Suspected Boko Haram attack on a funeral leaves 65 dead in Nigeria, official says - CNN

The attack occurred Saturday during a burial in the Nganzai district, near the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, local government chairman Muhammed Bulama said.

Twenty-one people were initially killed during the burial ceremony, Bulama said. An additional 44 people were killed when villagers ran after the assailants, the official said.

At least 10 people were injured in the attack. Eight of them were critically wounded and were being treated at an area hospital, he said.

Boko Haram militants have inhabited the northern states of Nigeria for the past decade. The terror group says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.

The group has bombed churches and mosques; kidnapped women and children; and assassinated politicians and religious leaders.

In January, the escalating violence forced 30,000 Nigerians to flee the country over a two day period, the UN refugee agency said.

CNN's Stephanie Busari reported from Lagos and journalist Isaac Abrak reported from Abuja. CNN's Sophie Sherry and Braden Goyette wrote from Atlanta and Los Angeles.

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2019-07-29 07:29:00Z
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Suspected Boko Haram attack on a funeral leaves 65 dead in Nigeria, official says - CNN

The attack occurred Saturday during a burial in the Nganzai district, near the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, local government chairman Muhammed Bulama said.

Twenty-one people were initially killed during the burial ceremony, Bulama said. An additional 44 people were killed when villagers ran after the assailants, the official said.

At least 10 people were injured in the attack. Eight of them were critically wounded and were being treated at an area hospital, he said.

Boko Haram militants have inhabited the northern states of Nigeria for the past decade. The terror group says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.

The group has bombed churches and mosques; kidnapped women and children; and assassinated politicians and religious leaders.

In January, the escalating violence forced 30,000 Nigerians to flee the country over a two day period, the UN refugee agency said.

CNN's Stephanie Busari reported from Lagos and journalist Isaac Abrak reported from Abuja. CNN's Sophie Sherry and Braden Goyette wrote from Atlanta and Los Angeles.

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2019-07-29 06:39:00Z
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Dan Coats to leave post as director of national intelligence as Trump selects Rep. John Ratcliffe as replac... - Fox News

President Trump on Sunday announced that Texas GOP Rep. John Ratcliffe, a staunch White House ally, will replace Dan Coats as director of national intelligence (DNI), following months of speculation and public spats between the president and the intelligence community.

The move prompted immediate outrage from many top Democrats who accused the president of seeking to appoint a blindly loyal yes-man to the key post.

A source close to the matter told Fox News that Coats never saw his 2017 appointment as a long-term proposition. Ratcliffe has been well-versed in the intelligence community after driving key sections of ongoing Republican-led probes into apparent Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuses by the FBI and Justice Department, Fox News is told.

"I am pleased to announce that highly respected Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas will be nominated by me to be the Director of National Intelligence," Trump tweeted.

"A former U.S. Attorney, John will lead and inspire greatness for the Country he loves," Trump added. "Dan Coats, the current Director, will be leaving office on August 15th. I would like to thank Dan for his great service to our Country. The Acting Director will be named shortly."

Coats frequently appeared out of step with Trump during his two-year tenure, and their frayed relationship reflected broader divisions between the president and the government's intelligence agencies.

For instance, Coats revealed to then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators how Trump, angry over investigations into links between his campaign and Russia, tried unsuccessfully in March 2017 to get him to make a public statement refuting any connection.

"Coats responded that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has nothing to do with investigations and it was not his role to make a public statement on the Russia investigation," Mueller's report said.

And, last year at the Aspen Security Forum, Coats did a double-take when host Andrea Mitchell broke the news on stage that Vladimir Putin was planning a trip to Washington.

Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee this past January. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

"Say that again?" he asked, to laughter in the audience. "OK, that's going to be special."

Coats later said he meant no disrespect to Trump and admitted the moment was "awkward."

"Some press coverage has mischaracterized my intentions in responding to breaking news presented to me during a live interview. My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the President," Coats said.

In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned Ratcliffe's selection and pointed to the congressman's performance during last week's hearings with Mueller.

