"It was a traumatic experience" says Catholic priest who spoke to the executed Nigerians at the shooting place in Indonesia

A Catholic priest who was present at Nusakambangan prison in Indonesia during last Thursday's executions of three Nigerian drug convicts and one local drug lord, has described the experience as 'traumatic'

Father Charles Burrows, who is based in Cilacap near the prison, was called there to speak with two of of the three Nigerians, who were among 4 death row prisoners executed by firing squad. 

Father Burrows said he doesn't know if the executed prisoners suffered. He said he had been present in the past when it has taken several minutes for prisoners to die.

"The first time, it was seven to eight minutes, and then there were some of the other times it was 15 minutes and they still weren't, hadn't expired," he said. "And the captain has to wait with a pistol and shoot into the brain." he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Father Burrows said he went with the other ministers from different spiritualities to the "shooting place", because there was no time to speak with them in their cells, with great confusion in the lead-up to the execution. He said it was a "traumatic experience". The ministers prayed together while four ministers spoke to the four men who were executed.

Bill Clinton goes after Donald Trump for calling out the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq

Hillary Clinton's top surrogates are taking aim at rival Donald Trump for criticizing the bereaved mother of a Muslim Army captain, a comment that sparked outrage across the political spectrum on Saturday.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine expressed shock that the GOP nominee would attack Ghazala Khan for not speaking during her husband's address to the Democratic convention.

"He was kind of trying to turn that into some kind of ridicule," Kaine said after a campaign event in Pittsburgh. "It just demonstrates again kind of a temperamental unfitness. If you don't have any more sense of empathy than that, then I'm not sure you can learn it."

Former President Bill Clinton, who joined his wife and Kaine at the event, agreed: "I cannot conceive how you can say that about a Gold Star mother."

Nigerian Military attacks Ijaw militants in Ogun State

The Nigerian Military has continued the aerial bombardment of Fatola, the hideout of militants and pipeline vandals in the Arepo area of Ogun State. According to online reports, the air raid happened in yesterday afternoon and was said to have lasted 30 minutes. A fighter jet fired missiles at the Iroko creeks, leaving no fewer than 100 suspected militants dead and their camps/shanties destroyed.

Residents were caught unawares and had to run from their homes to avoid being hit during the bombardment.


The Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar confirmed the air strikes. According to him, the joint operation will continue until the area is secure and free from all criminal gangs, either militants or vandals. However, he didn't ascertain the number of casualties from the strike.

1 woman dead and 4 people seriously injured after multiple shootings in Austin, Texas

One woman has died and multiple people were hospitalised after two shootings in downtown Austin, Texas.

Emergency services were called to Sixth Street at 2:17 a.m on Sunday. Police on Twitter urged locals to stay away from the area.

Seven minutes later, emergency services responded to another call on nearby Trinity Street where the victim was being assaulted by an individual with a firearm near a parking garage.

Police later confirmed that the two incidents were isolated and not related.

The incident on Sixth Street was believed to have begun after a disagreement between two individuals led one of them to fire shots into the crowd. Paramedics at the scene said bodies with gunshot wounds were spread across the area.

A woman in her 30s was pronounced dead at the scene and four other people were injured, according to the Austin-County Emergency Medical Services.

Eyewitness Dorian Santiago told Sky News: "We heard fired shots, and people started running crazy ... I was trying to figure out what happened."

"One victim ... they were trying to do CPR to help her, but it looked like she was already dead."

Austin police chief, Bryan Manley, stressed that the incidents were not related, saying: "What we had was two separate incidents that occurred in very close proximity to each other both in location and time that made us initially believe it was an active shooter."

Lockhart balloon crash: First picture of tragic pilot killed as footage emerges showing devastating wreckage

The tragic pilot who died in a hot air balloon crash in Texas has been named as Skip Nichols.

He was chief pilot at Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, the company involved in the disaster in Lockhart earlier today.

All 16 people on board were killed when the balloon came down in a field near Austin at around 7.40am local time.

