FBI Director Chris Wray will testify to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday about the investigation of the deadly attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters and the bureau’s efforts to stop right-wing extremist violence.

The hearing will mark Wray’s first testimony before Congress since the Jan. 6 attack, a failed bid to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory in November.
The Justice Department has charged more than 250 people on criminal counts ranging from conspiracy to attacking police and obstructing Congress. The rioting led to five deaths.
At least 18 people associated with the far-right Proud Boys have been charged and nine people tied to the anti-government militia known as the Oath Keepers are facing charges they conspired as far back as November to storm the Capitol to prevent Biden from becoming president.
The FBI has not yet arrested any suspects in the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, or for pipe bombs that were discovered outside the headquarters of both the Republican and Democratic national committees.
The FBI has obtained a video that shows a suspect spraying bear spray on police officers, including Sicknick, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.
The suspect has not yet been identified by name, and it is still not clear if the bear spray contributed to Sicknick’s death.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said he spoke directly with Wray on how the bureau is allocating resources to the investigation, and said that for far too long, the federal government has “turned a blind eye” to the threats of domestic terrorism by white supremacists.

The Justice Department has charged more than 250 people on criminal counts ranging from conspiracy to attacking police and obstructing Congress

FBI Director Christopher Wray arrives to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the January 6th insurrection, in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S. March 2, 2021.

FBI Director Wray to testify before Congress on deadly Capitol assault

Egyptian authorities carried out executions against 11 prisoners in a jail in the country's north amid huge international human rights criticism against the move.

The Egyptian daily Al-Watan said on Tuesday that "the Egyptian Prisoners Authority Monday executed 11 prisoners convicted in criminal cases.”
-The corpses were transferred to Alexandria’s Kom El Deka morgue, then they will be handed over to their families for burial- it reported.
Quoting an unnamed security source, the daily said the executions took place following all levels of litigation, making the provisions "final and enforceable."
It also quoted the source as saying that “the executed were convicted in cases of murder, theft, and shooting.”
In recent years, Egypt has ignored international human rights criticism over the death penalty in the country.
Notably, Amnesty International issued a report on executions around the world last year and Egypt ranked third in the Arab world and fifth across the world among the countries with the most executions carried out in 2019, after China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, respectively.

Executed prisoners were convicted in cases of murder, theft, shooting

In recent years, Egypt has ignored international human rights criticism over the death penalty in the country

Egypt executes 11 prisoners amid criticism

Twitter has brought into force a new strikes system allegedly to prevent the flow of coronavirus misinformation, saying users who repeatedly spread false information may face permanent suspension.

However, users will get few warnings before they are banned, Twitter said in a blog post on Monday.
Accounts that violate COVID-19 policy will be informed at a first strike while no action will be taken against the users. The second and third strikes require a 12-hour account lock for each. The number rise to seven days when it reaches the fourth strike, while the fifth strike means a permanent suspension from the platform.
-Through the use of the strike system, we hope to educate people on why certain content breaks our rules so they have the opportunity to further consider their behavior and their impact on the public conversation- the company said.
Twitter also announced it will begin labeling tweets that contain misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines.
-Since introducing our COVID-19 guidance, we have removed more than 8,400 Tweets and challenged 11.5 million accounts worldwide- the company said.

It will take 5 strikes to receive permanent suspension

Twitter also announced it will begin labeling tweets that contain misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines

Twitter to ban users spreading COVID-19 misinformation

Thirty people have been killed and more than 1,200 have been detained by the police and security forces since the military coup in Myanmar, according to a human rights organization.

The Myanmar-based human rights group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), revealed on Monday that the police and security forces had taken 1,213 people into custody, charged, or convicted in connection with the Feb. 1 military coup.
The AAPP reported that a total of 913 people are either being detained or charged, including four of whom have been convicted by the court.
-In addition, at least 30 people have been killed due to the violent and arbitrary crackdowns since the military coup against Aung San Suu Kyi's government last month- said the NGO in a statement.
-We pay respect to the heroes who sacrificed their lives and freedoms to fight for democracy and human rights- they added.
According to the AAPP, protesters and journalists in Yangon were met with rubber bullets and tear gas during the anti-coup protest on Monday.
At the same time, about 100 people were arrested across the country.
Security forces blocked the main roads of Anawrahtra and Bogyoke Aung San in downtown Yangon.
The NGO alleged that the security forces raided the homes in Myeik, violently assaulted the residents, and robbed them of their money.