During his questioning, Ratcliffe told Mueller that he had acted improperly -- and trampled on the presumption of innocence -- by saying in his report that Trump had not been "exonerated."

"It’s clear that Rep. Ratcliffe was selected because he exhibited blind loyalty to President Trump with his demagogic questioning of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller," Schumer said. "If Senate Republicans elevate such a partisan player to a position that requires intelligence expertise and non-partisanship, it would be a big mistake."

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., meanwhile, praised Coats' tenure for staying "true" to the intelligence community's mission and "speaking truth to power."

CNN national security analyst Shawn Turner, California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, Elizabeth Warren, and Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass also each separately praised Coats specifically for "speaking truth to power" on social media -- prompting Republican consultant Arthur Schwartz to note that "talking points have been distributed."

Reaction from Republican lawmakers to Ratcliffe's selection appeared positive across the board. House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Mike Rogers, R-Ala., called Ratcliffe an "excellent pick to be director of national intelligence."

"His experience on the Homeland Security Committee and as former Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, & Innovation Subcommittee chairman will serve him well in this new role," Rogers said. "I thank Director Coats for his leadership and years of public service.”

And, House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said Ratcliffe was a "great pick."

TRUMP AT WAR WITH HIS OWN INTEL CHIEFS AS DIVIDE DEEPENS

Speculation about Coats' ouster had been lingering in recent days. Sources told Fox News earlier this month that Trump spoke to two people recently about the job. Among the candidates he was considering at the time were Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Fred Fleitz, who previously served as chief of staff to National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Trump raised the possibility of the job with Fleitz as far back as February and asked if he was interested but did not offer it to him officially. It's unclear how many other potential candidates may have been in the mix.

Trump regularly and openly sparred with Coats and the intelligence community. “Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!” he tweeted in January, after Coats and CIA Director Gina Haspel testified about a threat-assessment report that called into question some of Trump's foreign policy judgments.

DID U.S. INTELLIGENCE TRY TO ENTRAP TRUMP AIDE?

Coats said North Korea would be "unlikely" to give up its nuclear weapons or its ability to produce them because "its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival." Coats and other officials also contradicted Trump's positions on Iran, Afghanistan, and the Islamic State terror network.

"The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong!" Trump responded. "When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but a source of potential danger and conflict."

Ratcliffe, by contrast, appeared to be on the same page as the president. He grilled Mueller and Democrats at last week's congressional hearings, and told Fox News on Sunday that Mueller had effectively destroyed the presumption of innocence by saying Trump had not been "exonerated."

"By requiring Donald Trump to prove his innocence, they were depriving him of the one thing no one can be deprived of, which is a presumption of innocence," Ratcliffe said in an interview with Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."

Ratcliffe, who won re-election with more than 70 percent of the vote in his district in 2018, echoed that argument in the House Judiciary Committee hearings.

"The special counsel's job, nowhere does it say that you were to conclusively determine Donald Trump's innocence or that the special counsel report should determine whether or not to exonerate him," Ratcliffe told Mueller.

He added: "So, Americans need to know this as they listen to the Democrats and socialists on the other side of the aisle as they do dramatic readings from this report that Volume II of this report was not authorized under the law to be written. It was written to a legal standard that does not exist at the Justice Department and it was written in violation of every DOJ principle about extra prosecutorial commentary," he continued. "I agree with the chairman this morning when he said Donald Trump is not above the law. He’s not. But he damn sure shouldn’t be below the law, which is where Volume II of this report puts him."

A Republican former senator from Indiana, Coats was appointed director of national intelligence in March 2017, becoming the fifth person to hold the post since it was created in the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to oversee and coordinate the nation's 17 intelligence agencies.

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Coats had been among the last of the seasoned foreign policy hands brought in to surround the president after his 2016 victory, of whom the president steadily grew tired as he gained more personal confidence in Oval Office, officials said. That roster included Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and later, national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

Coats developed a reputation inside the administration for sober presentations to the president of intelligence conclusions that occasionally contradicted Trump's policy aims.

