FOOTBALL: Bandari FC to beef up squad

Bandari has identified several players for signing to bolster the squad ahead of the start of KPL second leg. Team coach Twahir Muhiddin said he will reinforce all the departments during the transfer period to ensure they improve on their performance. “I have invited several players to join Bandari before the KPL second leg,” said Muhiddin before he flew to Nairobi from Mombasa yesterday to attend a CAF coaching workshop, which starts in Nairobi today.
Bandari’s dismal performance had raised concern from both the sponsors Kenya Ports Authority and fans. The dockers have been losing easy matches

Russian tourist shot dead in Mombasa

A  Russian tourist was yesterday shot dead by gunmen who escaped in a waiting car at Mombasa's kibokoni Old Town.
Thirty-year-old Maria Tatyana was murdered about five metres from the Shia Sheri Mosque and an abandoned building in the historic town at around 10am as she was being shown around by tour guides.
Eyewitnesses reported that the  three attackers escaped in a car towards Mombasa town centre after one opened fire on the Russian and her two friends, against police claims that the assailants fled on foot.
The tourist who reportedly spoke English was shot once in the forehead along Kitui Street when she declined to surrender her belongings.
 
This, police claim, has been disputed by eyewitnesses who said nothing was stolen or robbed from the Russian  national who was staying at a hotel in the  south coast.
Mombasa county Deputy Police Commander Sevelino Kubai confirmed the incident, saying officers are investigating the crime.

He said the tourist, who was killed in front of Shia Sheri Mosque, died at Mombasa Hospital while undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit.

Death rises to 20 in Tana Delta and Hindi attacks

The death toll of twin attacks last  night in Hindi and in Tana Delta has risen to 20.

In Hindi, Lamu county, police found 11 bodies scattered in farms.

The attackers were young men dressed in jungle-wear uniforms. They carried machetes and guns and spoke mainly in Somali language.

The victims, 10 men and one boy, were either hacked to death or shot dead by the attackers in Malamandi, in Hindi division of Lamu West.

Separately, heavily armed attackers invaded Gamba police station, in Garsen, Tana Delta county, killing nine people on the spot including a police officer on duty and inmates.

The attackers also released a suspected ringleader of the recent Mpeketoni attacks who was being held in the police station.

Islamic State's 'caliph' lauds Iraq rebellion

The leader of the Islamic State group has made his first public appearance since proclaiming a caliphate, justifying the Sunni-led rebellion against the Iraqi government.

In a video posted on social media, the newly elected 'caliph', Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivers a Friday sermon and leads prayers in the grand mosque of Mosul.

Baghdadi, who delivers a 15-minute-long sermon wearing a black turban and robe, spoke on the blessings of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and the legitimacy of fighting in the path of God against oppression.

Quoting verses from the Quran, Baghdadi spoke on the need of establishing Islamic law and how God had helped "jihadists" establish a so-called caliphate.

"The establishment of a caliphate is an obligation," he said. "The religion cannot be in place unless the sharia is established."

The Islamic State, which has swept across much of northern and western Iraq, has tapped into the grievances of the country's Sunni community with Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, and his Shia-led government.