Bolivian Interior Minister Rodolfo Illanes has been beaten to death by striking mine workers after being kidnapped, the government says. Interior Minister Carlos Romero told a press conference that his 56-year-old deputy was abducted after he went to talk to the protesting miners in Panduro, around 160 km from the administrative capital, La Paz.

Senior government officials, including the interior and defense ministers, have labeled the killing as an “unprecedented criminal act” and a brutal murder.  “All signs indicate that our deputy minister, Rodolfo Illanes, has been cowardly and brutally murdered,” Romero said Romero also called on Bolivia’s justice system to “clear up the murder and establish responsibility.”

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Reymi Ferreira said on private television station Red Uno that President Evo Morales was “deeply shaken” upon receiving the news. The deputy minister “was harassed, tortured… he was beaten to death according to the information we have,” Ferreira said before breaking down in tears.

He said that authorities were attempting to recover the body.  The ringleaders who killed Illanes had been identified, Ferreira said, adding that the act “cannot go unpunished, and must be taken to court.” Moises Flores, director of a mining radio station, earlier confirmed the death of Illanes, who has served as deputy interior minister since March. “We saw the lifeless body of Deputy Minister Illanes.”

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The United States has urged its citizens staying in Gaza to leave the coastal enclave “as soon as possible” over the Israeli bombardments of the area.

The warning came after the Israeli military Sunday pounded targets in the Gaza Strip and injured four, including two in the town of Beit Hanun.

The State Department warned Tuesday against “all travel” to the Gaza Strip and “urges those present to depart as soon as possible when border crossings are open.”

“The security environment within Gaza and on its borders is dangerous and volatile,” the department added. It also said that Americans have been killed or wounded in the Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2015. However, it added that “there is no indication that US citizens were specifically targeted based on nationality.”

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A former Navy Seal who penned a bestselling book about his role in the killing of Osama Bin Laden has to pay $7m to the US government. Matt Bissonette violated a non-disclosure agreement by failing to get clearance from the Pentagon for his book No Day Easy, which was published in 2012. Mr Bissonette has now agreed to give up all profits and royalties as well as any film rights or speaking fees.

The government has agreed to dismiss other liability claims as part of the agreement, in which he has to pay the equivalent of £5m. Bin Laden – the leader of terror group al-Qaeda – was killed in a raid on his compound in Pakistan in 2011 and buried at sea.

The school wine built: Boozing Brits help children in Argentina through Fairtrade range Navy Seals traditionally abide by a code of silence and do not speak publicly about their actions. Mr Bissonette accepted he had failed to enter his book for review by the Pentagon at a district court in the state of Virginia.

In a statement, he apologised and said he had been acting on the incorrect advice of his lawyer. “It was a serious error that I urge others not to repeat,” he said. “Although I never intended to endanger my former colleagues, I now recognise that failing to seek pre-publication review could place them and their families at greater risk, for which I especially apologise.” The Mirror

Iran-backed Shia forces in Iraq have grown to 100,000 in the war against Daesh Takfiri militants, says Baghdad-based US military spokesman, Colonel Chris Garver. In an email to Fox News, Garver said that since the rise of Daesh terrorists inside Iraq more than two years ago, Shia forces have grown to 100,000 fighters.

Garver added that the fighters have been able to grow inside the Popular Mobilization Units.  Iraqi government forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units, have been pushing the militants out of the country’s territory.

Fox News reported that this is an alarmingly high number and is the first time such a figure has been estimated. The American news channel also reported concerns that the Shia fighters represent an “anti-American force” that would take over once Daesh are defeated.

Many have been critical of the US’ role in Iraq. Last month, an Iraqi parliamentary panel opposed the role of US troops in the liberation of Mosul, in light of the news that the US was planning to send hundreds of additional troops there. Iraq’s MP Nayef al-Shammari said that “Iraqis have already retaken Tikrit, Fallujah and… Ramadi.”

When asked about Shia fighters’ involvement in the liberation of Mosul, Garver said, “the government of Iraq is in charge of this war. We’re here to support them. So, who they [want in] the campaign is really their decision.” However, he strongly stressed that there is no coordination between the US and Iranians “in any way.”

Iraq is preparing for an offensive into Mosul, the country’s second largest city, which fell into the hands of Daesh in the summer of 2014. The city is the last remaining bastion of Daesh in Iraq as the military and allies have managed to retake key towns and villages from the militants over the past months.

Iraqis managed to recapture the city of Fallujah, west of the capital Baghdad, in late June. The city was a main hub of Daesh militancy in Iraq and its liberation boosted hope for Iraq’s final push toward Mosul. Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi has said that less than 10 percent of the Iraqi territory remains in the hands of Daesh.

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A new bomb attack claimed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and clashes with the militants have killed at least four members of Turkish security forces east of the country.

Local media said Thursday that the bomb attack was carried out in Hizan district of the province of Bitlis about noon local time, when militants detonated a hand-made explosive device placed on a road near Gayda village while a military vehicle was passing.