Human rights group says 913 people either being detained or charged, including 4 of whom convicted by court

Security forces intervene in protesters as they gather to protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar on February 28, 2021.

'30 killed, 1,230 detained since Myanmar military coup'

The United States is expected to impose sanctions to punish Russia for the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as early as Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter said.President Joe Biden’s decision to impose sanctions for Navalny’s poisoning reflects a harder stance than taken by his predecessor, Donald Trump, who let the incident last August pass without punitive U.S. action.
Navalny fell ill on a flight in Siberia in August and was airlifted to Germany, where doctors concluded he had been poisoned with a nerve agent. The Kremlin has denied any role in his illness and said it had seen no proof he was poisoned.
The sources said on Monday on condition of anonymity that the United States was expected to act under two executive orders: 13661, which was issued after Russia’s invasion of Crimea but provides broad authority to target Russian officials, and 13382, issued in 2005 to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Both orders let the United States freeze the U.S. assets of those targeted and effectively bar U.S. companies and individuals from dealing with them.
The sources said the Biden administration also planned to act under the U.S. Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, which provides a menu of punitive measures.
The sources said some individuals would be targeted in the sanctions to be announced as early as Tuesday, but declined to name them or say what other sanctions may be imposed.They added, however, that Washington would maintain waivers allowing foreign aid and certain export licenses for Russia.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of sanctions.
A third source said the U.S. action may be coordinated with sanctions the European Union could apply as soon as Tuesday.
EU foreign ministers agreed on Feb. 22 to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in a mainly symbolic response to Navalny’s jailing. The EU was expected to formally approve those in early March.
In the case of Navalny, Trump, whose term ended in January, did nothing to punish Russia. Top U.N. human rights experts said on Monday that Moscow was to blame for attempting to kill Navalny as part of a pattern of attacks on critics to quash dissent.
After his medical treatment in Germany, Navalny, 44, returned to Russia in January. He was arrested and later sentenced to more than 2-1/2 years in jail for parole violations he said were trumped up.Biden last month called the jailing of Navalny “politically motivated” and called for his release. He has pledged a new and tough approach toward Moscow, saying the United States would no longer be “rolling over” in the face of aggressive action by Russia.
Washington and Moscow disagree on a wide range of issues on top of Navalny, such as Russia’s military ambitions in Ukraine and Georgia, as well as a cyberattack on U.S. government agencies last year that Washington blames on Russia. Moscow has denied responsibility for the hacking campaign.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of sanctions

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny attends a hearing to consider an appeal against an earlier court decision to change his suspended sentence to a real prison term, in Moscow, Russia February 20, 2021.

Exclusive: U.S. sanctions for Navalny poisoning may come on Tuesday

Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, detained Monday as part of a probe into last year's 'Barcagate' scandal, will appear before a judge on Tuesday, a police source said.

His right-hand man Jaume Masferrer will also appear before the investigating judge leading the probe after spending the night at a police station along with Bartomeu, the sourced added.
Two other men who were also detained as part of the operation which involved a search of Barcelona's stadium -- the club's current chief executive Oscar Grau and its head of legal services Roma Gomez Ponti -- were released late on Monday.
The so-called 'Barcagate' scandal involves allegations that the club covered up payments made to a company called I3 Ventures, hired to boost the image of then-president Bartomeu on social media.
Part of the social media campaign included criticising current and former players, like Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez. Messi described the controversy as "strange" in an interview with Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, which broke the story, claimed Barca paid I3 Ventures an inflated fee and put payments through in smaller, separate amounts to avoid the club's financial controls.
Bartomeu maintained the company had been hired only to monitor posts on social media and announced an internal audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which cleared the club of financial corruption in July.
He resigned in October, avoiding a vote of no confidence triggered after more than 20,000 club members signed a petition against him.
His departure came in the same month Barcelona announced losses of 97 million euros ($114 million) for last season and following a dramatic decline in performances on the pitch as well as a personal falling-out with Messi.
His successor is due to be elected on Sunday, when club members will choose between the final three candidates, Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Victor Font.

