Clearance operations: Troops capture 14 terrorists, recover arms-Official

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Colonel Sani Usman

Troops of the Operation Lafiya Dole captured 14 terrorists and neutralised several others during clearance operations at Chikum Gudu in Northern part of Borno on Friday.

Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, the Director of Army Public Relations, who said this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, added that the troops captured many arms and ammunition from the terrorists during the operation.

“Unfortunately, four of soldiers were wounded in action and they have been evacuated to medical facility where they are receiving treatment,’’ he said.

Usman listed arms captured from remnants of the insurgents by troops of 8 Task Force Division as two Toyota gun trucks.

He said the insurgent stole trucks from Niger Republic Defence Forces.

Usman said the troops also recovered two Toyota Hilux gun trucks, one of which the insurgents earlier took from 153 Task Force Battalion of the Operation Lafiya Dole.

Others, he said were 25-horse power Yamaha outboard engine, two solar panels and five empty belts of anti-aircraft guns ammunition links.

He said that the troops recovered one gun bipod, 12 pairs of Boko Haram terrorists’ fighters uniform, five flags, 37 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition, 84 copies of Holy Quran and 270 books on Islamic literature.

“The troops also recovered and destroyed over 70 motorcycles used by the terrorists to launch attacks, three shops stocked with medical supplies, three other shops with provisions and three wooden boats.

“They also recovered two Niger Republic Drivers’ Licenses, two mobile telephone handsets and two Wooden Slates.’’

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NCC to assist in rebuilding telecommunication facilities in North-East-Official

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NCC Building

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said on Sunday it was willing to assist GSM service providers in rebuilding telecommunication facilities destroyed by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East.

Hajiya Hafsat Lawan, the NCC Assistant Director, Legal and Regulatory Services, made the promise while speaking with journalists in Maiduguri.

“As a regulatory body, one of our mandates is to ensure that telecommunication facilities are well protected.

“We are also working with all operators closely, whenever they are in need of assistance, they can come to us,” Lawan said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that facilities, worth several millions were destroyed by the terrorists, especially in Borno, resulting in service disruptions in many areas of the state.

She further said that NCC had set specific fund, dedicated to assisting the operators in times of need and urged them to come forward with such requests.

“There are funds set aside for that kind of thing, operators that come to us requiring assistance we always help them out.”

The assistant director said the commission was also collaborating with security agencies toward safeguarding telecommunication facilities all over the country.

“We have been collaborating with security agencies, especially the police, in protecting telecommunications facilities.

“We are also partnering with the police in fighting cyber crime.”

“Last week, we donated ICT equipment to the Police Command in Borno, to further strengthen the fight against cyber crime.”

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Thousands flee Syria army advance in north

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A picture taken on March 3, 2017 shows Syrian government forces driving up a road in the ancient city of Plamyra in central Syria.<br />Syrian troops backed by Russian jets completed the recapture of the historic city of Palmyra from the Islamic State group on March 2, the Kremlin and the army said, in another blow to the jihadists.<br />STRINGER / AFP

Tens of thousands of Syrian civilians have fled advancing Russian-backed regime forces fighting Islamic State group jihadists in the north over the past week, a monitoring group said Saturday.

Most of the more than 30,000 fleeing civilians in Aleppo province were women and children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

It said the army had retaken several villages from IS during a vast offensive that was still ongoing on Saturday.

Most of the civilians who fled went to areas around Manbij, under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters backed by the United States that is also fighting IS, it said.

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FG evacuates 41 Nigerian girls from Mali, arrests 6 suspected human traffickers (Read full details)

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The Federal Government on Monday evacuated 41 Nigerian girls who were trafficked to Mali for forced labour and sexual exploitation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that six persons, alledged to be human traffickers, were also arrested and brought back to the country alongside their victims.

The Hercules C-130 military aircraft, with registration number NAF 913, conveying the returnees landed at 7:45 pm at the Airforce Base of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

They were brought back by the Nigeria Air Force in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant, Diaspora and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

They were received at the Hajj Camp area of the airport by officers of the NAPTIP and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).

Addressing newsmen, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, commended the Chief Of Defence Staff, for facilitating the return of the victims to the country.

