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WORLD NEWS Monday 26 February 2018

Nigerian government acknowledges 110 girls still missing

By HARUNA UMAR and SAM Air Force spokesman Ola- were hiding and would re-
OLUKOYA tokunbo Adesanya said in turn in the coming days.
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) a press statement Sunday Bashir Manzo, whose
— Nigeria's government that "the renewed efforts at daughter Fatima is among
acknowledged Sunday locating the girls are being the missing, said the chanc-
that 110 girls remain missing conducted in close liaison es the children are merely
nearly a week after Boko with other surface security hiding in the bush are slim.
Haram militants attacked forces." "All those that fled into the
their town. Frustrated fam- Many fear the girls were bush had been brought
ily members already had abducted as brides for back to the school on Tues-
compiled a list of missing Boko Haram extremists. The day, and a roll call was tak-
girls after saying officials group kidnapped 276 girls en after which they had all
were being slow to re- from a boarding school in gone home to meet their
spond. Chibok in 2014 and forced parents," he said.
The fate of the girls is not them to marry their captors. Nigeria's president said ear-
known, but witnesses said About 100 of the Chibok lier no effort will be spared
the Islamic extremists spe- girls have never returned to to locate them. In this image taken from video, Lai Muhammed, Nigerian Min-
cifically asked where the their families in nearly four "The entire country stands ister of Information, speaks to the media in Dapchi, Yobe State,
girls' school was located. years. The militants arrived as one with the girls' fami- Nigeria, on Thursday Feb. 22, 2018. Associated Press
Some eyewitnesses report- Monday evening in the lies, the government and
ing seeing young women town of Dapchi in Nigeria's the people of Yobe State.
taken away at gunpoint. Yobe state, sending many This is a national disaster.
Information Minister Lai fleeing into the surrounding We are sorry that this could
Mohammed made the an- bush amid the hail of gun- have happened and share
nouncement Sunday after fire. While Nigeria's presi- your pain. We pray that our
meetings were held with dent has called the girls' gallant armed forces will lo-
family members and oth- disappearances a "nation- cate and safely return your
ers, some of whom have al disaster," local officials at missing family members,"
criticized the government first falsely indicated that President Muhammadu
for taking days to make some of those abducted Buhari said earlier in the
such an announcement. were rescued while others week.q

Powerful quake rattles homes,

gold mine in Papua New Guinea

By NICK PERRY miles) southwest of Porgera erations and coffee planta-
Associated Press in the Pacific Island nation. tions, McKee said. Porgera
WELLINGTON, New Zealand Chris McKee, acting direc- is the site of a large gold
(AP) — A powerful earth- tor of geohazards man- mine that employs more
quake rattled forest villag- agement for the Papua than 2,500 residents.
es and a large gold mine in New Guinea government, A mine official wrote on
central Papua New Guinea said tens of thousands of Facebook of plans to find
early Monday, but there people live in the forested out what caused power
were no immediate reports highlands region affected blackouts and other dam-
of injuries. by the quake. age after the quake shook
Officials were waiting for "There seem to be quite a the whole area.
more information about few reports of the quake McKee said he expected
damage from the mag- being felt strongly," he said. to see more detailed re-
nitude-7.5 quake that hit The area also is home to a ports of damage later in
about 89 kilometers (55 number of oil and gas op- the day.q