IS conflict: Dozens killed in Baghdad car bombings..........Source :BBC NEWS

At least 93 people have been killed in three car bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, police and medics say.

The deadliest killed 84 people and wounded 87 in a market in the mainly Shia Muslim area of Sadr City.
Later two suicide bombers targeted police checkpoints in the northern district of Kadhimiya and in Jamia, in the west, leaving 29 dead.
The so-called Islamic State (IS) group claimed the attacks - the worst day of violence in Baghdad so far this year.
The Sunni jihadist group, which controls large swathes of northern and western Iraq, has frequently targeted Shia, whom it considers apostates.
Islamic State group: The full story
IS crisis in seven charts
The target of Wednesday's first bombing was the busy market in Sadr City.
Police and witnesses said the explosives were hidden under fruit and vegetables loaded on a pick-up trick.


 

They said the driver disappeared after parking the vehicle in the market, shortly before the massive blast turned the area into an inferno.
"It was such a thunderous explosion that jolted the ground," Karim Salih, a 45-year old grocer, told the Associated Press. "The force of the explosion threw me for meters away and I lost consciousness for a few minutes."
Many victims were women inside a beauty salon, including several brides who appeared to be getting ready for their weddings, police sources told Reuters news agency. The bodies of two men believed to be grooms were found in an adjacent barber shop, they added.

Both police officers and civilians were among the at least 17 people who died and 43 who were injured, officials said.
At around the same time, another suicide car bomb targeted a checkpoint in the Jamia district, which is predominantly Sunni, killing 12 people and wounding 31.

Political turmoil

Our correspondent says the bombings come in the midst of an acute political crisis in the city, with parliament unable to meet and the government effectively paralysed by factional disputes.
In the aftermath of the Sadr City bombing, he adds, angry survivors blamed the politicians for failing to protect them and ensure security.

US Election 2016: Donald Trump softens stance on Muslim ban

 

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears to have softened his stance on temporarily barring Muslims from travelling to the US.

Responding to remarks by new London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Mr Trump told Fox News the ban was "just a suggestion".
Mr Khan has expressed concern that he would not be able to travel to the US under a Trump administration because of his Muslim faith.
Mr Trump had offered to make an "exception" for Mr Khan.
Mr Khan refused Mr Trump's offer, saying the New York businessman's views were "ignorant" and would make the UK and the US "less safe".
Mr Trump proposed a ban on Muslims entering the US after attacks in Paris killed 130 people last year.

 Sadiq Khan suggested ban has been widely criticised in the US and abroad but Mr Trump until now has stood by the proposal, saying it was needed to ensure US security.
"It's a temporary ban. It hasn't been called for yet," Mr Trump said on Wednesday. "This is just a suggestion until we find out what's going on."
Mr Trump has shifted positions in the past on a variety of issues only to change his stance days later.

 

House Speaker Paul Ryan (right) says he is not ready to support Donald Trump's bid for presidency

 it's likely no coincidence that Donald Trump has softened the rhetoric surrounding his call for a sweeping ban on Muslim immigration into the US on the eve of his closely watched Washington meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan.
When Mr Trump first unveiled his proposal, Mr Paul's response was short and sharp.
"This is not conservatism," he said.
At the time Mr Paul's voice was just one of many in the Republican establishment condemning what seemed an extremely controversial proposal from the New York businessman.
Now Mr Trump is the presumptive nominee, and that Republican establishment has been moving - grudgingly - toward backing their new standard-bearer. Mr Ryan has been a holdout, however, saying he wants evidence that Mr Trump shares conservative values and principles.
Mr Trump's latest rhetorical swivel could be an olive branch to the speaker - and, perhaps, a fig leaf allowing Mr Ryan to eventually offer his support.

He has often given conflicting accounts on issues including his tax plan, abortion and transgender people accessing public toilets.
This flexibility has led to concerns among Republican Party leaders about his candidacy.
Top Republicans including House Speaker Paul Ryan have said they are not ready to support Mr Trump in the general election.
Mr Trump will meet Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Mr Ryan and others on Thursday in an attempt to resolve differences.


Also on Wednesday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney - who ran against President Barack Obama in 2012 - separately raised questions about Mr Trump's tax returns.
Mr Trump has thus far refused to release his tax records a common practice among presidential nominees. Mrs Clinton has posted her past eight tax returns on her website.
"It is disqualifying for a modern-day presidential nominee to refuse to release tax returns to the voters, especially one who has not been subject to public scrutiny in either military or public service," Mr Romney said.
Tax returns provide the public with its sole confirmation of the veracity of a candidate's representations regarding charities, priorities, wealth, tax conformance, and conflicts of interest. Further, while not a likely circumstance, the potential for hidden inappropriate associations with foreign entities, criminal organizations, or other unsavory groups is simply too great a risk to ignore for someone who is seeking to become commander-in-chief.

