granted the same thing.
Prince Harry does not seem to be suffering the same difficulties; he has been living it up at Miami pre-wedding celebrations for his friend, Guy Pelly.
Despite a recent InTouch cover story that claimed Jennifer Aniston is expecting a baby girl with fiancé Justin Theroux, it appears the actress is not pregnant.
A recent InTouch cover story that claimed Jennifer Aniston is expecting a baby girl with fiancé Justin Theroux (photo Getty Images)
“She’s not pregnant,” one source told Us Weekly.
Jennifer Aniston, who recently returned to the West Coast following an NYC jaunt with Justin Theroux, complained to pals in March that she ate too much in Manhattan.
Following her NYC trip, Jennifer Aniston returned to work on the L.A. set of upcoming indie flick Cake, where she was photographed last month from a side angle – revealing a supposedly fuller tummy.
The InTouch story also claimed that Justin Theroux was a “changed man,” going from “commitment-phobe carouser to doting dad-to-be overnight” following Jennifer Aniston’s alleged pregnancy.
A source close to Justin Theroux says that while the couple is not yet expecting any little ones, they are open to having a family in the future.
Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk has blamed the country’s security services for failing to stop violence in the southern city of Odessa that left more than 40 people dead.
Most of the victims were pro-Russian separatists who died in a fire after barricading themselves in a building.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s comments came as Ukrainian troops surrounded the pro-Russian stronghold of Sloviansk in the east.
He said of the Odessa violence: “I personally blame the security service and law enforcement office for doing nothing to stop this crackdown.”
PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk has blamed Ukraine’s security services for failing to stop Odessa violence that left more than 40 people dead (photo CNBC)
Arseniy Yatsenyuk said: “These security forces are inefficient and they violated the law.”
He said the police chief of the Odessa region had been removed and that the prosecutor’s office had started an investigation.
“The prosecutor’s office is to investigate everyone – starting with the chief of police, his deputies and every single police officer.”
However, Arsniy Yatsenyuk also blamed pro-Russian groups for “provoking the unrest”.
He accused Russia and pro-Russian protesters of orchestrating “real war… to eliminate Ukraine and eliminate Ukrainian independence”.
Ukrainian troops have encircled Sloviansk as the government seeks to wrest control from the separatists.
Several people were reported killed in clashes around Sloviansk on Saturday. The defense ministry said one checkpoint was removed overnight.
Gunfire was also reported overnight in Kostyantynivka and Mariupol as Ukrainian forces tried to reclaim government offices.
There was heavy fighting in the town of Kramatorsk on Saturday, with the interior ministry saying the army had retaken a television tower.
Kiev officials said at least two people were killed in the town, although Russian state television reported 10 deaths.
One Direction’s Liam Payne has split from his girlfriend Sophia Smith, Us Weekly reported.
Liam Payne and Sophia Smith dated for eight months, and first met while attending St. Peter’s Collegiate School in Wolverhampton, England.
Liam Payne and Sophia Smith dated for eight months, and first met while attending St. Peter’s Collegiate School in Wolverhampton
A source told the publication: “They were spending too much time apart and it’s only going to get worse this year – the band going on a super long tour, her getting busier with university.”
“It was draining for the both of them and led to a lot of arguments. Liam was the one who chose to end it,” the source added.
Liam Payne, 20, is currently on tour with his bandmates for their Where We Are tour, which kicked off last month.
However, the singer has been vocal about his heartbreak, posting cryptic messages via Twitter on Friday.
“Can’t be without you,” he wrote.
“Worse thing I ever did was let you go.”
He added: “No all I got left is the thought of you.”
Liam Payne previously dated model and dancer Danielle Peazer on-and-off for three years before their split in May 2013.
Teenager Nathaniel Kangas has been arrested over the fatal shooting in remote Alaska of two state troopers who had appeared in Alaska State Troopers reality show.
Nathaniel Kangas, 19, is being held in connection with the deaths of Gabriel Rich and Patrick Johnson.
