all we know is that it happened very early this morning in sokoto in the north—west of nigeria.ia. local members of the community told the bbc�*s hausa service that gunmen came into the town shooting into the air, they took a number of women, and as they were fleeing, they saw some students running into their dormitories and decided to abduct them too. this, obviously, is coming at a time of heightened tensions in the region. this, obviously, is coming at a time of heightened tensions in the region. a search operation is under way to recover these almost 300 students that were taken from their school in kaduna on thursday. the military, the police and local hunters are combing the forest in the region trying to recover the students. in a setback for ireland's government, voters have rejected two referendums — concerning the constitutional redefinition of family and women's roles. darran marshall reports from dublin. within minutes of the ballot boxes opening, it was clear ireland had said no. voters were asked to approve two amendments to the 1937 constitution, one around the de

all we know is that it happened very early this morning in sokoto in the north—west of nigeria.umber of women, and as they were fleeing, they saw some students running into the dormitories and decided to abduct them as well. this comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region. a search operation is under way to recover almost 300 students taken taken from their school in kiduna on thursday. the military, the police and local hunters are combing the forest in the region are trying to recover the students. in a setback for ireland's government, voters have rejected two referendums concerning the constitutional redefinition of family and women's roles. the prime minister leo varadkar described it as a "comprehensive" defeat. while the leader of sinn fein laid the blame squarely at the feet of the government. darran marshall reports from dublin. within minutes of the ballot boxes opening, it was clear ireland had said no. voters were asked to approve two amendments to the 1937 constitution, one around the definition of family and the other on care. government leaders say they

all we know is that it happened very early this morning in sokoto in the north—west of nigeria. gunmen came into the town shooting into the air, they took a number of women, and as they were fleeing, they saw some students running into the dormitories and decided to abduct them as well. this comes at a height —— time of heightened tensions in the region. a search operation is under way to recover almost 300 students taken from their school on thursday. the military, the police and local hunters are combing the forest in the region are trying to recover the students. mayeni, sadly this is not a new issue for the country. what is behind this latest resurgence of kidnappings? it is not new, but we haven't seen these mass kidnappings involving children for a few years now, the last was in 2021, and many in the region thought that perhaps authorities had got the problem under control. a number of suggestions have been made for the reasons why this may be happening again this week. one of them is that the holy month of ramadan is coming up, perhaps these children were taken to do meni

armed men abducted 15 students from their school in the northwestern state of sokoto in the early hours major search for the almost 300 students who were abducted by armed men on thursday. the nigerian army is leading the search for those children, who were abducted from the north west town of kuriga in kaduna state. reports say students between the ages of eight and 15 were taken, along with a teacher. the abductions have been blamed on a breakaway faction of the militant islamist group boko haram. and about 200 people were abducted in borno state on february 29. victims of kidnappings usually pay a ransom to secure their freedom. a controversial law passed in 2022 made it a crime to make ransom payments, with a potentialjail sentence of at least 15 years. but many victims feel they have no choice but to pay. 0ur west africa correspondent mayenijones has more. we don't know very much. all we know is that it happened very early this morning in an area called gada in sokoto in the north—west of nigeria. local members of the community told the bbc�*s hausa service that gunmen came into th

armed men abducted 15 students from their school in the northwestern state of sokoto in the early hoursor search for almost 300 students who were abducted by armed men on thursday from the north west town of kerrigar in kaduna state. it's the biggest mass abduction from a school since 2021.and and about 200 people were abducted in borno state on february 29.more than 4,700 people have been kidnapped since president bola tinubu came into power last may — that's according to one risk consultancy group. 0ur west africa correspondent mayenijones has more on this latest kidnapping. we don't know very much. all we know is that it happened very early this morning in an area called gada in sokoto in the north—west of nigeria. local members of the community told the bbc�*s hausa service that gunmen came into the town shooting into the air, they took a number of women, and as they were fleeing, they saw some students running into their dormitories and decided to abduct them too. this, obviously, is coming at a time of heightened tensions in the region. a search operation is under way to recover t

restored to their original if you like glory. moving to nigeria, usman danfodio was the founder of the sokotoalifate in present day nigeria. it was indeed one of the largest empires in africa during the 19th century. this califate impacted on the culture and arts of the people of this region of africa. the fact that theippate which emerged. around 1803 uh actually um lot of people refer to it as the falani empire, but it was arguably west africa's largest pre-colonial state and lasted for a century uh coming into being around as i say 1803 1808 that kind of time uh through four year jihad and finally it was conquered in 1903 by britain but during that period of course the cementing of islamic culture. was very very profound and i think the the the the califit was much more i think much more forth right in the way it established islam and certainly the cultural reminance exists today um through all almost all the amires that they had initially the scholars that were chosen and and identified ethically as fulani or fulbe they were all part and parcel of the process of establishing islam particu

