Nigerian extremists kill dozens of civilians in Cameroon

YAOUNDE, Cameroon –  Boko Haram fighters have shot or burned to death dozens of civilians in a border town near Nigeria, Cameroon’s government spokesman said Thursday.

Some 800 Islamic extremists attacking the town of Fotokol have “burned churches, mosques and villages and slaughtered youth who resisted joining them to fight Cameroonian forces,” said Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakari.

The insurgents also looted livestock and food in the fighting that began Wednesday and is continuing Thursday, Bakari told The Associated Press.

Boko Haram is using civilians as shields, making it difficult to confront them although reinforcements have arrived in Fotokol, according to military spokesman Col. Didier Badjeck.

The fighters are believed to have crossed into Cameroon from nearby Gamboru, a Nigerian border town from where they were driven out by Chadian and Nigerian air strikes and ground troops earlier this week.

The news comes as African Union officials are finalizing plans for a multinational force to fight the spreading Islamic uprising, although there are questions about funding. The African Union last week authorized a 7,500-strong force from Nigeria and its four neighbors, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin.

Senior officers from the U.N. peacekeeping department are attending the meeting that started Thursday in Yaounde, Cameroon’s capital, said a U.N. official.

The Africans want U.N. Security Council approval and money to fund the mission, said the official who spoke Wednesday at the United Nations and insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press on the meeting.

International concern has grown as Boko Haram has increased the tempo and ferocity of its attacks just as Nigeria is preparing for presidential and legislative elections on Feb. 14.

Some 10,000 people were killed in Boko Haram violence last year compared to 2,000 in the first four years of Nigeria’s Islamic uprising, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Nigerian extremists kill dozens of civilians in Cameroon

"TOO DRUNK" Dozens injured in college riot at NH fall festival

October 18, 2014: In this photo provided by Seth Meyer, police officers line up. Local police, firefighters and ambulances in Keene, New Hampshire responded to large crowds of students at the annual Pumpkin Festival near Keene State College.(AP Photo/Seth Meyer)

Police in southwestern New Hampshire used tear gas to disperse crowds of college students who turned the town of Keene’s annual Pumpkin Festival into a riot Saturday. 

The Union Leader reported that more than 30 people were injured and 20 hospitalized Saturday afternoon when hundreds of Keene State College students and their friends gathered on a street just off the college’s campus while the popular festival was taking place on Main Street. Town fire chief Mark Howard told the paper that police and firefighters were called to the scene at around 3 p.m. local time. 

Howard reported that the injuries suffered included cuts from broken class or people being hit by bottles and cans. 

College officials provided few specifics on the melee but said Keene State students and out-of-town visitors were involved. The school said in a statement that off-campus gatherings had at locations around the city Friday, but had briefly calmed down before ramping up again Saturday afternoon. 

Keene State student Ellery Murray told The Boston Globe she was at a party that had drawn a large crowd when people started throwing things. She said police responded in riot gear and used tear gas to break up the crowd.

“People were just throwing everything they could find — rocks, skateboards, buckets, pumpkins,” she said. “People just got too drunk.”

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan said state and local safety officials worked to defuse what she called “the situation.”

WMUR-TV reported that trouble flared up again at around 9:30 p.m. local time, when rioters threw objects at police and set fires as officers tried to push them back. The station reported that police officers from Keene and several surrounding towns responded to the mayhem along with New Hampshire state police. WMUR reported that arrests were made, but a precise number was not immediately made available. 

The Union Leader reported that cars and Dumpsters were overturned and fires were hit before police released tear gas at around 10 p.m. 

College President Anne Huot said in an emailed statement that the festival has been promoted by others “as a destination for destructive and raucous behavior” and the college had tried on the front end, in working with the city and campus, to prevent this from happening.

“We deplore the actions of those whose only purpose was to cause mayhem,” she said, adding that the students involved will be held accountable.