“We want to thank the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar, and the Chief of Defence Staff, Maj Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, for making the return of the girls possible, otherwise they would have still be there.

“The girls came back voluntarily. Some of these girls are between 15 and 17 years old who thought they were being taken to Europe for greener pastures but ended up with traumatic experiences in the hands of their traffickers and their madam.

“So they should not be ashamed of themselves because they are victims. We are going to rehabilitate them through skills acquisition programmes. I am therefore calling on non-governmental organisations to join us in this regard,” she said.

Dabiri-Erewa advised Nigerian parents to watch their children carefully and ensure that they don’t succumb to peer pressure and other activities that could exposed them to traffickers.

She confirmed that six of the alleged traffickers, who were arrested and brought back to the country, would be handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution.

According to her, the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration remains committed to the welfare of Nigerians all over the world, hence this intervention.

Also speaking, Mr Joseph Famakinwa, Zonal Commander, NAPTIP, South-West Zone, said 512 victims were returned to the zone in 2016.

Famakinwa said Nigerians needed to go back to the basics of bringing up their children uprightly and discouraging the ‘get rich quick’ syndrome.

He said poverty was not solely responsible for the increase in the human trafficking, stressing that other factors such as negligence, peer pressure and greed were also responsible.

“Once the girls have been rescued, we take them to our shelter houses where they are received by trained counselors who assist them in overcoming their trauma.

“After counseling, for those who don’t want to go back to school, we give them a vocational training of their choice and also assist them to set up their businesses.

“We also meet with their families to let them know that being victims of human trafficking is not the end of the world and advised them on how to render support to the girls,” Famakinwa said.

He said NAPTIP would reveal the identities of the suspected traffickers in due course and ensure that they are brought to justice.

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EU migrants set to be on agenda as UK Lords study Brexit bill…Read full details

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A video grab taken from footage broadcast by the UK Parliament's Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU) in the House of Commons in London on February 1, 2017, shows MPs as they await the outcome of a vote on a bill to allow Prime Minister Theresa May to start pulling Britain out of the European Union. British MPs on Wednesday approved the first stage of a bill empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to start pulling Britain out of the European Union. MPs approved the bill, which would allow the government to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, formally beginning two years of exit negotiations, by a margin of 498 to 114. / AFP PHOTO / PRU ARCHIVES

Britain’s House of Lords will Monday begin detailed scrutiny of the bill empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to kickstart Brexit, with the fate of EU nationals living in Britain likely to be on the agenda.

The lower House of Commons overwhelmingly approved the draft legislation earlier this month, and the unelected upper house has already held two days of debate before now examining the short bill line-by-line.

Peers will be able to propose amendments that could potentially delay May’s plans to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty — a formal notification of Britain’s intention to leave the bloc — by the end of March.

This would fire the starting gun on a maximum of two-years negotiations with the EU to work out the divorce deal and terms of a future relationship, with Britain automatically leaving the bloc if no agreement is reached by then.

Peers are set to discuss on Monday and Wednesday proposals including measures to guarantee the rights of EU nationals in Britain, and defining the parameters of a parliamentary vote on the final Brexit deal.

The so-called “committee stage” is the first opportunity for peers to make amendments, which would then get debated and voted on before being passed back to the House of Commons for approval.

If the Lords approves the bill without amendments it will be sent, after its final reading on March 7, directly to Queen Elizabeth II to sign into law.

However, if there are amendments, the bill could bounce between the two houses as they try to agree on its final wording, potentially derailing May’s timetable.

– No ‘blank cheque’ –
The government presented the short bill to parliament in January after losing a high-profile court battle in which judges ruled May must consult the legislature before beginning the EU divorce proceedings.

The unamended legislation sailed through the Commons this month by 494 votes to 122.

But the government could face greater challenges in the Lords, where only 252 of the more than 800 members are from May’s ruling Conservative party.

Dick Newby, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the upper house, said there was strong support among peers for protecting the rights of EU citizens.

