20 ships discharge petroleum products, others at Lagos ports
News & Trends •
by aisha cole3 twenty ships are discharging petroleum products and other commodities at the apapa and tin-can island ports in lagos1 a statement by the nigerian ports authority npa on tuesday revealed that three of the ships would discharge petrol1 it explained that the other 16 ships would discharge buckwheat general cargo and diesel1 the statement added that other products to be discharged included aviation fuel frozen fish soya beans and bulk fertiliser1

National Youth Games: Okowa hails victorious Team Delta
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delta state governor senator ifeanyi okowa has congratulated the victorious team delta for which was held in ilorin1 the governor okowa who praised the doggedness and determination of the team said it came as no surprise the team came tops because delta state has been at the fore front of sports development in nigeria1 in a statement by his chief press secretary charles aniagwu governor okowa congratulated the team members their handlers and the management of the delta state sports commission on the record 4th consecutive victory at the national youth games1 the governor who attributed the successes recorded by the victorious team delta to the huge investments in grassroots sports by the state government1 from the revived headmasters and principals cup as well as the huge investments in sports infrastructure like the ozoro polytechnic stadium and the world class stephen keshi stadium asaba which hosted the just concluded african senior athletics championships tagged asaba 2018 delta is1 poised to continuously blaze the trail1 he further commendedthe federal ministry of sports for organizing such events that provides an avenue to bring the young people together encourage healthy competition and to improve their physical and mental development1 the governor assured the youths that the state government will do more to improve their welfare and charged team delta to continue to make the state proud1 delta state finished with a total of 67 medals made up of 27 gold 24 silver and 16 bronze to win the 2018 games. lagos which did not participate in the second and third editions emerged second after securing a total of 60 medals 23 gold 15 silver and 22 bronze. team bayelsa and ogun were joint third winning 34 medals 11 gold 7 silver and 16 bronze each1

