tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53715776439597997392024-03-05T02:05:28.176-08:00Michael Uzoma Michael Blogwellcome to the officiall blogg for michael uzoma michaelMichael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.comBlogger2988125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-74524558585124534322017-02-12T10:40:00.001-08:002017-02-12T10:40:05.876-08:00Mawson and Olsson sharpen Leicester’s pain…See full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">Swansea City's English defender Alfie Mawson (R) shoots to score the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Swansea City and Leicester City at The Liberty Stadium in Swansea, south Wales on February 12, 2017. PHOTO: Geoff CADDICK / AFP</p>
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<p>Defenders Alfie Mawson and Martin Olsson gave Swansea City a 2-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday that nudged the flatlining Premier League champions closer to the relegation zone.</p>
<p>Mawson and Olsson netted crisp strikes prior to half-time at the Liberty Stadium to give Swansea manager Paul Clement a fourth win in six games since he succeeded the sacked Bob Bradley.</p>
<p>Swansea’s victory, their 100th in the top flight, took them four points clear of the bottom three and left Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester just one point and one position clear of danger in 17th place.</p>
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<p>The extraordinary feats of last season have been replaced by history of a different kind as Leicester became the first reigning champions to lose five successive top-flight games since Chelsea in 1956.</p>
<p>They also became the first team to go six games without scoring at the start of a calendar year in the English top tier since Stoke City in 1985.</p>
<p>Brought back down to earth after their mid-week FA Cup win at Derby County, Leicester could scarcely be in a more sorry state as their Champions League last 16 tie with Sevilla looms on the horizon.</p>
<p>Clement made one change, bringing Nathan Dyer in for Wayne Routledge, but was forced to reverse the switch after Dyer’s reunion with his old club was curtailed by an ankle injury sustained in the fifth minute.</p>
<p>Dyer, who spent last season on loan at Leicester, duly re-emerged on the bench, the lower half of his left leg encased in a protective boot.</p>
<p>With the big guns restored to the Leicester line-up after their 3-1 win over local rivals Derby, the visitors looked to assert themselves.</p>
<p><strong>– Sorry predicament –</strong></p>
<p>But blocked shots from Wilfred Ndidi, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez were all they had to show for their early endeavours and as the first half wore on, Swansea established control.</p>
<p>After Routledge had seen a volley parried by Kasper Schmeichel and Gylfi Sigurdsson had drilled a shot wide with his left foot from outside the box, the home side took a 36th-minute lead.</p>
<p>Robert Huth could only help Sigurdsson’s free-kick towards the back post, where it was nodded back into the danger zone by Federico Fernandez, and Mawson lashed a vicious volley past Schmeichel.</p>
<p>Swansea landed another blow in first-half stoppage time after a slick one-touch move involving Tom Carroll, Fernando Llorente and Sigurdsson.</p>
<p>The latter’s through-ball freed Olsson, who drove into the box from wide on the left before battering a shot between Schmeichel and his near post.</p>
<p>Ranieri made a double change at half-time, sending on Ben Chilwell and Islam Slimani for Christian Fuchs and Marc Albrighton.</p>
<p>Slimani came closest to bringing Leicester back into the game, first seeing a shot blocked by Lukasz Fabianski from Mahrez’s deft pass and then just failing to get a touch on Mahrez’s right-wing cross.</p>
<p>But Leicester’s problems in front of goal were destined to continue, a wild shot from Vardy drawing derisive hoots from the Swansea fans and summing up the champions’ sorry predicament.</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-37347340352097369322017-02-12T09:30:00.001-08:002017-02-12T09:30:24.863-08:00White House considering new immigration order…Read full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">The White House confirmed Sunday it is considering issuing a new order on immigration now that President Donald Trump's travel ban has been halted as it makes its way through the courts.</p>
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<p>The White House confirmed Sunday it is considering issuing a new order on immigration now that President Donald Trump’s travel ban has been halted as it makes its way through the courts.</p>
<p>“Right now we are considering and pursuing all options,” presidential aide Stephen Miller told Fox television.</p>
<p>He said the next step would be either filing an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, defending the merits of the order in lower courts or issuing a new one.</p>
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<p>“The president’s powers here are beyond question,” said Miller, who is considered one of the driving forces behind Trump’s first actions on immigration. Miller insisted the president has the power to keep some people from entering the United States.</p>
<p>“We are contemplating new and additional actions to ensure that immigration is not a vehicle for admitting people into our country that are hostile to its nation and its values,” Miller said.</p>
<p>The order that Trump issued abruptly on January 27 halts resettlement of all refugees for 120 days and that of Syrian refugees indefinitely.</p>
<p>It also bars for 90 days the entry of nationals from seven mainly Muslim countries.</p>
<p>A federal judge in Seattle issued a stay against the order on February 3. Then a three judge appeals panel in San Francisco voted unanimously last week against reinstating Trump’s ban. Among other things, it rejected the argument that the president’s actions in the area of immigration cannot be reviewed by the courts.</p>
<p>The Trump ban was supposed to be in place while the government comes up with a new system of so-called “extreme vetting” of people seeking entry visas. This could include checks on their social media accounts, according to John Kelly, the secretary of homeland security.</p>
<p>“Our immigration system should not be a vehicle for admitting people who have anything but love in their hearts for this nation and this constitution,” said Miller, who is 31.</p>
<p>“It is a message that I want the world to hear today. This country will protect its borders. It will protect its people,” Miller said.</p>
<p>The idea of the White House issuing a modified immigration order that would survive scrutiny in the courts does not convince Democrats, who from the outset have charged that Trump’s order is simply anti-Muslim and plays into the hands of extremists.</p>
<p>“It will be used as a recruitment for terrorist organizations. It will put Americans at greater risk traveling abroad,” said Democratic Senator Ben Cardin.<br /></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-6561140722674935812017-02-12T08:40:00.001-08:002017-02-12T08:40:34.619-08:00These Educative, Entertaining And Inspirational Pictures Will Blow Your Mind – 88<p>These are just pictures but they tell stories that will either Educate, Entertain or Motivate you…</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-28448308411894893692017-02-12T08:30:00.001-08:002017-02-12T08:30:43.019-08:00‘Islamophobia’ fuelling terrorism, says UN chief…Read full details<div align="center">
<div><img class="size-full wp-image-242170" src="http://ift.tt/2ly7sWw" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
<p class="wp-caption-text">This handout photo released by the Turkish Prime Ministery Press office on February 10, 2017 shows UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (2nd R) taking part in a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (Unseen) in Istanbul.<br />TURKISH PRIME MINISTER PRESS OFFICE / AFP</p>
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<p>“Islamophobia” in parts of the world is fuelling terrorism, the head of the United Nations said on a visit to Saudi Arabia Sunday, as anti-immigrant sentiment rises in some countries.</p>
<p>UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the comment to reporters after talks with Saudi King Salman, Crown Prince and Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.</p>
<p>“One of the things that fuel terrorism is the expression in some parts of the world of Islamophobic feelings and Islamophobic policies and Islamophobic hate speeches,” Guterres said at a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.</p>