The so-called 'Barcagate' scandal involves allegations that the club covered up payments made to a company called I3 Ventures, hired to boost the image of then-president Bartomeu on social media

Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu was detained by police on Monday

Detained ex-Barcelona president to appear before judge

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty of corruption on Monday and sentenced to three years in prison, a stunning fall from grace for a man who for five years bestrode the national and global stage.A Paris court found that Sarkozy, 66, had tried to bribe a judge after leaving office, and to peddle influence in exchange for confidential information about an investigation into his 2007 campaign finances.
-He took advantage of his status and the relationships he had formed- presiding judge Christine Mee said.
Sarkozy served as president from 2007 to 2012 and retains influence among conservatives, even after retiring. He is the second head of state in modern-day France to be convicted of corruption.
He may not spend any time in prison, however. Two years of his sentence were suspended, and Mee said she was open to him staying out of prison tagged with an electronic bracelet for the remaining year, although that decision rests with another judge.
The court found that Sarkozy had offered to secure a plum job in Monaco for a judge, Gilbert Azibert, in return for inside information about an inquiry into allegations that he had accepted illegal payments from L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign.
Sarkozy left the court without speaking, but his lawyer said he would appeal, and prove his innocence.
-This ruling is extremely severe and wholly unjustified- Jacqueline Laffont told reporters.

Sarkozy had burst onto the world stage as a reformer full of ideas who wanted to break with France’s stagnant past on the domestic front and restore the birthplace of human rights to a place of prominence in international affairs.

He earned himself the nickname of the “Gallic Thatcher”, undertaking market-driven reforms such as raising the retirement age, loosening the 35-hour work week and adjusting the tax system to encourage overtime.
Outside France, he brokered a ceasefire to the Russia-Georgia war in 2008, and in 2011 championed a NATO-led military intervention in Libya to support an uprising against its autocratic leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
Investigators had been wiretapping conversations between Sarkozy and his lawyer Thierry Herzog from 2013 as they delved into allegations of Libyan financing of Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign.
As they did, they learned that Sarkozy and his lawyer were communicating using mobile phones registered under false names.
Sarkozy said he had become the victim of a witch-hunt by financial prosecutors who had used excessive means to snoop on him.
Herzog and Azibert, who were on trial alongside him, were also found guilty of corruption and influence-peddling.
-Such behaviour can only seriously undermine the legitimate trust that the public must have in the justice system- Mee said.Sarkozy and his centre-right party Les Republicains have long said the investigations against him are politically motivated.
The only other president of the Fifth Republic to be convicted by a court was Sarkozy’s conservative predecessor, the late Jacques Chirac, who was found guilty of corruption in 2011.
Sarkozy is due in court again later this month, on charges of violating campaign financing rules during his failed 2012 re-election bid.
Prosecutors are also investigating allegations that Gaddafi provided Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign with millions of euros shipped to Paris in suitcases.
Sarkozy denies both allegations.

He is due in court again later this month, on charges of violating campaign financing rules during his failed 2012 re-election bid

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, wearing a protective face mask, arrives for the verdict in his trial on charges of corruption and influence peddling, at Paris courthouse, France, March 1, 2021.

Sarkozy convicted of corruption but likely to avoid jail

Former US President Donald Trump slammed his successor Joe Biden on Sunday, claiming the Democratic leader had the most disastrous first month of any president in US history.

-In one short month, we have gone from America First to America Last- Trump said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Sunday, which marked his first major speech since leaving the White House.
He called the Biden administration's policies "anti-jobs, anti-families, anti-border, anti-energy, anti-women and anti-science," adding "It took the new administration only a few weeks to turn this unprecedented accomplishment into a self-inflicted humanitarian and national security disaster."
Trump, on the other hand, vehemently denied reports that he would establish his own political party.
-I am not starting a new party. That was fake news ... Wouldn't that be brilliant? Let's start a new party and let's divide our vote so that you can never win. No, we're not interested in that ... We have the Republican Party. It's going to unite and be stronger than ever before- he said.
-For the next four years, the brave Republicans in this room will be at the heart of the effort to oppose the radical Democrats, the fake news media, and their toxic cancel culture," Trump continued. "And I want you to know that I am going to continue to fight right by your side- he added.
A massive 59% of Republicans said they wanted Trump to play a major role in their party going forward, according to a poll by Politico and Morning Consult last month.
Media reports in January claimed that Trump discussed forming a new political party with several aides, named the Patriot Party.