The Pumpkin Festival has been held annually in Keene since 1991 and attracts people of all ages from all over the state and New England region. Last year, the festival set a world record for hosting the most carved and lit jack-o-lanterns with 30,581. However, the festival has also attracted college students from across the region for a weekend of drinking and partying. 

Recent Keene State graduate Julie Conlon told the Globe, “Pumpkinfest has always been fun. Yeah, kids drink excessively, but it’s never been out of control. This year I watched thousands of kids pile into a backyard and kind of go crazy.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Click for more from WMUR.com.

Click for more from The Union Leader.

Click for more from The Boston Globe. 

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"TOO DRUNK" Dozens injured in college riot at NH fall festival

Montserrat welcomes dozens of specially reared mountain chicken frogs

Leptodactylus fallax or mountain chicken frog as it more commonly known. (File photo)

LONDON, England, Friday September 12, 2014, CMC - Dozens of frogs reared in United Kingdom zoos have been returned to their Caribbean home in a painstaking operation, five years after their parents were airlifted out to escape a deadly fungus.

A total of 51 Leptodactylus fallax, known as mountain chicken frogs because they reportedly taste like chicken and make a clucking-like noise, have been released on Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory.

In 2009, conservationists recsued a population of the critically-endangered frogs from the island to avoid them being wiped out by a chytrid fungus, which has devastated amphibian numbers worldwide, according to the Guardian newspaper.

It said the mountain chicken frog population has also dwindled due to people eating them. The species is the national dish in Montserrat and Dominica.

Following a breeding programme by London Zoo and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, which produced 76 frogs from just two females, 51 of them were put in custom-built shipping containers and flown to Montserrat in July.

Head of herpetology at the Zoological Society of London, Ben Tapley, said the demanding logistics showed the dedication of the conservation efforts.

“As the frogs were being held in the run-up to release (on Montserrat), they had to be fed. We ordered a massive load of insects, and to avoid introducing an invasive pest to the Caribbean, someone had to sort through the crickets, throwing out the females so we only sent males. We checked it three times, and sent 5,000 male crickets.”

While not the first ever reintroduction of the frogs to the island, Tapley said it was the first during the wet season, when he hoped frogs would be more dispersed than in the dry season, and, therefore, less likely to contract the disease caused by the fungus, Chytridiomycosis, which infects the skin through which many amphibians drink and breathe.

The freed frogs will be tracked by radio tags to map their movements, with batteries that will last a few months, as well as a team of conservationists in the field.

“The data collected will help our understanding around the dynamics of this disease in the wild, which will be vital in guiding our future conservation actions for this amazing species,” said Jeff Dawson, Durrell’s amphibian program officer.

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Montserrat welcomes dozens of specially reared mountain chicken frogs

Guatemala bus plunge kills dozens

9 September 2013 Last updated at 18:11 ET A fast-flowing river complicated the rescue operation At least 43 people have been killed after a bus plunged 200m (660ft) into a ravine in western Guatemala, rescue workers said.

The crash happened in San Martin Jilotepeque, some 65km (40 miles) from the capital, Guatemala City.

At least 40 people are thought to have been injured in the accident.

The bus had been travelling from Chimaltenango to San Martin Jilotepeque. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

Mario Cruz, spokesman for the local volunteer fire department, said about 90 people had been on board the bus which had an official capacity of 54 passengers.

The dead included at least three babies, he added.

The mayor of San Martin Jilotepeque, Otto Vielman, said it appeared that the bus had crashed against a wall of rocks and then fallen from a cliff.

The rescue operation was hampered by a fast-flowing river and emergency crews installed cables to carry stretchers over the water. The long arm of a mechanical digger was also used to lift people across the river.

Local residents volunteered to help the rescue operation and pictures from the scene showed some onlookers in tears as bodies were lined up alongside the crushed wreckage of the bus.

Local resident Carlos Jose Perez said many of those on the bus had been taking farm produce to market.

“The people here are really in mourning,” he said.

Several of the injured were transferred to local hospitals and some to Guatemala City.

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Guatemala bus plunge kills dozens