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<p>“This is the best support that Daesh can have to make its own propaganda,” Guterres said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group of Sunni extremists in Syria and Iraq.</p>
<p>The jihadist group has also claimed deadly attacks in Saudi Arabia and in Europe.</p>
<p>Anti-immigration politicians including France’s Marine Le Pen have seen their popularity rise after an influx to Europe of migrants, many of them Muslims fleeing wars in Syria and elsewhere.</p>
<p>US President Donald Trump issued an order in late January that denied entry to all refugees for 120 days.</p>
<p>It also blocked travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. Refugees from Syria were blocked indefinitely.</p>
<p>But the order has faced obstacles and on Thursday an appellate court decided unanimously to maintain a block on Trump’s order.</p>
<p>Syria’s conflict has created 4.8 million refugees and killed more than 310,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011.</p>
<p>Guterres said “we will never be successful in fighting terrorism in Syria if an inclusive political solution is not found for the Syrian people.”</p>
<p>A new round of UN-sponsored peace talks is scheduled for February 20 in Geneva.</p>
<p>Guterres arrived in Saudi Arabia from Turkey and is to be in Dubai on Monday for the World Government Summit during his regional tour.<br /></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-24649834128737033472017-02-12T08:10:00.003-08:002017-02-12T08:10:27.888-08:00Bale back in Real Madrid training…See full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">Real Madrid's Welsh forward Gareth Bale (L) scores past Leganes's goalkeeper Serantes during the Spanish league football match Real Madrid CF vs Club Deportivo Leganes SAD at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on November 6, 2016.<br />JAVIER SORIANO / AFP</p>
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<p>Real Madrid received a boost ahead of the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Napoli on Wednesday as Gareth Bale returned to training on Sunday for the first time in three months.</p>
<p>Bale has been sidelined since damaging ankle ligaments in a 2-1 win at Sporting Lisbon on November 22.</p>
<p>“The big news (from training) was the return of the Bale, who completed the session with the rest of his teammates,” Madrid said in a statement on Sunday.</p>
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<p>Bale’s return means Real boss Zinedine Zidane has a fully-fit squad to choose from ahead of the visit of the in-form Italians.</p>
<p>Madrid maintained their one point lead at the top of La Liga and with two games in hand over Barcelona thanks to a 3-1 win at Osasuna on Saturday.</p>
<p>Napoli remain unbeaten in 18 games stretching back to October after beating Genoa 2-0 on Friday.</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-39569357308940992232017-02-12T08:10:00.001-08:002017-02-12T08:10:26.739-08:00Burnley’s Brady checks Chelsea charge…See full details<div align="center">
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<div class="vwpg-gallery-caption">Chelsea's Spanish midfielder Pedro (2nd L) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Chelsea at Turf Moor in Burnley, north west England on February 12, 2017.<br />
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<div class="vwpg-gallery-caption">Burnley's Irish midfielder Robbie Brady (L) scores their first goal from this freekick during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Chelsea at Turf Moor in Burnley, north west England on February 12, 2017.<br />
Oli SCARFF / AFP</div>
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<p>Home debutant Robbie Brady scored a memorable free-kick to earn Burnley a 1-1 draw on Sunday that prevented Chelsea moving 12 points clear at the Premier League summit.</p>
<p>Brady cancelled out an early strike from Pedro and while the point stretched Chelsea’s lead to 10 points, their advantage will be trimmed to eight points if Manchester City win at Bournemouth on Monday.</p>
<p>Brady’s goal continued his recent run of success against Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, with the winger having also scored the winning goal for Ireland against Conte’s Italy in the Euro 2016 group stage.</p>
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<p>Burnley, whose home record is bettered only by second-place Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea themselves, looked like they might be swept away following an electrifying start from the league leaders.</p>
<p>But Sean Dyche’s team, who had won seven straight games at Turf Moor after losing to Manchester City in mid-November, showed great resilience and deservedly equalised after 24 minutes through Brady.</p>
<p>A foul by Nemanja Matic on Joey Barton on the edge of the area presented Brady, a club-record £13 million ($16.2 million, 15.3 million euros) signing from Norwich City last month, with his chance.</p>
<p>He took it in style, curling a magnificent 20-yard free-kick over the wall and into the top-left corner.</p>
<p>That cancelled out an equally impressive opener from Chelsea that was started, and finished, by Pedro in the seventh minute.</p>
<p>The Spanish winger helped begin the attack deep in his own half with a pass to Eden Hazard who, in turn, fed Victor Moses on the right.</p>
<p>After skipping past Brady’s crude challenge, Moses crossed for Pedro, who had covered nearly 70 yards, and his low, angled shot gave Tom Heaton no chance in the Burnley goal.</p>
<p>– Furious tempo –<br />
Chelsea had threatened to simply sweep their hosts away during a positive opening in which they repeatedly hit Burnley on the break.</p>
<p>But after weathering that pressure, the Clarets began to show why they have become so feared on their own turf.</p>
<p>Ashley Barnes was presented with a couple of half-chances before the equaliser and, soon after it, Andre Gray flashed an inviting low cross through the Chelsea six-yard box.</p>
<p>Burnley should even have taken a lead into the interval after Barton found full-back Matt Lowton, who only had Thibaut Courtois to beat but was denied by a solid block from the Chelsea goalkeeper.</p>
<p>The furious tempo of the game continued after the restart, with a mistake by Matic and an error by David Luiz culminating in Gray gathering Barnes’s pass and shooting straight at Courtois.</p>
<p>In response, and thanks to a Ben Bee mistake at the other end, Diego Costa had a shot blocked before Cesar Azpilicueta chanced his luck with a long-range shot that just cleared the Burnley crossbar.</p>
<p>Burnley substitute Scott Arfield was also guilty of a potentially costly error when his weak clearance was picked up by Hazard, but the Chelsea man’s effort was hurried and well over.</p>
<p>Yet another Chelsea attack ended in similar fashion a few minutes later with substitute Cesc Fabregas slicing a shot hopelessly wide from the edge of the penalty area.</p>
<p>Arfield almost twisted and turned his way through on goal late on, but Luiz’s challenge prevented him from giving Burnley six successive home league victories for the first time in 56 years.</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-39214402450731932362017-02-12T07:05:00.001-08:002017-02-12T07:05:23.507-08:00Islamic scholar renews call on Boko Haram to end violence (Read full details)<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">PHOTO:AFP</p>
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<p>An Islamic scholar, Malam Abdullahi Abubakar, on Sunday, advised Boko Haram members to end the violence and embrace peace if they truly believe in Islam.</p>
<p>He gave the advice at a workshop on Deradicalisation, Counter-Terrorism and Migration in Maiduguri. Abubakar, also a lecturer at Bayero University Kano (BUK), said killing of innocent souls and destruction of property was contrary to Islamic teachings.</p>
<p>He condemned the Boko Haram ideology of trying to establish a wholly Islamic State, adding that “the Boko Haram group should re-consider its thought and revisit its methodology by following the right teachings of Islam.</p>
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<p>“Islam is based on four foundamentals; they are justice, mercy, wellbeing and wisdom and anything contrary to these is against Islamic Shariah.</p>
<p>“Boko Haram members claim that Muslims who do not join their group are non Muslims, which is contrary to the concept of justice in Islam because in Islam, there is no compulsion to any religion.”</p>
<p>Abubakar then urged individuals having interest in the group to have a rethink as Boko Haram was evil. He said “they slaughter people and rape women all in the name of religion, this is certainly not part of Islam.</p>
