Army kills 14 terrorists, rescues 21 hostages (Pictures)
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the nigerian army said it had neutrialised 14 boko haram insurgents and rescued 21 hostages in pulka village in gwoza local government area of borno1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the insurgents had on tuesday ambushed military escort at amdaga area in pulka and burnt one passenger vehicle as well as abducted some travelers1 brig.-gen. texas chukwudirector of army public relations who disclosed this in a statement in maiduguri on friday said the terrorists were alleged to have haboured the insurgents that ambushed the civilian vehicle1 the troops have nutrialised 14 boko haram and rescued 21 civilians comprising six women and 11 children1 troops of 192 battalion of 26 task force brigade of operation lafiya dole in conjunction with civilian joint task force neutralised the insurgents on thursday1 the troops engagedand subdued the terrorists following a superior fire power of troops in the village1 four men injured during the attack are being attended to at the military hospital he said1

Sahara Desert: Study shows how vegetation can be improved
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precipitation also increased as much as 0.25 millimeters per day on average in regions with wind farm installations1 a study has shown that a massive wind and solar installation in the sahara desert and neighbouring sahel would increase local temperature precipitation and vegetation thus benefiting the region1 wind and solar farms are known to have local effects on heat humidity and other factors that may be either beneficial or detrimental to the regions in which they are situated1 the wind and solar farms simulated in the study would cover more than nine million square kilometers and generate on average about three terawatts and 79 terawatts of electrical power respectively1 in 2017 the global energy demand was only 18 terawatts so this is obviously much more energy than is currently needed worldwide li said1 the model revealed that wind farms caused regional warming of near-surface air temperature with greater changes in minimum temperatures than maximum temperatures1 the greater nighttime warming takes place because wind turbines can enhance the vertical mixing and bring down warmer air from above according to the study1 according to its lead author li yan a postdoctoral researcher in natural resources and environmental sciences at the university of illinois thestudy is among the first to model the climate effects of wind and solar installations while taking into account how vegetation responds to changes in heat and precipitation1 this was a doubling of precipitation over that seen in the control experiments li said1 in the sahel average rainfall increased 1.12 millimeters per day where wind farms were present1 this increase in precipitation in turn leads to an increase in vegetation cover creating a positive feedback loop said li1 solar farms have a similar positive effect on temperature and precipitation but unlike the wind farms the solar arrays have very little effect on wind speed1 the rainfall increase is a consequence of complex land-atmosphere interactions that occur because solar panels and wind turbines create rougher and darker land surfaces said the papers co-author eugenia kalnay from university of maryland1 the increase in rainfall and vegetation combined with clean electricity as a result of solar and wind energy could help agriculture economic development and social well-being in the sahara sahel middle east and other nearby regions according to the study1

China launches marine satellite to monitor climate change
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china sent a new marine satellite into orbit on friday to help improve understanding of maritime waters and climate change1 a long march-2c rocket carrying the hy-1c satellite took off at 1115 a.m. from the taiyuan satellite launch centre in north chinas shanxi province1 the satellite hy-1c will help monitor ocean color and water temperatures providing basic data for research on the global oceanic environment according to the state administration of science technology and industry for national defence1 its data will also be used in the survey of the resources and environment of chinas offshore waters islands and coastal zones marine disaster relief and sustainable utilisation of ocean resources said the administration1 with a design life of five years the satellite was developed by china spacesat co. ltd. under the china academy of space technology1 fridays launch was the 284th of the long march rocket series1

Data theft: British Airways vows to compensate customers
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were extremely sorry for what has happened cruz said friday1 british airways will pay compensation to customers whose data was stolen in a sophisticated and malicious hacking attack its boss said friday1 we are 100 percent committed to compensate them ba chief executive alex cruz told bbc radio1 we will compensate them for any financial hardship that they may have suffered1 ba has launched an urgent investigation into the data breach which involved 380000 bank cards1 the stolen data comprised customer names postal addresses email addresses and credit card information1 the 15-day hack did not involve travel or passport details and the breach has now been fixed1 ba took out full-page adverts in the uk newspapers on friday to apologise while shares in parent group iag slid three percent in early morning london deals1 the carrier had revealed overnight that the personal and financial details of customers making bookings on the ba website and mobile phone app between august 21 and september 5 had been stolen1 there was a very sophisticated malicious criminal attack on our website1 he added that the company first became aware that something had happened on wednesday evening1 the moment we found out that actual customer data had been compromised thats when we began an all out immediate communication to our customers. that was our priority1 police and relevant authorities have meanwhile been notified1 the national crime agency said it was assessing the matter while the information commissioners office added it would also be making enquiries1 anyone who believes that they may have been affected is advised by ba to contact their bank or credit card provider and follow their recommendations1 the airline added that customers due to travel could check in online as normal1 iag also owns spanish carriers iberia and vueling as well as irish airline aer lingus1

