As Mexican parents are deported from the United States, or self deport in fear, their US-born children often return with them. It’s estimated that some 54,000 American children now live in Mexico’s northern state of Baja California, where the school system has seen a rise in enrolment of US citizens in 2017.
So what’s life like for the young students who now attend school in Mexico?
Video by Angélica M Casas
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The man accused of masterminding the 2012 attack on a US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, has been acquitted by a US jury of the most serious charges.
Ahmed Abu Khattala was convicted of terror charges but found not guilty of other charges including murder.
The attack on the diplomatic compound resulted in the death of US ambassador Chris Stevens and four US guards.
Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time, was accused by Republicans of not doing enough.
A jury in Washington acquitted Khattala of 14 of the 18 charges after deliberating for five days following a seven-week trial.
He was convicted on four charges including conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism, maliciously destroying and injuring dwellings and property as well as using and carrying a semi-automatic weapon during a crime of violence.
Khattala faces up to 60 years in prison.
He was captured by US special forces in Libya in 2014.
Ahmed Abu Khattala
• Native of Benghazi in eastern Libya
• Construction worker by trade
• Spent several years in Col Muammar Gaddafi’s notorious Abu Salim prison in Tripoli
• Formed his own small militia during the anti-Gaddafi uprising
• Denies any links to al-Qaeda but has expressed admiration for it
• Also denies any role in the attack on the US embassy in 2012, but eyewitnesses report him being there
• US state department says he is a senior leader in Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia
According to prosecutors, the first wave of attackers assembled outside the gates of the mission about 21:45 local time on 11 September 2012.
They were armed with AK-47-type rifles, handguns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
Stevens and diplomat Sean Smith died in the fire, while the remaining state department workers escaped to a separate US facility nearby.
That building soon came under attack, and security officers Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed by mortar fire.
Prosecutors said Mr Abu Khattala entered the destroyed US mission and “supervised the exploitation of material from the scene” by armed men.
According to US prosecutors, in the days following the attack, Mr Abu Khattala “attempted to obtain various types of equipment, including weapons, to defend himself from feared American retaliation for the attack”.
The attack ignited a firestorm of accusations from Republicans, mainly directed at Mrs Clinton, over the security of the compound and what was known in the build-up to the tragedy.
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Image copyrightAFP/Getty ImagesImage caption Canadian PM Justin Trudeau issues an apology to LGBT people who were discriminated against by the Canadian government
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologised for historical injustices against the LGBT community.
During the Cold War, hundreds of gay men and women were fired from their government jobs and the military.
The government has earmarked C$100m ($78m, £58m) to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by LGBT victims.
Mr Trudeau has also proposed a bill in parliament that would allow the courts to expunge the records of people criminalised for their sexuality.
“It is with shame and sorrow and deep regret for the things we have done that I stand here today and say: We were wrong. We apologise. I am sorry. We are sorry,” he said in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Mr Trudeau’s words were greeted by a warm round of applause from all parties.
The prime minister also spoke out about past discrimination against gay marriage and gay works of art, which were often banned as “obscene”.
“While we may regard modern Canada as a forward-thinking and progressive nation, we cannot forget our past,” he said.
During the Cold War, the Canadian government and military regarded gay employees as more vulnerable to blackmail by Soviet agents. They were interrogated about their sex life and forced to inform on their friends.
Mr Trudeau called it “nothing short of a witch-hunt.”
The Canadian military ended discriminatory policies against gay men and women in 1992 after Michelle Douglas, a former Army officer, sued the government.
Four years later, the Canadian Human Rights Act was amended to include sexual orientation. Gender identity and gender orientation were added in 2017.
Mr Trudeau also said Canada must do more to end homophobia and discrimination, such as bans on gay men giving blood and the continued criminalisation of people who do not disclose their HIV status.
“We are all worthy of love. Whether you discover who you are at six, 16 or 60, we are all valid,” he said.