Reports said three soldiers were killed and six others were wounded in the attack. The Dogan news agency said a village guard was also killed and another soldier was wounded when clashes erupted in the rural areas of Nazar village in the same area.

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US President Barack Obama has issued a “major disaster” declaration for the state of Louisiana, where historic flooding has killed at least five people and stranded thousands more.

Obama called Governor John Bel Edwards to inform him of the decision, the White House said in a statement on Sunday night, two days after Edwards requested a state emergency as heavy rains soaked southeast Louisiana southern Mississippi.

The president told Edwards that the federal government will help Louisiana with its ongoing rescue and recovery missions.

“We are thankful for the federal government’s quick response to our request for an emergency declaration,” Edwards said in response.

The declaration makes federal funding available to those who were affected by the flood in at least four parishes of Tangipahoa, St. Helena, East Baton Rouge and Livingston that were hit the hardest.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a message to the former Cuban president and revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, congratulating him on his 90th birthday. “You enjoy deep respect in Russia as an outstanding statesman who devoted his entire life to serving the people of Cuba,” Putin wrote in a telegram message posted on the Kremlin’s website on Saturday.

Putin underlined Castro’s “personal contribution to the development of friendship and cooperation” between Russia and Cuba. The Russian leader wished Castro “good health, longevity, vitality and prosperity.” Castro served as the president of Cuba from 1976 to 2008 and as the first secretary of the central committee of the Communist party of the country from 1961 to 2011.

The revolutionary leader is one of the giant figures of modern history who defied the United States to turn his island nation into a firm ally of the Soviet Union. Cuba and Russia have maintained diplomatic relations since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Moscow-Havana ties increased after Putin came into power in 2000. In December 2000, Putin visited Cuba, where he along with Castro called for the lifting of US sanctions against Cuba. Russia is still Cuba’s leading creditor and the two countries maintain close economic ties.

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Russia has deployed a regiment of its advanced S-400 air defense missile system to Crimea as a dispute deepens between Moscow and Kiev over the security situation in the Black Sea peninsula. Russian news agencies made the announcement on Friday, citing a statement from Russia’s Defense Ministry.

The ministry had earlier in the day announced that its navy would start to hold three-day military exercises in the Black Sea to practice repelling underwater attacks by saboteurs. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet based in Crimea is taking part in the military exercises. More than 10 warships, MI-8 and Ka-27PS helicopters are participating in the training.

“During the drill we are going to practice the issues of both operational and technical support. These include operations to counter underwater sabotage, navigational and hydrographic exercise, search and rescue missions,” said Russian Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov. Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that Moscow could break diplomatic relations with Kiev over the security incidents in Crimea.

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Military experts from the United States of America have shared rural border patrol skills with twenty three elements from the National Gendarmerie’s elite Multipurpose Intervention Group (GPIGN) and the National Police Force. The trainees received their end-of-course certificates on August 11, 2016 at GPIGN’s shooting range in the Mbankomo locality, near Yaounde in the presence of the Director of Central Coordination of the National Gendarmerie, Brigadier General Elokobi Daniel Ndjock who represented the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the National Gendarmerie.

The major highlight of the event was the “dynamic” demonstration exercise by the trainees who simulated a foiled planned terrorist attack on four strategic places in Yaounde from a Boko Haram base in the Mbankomo neighbourhood. In effect, a counter-operation enabled an arms supplier and three accomplices from the armed group to be followed, intercepted, neutralised and their arms cache raided thanks to the efficiency of raid, reconnaissance and interception units backed by a central crisis command unit.

Amazed at the effectiveness of the exercise like other senior Gendarmerie and Police officers present, General Elokobi instructed the trainees to daily use the skills acquired to be really operational in border areas. He also hailed the US for the continuing multifarious technical military assistance to boost the capacity of Cameroon’s defence and security forces in the fight against Boko Haram. On his part, the Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Yaounde, Stewart Wilson used the opportunity to reaffirm his country’s commitment to continue assisting the National Gendarmerie and the National Police Force to perform their role in fighting terrorism in Cameroon.

Cameroon Tribune

The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group has purportedly appointed a new leader for its Nigeria-based affiliate, Boko Haram. According to Daesh-linked media, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, a former spokesman for Boko Haram, has replaced Abubakar Shekau, who had been in charge since 2009.

It was not clear why the change has taken place. Later on Thursday, Shekau released an audio message saying, “People should know we are still around,” apparently defying Daesh and the decision to oust him.

Barnawi claimed his group remains “a force to be reckoned with,” adding that the fight would go on against West African countries. “They strongly seek to Christianize the society… They exploit the condition of those who are displaced under the raging war, providing them with food and shelter and then Christianizing their children,” he said, referring to the West African states.

Al-Barnawi said the Takfiri militant group will respond to that threat by “booby-trapping and blowing up every church that we are able to reach, and killing all of those (Christians) who we find from the citizens of the cross.”

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