Maradona named coach of Mexican club Dorados
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argentine soccer legend diego maradona a 1986 world cup winner has been appointed coach of mexican second division team dorados the club said on its website on thursday1 the club issued a short video on their social media channels with the messages welcome diego and make it a 10 the argentina greats shirt number as a player1 although dorados who are based in sinaloa state in northwest mexico gave no further details mexican newspapers said maradona had been hired to replace francisco gamez1 dorados fired gamez earlier on thursday after a poor start to the season that brought three points out of a possible 15. they are 13th in the 15-team league joint bottom of the table1 the 57-year-old former barcelona and napoli forward is considered one of the greatest players of all time after a career that peaked in 1986 when he captained argentina to their second and last world cup title1 but drug-addiction overeating and alcoholism put a sharp end to an otherwise glorious career and in 2000 he nearly died following a cocaine overdose1 maradona previously had short stints coaching clubs in argentina and the united arab emirates but his longest spell in charge was with argentina who he led at the 2010 world cup in south africa1 he will be presented by dorados this weekend and will debut as coach on sept. 15 when the club faces cafetaleros de tapachula1

Turaki, Ortom submit nomination forms to PDP
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he added that though the ortom as a sitting governor has the first right of refusal he was ready to go into contest with any other person that wants to go in1 mr. taminu turaki one of the numerous presidential aspirants of the opposition pdp and benue governor samuel ortom have submitted their nomination and expression of interest forms for the general elections1 he said that the aspirants were motivated by the assurances of the party leaders to conduct credible primaries1 turaki represented by the spokesman of his campaign organisation mr. sola atere said he would not step down for anybody but would support anyone that emerges as pdp candidate1 he also dismissed insinuation that turaki was fronting for somebody and noted that he would not do such a thing given his pedigree1 it is just impossible for turaki to step down. he is a man of honour once he has set out for a task he accomplishes it1 the question of fronting for anybody does not arise if he fronting for anybody the person would be paying the bills. he cannot change from his good ways1 we have been to 32 states and the reception has been very good and excellent1 the special adviser to the benue state governor on special duties mr abraham kwanghngu who also submitted forms for governor samuel ortom said that the governor was ready to go into the partys primary1 kwanghngu said that the pdp constitution did not give room for automatic ticket1 turaki a former minister of special duties and inter-governmental affairs who submitted the completed forms on wednesday explained that all the aspirants agreed to support whoever emerges as the partys candidate in 2019 presidential election1 we are going to participate in the primaries and i can assure you that the governor will be sure of victory. so we are not even thinking that we shall get automatic ticket1 the party belongs to all it doesnt belong to anybody or any group of individuals that can stop somebody from entering the party1 the doors of the party are always wide open and decisions to enter the party are taken by individuals1 the governor decided after full consultations with people of benue state and the leadership of pdp both at the state level and at the national level agreed that he comes back to pdp kwanghngu1 a governorship aspirant from oyo state seyi makinde who also submitted his form said that the defection of some politicians from the pdp in oyo state including former governor rasheed ladoja would not affect his sure victory in 20191 we wont say that the exit of anybody even if it is a single individual wont have an impact because this is a game of number1 but if you look at the people that came into the party when we all came back to the home we jointly built with other people you will notice that when sen. rasheed ladoja and others decided to leave the party majority of the people they came with did not leave with them1 twenty nine local government chairmen of pdp were presents today out of 33 same with the state executive 80 per cent of our state executive still intact and these are committed members of the party1 i think that at the end of the day we gained more people by governor ladojas decision to leave the party than when he was actually with usmakinde said1 another pdp governorship aspirant from imo state sen. anyanwu said that the party had a solid structure in the state to reclaim pdp mandate lost to governor rochas okorocha of the all progressives congress1