Pictures oF Some Of Your Favorite American Artistes #Throwback#

Instagram Unveils New Logo & Look, But It’s Not That Cool According To Some Users

 

Photo sharing app unveils new sunset-coloured logo and a sleeker in-app look, but opinion is mixed.
Instagram, the photo sharing app owned by Facebook has debuted a new logo.
The previous one, a retro-looking camera, and one of the most recognisable tech logos out there, has been replaced by a background swirl of sunset colours (orange, yellow, pink, purple) and a white outline of a camera. As if the camera was murdered, and chalk was drawn around its body. Murdered at sundown.
Here is the new logo:-




The new logo was announced via a blog post, a longer post on Medium from head of design, Ian Spalter, and also a short introductory film. The kind that is usually intensely annoying, but actually this one is quite cute (warning though: the end has a lot of flashing and intense colours).
The blog post asserts that the “Instagram community has evolved over the past five years from a place to share filtered photos to so much more – a global community of interests sharing more than 80m photos and videos every day. Our updated look reflects how vibrant and diverse your storytelling has become.”
Opinion on social media from Instagram users is split. Some are on the fence:
See what some people are saying:

 

Changes have also been made to the in-app UI, specifically a “flatter” design as well as some colour changes. Fonts are now black in colour, and notifications have changed from orange to red. Instagram has said that the update “puts more focus on your photos and videos without changing how you navigate the app.”

My Husband Ties Me Up And Rapes Me Daily – Lagos Woman Opens Up

 

Following the death of the Lagos-based banker, Ronke Shonde, who was allegedly killed by her husband, Lekan, a woman identified only as Esther, a 27-year-old victim of domestic violence has spoken out.

Esther told Channels TV on Tuesday that she had been a victim of domestic violence for the past seven years but held on to her marriage because she had nowhere else to go.

She revealed how she was impregnated at 18 due to the hostility in her by her stepfather.
She said after the birth of her child, the father of her child began abusing and beating her.

”My problems began after my mother remarried 10 years after my father died,” She said.
“My step father does not want to see me. He hates me and my kid brother with a passion.
He keenly shows me hatred to the extent that whenever he is at home, I can’t go into the house, I hang around, and I will not even be able to sleep in the house.
 
“Owing to this treatment from my stepfather, I had to leave his house since the condition there was unbearable and I got into a relationship with a man and my life became a living hell.
“I have no access to anything in the house; when he wants to go out, he will disconnect the wires and lock up the refrigerator
He denies my basic needs by locking up vital items in the house while he went to work.

“When he is at home, I can’t come out to his presence, I can’t sit on the bed or chair unless he asks me to. He would always say I didn’t come to his house with chair so I can’t sit on it.
“I became pregnant for him at 18 and safely put to birth.
“My baby was 9 days old when my husband started sleeping with me. I will complain of pains and he would not care.
He will shout at me, tie up my hands and legs to have s*x with me daily.
“I endured all these because I had nowhere to go. I was there until I had 2 children for him despite the
torture.

“After 2 more children and 3 abortions, I knew I had to move on with my life, else I will die in that house.
“I left the relationship after 7 years,” She narrated.

Esther and her children currently reside in the Ijora area of the state with her mother.
Esther advised abused women to speak out as soon as possible, adding that the only way to break free from the abuse was to break the bond of silence.

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Rapist, 82, who kept his own daughter as a sex slave for 23 years & locked her head in a box while he raped her is freed from prison

 

 

Despite fears he will offend again, an 82 year old Rapist, Ronald Van der Plaat who kept his own daughter as a sex slave for 23 years and raped her while her head was in a box has been freed from prison in New Zealand.

Ronald, known as one of New Zealand's most dreaded rapists, was sent to prison for 15 years for sexual abuse of his daughter.

 

He kept his daughter as a sex slave for 23 years of her life and would hang her up by her ankles or lock her head in a box with a padlock before raping her.

He has now been freed from prison and released to his Te Atatu address, where he abused Ms Darke, his daughter, amid fears he could commit rape offences again.

He was briefly released in 2010, but was sent back to jail two years later after being seen 'walking beside an Asian girl holding her hand' at a museum in Auckland.

 

The court conditions of his release means he must wear a GPS bracelet, he cannot leave his home between the hours of 10pm and 6am every day and has a ban on going to places where children younger than 16 may frequent.

 

This includes, parks, kindergartens, schools, childcare centres and libraries. 

Operations Director Northern Region Lynette Cave said Van der Plaat will be subject to 'nine standard and 12 special release conditions for a period of six months', but residents in the area fear he could begin his raping spree.

'There are real and just concerns in the community about the risk this man poses to the safety of vulnerable people given his appalling behaviour and the circumstances when he was last released,' Te Atatu MP Phil Twyford said.

The abuse of Ms Darke, who waved her right to privacy, started when she was only nine years old and continued until she was in her 30s.

She also wrote a book about her ordeal called Flight of the Dancing Bird.

Source: Daily Mail

Ibe Kachikwu confirms fuel to now sell for N145

   
 
Na wa oo...see press statement after cut ...