Gabriel Rich and Patrick Johnson had gone to the remote village of Tanana after reports someone was brandishing a firearm.
Patrick Johnson and Gabriel Rich had featured on past episodes of the National Geographic Channel show Alaska State Troopers (photo LA Times)
The troopers had featured on past episodes of the National Geographic Channel show Alaska State Troopers.
A man said to be Nathaniel Kangas’ father has also been arrested in connection with a separate incident on Wednesday.
Arvin Kangas, 58, was charged with assault involving a village public safety officer.
Gabriel Rich and Patrick Johnson were based in the troopers’ rural service unit in Fairbanks and had travelled to Tanana – a village of 238 people accessible mainly by aircraft – on Thursday to investigate the matter.
Officials have not yet released details related to the troopers’ shooting on Thursday.
National Geographic wrote in a statement it was “incredibly saddened” by Gabriel Rich and Patrick Johnson’s deaths.
Barack Obama made fun of his healthcare policy, his political opponents and Vladimir Putin at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
The healthcare policy has serious IT issues, prompting the joke: “In 2008 my slogan was: <<Yes we can>>. In 2013 my slogan was: <<Control-alt-delete>>.”
Barack Obama ridiculed media commentators for their apparent obsession with Vladimir Putin’s bare chest.
Dozens of celebrities, journalists and politicians were at the dinner.
Barack Obama made fun of his healthcare policy, his political opponents and Vladimir Putin at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner
The roll-out of healthcare.gov, Barack Obama’s main policy initiative of his second term, provided much of the humor.
The president made several references to computer malfunctions.
“Does anybody know how to fix this,” he asked, pretending that the overhead projector had failed to work.
Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who quit as a result of the IT issues, stepped up and said: “I got this. I see it all the time.”
The president used Vladimir Putin as a way of lampooning some conservative commentators and political opponents.
“Last year [conservative commentator] Pat Buchanan said Putin is headed straight for the Nobel Peace Prize… to be fair they give those to just about anybody these days. So it could happen,” he said.
Barack Obama was given the award in 2009 having been nominated for it after less than two weeks in office.
“[Republican] Mike Huckabee and [conservative commentator] Sean Hannity keep talking about his bare chest, which is kind of weird.”
The annual WHCA Dinner is traditionally used by presidents to ridicule their opponents, but also laugh at themselves.
In a recent interview with Us Weekly, Duck Dynasty‘s Jase, Missy Robertson talk about their daughter Mia’s struggle with cleft lip and palate.
In a recent interview with Us Weekly, Duck Dynasty’s Jase, Missy Robertson talk about their daughter Mia’s struggle with cleft lip and palate (photo Us Weekly)
Jase and Missy Robertson reveal they endured the challenge of their lives when their daughter Mia, now 10, was born with a cleft lip and palate.
Mia Robertson is their youngest child – joining big brothers Reed, now 18, and Cole, 16 – faced more than just cosmetic problems, and has had five vital surgeries so far.
In an extensive interview for the new issue of Us Weekly, Jase Robertson, 44, and Missy Robertson, 43, reveal that raising a bright, gifted child with special needs has transformed and enriched their lives forever.
Two explosions have killed three people and wounded several others in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, police say.
In the deadliest attack, a grenade was reportedly thrown in a bus that had just arrived from Nairobi.
The other blast happened at a bar near a hotel in the Nyali beach area. There are no reports of casualties there.
Kenya has been hit by a spate of attacks blamed by the government on Somali Islamist militants.
Kenya has been hit by a spate of attacks blamed by the government on Somali Islamist militants (photo EMPICS)
The al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab has carried out several attacks in Kenya since 2011, when Kenya sent troops into Somalia to battle it.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility for Saturday’s blasts.
The first blast is believed to have occurred after a grenade was thrown in a Nairobi-Mombasa bus that had just arrived in the busy Mwembe Tayari transport terminal, killing three people and wounding at least four others.
The second explosion took place at a beach bar near the Nayali Reef Hotel, after a device was left in a plastic bag in the washroom.