Mr Nichols posted several pictures of himself online from the baskets of other balloons while flying high above the Texas countryside.

People have paid tribute to him on social media following his tragic death.

Wendy Bartch posted: "Love you Skip. Forever... Rest in Peace my friend. You touched my heart."

Skip Nichols/Facebook

An image from July 21 shared by hot air balloon pilot Skip Nichols

Coded Tunes Gets New CEO And Artiste [Photos)

Veteran music producer,  ID Cabasa, has unveiled a new CEO for his record label, Coded Tunes.

Cabasa, who was a year older yesterday, had a press conference on the same day to unveil the new CEO, in the person of, Marvellous Imabeh, alongside his new act, Gaise.

The new CEO, at the conference, also spoke on the direction the label will be taking in the nearest future, as there are already plans underway.

ID Cabasa, also revealed that his new act, Gaise, will be dropping his new single, titled ‘Frog In Boiling Water’ very soon

Stephen Keshi's son expresses disappointment over FG's unfulfilled promises to honor his father

Stephen Keshi Junior, son of former Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, took to his IG page yesterday to express his disappointment at the Federal government's unfulfilled promises to honor his father at his father's funeral rites which kicked off in Benin city Edo state yesterday July 28th. He wrote:

Shocking video shows angry father beating teenage daughter in Ebonyi State after he caught her having sex with lover

Disturbing video emerged on social media which shows an angry father beating his daughter, a high school student after he caught her having sex with a man in their home. He even gave people around permission to film the scene. The incident reportedly happened yesterday, July 28 in Uburu, Ohaozara, Ebonyi state. I'm sharing the photos because you can't tell who they are from looking at the photos. See them after the cut...

Brazilian drug lord serves his time in a 'VIP cell' that had a library, plasma TV, 3 rooms and an en-suite bathroom

A Brazilian drug lord serving an eight-year prison sentence, spent his time behind bars in a 'VIP cell' - complete with a plasma television, a kitchen, wardrobes, conference room, air conditioning, tiled walls, furniture, and library - complete with a DVD collection that included all episodes of a television show about Pablo Escobar. 

Jarvis Chimenes Pavao, one of South America's deadliest and most feared drug lords was sentenced to 8 years in prison after being found guilty of money laundering charges and was locked up in Tacumb prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, where he lived a life of luxury. See more photos after the cut...

Russians 'likely responsible' for Clinton campaign hack

Hillary Clinton’s campaign computers have been hacked, said sources who added Friday that the Russian government is likely responsible for yet another attack on Democrats.

The newly revealed attack comes after computer networks for the Democratic National Committee and the party’s fund-raising committee for congressional candidates were also hacked.

A trove of stolen e-mails from the party — released last week — resulted in the downfall of DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who resigned as a result of explosive revelations.

Belgium arrests 2 brothers suspected of plotting attack

Nourredine H., 33, and his brother Hamza H. were taken in for questioning following police searches Friday evening in the city of Liege and the Mons region. A Belgian judge will decide Saturday whether the two men should remain in custody.

The police searches were carried out at the request of a magistrate specializing in terrorism investigations, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. It said that according to preliminary information, the brothers may have been involved in plans to commit an attack in Belgium.

15 facts about relationships everybody should know before getting married

You can drive yourself crazy deciding whether to marry your partner.

Can you two really survive a lifetime together?

I mean, you adore them ... but they constantly leave hair in the shower. They tell the worst jokes ... but they're always there to comfort you after a hard day.

Perhaps it would help to turn to the scientific research, which has pinpointed specific factors that can make or break a romantic relationship.

Below, we've rounded up 15 non-trivial things you might want to keep in mind before hiring a wedding planner.

This is an update of an article originally posted by Drake Baer.

Zoo animals are starving to death at Venezuela's zoos

Venezuela is no stranger to crisis. In recent years, the South American country has been on the brink of economic collapse.

A drastic fall in oil prices, which provides almost all of Venezuela's foreign income, has been followed by a severe recession and widespread food and medicine shortages.