There is “an overwhelming desire to do the right thing and ensure that all EU nationals have the right to remain,” he was quoted as saying by the Guardian on Sunday.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Conservative peer Michael Heseltine, a former deputy prime minister, vowed to support opposition moves to secure a parliamentary vote on the Brexit deal within the bill.

– ‘British people want Brexit’ –
May has urged the Lords to neither amend the bill nor delay it.

“There will be debate and scrutiny in the House of Lords, but I don’t want to see anybody holding up what the British people want… which is for us to deliver Brexit, to leave the European Union,” she said.

Interior Minister Amber Rudd on Sunday said she thought there was no chance of May accepting any amendments.

“No I don’t think there is any possibility and I don’t think there should be,” she told ITV television, adding there would be “opportunities to debate and discuss” during the two years of Brexit talks.

But during the initial two-day Lords debate last Monday, Labour peer Angela Smith said peers should not “provide the government with a blank cheque” and that they would not be intimidated by MPs who have suggested the upper house could be abolished if it delays the bill.

Conservative MP Dominic Raab had earlier warned that “peers would be wise to consider this clear democratic mandate, and their own futures, when debating the Article 50 bill.”

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UN to hold urgent meeting on North Korea missile test

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The United Nations Security Council has announced an emergency meeting to discuss North Korea’s recent launch of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile.

The United States, Japan, and South Korea on Sunday requested the meeting on an “urgent basis.”

North Korea launched the missile near the western city of Kusong on Sunday. It flew east about 500 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) later on Monday confirmed that Pyongyang had “successfully” tested a “surface-to-surface medium long-range ballistic missile.”

The North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, “expressed great satisfaction over the possession of another powerful nuclear attack means, which adds to the tremendous might of the country,” the KCNA said.

The missile was reportedly powered by a solid-fuel engine. Thus, it requires a far shorter refueling time than conventional liquid fuel-powered missiles, said Yun Duk-min of the state-run Institute for Foreign Affairs and Security in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

He said such missiles “leave little warning time and therefore pose greater threat to opponents.” They are also harder to detect before launch by satellite surveillance, he added.

The launch has concerned Japan and South Korea and their ally the United States.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was visiting US President Donald Trump in Florida when the launch occurred, called the test “absolutely intolerable.”

Trump reacted to the test only by saying that the US stood behind Japan, “its great ally, 100 percent.”

South Korea, too, has condemned the test.

North Korea faces international pressure to abandon its arms development and nuclear program. Yet, it says the programs aim to protect the country from US hostilities.

The US has military forces in South Korea and is planning to deploy an advanced missile system there in response to perceived threats from the North. The US also occasionally deploys nuclear-powered warships and aircraft capable of carrying atomic weapons in the region.

Credits: PressTV, AFP

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Ahmed directs Commission to regularise appointment of staff recruited illegally

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Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed

Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara, has directed the state Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) to regularise the appointment of some teaching and non-teaching staff who were illegally recruited in 2014.

The governor also directed that the employment of 63 teachers, whose appointment was approved but not regularized to be normalised.

The directive is contained in a statement issued by Dr Muyideen Akorede, Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media and Communication and made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Ilorin.

The statement said that while Ahmed frowned at illegal employment and approved sanctions for erring officials, he was, however, reluctant to throw the affected staff into the unemployment market at this critical period of economic hardship.

The statement added that with the directive, TESCOM was expected to conduct relevant processes to normalise the employment of the affected staff.

“With regard to teaching staff, emphasis will be on those with qualifications in Mathematics, English Language and science subjects.

“The processes should include verification of their certificates and other due processes that must be followed in the recruitment of staff into TESCOM,” the statement added.

The statement said that the employment of the affected personnels will be regularised on satisfactory confirmation of their suitability and eligibility for employment into the commission.

NAN recalls that in 2014, the governor gave approval to TESCOM to employ 449 staff for Mathematics, English Language and core Science disciplines to cater for the shortfall of teachers in those subjects.

However, the administrative panel of inquiry set up by the government reported that the commission illegally recruited more than 900 staff in defiance to the governor’s approval.

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Pochettino to visit family ‘hero’ Mason in hospital

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Pochettino

Tottenham manager Maurico Pochettino is to visit Hull midfielder Ryan Mason in hospital because the former Spurs player remains a very special person to the Argentinian manager.

