Nigeria: Scores Killed in Regime Military Strikes as Clashes With Militants Intensify

Source: New York Times

“At least 50 people were killed and many others injured when the Nigerian military conducted airstrikes Saturday against insurgents in northeastern Nigeria, according to residents and the local authorities. A Nigerian military spokesman, Lt. Col. Sani Uba, said the strikes hit what he called a terrorist enclave and logistics hub near Jilli, in what he said was an abandoned village in Borno State, killing militants who had taken up residence there. But the local authorities and human rights groups described a starkly different scene, saying the bombs struck a weekly market that attracts hundreds of people and denying that the town was abandoned. They said the number of dead, mostly civilians, was much higher than reported.” (04/13/26)

https://archive.is/f4JwA

TikTok psychic seeks relief from $10 million verdict for false claims in Idaho student murders

Source: The Guardian [UK]

“A self-proclaimed psychic who in TikTok videos falsely accused a University of Idaho professor of being involved in the murders of four of the school’s students in 2022 is appealing for relief after a civil court jury ordered her to pay $10m in damages to the educator. In a recent legal filing that she prepared herself, tarot card reader Ashley Guillard called the case brought against her by history professor Rebecca Scofield ‘fraudulent’ and asked the federal court in Idaho where a jury delivered a verdict against her to set aside the judgment. … Before authorities arrested Kohberger in late December 2022 in connection with the victims’ brutal stabbing deaths, Guillard published videos on the TikTok platform baselessly alleging Scofield had engaged in a romance with one of the four people slain.” (04/13/26)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/13/university-of-idaho-murders-tiktok-psychic

India: Police Attack Allegedly Violent Protesters With Chemical Weapons

Source: US News & World Report

“Police lobbed ⁠tear ⁠gas shells and used ‘minimum ⁠force’ on Monday to quell a factory workers’ protest ​in the Indian national capital’s suburb of Noida, which turned violent on its fourth ‌day, with vehicles torched and ‌stones pelted in parts of the satellite city. … Visuals ⁠from news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake, showed ⁠dozens of protesters marching on the street and chanting slogans, while security personnel in anti-riot gear looked on. Other visuals showed an overturned vehicle with flames rising out of it, and protesters hurling stones and trying to break through barricades.” (04/13/26)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-04-13/police-fire-tear-gas-as-workers-protest-in-indias-noida-turns-violent

China: Regime says it will resume some ties with Taiwan after visit by opposition leader

Source: Fox News

“China said Sunday it would resume some ties it had suspended with Taiwan, such as direct flights and imports of Taiwanese aquaculture products, following a visit by the Beijing-friendly opposition leader of the self-ruled island. The Taiwan Work Office under China’s Communist Party issued a statement saying it would explore setting up a longstanding communication mechanism between the Communist Party and Taiwan’s Kuomintang Party. It said it will facilitate the import of Taiwan’s aquaculture products that it had previously banned. Cheng Li-wun, the head of the Kuomintang, and China’s President Xi Jinping held a high-profile meeting Friday during which they called for peace, without offering specifics. China [pretends the island is] part of its territory and hasn’t ruled out the use of force to annex it.” (04/13/26)

https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-says-resume-some-ties-taiwan-after-visit-opposition-leader

Pope Leo lands in Algeria for historic visit as he starts Africa tour

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“Pope Leo XIV has begun a landmark visit to Algeria in the first trip to the Muslim-majority country by a pontiff. The United States-born pope arrived in the capital Algiers at around 09:00 GMT on Monday, an AFP news agency journalist travelling aboard the papal plane said. He is expected to pay tribute to victims of Algeria’s war of independence from France (1954-1962) later in the day. The 70-year-old pontiff is on an ambitious 11-day tour of four countries in Africa, urging global leaders to address the needs of the continent where more than a fifth of the world’s Catholics live, according to Vatican statistics.” (04/13/26)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/13/pope-leo-heads-to-algeria-as-he-starts-four-country-africa-tour

Trump deletes post depicting him as Jesus-like figure after backlash

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“Faced with growing backlash, US President Donald Trump appears to have removed a controversial Truth Social post depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure. The AI-generated image, which showed Trump appearing to heal a sick man in a hospital bed, sparked fierce backlash from both sides of the US political spectrum, including from some of Trump’s most ardent supporters. The post came just hours after Trump posted a lengthy message criticising Pope Leo XIV, a vocal critic of the US and Israeli military operation in Iran. Trump acknowledged posting the picture, telling reporters he thought it was ‘me as a doctor.’ The now-deleted image showed Trump, wearing a white robe, with a glowing hand on the forehead of a sick man, which critics said was similar to religious paintings showing Jesus healing the infirm.” (04/13/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17v8y0z9z2o

CA: Republicans break with Trump in gubernatorial race

Source: Politico

“California Republicans refused Sunday to endorse Donald Trump’s pick for governor here, a stark rebuke of the sitting president by the party’s rank-and-file in the nation’s most populous state. The activists’ break with Trump — electing not to endorse in the contest, despite his backing of former Fox News host Steve Hilton — came amid worsening fears within the GOP about the party’s prospects in the midterms, including in critical House battlegrounds in California. … More party delegates voted for Chad Bianco, a firebrand Southern California sheriff who launched a probe into last year’s special election, than Hilton, with neither reaching the 60 percent threshold necessary to secure an endorsement. Bianco received 49 percent support, Hilton drew 44 percent, and the rest of delegates voted not to endorse.” (04/12/26)

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/12/republicans-break-with-trump-in-california-governors-race-00868537

UK: Nigerian ex-oil minister denies taking bribes for government contracts

Source: SFGate

“A former Nigerian oil minister accused of staying in luxury homes for free and enjoying lavish spending sprees in exchange for government contracts denied taking bribes as she gave evidence in a London court on Monday. Diezani Alison-Madueke, 65, is accused of benefiting from access to multimillion-pound U.K. homes that were paid for and refurnished by energy firms seeking government contracts in Nigeria. Prosecutors allege that she benefited from private jets, a chauffeur-driven car and shopping trips including 2 million pounds ($2.7 million) spent at Harrods, a famed London department store. They also allege that she received 100,000 pounds ($135,000) in cash while she was Nigerian minister of petroleum resources from April 2010 to May 2015. Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court in London, Alison-Madueke said ‘I did not abuse my office during that period.’ She denies five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery.” (04/13/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/nigerian-ex-oil-minister-denies-taking-bribes-for-22203448.php

Peru: Election results delayed after thousands get a one-day voting extension

Source: National Public Radio [US state media]

“Peruvian voters will have to wait until at least Monday to learn the outcome of Sunday’s presidential election after the process was mired with logistical issues that even left thousands of people in the country and abroad unable to cast ballots. The problems prompted electoral authorities to allow more than 52,000 residents of Peru’s capital, Lima, to vote on Monday. The extension, announced after vote counting began Sunday evening, also covers Peruvians registered to vote in Orlando, Florida, and Paterson, New Jersey. Authorities initially reported 63,300 people could vote Monday but later revised down the figure.” (04/13/26)

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/13/g-s1-117208/peru-election-results-delayed

Trump announces Strait of Hormuz blockade after US-Iran peace talks end

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“President Donald Trump says the United States Navy will begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz ‘immediately’ after peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan ended without an agreement. Trump, in a social media post on Sunday, accused Iran of ‘extortion’ and said the US Navy would hunt down and interdict ships in international waters that have paid Iran a toll to traverse the strait. … ‘So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not,’ Trump said. ‘Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.'” (04/12/26)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/12/trump-announces-strait-of-hormuz-blockade-after-us-iran-peace-talks-end