It is thought that a third attack was planned for a nearby cinema complex but was unsuccessful.
All three incidents happened within minutes of each other.
Tensions have been rising in Mombasa in recent months, with authorities accusing Islamists of radicalizing local youths.
Al-Shabab was blamed for an attack on a church in Mombasa in March that killed six people.
Shortly afterwards, a radical Muslim cleric alleged to have acted as a recruiter for al-Shabab was shot dead near Mombasa, prompting riots in the city.
Afghan rescuers have given up hope of finding any more survivors in a double landslide that is feared to have killed more than 2,500 people in Badakhshan.
They have stopped digging through the earth and mud that swamped a whole village in the remote north-east province of Badakhshan on Friday.
Officials now say the site has become a mass grave for the village of Ab Barik.
Aid, including tents, food and water, has begun to arrive for the survivors.
They spent Friday night camped out in near freezing conditions on the open hillside.
Afghan rescuers have given up hope of finding any more survivors in a double landslide that is feared to have killed more than 2,500 people in Badakhshan
Heavy rain is believed to have triggered Friday’s two landslides, the first of which buried hundreds of homes and the second then killed rescuers who had arrived at the scene to help reach survivors.
Attempts to dig through the thick mud to find survivors continued into Saturday, with people using shovels and even their bare hands.
But the last of the diggers had given up by later on in the day, realizing their efforts are futile, our correspondent reports.
“We cannot continue the search and rescue operation anymore, as the houses are under metres of mud,” provincial governor Shah Waliullah Adeeb said.
“We will offer prayers for the victims and make the area a mass grave.”
The landslide buried around 370 homes, which officials say housed in total some 2,500 people.
The UN says only 350 bodies have so far been recovered.
The landslides hit on Friday morning, a day of rest in Afghanistan, meaning whole families would have been at home at the time.
After the first landslide struck, residents from a neighboring village came to the rescue only to be caught by a second landslide that brought down the entire side of one hill and thousands of tonnes of mud and earth.
Continuing rain has raised fears of further landslides.
Badakhshan is in the most remote and mountainous part of the country, bordering Tajikistan, China and Pakistan.
It is one of the poorest regions in one of the poorest countries.
Another, smaller landslide was reported in Badakhshan on Thursday.
Efrem Zimbalist Jr., who starred in the long-running TV show The FBI, has died at the age of 95.
The actor played Inspector Lewis Erskine in the show, which ran from 1965 until 1974.
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. starred in the long-running TV show The FBI
Before that Efrem Zimbalist Jr. became a household name in the US playing private investigator Stu Bailey in 77 Sunset Strip, which ran from 1958 to 1964.
In later life he retired to his ranch in Solvang, California, where he died on Friday.
Efrem Zimbalist’s daughter Stephanie Zimbalist and son Efrem Zimbalist III said in a statement: “We are heartbroken to announce the passing into peace of our beloved father, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., at his Solvang ranch.
“He actively enjoyed his life to the last day, showering love on his extended family, playing golf and visiting with close friends.”
In addition to his leading TV roles, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. made numerous stage and film appearances. His stage debut was opposite Spencer Tracy in The Rugged Path.
His show The FBI was famous for posting real photos from the federal crime investigation agency’s most-wanted list at the end of each program.
The FBI honored Efrem Zimbalist Jr. by making him an honorary “G-man” in 2009.
It was nearly year ago that Charles Ramsey helped Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escape about a decade of captivity in Ariel Castro’s home on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland.
Charles Ramsey sat down for an interview with Plain Dealer reporter Tom Feran.
Ariel Castro’s neighbor helped Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Amanda’s daughter escape a nearly a decade of captivity and abuse in the house of horrors on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland.
Charles Ramsey’s new book Dead Giveaway written with Randy Nyerges, has been released on May 1 (photo Digital First Media)
“Their faith has been test for ten years,” said Charles Ramsey about Gina DeJesus’ mother and father during the interview with Plain Dealer.
“They didn’t give up one day of hope….Those are the heros, it’s not me.”