Mason, whom Pochettino sold to Hull for a reported £13million (15.3m, $16.3) just prior to the beginning of this season, fractured his skull in a horrific clash of heads with Chelsea’s Gary Cahill last Sunday.

According to his club, he is making “excellent progress”.

Pochettino, who was in Barcelona with the Spurs players when the incident took place, said 25-year-old Mason was a hero in his own household.

“Yes, a little bit, I cannot lie,” replied Pochettino, who along with the players sent Mason a video.

“I cannot keep a secret. He is special. I feel when he took the decision to move to Hull it was a very tough moment for me.”

Mason, capped once by England, had a series of injuries as he progressed through the ranks at Spurs but under Pochettino’s watchful eye he developed into a first-team player.

“He is a special player for us and to me personally, he grew up here at Tottenham, he is a person that we love,” he said.

“We have kept in touch with his family and his fiancee. We were very worried about the action and like all of the people that know him, it was hard and it was difficult.

“The good thing now is he is recovering well and has made a lot of progress, we will go after the press conference to visit him and see how he is doing.”

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Five-star Barca stroll back into Cup semi-final (Read full details)

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Barcelona's Turkish forward Arda Turan (7) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King's Cup) quarter final second leg football match FC Barcelona vs Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on January 26, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE

Barcelona eased into the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for a seventh consecutive season 6-2 on aggregate as Denis Suarez scored twice in a 5-2 win over Real Sociedad on Thursday.

Already leading 1-0 from the first leg, Barca gave Sociedad a mountain to climb as Denis Suarez finished off a great team move with the only real chance of the first-half before Lionel Messi converted from the penalty spot.

Juanmi and Willian Jose grabbed a pair of consolation goals for the visitors either side of Luis Suarez’s third for Barca before Arda Turan and Denis Suarez rounded off the rout.

“After the first goal the space opened up. They had a high line, and if you give the three we have up front space, then they kill you,” Denis Suarez told BeIN Sports Spain.

The 28-time winners join Atletico Madrid, Alaves and Celta Vigo, who dumped out Real Madrid on Wednesday, in Friday’s semi-final draw.

Barca boss Luis Enrique took no risks with his team selection as all of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez started, whilst Gerard Pique returned at the back after being rested for the 4-0 win at Eibar on Sunday.

One moment of magic lit up a first-half otherwise devoid of goalmouth action as after registering his first Barca goal at the weekend, Denis Suarez’s purple patch continued.

Samuel Umtiti robbed Xabi Prieto deep inside the Sociedad half and from there Neymar, Messi and Luis Suarez combined to tee up his namesake for a first time finish into the far corner.

“We found it difficult to play out from the back in the first-half,” added Enrique.

“In the second-half we took better decisions and we took our chances.

“When the players we have are given space, not just for their quality, but their physical ability, they normally take advantage.”

Sociedad had a huge chance to get back into the tie nine minutes into the second period when Jose fired too close to Jasper Cillessen with just the Dutch international to beat from 10 yards out.

And within seconds any lasting hope Sociedad had was gone as Neymar accelerated in behind the visitors’ defence and was cynically hacked down by Inigo Martinez with the defender lucky to escape with just a yellow card.

Messi had handed responsibility from the spot to Neymar in each of Barca’s last two Cup outings, but stepped up himself to register his 29th goal in just 27 games this season.

Sociedad were briefly given a glimmer of hope when substitute Juanmi took advantage of a glaring gap in the centre of the Barca defence to lob Cillessen.

Barca immediately responded, though, as Messi shrugged off three Sociedad challenges to release Luis Suarez to slot his 20th goal of the season under Geronimo Rulli.

The Basques once again responded as Jose bulleted home a header 17 minutes from time.

Yet, that once again just kicked Barca back up a gear as Turan tapped home Aleix Vidal’s cross minutes after replacing Neymar before Messi teed up Denis Suarez for his second of the night.

Five-star Barca stroll back into Cup semi-final

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Stakeholders urge NBC to check excesses of private TV, radio stations

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Media Stakeholders have urged the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to put in place necessary mechanisms to check the excesses of some private radio and television stations in the country.