<p>“Muslims must seek knowledge to be able to perform the religion in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Prophet.” The scholar explained that the workshop was packaged by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) to sensitise participants on the true teachings of Islam.</p>
<p>Mr Ikponmwosa Omoigiade, the CDD Project Coordinator, said the event was aimed at strengthening the capacity of communities and religious leaders in counter narratives to extremist views and perspectives toward the prevention and countering of radical views capable of breeding terrorism.</p>
<p>The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 80 participants comprising clerics, youths and women took part in the workshop, supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Japanese Government.</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-29830750342596063662017-02-12T06:45:00.001-08:002017-02-12T06:45:19.674-08:00Dozens arrested in French clashes over alleged police rape…Read full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">Anti riot police officers stand guard during a protest in Bobigny, a district of northeast Paris, to denounce police brutality after a black man was allegedly sodomised with a baton during an arrest while in their custody in Paris on February 11, 2017. A 22-year-old black youth worker named as Theo, a talented footballer with no criminal record, required surgery after his arrest on February 2, 2017 when he claims a police officer sodomized him with his baton. One officer has been charged with rape and three others with assault over the incident in the tough northeastern suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois which has revived past controversies over alleged police brutality.<br />GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP</p>
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<p>Thirty-seven people were arrested in the Paris suburbs when clashes erupted after a protest over the assault of a young black man allegedly sodomised with a police truncheon, a police source said Sunday.</p>
<p>Around 2,000 people demonstrated Saturday outside a courthouse to demand justice for Theo, a 22-year-old youth worker who required surgery after his arrest last week in the gritty suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois.</p>
<p>The protest in the northern suburb of Bobigny near Aulnay-sous-Bois was peaceful at the start but groups of demonstrators later clashed with police and went on the rampage, attacking cars, shops and public property.</p>
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<p>Several vehicles were torched and bus shelters and shopfronts smashed in Bobigny and neighbouring areas.</p>
<p>A little girl trapped in a burning car was rescued by a 16-year-old demonstrator, who was heralded as a hero on social media. The police accused “several hundred” individuals of various “acts of violence and damage.”</p>
<p>The rioting capped a week of nightly clashes in the northern Paris suburb over the treatment of Theo, who claims a police officer sodomised him with his baton after a stop-and-search check in a housing estate.</p>
<p>Around 50 people have been detained since the protests began. One officer has been charged with rape over the affair, and three others with assault. All four have been suspended from their duties.</p>
<p>Theo’s case has revived long-simmering frustrations over policing in immigrant communities, where young men accuse the police of repeatedly targeting them in aggressive stop-and-search operations and using excessive force during arrests.</p>
<p>The police for their part complain of being drawn into a cat-and-mouse game with delinquents and drug dealers operating out of housing estates.</p>
<p>In 2005, the death of two teenagers who were electrocuted while hiding from police in an electricity substation sparked weeks of riots in France. Some of the demonstrators in Bobigny on Saturday carried placards reading “Police rape” and “Police kill innocent people”.</p>
<p>Small rallies took place in other French cities, including Rouen in the north, Nantes in the west and Toulouse in the south-west. Theo is still in hospital where he was operated for severe injuries to the anus and rectal area. He was declared unfit to work for two months.</p>
<p>An internal police investigation found insufficient evidence to support allegations that he was raped and said the injuries were not inflicted intentionally. The criminal probe is, however, ongoing.<br /></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-43194475783694207712017-02-12T06:05:00.001-08:002017-02-12T06:05:37.382-08:00Netanyahu hails US veto of Palestinian as Libya envoy…Read full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on February 12, 2017.<br />GALI TIBBON / AFP</p>
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<p>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday hailed the US veto of a Palestinian to be named UN envoy to Libya, saying the world body failed to give equal consideration to Israelis.</p>
<p>“I was informed of the possibility of the appointment of Salaam Fayyad to a UN position,” he said at Israel’s weekly cabinet meeting.</p>
<p>“I said that the time has come for reciprocity in the UN’s relations with Israel and free gifts cannot be constantly given to the Palestinian side,” Netanyahu said, welcoming the US veto.</p>
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<p>“The time has come for positions and appointments to be made to the Israeli side as well,” he said, quoted in a statement issued by the prime minister’s office.</p>
<p>According to Israeli media reports, the Jewish state could accept the appointment of Fayyad, a former Palestinian premier, if Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister of Israel, were offered the post of a UN deputy secretary of state.</p>
<p>UN chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday defended his choice of Fayyad to be the UN peace envoy to Libya, a day after the United States blocked the appointment.</p>
<p>The choice “was solely based on Mr Fayyad’s recognised personal qualities and his competence for that position”, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.</p>
<p>“United Nations staff serve strictly in their personal capacity. They do not represent any government or country.”</p>
<p>Guterres had informed the Security Council on Wednesday of his intention to appoint Fayyad.</p>
<p>But the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said Washington did not “support the signal this appointment would send within the United Nations”, where the state of Palestine does not have full membership.</p>
<p>“For too long, the UN has been unfairly biased in favour of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel,” she said in a statement.</p>
<p>The UN secretary general seeks the unanimous backing of all 15 Security Council members for appointments of his special representatives to conflict areas.</p>
<p>Fayyad had been tapped to replace Germany’s Martin Kobler, who has served since November 2015 as envoy to Libya, which has been in turmoil on the security and political fronts since a 2011 revolution that overthrew Moamer Kadhafi.<br /></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-87200097845306841822017-02-12T05:00:00.003-08:002017-02-12T05:00:27.079-08:00Operators blame multiple taxation for poor performance of domestic airlines (Read full details)<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">Chairman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Meggison</p>
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<p>The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has blamed the poor performance of domestic airlines on multiple taxation by various agencies in the aviation sector.</p>
<p>Capt. Nogie Meggisson, Chairman, AON, made the claim on Sunday in Lagos while reacting to the takeover of Arik Air and Aero Contractors by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).</p>
<p>The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the aviation agencies include the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB).</p>
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<p>Others are the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT),Zaria.</p>
<p>Meggisson said it was unfortunate that the system had failed to recognise the pivotal role airlines could play in bringing the Nigerian economy out of recession.</p>
<p>“Rather, the system is continuously manipulating, feasting and pushing the financial envelope of airlines by inflicting multiple taxes and levies to the extent that airlines are now groaning under the pressure and some are going bankrupt.</p>
<p>“AON has been screaming and complaining about the same issue over the years that have culminated in sending over 27 airlines under in the past 25 years.</p>