Former President denies forming new political party, says Republican Party will unite, be stronger than ever

Donald Trump: In one short month, we have gone from America First to America Last

Trump slams Biden's first month, rules out new party

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been transferred to a penal colony outside Moscow to serve his prison sentence, a public commission said on Sunday, weeks after he returned to Russia after being poisoned.Navalny’s whereabouts had been unknown since Thursday when his allies learned that he was transferred out of one of Moscow’s most infamous jails to an undisclosed location.
Navalny, 44, was arrested on his return from Germany last month and has been sentenced to more than 2-1/2 years for parole violations that he said were trumped up.
He has been transferred to a penal colony in the Vladimir region, the Moscow Public Monitoring Commission that defends the rights of prisoners and has access to people in custody, said on its website.
The state news agency TASS specified that Navalny will serve his term in penal colony number 2 in the town of Pokrov, about 100 km (60 miles) east of Moscow.
Reuters pictures showed metallic grey buildings behind a grey fence and barbed wire inside the colony, as well as the gold domes of a church. A guard at the gate asked reporters to keep a distance of at least 100 metres (yards) if they wanted to film it.
Ruslan Vakhapov, a local activist of the prisoners’ rights group Jailed Russia, described conditions as particularly severe.
-In short, it’s a bad colony- Ruslan Vakhapov told Reuters by phone.
Many prisoners cooperate with the colony administration and help them to control other inmates closely, abusing them if they violate a strict daily schedule, Vakhapov said.-If there is a need to prevent Navalny from communicating with others, nobody would talk to him- the activist said.
-(If anything happens), he wouldn’t be able to ask for help until his lawyer arrives- he added.
A duty officer who took a call at the prison declined to answer questions about Navalny.
Navalny will be quarantined as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus before joining other prisoners in the colony, the monitoring commission said, according to the RIA news agency.
Earlier on Sunday a Navalny ally, Leonid Volkov, called on Twitter for authorities to provide official information about his whereabouts and access to him by his lawyers.
Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, suffered a near-fatal poisoning in Siberia in August with what many Western nations said was a nerve agent. Navalny accuses Putin of ordering his attempted murder.
Putin has dismissed that, alleging Navalny is part of a U.S.-backed dirty tricks campaign to discredit him.

His whereabouts had been unknown since Thursday

Navalny, 44, was arrested on his return from Germany last month and has been sentenced to more than 2-1/2 years for parole violations that he said were trumped up

Kremlin critic Navalny moved to penal colony outside Moscow to serve jail term

China’s aviation regulator said on Monday its major safety concerns with the Boeing Co 737 MAX had to be “properly addressed” before conducting flight tests but it was studying a plan with U.S. planemaker for clearing aircraft to fly.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) conducted comprehensive and in-depth technical scrutiny of the Boeing 737 MAX, the agency’s vice head Dong Zhiyi said, giving the regulator’s stance on the plane which China grounded in early 2019.
The U.S. and several other regulators have already cleared the plane to fly again.
-We’ll conduct flight tests in a planned and step-by-step way once our major safety concerns are properly addressed- Dong said, adding that cooperation between FAA and Boeing had been positive.
China was the first country to ground the 737 MAX in March 2019 following two fatal crashes. At the time, more of the planes had been operating in China than anywhere else in the world. China makes up about a quarter of MAX sales.
The CAAC has outlined three principles for the jet to return to service, including certified design changes, proper training for the pilots and specific findings into the crashes.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted its flight ban on the aircraft in January. It was followed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and several others.
Australia said on Friday it would lift a ban on flights.

The U.S. and several other regulators have already cleared the plane to fly again

A Boeing 737 MAX airplane lands after a test flight at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S. June 29, 2020.