Adeosuns Resignation: Patriotism, integrity under scrutiny
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by chukwudi ekezie2 adeosun may be lonely in her world with her career and future ruined but there are numerous like her in the system who need to be purged. nanfeatures1 the issues border on honesty integrity patriotism weakness and incompetence as well as relationship between the strong and weak in society among those holding public office and the institutions of governance1 adeosun is not the first nigerians public official found to have been involved in forgery1 at the inception of the fourth republic in 1999 the speaker of the house of representatives alhaji salisu buhari from kano state was found to have forged the university certificate which he presented to contest and win election into the assembly1 buhari resigned his position and membership of the assembly but with a kiss from former president olusegun obasanjo who granted him state pardon1 over the period many politicians have lost their electoral mandates at the court because they forged the certificates they used to contest elections. that was the case of christian abah a benue member of the house of representatives1 abah was found guilty of forging a diploma certificate he used to contest and win the 2015 election to represent adookpokwuogbadibo federal constituency he lost his seat but not his freedom1 aside the issue of certificate forgery many officials have been found to have compromised their positions by engaging in acts inimical to the public good1 a recent case is that of babachir lawal a former secretary to the government of the federation who used his position to award himself a contract for the cutting of grass at internally displaced persons camps in the northeast region1 in spite of calls by the national assembly for him to resign it took the indictment of an investigative panel chaired by vice-president yemi osinbajo to get him out of office1 but lawal still bestrides politics in adamawa his home state where he is seeking to oust gov. jibrilla bindow in the build up for the 2019 general elections1 former governors diepreye alamieyesiegha of bayelsa lucky igbinedion of edo and james ibori of delta were jailed for laundering state funds1 alamieyesiegha received state pardon after serving his sentence from then president goodluck jonathan who succeeded him as governor while ibori received a heros welcome from the government and people of delta after serving his prison term in britain where he was convicted1 igbinedion has yet to enjoy such privilege maybe because those who succeeded him in office especially adams oshiomhole national chairman of all progressives congress apc is still hurting over his mismanagement of state resources1 joshua dariye a serving senator is currently serving a 14-year jail-term for money laundering and mismanaging the resources of plateau from 1999 to 2007 as governor of the state1 numerous governors of the era including orji kalu of abia are still in court explaining how they managed the resources of their states1 in the cases of adeosun buhari and lawal no prosecution has taken place1 president muhammadu buhari appointed mr boss mustapha an adamawa politician as lawals replacement. in adeosuns case the president accepted her resignation and wished her well in her future endeavours1 the ruling apc has commended adeosuns courage for owning up that her national youth service corps nysc certificate was forged and resigning from the government1 it also commended the president for asking her to resign in line with the philosophy of the government of ridding the society of crime1 the resignation of mrs olukemi adeosun as minister of finance on friday sept. 14 for forgery has raised questions over the workings of nigeria1 some persons share the pdp view and demand that adeosun refund all monies she earned as commissioner for finance in her home state ogun for five years and as minister of the federal republic since 20161 while the debate on the fate of the former minister rages some have begun to ask about how she and others like her enter nigerias public service space1 nigerians are made to believe that before anyone gets into public office such person is put through security scrutiny to establish their background1 in this instance the department of state service carries out the assignment. at the level of the screening all issues related to the person including certificates are verified1 for persons whose jobs require the approval of the legislature the security report is made available to guide members to take decisions1 in adeosuns case this step was taken but it was said that members of the senate overlooked it1 adeosun a diaspora nigerian was born and raised in britain and returned to live and work in nigeria at the age of 341 she is currently 51 and that means that she has worked in nigeria for 17 years out of which seven was in the public service starting with her appointment as commissioner in 2011 and minister in 20161 she like many of her ilk is among millions of nigerians said to be excelling in their fields across the globe1 during the regime of obasanjo the government made serious efforts to attract them home to help develop the fatherland1 to achieve the goal obasanjo travelled all over europe and america to bring them home under the diaspora project1 that effort resulted in then rep. abike dabiri who chaired the house of representatives committee on diaspora pushing for the establishment of a diaspora commission1 based on the vision of obasanjo the diaspora group was granted privileges such as access to land and employment concessions in the hope that they would bring their expertise to develop the country being that they had better education and exposure than those at home1 the government institutionalised the practice such that some members of the cabinet like the late olugbenga ashiru minister of foreign affairs and ngozi okonjo-iweala minister of finance seconded to serve at home by international agencies like the world bank received salaries in dollars to make up for their pains in serving the fatherland1 there was also the case in the ministry of federal capital territory where the current governor of kaduna state malam nasir el-rufai then minister engaged some foreign-trained nysc members and paid them salaries higher than that of the permanent secretary of the ministry just because they studied abroad and possessed special skills1 many nigeria diaspora elements are children of the rich who sojourned out because their parents lack faith in nigerias disrupted education system. their parents want them to finish school on time to inherit the family business or join elite public and private institutions such as nigerian national petroleum corporation nigerian communications commission multinational oil companies and banks to sustain the family legacy.1 sometimes they do not return but when they do they jump queues especially in areas that they need to follow regulations and processes including the nysc scheme which requires every nigerian youth who graduates from university or equivalent institution before 30 to serve the nation for one year1 in cases where diaspora elements agree to serve they are often taken to places of their parents choices where though in nysc uniforms they are employees1 in some cases while serving they are made to supervise those they ordinarily ought to report to during the service as occurred in nigeria building and roads research institute about year 2000 when the director-general was an nysc member1 the man an associate professor at the time claimed like adeosun that he did not know that he should have served in the nysc scheme before accepting the job1 but the opposition peoples democratic party disagrees. the party is demanding the former ministers prosecution. it says the failure of the administration to prosecute adeosun is a demonstration of double standards in the fight against corruption1