moving to nigeria, uthman danfodio was the founder of the sokoto califate in present day nigeria.the 19th century. this califate impacted on the culture and arts of the people of this region of africa. the fact that the sakoto kaliphate, which emerged around 1803, uh, actually, um, lot of people refer to it as the fulani. empire, but it was arguably west africa's largest pre-colonial state and lasted for a century coming into being around as i said 1803, 1808 that kind of time uh through four year jihad and finally it was conquered in 1903 by britain, but during that period of course the cementing of islamic culture was very very profound and i think the the the the sakota califit was much more i think... more forth right in the way it established islam and certainly the cultural reminance exists today um through all almost all the amirs that they had initially the scholars that were chosen and and identified ethically as fulani or fullbe they were all part and parcel of the process of establishing islam particularly in northern nigeria and as with with this region again it's a ve

moving to nigeria, uthman danfodio was the founder of the sokoto califate in present day nigeria.t was indeed one of the largest empires in africa during the 19th century. this califate impacted on the culture and arts of the people of this region of africa. the fact that the sakoto kalifate, which emerged around 1803, actually um, lot of people refer to it as the falani empire, but it was arguably west africa's largest pre-colonial state and lasted for a century uh coming into being around as i said 1803, 1808, that kind of time uh through four year jihad and finally it was conquered in 1903 by britain, but during that period of course the cementing of islamic culture was very, very profound, and i think the... "the the the sakota califat was much more, i think, much more forthright in the way it established islam, and certainly the cultural remnancets exists today. um, through all almost all the amirs that they had initially, the scholars that were chosen and and identified ethically as fulani or fulbe, they were all part and parcel of the process of establishing islam, particul

restored to their original if you like glory. moving to nigeria, uthman danfodio was the founder of the sokoto califate in present day nigeria. it was indeed one of the largest empire. in africa during the 19th century. this califate impacted on the culture and arts of the people of this region of africa. the fact that the sakoto khalifate, which emerged around 1803, actually um, lot of people refer to it as the falani empire, but it was arguably west africa's largest pre-colonial state and lasted for a century coming into being around. as i said 1803 1808 that kind of time uh through four year jihad and finally it was conquered in 1903 by britain but during that period of course the cementing of islamic culture uh was very very profound and i think the the the the sakota califit was much more i think much more forthright in the way it established islam and certainly the cultural reminance exists today um through all all the amirs that they had initially, the scholars that were chosen and and identified ethically as fulani or fulbe, they were all part and parcel of the process of establishing

restored to their original if you like glory. moving to nigeria, uthman danfodio was the founder of the sokoto califate in present day nigeria. it was indeed one of the largest. fires in africa during the 19th century, this califate impacted on the culture and arts of the people of this region of africa. the fact that the sakoto khalifate, which emerged around 1803, actually um, lot of people refer to it as the falani empire, but it was arguably west africa's largest pre-colonial state and lasted for a century coming into being around. as i said 1803 1808 that kind of time uh through four year jihad and finally it was conquered in 1903 by britain, but during that period of course the cementing of islamic culture was very very profound and i think the the the the sakota califat was much more i think much more forthright in the way it established islam and certainly the cultural reminance exists today um through all was all the amirs that they had initially, the scholars that were chosen and and identified ethically as fulani or fulbe, they were all part and parcel of the process of establishing

restored to their original if you like glory. moving to nigeria, uthman danfodio was the founder of the sokotolifate in present day nigeria. it was indeed one of the large... empires in africa during the 19th century. this califate impacted on the culture and arts of the people of this region of africa. the fact that the sakoto khalifate, which emerged around 1803, actually um, lot of people refer to it as the falani empire, but it was arguably west africa's largest pre-colonial state and lasted for a century coming into being. around as i said 1803 1808 that kind of time uh through four year jihad and finally it was conquered in 1903 by britain, but during that period of course the cementing of islamic culture was very very profound and i think the the the the sakota califat was much more i think much more forthright in the way it established islam and certainly the cultural reminance exists today um... all almost all the amirs that they had initially, the scholars that were chosen and and identified ethically as fulani or fulb, they were all part and parcel of the process of establishing isl