Fox News' John Roberts, Catherine Herridge, Gillian Turner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-07-28 23:38:21Z
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Iran tanker seizure: UK warship HMS Duncan arrives in Gulf - BBC News

A second Royal Navy warship has arrived in the Gulf to protect British ships amid heightened tensions in the region.

HMS Duncan has joined frigate HMS Montrose to escort vessels sailing under the British flag through the Strait of Hormuz.

HMS Montrose has so far accompanied 35 vessels through the strait, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK continued to push for a diplomatic resolution to the situation.

He said: "Freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is vital not just to the UK, but also our international partners and allies.

"Merchant ships must be free to travel lawfully and trade safely, anywhere in the world."

Mr Wallace added the Royal Navy will continue to provide a safeguard for UK vessels "until this is the reality".

HMS Duncan is a Type 45 Destroyer which the Royal Navy describes as "among the most advanced warships ever built".

Why have tensions escalated?

Earlier this month, British Royal Marines helped seize Iranian tanker Grace 1 near Gibraltar which was suspected of breaking EU sanctions, infuriating Iran.

In response, Tehran threatened to capture a British oil tanker.

On 19 July, British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero was seized by Iran's Revolutionary Guard in the key shipping route.

A second British-linked tanker, the MV Mesdar, was also boarded by armed guards but was released.

Tehran said the Stena Impero was "violating international maritime rules".

HMS Montrose was alerted but it was too far away to stop the seizure.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said the tanker was captured after it collided with a fishing boat and failed to respond to calls from the smaller craft.

But the then foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was seized in Omani waters in "clear contravention of international law" and then forced to sail into Iran.

The tanker's Swedish owners, Stena Bulk, said it had been complying with regulations and had been in international waters.

Stena Bulk said the 23 crew members, who are Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino, are in good health and have met with officials from their respective countries.

How has the UK reacted?

The then foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt called the seizure of the Stena Impero "state piracy".

But he insisted: "Our priority continues to be to find a way to de-escalate the situation."

Speaking to the BBC, former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith described the UK-flagged ship's capture as a "major failure" by the UK.

The then defence minister Tobias Ellwood told Sky News "it is impossible simply to escort each individual vessel".

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What has Iran said?

Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif said in a tweet the UK "must cease being an accessory to #EconomicTerrorism of the US".

He said Iran guarantees the security of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and insisted its action were to "uphold international maritime rules".

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has indicated the Stena Imepero could be released if the UK returns the Grace 1.

In a statement on his website he said: "We are not going to continue tensions with some European countries and if they are committed to international frameworks and abandon some actions, including what they did in Gibraltar, they will receive a proper response from Iran".

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2019-07-28 13:40:01Z
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American teens arrested in murder of Italian officer accused each other, officials say - NBCNews.com

Two Americans arrested in connection with the death of an Italian paramilitary officer had blamed each other for committing murder, court documents sent to reporters show.

Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, 18, and Finnegan Lee Elder, 19, both from Mill Valley, California, were detained by police in Rome on Friday for alleged homicide and attempted extortion.

Police have said the pair had a violent encounter with two plainclothes members of the storied Carabinieri paramilitary corps, after having stolen a backpack from Italian national and demanded money and a gram of cocaine in exchange for its return.

On Sunday, police released audio files of two calls with the Italian national who allegedly had his backpack stolen. He alleged he had spoken to the people who stole his bag by calling his cellphone, which had been inside the bag, adding that the suspects demanded money for the return of his belongings.

The dispatcher agreed to send an officer to meet the victim.

Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, who had just returned to duty a few days earlier from his honeymoon, was dispatched on Friday to meet with the Americans as part of the investigation, authorities said.

A detention order says Natale-Hjorth, who can understand Italian, confirmed that Rega identified himself as a Carabiniere officer. Elder, who doesn't speak the language, denies the officer revealed who he was.