Plateau killings: Buratai charges troops to be aggressive
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by johnson eyiangho4 you are very much aware of what is happening people are waylaid on the roads abducted and kept where it is very difficult to locate them and sometimes they get them killed. this is unacceptable he said. nan1 buratai said a situation whereby innocent citizens were waylaid abducted and killed indiscriminately should no longer be tolerated1 he gave the charge at a demonstration by the special forces newly inducted into the operation at riyom local government area of the state1 the operation safe haven should not remain in deterrent position but you must also be aggressive and deal with any criminal activities especially those that are bent on disturbing the peace killing and maiming people1 the chief of army staff lt.-gen. tukur buratai has charged troops of operation safe haven to be aggressive and decisive in dealing with armed bandits and other criminal elements operating on the plateau1 he however charged them to be professional but combat ready at all times noting that serious challenge still remains in the state in terms of the security1 the army chief said that the killings were still ongoing in the hinterland and other areas and directed the troops to penetrate those areas and clear the doubt of the criminal elements1 you are deployed here not to romance the criminals you are to deal with them decisively anybody seen carrying arms must be dealt with decisively1 if you give them chance then we will all regret it. therefore we cannot afford to give them chance1 you are not here to protect any ethnic or religious group we are dealing with criminals we are interested in criminal elements and they must be deal with decisively buratai said1

PDP’s Adeleke missing at TV debate, mocked by Omisore
News & Trends •
pdp’s adeleke missing at tv debate1 mocked by omisore1

Nomadic Senator Gemade, dumps APC, then PDP, now in SDP
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he was born on 4 september 1948 and he is today a chief of his tiv ethnic group1 senator barnabas gemade has now cut the image of a political nomad. a former peoples democratic party pdp national chairman gemade joined the all progressives congress in 2014 where he was handed the ticket to run for the senate seat in benue north east1 today gemade said he has moved again as he announced his defection from the pdp to the social democratic party sdp1 according to him he bolted out of pdp because governor samuel ortom betrayed him by giving benue north east senatorial ticket to someone else1 the 70-year-old politician has been around for long first in the boardroom before he plunged into politics1 then a few months ago the senator followed senate president bukola saraki to his old party the pdp along with a dozen other senators of apc1 gemade was the chief executive officer of the benue cement company bcc from 1985 to 1992. he was a member of the 19941995 constitutional conference during the military regime of general sani abacha1 he even served the regime as a minister and later became national chairman of the congress of national consensus party which was one of the parties sponsored by abacha1 after the return of politics in 1999 gemade became the chairman of the pdp when he was elected in the first national convention after the pdps electoral victory. he lost the seat two years later to audu ogbeh who is also from his state1 he was expelled from the pdp in 2003 for anti-party activities but later readmitted as a member of the board of trustees. he ran for the senate seat in 2011 and won on the pdp platform. the apc gave him a second ticket in 2015. and he won1 it remains to be seen whether his switching to the sdp will enable him return to the senate in 20191

Zamfara Gov. Abdulaziz Yari attacked in Gusau
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he urged politicians to enlighten their supporters on peace and stability in relations to all political associations and gatherings1 by ishaq zaki1 yari in a statement issued on sunday in gusau by malam ibrahim dosara his special adviser on media and public enlightenment cautioned his loyalists to desist from revenge1 he urged people of the state to be law-abiding citizens and avoid any form of violence in the name of politics1 any law-abiding citizen needs to respect the peaceful atmosphere concerning politics in zamfara1 the governor said that his administration had done a lot to stop loyalists and all youths especially supporters of apc from engaging in any activity that would endanger the peace among political associations and parties1 governor abdulaziz yari of zamfara state has condemned attack on his convoy by all progressives congress apc supporters who are loyalists to aggrieved governorship aspirants in the state1 news agency of nigeria nan reports that some apc supporters had attacked the governors convoy at lalan roundabout in gusau on sunday as he was travelling to kaduna1 the seven aggrieved governorship hopefuls including the deputy governor malam ibrahim wakkala had organised a rally in gusau on sunday where a multitude of their supporters turned out to receive them1 while the rallying aspirants and their supporters were coming into townthey ran into the governors convoy and the irate supporters attacked the governors motorcade destroying glasses1 however the quick intervention of the mobile police and governors security details who fired gunshots in the air dispersed the mob1 nan reports that calm has since been restored in the state capital after the confrontation1