restored to their original if you like glory. moving to nigeria, uthman danfodio was the founder of the sokoto califate in present day nigeria. it was indeed one of the largest empires in africa during the 19th century. this califate impacted..." on the culture and arts of the people of this region of africa. the fact that the sako khaliphate which emerged around 1803, actually lot of people refer to it as the falani empire, but it was arguably west africa's largest pre-colonial state and lasted for a century coming into being around as i said 1803 1808 that kind of time through four year. and finally it was conquered in 1903 by britain, but during that period of course the cementing of islamic culture was very, very profound, and i think the the the the califat was much more, i think, much more forthright in the way it established islam, and certainly the cultural reminance exists today, through all almost all the amirs that they had initially, the scholars that were chosen and and identified. ethically as falani or fulbe, they were all part and parcel of the process of establishing islam, pa

unspecified number of students have been abducted by armed men from their school in the northwestern state of sokoto hours of saturday morning. four women were also taken. that's all the infomation we have at the moment. but it comes as the armed forces are searching for almost 300 students who were abducted by armed men on thursday in kaduna. the nigerian army is leading the search for the children, who were abducted from the north west town of kuriga in kaduna state. reports say students between the ages of eight and 15 were taken, along with a teacher. the abductions have been blamed on a breakaway faction of the militant islamist group boko haram. victims of kidnappings usually pay a ransom to secure their freedom. a controversial law passed in 2022 made it a crime to make ransom payments, with a potentialjail sentence of at least 15 years. but many victims feel they have no choice but to pay. earlier, before news of that latest kidnapping, i spoke to our west africa correspondent mayeni jones and asked her how the families of those children taken on thursday were coping. a visit by the state go

the latest, on saturday morning, saw armed men storm a school in the state of sokoto, taking 15 studentss just days after more than 280 students were taken from their school in kaduna state. at least 28 pupils have managed to escape since their capture on thursday. voters in portugal are electing a new parliament today. sunday's snap election was called after the socialist prime minister, antonio costa, resigned over a corruption investigation involving some of his staff. voting is due to start in under three hours time, with the opposition centre—right democratic alliance and governing socialists looking to claim a majority. a close result could give the far—right chega party powerful sway too. a total of 10.8 million people are registered to vote in the elections, in portugal and abroad, to elect 230 members of parliament. princess diana's brother, earl spencer, has said he was sexually abused as a child. he says he was targeted by a female member of staff at his boarding school, maidwell hall, in northamptonshire. our correspondent, charlotte gallagher, has the details. earl spencer s

all we know is that it happened very early this morning in an area called gada in sokoto in the northwestocal members of the community told the bbc�*s hausa service that gunmen came into the town shooting into the air, they took a number of women, and as they were fleeing, they saw some students running into their dormitories and decided to abduct them too. this, obviously, is coming at a time of heightened tensions in the region. a search operation is under way to recover these almost 300 students that were taken from their school in kaduna on thursday. the military, the police and local hunters are combing the forest in the region trying to recover the students. i spoke to a global rights worker, early. we are hearing more than 280 students kidnapped earlier this week and another incident on saturday morning involving about 12 more students kidnapped. what more do we know at this point about the fate of these children and who may be responsible for these abductions. it who may be responsible for these abductions.— these abductions. it is the numbers _ these abductions. it is the numbers

the latest, on saturday morning, saw armed men storm a school in sokoto state, taking fifteen studentsna state. at least 28t pupils have managed to escape since their capture on thursday. earlier in the week, some 200 people — most of them women and children — were abducted in the northeast after leaving their displacement camps to search for firewood. a new museum commemorating the holocaust is being opened in amsterdam this morning. it will be the first in the netherlands to tell the full story of the persecution ofjewish people during the second world war. israel's president is due to attend the ceremony — where there's also expected to be a demonstration against his government's actions in gaza. lufthansa's cabin crew union has called a two—day strike at two of germany's busiest airports — frankfurt and munich. the action will take place on tuesday and wednesday and is the latest in a series of walkouts to affect the german airline. lufthansa says it has offered to increase pay by at least 10 percent — but the offer was rejected by the union. stay with us here on bbc news. hello th

the latest, on saturday morning, saw armed men storm a school in sokoto state, taking 15 students andir school in kaduna state. at least 28 pupils have managed to escape since their capture on thursday. earlier in the week, some 200 people — most of them, women and children — were abducted in the north—east, after leaving their displacement camps to search for firewood. princess diana�*s brother earl spencer said he was sexually abused as a child, he said he was targeted by a femur member of staff at his school in northamptonshire. charlotte gallagher reports. in an extract from his memoir published in the mail on sunday, earl spencer says a female staff member who he describes as a voracious paedophile groomed him and other young boys. he says he was targeted in the dormitory room at night when he was in bed. he also alleges that the school�*s headmaster inflicted brutal beatings. he says he believes he gained sexual pleasure from them. he says that reliving those experiences has been absolutely hellish. in a statement to the mail, bakewell hall said it was sobering to learn of earl