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Media captionJustin Trudeau said “it shouldn’t be a big thing” for the prime minister of Canada to walk in a gay pride parade
This is not Mr Trudeau’s first state apology as prime minister. On Friday, he apologised to indigenous victims of residential schools in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In 2016, he apologised for the Komagata Maru incident of 1914, when Canada turned away hundreds of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim passengers trying to emigrate from British-ruled India.
Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS
Gombe (Nigeria)–African Development Bank has said that African loses about 25 billion dollars yearly to malnutrition, while 800 million people live in extreme poverty and hunger globally with about 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted every year.
This was contained in a Press Statement issued by the Communication Officer, Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria’s Lilian Ajah-mong and made available to the Media in Nigeria.
The statement quoted the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina who was speaking in Abidjan during the 2017 Global Gathering to review progress in tackling malnutrition and share innovations and best practices to drive progress.
According to Adesina, “Although there is surplus food in the world, 800 million people live in extreme poverty and hunger globally with about 1.3 billion tonnes of food going to waste every year”.
He urged African governments to invest in Nutrition. In his words “We need to ensure that community based nutrition systems are strengthened; that we enhance general food safety, especially in the informal food markets that dominate most African cities”
The statement said the Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Gerda Verburg, in her opening remarks stated that while progress has been made under nutrition, more needs to be done as good nutrition is integral to achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The SUN Global gathering is for us to inspire each other and about getting the food systems right. Nutrition is important for education, nutrition is important for health, nutrition is important for the economy and to improve the GDP. We need to find instruments to build collaboration, focused on impacts and results and to build partnerships with the private sector. The challenge of under-nutrition and obesity is one that behoves on us to build bridges between countries dealing with these issues to address them”.
Contributing to a Plenary Session on how Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and the Learning system can shape the SUN Movement, Project Director of the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria’s (CS-SUNN), Beatrice Eluaka said it has stimulated cross border exchange of information, knowledge, innovations, integrated approaches across African counties towards addressing malnutrition.
Sharing her experiences during the learning route in Rwanda, she said, “We met local champions at the community level who were addressing issues of malnutrition, saw public private partnership as well as multi-sectoral collaboration and coordination at work, and developed our innovative plans aimed at addressing malnutrition on returning home.
We have also established regional hubs and platforms for regular virtual meetings and exchange of information. One major fall-out from the Learning Route Rwanda was a Creativity Collaboration Award which for instance, saw Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone recently collaborating to develop a Guide for Stakeholder Mapping to be used in West Africa”.
The gathering also witnessed the launch of the 2017 SUN Movement Progress Report which explored the successes seen and progress made from 2016 to 2017, across the 60 Countries and three Indian States that drive the Movement and what lays in store for the upcoming year to end malnutrition in all its forms, for all women, men and their families in every part of the world.
Nigeria was highlighted in the 2017 SUN progress report as 1 of 5 countries that have done well in reducing stunting in the last one year.
Other highlights from the event was the 2017 SUN Movement Nutrition Champion Awards Ceremony where outstanding individuals, including a Nigerian, Mrs. Ololade Alonge, Program Director/CEO Child Health Advocacy Initiative, were recognized as nutrition champions.
The SUN Global Gathering brings together all SUN Government Focal Points and representatives of their partners from civil society, donors, United Nations agencies, private sector partners, academia, media, parliamentarians and others.
It is the flagship event of the SUN Movement and an important moment where members take stock of progress and challenges, share their innovations and learn what is helping to reduce malnutrition across all SUN Countries.
It is a moment for every actor to be energised and encouraged through sharing, learning and finding ways to take their fight against malnutrition to the next level.
Nigeria was represented at the Global Gathering by a team of delegates from four of the five SUN Networks – Government, Civil Society, Donor, Business.
Gombe (Nigeria)– Nigeria’s Ministry of Science and Technology wants local textile and dye artisans to employ indigenous and innovative technologies in their products to attract both local and foreign patrons.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Amina Shamaki made the call in Gombe northeast of the country on Tuesday at a two-day sensitization workshop on Local Raw Materials Sourcing and Handling of Textile, Dyeing and Finishing Chemicals for local attire manufacturers.
She said it was very important for the manufacturers to learn innovative ideas that would encourage improvement of their products.