Philippines bans small scale mining after landslide
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the philippines environment minister on monday ordered the stoppage of all small-scale mining activities in a mountainous region in the countrys north following major landslides after super typhoon mangkhut hit the country1 i officially order the cease and desist of all illegal small-scale mining in cordillera region environment and natural resources secretary roy cimatu told a media briefing1 mangkhut with hurricane-force winds well over 200 km per hour 124 miles per hour barreled past the northern tip of the philippines on saturday killing at least 50 people the majority of them due to landslides1 it then skirted south of hong kong and neighboring macau before making landfall in china1

Increase tax revenue to fund education Actionaid to FG
News & Trends •
by racheal ishaya6 nwaobia said the number of companies that were taxed would determine the amount of money put into the education system1 obi said this in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan on monday in lagos on the sidelines of a workshop on breaking barriers for girls education1 she tasked the governments to break the barriers to quality public education by improving tax revenue particularly corporate tax as a way of providing sustainable funding to the sector1 she listed some of the barriers to public primary education as poor school infrastructure violence and discrimination failure to recruit and retain good quality teachers among others1 if states commit to finding resources to increase the size of their education budget for globally agreed targets all children including the poorest and most marginalised will enjoy free quality public education obi said1 obi revealed that actionaid had received 6.2 million dollars grant from the norwegian agency for development cooperation norad to influence policy making and initiatives to increase the size and share of education budget1 in addition she said the project aimed at ensuring the public education system became more responsive to the needs of girls and marginalised children1 nan reports that about 10.5 million children are out of school in nigeria with the country investing only about seven per cent of its budget on education short of the unesco 20 per cent benchmark1 the country director actionaid nigeria mrs ene obi has urged federal and state governments to take decisive steps to increase the funds allocated to the education sector in order to improve the quality of education1 they note that money accruing from a proper tax regime can be useful in addressing infrastructure deficit in nigerias education sector1 statistics obtained from the federal inland revenue service firs show that out of the 450000 limited liability companies operating in nigeria no fewer than 125000 representing 27.7 per cent pay any form of taxes1 dr charles nwaobia an education stakeholder observed that the education tax act indicated that government intended to have a sustainable education system funded through tax1 he said the tax imposed by the act was meant to fund the federal states and local government educational institutions including primary and secondary schools1 two per cent shall be charged on the assessable profit of a company registered in nigeria1 the federal board of inland revenue shall assess and collect from a company the tax imposed by this act1 accordingly the higher education shall receive 50 per cent primary education 30 per cent and secondary education shall receive 20 per cent of the total tax collected in any one year nwaobia said citing a portion of the act1 experts observe that there is a link between the crumbling education service and evasion of tax by local and multinational companies in nigeria1

Merkel visits Algeria to discuss migration, terror
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algeria is a major transit route for migrants from sub-saharan africa attempting to reach europe via the mediterranean sea1 german chancellor angela merkel travelled to algeria on monday to discuss migration issues and how to combat terror1 the chancellor is also meeting prime minister ahmed ouyahia during the one-day trip1 merkel was also expected to address the long-standing conflict between algeria and its western neighbour morocco1 a planned visit in february 2017 was cancelled at the last minute as a result of bouteflikas health1 the president is 81 years old and has been in office since 19991 another aim of the talks with president abdelaziz bouteflika in algiers is to boost algerias role as a stabilising factor in north africa merkels office indicated1 the german government is under domestic pressure to cut migration1 one of the aims of merkels trip is to facilitate the deportation of algerian nationals whose applications for political asylum have been denied by germany1 germanys grand coalition plans to characterise algeria tunisia and morocco as safe countries of origin thus easing the repatriation process for the german authorities1 while in algeria merkel is to visit a girls high school initiated in 2008 by the german foreign office as part of its partners for the future programme1 she will also hold discussions with representatives of civil society1