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were given 2014 Ohio Courage medals by Gov. John Kasich during his State of the State speech in February.
Ariel Castro, 53, died in prison last year when he was found hanging in his prison cell after being sentenced to life plus 1,000 years when he plead guilty to hundreds of counts of kidnapping and rape involving the three young women.
Charles Ramsey’s new book Dead Giveaway written with Randy Nyerges, has been released on May 1 by publisher Gray& Co.
Almost a year later, Charles Ramsey is the first person connected to the ordeal to release a book, Dead Giveaway, the title coming from a phrase Ramsey used in a local TV interview.
Written with Randy Nyerges of Berea and carrying the lengthy subtitle The Rescue, Hamburgers, White Folks and Instant Celebrity … What You Saw on TV Doesn’t Even Begin to Tell the Story …, the book covers a wide range of topics and much of his life.
Cleveland survivors Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus will be in Washington DC the first anniversary of their escape, along with Michelle Knight, from Ariel Castro’s house after a decade in captivity.
Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus will be at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will honor them at its annual Hope Awards Dinner.
Amanda Berry was 16 and Gina DeJesus was 14 when they were abducted
The center said in a news release Thursday that it is honoring Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus for “their courage and resilience and for giving hope to families still searching for their missing children”.
Amanda Berry was 16 and Gina DeJesus was 14 when they were abducted. Michelle Knight, who was held the longest, was 21 when she was reported missing. The center focuses on the exploitation of children and that is why only Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus are being recognized Tuesday, though the center has acknowledged Michelle Knight’s captivity in its news release.
The anniversary of their freedom has received wide attention. Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus have not yet talked publicly about their ordeal. They have been collaborating on a book with Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Mary Jordan of The Washington Post, who is from Cleveland.
Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus’ book is expected to be published next year.
Michelle Knight, who discussed her abduction at length on psychologist Phil McGraw’s talk show last year, is expected to release her own book in the coming week.
During a recent interview, Michelle Knight revealed how her captor Ariel Castro would keep her and the other two women locked in an upstairs room when guests would come to visit – blocking them in with piles of furniture.
Using a model reconstruction of the Cleveland horror house, Michelle Knight, who has changed her name to Lily Rose Lee, explained how Ariel Castro “would take speakers, a couch, chairs and block anyone from getting up the stairs at all”.
Michelle Knight, who spent more than a decade locked up, revealed that she has moved into her own apartment and started cooking classes as she dreams of becoming a chef.
The 33-year-old told Today Show: “Sometimes in life you have a dark past that makes you who you are but doesn’t define who you are.”
Michelle Knight is now known as Lily Rose Lee, a name she picked after her favorite flower. She explained her decision, saying: “I felt like every brand new start needs new beginnings.”
Michelle Knight revealed how her captor Ariel Castro would keep her and the other two women locked in an upstairs room when guests would come to visit (photo Today Show)
She escaped on May 6, 2013, along with Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Berry’s 6-year-old daughter from the Cleveland home.
Michelle Knight explained how at times during those long years in the house she contemplated suicide but that her friendship with fellow captor Gina DeJesus kept her strong.
She earlier revealed that she has cut ties with Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus.
Michelle Knight explained Today Show that the three survivors have put distance between each other as they all come to terms with the ordeal they suffered.
She said: “I love them and they love me. Hopefully we’ll all get back together again.”
Michelle Knight has written a memoir Finding Me which comes out on May 6, the one-year anniversary of the women’s escape.
In her book, she tells of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Ariel Castro, who killed himself in prison in September just weeks into his life sentence.
Michelle Knight had made a brave and defiant appearance at Ariel Castro’s sentencing in August in which she told him: “I spent 11 years in hell, your hell is just beginning.”
She also reveals in her book the close bond she developed with the other women, who were all snatched off the streets of Cleveland by Ariel Castro between 2002 and 2004.
Michelle Knight, who is 4’11, said that her hellish ordeal has taught her to enjoy every moment of her life.