The encounter quickly turned deadly with a violent struggle that resulted in Rega's stabbing. The pair then fled to their hotel room, where police found them hours later, despite officer's lifeless condition, the order says.

When separately interrogated, each suspect blamed the other for the stabbing, according to the document. However, Elder had recognized the weapon — a large knife seized from their hotel room — as his own and also confirmed it was the murder weapon, the document says.

Elder's family issued a statement Sunday saying that they had not been able to contact their son.

"We are shocked and dismayed at the events that have been reported, but have very little independent information about these events," they said, adding they shared condolences for the police officer's family and community. "Our thoughts are with all of those who have been impacted by this tragedy."

The detention order requires the men to be detained in isolation and forbids them from meeting. It also deems them a flight risk because they are foreign citizens.

Rega is expected to be buried on Monday after a public viewing is held on Sunday. It is unclear when the next court hearing will be scheduled.

Linda Givetash

Linda Givetash is a reporter based in London. She previously worked for The Canadian Press in Vancouver and Nation Media in Uganda. 

Claudio Lavanga

Claudio Lavanga is Rome-based producer and correspondent for NBC News.

Deborah Lubov and Associated Press contributed.

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2019-07-28 12:49:00Z
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UK government working 'on assumption of no-deal Brexit' - Aljazeera.com

The new British government is working on the assumption that the European Union will not renegotiate its agreement with the United Kingdom over the country's exit from the bloc, according to senior ministers who said preparations are being stepped up for a "no-deal" withdrawal on October 31.

Boris Johnson, who took over as British prime minister last week with a promise to deliver Brexit by the deadline at the end of October, has said he plans to seek a new exit deal with the EU. The bloc has repeatedly rejected such a scenario.

Writing in The Sunday Times newspaper on Sunday, Michael Gove, who Johnson has put in charge of "no-deal" preparations, said the government would undertake "intensive efforts" to secure a better deal from the EU.

"We still hope they will change their minds, but we must operate on the assumption that they will not ... No deal is now a very real prospect and we must make sure that we are ready," Gove wrote. 

"Planning for no deal is now this government's no. 1 priority," he said, adding "every penny needed" for no-deal preparations would be made available.

Boris Johnson urges EU to 'rethink' Brexit deal (2:36)

The Times also reported that Dominic Cummings, the mastermind behind the 2016 referendum campaign to leave the EU and now a senior aide to Johnson, told a meeting of the prime minister's advisers that he had been tasked with delivering Brexit "by any means necessary".

Ministers are preparing for a no-deal emergency budget in the week of October 7, the newspaper added.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Sajid Javid, the new finance minister, said he had ordered no-deal preparations in his treasury department to be stepped up. 

"In my first day in office ... I tasked officials to urgently identify where more money needs to be invested to get Britain fully ready to leave on October 31 - deal or no deal. And next week I will be announcing significant extra funding to do just that," he said.

Javid, a former interior minister, said this would include funding for one of the country's "biggest ever public information campaigns" to ensure the public and businesses are ready for a no-deal Brexit. The treasury will also allocate funding for 500 new Border Force officers, he said. 

'Abolish backstop'

Johnson has said the Irish backstop, an insurance policy designed to prevent the return of a hard border between EU-member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland by provisionally keeping the UK in a customs union with the EU, must be removed from any Brexit deal.

It was one of the most hotly contested elements of the divorce agreement his predecessor, Theresa May, reached with the EU, and opposition to it was a key driver behind the deal being rejected three times by parliament.

"You can't just reheat the dish that's been sent back and expect that will make it more palatable," Gove wrote. "We need a new approach and a different relationship. Critically, we need to abolish the backstop."

Legislators from opposition parties and the governing Conservative Party have threatened to try and block Johnson taking Britain out of the EU without a divorce deal.

The Observer newspaper reported that former finance minister Philip Hammond, who quit last week before Johnson took office, held talks with the main opposition Labour Party about how to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Sunday his party was determined to step up efforts for the country to avoid leaving the EU without a deal.