Breaking: Acting Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed assumes duty
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mr president has a lot of confidence that we can do this very well together. we are working for mr president but at the end of the day we are working for the benefit of the citizens of our country1 newly appointed acting minister of finance mrs zainab ahmed has assumed duty 72 hours after president muhammadu buhari picked her to oversee the ministry following the resignation of mrs kemi adeosun on sept. 141 reports reaching nan say that the minister is studying her new office and reading the handover note1 it would be recalled that buhari appointed ahmed on friday to oversee the ministry of finance after the resignation of kemi adeosun who resigned following the outcome of an investigation into allegation made in an online medium of her certificate of exemption from national youth service corp nysc1 the certificate was later discovered not to be genuine1 meanwhile ahmed has described the task ahead of her in her new place of work as challenging1 the supervising minister made this known on monday when she was received by the permanent secretary federal ministry of finance dr. mahmoud isa-dutse alongside directors of the ministry1 these are very challenging times for our country. it means we are part of the economic team that has been charged with making sure there is economic stability in our country1 we have very serious revenue challenges and it is up to us to shore up the revenues of this country1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that until her appointment ahmed was the minister of state budget and national planning1 there are a lot of sacrifices that i know that you have done and we are going to push ourselves to still do more so that at the end of the day we will say alhamdulillah glory be to god she said1 she urged the ministry staff and officials to brace up for the challenges ahead noting that all hands must be on deck for her to succeed in her assignment1 the finance ministry has overtime been known to have very skilled personnel from interacting with some of you i know that there is a lot of skill set within the ministry and that i am in good hands1 i plan to work very closely with the whole of the directors most especially with the permanent secretary1 i want to declare that today the permanent secretary is my new next-of-kin. what that means is that i am going to work hand-in-gloves with him and i expect everybody to do the same thing1 there are some things i know about finance but there is a lot that i dont know and the knowledge resides in you1 i have been told that you are preparing handing-over notes or more correctly briefing notes i will be engaging each of you on a one-on-one basis with the permanent secretary so that i can have a complete view of what is in the ministry she added1 it can be recalled that mrs. zainab ahmed apart from being the minister of state budget and national planning have held several critical positions in the past including being the executive secretary of the nigeria extractive industries transparency initiative1 she was also the managing director of kaduna investment company and member of the national stakeholders working group nswg1