Michelle Knight was the only one of Ariel Castro’s three victims to appear in person at his trial. Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry’s victim impact statements were read by members of their family.
Country singer Willie Nelson’s tour bus is now for sale.
Rolling Stone magazine has confirmed the vehicle’s authenticity, with a spokesperson for the singer confirming that the bus belonged to Willie Nelson’s longtime drummer Paul English.
Tom O’Leary purchased the bus on eBay in 2010 “on a whim”.
“I’m not especially a Willie Nelson fan,” Tom O’Leary told Rolling Stone.
“I mainly just thought it looked cool. It needed quite a bit of work when I got it and I did it all myself: fuel systems, electrical, floors, plumbing.”
The bus belonged to Willie Nelson’s longtime drummer Paul English
Tom O’Leary says he only uses it twice a year, “mainly for NASCAR races and hunting trips” and that “it’s just time for someone else to enjoy it for what it is”.
“Due to the extremely high demand and the amount of offers being thrown at us for this bus, we have decided to take offers all the way to 12:00 AM central 5/3/2014 for this bus,” reads the ad.
As of press time, the current offer is $65,000.
The bus features a drawing of a bald eagle with outstretched wings on the back with the text, “Looking back at myself”. On a sign on the front of the bus, where the intended destination would be, is a simple, “We love Willie”. The ornate vehicle also features stained glass windows, red velvet curtains, a framed portrait of Jimmie Rodgers and Native American artwork. As the ad notes, the 1983 bus gets seven miles per gallon and has “four air conditioning units on the roof with heat as well.”
The bus had three owners before Tom O’Leary bought it.
Johnny Temples, one of Willie Nelson’s bus drivers in the Eighties, told the Dallas Morning News that the bus was named The Scout and was one of four buses on the tour, “along with Willie Nelson’s iconic Honeysuckle Rose, the crew members’ Warrior and the band’s Red-Headed Stranger”.
The bus was later renamed Me & Paul after Willie Nelson’s 1985 album of the same name.
“Willie rode that bus when he played dominoes,” Johnny Temples told the Morning News.
“But that was not his personal bus.”
In 2011, Willie Nelson’s 1986 Eagle 1 tour bus sold for more than $43,000.
Donald Sterling’s alleged mistress, V. Stiviano, says his racist comments on an audio recording leaked to the public were not the first by the Los Angeles Clippers owner in conversations with her.
”There’s been a number of occasions where Mr. Sterling and I had conversations just like this one. This was one of very many,” V. Stiviano told Barbara Walters on ABC’s 20/20 in an interview that aired Friday night.
”Part of what the world heard was only 15 minutes. There’s a number of other hours that the world doesn’t know.”
Donald Sterling told his personal assistant V. Stiviano in the recording that she should not post online photos of herself with black people, including basketball great Magic Johnson, or bring black people to Clippers’ games.
V. Stiviano said that since the ban, Donald Sterling has felt confused, alone and not supported by those around him
The recording, which an attorney for V. Stiviano said was leaked by a third party, led to public outcry across the country and the NBA. Some sponsors dropped the Clippers and other re-evaluated their relationship with the NBA.
On Tuesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Donald Sterling for life, fined him $2.5 million and urged league owners to force him to sell the team. A three-quarters vote by the NBA owners is required to force him to sell.
Though V. Stiviano told Barbara Walters that Donald Sterling should ”absolutely” apologize, she said she still loves him like a father figure and does not believe he is a racist.
”I think Mr. Sterling is from a different generation than I am,” she said.
”I think he was brought up to believe these things, segregation, whites and blacks. But through his actions he’s shown that he’s not a racist. He’s shown to be a very generous and kind man.”
V. Stiviano, 31, said that since the ban, Donald Sterling has felt confused, alone and not supported by those around him.
”I think he’s highly more traumatized and hurt by the things that he said himself,” she said.
”I think he can’t even believe or understand sometimes the thing he says, and I think he’s hurt by it. He’s hurting right now.”
Donald Sterling, 80, has been accused of racial missteps before.