China moving 'step by step' in recertifying Boeing 737 MAX

Prince Harry, who shocked Britain last year when he and his wife Meghan stepped back from royal duties, told U.S. interviewer Oprah Winfrey that he had worried about history repeating itself, according to excerpts released on Sunday.

The CBS broadcast network released two brief clips from Winfrey’s interview of the couple, which is scheduled to air on March 7. It is the first TV interview the couple, formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have given since making their homes in California last year.
-My biggest concern was history repeating itself- Harry said, apparently referring to his mother Princess Diana, who was hounded by the British press and died at age 36 in a car crash in Paris after her divorce from Prince Charles.
Harry, 36, was seated next to Meghan, 39, and holding her hand. The couple announced this month that they are expecting their second child.
-I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting her talking to you with my wife by my side- Harry said. -Because I can’t imagine what it must have been like for her (Diana), going through this process by herself all those years ago.--It’s been unbelievably tough for the two of us, but at least we had each other- Harry added.
In the clips, Winfrey said that no subject was off limits and at one point tells the couple “you have said some pretty shocking things here,” including that their situation had been “almost unsurvivable.”
Before they moved to California, the couple had complained about the British tabloids’ treatment of Meghan, whose father is white and mother is African-American, some of which they said amounted to bullying or racism.
Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace announced that the couple would not be returning to their lives as working members of the royal family.

Before they moved to California, the couple had complained about the British tabloids’ treatment of Meghan

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, leave Canada House in London, Britain January 7, 2020.

Prince Harry tells Oprah he worried history would repeat itself

Several people were injured and dozens arrested on Friday in major cities in Myanmar when police tear-gassed and fired live bullets at anti-coup protests.

Warning shots, tear gas, and stun grenades were fired at two major street junctions in Yangon as police used much tougher means of cracking down on anti-coup demonstrators, witnesses said.
Unlike previous days, without advance warning the police clamped down on the demonstrators, said Lynn Myaing, a resident of Yangon's Hlaing Township. “They seemed to want to make people afraid,” he added.
"Police also went to the residential area in search of the demonstrators," he told Anadolu Agency, adding that he saw seven protesters being dragged by the police.
A similar incident also occurred in Myaynigone, a street junction in the Sanchaung township of Yangon.
-The police never spared the journalists. A Japanese freelance journalist was arrested by the police- said a local reporter covering the protest, adding that he also witnessed the arrest of a young boy on a bicycle passing through the police line.
The Japanese journalist was released almost four hours later, local media reports said.
In Mandalay, the country's second largest city, police arrested at least 30 people during a crackdown on protesters and injured several others, including a child.
-Police fired both rubber bullets and live rounds of ammunition in dispersing the crowd in Mandalay. Police and soldiers on vehicles then indiscriminately fired slingshots at houses on the way back to their bases- said a member of a volunteer rescue team providing the injured with medical assistance.
-Six people were injured by a soldier’s slingshots, including two boys under the age of 10, who were playing in front of their homes- he told Anadolu Agency by phone. -The children were wounded in the head and the face- he added.
Local media outlets reported that security forces also used slingshots, water cannons, and tear gas to disperse demonstrators in the administrative capital Nay Pyi Taw. They say dozens of protesters were also detained in the city during the crackdown.
However, Anadolu Agency has so far been unable to independently confirm these media reports.

Japanese journalist briefly arrested in Yangon, 2 boys under 10 among injured in police action in Mandalay

Warning shots, tear gas, and stun grenades were fired at two major street junctions in Yangon as police used much tougher means of cracking down on anti-coup demonstrators, witnesses said

Dozens held, many injured in Myanmar crackdown

Russia’s foreign minister on Friday condemned the recent US airstrikes in eastern Syria.