armed men abducted 15 students from their school in the northwestern state of sokoto in nigeria in theof saturday. four women were also taken. the armed forces are still searching for almost 300 students who were abducted by armed men on thursday. the nigerian army is leading the search for those children, who were abducted from the north west town of kuriga in kaduna state. reports say students between the ages of eight and 15 were taken, along with a teacher. the abductions have been blamed on a breakaway faction of the militant islamist group boko haram. and about 200 people were abducted in borno state on february 29. victims of kidnappings usually pay a ransom to secure their freedom. a controversial law passed in 2022 made it a crime to make ransom payments, with a potentialjail sentence of at least 15 years. but many victims feel they have no choice but to pay. let's speak to west africa correspondent mayeni jones. what correspondent mayenijones. do what correspondent mayeni jones. do we know about th abduction? what do we know about the latest abduction? flat what do we know ab

armed men abducted 15 students from their school in the northwestern state of sokoto in the early hours for the almost 300 students who were abducted by armed men on thursday. the nigerian army is leading the search for those children, who were abducted in kaduna state. reports say students between the ages of 8 and 15 were taken, along with a teacher. the abductions have been blamed on a breakaway faction of the militant islamist group boko haram. and about 200 people were abducted in borno state on february 29. victims of kidnappings usually pay a ransom to secure their freedom. a controversial law passed in 2022 made it a crime to make ransom payments, with a potentialjail sentence of at least 15 years. but many victims feel they have no choice but to pay. our west africa correspondent mayenijones has more. thank you forjoining us. what is the latest on this kidnapping, this latest kidnapping this week? we don't latest kidnapping this week? - don't know very much. all we know is that it happened very early this morning in the north—west of nigeria. members of the local community told

the latest, on saturday morning, saw armed men storm a school in sokoto state, taking 15 students ande taken from their school in kaduna state. at least 28 pupils have managed to escape since their capture on thursday. earlier in the week, some 200 people — most of them women and children — were abducted in the north—east after leaving their displacement camps to search for firewood. it's emerged that the former british prime minister borisjohnson visited venezuela last month for talks with president nicolas maduro. the bbc has been told the talks were unofficial and not paid for by the uk government. venezuela's government faces strong international pressure to hold a free and fair election, to release activists and political opponents it has detained, and to de—escalate tensions with its neighbour guyana. mrjohnson's spokesman says he emphasised the need for venezuela to embrace a proper democratic process, but declined to say who paid for the trip by private jet. the foreign office said mrjohnson had informed the foreign secretary, david cameron of the visit. let's bring you these

armed men abducted 15 students from their school in the northwestern state of sokoto in the early hoursre is already a major search for almost 300 students who were abducted by armed men on thursday. the nigerian army is leading the hunt for those children, who were abducted from the north west town of kuriga in kaduna state. reports say students between the ages of 8 and 15 were taken, along with a teacher. the abductions have been blamed on a breakaway faction of the militant islamist group boko haram. and about 200 people were abducted in borno state on february 29. victims of kidnappings usually pay a ransom to secure their freedom. a controversial law passed in 2022 made it a crime to make ransom payments, with a potentialjail sentence of at least 15 years. but many victims feel they have no choice but to pay. our west africa correspondent mayenijones has more. details are still trickling in. it happened very early in the morning, around 1am. local media reports say that armed men stormed the area and carted away these 15 students, who were running towards their dormitories, as wel

the latest, on saturday morning, saw armed men storm a school in sokoto state, taking 15 students andr leaving their displacement camps to search for firewood. voters in india have expressed concern as of the election commission has been left with only one of its top three officials. i spoke to someone about the role of the election commission in india. it is an independent body, it holds the world's biggest democratic exercise. we are talking about 960 million eligible voters ready to cast their ballots in the elections due to come in the next few weeks. the prime minister is seeking a third term, and this body is given enormous powers, because the conduct national elections as well as state elections, and they cannot bar anyone from campaigning if they violate the code of conduct, and they also monitor how people are spending money for the elections. this latest resignation has come as a surprise for many because he did not give any reason that has led to a lot of speculation about whether he had differences of opinion with the chief election commissioner, and he had another three y