Thev appeal was made in a communiqué at the end of a two-day seminar on Media and Society, signed by Abdulkadir Ibrahim, Consultant to the Kano State Ministry of Information, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

The communiqué said that adequate mechanism would ensure that sanity prevailed in the industry and for public good, unity and tranquility.

It said that NBC should enforce compliance of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code by owners of broadcast stations and operators of media “training” institutions, particularly with regards to recruitment of personnel.

According to the communiqué, the NUJ, NGE and the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria should ensure the implementation of the eligibility criteria for entry into and practice of journalism in Nigeria.

It said that the implementation of the eligibility criteria should be in line with the Nigerian Press Council Decree No 85 of 1992 (Now Act).

“All professional and trade unions of media workers and owners, notably the NUJ, NGE, BON and NPAN should partner with the Nigerian Press Council.

“ Make it mandatory for all potential journalists to register with the relevant professional and regulatory bodies after fulfilling a basic requirement and be accredited to practice.

“ They must also sign to uphold the code of conduct and ethics for Nigerian Journalists.’’

It further called on journalists to perform their duties in accordance with the rule and regulations, code of conduct and ethics, legislation, the guidelines of regulatory and professional bodies.

It added that they should also be conscious of the laws of libel and slander, accurate and fair in reporting events and respect the privacy of individuals, rights and privileges of children and minors.

“Journalists should uphold the obligations of the mass media as provided in the 1999 Constitution as amended while complying with section 39 of the Constitution.

“They should be emotionally intelligent at all times; think constructively; act wisely; seek and report the truth and promote public good and national unity.

“ They should constantly update their knowledge through training and re-training, seminars and refresher courses while employers should ensure regular professional and technical training of their staff to meet the challenges of insufficient and unprofessional manpower.”

It also called on the National Assembly to hasten the passage of the “Journalism Enhancement Bill’ into law.

It said the bill proposed minimum entry point for editorial staff, conditions of service to commensurate with what obtained at the Federal Civil Service and the payment of Hazard Allowance to journalists, among others.

The communique also stated that the media should be fully utilised by the government in societal re-orientation on patriotism, discipline, good neighbourliness, peaceful coexistence and adherence to the rule of law.

“ Governments at all levels and the Private Sector who own media houses should continue to fund their services, provide adequate working materials and remunerate the workers adequately,’’ it said.

The communique commended Kano State Government for its commitment to resuscitate the Triumph Publishing Company for funding the digitisation of its two electronic media.

It, however, recommended that the government should do more to bail out Radio Kano with financial support and other logistics.

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Five-star Barca stroll back into Cup semi-final

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Barcelona's Turkish forward Arda Turan (7) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King's Cup) quarter final second leg football match FC Barcelona vs Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on January 26, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE

Barcelona eased into the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for a seventh consecutive season 6-2 on aggregate as Denis Suarez scored twice in a 5-2 win over Real Sociedad on Thursday.

Already leading 1-0 from the first leg, Barca gave Sociedad a mountain to climb as Denis Suarez finished off a great team move with the only real chance of the first-half before Lionel Messi converted from the penalty spot.

Juanmi and Willian Jose grabbed a pair of consolation goals for the visitors either side of Luis Suarez’s third for Barca before Arda Turan and Denis Suarez rounded off the rout.

“After the first goal the space opened up. They had a high line, and if you give the three we have up front space, then they kill you,” Denis Suarez told BeIN Sports Spain.

The 28-time winners join Atletico Madrid, Alaves and Celta Vigo, who dumped out Real Madrid on Wednesday, in Friday’s semi-final draw.

Barca boss Luis Enrique took no risks with his team selection as all of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez started, whilst Gerard Pique returned at the back after being rested for the 4-0 win at Eibar on Sunday.

One moment of magic lit up a first-half otherwise devoid of goalmouth action as after registering his first Barca goal at the weekend, Denis Suarez’s purple patch continued.

Samuel Umtiti robbed Xabi Prieto deep inside the Sociedad half and from there Neymar, Messi and Luis Suarez combined to tee up his namesake for a first time finish into the far corner.