African multi-millionaires hit 7,100
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source63 there are 7100 multi-millionaires living in africa each with net assets of 10 million or more1 afrasia bank wealth report 2018 says that total private wealth held in africa is also expected to rise by 34 per cent over the next 10 years reaching 3.1 trillion by the end of 20271 we expect mauritius ghana rwanda and uganda to be the strongest performing wealth markets in africa during this period with 90 per cent to 150 per cent growth rates1 our projections for ethiopia mozambique zambia kenya botswana and namibia are also relatively solid 50 per cent to 80 per cent growth rates the report said1 tanzania south africa angola morocco egypt ivory coast and nigeria however have less favourable forecasts albeit positive at between 10 and 30 per cent mostly due to policy and economic factors that are seeing high net worth individuals hold back investments within these countries1 the african luxury sector generated about 6 billion in revenue in 2017 mainly through the purchase of luxury cars clothing and accessories watches private jets yachts and luxury hotels and lodges1 it rated rwanda and uganda as countries in east africa that are leading spots for wealth growth in africa1 the countries are projected to have some of the strongest performing wealth markets in africa in the next 10 years1 the analysis indicates that wealth held in africa has risen by 13 per cent in the past decade and by 3 per cent over the past year with mauritius topping the performing individual markets1 in terms of wealth growth in the past decade in east africa rwanda led the region with 74 per cent rate followed by kenya at 73 per cent then tanzania at 66 per cent and uganda at 56 per cent1 as at the end of 2017 kenya topped the region with the highest wealth that are held by individuals at 104 billion followed by tanzania and ethiopia at 60 billion1 there are over 320 centi-millionaires each with net assets of 100 million or more and 24 billionaires each with net assets of 1 billion or more1 the new report also shows that the average african individual has net assets of 2000 with more than 148000 high net worth individuals hnwis living in africa each with net assets of 1 million or more1 a large portion of luxury sector revenue in africa comes from luxury hotels and lodges with south africa being the main tourist destination1 in terms of wealthiest city in east africa nairobi beat its regional peers holding more than 54 billion of private wealth held by the high net worth individuals1 dar es salaam was second in the region at 25 billion followed by kampala at 16 billion and mombasa at 8 billion1 on the continent johannesburg topped at 276 billion followed by cairo at 140 billion then lagos at 108 billion and durban at 55 billion1 the major south african destinations for wealthy people are kruger national park cape town umhlanga and franschhoek1 in the rest of the continent major destinations included mauritius seychelles marrakech and casablanca in morocco cairo and sharm el sheikh in egypt serengeti in tanzania the masai mara game reserve in kenya livingstone falls in zambia and the okavango swamps in botswana1 in april the knight franks wealth report showed that kenya had created 180 new dollar millionaires last year growing the number of persons with a net worth of over 5 million to 12901 out of the 1290 dollar millionaires 90 were worth 50 million with less 10 individuals estimated to have a net worth of over 500 million1 over the same period 40 tanzanians entered the club of dollar millionaires worth over 5 million pushing the countries total to 2501 within the continent south africa tops in having the wealthiest individuals holding 722 billion followed by egypt at 330 billion and nigeria at 253 billion1

China vows to retaliate if Trump imposes new tariffs
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the u.s. and china have already imposed tariffs on 50 billion dollars worth of goods each1 dpanan china has promised to retaliate if united states u.s. president donald trump goes ahead and slaps tariffs on 200 billion dollars worth of chinese imports1 the escalation of trade disputes does not meet the interests of either party spokesman geng shuang said adding that the chinese government had proposed solving the trade tensions through negotiations1 shuang was commenting on a wall street journal report that trump has already decided to raise 10 per cent tariffs on 200 billion dollars worth of chinese imports1 the official announcement of the tariffs could come as early as this week1 beijing will have to take necessary counter-measures a chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on monday1 if trump goes ahead with the new round of duties about half of all of chinas imports to the u.s. will end up being affected1 meanwhile chinas stock market has dropped to the lowest level since 20141 the shanghai composite index dropped 1.1 per cent on monday after weeks of steady losses1 trump said on thursday he was under no pressure to make a deal with china1 our markets are surging theirs are collapsing he tweeted1