"We will do everything to prevent a no-deal exit and we will do everything to challenge this government," Corbyn told Sky News.

Although Johnson has been adamant he will not hold an election before Brexit, his Conservative Party does not have a majority in parliament. The party is divided over Brexit and under threat of a no-confidence vote when parliament returns in September.

Speculation of an early election to break the deadlock is likely to be fuelled by a YouGov opinion poll in the Sunday Times, which showed the Conservatives had opened up a 10-point lead over Labour since Johnson took over.

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2019-07-28 09:49:00Z
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No-deal Brexit now 'assumed' by government, says Gove - BBC News

The government is now "working on the assumption" of a no-deal Brexit, Michael Gove has said.

Mr Gove said his team still aimed to come to an agreement with Brussels but, writing in the Sunday Times, he added: "No deal is now a very real prospect."

Mr Johnson has made Mr Gove responsible for planning a no-deal Brexit.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told Mr Gove to chair meetings seven days a week until Brexit is delivered, according to the paper.

Mr Gove said tweaks to Theresa May's withdrawal agreement - which was approved by the EU but resoundingly rejected by Parliament - would not be enough.

• Brexit: What happens next?
• What is proroguing?

"You can't just reheat the dish that's been sent back and expect that will make it more palatable," he wrote.

He added he hoped EU leaders might yet open up to the idea of striking a new deal, "but we must operate on the assumption that they will not".

"While we are optimistic about the future, we are realistic about the need to plan for every eventuality."

Mr Gove highlighted a major flaw of Mrs May's deal as the Irish backstop plan - a measure designed to prevent the introduction of a hard border on the island of Ireland.

So far the backstop has proved a sticking point in the Brexit negotiations.

A no-deal Brexit would mean the UK leaving the EU and cutting ties immediately, with no agreement in place.

The UK would follow World Trade Organization rules if it wanted to trade with the EU and other countries, while also trying to negotiate free-trade deals.

But with Britain outside the EU, there could be physical checkpoints to monitor people and goods crossing in and out of the UK - something ruled out by the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland.

No-confidence vote

Speaking to Sky's Sophy Ridge, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would do everything to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

He reiterated his call for a new referendum - insisting he would still hold one if Labour were in power - and said, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Labour would campaign to remain in the EU.

Mr Corbyn also said he would look at whether to call a no-confidence vote in the government after Parliament returns in September.

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson told Sky that, in the event of a general election, her party's message would be: "Stop Brexit, stop Boris and start renewing our country."

Mr Gove is one of several new ministers pressing on with Brexit preparations since joining Mr Johnson's cabinet earlier this week.

Newly appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rishi Sunak, told Sky: "We're turbo-charging preparations for no-deal, that is now the government's number one priority."

He said if the EU would not reopen discussions about the Irish backstop plan then "it's right that we prepare properly, with conviction, and importantly with the financial resources that the Treasury will now supply properly".

Chancellor Sajid Javid has pledged extra funding to help prepare for a no-deal scenario.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Javid said there would be "significant extra funding" for 500 new Border Force officers and "possible" improved infrastructure at British ports.

Mr Javid is expected to pledge more money for projects next week.

Boris Johnson's government

Who is in charge of what?

Meanwhile, there have been reports of more dissatisfaction within the Conservative Party, as MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit continue to consider ways to avoid it.

The Observer alleges former chancellor Philip Hammond held private talks with Labour's Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer before Mr Johnson became prime minister.

The pair met shortly after Mr Hammond resigned from the government, the paper said.

Mr Starmer told the paper that work to build "a strong cross-party alliance" to prevent a no-deal Brexit would "intensify over the summer".

But despite several Tory MPs voicing their opposition to Mr Johnson in his first week in Downing Street, an opinion poll has suggested a recent boost in support for the party.

Since Mr Johnson took office on Wednesday the Conservatives have gained 10 points to stand at 30%, a survey for the Mail on Sunday showed.

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2019-07-28 09:25:47Z
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