Breaking: Homosexuality legal says Supreme Court
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the position of the court then was that overturning the outdated law was the job of parliament which can decide on scrapping laws3 indias supreme court has legalised homosexuality and gay sex and decriminalised section 377 of the indian penal code holding out promise of a new dawn in personal liberty and sexual orientation3 chief justice misra observed that lgbt community has same rights like any ordinary citizen. respect for each others rights and others are supreme humanity. criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible3 no one can escape from their individualism. society is now better for individualism. in the present case our deliberations will be on various spectrums cji misra said3 sustenance of identity is the pyramid of life cji misra added3 no one can escape from their individualism. society is now better for individualism.indias chief justice3 indias supreme court had in 2013 restored section 377 a british-era law that bans gay sex. it had overturned a landmark judgement by the delhi high court in 2009 which had ruled that consenting intercourse between two adults was not illegal3 the five judge-bench headed by chief justice of india dipak misra delivered the much awaited verdict on thursday according to3 section 377 of the indian penal code bans carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man woman or animal3 gay sex is punishable by up to 10 years in jail under the 1861 law. prosecution under section 377 is however not common but activists complain that authorities use the law to harass or scare gay people3 after the 2013 verdict five high-profile petitioners bharatnatyam dancer navtej johar documentary filmmaker sunil mehra restaurateur ritu dalmia hotelier and historian aman nath and business executive ayesha kapur challenged it and became the human faces of this battle3 before their entry the battle was fought since the early nineties by ngos the naaz foundation being one of them3 while reserving the verdict on july 17 this year misra and justices r f nariman a m khanwilkar d y chandrachud and indu malhotra brushed aside as far-fetched the arguments from opponents of decriminalisation of section 377 that it could also legalise incest group sex and sodomy3 the top court had also said no one should have to live in fear because of their sexuality3 the five petitioners had argued that section 377 violates rights principles enshrined in the constitution like equality before law no discrimination based on religion race caste sex or place of birth and freedom of speech and expression3

Chaos as lawyer appears in Court in traditional dress
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by yakubu uba2 a mentally sick lawyer ibrahim waley on thursday caused a stir during sitting at a yola high court when he joined his colleagues lawyers at the front row while clad in traditional dress as against the formal gown and wig2 a news agency of nigeria nan correspondent at the court reports that waley who arrived the jam-packed court hall while judgement was being delivered took his seat at the wrong place to the surprise of those in court2 as at the time of his arrival judgement was being delivered on a suit filed by some aggrieved all progressives congress apc members seeking the nullification of the recent congresses conducted by the party in the state2 looking confident that he was in the midst of his colleagues waley rebuffedentreaties by a journalist who offered him alternative seat insisting that as a lawyer he must sit in the front row like other lawyers2 attracted by his noise a court staff approach and pleaded with him to accept the offer of the journalist but he declined2 attempt to convince ibrahim to sit on other alternative seats or move out of court room since all the front seats were occupied by lawyers resulted in a heated argument making justice abdul-azeez waziri to suspend reading his judgement briefly calling for order2 after being forced out of the court ibrahim continued to protest what he described as an infringement on his right to sit in the front row2 a judicial staff who spoke on condition of anonymity told nan that waley was before his mental problem a known lawyer and politician2

Raid on Edwin Clarks house: IGP Idris sacks 3 policemen, one more to go
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the inspector- general of police mr ibrahim idris has approved the dismissal of three of the four policemen who carried out illegal search in chief edwin clarks residence in abuja1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that four policemen on sept. 4 illegally carried out search in the abuja residence of clark1 the officers are apno.18858 insp. godwin musa apno. 225812 insp. sada abubakar and apno. 225828 insp. yabo paul1 a statement by the force spokesman acting dcp jimoh moshood on thursday in abuja said that apno. 158460 asp david domnic was placed on interdiction pending the decision of the police service commission1 moshood said that dominic was queried and is being investigated for discreditable conduct negligence of duty and an act unbecoming of a police officer1 he said that the the offences against the officer were serious and dismissal from service was inevitable1 the spokesman said that the dismissal of paul abubakar and musa was upheld after they were tried under oath in orderly room for discreditable conduct1 moshood said the dismissed officers were also tried for illegal duty disobedience to lawful order and other misconduct contrary to the rule of law1 he said that the suspect informant ismail yakubu had been charged to the upper area court mpape abuja for giving false information and telling falsehood that misled police action1 the news agency of nigeria nan also report that the police has apologised to clark over the unauthorised search of his residence by the four policemen.nan1