Nigeria blasts HSBC over bleak Buhari prophecy
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with the coming of president buhari it is not a secret that corruption corrupt individuals banks and other corporate entities that aided corrupt practices are under investigation for various offenses1 the nigerian government has slammed a caveat on the prophecy by the global banking giant hsbc which predicted that the second term of president muhammadu buhari would stunt the economy1 government recalled how the bank soiled its hands with millions of us dollars yet-to-be-recovered abacha loot and continued until a few months ago to shield the stolen funds of one of the leaders of the nigerian senate1 it wondered how a bank with such a reputation could wield the moral right whatsoever to project that a second term for mr. buhari raises the risk of limited economic progress and further fiscal deterioration1 rather we ask them to heed president buharis constant refrain return our stolen assets then see how well we will do said malam garba shehu senior special assistant on the media who issued a statement on behalf of the presidential villa1 from the facts available to our investigation agencies hsbcs put down on president buhari is no more than an expression of frustration over the administrations measures put in place which has abolished grand corruption the type which this bank thrives on in many countries1 they may also just be out to discredit the president out of the fear of sanctions and fines following the national assets that are stolen1 dismissing the banks bleak scenario for nigeria post 2019 government said on the contrary what killed nigerias economy in the past was the unbridled looting of state resources by leaders actively supported by hsbc1 for many of them including their friends in the media they would rather have president buhari out of their way for business as usual to return1 our investigation agencies believe that hsbc had laundered more than usd 100000000 for the late general sani abacha in jersey paris london and geneva1 among these accounts on the records are ac s-104460 hsbc fund admin ltd. jersey 12000000 ac 37060762 hsbc life europe u.k 20000000 and ac 38175076 hsbc bank plc. u.k 16000001 the bank is also suspected in the laundering of proceeds of corruption involving more than 50 other nigerians including a serving senator as earlier indicated1 in a book secrecy world inside the panama papers investigation published in 2017 jack bernstein told the story of global money laundering highlighting the unenviable place of the hsbc1 this is a bank that states and federal authorities in the u.s. forced to pay 1.92 billion to settle charges of money laundering fined 1.2 billion in hong kong for systemic deficiencies in bond sales and was made to pay 100 million in currency rigging settlement as reported by the telegraph of 18th january 20181

David Mark joins train to IBBs Minna Hilltop
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sen. zainab kure who is the director general david mark presidential campaign organisation told nan that mark is a good materialneeded to reposition the country for optimal growth1 sen.david mark has arrived minna capital of niger state to hold a private meeting with the former military president ibrahim babangida1 nan reports that sen.david mark arrived at about 1.30pm in company of sen. zainab kure sen. tunde ogbeha and sen.suleman adokwe current chairman of the senate committee on information and national orientation1 the 70 year-old mark who has been in the senate since 1999 obviously came to discuss his presidential ambition with babangida who had hosted several other aspirants1 among them were the senate president bukola saraki former vice-president atiku abubakar former governors attahiru bafarawa sule lamido and ahmed makarfi all contesting under the peoples democratic party platform1 said one of marks aides who didnt want his name mentioned yes my boss is discussing with ibb. firstto brief him and seek his prayers and support for the task ahead1 the meeting lasted for two hours at the hilltop residence of the former military ruler1 he was a former military governor communications minister and senate president of the federal republic. so he possesses all the required political acumen to lead our country she said1 zainab also hoped that the independent national electoral commission inec would conduct a free fair and credible election1 i am appealing to all eligible nigerians to support the electoral processes to enable the commission discharge its constitutional mandate she said1 she said that the task to ensure a peaceful conduct of the 2019 election is the joint responsibility of all stakeholders especially the politicians1 david mark also was the communications minister during babangidas rule1985-19931

