Mcthomas updates

      In this image provided by the Romanian border police, a ship carrying 153 migrants docks in the Black Sea port of Constanta on September 13. (AP) The death of  23 refugees  when their boat sank off Turkey's northwestern province of Kocaeli last week has brought the Black Sea into focus. While the numbers of refugees entering the EU using the Black Sea pales into insignificance when compared with those making the crossing from Libya to Italy or even Greece, the sudden rise in the numbers attempting the dangerous crossing is significant. In 2015, around a million people undertook risky sea journeys to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, mostly to Greece from Turkey over the Aegean Sea. Thousands died in the perilous crossing. Responding to international pressure, Turkey tightened its sea borders and cracked down on migrant smuggling rings as part of a 2016 deal with the EU. The numbers of migrants crossing the Aegean has now dwindled, ever since Turkey and the EU ag

      Nneka Obazee was due to be deported from the UK on Wednesday A lesbian asylum seeker attempted to take her own life in order to stop herself being deported from the UK. Nneka Obazee, 34, was meant to be flown on a charter flight to her home country of Nigeria but she overdosed on pain medication which led to her hospitalisation, according to activist group Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants. Ms Obazee was set to be deported along with her 19-year-old stepson on an 11pm charter flight on Wednesday back to her home country despite fearing for her life, causing outrage from the LGBTQ community. “When Nneka was made aware that she would be returned to Nigeria she was so frightened that she attempted to suicide and took an overdose which demonstrates how dire the situation would be for her if she was returned to Nigeria”  a spokesperson for LGSM, who are in direct contact with Ms Obazee, told  The Independent . Her step-son was deported and is now arriving in Nigeria

ISIS 'minister of war' Gulmurod Khalimov has been killed in a Russian air strike against the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, the Russian defence ministry has said in a statement. In all, approximately "40 ISIS militants were killed" in the raid, which allegedly destroyed a military command and a communications hub. This is not the first time that Khalimov has been reported dead but the reports have not been confirmed 

Credit:  By JOSEPH D. LYONS     A missing volunteer from Hurricane Harvey was found dead on Sunday by his family in Cypress Creek in Spring, Texas. The 31-year-old disappeared last Wednesday, according to   The Houston Chronicle,  with two other volunteers when the rescue boat they were in struck a bridge near Interstate 45. But the story is even more tragic, because Alonso Guillen, who died in Harvey, was a DACA   recipient — and his mother will not be allowed to attend his burial because she lives in Mexico. Guillen, who went by "Ocho," was a  disc jockey for a local radio station  in Lufkin, Texas. He lived there since moving from Piedras Negras, Mexico, as a teenager. His father, Jesus Guillen, a permanent resident, told  The Chronicle  that he had tried to talk his son out of going to help but was unable to convince him otherwise. After his boat hit the bridge, search parties have been looking for the three volunteers. One was found clinging to a tree, another

A Catholic priest, Rev Father Cyriacus Onunkwo, has been murdered by unknown gunmen in Imo state. Chris Ezike, the state commissioner of police,  Confirmed the development Channels TV   on Sunday. Onunkwo was said to have been abducted from his vehicle in Orlu, a town in the state on Friday morning. Following a manhunt, a body was discovered in the bush in Omuma village in Orlu east local government area, still in Imo, on Saturday. The commissioner said the corpse had been identified as that of the priest. He also said investigations were ongoing to unveil Onunkwo’s killers. There are speculations that he may have been strangled as his body had no gunshot nor stab wounds, according to the police. They also said his car was discovered intact, with nothing removed from it. The police said they have not made any arrest in connection with the incident.

                      Gov. Ortom of Benue State Food crisis may hit Nigeria As a result of the flood that ravaged communities in Benue State last week, the state governor, Samuel Ortom, has raised the alarm that the people the state and Nigerians, in general, may experience food scarcity later this year. Ortom stated this yesterday when he embarked on an on-the-spot assessment of some villages and farm lands washed away by the flood. The governor expressed concern over the large portion of farmlands and food storage facilities that have been washed away due to the disaster in just one week.   By the same token, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has condoled with the government and people of Benue State over the flooding that has displaced over a hundred thousand people in the state and destroyed properties in 12 local government areas. The Speaker also expressed deep sympathy for all the victims who lost their livelihoods, homes, business, farmlands, and

Apple Music Festival 2017 is expected to take place in London this month. Here are the rumoured dates & how to get tickets Is Apple Music Festival happening in 2017? And if so, how do I get tickets? In September 2017 we expect Apple to hold its Apple Music Festival - the rebranded version of its popular yearly iTunes Festival - but the company hasn't made any announcements yet. Last year the headliners and dates were released around 10 days before the start of the festival, so expect word soon (assuming the festival is going ahead this year, which we strongly expect to be the case). Ahead of the official announcements, read on for all the rumours about Apple Music Festival 2017, including the lineup, dates, and how to get tickets. Where will it be held? Camden's  Roundhouse  venue has hosted the festival for the past eight years, so is overwhelming favourite to host it again. Dates Since 2012 the festival has been a September thing (with the exception of a