Nigeria-US training cancellation 'logistical, not political'

Abuja - Nigeria on Friday said that a decision to cancel US training of its soldiers to fight Boko Haram was a logistical, not a political decision.

The US Embassy in Abuja announced on Monday that the Nigerian government had halted a training programme of an army battalion, which would have developed into a unit to take on the militants.

US police open inquiry into Cosby allegations

New York - Police in Los Angeles have opened an official inquiry into sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby.
A woman has accused the 77-year-old actor and comedian of forcing her to commit a sexual act in 1974 when she was 15. A police spokesperson said on Saturday that the police had met with the woman.

Mugabe alleges US plot against him

Mugabe alleges US plot against himHarare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has accused his vice president of plotting with the United States Embassy in the country to remove him.

Speaking at the ruling party Zanu-PF's annual conference on Saturday, Mugabe said Joice Mujuru has attended secret meetings at the embassy in Harare.

Nigeria detains Russian cargo plane

Kano - Nigeria detained a Russian cargo plane and its French-speaking crew on Saturday after it made an unauthorised landing in the northern city of Kano with military hardware bound for neighbouring Chad, a security source said.

An air force spokesperson confirmed the plane had been detained but gave no further details.

The plane had been travelling from Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, to the Chadian capital N'Djamena but was forced to make an emergency landing in Kano because N'Djamena airport was closed, the security source said.

Prison break frees 200 inmates in Nigeria

Abuja - Gunmen broke into a prison in the central Nigerian city of Minna, freeing around 200 inmates, a police spokesperson and security sources said.

The sources said the gunmen stormed the facility late on Saturday in Niger state, near to the capital Abuja. Islamist sect Boko Haram and al Qaeda-linked group Ansaru have been behind several prison raids in recent years, although it was unclear whether they had anything to do with this one.