WORST ATTACK YET: Images show Boko Haram"s destruction, group says

Amnesty International has released satellite images that it says show widespread destruction in two Nigerian towns attacked by Boko Haram last weekend. 

The international human rights organization says that the photos show the towns of Baga and Doron Baga in northeast Nigeria before and after the attacks. The images were taken on Jan. 2 and Jan. 7 of this year. Boko Haram fighters seized a military base in Baga on Jan. 3 and, according to witnesses, killed hundreds of civilians in cold blood in the ensuing days.

“Residents have not been able to return to bury the dead, let alone count their number. But through these satellite images combined with graphic testimonies a picture of what is likely to be Boko Haram’s deadliest attack ever is becoming clearer,” Daniel Eyre, Amnesty International’s Nigeria researcher, told The Independent. 

Amnesty International calculates that 3,700 homes and other structures were demolished by the Islamic militants over the course of the attack. 

In the aftermath of the assault on the multinational military base, residents were forced to escape to safety across Lake Chad in canoes. They said insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic assault rifles and hurled explosives.

“They came in their hundreds driving several Hilux patrol vehicles, trucks and some were on motorcycles and immediately began to throw explosives and bombs,” fisherman Audu Labbo told The Associated Press.

Initial reports citing the testimony of eyewitnesses suggested that as many as 2,000 civilians may have died. However, the Nigerian military has claimed that only 150 were killed, a number that includes casualties among the militants. Outside observers, including Amnesty International, have repeatedly accused Nigeria’s government of giving false information about attack casualties to downplay the strength of the insurgency. 

The terror group, whose name roughly translates to “Western education is forbidden” in English, shot to prominence in the West this past April when it kidnapped 276 girls from a school in the town of Chibok. Dozens escaped but 219 remain missing.

Boko Haram is believed to control approximately 20,000 square miles of territory across two states in northeastern Nigeria. Amnesty International estimates that the group killed 4,000 people in 2014.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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WORST ATTACK YET: Images show Boko Haram"s destruction, group says

NFPB warns of exposing boys to pornographic images

The National Family Planning Board (NFPB) is urging parents to be more mindful of exposing boys to pornographic material at a tender age.

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ recently, NFPB Chairman, Dr Sandra Knight, said research shows that early exposure to pornography has a negative impact on brain development in boys, also resulting in them being less likely to complete healthy relationships with females later.

Healthy Sexual Interactions

“We are concerned about the rise in pornography addictions. It is seen by many Jamaican males as an acceptable viewing choice for their boys and we have found that this is a dangerous practice,” Knight is quoted as saying in a release sent to The STAR. “We find that our young male teenagers are not being as healthy in their social interaction with girls. Fathers need to substitute healthy positive interactions for the heavy pornographic and sexual images which are already all around.”

Further, Knight shared that research found that males in the 19-24 age range are the largest number of persons infected with HIV, urging parents to talk to their children about safeguarding themselves against Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

“A significant number of those infected are males of various sexual orientations and the age group indicates that they are getting infected in their teenage years,” she said.

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NFPB warns of exposing boys to pornographic images

Altered Images: Egypt"s disinformation war

27 July 2013 Last updated at 10:01 ET Altered Images Questioning whether cameras never lie Verification sites examine photographs for alteration So many faked images are circulating in Egypt that Facebook sites have been set up with the goal of separating fact from fiction, writes BBC Monitoring’s Dina Aboughazala.

While tensions between opponents and supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi flared into violence in Cairo this weekend, social media has long been a battlefield. Rumours, fabricated images and fake accounts have emerged on Facebook and Twitter, as each side uses the internet to tarnish their rivals’ reputations. This activity has intensified since the army removed Mr Morsi from power on 3 July. The deposed president’s supporters, who have tried to depict events as a conspiracy led by the Coptic Church and secularists, used one image of a group carrying a cross to claim Christians had led protests against the Islamist president. The photograph dated from 2012, it later emerged.

Meanwhile, it has been claimed that photographs of dead children were presented by pro-Morsi supporters as evidence of killings by the Egyptian Army, with the military saying the images had originated from the conflict in Syria. The sheer volume of disinformation has led to the creation of verification pages on Facebook, such as Da Begad? – or Is This Real? – which tries to verify posts, images and videos, regardless of their origin. Despite the confusion, social media remains an important source of information in Egypt, with authorities and ordinary citizens alike using it as their main channel of communication. Facebook is said to have 13 million users in the country.

Some were not impressed by Zelenbud’s displays

Meanwhile, BBC Monitoring’s Kiev office reports that Facebook users are complaining that flowers were digitally added to a photograph showing off the Ukrainian capital’s preparations for a religious event. Authorities there allocated 30m hryvnyas (£2.4m) to prepare for celebrations around the 1,025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus – the conversion of the region’s pagans to Christianity. But when Zelenbud, the state company that buys and plants flowers, posted the picture of its container displays on Facebook, users queried why the pots cast no shadow.

One user commented: “Zelenbud proudly reports where it spends 30m hryvnyas… on ham-fisted Photoshop users.” Another complained that “the story with chestnuts is repeating,” referring to a recent controversy which brought tree-planting into the headlines. It seems officials had announced that expensive Brioti chestnuts had been imported from Italy, only for them to be revealed as a cheaper variety when they blossomed.

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Altered Images: Egypt"s disinformation war