<p>“A case in point is the recent takeover of Arik Air and Aero Contractors by AMCON in the face of huge financial burdens that have shown themselves as fallout of the multiple and sometimes unfair charges and taxes airlines are forced to grapple with on a daily basis.</p>
<p>“This is without recourse to the fact that aside from all the multiple charges, levies and fees, airlines still have to pay mandatory statutory corporate taxes to relevant agencies,” he said in the statement obtained by NAN.</p>
<p>According to him, airlines meet so many costly foreign exchange components on daily basis that accounts for 70 to 80 per cent of their direct operational cost such as jet fuel, spare parts, insurance and simulator training among several others.</p>
<p>He said inspite of all these challenges , the agencies continue to overburden the airlines with multiple taxes and levies which further puts strain on their operations and finances.</p>
<p>“The Civil Aviation Act of 2006 (Part 18.12.3) requires that the NCAA regulates civil aviation and the charges imposed by civil aviation authorities and/or agencies.</p>
<p>“These charges, in consultation with stakeholders,are to be approved and reviewed periodically by both parties.</p>
<p>“On the contrary however, airlines are saddled with charges without any form of consultation whatsoever.</p>
<p>“Domestic airlines, on the average, pay about 35 per cent to 40 per cent of a ticket cost as taxes and charges that come under the guise of statutory levies in addition to other charges.</p>
<p>“These include 5 per cent Ticket Sales Charge, 5 per cent Cargo Sales Charge, 5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT), Passenger Service Charge, Charter Sales Charge, Aircraft Inspection Fees, Simulator Inspection Fees, Landing Charges and Parking Charges</p>
<p>Others are Terminal Navigational Charge, Enroute Charge, Fuel Surcharge, Airport Space Rent, Electricity Charges, and Apron Pass, Ramp Access Charges, ODC and a newly imposed Registration Fee all of which are paid to government agencies.</p>
<p>“Many of these taxes and charges amount to double taxation such that any incentive seemingly provided by government to airlines is taken back by the agencies,” Meggisson said.</p>
<p>He added that even with all these charges, many of the airports in the country do not have runway lights and navigational landing aids which meant such airports are only open between 7am and 6pm daily.</p>
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<p>The AON chairman said :” To this end, airlines can’t fully utilise their airplanes for 24-hours operations. No airplane or factory machine can be profitable only from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daylight operations.</p>
<p>“Airplanes and factory machines are supposed to operate for 24-hours.</p>
<p>“Airlines also sometimes have to pay arbitrary extension fees or cancel a flight entirely with the attendant burden and inconvenience due to no fault of theirs.”</p>
<p>Meggisson, therefore called for a total harmonisation of all agencies’charges into a one-stop shop payment system which was recently proposed by a committee set up by government and supported by the airlines.</p>
<p>According to him, this will help in streamlining of all fees and charges by the various government agencies into a single window and remove any confusion and double billing.</p>
<p>He called for the provision of airfield lighting and navigational landing aids at all airports in Nigeria to reduce delays and cancellations and allow for 24-hours operation and better utilisation of airplanes.</p>
<p>The AON chairman also appealed to the government to extend tax holidays for the first 10 years for qualifying airlines in order to cushion the impact of start-up to ensure the survival and growth of domestic airlines.</p>
<p>“Airlines provide a critical socio-economic services and should not be treated as a cash cow and strangled out of existence by multiple taxes, levies and charges that are sometimes forced on the airlines without due consultations.</p>
<p>“We believe that government needs to reappraise the way it sees air transportation and accord it the support it truly deserves as done in other climes,” Meggison said.</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-17917567978918544402017-02-12T05:00:00.001-08:002017-02-12T05:00:26.300-08:00Erdogan says Turkish troops inside Syria’s Al-Bab…Read full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">Turkey-backed-opposition fighters advance in an armoured personnel carrier on the western outskirts of the northern Syrian city of al-Bab in a bid to enter the city and retake control of it from the Islamic State (IS) group on February 9, 2017.<br />Saleh ABO GHALOUN / AFP</p>
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<p>President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies have entered the centre of the Islamic State-held bastion Al-Bab, saying its capture was just a “matter of time”.</p>
<p>“Al-Bab is now besieged from all fronts … Our forces entered the centre” with Syrian rebels, Erdogan told journalists in Istanbul before leaving for a tour of Gulf countries.</p>
<p>Erdogan said it was “only a matter of time” before the allied forces took full control of the flashpoint town.</p>
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<p>“Daesh forces have begun leaving Al-Bab completely,” he said, using Arabic acronym for IS group.</p>
<p>Turkish forces and allied rebels on Saturday entered Al-Bab to drive IS jihadists from the flashpoint northern town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.</p>
<p>The Turkish army launched an ambitious campaign inside Syria on August 24 codenamed Euphrates Shield to clean its border from IS jihadists and stop the advance of Kurdish militia.</p>
<p>But the clashes in Al-Bab have proved the toughest in the campaign, with Turkish military fatalities surging.</p>
<p>One Turkish soldier was killed and three others wounded in clashes with jihadists on Sunday, the private Dogan news agency reported, citing military sources.</p>
<p>The latest casualty raised the number of Turkish troops killed in the Syria offensive to 67.</p>
<p>The three injured troops were evacuated from Al-Bab and taken to hospitals in Turkey’s Kilis and Gaziantep provinces near the Syrian border, Dogan reported.</p>
<p>Al-Bab is the jihadist group’s last stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo and is also being targeted by regime forces.<br /></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-84997093726384084102017-02-12T04:10:00.001-08:002017-02-12T04:10:18.121-08:00Syria opposition picks delegation for new peace talks…Read full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">(FILES) This file photo taken on September 7, 2014 shows Secretary-General of the Syrian National Coalition Nasr al-Hariri (C) leaving a meeting with veteran Syrian opposition figure and prominent Syrian human rights activist Haitham al-Maleh and the Arab League's Secretary-General, Nabil al-Arabi, on September 6, 2014 at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. Syria's opposition on Sunday announced its 21-member delegation, including 10 rebel representatives, for a new round of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva scheduled for February 20.<br />The delegation will be headed by Nasr al-Hariri, a member of the opposition National Coalition, replacing Assad al-Zoabi, who led the opposition at several previous rounds of talks in Geneva last year.<br />Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP</p>
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<p>Syria’s opposition on Sunday announced its 21-member delegation, including 10 rebel representatives, for a new round of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva scheduled for February 20.</p>
<p>The delegation will be headed by Nasr al-Hariri, a member of the National Coalition, replacing Assad al-Zoabi, who led the opposition at several previous rounds of talks in Geneva last year.</p>
<p>The delegation’s chief negotiator was named as Mohamed Sabra, a lawyer who was part of the opposition’s technical team during negotiations in Geneva in 2014.</p>
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<p>He replaces Mohamad Alloush, a rebel from the powerful Army of Islam faction.</p>
<p>Alloush served as negotiator during three rounds of peace talks in Geneva as well as negotiations in the Kazakh capital Astana in January organised by Turkey and Russia.</p>
<p>Neither Alloush nor the Army of Islam were listed as members of the delegation to Geneva, though it was unclear if the group was boycotting the talks or would be represented by other delegates.</p>
<p>No reason was given for the decision to replace either Zoabi or Alloush.</p>