Speaking at a news conference alongside his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Hanif Atmar, Sergey Lavrov said the US military warned their Russian counterparts just a few minutes before Thursday’s airstrikes, far too late to take any steps.
In addition, the US presence in Syria violates international law, Lavrov added.
-They continue to play the separatist card, continue to block the supply of goods to government-controlled territories, and encourage their allies to invest in territories not controlled by Damascus- he said.
-At the same time, they illegally exploit the hydrocarbon resources of the territory of Syria.-Lavrov voiced concerns over alleged US plans to stay in Syria “forever,” saying Moscow wants the Biden administration to clarify its strategy in Syria.
-We hear reports that they are making a decision to never leave Syria at all and want to break up this country. We want to ask them directly- about this, he said.
-It is important for us to understand how they will build their line on the ground, given the fact that they voted in the UN Security Council to preserve Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.-Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement last night that the strikes in Syria were directed by President Joe Biden in response to recent attacks on American and coalition personnel in Iraq.
-Specifically, the strikes destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups, including Kata’ib Hezbollah [KH] and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada [KSS]- said the statement.
Thursday's strike is Biden's first known military action since taking office in January.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.

<h2>More cooperation with Afghanistan</h2>

For his part, Mohammad Hanif Atmar said he discussed with Lavrov issues related to peace in Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation.

Both sides agreed on a number of topics, and urged the Taliban to honor promises made under a US-brokered deal, Atmar said, adding they also agreed to revive an inter-governmental group on bilateral cooperation.
He said the Afghan military and law enforcement agencies could fight Daesh/ISIS in Afghanistan if the Taliban adhere to the cease-fire agreement.

Moscow wants Biden administration to clarify its strategy in Syria, says Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov

Russia condemns US airstrikes in Syria

Unidentified gunmen seized 317 schoolgirls in northwest Nigeria on Friday, police said, the second such kidnapping in little over a week in a region increasingly targeted by militants.School kidnappings, first practiced by jihadist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, have become endemic around the increasingly lawless north, to the anguish of families and frustration of Nigeria’s government and armed forces.
Police in Zamfara state, where the latest attack took place, said they had begun search-and-rescue operations with the army to find the “armed bandits” who took the girls at Government Girls Science Secondary School in the town of Jangebe.
Zamfara’s information commissioner, Sulaiman Tanau Anka, told Reuters the assailants came in firing sporadically during the 1 a.m. raid. “Information available to me said they came with vehicles and moved the students, they also moved some on foot,” he said.
It was the third such kidnapping since December.
The rise in abductions is fuelled in part by sizeable government payoffs in exchange for child hostages, catalysing a broader breakdown of security in the north, officials have said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The government regularly denies such payouts.
School abductions were first the domain of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, but the tactic has now been adopted by other militants in the northwest, whose agenda is unclear.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s raid.

President Muhammadu Buhari replaced his long-standing military chiefs earlier this month amid the worsening violence. Armed forces in the northeast are fighting to reclaim towns overrun by insurgents.Last week, unidentified gunmen kidnapped 42 people including 27 students, and killed one pupil, in an overnight attack on a boarding school in the north-central state of Niger.
The hostages are yet to be released.
In December, dozens of gunmen abducted 344 schoolboys from the town of Kankara in northwest Katsina state. They were freed after six days but the government denied a ransom had been paid.
Islamic State’s West Africa branch in 2018 kidnapped more than 100 schoolgirls from the town of Dapchi in northeast Nigeria, all but one of whom - the only Christian - were released.
A ransom was paid, according to the United Nations.
Perhaps the most notorious kidnapping in recent years was when Boko Haram militants abducted 276 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in Borno state in April 2014. The incident drew widespread global attention.
Many have been found or rescued by the army, or freed in negotiations between the government and Boko Haram, also for a hefty ransom, according to sources.
But 100 are still missing, either remaining with Boko Haram or dead, security officials say.

This is the second such kidnapping in little over a week in a region increasingly targeted by militants

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari speaks after security forces rescued schoolboys from kidnappers, in Katsina, Nigeria, December 18, 2020.