Chinese Consortium begins work on Mambilla hydro electric power plant soon
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president muhammadu buhari has received assurances from the joint venture partners assigned to construct the 3050 megawatts mambilla hydro-electric power plant that all processes leading to the start of work would soon be completed to pave way for the commencement of the project early next year1 at a meeting thursday in beijing with professor lyu ze xiang the president of cgcc the construction company president buhari asked to be briefed on time lines for the commencement of work following his highly successful meeting with the chinese leader xi jinping1 the nigerian president who likened the mambilla to chinas three gorges dam said given the significance of the project to nigerias socio-economic development there was a need for its speedy completion1 i am very pleased with the concern you have shown for the significance of this project he told the head of the construction giant adding i would like you to ensure its speedy completion1 xiang informed president buhari that nigerian officials and the project consultant would meet in two weeks to address the questions raised by president xi for more detailed and updated feasibility and sustainability studies. he said a team had already been set up to work on the financing aspect1 we fully understand the importance of this project to the economic and social wellbeing of nigeria. in two weeks we will sit down with the parties for the economic and sustainability analysis. it would take about four weeks to conclude the update he assured1 according to the lead contractor pre-commencement work would thereafter begin dealing with access to site and putting in place the necessary support infrastructure such as power water and transportation1 our target is to commence the project early next year he told president buhari shortly before the nigerian leaders departure at the conclusion of his six-day official trip to china1

Osinbajo lights up Abuja market with Tradermoni
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this programme is for the petty traders selling in the markets it is not for bigger traders. it is for the petty traders to improve their businesses. for now we are giving you n10 000 if you pay back in six months or less you will get another n15 000. we want to encourage petty traders so that they can have sufficient amount to improve their businesses1 vice president yemi osinbajo literally lit up the utako market in abuja as he arrived thursday to witness the disbursement of collateral and interest free loan tradermoni to petty traders1 osinbajo told the traders that in line with the agenda to spread prosperity and reduce poverty the federal government will continue to initiate and sustain programmes aimed at uplifting nigerians at the bottom of the pyramid especially petty traders regardlessof socio-political background1 the scheme is part of the social investment programme of the buhari administration1 so far the programme has been launched in lagos kano katsina abia and osun states and would be extended in quick succession to traders in all the states of the federation before the end of 20181 the vice president said every petty trader is eligible to benefit from the scheme and urged petty traders across the country to take advantage of the scheme to improve their businesses1 he also used the opportunity to interact with the traders while also delivering a message of support from the buhari administration1 he assured beneficiaries that the amount given to them would be increased if they paid back their loans within the stipulated period adding that president muhammadu buhari himself was interested in the welfare of the traders1 according to the vice president the one we did before was for big traders under the geep programme we gave them as much as n100 000. if you do well with this one we are giving you now we will increase the amount1 everybody can benefit from this scheme the president himself has said that he wants to make sure that those who are selling small items in the markets benefit from this programme1 when we give you this money we want you to pay back and no interest is involved1 earlier on arrival at the market prof. osinbajo went round interacting with petty traders before he proceeded to address traders who had thronged access roads around the market to receive him1 the vice president was accompanied to the programme by two ministers of state industry trade and investment hajiyaaisha abubakarand zainab ahmed among other top government officials1

Osinbajo, Oshiomhole, Tinubu, Ganduje storm Osogbo for APC flag-off rally
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he said if elected oyetola would move the state forward and consolidate on the positive achievements of gov. aregbesola1 ahead of the sept. 22 governorship election in osun vice president yemi osinbajo and mr adams oshiomhole the national chairman of the all progressives congress apc on thursday stormed osogbo to flag-off the partys campaign1 also at the rally were oyo state governor abiola ajimobi his ondo counterpart rotimi akeredolu and gov. ibikunle amosun of ogun among others1 osinbajo while presenting the apc flag to gboyega oyetola said the partys candidate would emerge winner by sept. 221 the vice president appealed to the electorate to come out en masse to vote for oyetola1 in his remarks oshiomhole described oyetola as a tested and trusted politician who would perform excellently1 he said the partys candidate has passion for the sustainable development of the state adding that he would not disappoint the people of the state1 if you know where this state was eight years ago before gov. aregbesola administration and now you will understand there is need to vote for oyetola for continuity1 oyetola has the capacity to translate his vision into reality and that why i am appealing to you to vote for him during the election and he will not dissapoint oshiomole said1 gov. ganduje who is the chairman of the campaign committee said a vote for apc candidate during the election would bring more development to the state1 asiwaju bola ahmed tinubu the apc national leader gov. rauf aregbesola his kano state counterpart abdullahi ganduje and dr. kayode fayemi ekiti governor-elect were also at the rally1 also speaking tinubu described oyetola as a reliable and committed person who would bring more development to the state1 he said oyetola would provide employment for the youths and also continue the good work of gov. aregbesola1 in his remarks gov. ibikunle amosun who described osun as a progressive state urged the residents to support the party to win the election1 he said if you love president buhari and the party vote oyetola1 osun is a progressives state and it had been like that for long we must not allow it to change1 i therefore implored you to vote for the party amosun said1 also gov. ajimobi appealed to the residents to vote for the party for continuity1 gov. akeredolu urged the partys members and the residents of the state to support apc to win the election1 dr fayemi described oyetola as a trustworthy and loyal party member. he said those who love president buhari and apc should vote massively for oyetola on sept. 221