<p>The delegation includes representatives from several rebel groups, including Faylaq al-Sham, an Islamist faction active around Damascus, and Liwa Sultan Murad, a battalion close to Turkey.</p>
<p>The umbrella High Negotiations Committee (HNC) opposition group said the delegation to the talks would for the first time include representatives from two additional opposition groupings, known informally as the Moscow group and the Cairo group.</p>
<p>But representatives from both groups denied they were included in the delegation.</p>
<p>In the past, the HNC has opposed including the two rival opposition groupings in its delegation, accusing members of the coalitions of being too flexible with regard to the Syrian government.</p>
<p>The Moscow grouping includes former minister Qadri Jamil, and is close to the Russian leadership, while the Cairo grouping includes former foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi.</p>
<p>Invitations to the talks in Geneva have yet to go out, having been delayed in part to allow the opposition to decide on the composition of their delegation.</p>
<p>UN envoy Staffan de Mistura warned last week that he would pick the opposition delegates to the talks if they could not decide on time.</p>
<p>But he later appeared to backtrack and said he would delay dispatching invites.</p>
<p>Ahead of the talks, Kazakhstan has invited Syrian rebels and government officials back to Astana on February 15-16, but neither party has said officially yet if they will attend.</p>
<p>De Mistura will not attend the Astana meeting, but will send a “technical team,” his spokeswoman said.<br /></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-83622204151908479102017-02-12T02:50:00.001-08:002017-02-12T02:50:29.212-08:00Chomee – Amaplan ft. Professor [Mp3 + Lyrics]<p><img src="http://ift.tt/2lxqYT1" alt="p" /></p>
<p>Singer Chomee started promoting her new single AmaPlan featuring Professor Kalawa earlier this week and the song has began to gain momentum.</p>
<p>Listen to Chomee’s latest offering below…</p>
<p><a href="http://ift.tt/2kjVBpW">DOWNLOAD</a></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-43248927322976673792017-02-12T02:35:00.001-08:002017-02-12T02:35:05.149-08:00Donald Trump tells Shinzo Abe US ‘100% behind Japan’ after North Korea missile test<p><img src="http://ift.tt/2lEtKlZ" alt="p" /></p>
<p>President Donald Trump has reassured Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the United States is “100 percent” behind Japan following reports of North Korea conducting a fresh missile launch.</p>
<p>“The United States of America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent,” Trump said in brief remarks during a joint press conference with Abe in Florida late on Saturday.</p>
<p>The Japanese leader denounced the new launch as “intolerable.”</p>
<p>“North Korea’s most recent missile launch is absolutely intolerable. North Korea must fully comply with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” Abe said through a translator.</p>
<p>The remarks came a day after the two leaders held a joint press conference at the White House before heading to Trump’s private mansion in Palm Beach for the weekend.</p>
<p>US Strategic Command systems tracked a test launch over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan, and determined it was a medium- or intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Pentagon said on Saturday.</p>
<p>The missile test is the first conducted by North Korea since Trump took office on January 20.</p>
<p>An official with the South Korean Ministry of Defense also confirmed the test to CNN and said it was a ballistic missile.</p>
<p>The test of an intercontinental-range system would be especially provocative because the White House views it as an attempt by the North to develop the capability to strike the United States.</p>
<p>Trump has pledged to get tough on North Korea that tested several nuclear devices and ballistic missiles last year.</p>
<p>“Our assessment is that it is part of a show of force in response to the new US administration’s hardline position against the North,” the office of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, according to Reuters.</p>
<p>A White House spokesman said Trump was briefed on the new launch. However, the US president declined to comment when asked by reporters about the missile test as he posed for pictures with the Japanese leader ahead of a dinner in Florida.</p>
<p>Trump told Abe on Friday that defending against Pyongyang’s “nuclear and missile threat” was a “very, very high priority.”</p>
<p>Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, spoke to his South Korean counterpart Kim Kwan Jin after the latest launch. They both condemned the test and agreed “to seek all possible options” to deter North Korea.</p>
<p>The US maintains 47,000 military service members in Japan, mostly on the southern island of Okinawa.</p>
<p>Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump frequently criticized Washington’s commitment to its defense agreement with Japan.</p>
<p>Source: PressTV</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-11867694634849363692017-02-12T02:20:00.003-08:002017-02-12T02:20:42.647-08:00India arrests Nigerian Okonkwo with ingested cocaine (Read full details)<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">Monday Tony Okonkwo</p>
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<p>India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has recovered 1.3 kilograms of fine quality Colombian cocaine stashed in 90 capsules from the stomach of a Nigerian , who had come to Delhi from Lome, Togo.</p>
<p>According to The Times of India, the accused was taken to hospital where an X-ray confirmed the presence of foreign bodies in his stomach. He was kept in the hospital for two days during which he expelled 90 capsules containing 1.3kg cocaine.</p>
<p>The Nigerian was identified as Monday Tony Okonkwo. He arrived IGI airport in an Ethiopian Airlines plane on February 6.</p>
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<p>“When we conducted a thorough search of his body and baggage, he denied having any drugs or banned substance with him. However, the NCB team got suspicious when he said that he had come to India regarding his business of wigs and hair, but was found travelling on a tourist visa,” said Rajender Pal Singh, deputy director general, NCB.</p>
<p>Tony was taken to Safdarjung hospital where an X-ray confirmed the presence of foreign bodies in his stomach. During interrogation, the man revealed that he had ingested the drug capsules at a guesthouse in Lagos.</p>
<p>“The accused said he took around three hours to ingest the capsules and then took a flight to Lome. He then travelled to Addis Ababa from where he boarded a flight to New Delhi. His passport has corroborated the claims,” Singh said.</p>
<p>Monday Tony Okonkwo was supposed to deliver the drugs to another distributor who would have contacted him once his Indian number was active. “We are on the lookout for his handlers based in India and Nigeria,” Singh added.</p>
<p>NCB believes the cartel is being run by a group based in Peru or Bolivia and is the same one that had employed a Brazilian woman earlier to carry the contraband in swallowed packs.</p>
<p>The consignments were first taken to Sao Paolo, Brazil and then distributed throughout west African countries through carriers. The drug was brought to India via Ethiopia or Abu Dhabi.</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-27212023820640126802017-02-12T02:20:00.001-08:002017-02-12T02:20:42.020-08:00Colombia’s Santos asks Trump to support peace process…Read full details<div align="center">
<div><img class="size-full wp-image-242089" src="http://ift.tt/2lCBHHy" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
<p class="wp-caption-text">Handout picture released by the Colombian presidency showing Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (L) inspecting the new equipment for the National Police in Bogota, Colombia, on February 7, 2017. Colombia's Attorney General's Office said it was investigating whether money from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht was earmarked for the campaign for the re-election of President Juan Manuel Santos in 2014, which the government flatly rejected.<br />CESAR CARRION / PRESIDENCIA COLOMBIA / AFP</p>
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<p>President Juan Manuel Santos spoke with US President Donald Trump on the phone Saturday and asked him to support Colombia’s peace plan with FARC rebels, the Latin American leader said on Twitter.</p>
<p>Santos, in a series of posts, described their conversation as “productive.” “@POTUS expressed his support for peace and desire to maintain the best relations with Colombia,” Santos said, referring to Trump by his Twitter handle.</p>