For Venezuelans, the scarcity has led to choosing between waiting in hours-long lines for basic food supplies or succumbing to sky-high prices on the black market.

That scarcity has now spread to Venezuela's zoos, where food shortages have left some animals emaciated or even dying.

Method Man quits social media after photo of his wife surfaces online

Method Man quit social media after a rare photo of his wife, Tameka was posted online by Farrah Gray, the "celebrity entrepreneur". Method Man has been married to his wife Tameka for over 17 years and they have 3 children together has always protected his family life from the public.

After he saw the photo of his wife, he reached out to Gray and asked for the photo to be taken down. He wrote:

Homeland chief says biggest fear is lone wolf style terror attack

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the threat of “lone wolf” terror attacks has become his biggest fear, saying self-radicalized militants are much more difficult for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to detect.

Mr. Johnson, speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, said U.S. and foreign counterterrorism officials have had to adjust to the prevalence of “small scale attacks in increasing frequency,” both in the U.S. and Europe.

He specifically mentioned the December terror attack in San Bernardino, Calif., when a husband-and-wife team killed 14 people at a holiday party, and the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub last month that killed nearly 50 people.

Man who fought for custody of his son for almost a year gets the devastating news he had been dreading

Dillon Wyckoff who had been in a year-long custody battle over his two-year-old son, Mason Wyckoff got a tragic news on Friday that his little boy had passed away possibly at the hands of his mother. Emergency crews were called to his baby mama's apartment where they found the deceased toddler alongside his unconscious mother, Stephenie Erickson.

He told the Des Moines Register:

“He was everything in my world. She had threatened and threatened to do it, and she did it to hurt me. They haven’t proven anything yet, but I know down deep that’s what happened.”

“It’s been a year-long battle with all this stuff, and it’s been going downhill…We prayed and prayed it wouldn’t be this.”

Mason’s grandmother, Michel Cunningham, said they had lived in fear for months on end, worrying about Erickson’s mental stability especially after she told Wyckoff he would “never see his son again”:

“I tried contacting DHS (the Department of Human Services). We’ve dealt with over seven different police departments for over a year. They kept telling us that we had to wait for ‘something to happen.’ And look at what did.

6 takeaways from Wednesday night at the Democratic Convention

The Democratic A-list on Wednesday cast Donald Trump as a threat to the American dream -- and Hillary Clinton as the nation's only chance to save it.

President Barack Obama called Trump a "homegrown demagogue." Michael Bloomberg dismissed him as a "con." And Vice President Joe Biden, in rejecting Trump, declared that "Americans have never, ever, ever, ever let their country down."

They set the frame for the Democratic National Convention's most important moment: Clinton's speech Thursday night.

Here are six takeaways from the third night in Philadelphia:

Kansas stepfather accused of abandoning infant in trash

 
Police in Lawrence, Kansas, say a 9-month-old girl's stepfather is accused of abandoning the infant in a trash bin earlier this month.
The Kansas City Star reports that 27-year-old Marquis Jamall Young is charged in an arrest warrant with attempted first-degree murder and child abuse.
The child was found early July 7 in the trash receptacle at an apartment complex.
The infant was treated at a Kansas City-area hospital and was released about two weeks later.
A police spokeswoman, Sgt. Amy Rhoads, says the girl is in the state's custody and will continue to receive outpatient treatment for her injuries.
It was not immediately clear Tuesday if Young has an attorney.

Knifeman who killed 19 at disabled care home pictured SMIRKING in back of police ca

Smirking as he is driven away in the back of a police car, this is the knifeman who killed 19 people and injured 25 at a care home for disabled people in Japan .

Satoshi Uematsu turned himself in following the stabbing spree in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture - Japan's worst mass killing in decades.

The 26-year-old today appeared before public prosecutors as a team of police officers raided his home.

About half a dozen plainclothes officers entered the property as reporters and TV cameras stood by.

Hillary Clinton formally selected as Democratic candidate for President with help from Bernie Sanders

 

Hillary Clinton is officially the first woman to top a major party ticket — and Bernie Sanders helped put her there Tuesday evening.