The event was organised by the Ministry in conjunction with Nigeria Institute of Leather and Science Technology, National Research Institute for Chemical Technology, National Board for Technology Incubation and Raw Materials Research and Development Council for the manufacturers .
Amina Shamaki who was represented by the Director of Chemical technology of the Ministry, Mr Akinyemi Oyefeso stated that the artisans must understand that their safety remains key and also to teach them ways to avoid hazards attached to their works.
Shamaki lamented that the industry which had so many opportunities had not been exploited to the fullest.
She stressed that one of the primary focus of the STI’s intervention was to modernise the process of technology and widen the utilisation, application of dyes to other areas that have not been explored locally.
She said that local dyeing and sale of textiles would tremendously promote import substitution, conserve foreign exchange and increase exportation of products through the application of new technologies and innovations.
“The products may not be perfect but could get better through the application of new technologies and innovations. We should not forget that the emerging economies Brazil, Indian, Korea, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Malaysia started the same way and today through application of STI their products have dominated the entire world”.
“We are very proud of your products so that is why we want to improve and perfect them for general acceptability and exportation. These dreams however can only be achieved by taking crucial steps to standardise the production and quality.
Some of the local textile manufacturers at the Workshop noted that the sensitization workshop would help them to learn new ideas in the industry as well as ways to ensure their safety during production.
The two day workshop is expected to formulate new ideas on how to develop skills, identify new dye method and also develop new businesses from dye.
Kaduna (Nigeria)–The Sharia Court of Appeal in Kaduna northwest of the country on Monday ordered Lt.-Col Abdullahi Babatunde to produce his three children allegedly abducted to the Court on December 5th.
The Grahd Khadi, Shehu Ahmed who gave the order warned that the court would not take it lightly if the Army officer who is the appellant in the case fails to bring the children to the Court on the said date.
The Khadi advised the mother not to feel bad with what ever happened. “You are both parents to the children and would follow due process to ensure justice .”
Counsel to the respondent, Mohammed Sanusi said the custody of three children had been given to the mother Mrs Hidayat Oyetunde by Upper Sharia Court kawo on July 25th 2017 with an order that the appellant shall pay the sum of N1000.000 monthly as maintenance fee for his three children.
The counsel said the Appellant on 22th Nov. used police and army to forcefully take away the children to an unknown destination..
But counsel to the appellant, Abubakar Ibrahim denied the claims and told the court that the children were not forcefully taken but rather was for a good cause.
He said that the trial court did not ascertain the actual income of the appellant before arriving at its decision by given N100.000.00 as maintenance fees. That the maintenance fees, he argued, was so outrageous to the extent that he can not afford to comply with the court order saying ” it is a burden he can not bear “
The Counsel to the appellent told the court that he would inform the farther about the court orders and that the said children would be produced at the Court.
The Ex-wife of Lt Col Hadiyat Oyatunde said they were married for about 14years and blessed with three children and got divorced over a year in which he took her to upper Sharia court kawo and the court granted her the custody of the children who were later taken away.
She said her Ex-husband Abdullahi Babatunde is a Lt.Col serving in Maiduguri and had never cared to come and see the children or spend a dime on them.
Babatunde who was not satisfied with the decision of the Upper Sharia Court Kawo decided to appeal to Sharia court of Appeal.
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption Chairs reserved for Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer were left empty
Democratic congressional leaders have cancelled a meeting with President Donald Trump after he attacked them on Twitter.
The Republican president said he did not think he could reach a deal with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer on funding the government.
The Democrats said they would negotiate with Republican lawmakers instead.
Averting a federal shutdown is just one of this month’s big challenges for Republicans, who control Capitol Hill.
The party’s lawmakers are also under pressure to pass a far-reaching tax plan that they can send to the president’s desk by the end of the year.
The Republican tax bill cleared the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday in a 12-11 vote along party lines, with a full vote by the chamber expected this week.
“I think we’re going to get it passed,” Mr Trump said of the bill on Tuesday afternoon after meeting lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Image copyrightReutersImage caption Nancy Pelosi (L) and Chuck Schumer are regular sparring partners of the president
However, Congress must also agree a year-end spending package to keep the US government running beyond 8 December.