“We found it difficult to play out from the back in the first-half,” added Enrique.

“In the second-half we took better decisions and we took our chances.

“When the players we have are given space, not just for their quality, but their physical ability, they normally take advantage.”

Sociedad had a huge chance to get back into the tie nine minutes into the second period when Jose fired too close to Jasper Cillessen with just the Dutch international to beat from 10 yards out.

And within seconds any lasting hope Sociedad had was gone as Neymar accelerated in behind the visitors’ defence and was cynically hacked down by Inigo Martinez with the defender lucky to escape with just a yellow card.

Messi had handed responsibility from the spot to Neymar in each of Barca’s last two Cup outings, but stepped up himself to register his 29th goal in just 27 games this season.

Sociedad were briefly given a glimmer of hope when substitute Juanmi took advantage of a glaring gap in the centre of the Barca defence to lob Cillessen.

Barca immediately responded, though, as Messi shrugged off three Sociedad challenges to release Luis Suarez to slot his 20th goal of the season under Geronimo Rulli.

The Basques once again responded as Jose bulleted home a header 17 minutes from time.

Yet, that once again just kicked Barca back up a gear as Turan tapped home Aleix Vidal’s cross minutes after replacing Neymar before Messi teed up Denis Suarez for his second of the night.

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Six people killed by Chile wildfires

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Picture taken during a forest fire in Vichuquen, 283 km south of Santiago, on January 24, 2017.<br />Chile's president ordered extra funds Tuesday to be spent on fighting the country's worst forest fires ever, as frantic locals called for help to save their homes, animals and farmland. Flames have destroyed 155,000 hectares (600 square miles) of land in the center of the country and at least 4,000 people have been evacuated, the National Emergency Office said. / AFP PHOTO / Martin BERNETTI

Six people — among them four firefighters and two police — have now been killed battling vast forest fires in central Chile, officials said Wednesday.

“I can now say officially that there are two more fatalities — two Chilean police who were found in the Maule River,” said Interior Minister Mario Fernandez, raising the total death toll to six.

Earlier in the day a firefighter died after getting stuck while trying to help a family escape from their home near the city of Constitucion, a source in the fire service told AFP.

And over the past week three other firefighters died and another three were injured, authorities said earlier.

Multiple blazes have ravaged 238,000 hectares (588,000 acres) and are growing, the National Forestry Corporation said in a statement.

Frantic locals have been joining in efforts to tackle the blaze to save their homes, animals and farmland.

President Michelle Bachelet Tuesday ordered extra funds to fight what she called the country’s worst forest fires ever.

At least 4,000 people have been evacuated, the National Emergency Office said on Tuesday.

The fires have struck mainly in sparsely populated rural areas in the central regions of O’Higgins and El Maule.

The United States has offered $100,000 for the firefighting effort, and France and Mexico have sent personnel to help.

Fires are common in Chile’s parched woods during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer. Most are caused by human activity.

But this year was considered worse because of a drought attributed by environmentalists to climate change.

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Study links personality to brain shape (Read full details)

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PHOTO:AFP

Personality traits such as moodiness or open-mindedness are linked to the shape of one’s brain, a study said Wednesday.

Researchers said they found a striking correlation between structural brain differences and five main personality types.

“The shape of our brain can itself provide surprising clues about how we behave — and our risk of developing mental health disorders,” said a statement from the University of Cambridge, which took part in the study.

Psychologists have previously developed a “Big Five” model of main personality types: neuroticism (how moody a person is), extraversion (how enthusiastic), open-mindedness, agreeableness (a measure of altruism) and conscientiousness (a measure of self control).

Using brain scans from over 500 people aged 22 to 36, the new study looked at differences in the cortex — the wrinkly outer layer of the brain also known as grey matter.

Specifically it focussed on combinations of thickness, surface area, and the number of folds in different people.

“We found that neuroticism… was linked to a thicker cortex and a smaller area and folding in some brain regions,” said study co-author Roberta Riccelli of Italy’s Magna Graecia University.

Conversely, openness, “was associated with a thinner cortex and greater area and folding”.

