Gunmen attack a school in Nigeria and abduct at least 287 students
Gunmen attacked a school in Nigeria’s northwest region Thursday and abducted at least 287 students, the headteacher told authorities, marking the second mass abduction in the West African nation in less than a week.
Abductions of students from schools in northern Nigeria are common and have become a source of concern since 2014 when Islamic extremists kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in Borno state’s Chibok village. In recent years, the abductions have been concentrated in northwestern and central regions, where dozens of armed groups often target villagers and travelers for huge ransoms.
Locals told The Associated Press the assailants on Thursday surrounded the government-owned school in Kaduna State’s Kuriga town just as the pupils and students were about to start the school day at around 8 a.m.
Authorities had said earlier that more than 100 students were taken hostage in the attack. Sani Abdullahi, the headteacher, however, told Kaduna Gov. Uba Sani when he visited the town that the total number of those missing after a headcount was 287.
“We will ensure that every child will come back. We are working with the security agencies,” the governor told villagers in the area located 55 miles from the capital.
No group claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack though blame fell on armed groups that mostly constitute herders who have been accused of carrying out violent attacks and kidnappings for ransom following decadeslong pastoral conflict with host communities.
Judge orders Trump juror names protected
The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial later this month for alleged business records fraud has ruled that jurors’ names will be shielded from the public but known to the lawyers, the former president and his consultants.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan issued a ruling largely granting the request by the Manhattan district attorney’s office to shield the identifying details of prospective or actual jurors from the public to avoid possible harassment or tampering.
Mr. Trump, who is again seeking the presidency and is the likely Republican nominee, has a long history of publicly attacking people involved in legal proceedings against him. Prosecutors and judges and their staffs have received threats and harassing messages from Trump supporters after being criticized by him.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg cited those threats in requesting that the jurors’ names and identifying information be shielded from public view. He also asked for a new gag order to limit what Mr. Trump can say about participants in the trial.
Judge Merchan did not rule Thursday on that request.
In his order, Judge Merchan said that despite the protective order for juror identities, the jury selection process would remain open to the public.
Investigators confirm Boeing rudder glitch
Federal investigators said Thursday they confirmed pilots’ account of a brief failure of rudder controls on a Boeing 737 Max after it landed at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey last month.
United Airlines pilots said pedals that control rudder movement on the plane were stuck as they tried to keep the plane in the center of the runway during the Feb. 6 landing.
The pilots were able to use a small nose-gear steering wheel to veer from the runway to a high-speed turnoff. The rudder pedals began working again as the pilots taxied to the gate with 155 passengers and six crew members on the flight from Nassau, Bahamas, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Boeing said this is the only rudder-response issue reported on a Max, although two similar incidents happened in 2019 with an earlier model of the 737 called NG or next generation, which has the same rudder-pedal system.
The manufacturer said the issue was fixed by replacing three parts. The plane has made dozens of passenger-carrying flights since then, according to data from FlightAware.
United said the parts were related to a landing feature that was designed for other airlines, and United has only nine planes with those parts. The airline said it will work with Boeing, the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration “on next steps for these aircraft.”