Fracas at PDP secretariat as Atiku submits nomination form
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he however said that he had created thousands of jobs in his private businesses and knew how to lead a government that would do the same for nigeria1 violence erupted at the peoples democratic party pdp national secretariat on thursday as supporters of former vice president atiku abubakar who accompanied him to submit his presidential nomination form clashed with some thugs1 the aspirant arrived at about noon and while submitting his nomination form inside the party secretariat pandemonium erupted as some persons suspected to be political thugs attacked his supporters1 the development caused chaos as people scampered for safety causing stampede at the secretariat main entrance as the supporters especially women tried to rush into the premises1 the situation was however brought under control following the intervention of policemen who promptly fired gunshots into the air to dispel the thugs1 no arrest was made as the hoodlums escaped through different routes and it was not immediately ascertained if injuries were sustained in the fracas1 meanwhile abubakar said that he is seeking peoples democratic party pdp presidential ticket to make nigeria work1 his media office said he made the statement after submitting his nomination form at pdps national secretariat in abuja on thursday1 abubakar sad that he was saddened by the fact that 11 million nigerians excluding the millions more who never had a job since leaving school had become unemployed since may 29 20151 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that abubakars supporters arrived at the secretariat at about 9 a.m. drumming and dancing while waiting for him1 it weighs deeply on my heart that nigeria has become the world headquarters for extreme poverty according to the world economic forum and the world poverty clock1 i am not happy that there are so much killings and terror across the country that the global terrorism index rates nigeria as more terrorised today than she was in 20151 i am not happy that nigeria is perceived to be more corrupt today than she was in 2015 having moved 12 steps backwards from 136 in 2014 to 148 today in the transparency internationals corruption perception index1 136 is bad enough 148 is simply unacceptable and shameful especially under a government that claims that fighting corruption is its priority said abubakar who himself had been accused by his former boss olusegun obasanjo of being corrupt1 abubakar called on all pdp delegates and all nigerians to join him at the struggle to make nigeria work again1 let us work together to create the right conditions for investments to flow in and flourish to create jobs for our people. lets work together to send poverty packing1 let us together reduce corruption so that our resources will be deployed to our national priorities. let us work together to fight all types of terrorism and other crimes1 lets work together to restructure nigeria for better governance and to unite our peoples. lets get nigeria working again he said1

Shiite protest forces Iraq to shut port as one dies
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iraqs main seaport closed down on thursday following violent clashes between protestors and security forces in the southern city of basra in which one demonstrator died and 25 more were injured the previous night1 southern iraq heartland of the shiite majority has erupted in unrest in recent weeks as protesters express rage over collapsing infrastructure power cuts and corruption1 port employees said that all operations had ceased on thursday morning at basra port as the entrance was still blocked off and trucks and staff were unable to get in or out of the complex1 residents in basra a city of more than 2 million people say the water supply has become contaminated with salt making them vulnerable and desperate in the hot summer months. hundreds of people have been hospitalised from drinking it1 overnight protesters blocked the entrance to the nearby umm qasr port the main lifeline for grain and other commodity imports that feed the country.[nl5n1vr55n]1 they blocked the highway from basra to baghdad and set fire to the main provincial government building where they had been demonstrating for a third night1 public anger has grown at a time when politicians are struggling to form a new government after an inconclusive parliamentary election in may. residents of the south complain of decades of neglect in the region that produces the bulk of iraqs oil wealth1 earlier on wednesday the third day of clashes security forces sprayed tear gas and fired into the air to try to disperse demonstrators. according to health sources the dead protester was struck in the head by a smoke grenade during the clashes1 the deaths of five protesters in clashes with security forces on tuesday added to the fury. security and health sources said 22 members of the security forces had been injured in tuesdays violence some by a hand grenade1

