'Hope' for Nigeria death-row troops

Femi Falana has been critical of the courts martial, which were held behind closed doors

Nigeria's incoming president may review the death sentences of 66 soldiers convicted for refusing to fight Boko Haram, a lawyer has said.

Femi Falana told the BBC that Muhammadu Buhari had promised to review all operations against the militants.

He said that he was now confident the soldiers, who said they lacked weapons to take on the Islamist insurgents, would not be executed and face justice.

This week it was revealed another 579 soldiers face trial over indiscipline.

Africa news updates

Why Boko Haram remains a threat

Army spokesman Sani Usman said the courts martial, currently taking place in the capital, Abuja, were to ensure professionalism in the army.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said that the Boko Haram insurgency, which began in 2009, had caused "one of the most serious humanitarian crises in Africa".

'State negligence'

Mr Falana, who is a prominent human rights lawyer and represented some of the 66 sentenced to death for conspiracy, cowardice and mutiny last year, said the Nigerian government had failed to adequately equip the units fighting the insurgency in the north-east.

"They [the soldiers] did not sign to commit suicide but to fight for their fatherland and since the government did not make weapons available, they were unable to fight," he told the BBC's Newsday programme.

Hundreds of people have recently been rescued from Boko Haram captivity

"The sentences are awaiting confirmation but we are taking steps to ensure that no soldier, no officer in Nigeria is executed on account of the negligence of the Nigerian state in motivating the soldiers to fight and equipping them."

He said that outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan "had refused to assist to the request of the convicted soldiers to review their matter".

"So happily the incoming government of Gen Muhammadu Buhari has promised to review the entire operations in the north-east region and we are confident that the cases of the officers and the soldiers will be reviewed so that justice will be done to them."

Earlier, he told the Associated Press news agency the courts martial were a "travesty" as they were held in secret and evidence supplied by some of the accused indicated corrupt officers often diverted money meant for salaries and arms.

Despite a state of emergency in three north-eastern state, Boko Haram managed to take over many towns and villages last year.

It was only from the end of January, with military backing from Chad, Cameroon and Niger, that the army began to recapture territory.

However, sporadic attacks and violence have continued.

"Whole communities have fled their villages and endured unimaginable suffering... even if the fighting stopped tomorrow, it will take years of investment and painstaking work to rebuild livelihoods and services," ICRC president Peter Maurer said after a trip to the north-east.

Help was also needed for the victims of sexual violence, amid widespread evidence the militants raped some of the kidnapped women and girls, he said.

The group is still holding many women, girls and children captives including 219 schools girls it kidnapped from a school in Chibok in April last year.

BBC © 2015

Baltimore police charged over death

The six police officers who have been charged (top row from left): Caesar Goodson Jr, Garrett Miller and Edward Nero; bottom row from left: William Porter, Brian Rice and Alicia White

A Baltimore grand jury has charged all six police officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray.

State Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby announced the revised charges on Thursday, but the most serious charges - including second-degree murder - remained.

Gray suffered a severe spinal cord injury in police custody in April and died a week later.

His death sparked weeks of protests and later riots and looting in Baltimore.

"As is often the case, during an ongoing investigation, charges can and should be revised based upon the evidence," Ms Mosby said.

The grand jury did not return charges on the false imprisonment charges that were brought against some of the officers.

Ms Mosby brought the false imprisonment charges earlier claiming that Gray's arrest was unjustified and illegal.

The Baltimore police union has called for Marilyn Mosby to step down from the case

However, the grand jury did return new reckless endangerment charges that were not part of the original charges announced three weeks ago.

Ms Mosby has said that Gray's neck was broken while he was being handcuffed and placed into a police van. She also said that police repeatedly ignored his pleas for medical attention.

The officers are scheduled to appear in court on 2 July.

The grand jury charges

• Officer Caesar Goodson: 2nd-degree depraved heart murder, involuntary manslaughter, 2nd degree negligent assault, manslaughter by vehicle by means of gross negligence, manslaughter by vehicle by means of criminal negligence, misconduct in office for failure to secure prisoner and failure to render aid, reckless endangerment

• Officer William Porter: Involuntary manslaughter, assault in the 2nd degree, misconduct in office, reckless endangerment

• Lieutenant Brian Rice: Involuntary manslaughter, assault in the 2nd degree, assault in the 2nd degree [second of two similar charges], misconduct in office, reckless endangerment

• Officer Edward Nero: Assault in the 2nd degree (intentional), assault in the 2nd degree (negligent), misconduct in office, reckless endangerment

• Sergeant Alicia White: Involuntary manslaughter, 2nd degree assault, misconduct in office, reckless endangerment

• Officer Garrett Miller: Intentional Assault in the 2nd degree, assault in the 2nd degree, negligent misconduct in office, reckless endangerment

A lawyer for the six Baltimore police officers said they "did nothing wrong", after criminal charges were announced by Ms Mosby earlier this month.

Lawyer Michael Davey said the officers "at all times acted reasonably and in accordance with their training" and accused Ms Mosby of an "egregious rush to judgement".

"As all of the facts surrounding this case come out in the appropriate form, the officers' lack of wrongdoing will be made abundantly clear."

He also said that the defence team had "grave concerns about the fairness and integrity of the prosecution of our officers".

Freddie Gray

Ms Mosby rejected a police union request to step aside and appoint a special prosecutor to handle the case.

The grand jury's decision to bring charges largely similar to Ms Mosby's may quiet calls for her to step aside.

Gray's death is the latest in a string of high-profile cases in the US where unarmed black men have died after contact with the police.

After his funeral, riots broke out in sections of West Baltimore, prompting city and state officials to deploy thousands of extra law enforcement officers and National Guard troops to keep the peace and enact a citywide curfew.

BBC © 2015

Woman jailed for Google boss overdose

Alix Tichelman, seen here in a photo from July, is a dual citizen of the US and Canada

A woman has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to giving a Google executive a fatal overdose of heroin in California.

Alix Tichelman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and drugs charges, which resulted in the 2013 death of Forrest Timothy Hayes.

Tichelman did not seek help for Hayes when he passed out after she injected him with heroin onboard his yacht.

Police say she was a prostitute and the pair had met on several occasions.

The plea on Tuesday came as part of a deal that included a reduced manslaughter charge.

Tichelman's lawyer, Larry Biggam, said he expects his client to serve only three years. She will will receive credit for the time she has already served - nearly a year.

Mr Biggam said that Tichelman agreed to the plea deal in light of the evidence in the case.

Tichelman was seen in a surveillance video gathering her belongings, stepping over Hayes' body, finishing a glass of wine and lowering a blind before leaving the yacht. His body was discovered the next day.

She was arrested eight months later.

History of Tourism

Tourism can be recognized as long as people have travelled; the narrative of Marco Polo in the 13th century; the "grand tour" of the British aristocracy to Europe in the 18th century; and the journeys of David Livingstone through Africa in the 19th century are all examples of early tourism. Thomas Cook is popularly regarded as the founder of inclusive tours with his use of a chartered train in 1841 to transport tourists from Loughborough to Leicester. Before the 1950s, tourism in Europe was mainly a domestic activity with some international travel between countries, mainly within continental Europe. In the period of recovery following World War II, a combination of circumstances provided an impetus to international travel. Among the important contributing factors were the growing number of people in employment, the increase in real disposable incomes and available leisure time, and changing social attitudes towards leisure and work. These factors combined to stimulate the latent demand for foreign travel and holidays. The emergence of specialist tour operators who organized inclusive holidays by purchasing transport, accommodation, and related services and selling these at a single price, brought foreign holidays within the price- range of a new and growing group of consumers.