Democrats have suggested negotiations could hinge on saving an Obama-era programme that allowed undocumented immigrants who entered the US as children to stay.
Mr Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning: “Meeting with ‘Chuck and Nancy’ today about keeping government open and working.
“Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!”
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, who is her Senate equivalent, later issued a joint statement abruptly calling off the meeting.
Later on Tuesday the president told reporters of Mrs Pelosi and Mr Schumer: “They’ve been all talk and no action.”
The Democrats were satisfied. Mr Trump basked in media praise as a skilled negotiator.
Two months later, signs of a bipartisan thaw have given way to political winter.
Mr Trump, criticised by some of his most ardent supporters for those earlier overtures, tweet-slammed “Chuck and Nancy”. The Democratic duo responded by turning their backs on the president and promising to only negotiate with Republicans in Congress – who, they believe, are more likely to stand by any agreement reached.
Both sides are playing to their political bases. A legislative train wreck in December – including a government shutdown, the loss of health insurance funds for poor children and the prospect of deportation for long-time undocumented immigrants – now appears increasingly likely.
This may turn out to be an art-of-the-deal style tightrope walk that has a successful resolution. The clock is ticking, however, and some very imposing deadlines loom.
“Given that the president doesn’t see a deal between Democrats and the White House,” they said, “we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts instead.”
The White House said the move was “disappointing”, but that the two Republican congressional leaders would attend the meeting as planned.
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption All three leaders met at the White House in September
“The President’s invitation to the Democrat leaders still stands and he encourages them to put aside their pettiness, stop the political grandstanding, show up and get to work,” said the White House statement.
House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate leader Mitch McConnell also criticised their Democratic counterparts.
The Republicans said in a joint statement: “We have important work to do, and Democratic leaders have continually found new excuses not to meet with the administration to discuss these issues.”
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Media captionMr Trump angered Democrats on Monday after remarks that they deemed insensitive to Native American veterans
Gombe (Nigeria)– Worried by the increasing malnutrition in Nigeria, the United Nations Children Education Fund wants members of the State Houses of Assembly in North-East States of the country to appropriate adequate funds in 2018 budgets for health and nutrition.
UNICEF’s Chief Field Officer for Bauchi, Abdullai Kakai, who was represented by the Office’ Nutrition Specialist, Philomena Irene, made the call at the opening of a two day capacity workshop for lawmakers on universal Health Coverage held in Gombe on Tuesday.
He said the call has become necessary following the increasing rate of malnutrition in the country as the report recently released by Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey for 2016 in Nigeria has shown an increase in child wasting from 24.2 per cent to 31.5 per cent while stunting had equally increased from 34.8 per cent to 43.6 per cent.
According to him, the report shows that the Northern part of the country appears to be worse off as nearly half of all children’s death is related to poor nutrition.
He said investment in nutrition which is cost effective would help reverse these negative trends as well as boost Nigeria’s GDP.
“The World Bank in its 2017 report revealed that for every 1,000 naira invested on nutrition will yield a 16,000 naira return, showing that nutrition is for development of the nation and therefore any resource invested in it is not a loss, but a boost for the economy,” she stressed.
While commending the State legislators for responding positively towards the enhancement of health and nutrition of women and children through appropriation of resources for promotion of rights of children in their state budgets, she employed them to make adequate provision of funds in the 2018 budget.
“We plead with you to use your oversight role to track the release and implementation of allocated budget for health and nutrition in 2017 budget,” she appealed.
Earlier, while declaring the workshop open, the Speaker of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Abubakar Nasiru Nono, who was represented by the Majority Leader of the House, Amos Fabulous, described the workshop as very important and timely as it will go a long way in helping the legislators put more efforts in reducing the indices of malnutrition in their various States, especially Gombe State.
The aim of the workshop which brought together state legislators from the zone, civil society organizations and journalists was geared towards achieving the objectives of universal health coverage as well as promoting maternal and child nutrition.