Caning of lesbians against Islamic compassion: Mahathir Malaysian PM
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mahathirs government swept into power in may after campaigning on a reform agenda but has been unconvincing in its handling of matters relating to race religion and minorities in the multi-racial country1 malaysian prime minister dr mahathir mohamad stoked further legal controversy over homosexuality when he denounced the caning of two muslim women for attempting lesbian sex1 the caning sentence had sparked in malaysia outrage and raised fears about the treatment of the lesbian gay bisexual and transgender lgbt community1 the women had pleaded guilty to charges under islamic laws forbidding lesbian sex. they were caned on monday in front of dozens of people at a sharia court in terengganu a conservative state in the east prompting an outcry from human rights activists who described the punishment as torture1 mahathirs government has appeared divided about the lgbt community while the premier himself had been silent on the caning and recent attacks on transgender people and marginalised groups in the muslim-majority country1 in a video posted on his twitter account mahathir said the caning did not reflect the justice or compassion of islam1 it was the womens first offence he said which warranted a lighter sentence such as counselling1 this gives a bad impression of islam the 93-year-old leader said. it is important that we show islam is not a cruel religion that likes to impose harsh sentences to humiliate others1 the lgbt community is routinely persecuted in malaysia where it is seen as a threat to conservative values1 his comment came after the indian supreme court ruled homosexuality as legal1 the caning followed a series of incidents in recent weeks that civil rights groups say illustrate growing hostility against gay and transgender people1 mahathirs comment got a prompt response from a muslim leadertan sri harussani zakaria theperak mufti who urged all parties to look at the legal and not political benefits of the public caning of the women1 harussani said the caning was meant to teach the offenders a lesson and the caning did not maim torture or injure them1 there is a way to do it of which the cane was not raised high and it was not brutal. from an islamic perspective the caning was meant to teach them a lesson.that was why the caning was open to the public as it was meant to teach and act as a deterrent to others1 the offenders meanwhile will not repeat the act or risk being caned again harussani told reporters here after delivering a keynote address at the wacana kesejagatan ummah 20181 last month a gay bar in kuala lumpur was raided by police and religious enforcement officials while a transgender woman was beaten up by a group of assailants in seremban near the capital1 the minister in charge of islamic affairs also came under fire including from other ruling party lawmakers after he ordered the removal of portraits of two lgbt activists from an art exhibition1 malaysia describes oral and anal sex as against the order of nature. civil law stipulates jail for up to 20 years caning and fines for offenders although enforcement of the law is rare1 muslims are also governed by state-level islamic laws most of which carry provisions outlawing same-sex acts1

No debt crisis in Africa AfDB
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chinese loans are mainly dedicated to the infrastructure in africa which is the prerequisite to attract the foreign direct investment. if a country has good infrastructure the investors will come and they will create jobs and generate more income for the governments1 as insinuations mount that china is heaping africa with debt dr. akinwumi adesina president of the african development bank afdb has denied the alleged debt crisis in african countries1 western nations accused china of hoodwinking poor african nations into debt overload1 let me be very clear that africa has absolutely no debt crisis adesina told the press after a discussion at the high-level dialogue between chinese and african leaders and business representatives which was closed tuesday as part of the focac beijing summit1 african countries are desperate for infrastructure. the population is rising urbanization is there and fiscal space is very small the afdb president said1 they are taking on a lot more debt but in the right way1 africa saw an overall debt-to-gdp ratio of 37 per cent last year which albeit up from 22 per cent in 2010 is within the reasonable range for low-income countries adesina said1 he stressed that the ratio is markedly lower than 100 per cent or 150 per cent of many higher-income countries and over 50 per cent of emerging economies1 for years china has been providing money-starved african countries with loans that are urgently needed to build roads power plants and factories as infrastructure is considered the precondition for african countries to propel industrialization and achieve prosperity1 china is saddling poor nations with unsustainable debt ray washburne head of the u.s. overseas private investment corporation opic alleged recently1 according to him the large-scale infrastructure projects run by the chinese are not economically viable1 washburne is not the first to warn of growing debt linked to chinese infrastructure projects1 international monetary fund imf managing director christine lagarde in april cautioned chinas belt and road partners against considering the financing as a free lunch1 sri lanka formally handed over commercial activities in its main southern port in the town of hambantota to a chinese company in december as part of a plan to convert 6 billion of loans that sri lanka owes china into equity1 meanwhile african observers say that chinese investments in africa will not add any debt burden to the continent. in the long run they will ease it1 he spoke on the sidelines of the forum on china-africa cooperation focac beijing summit1 prior to focac china downplayed confrontation that it is saddling developing countries with unsustainable levels of debt1 chinas ministry of commerce explained that that mounting debt was already commonplace before incursion of china into the continent1 yet worries over high debt levels associated with chinese-backed projects have been in the spotlight in the recent weeks particularly after malaysian prime minister mahathir mohamads visit to beijing earlier this month in which chinese projects worth of tens of billions were left canceled for now over debt concerns1 controversy also came in december when the state-owned china merchants holdings co. ltd. gained control of the sri lankan port of hambantota on a 99-year lease as the government sought to negotiate spiraling debts to chinese creditors1 in april international monetary fund president christine lagarde cautioned that foreign partners should not consider chinese-backed infrastructure projects a free lunch and last month a u.s. development official told reuters that chinese projects were leaving african countries saddled with unsustainable debt1 chinese commerce vice minister qian keming looked to parry concerns over chinese projects in africa in a news conference link in chinese arguing that debt issues in africa long preceded the rise of chinese investment there and that challenges facing african economies were global in nature1 the world economy has been in a difficult recovery global trade and investment have been sluggish and commodity prices have fluctuated at a low level he said1 chinese president xi jinping had also been emphatic as he warned firms that the funds provided by the country are not for vanity projects in africa but are to build infrastructure that can remove development bottlenecks1 the president also warned the firms to respect local people and the environment where projects were being executed1 xi said at a business forum before the start of a triennial china africa summit their friendship was time-honoured and that chinas investment in africa came with no political strings attached1 china does not interfere in africas internal affairs and does not impose its own will on africa1 what we value is the sharing of development experience and the support we can offer to africas national rejuvenation and prosperity xi said1 chinas cooperation with africa is clearly targeted at the major bottlenecks to development. resources for our cooperation are not to be spent on any vanity projects but in places where they count the most he said1 china has denied engaging in debt trap diplomacy but xi is likely to use the gathering of african leaders to offer a new round of financing following a pledge of 60 billion at the previous summit in south africa three years ago1 source with additional report1