The billionaire had paid a $2.76 million settlement to resolve a federal lawsuit accusing him of systematically excluding blacks and Hispanics from his rental properties.
Donald Sterling also won a wrongful termination lawsuit by general manager Elgin Baylor, who accused him of various slurs and slights.
The Nigerian government has decided to shut schools and government offices across the capital Abuja, while a World Economic Forum conference takes place next week.
A big security operation is being promised to protect more than 1,000 delegates at the three-day meeting, after two deadly bomb attacks in Abuja.
An explosion late on Thursday killed 19 people, two weeks after a nearby bombing left 75 dead.
Islamist militant group Boko Haram is being blamed for the violence.
The same group is believed to be behind the kidnapping of more than 200 teenage girls from their school in Borno state in north-eastern Nigeria more than a fortnight ago.
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2014 will take place in Abuja from May 7 to May 9
The group, whose name means “Western education is forbidden” in the local Hausa language, has staged a wave of attacks in northern Nigeria in recent years, with an estimated 1,500 killed in the violence and subsequent security crackdown this year alone.
President Goodluck Jonathan’s government says 5,000 police and soldiers will be deployed for the World Economic Forum on Africa, which begins on Wednesday.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the presidents of Rwanda, Senegal and Kenya will be among international as well as African figures at the forum.
While the official reason for closing all schools and government offices in Abuja is to ensure traffic flows smoothly, tightening security is also a likely reason.
Fewer vehicles on the roads should enable stricter searches and cut the number of potential targets for further bomb attacks, he adds.
“The government has taken the strongest measures to ensure a safe forum. We ask participants not to let terror win,” Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement.
In a separate development, the US embassy has warned its citizens of a planned “unspecified attack” on one of two Sheraton hotels in Lagos.
The finance minister said the security measures were aimed at calming nerves but told Nigerian media the focus on returning the abducted girls to their families was “much more important”.
Boko Haram has not made any response to the accusation that its fighters abducted the girls from the school in Chibok town in the middle of the night on April 14.
Since the kidnapping, parents have criticized the government’s search and rescue efforts.
The police chief in Borno state has put the number of missing girls at 223 and has appealed to parents to come forward with photographs of their daughters to confirm who has been seized. According to the police commissioner, 53 of the girls are believed to have escaped.
It is thought that the militants initially took the girls to the Sambisa forest; there have been subsequent reports they have been taken over the borders into Chad and Cameroon and possibly forced to “marry” the insurgents.
The remaining seven international military observers taken captive in eastern Ukraine a week ago have been released.
Five Ukrainian officers captured with the observers, who are linked to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), were also freed.
Pro-Russian separatists in the town of Sloviansk say they released the OSCE observers “without conditions”.
Kiev has resumed military action against the separatists, with fighting reported in some areas.
Russia, accused by the West of being behind the unrest, says it “no longer has any influence” over the separatists.
Pro-Russian separatists in Sloviansk say they released the OSCE observers without conditions (photo Reuters)
Moscow also accused Kiev and the West of responsibility for Friday’s violence in the south-western city of Odessa, which left at least 36 people dead.
Both the OSCE and Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, a leader of the insurgency in the east, confirmed the releases.
“As I promised them, we celebrated my birthday yesterday and they left. As I said, they were my guests,” Vyacheslav Ponomaryov said.
Russia had sent an envoy to negotiate the releases. Vladimir Lukin said he hoped the “voluntary act” by the separatists would be reciprocated by Kiev, adding: “I would very much like military actions to end.”
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman in Moscow, Dmitry Peskov, said: “From now on Russia essentially has lost its influence over these people because it will be impossible to convince them to lay down arms when there’s a direct threat to their lives.”
One of the observers, German Colonel Axel Schneider, said the team had been treated “as good as possible” in what was a “miserable situation”.
Western leaders had condemned the abductions.
On Friday, President Barack Obama again called for the observers to be released, saying their abduction was “inexcusable” and “disgraceful”.