Neuroticism, the team said, was a trait underlying mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders, whereas “openness” reflects curiosity and creativity.

The deep folds in the human brain were the evolutionary solution to fitting such a large, super-computer into a relatively small skull.

“It’s like stretching and folding a rubber sheet — this increases the surface area, but at the same time the sheet itself becomes thinner,” co-author Luca Passamonti of the University of Cambridge explained in a statement.

– Nature vs Nurture? –
The study was the first to clearly link the “Big Five” personality traits to differences in brain shape, Riccelli told AFP.

This, in turn, was “a crucial step to improving our understanding of mental disorders,” she said.

“It may give us the opportunity to detect those who are at high risk of developing mental illnesses early, which has obvious implications for prompt intervention.”

The research touches on a question that has occupied the minds of philosophers and scientists for centuries — are humans more a product of their genes, or of their upbringing and exposure?

The study, published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, could not conclude that brain shape determines a personality type, its authors said.

“We cannot answer the question: ‘What came first, the chicken or the egg?’,” said Riccelli.

“Hence we can’t say if we have a specific personality type because our brain has a specific shape.”

Brain shape, in itself, is determined by genetic as well as environmental factors, she pointed out.

The team hypothesised that brain differences may be even more pronounced in people likelier to suffer from neuro-psychiatric illnesses.

Study links personality to brain shape

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Male brains ‘overwhelmed’ in multitasking test (Read full details)

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PHOTO:THINKPHOTO

Are women really better at multi-tasking?

A study Wednesday said a tricky brain-teaser throws off men’s walking gait but leaves most women unfazed, reopening an age-old debate about mental gender differences.

On a treadmill, men — and women over 60 — started swinging their right arm less while grappling with a complicated language test, researchers found.

Language function and right arm swing are both thought to be controlled mainly by the brain’s left hemisphere.

“Women under 60 seemed to be resistant to this effect, as they were able to perform the verbal task with no change in arm swing,” said study co-author Tim Killeen, a neuroscientist from the University Hospital Balgrist in Switzerland.

“In men and older women, the verbal task appears to overwhelm the left brain to the extent that the movement of the arm on the right is reduced.”

The “unexpected” findings were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

“We were surprised to find such a consistent gender difference in how two relatively simple behaviours — cognitive control and arm swing — interact with one another,” Killeen told AFP.

The team had set out to study how people walk under different conditions, aiming to build a database of “normal” gait profiles for treating people with walking disorders.

They used infrared cameras to record the treadmill walking patterns of 83 healthy people, aged 18 to 80.

The participants were asked to walk — first normally, and then while performing a verbal task called the Stroop test.

Developed in the 1930s, the test involves printing the name of a colour — such as “red”, “green” or “blue” — in a non-matching colour, then asking a person to say the colour of the ink, not the word itself.

– Better at language? –
This is difficult, explained Killeen, as the human brain “sees” both the written word and the colour of the ink, and must reconcile the two.

During normal walking, the left and right arms swung approximately equally.

“When we added the verbal task, we observed that in men of all ages and women over 60, this symmetry broke down, with a reduction in right arm swing while the left arm carried on swinging normally,” said Killeen.

Does this prove women are better multi-taskers?

“Ha ha! I think this shows that younger women may be able to resist interference of these two fairly specific behaviours,” she said.

Whether this might apply to other compound activities — such as driving and talking or walking and texting — has yet to be shown.

It is also unclear whether a woman’s ability to take the verbal brain teaser in her stride confers any advantage over men, said Killeen.

The fact that women over 60 lose the capacity may provide a clue as to its origin, the researchers said.

Brain receptors of the female hormone oestrogen may get a bigger boost in younger women, who have more of it.

“Alternatively, women are often shown to have somewhat better verbal skills than men” and may find the Stroop test easier, Killeen said by email.

“However, this does not explain why older women revert to the ‘male pattern’ after 60.”

Previous studies have disagreed on whether women are actually better than men at doing more than one thing at the same time.

“This may be a paradigm for investigating this further — maybe someone can finally settle this age-old question!” said Killeen.

Male brains ‘overwhelmed’ in multitasking test

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