Radio Kwara workers insist on sack of Sole Administrator
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there has been no improvement since he came2 by olayinka owolewa2 the workers had embarked on the strike on wednesday over lack of operational equipment and poor staff welfare2 a correspondent of the news agency of nigeria nan who visited the radio station on thursday reports that the premises located on police road in ilorin metropolis were still under lock and key2 nan also reports that the workers used their vehicles to block the main entrance of the station completely preventing access to the premises2 the workers also denied the general manager of the station alhaji adedeji adebowale entrance into the premises as he remained inside his official vehicle when nan visited the radio station2 speaking with our correspondent the chairman of radio kwara chapel of radio television theatre and art workers union of nigeria rattawu rasaq aremu said the strike would continue as long as akorede remained in office2 our main agitation for now is for the sole administrator to be removed2 if he is removed right now as i speak with you we will resume and continue further deliberations with the government2 his removal will bring peace and sanity back to the station because he is running his administration all alone without consultation with our management and staff2 he knows little about broadcasting what is the point if we are not being carried along2 workers of kwara state broadcasting corporation radio kwara on thursday continued their strike insisting that government must sack their sole administrator dr muideen akorede2 anyone can just come and see our premises we want akorede to go aremu said2 he further said that the agitation was not about salary alone insisting that the workers were also protesting the lack of operational equipment in the media outfit2 aremu questioned the propriety of workers collecting salaries without justifying it due to no fault of theirs2 he urged the workers to remain resolute until akorede who is also the senior special assistant to the governor on media was removed2 but akorede had in a statement on wednesday confirmed the release of n5million as part of the subvention for the radio station2 he said that he had always engaged the management of the station and its union leaders on issues regarding their operational expenses2 akorede added that the delay in releasing funds to the station was due to the economic challenges the country was facing2 he said the monthly allocation to the state was received on monday while salaries and overheads of parastatal agencies including radio kwara were expected to be paid before the end of the week2 akorede stressed that like other parastatal agencies subventions to media houses were being paid regularly2 subvention he said was always released directly to the station and disbursed based on the budget and operational needs as approved2 he said the state government had prioritised payment of salaries as first line charge followed by operational expenses of parastatal agencies2