Gunmen take 317 schoolgirls in Nigeria's latest mass abduction

The United States carried out air strikes authorised by President Joe Biden against facilities belonging to Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria on Thursday, in response to rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq, the Pentagon said.The strikes appeared limited in scope, potentially lowering the risk of escalation. It was not immediately clear what damage was caused.
Syria did not immediately comment, but state-owned Ekhbariya TV said the strikes were conducted at dawn against several targets near the Syrian-Iraqi border.
An Iraqi militia official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least one fighter had been killed and four others were wounded.
A medical source at a hospital in the area and several local sources told Reuters 17 people had been killed. That toll could not be independently confirmed.
Biden’s decision to strike only in Syria and not in Iraq, at least for now, gives Iraq’s government some breathing room as it investigates a Feb. 15 attack that wounded Americans.
-At President (Joe) Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted air strikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria- Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
-President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq.-He said the strikes destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by Iranian-backed militant groups, including Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.
After the strikes, the Iranian and Syrian foreign ministers spoke and underlined “the need of the West to adhere to U.N. Security Council resolutions regarding Syria,” Iranian government website Dolat.ir said.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the decision to carry out the strikes was meant as a signal that Washington wanted to punish the militias but did not want the situation to spiral into a bigger conflict.
The official said Biden was presented with a range of options and one of the more limited responses was chosen.

Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House of Representatives’ foreign affairs committee, said the strikes “remind Iran, its proxies, and our adversaries around the world that attacks on U.S. interests will not be tolerated.”

Suzanne Maloney, of the Brookings Institution think tank, declared the strikes a “Good move” on Twitter, saying they showed the Biden administration could both negotiate with Iran on the nuclear deal and push back against the militias Tehran backed.
The rocket attacks on U.S. positions in Iraq were carried out as Washington and Tehran seek a way to return to the 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
It was not clear how, or whether, the strike might affect U.S. efforts to coax Iran back into a negotiation about both sides resuming compliance with the agreement.
In the Feb. 15 attack, rockets hit the U.S. military base housed at Erbil International Airport in the Kurdish-run region, killing one non-American contractor and wounding a number of American contractors and a U.S. service member.
Another salvo struck a base hosting U.S. forces north of Baghdad days later, hurting at least one contractor.
Rockets on Monday hit Baghdad’s Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic missions.
The Kata’ib Hezbollah group, one of the main Iran-aligned Iraqi militia groups, denied any role in the rocket attacks.
Some Western and Iraqi officials say the attacks, often claimed by little-known groups, are being carried out by militants with links to Kata’ib Hezbollah as a way for Iranian allies to harass U.S. forces without being held accountable.
Since late 2019, the United States has carried out high-profile strikes against Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq and Syria in response to sometimes deadly rocket attacks against U.S.-led forces.
During Trump’s presidency, tensions culminated in the U.S. killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani and a retaliatory Iranian ballistic missile attack against U.S. forces in Iraq last year.

It was not immediately clear what damage was caused

The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020.

U.S. air strikes in Syria target Iranian-backed militia

A Boeing 777 airliner on Friday made an emergency landing in Moscow with engine problems, the operating airline said, days after another model rained down engine debris over the United States.

State-owned Rossiya airline said the crew had registered the "incorrect operation of the engine control sensor" on a cargo flight from Hong Kong to Madrid and "decided to make an emergency landing in Moscow."
Online flight trackers confirmed the flight was carried out with a Boeing 777.
The airline said the unscheduled landing went ahead without incident and that no one was injured. The plane was due to continue its onward journey to Madrid after a delay of several hours, it added.
The incident came just days after Boeing confirmed that dozens of its 777 aircraft were grounded globally resulting from the engine of a United Airlines plane catching fire and scattering debris over a suburb of Denver, Colorado.
Rossiya told AFP later Friday that the Boeing 777 that made the emergency landing in Moscow was fitted with a different make of engine to the plane that shed engine parts in the United States last week.
The United Flight engine failure was a fresh blow for the beleaguered US aviation giant that was forced to ground another fleet of planes after a series of deadly crashes.
Malfunctions in engines are not uncommon and most airplanes are designed to be able to fly for several hours on one engine until crew identify and land at the nearest available airport.
Investigators have attributed the Denver incident to a fan blade that broke off soon after takeoff due to metal fatigue and apparently breached the engine cover, known as a cowling.

The emergency landing comes days after another model rained down engine debris over the United States

Online flight trackers confirmed the flight was carried out with a Boeing 777

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Boeing 777 makes emergency landing in Moscow after engine trouble

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Boeing 777 makes emergency landing in Moscow after engine trouble