<p>He said he asked Trump to support approval of the Colombia peace plan in the US Congress.</p>
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<p>“(Trump) said he was very interested and would take charge of it personally,” said Santos, who added that Trump extended an invitation for him to visit the White House.</p>
<p>The call lasted about 25 minutes, Santos’s office said.</p>
<p>The United States has pledged $450 million to support implementation of the peace agreement signed in November between Bogota and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), bringing an end to a 52-year conflict.</p>
<p>Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in negotiating an end to the conflict that grew out of a crushed uprising over land rights in the 1960s.</p>
<p>It killed more than 260,000 people and left 60,000 missing, according to authorities. As of early Sunday, the White House Press Office had yet to release a read-out of the call.<br /></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-86945889350413535472017-02-12T02:05:00.001-08:002017-02-12T02:05:15.750-08:00NSCDC rescues student from kidnappers (Read full details)<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">NSCDC</p>
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<p>The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Sunday disclosed that it’s operatives rescued one Abdulkarim Garba, 15, a student of El-kanemi Islamic Collage of Theology (EICT), in Maiduguri from kidnappers.</p>
<p>The Borno Commandant of the corps, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, disclosed this in Maiduguri on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN). He said Garba was abducted by suspected kidnappers and dumped at Njimtilo area in Maiduguri about 5 p.m. on Saturday.</p>
<p>Abdullahi said that the victim, who is from Yobe, resides at Kasuwar Grain area in Potiskum.</p>
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<p>“At about 14:00 our personnel on routine checks along Njimtilo, spotted a young boy who was said to have been abducted, indoctrinated and dumped by suspected kidnappers.</p>
<p>“‘Suspecting his movement, our personnel call the victim and questioned him. It was then he showed them his ID card proving he is a student from El-kanemi Islamic College of Theology (EICT).</p>
<p>“‘At first the boy looked very confused and did not know what he was doing or even were he was. It was later that he gained his senses consciousness and we called his father.</p>
<p>“‘The victim said all he knew was that he entered a commercial vehicle at Borno Express junction going to town when he no longer knew what was going on and was surprised to see himself in Njimtilo.</p>
<p>“‘The victim said that the last thing he recalled was that white powder was sprayed inside the vehicle by one of the passengers, it was then he lost consciousness.’’</p>
<p>Abdullahi said ‘‘the suspects must have changed plans when they saw that they couldn’t penetrate the security checkpoint at Njimtilo and decided to release the victim and run away.</p>
<p>“‘From the description he gave, we suspected that they were ritualists who were trying to kidnap human beings.</p>
<p>“‘We, therefore, caution residents of the state to be wary of entering into any type of commercial vehicles and tricycles.</p>
<p>“People must always watch out for proper registration and number plates to avoid being a victim,’’ Abdullahi said.</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-70343355580197153612017-02-12T01:50:00.003-08:002017-02-12T01:50:08.273-08:00Turkmenistan votes in one-sided presidential poll…Read full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">(FILES) This file photo taken on May 05, 2016 shows Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov (C) waving to the media during the starting ceremony of a 500-day nationwide horse race at the historical site of Nisa just outside Ashgabat in preparation for the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. Some nine candidates will be on the ballot for a presidential poll in reclusive Turkmenistan on February 12, but only one of them — incumbent autocrat Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov — stands a chance of winning.<br />Igor SASIN / AFP</p>
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<p>Citizens of Turkmenistan went to the polls Sunday for a presidential vote expected to further tighten strongman Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s hold over the gas-rich Central Asian country.</p>
<p>The turnout in the country of over 5 million people exceeded 74 percent in the first six hours of voting, the Central Election Commission said.</p>
<p>Berdymukhamedov, 59, faces eight other candidates including low-level regional officials, the director of a government-owned oil refinery and a representative of a state agribusiness complex.</p>
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<p>But these candidates are viewed as token opponents for the former dentist and health minister who took power following the death of predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006.</p>
<p>Casting his vote at a school in the capital Ashgabat on Sunday morning, the president said the vote would decide “the fate of the people for the coming seven years”.</p>
<p>The autocrat was accompanied by family members including his son, who was elected as an MP last year.</p>
<p>“If I am elected then our policies aimed at improving the welfare of the people will continue, Berdymukhamedov said.</p>
<p>Last year Berdymukhamedov signed off on constitutional changes that paved the way for his lifelong rule by stripping away upper age limits for presidential candidates.</p>
<p>Another change lengthened presidential terms from five to seven years.</p>
<p>Voters in Ashgabat overwhelmingly said they were backing Berdymukhamedov.</p>
<p>“I voted for the first time, and chose our president,” said Zokhra, an 18-year old student decked out in bright red national dress who was voting at her university.</p>
<p>“We are deciding our future,” said Zokhra, who was presented with one of Berdymukhamedov’s books and a bunch of flowers by officials after she cast her vote.</p>
<p>One-sided votes are typical in Central Asia, a Muslim-majority ex-Soviet region politically close to Russia and China, where reigning presidents are usually expected to die in power.</p>
<p>“These regimes have a logic of their own and they very much follow that logic,” said Annette Bohr, an associate fellow of the Russia and Eurasia programme at the Chatham House think tank.</p>
<p>Turkmenistan’s regime is “even more repressive and personalist” than those found in neighbouring Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Bohr said.</p>
<p>“Berdymukhamedov is predictable in that he will do what he has to do in order to perpetuate that regime.”</p>
<p>– Leadership cult –<br />
Like Turkmenistan’s first president Niyazov, who renamed months after family members and wrote a “book of the soul” that was compulsory in schools, Berdymukhamedov has presided over a flowering leadership cult.</p>
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<p>Both men are honoured by golden statues in Ashgabat, where natural gas wealth is flaunted in lavish, grandiose white marble architecture, even as other parts of the country suffer poverty.</p>
<p>Berdymukhamedov is officially known as the country’s “Protector” and has written poetry and books on topics from tea to horses.</p>
<p>He is a keen equestrian but fell off his horse after winning a race in 2013 in a incident captured by spectators on video but hushed up by state media.</p>
<p>New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch said ahead of the polls that Berdymukhamedov has taken “a few modest steps to reverse some of Niyazov’s damaging policies” but has continued some of his “most serious abuses.”</p>
<p>Ahead of the vote, “voters cannot express their views about all candidates in an open manner and without fear,” the group said.</p>
<p>Turkmenistan is set to host the Asian Indoor Games in September and Reporters Without Borders warned Friday that the handful of independent journalists in the country are “being subjected to an unprecedented crackdown” ahead of the showpiece event.</p>
<p>Although Turkmenistan sits on the world’s fourth largest natural gas reserves, it has failed to diversify its economy and remains heavily reliant on exports to China.</p>
<p>At the beginning of 2015 the government devalued the manat currency by 19 percent, while Berdymukhamedov has warned of the need to raise tariffs for water, gas and electricity, which were all free under Niyazov.</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-83569499469445259242017-02-12T01:50:00.001-08:002017-02-12T01:50:07.215-08:00FG recovers another $151m, N8b looted funds (Read full details)<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">Lai Mohammed</p>