Sanders came to the floor at the Democratic National Convention at the end of their official roll call vote for President to ask that the party give Clinton the nomination by acclamation, his latest move toward unifying the party and assuaging his most stubborn supporters.

Clinton formally surpassed the 2,382 delegate votes she needed to officially lock in the nomination when the South Dakota delegation cast its votes during a state-by-state roll-call early in the evening.

But Sanders’ surprise speech provided the moment of catharsis.

“I move that the convention suspend the procedural votes … I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States,” he said before he kissed his wife Jane.

The crowd inside the Wells Fargo Center erupted into a deafening roar, with loud “Bernie” chants overtaking several delegations.

Sanders was then ushered out of the arena and Democratic National Committee interim Chairwoman Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) retook the stage.

Bill Clinton helps DNC recover after bumbling opening day

Last night’s Democratic convention was a triumph for Hillary and reversed what had begun on night one as an awkward and embarrassing hot mess of a convention.

Bill made a pitch for his wife in a way we hadn’t seen before — lovingly humanizing their relationship — a relationship that has been dissected, discussed, disgusted and digested by everyone who is isn’t them.

The Dems in short, showed us what our nation can be: kind, inclusive, understanding, nonviolent — everything that the Republican convention made us ashamed of becoming.

It was a great thing to see the humanity and the humanization of the first female candidate for President — a portrait that was long overdue and has had serious complications. And with nearly three decades of Clinton fatigue under our belts, making that portrait come to life was a heavy lift.

Heartbreaking: Body of a baby found floating in the water

Body of a baby was found in water yesterday, July 23 at about 4pm. According to the Facebook user whose location reads Bangkok, Thailand, the body was later recovered by security agents. See the heartbreaking photos after the cut.

Man is arrested for putting gun in girlfriend's mouth and threatening to kill her as she breastfed their newborn baby

A Florida man, 29-year-old Kevin A. Smith , allegedly pointed a gun at his 22-year-old girlfriend's head while she breastfed their newborn according to Police in St. Augustine. They say he was upset when he arrived at home and thought his 2-week-old was being fed milk from another woman.
Smith tried to get the baby from his girlfriend, who tried to keep the infant from him, officials at the St. John County Sheriff's Office said. He held the woman down on the bed and pulled a black handgun gun on her, cops told the Palm Beach Post. Smith then pointed the gun at the woman's head — and put it between her teeth. He also took her cell phone so she couldn't call the police.

Smith was on top of his girlfriend, trying to roll her over to get the baby, when the victim's mother arrived. The woman heard screaming and went to check on what was happening.

When Smith went outside to his truck, the victim' s mother quickly took her and the baby outside to her own truck and called the police. Smith was arrested and charged with battery, child neglect and obstructing justice.


Source: News 4 Jax

BERNIE SANDERS CALLS FOR RESIGNATION OF DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, ACCUSED OF UNDERMINING SANDERS’ CAMPAIGN

In the wake of an email controversy that exploded over the weekend, the Democratic National Convention could be completely derailed as it gets underway Monday, July 25 in Philadelphia.

Former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, a vice chairman at the DNC, told The Hill on Sunday, July 24 that those involved in scheming to undermine Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign should either resign immediately or be fired.

“The DNC needs to make a clear statement that this was wrong and that any member of the staff involved in criticizing another candidate, especially using DNC offices and equipment, should be fired,” Rybak said. “If any officer played a role in helping another candidate when we’re supposed to be neutral, they should resign. It’s that simple. Make a clear statement. Clean up this mess so we can move on and work together.”

Davido Signs with RCA Records

Davido and Peter Edge (Chairman RCA Records)

Davido inked a deal with RCA Records, a subsidiary of Sony Records, this past weekend, right before jumping on stage to perform at the recently concluded and very successful One Africa Music Fest concert that held at the Barclays center in Brooklyn New York. This news has been confirmed by Davido’s management.

RCA Records, home to several huge music stars such as Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Zayn Malik, Sia and many more, will handle Davido’s North American music servicing and distribution.