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JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (AP) — Joint Base Andrews tweets that the base is on lockdown due to a report of an active shooter.
The tweet sent Thursday morning instructs all personnel at the base in Washington's Maryland suburbs to shelter in place and says more information will be released as it comes
A second tweet from the base says the incident is ongoing at the Malcolm Grow Medical Facility and first responders are on the scene. It instructs everyone to continue to shelter in place, a precaution meant to keep people safe while remaining indoors.
According to police, such cases have drastically dropped due to increased surveillance and police presence, but the threat is not fully eliminated/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 30 – A little while ago, I left the office to meet a friend who is waiting in a restaurant along Moi Avenue, within Nairobi.
It’s Saturday, at around 6.30pm, there is less traffic and the streets of Nairobi are largely empty with only a few people rushing to catch the next Public Service Vehicle to their estates.
In 10 minutes time I was done with my brief meeting and was headed back to the office, to pick a few things as I proceed home.
Once on Kimathi Street, something catches my attention; a smartly dressed man, in blue jeans and white sport shoes walks outside of an ATM located at Kimathi House.
A tall gentleman confidently walks towards him and extends his left hand while laying his right hand on his shoulder.
The man appears visibly disturbed, as he listens to the stranger, who for a few minutes whispers something to his ears.
Being a security reporter, I was already suspicious of what was happening and I decided to stop and watch from about 20 metres.
The ‘victim’ is led to a pedestrian guard rail, where they stop as they start engaging in low tones.
From my position, I could see he was trying to explain something to the stranger, who is still holding his hand while two other guys, from either side have since joined them.
They all look uneasy since they keep turning as if being on guard.
At this point, I decide to confront the reality and ‘rescue the victim’ after being convinced something was amiss.
I tactfully walked to where the four gentlemen were standing.
“My brother come we go home,” I ask him in a commanding voice, as he expresses some sense of relief since I caught his ‘captors’ off guard.
Within no time the three men disappear after realising they could not proceed with their mission.
I quickly introduce myself and the first words that came out of his mouth was, “they are thugs.”
He goes on to explain, “I was in the process of giving my wallet, my phone and all the money I had. It was a timely intervention my brother.”
The city resident in his early 20s further explains that the thugs had cautioned him against attracting any attention.
“They asked me to act normal while warning that “sisi ni wale wabaya” (we are the bad ones),” the visibly frightened man says while indicating he wants to leave “before it gets too late.”
He could not tell whether they had been trailing him or they just judged by his looks or by the mere fact that he had emerged from an ATM, that he had money.
His experience is no different from what many residents of Nairobi and other urban dwellers have gone through in the hands of thugs.
. His case is no different from what is experienced by many city residents.
I sought the opinion of security experts and police, with a perspective of helping gullible Kenyans, who may fall victim to such gangs.
– How Kenyans react to strangers in the streets –
“Well the only approach that I have experienced is from the usual “Nairobi cons” who usually drop a bunch of notes,” a resident of Embu said.
“Not one or twice, I always smoke them out before they get to me … one thing you listen keenly to their story then poke holes in it and dismiss them,” Zachary Gathuku said.
-Security tips for Kenyans in the streets –
So, what should you do when you are approached by a suspicious stranger in a lonely or even a crowded place?
It is what police and security expert terms as a “surgical operation” by city thugs, who don’t want to use extreme force or weapons like guns.
A surgical operation- in the security sector- is where you head straight to the target in a bid to reduce the collateral damage, a strategy the enemy or even police cannot easily detect.
Richard Thuta is a Nairobi based security expert and relates well with such incidents.
According to him, criminals in such a scenario will always try to camouflage with the environment.
“They want to replicate the environment that they are in. They know for a fact, if they turn violent, they will be easily detected,” he points out. “They will try as much as possible not to interfere with the environment.”
Another strategy, Thuta says is a situation where, “they (thugs) pretend you are their brother (a relative) and that you are sick so that they mobilise the environment to their cause.”
“So that even if you try to resist, everybody will know that this is a sick person who they want to take to hospital. They will think that this is part of the sickness.”
His advice to members of public is; avoid shaking hands with strangers at any cost, specifically if you have just come from an ATM or bank.
“You must be suspicious of anything and everything,” he advises. “Anything around that area assumes it’s an ATM or a bank must be suspicious.”
Try to use your sixth sense, Thuta suggests, when confronted with such a situation.
How to react, he says will largely depend with the environment one is, since it can turn dangerous at times.
“Don’t accept things at face value since at times, things are different from what they appear to be. You must be suspicious.”
In case one is already in such a situation, the security expert says one may chose to cooperate, run away or even shout.
“This calls for fast thinking…it depends with the environment you are in,” Thuta says. “One should always think in a probabilistic manner; yes I have withdrawn money from an ATM, suppose opposite the ATM they are people waiting for me, what will I do?”
They are sentiments police share.
“The moment you extend your handshake, it means you have to talk to them whether you are willing or not,” a detective based within Nairobi Central Business District and cannot be named due to the nature of his job cautions.
Looks can be deceiving, and if you judge a person rightly only for them to turn against you, the detective also advises that you can either shout, cooperate or alternatively talk in a manner likely to attract attention.
“The city thugs, mostly those targeting ordinary Kenyans going about their businesses will never want to attract attention. They want to create a friendly picture within the surrounding,” he points out.
According to police, such cases have drastically dropped due to increased surveillance and police presence, but the threat is not fully eliminated.