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<p>The Federal Government said it recovered another 151 million dollars and N8 billion looted funds from three sources through whistke-blowers. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos.</p>
<p>Mohammed sad actionable information given by whistle-blowers to the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation led to the recovery of the looted fund.</p>
<p>He said the looted funds do not include the 9.2 million dollars in cash allegedly owned by a former Group Managing Director of the NNPC, also a dividend of the whistle-blower policy.</p>
<p>“The biggest amount of 136.7 million dollars was recovered from an account in a commercial bank, where the money was kept under an apparently fake<br />
account name.</p>
<p>“This was followed by N7 billion and 15 million dollars from another person and N1 billion from yet another,” he said.</p>
<p>The minister reiterated the position of government that there was a primitive and mindless looting of the national treasury under the last administration.</p>
<p>He said the whistle-blower policy has started yielding fruit, few months after its adoption by the government. “The whistle-blower policy is barely two months old and Nigerians have started feeling its impact, how a few people squirrelled away public funds.</p>
<p>It is doubtful if any economy in the world will not feel the impact of such mind-boggling looting of the treasury as was experienced in Nigeria. ”Yet whatever has been recovered so far, including the 9.2 million dollars by the EFCC, is just a tip of the iceberg,” he said.</p>
<p>The minister appealed to Nigerians with useful information on looted funds to continue to provide the authorities with such information, saying confidentiality will be maintained with regards to the source of the information.</p>
<p>He also reminded Nigerians of the financial reward aspect of the policy.</p>
<p>”If there is a voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds or assets on the account of the information provided, the whistle blower may be entitled to anywhere between 2.5 per cent (Minimum) and 5.0 per cent (Maximum) of the total amount recovered,” he said.</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-38803842316885636112017-02-12T01:35:00.003-08:002017-02-12T01:35:13.700-08:00Japan killjoys wage war on Valentine’s ‘conspiracy’…Read full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">A group of Japanese protesters stage an anti-Valentine's Day demonstration march in Tokyo on February 12, 2017. As Japan prepares to celebrate Valentine's Day, a curmudgeonly group of protesters have called for an end to public displays of love, claiming it hurts their feelings.<br />KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP</p>
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<p>As Japan prepares to celebrate Valentine’s Day, a cranky group of marxist protesters have called for an end to public displays of love, claiming it hurts their feelings.</p>
<p>Members of ‘Kakuhido’, or the Revolutionary Alliance of Men that Women find Unattractive, unfurled a giant “Smash Valentine’s Day” banner as the party-poopers set off to try and overthrow the annual celebration of romance.</p>
<p>The grumpy comrades elicited curious looks from passers-by in the trendy Shibuya district where they rallied against commercialism and chanted other buzz-kill slogans such as “public smooching is terrorism!”</p>
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<p>“Our aim is to crush this love capitalism,” the group’s public relations chief Takayuki Akimoto told AFP.</p>
<p>“People like us who don’t seek value in love are being oppressed by society,” he added. “It’s a conspiracy by people who think unattractive guys are inferior, or losers — like cuddling in public, it makes us feel bad. It’s unforgivable.”</p>
<p>Previously, the killjoy group has also protested against “housewives who control Japan’s future” as their hapless husbands work all hours at the office.</p>
<p>Valentine’s Day in Japan is a huge money-spinner for the confectionery business as women are traditionally expected to buy chocolates for the men in their lives — from lovers to work colleagues.</p>
<p>Men reciprocate a month later on White Day, a Japanese marketing brainwave dreamt up by confectioners in the 1980s to keep the cash tills ringing.</p>
<p>“The tradition of giving chocolates means you’re always competing,” said Akimoto, 33, blasting what his group calls the “passion-based capitalism” of Valentine’s Day.</p>
<p>“You’re judged by how many sweets you get. It’s a business strategy by the chocolate capitalists, it’s ridiculous.”</p>
<p>Valentine’s Day originated as an ancient Christian and Roman tradition and Akimoto fumed: “Religious overtones have been twisted and turned into a vehicle to make money.”</p>
<p>Japan is experiencing a loss of mojo with couples apparently too stressed or busy to have sex, frustrating government efforts to raise the birthrate as policymakers struggle to cope with a shrinking population.</p>
<p>Akimoto claims the group’s message has begun to hit home after 10 years of protests.</p>
<p>“Recently you hear of more people spending Christmas alone or women growing tired of Valentine’s Day,” he said. “We believe that through our fight, we’ve helped contribute to that social shift.”</p>
<p>Kakuhido was founded in 2006 by Katsuhiro Furusawa, who began reading the Communist Manifesto after being dumped by his girlfriend and came to the conclusion that being unpopular with the opposite sex was a class issue, fuelling his anti-Valentine message.</p>
<p>Akimoto offered some advice for would-be disciples of the spoil-sport group, which also protests White Day and Christmas.</p>
<p>“We’re saying you don’t have to enjoy Christmas or Valentine’s Day,” he said joylessly, adding that Kakuhido is also taking aim at Halloween.</p>
<p>“Just spend the day doing normal things. Our enemy is formidable, but we are ready for a long, drawn-out war.”<br /></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-46950878374582354162017-02-12T01:35:00.001-08:002017-02-12T01:35:12.935-08:00Cross River commend Ayade for providing transformers (Read full details)<div align="center"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-225614" src="http://ift.tt/2lChLVa" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
<p>Some residents of communities in Obudu Local Government Area, Cross River have lauded Gov. Ben Ayade for providing them with seven 300KVA transformers to improve power supply.</p>
<p>NAN reports that the benefiting communities are Okutia, Ukpe, Betia, Ohon, Bebwagbon, Ikwumukera and Pan New Layout. Dr Peter Ogban, a leader in Okutia community, told NAN on Sunday that the governor had fulfilled one of his campaign promises to the community.</p>
<p>According to him, the transformers would improve power supply and boost economic activities in the area. “We have been living in darkness for a long time. This transformer is like a new born baby to us and we will protect it.</p>
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<p>“I must commend our governor, for fulfilling his promise to improve electricity supply in this community,” he said. A traditional head in Betia community, Mr Ashipu Adie, said that electricity was essential for community development.</p>
<p>Adie thanked the state government for choosing the community as one of the beneficiaries of the gesture.</p>
<p>Mr Solomon Ubi, the Youth Leader of Ohon community, said constant power supply in the area would encourage the youths to engage themselves in meaningful ventures to generate income.</p>
<p>“Power supply is very crucial to the development of any society. “I can assure you that when this transformer is connected to the grid, our young men and women will engage themselves in profitable ventures,” he said.</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-58108081891989658362017-02-12T01:05:00.003-08:002017-02-12T01:05:36.447-08:00‘Catastrophic’ fire conditions scorch Australia…Read full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">This screen-grab from video footage taken from a New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service aircraft and released by the NSW Rural Fire Service on February 12, 2017 shows a bushfire near Leadville in New South Wales. Eastern Australia was bracing for severe "off the scale" fire conditions on February 12 as it baked in a heatwave that has broken temperature records and sparked dire warnings from authorities.<br />Handout / New South Wales Rural Fire Service / AFP</p>
