Nigeria posts two divisions of Army to hunt for missing girls
Abuja, May 10
Nigeria's Army has posted two divisions to hunt for 200 schoolgirls abducted last month by Islamist rebels in an attack condemned globally.

Stralsund (Germany), May 10
Germany and France are ready to agree more extensive sanctions against Russia if a planned presidential election in Ukraine on May 25 is foiled, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Francois Hollande said on Saturday.

In a joint statement, they agreed to support tougher sanctions against Russia, affecting areas such as energy, defence, financial services and engineering, than European Union leaders outlined at a meeting in Brussels on March 6.

"We would be ready to take further sanctions against Russia if the May 25 elections in Ukraine fail," Merkel said at a joint news conference with Hollande in the Baltic port of Stralsund, although sanctions would not be "an end in themselves".

Germany, which relies on Russia for 40 per cent of its natural gas supplies, has been seen as hesitant to ratchet up and broaden sanctions, which are opposed by most Germans. Stern magazine reported German growth could be cut by 0.9 percentage points this year if tougher sanctions are imposed.

The May 25 election is to choose a successor to President Viktor Yanukovich, the pro-Russian president of Ukraine toppled by unrelenting protests. Russia then seized and annexed Ukraine's Russian-majority Crimea region, citing threats from what it called far-right extremists in the new Kiev government.

Western countries responded by imposing limited sanctions against Moscow targeting some Russian political and business leaders and interests seen as involved in the Ukraine crisis. But pro-Russian separatists have since stirred turmoil in eastern Ukraine, declaring autonomous republics in what the West sees as an attempt by Moscow to cement Russian domination there, much as occurred in Crimea, and thwart a nationwide election.

Merkel and Hollande called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to personally intervene to ensure that the election takes place across the whole of Ukraine. Merkel said Putin had taken encouraging steps by appealing to pro-Russian militants to suspend a planned autonomy referendum on Sunday. "But the Russian President has to send more signals of de-escalation," Merkel said. — Reuters

Johannesburg, May 10
The South African police arrested 59 persons and the army was called in overnight to quell post-election protests in a Johannesburg slum, police and media said on Saturday, as the ANC government clamped down on disorder following its victory at the polls.

The police on Friday used rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse protestors in the impoverished black township of Alexandra who had burned tyres and barricaded roads, spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said.

Alexandra was "calm this morning," he said, adding that "security forces" remained in the area. The South African Press Association earlier reported the army had been called in overnight to restore calm, quoting the premier of Gauteng province, Nomvula Mokonyane.

Although the ruling African National Congress remains popular with South Africa's black majority after dismantling the apartheid system is 1994, there is rising discontent among the millions stuck in grinding poverty and without access to running water or electricity.

The ANC won the 2014 national election with 62.16 percent of the votes, according to a provisional tally. The official numbers are due to be announced later on Saturday and President Jacob Zuma is expected to address the nation.

Following the vote, as many as 400 people had gathered on Friday outside a court in Alexandra to burn tyres and demand the release of other protestors arrested a day earlier, police spokesman Malila said. — Reuters

Abuja, May 10
Nigeria's Army has posted two divisions to hunt for 200 schoolgirls abducted last month by Islamist rebels in an attack condemned globally.

The soldiers are stationed in the border region close to Chad, Cameroon and Niger to work with other security agencies, said General Chris Olukolade, spokesman for the Defence Headquarters.

The government of President Goodluck Jonathan has faced criticism for its slow response since Boko Haram militants stormed a secondary school in the village of Chibok, near the Cameroon border, on April 14, and kidnapped the girls, who were taking exams.

Fifty have escaped but more than 200 remain with the insurgents. "The facilities of the Nigerian Army signals as well as all the communication facilities of the Nigerian Police and all the services have been devoted into coordinating this search," Olukolade said in a statement.

The air force has flown more than 250 sorties, a signals unit and the police are involved and a multinational task force has also been activated and surveillance equipment is deployed in support of ten search teams, he said. — Reuters

Bangkok, May 10
Thousands of pro-government "Red Shirts" today warned that any attempt to install an unelected premier could trigger a "civil war" as they massed here to take on rival protesters who have launched a "final battle" after the removal of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Thousands of police officers were on standby for the "Red Shirt" rally on the western outskirts of Bangkok as a large turnout is expected later this evening.

"The Red Shirts cannot accept the undemocratic and unconstitutional appointment of a prime minister," said Jatuporn Prompan, who heads the "Red Shirts".

He warned the Supreme Court and the Senate against discussing "unlawful" demands by the opposition to choose an interim government, saying: "It would be the beginning of a disaster for the country that will lead to civil war." The anti-government People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) launched its "all-out final battle" after 46-year-old Yingluck, Thailand's only woman premier, was ordered to step down by the Constitutional Court over abuse of power.

Emboldened by the ruling on Wednesday, the protesters intensified their efforts to bring down what remains of Yingluck's administration by laying siege to TV stations, surrounding state offices and demanding lawmakers help them install a non-elected premier.

The protesters, who have been campaigning for over six months for the ouster of the government, want the entire Cabinet to be removed and an unelected "people's council" to be set up to carry out reforms. — PTI 

London, May 10
The British teenaged girl who attacked an 80-year-old Sikh pensioner in a city centre in Britain's Coventry last year has been jailed for two years by the Warwick crown court.

Coral Millerchip, 20, attacked frail pensioner Joginder Singh at the city centre in August last year, an act which was captured on camera and caused an outrage among the Sikh community in the country, the Coventry Telegraph reported on Friday.

Millerchip punched Joginder Singh to the ground with his turban falling off in the brutal assault. The judge on Friday ruled that the girl had "humiliated" Singh and sentenced her to a two-year jail term and 20 more months for an unconnected burglary.

Singh suffered a scratched nose in the attack and was later discharged after being taken to a hospital. A resident of Coventry in Britain's West Midlands, he was a dementia patient and died three months after the attack of an unrelated health complaint. — PTI 

MELBOURNE, May 10
Concerned over China's assertiveness in the South China sea, Vietnam wants India to "rise quickly" in the region.

"We are deeply concerned by Chinese assertiveness in the South China sea. The Chinese navy is acting without provocation. These decisions seem to be taken by the Chinese leadership at the highest level," said ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, president of Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV).

Quy said there was not much clarity in the Obama administration. "That is why we want India should rise quickly. We have great expectations from India," he said. The remarks were made at a round table meeting of DAV held here yesterday. DAV is said to carry out strategic research in international relations and foreign policy, as well as serve as a think-tank for foreign policy for the ministry of foreign affairs, the party and the state.

The meeting was held for the delegates to share information with Australian scholars around regional security issues such as US-China relations, maritime issues in the Indo pacific region and discuss more broadly Australia's engagement with Asia.

Reacting to DAV president's comment, Australia-India Institute inaugural director Amitabh Mattoo said: "Chinese assertiveness is bordering on aggressiveness and there seems to be a pattern to Chinese Maritime behaviour."

Clearly, Beijing believes that its time has come and it wants to exercise hegemony over the whole region. But this behaviour is short sighted and counter productive, he said.

Mattoo said China was losing the trust of its neighbours and losing all friends. — PTI