Marian Robinson, Sasha Obama, Malia Obama, Michelle Obama, Princess Lalla Meryem, Morocco’s Princess Lalla Salma, and more attend an Iftar dinner at the King Palace in Marrakech
Despite wearing a black and white scarf dress from American brand Altuzarra, the first lady’s dress still looked like it was locally sourced. Her daughters, in ankle-length printed dresses, also dressed for the occasion. (Photo: Balkis Press)
https://www.yahoo.com/style/michelle-obama-her-girls-sasha-194234574.html
When this photo was taken, no one could even imagine that this man would be the 44th President of the United States of America.
We adore him now but it is hard... to believe in someone when they are struggling (and, if you read his books, he did struggle in many ways before getting to the White House).
So when we give props to our President for his accomplishments and his history-making political career, keep an eye out for others who can do the same in their own paths but need a little encouragement and never underestimate the power of potential and where it can lead.
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Texans Talk Succession On Heels Of Britain's EU Rejection
Talks of Texas secession have re-invigorated following Britons’ startling vote to leave the European Union.
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Emboldened by Brexit, U.S. secessionists in Texas are keen to adopt the campaign tactics used to sway the British vote for leaving the European Union and are demanding “Texit” comes next.
The citizen-driven vote in Britain can be a model for Texas, which was an independent country from 1836 to 1845, and its $1.6 trillion (£1.17 trillion) a year economy would be among the 10 largest in the world, said Daniel Miller, president of the Texas Nationalist Movement.
“The Texas Nationalist Movement is formally calling on the Texas governor to support a similar vote for Texans,” the group said on Friday. The office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott was not immediately available for comment.
The group, which claims about a quarter million supporters, failed earlier this year to place a vote on secession on the November ballot but aims to relaunch its campaign for the next election cycle in 2018, buoyed by the British vote, Miller said.
“Texit is in the air,” he said.
Texit, for Texas exit, is a play on the British exit, or Brexit, and was trending on Twitter in the United States on Friday.
“Yee-haw! #Brexit shows how to get it done. Now we need a #Texit,” tweeted user Phillip Paulson (@PaulsonPhillip).
Constitutional scholars, however, say a U.S. state cannot break away, but this has not stopped hundreds of secessionist schemes throughout the nation’s history. No state has been formed by seceding from another since 1863, when West Virginia was created during the Civil War.
From Maine to Alaska, the bids to break away by groups often angry at taxation or what they see as an infringement of their liberties have been unsuccessful either due to the nearly impossible legal challenges or lack of support.
A 2014 Reuters/Ipsos poll showed nearly a quarter of Americans are open to their states leaving the union.
In Texas and other states, the Brexit vote came too late for U.S. secessionist to use it as a springboard to launch drives resulting in ballot measures for the November election.
But it did push the idea that if they can land a measure on the ballot for secession, they have a good chance to win over voters.
“We intend to mimic that process here in California by putting an independence referendum on the ballot so we can exercise our right to self-determination and vote to leave or remain part of the American Union,” said Louis Marinelli, president of the secessionist group, the Yes California Independence Campaign.
VERMONT REPUBLIC?
The group, which opposes what it calls mass domestic surveillance and militarization of California’s local police departments, said the state has the resources to go it alone and doing so will be in the best interest of Californians.
Campaigns have been simmering for years in places like Hawaii and in New Hampshire, where the Free State Project has been looking to have 20,000 people move to the New England state and set up a colony of like-minded people opposed to big government.
Most movements are small and centred around a few leaders. A campaign for secession in Vermont called the Second Vermont Republic lost steam when its founder Thomas Naylor died in 2012. The group was pushing for a small, democratic, nonviolent and egalitarian state.
“Tom would have been happy,” his widow Magdalena Naylor said of the Brexit vote.
(Additional reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
9 artistes feared dead, 8 rescued after boat capsizes in L. Victoria/FILENAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 25 – Nine musicians have been confirmed dead and eight rescued after their boat capsized in Lake Victoria at Liunda beach in Bondo Saturday morning.Siaya assistant commissioner Angeline Were confirmed the early morning incident.The 17 musicians were coming from a night event where they were performing and were on their way to Ndebe Island where they were expected to have another performance Saturday evening.http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2016/06/9-artistes-feared-dead-8-rescued-boat-capsizes-l-victoria/
What Brexit means for Americans' mortgages and travel plans, in 60 seconds
Play Video1:10
Here are three big ways that Britain leaving the E.U. might affect Americans. (Daron Taylor,Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post)
The whole world is reeling after a milestone referendum in Britain to leave the European Union. And although leaders of the campaign to exit Europe are crowing over their victory, it seems many Britons may not even know what they had actually voted for.
Awakening to a stock market plunge and a precipitous decline in the value of the pound that Britain hasn't seen in more than 30 years, voters now face a series of economic shocks that analysts say will only worsen before they improve. The consequences of the leave vote will be felt worldwide, even here in the United States, and some British voters say they now regret casting a ballot in favor of Brexit.
"Even though I voted to leave, this morning I woke up and I just — the reality did actually hit me," one woman told the news channel ITV News. "If I'd had the opportunity to vote again, it would be to stay."
That confusion over what Brexit might mean for the country's economy appears to have been reflected across the United Kingdom on Thursday. Google reported sharp upticks in searches not only related to the ballot measure but also about basic questions concerning the implications of the vote. At about 1 a.m. Eastern time, about eight hours after the polls closed, Google reported that searches for "what happens if we leave the EU" had more than tripled.
(Google Trends)
(Google Trends)
The run-up to the vote was marked by a bitterly divided campaign, one that was as much about immigration fears as it was about the global economy.
But despite the all-out attempts by either side to court voters, Britons were not only mystified by what would happen if they left the E.U.— many seemed not to even know what the European Union is.
What is the E.U.? To be fair, that question will now take on a much deeper significance than perhaps Google's users realized when they typed that into their browsers.
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