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<p>Eastern Australia endured severe “off the scale” fire conditions Sunday amid a record-breaking heatwave that sparked dire warnings from authorities.</p>
<p>While bushfires are common in Australia’s arid summer, climate change has pushed up land and sea temperatures and led to more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons.</p>
<p>“The conditions for Sunday are the worst possible conditions when it comes to fire danger ratings,” New South Wales (NSW) state Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters Friday.</p>
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<p>“They are catastrophic, they are labelled catastrophic for a reason, they are rare, they are infrequent, and to put it simply, they are off the old conventional scale.</p>
<p>“It’s not another summer’s day. It’s not another bad fire weather day. This is as bad as it gets in these circumstances.” Fitzsimmons said Sunday afternoon several homes may have been lost in bushfires across the state.</p>
<p>Some 2,500 firefighters were battling more than 80 blazes in NSW, with 32 “not contained”, the Rural Fire Service said.</p>
<p>The organisation added that a person from a fire at Boggabri, a small town in northwestern NSW some 470 kilometres (292 miles) from Sydney, was flown to the harbour city after suffering burns.</p>
<p>Further north in Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology said Sunday numerous February temperature records were being broken across the state as the mercury soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).</p>
<p>Temperature records were also breached across NSW on Saturday, the weather bureau said. Cooler conditions were forecast to come through later Sunday.</p>
<p>Australia has warmed by approximately 1.0 C since 1910, according to the biannual State of the Climate report from the Bureau of Meteorology and national science body CSIRO released in October.</p>
<p>The number of days each year that post temperatures of more than 35C was increasing in recent decades except in northern Australia, the report said. Meanwhile, rainfall has reduced by 19 percent between May to July in southwestern Australia since 1970.</p>
<p>“Black Saturday”, the worst firestorm in recent years, devastated the southern state of Victoria in 2009, razing thousands of homes and killing 173 people.<br /></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-116926473159110072017-02-12T01:05:00.001-08:002017-02-12T01:05:35.699-08:00North Korea conducts ballistic missile test<p><img src="http://ift.tt/2lxsd4H" alt="p" /></p>
<p><b>North Korea has fired a ballistic missile in the first such test since Donald Trump took office as US president.</b></p>
<p>Mr Trump assured Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that “America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100%”.</p>
<p>The missile flew east towards the Sea of Japan for about 500km (300 miles), South Korean officials say.</p>
<p>Mr Abe said the test was “absolutely intolerable”. Japanese officials say the missile did not reach its waters.</p>
<p>Speaking at a joint conference during a visit to the US, Mr Abe added that Mr Trump had also assured him that he was committed to “further enforcing our alliance”.</p>
<p>During his election campaign, Mr Trump said US defence commitments to Japan and South Korea were unfair and also called for Japan to pay the full cost of stationing US troops on its soil.</p>
<p>North Korea has conducted a number of nuclear tests in the past year that continue to alarm and anger the region.</p>
<p>Sunday’s launch took place at 07:55 local time (22:55 GMT Saturday) from the Banghyon air base in North Pyongan province on the west side of the Korean peninsula.</p>
<p>The missile reached an altitude of about 550km (350 miles), according to a South Korean official quoted by Reuters news agency, and appeared to be a Rodong medium-range missile.</p>
<p>In January, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned that his military was close to testing long-range missiles capable of reaching the United States and carrying nuclear warheads.</p>
<p>Mr Trump derided the claim in a tweet, saying: “It won’t happen.”</p>
<p>South Korea’s foreign ministry said that “North Korea’s repeated provocations show the Kim Jong-un regime’s nature of irrationality, maniacally obsessed in its nuclear and missile development”.</p>
<p>Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga confirmed the missile had not reached Japanese territorial waters, adding that Tokyo would make a “strong protest” to North Korea over the incident.</p>
<p>There has so far been no comment from North Korea.</p>
<p>On a visit to South Korea last week, US Defence Secretary James Mattis said that any use of nuclear weapons by North Korea would be met with an “effective and overwhelming” response.</p>
<p>He also reconfirmed plans to deploy a US missile defence system in South Korea later this year.</p>
<p>North Korea conducted its fifth test of a nuclear device last year, and claims it is capable of carrying out a nuclear attack on the US, though experts are still unconvinced that its technology has progressed that far.</p>
<p>Source: BBC</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-78432419892516761132017-02-12T00:50:00.001-08:002017-02-12T00:50:07.119-08:00Cambodian opposition to meet after leader’s shock resignation…Read full details<div align="center">
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<p class="wp-caption-text">Sam Rainsy, who has been at the forefront of the kingdom's opposition scene for two decades, announced his resignation from the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in a letter posted on social media late Saturday.<br />PHOTO:AFP</p>
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<p>Cambodia’s opposition party was set to meet Sunday after the shock resignation of its founder and leader, an official said, with the movement increasingly boxed in by the country’s strongman premier.</p>
<p>Sam Rainsy, who has been at the forefront of the kingdom’s opposition scene for two decades, announced his resignation from the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in a letter posted on social media late Saturday.</p>
<p>His departure casts doubt over the prospects of a party that poses the only genuine challenge to PM Hun Sen’s 32-year rule in 2018 elections.</p>
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<p>Rainsy, who has been living in self-imposed exile since 2015 to avoid convictions and lawsuits he says are politically motivated, did not elaborate on the reasons for his resignation.</p>
<p>But analysts say it was likely an attempt to dodge new legislation proposed by Hun Sen’s government that would bar convicts from serving as party leaders and could lead to the CNRP’s dissolution if Rainsy stayed on.</p>
<p>Party officials have been tight-lipped on the development, but Rainsy’s deputy released a brief statement Sunday saying the exit was “an honourable decision made in consultation with the leaders of the party”.</p>
<p>The CNRP’s deputy public affairs chief said an urgent meeting would be held in the afternoon to chart the party’s future.</p>
<p>“#CNRP is holding a Permanent Committee meeting at 2PM today, followed by Steering Committee meeting, in light of #SamRainsy resignation,” Monovithya Kem wrote on Twitter.</p>
<p>Political analyst Ou Virak called the development a “new low” for a party that has been floundering under mounting pressure from Hun Sen’s government as polls approach.</p>
<p>Rights groups accuse the authoritarian premier of a sweeping crackdown on critics and rivals ever since he nearly lost his office to the CNRP in 2013.</p>
<p>“The ruling party has been tightening its grip slowly but surely,” Ou Virak told AFP, adding that local commune elections set for June would be “an uphill battle” for the CNRP.<br /></p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371577643959799739.post-60664610779724722252017-02-12T00:35:00.003-08:002017-02-12T00:35:12.821-08:00In Pictures: Meet Late Eric Arubayi’s Wife & Son (See Photos)<p><img src="http://ift.tt/2kyGwSd" alt="p" /></p>
<p>Gospel artiste and 3rd runner up of West African Idol 1, Eric Arubayi, died yesterday at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital after a brief illness.</p>
<p>He’s pictured above with his wife, Chinonso Arubayi and son. Eric Arubayi had just celebrated his 3rd wedding anniversary last two months, Dec. 28th 2016. He was just in his mid-30s. May his soul rest in peace, amen.</p>
<p>There is an unconfirmed report that Eric Arubayi died after taking an expired malaria drug.</p>
<p>More photos below…</p>
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Michael Uzoma Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00077179309408107987noreply@blogger.com0