Nigerian city cracks down on prostitution. Authorities in Bauchi, a Nigerian city under Islamic rule, have decided to crack down prostitution, reports the BBC. Using a census by the Red Cross (which the charity conducted to help slow the spread of HIV) the Sharia commission ordered that the 320 women identified be rounded up. None of the women has been arrested, though; the city just wants to supervise and make sure that no illegal acts go on, according to a commissioner. The Sharia commission (which is ruled under the Islamic Sharia law) went to hotels to round up the prostitutes using only their own security forces and without the help of police. According to the BBC, officials were moved to act against prostitution to get rid of the idea that they were not adequately enforcing laws against prostitution. Sharia commission member Mustapha Babe, refuted any claims that the women were arrested or detained. The commission is just watching some sections of the city more closely, he said. “In every nook and corner and cranny, illegal acts were being committed contrary to Sharia law. As a result of this, we sent them to supervise the areas where something has happened,” he said. Of the 320 women rounded up, between 75 and 100 of them have tested positive for HIV.

Somali charity worker killed in his country. A Somali aid worker for the United Nation’s World Food Program was kidnapped and killed as he tried to escape his attackers, reports CNN. Abdulkadir Diad Mohamed was visiting his home town of Dinsor, Somalia this weekend, when he, along with people he was traveling with in a vehicle, were abducted. When he and the driver tried to escape, they were killed by their kidnappers, but a third passenger managed to escape. “I am shocked by this senseless and barbaric attack on one of our staff. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues,” said Josette Sheeran, the WFP executive director. Mohamed, who was an administration and finance assistant for the organization, joined the charity in June. According to the WFP, this is the first violent death of a worker in Somalia since 1993, although five drivers who were employed by the charity’s contractors were killed this year alone in Somalia.

Blacks are most likely to be victimized because of their race

While most crimes went down dramatically over the past half-decade, those committed against people because they happen to be Black, White, Latino, Jewish, Asian or gay skyrocketed over that period, according to a recent report. reports. The Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission annual report shows that hate crimes rose by 28 percent, to 763 offenses, with hate-related vandalism leading the way, The Los Angeles Times. The spike in hate crimes is what Robin Toma, executive director of the Human Relations Commission, describes as an alarming trend. The most victimized have been Blacks, at the hands of Latino suspects, the report shows. Next, Latinos have been victimized at the hands of Black suspects. “Latinos also made up the largest number of suspects in hate crimes based on sexual orientation. Whites were the leading suspects in religion-based incidents,” the Times reports. “Overall, Blacks made up nearly half the hate crime victims, totaling 310.”

Judge resigns after calling crack a “Black man’s disease”

A White South Carolina judge who said that being addicted to crack cocaine is a “Black man’s disease” was forced to resign following a reprimand by the state Supreme Court. George Peter Lamb, former Beaufort County magistrate, had engaged in a series of actions deemed inappropriate by the Supreme Court, including his behavior toward women workers and his incorrect admonishment to a defendant about the penalty he could face if convicted. When the justices publicly reprimanded Lamb, they said it was the most severe penalty they could mete out, because Lamb already had stepped down. He also agreed not to seek any other judicial position within the state without permission from the high court.

Award-winning singing preacher is about to get a promotion

After 14 years of pastoring one of the fastest growing churches in New York City and in Bensalem, Pa., the Rev. Hezekiah Walker is about to add bishop to his resume. The 45-year-old singer and pastor will be named bishop in the Pentecostal church on Aug. 3, in Atlanta , in recognition of his work among young people and for starting new churches – five in the U.S. , and one in Cape Town , South Africa . “This is a very great honor,” said Walker, 45, founder of the Love Fellowship Tabernacle in East New York , and host of “Afternoon Praise” on WLIB-AM.