The observers – four Germans, a Dane, a Pole and a Czech – are not part of the main OSCE monitoring mission, which was agreed after long negotiations by Russia, Ukraine and the US.
Ukraine’s government meanwhile confirmed a second day of military operations in the east.
President Barack Obama has announced he will ask Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate problems surrounding the application of the death penalty in the US.
His announcement comes just days after a botched execution in Oklahoma drew widespread attention.
Barack Obama called inmate Clayton Lockett’s prolonged death earlier this week from an improperly delivered lethal injection “deeply troubling”.
The president said he has conflicting feelings regarding the death penalty.
“This situation in Oklahoma I think just highlights some of the significant problems,” Barack Obama told reporters.
The problems surrounding Clayton Lockett’s execution come amid a wider debate over the legality of the three-drug method (photo Fox News)
Americans should “ask ourselves some difficult and profound questions around these issues”, he added.
Barack Obama, trained as a lawyer, said the death penalty is warranted in some cases – including child and mass murder – but its application in the US is problematic.
At issue are evidence of racial bias and potential exoneration of some inmates, he said.
Barack Obama said he will task Eric Holder with providing “an analysis of what steps have been taken, not just in this particular instance, but more broadly in this area”.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has ordered an “independent review” of the state’s execution protocols, saying the state’s department of public safety would lead the inquiry.
Prison officials in Oklahoma inserted lethal drugs into Clayton Lockett’s groin after failing to find a vein elsewhere.
They took 51 minutes to find a suitable vein and did not realize the one they chose in his groin had collapsed.
The inmate succumbed to a heart attack 10 minutes after his execution was stopped, as he writhed and mumbled.
Clayton Lockett had been sentenced to death for shooting 19-year-old Stephanie Neiman and watching as two accomplices buried her alive in 1999.
Stephanie Neiman and a friend had interrupted the men as they robbed a home.
The problems surrounding Clayton Lockett’s execution come amid a wider debate over the legality of the three-drug method and whether its use violates guarantees in the US constitution “against cruel and unusual punishment”.
The US has encountered increasing problems in obtaining the drugs for lethal injections, amid an embargo by European pharmaceutical companies.
Thailand’s opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has called for elections scheduled for July to be pushed back by up to six months.
In a 10-point package of proposals, Abhisit Vejjajiva said PM Yingluck Shinawatra and her government should resign, allowing an interim cabinet to oversee a referendum on reforms.
Yingluck Shinawatra has not responded to the proposals yet.
Thailand has been in political deadlock since anti-government protests began in Bangkok in November 2013.
Yingluck Shinawatra’s government announced the July 20 polls after a previous snap election in February was declared unconstitutional.
Thailand’s opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has called for elections scheduled for July to be pushed back by up to six months
The ruling Pheu Thai party had been expected to win the February vote. However, the opposition boycotted the polls and protesters disrupted voting.
At the height of the anti-government demonstrations, protesters shut down key road junctions and blockaded government ministries. Their number has since declined.
On Saturday, Abhisit Vejjajiva said his opposition Democrat party would not contest July’s polls.
The main proposals in his 10-point plan are:
July’s planned elections are delayed. A reform council drafts a plan of reforms, which are sent for a national referendum
The current government resigns and a non-partisan interim government is appointed.
Following the national referendum, new elections are held
The new elected government must carry out the reform plans. A fresh election will then be held within a year
However, Jarupong Ruangsuwan, leader of the ruling Pheu Thai party, told Reuters news agency: “The government cannot accept Abhisit’s plan because it is outside the framework of the constitution.”
The plan would “only increase divisions in Thai society,” he said, adding: “Asking the government to resign is tantamount to ripping up the constitution.”
Abhisit Vejjajiva acknowledged that he and his Democrat party were partly responsible for the political mess Thailand was in, and said he was offering a way out.
Yingluck Shinawatra faces a court verdict next week which could result in her being barred from politics for five years, a result her supporters say they would view as tantamount to a coup.
Pheu Thai party and Yingluck Shinawatra remain very popular in rural areas.