NFF presidential aspirant faults LMC over aborted NPFL
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by emmanuel afonne7 nan reports that election into the executive committee of the nff is scheduled to hold on sept. 20 according to the amended timetable of the sani katu-led electoral committee2 okoye the proprietor of bimo football club of lafiastated this this in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja while reeling out his six-point agenda ahead of the forthcoming nff board election2 nan recalls that an emergency joint consultative meeting of the 20 npfl clubs and the lmc met in abuja in august and declared the 20172018 league season concluded after 24 matches2 the meeting said that the decision was against the backdrop of the adverse circumstances in the administration of football in the country which resulted in the indefinite suspension league leading to huge fixture congestion for both league and cup competitions2 the decision meant that none of the 20 npfl clubs would be relegated to the lower league while four would be promoted from the nigeria national league nnl to bring the number of the npfl clubs for the 201819 season to 242 but okoye said that the termination of the npfl with 13 games still remaining while teams were separated from each other with just few points can best be described as match fixing2 this is the first time in the history of nigeria football where the league was concluded with 13 matches to go2 four people just sat down and decided to award lobi stars fc the npfl title2 we all know that we have a problem it is only in nigeria that you know the winner of the league from the beginning of the season. we have to stop this okoye said2 mr chinedu okoye presidential aspirant in the sept. 20 nigeria football federation nff electionhas faulted the decision of league management company lmc to end the nigeria professional football league npfl season with 13 matches left to play2 okoye said if elected president he would tell nigerians what the football secretariat got from sponsors annually2 there is sponsorship money from coca cola and other big companies you cannot run nff like a cabal or your fathers property because it has a mandate to develop football in nigeria2 nff collects 4.3 million dollars every year from fifa for the development of football in nigeria including the payment of state football associations as well as female football but unfortunately these monies get into individual pockets2 is that the way to grow no. we dont need nff president that will go and watch arsenal when his national team is playing a friendly game that is what we have currently in nigeria but it has to stop2 i am talking about transparency and accountability in the nff and i will be ready to answer anybody that will come to me to know how much comes into nff and how much goes out2 in this current administration you dare not ask because if you do you are pushed out the following day okoye added2 the nff presidential aspirant noted that the annual financial grant from fifa was basically meant for the development of football at the grassroots with fa chairmen taking the driving seats and not to be spent on frivolities2 he said there is no facility and there is no age grade competition in nigeria. children from age eight to 18 dont have any competition2 again the issue of doping in our games has to stop. if i become the nff president the people that dope will have no place in our sport2 according to okoye time has come when nigerians should find out how football especially the leagues are run in the country2

FCT APC adopts indirect primaries, warns against money politics
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also mr yamawo tanko director satellite town development department stdd said that the indirect primaries would be done by the party delegates2 by jessica dogo2 similarly the party adopted indirect primaries for its elections2 the chairman abuja municipal area council amac mr abdullahi candido said this at a meeting with stakeholders on thursday in abuja2 candido however described the act of using money for elections as unnecessary adding this usually leads to voting of wrong candidates into offices2 we have advised our party members especially our excos to approach this election with no thinking of unnecessary monetary incentives2 if they do our fear is that inducement by aspirants could lead to a party getting a wrong candidate for the election and therefore they should de-emphasise the issue collections of little stipends from party aspirants2 they should identify the best whether he has money or he doesnt have money he said2 candido further explained that the indirect primaries mode was healthier and would curb the excesses of hooliganism during elections2 the fct all progressives congress apc has warned political aspirants against monetary incentives to voters during the 2019 elections2 tanko said that the delegates include party excos from the ward local governments the states and some political office holders2 this will be the indirect primaries not the direct primaries where every card-carrying member of the party will queue up and elect a candidate2 it is going to be purely party excos. i believe it is going to be a hitch free primaries tanko said2 in his remarks abdulmalik usman chairman fct apc said that the constitution of the party allows direct and indirect primaries as well as consensus2 usman explained that the indirect primaries was adopted so as to maintain peace in the fct adding that it has always been like that in the previous elections2 we have been one family since the beginning of crises in apc we have never witnessed crisis in fct he said2 earlier sen. sidi ali who read the communiqu said that the executive and stakeholders unanimously approved the position of indirect primaries2 ali noted that the indirect primaries would help produce credible candidates for the 2019 general elections2

Jubilation at Utako market as Osinbajo inaugurates TraderMoni
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by chijioke okoronkwo9 tradermoni is a federal governments initiative aimed at providing two million petty traders across the country with collateral-free loans before the end of the year4 tradermoni which had lagos abia and kano as its pilots states would be inaugurated across the country2 the ecstatic traders cheered and hailed as the vice president went from stall to stall having one-on-one conversations with the sellers2 addressing the crowd osinbajo who spoke partly in pidgin english said that with tradermoni petty traders would be empowered2 there was jubilation at utako market abujaon thursday as the vice president prof. yemi osinbajo inaugurated the tradermoni scheme2 we give n10000 if pay back in six months then you get n15000 if you pay back you get n200002 we want to encourage petty traders so that they will have enough money to do their businesses we have done one before for the bigger traders that one is government enterprise and empowerment programmegeep n100000 to 1200002 if you do well with the n10000 n15000 n20000 then we can increase it everyone can benefit from this the president himself has said he wants to make sure that those who are selling in the marketselling pepper sugarcane tomato get the money2 so when you are given the money we urge you to make sure you pay back there is no interest you just take it and you pay back in six months i want all of us to make sure we register so that we can be given the money he said2 the small small traders no be big traders na small small traders we wan give money make them able to sell well have more money to sell2