Nigerias HDI rises by 2 points in latest UNDP report
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key regional development trends as shown by the hdi and other human development indices showed that sub-saharan africa region has seen a 35 per cent growth in hdi since 19901 a new report byunited nations development programme undp has shown nigerias human development index rising by two points and life expectancy also rising by eight years1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the hdi report showed that nigerias hdi value for 2017 was 0.532. it was 0.530 in 2016. and it has shown a consistent increase since the measurement began in 2003. from that base year when the hdi was estimated at 0.443 it has now increased to 0.532 in 2017 marking a 14.4 per cent over the period1 the countrys life expectancy at birth was also put at 53.9 years while between 1990 and 2017 nigerias life expectancy at birth has increased by 8.0 years the report showed1 but overallnigerias ranking did not change from 157th out of the 189 countries sampled1 there are other good news in the report. years of schooling increased by one year and expected years of schooling increased by 3.3 years according to the report1 nigerias gross national income gni per capita increased by about 87.4 percent between 1990 and 2017 the undp report showed1 the report put nigerias population at 190.1 million in 2017 while the countrys projected population in 2030 is 264.1 million1 norway switzerland australia ireland and germany led the ranking of 189 countries and territories in the latest hdi and with the exceptions of 2007 and 2008 norway has topped the hdi chart every year since 20011 however niger the central african republic south sudan chad and burundi have the lowest scores in the hdis measurement of national achievements in health education and income with niger at the lowest for several years1 a child born today in norway could expect to live beyond 82 years old and spend almost 18 years in school while a child born in niger could expect only to live to 60 and spend just five years in school1 the hdi criteria are designed to be broad enough to be inclusive of countries social political and economic diversity while being indicative of a countrys quality of life1 the report measured national achievements in human development index in health education and incomestandard of living in 187 countries. nigerias rising population put at 190 million appears to be a drag in the index computations1 rwanda ranked highest country in the world with most women in parliament. the country has held the top spot since 2008 with the women holding more than half the seats in the parliament1 out of the 189 countries for which the hdi is calculated 59 countries are in the very high human development group and only 38 countries fall in the low hdi group1 while no african country is in the very high human development rank six african countries are now in the high human development group. the countries are the small island nations ofseychelles 0.797 62 mauritius 0.790 65 algeria algeria 0.75485 botswana 0.717 101 libya 0.706 108 and gabon 0.702 110. the surprise entry is libya despite the ravaging wars in the country. fourteen countries in the region are now in the medium human development group. they are south africa 113 0.699 egypt 115 0.696 mo1 others are ghana 140 0.592 equatorial guinea 141 0.591 kenya 142 0.590 sao tome and principe 143 0.589 kingdom of e-swatini 144 0.588 zambia 144 0.588 angola 147 0.581 and cameroon 151 0.5561 in the low human development group countries that ranked higher than nigeria are tanzania 154 0.538 and zimbabwe 156 0.535. nigeria followed at 157 0.5321 nigeria was rated better than senegal164th ivory coast 170th rwanda158th lesotho159th mauritania159th madagascar161st uganda162nd benin163rd togo165th. djibouti ethiopia gambia guinea congo dr guinea bissau mozambique liberia. others rated lower to nigeria are mali burkina faso sierra leone eritrea niger burundi chad south sudan central africa republic1 at 101 per 1000 live births sub-saharan africas adolescent birth rate is more than twice the world average of 44 per 1000 live births1 while sub-saharan africas maternal mortality ratio is 549 deaths per 100000 live births some countries in the region such as cape verde have achieved a much lower rateof 42 deaths per 100000 live births1 the un said while health education and income levels have improved overall across the globe wide inequalities both among and within countries are casting a shadow on sustained human development1 while these statistics present a stark picture in themselves they also speak to the tragedy of millions of individuals whose lives are affected by inequity and lost opportunities neither of which are inevitable said achim steiner the administrator of undp1 inequality in all its forms and dimensions between and within countries limits peoples choices and opportunities withholding progress explained selim jahan director of the human development report office at undp1

Zlatan Ibrahimovic joins the 500 Goal Club
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i was close to the goal. it reminds me of a goal i did in ajax he said. it came from a cross and i turned around and i hit it. i was just trying to hit the goal and it went in1 swedish striker zlatan ibrahimovic made history on saturday scoring his 500th career goal in stunning fashion but it wasnt enough to lift the los angeles galaxy to a win over toronto fc1 the six-foot-five 1.95 metre ibrahimovic released a perfectly-timed roundhouse kick in the 43th minute that fooled goalkeeper alex bono for his 17th goal of the season1 the goal cut the deficit to 3-1 and sparked a three-goal galaxy rally but the defending mls champions would go on to win 5-3 in front of a crowd of 30700 at bmo field in toronto1 i am happy for toronto because they will be remembered as my 500th victim said ibrahimovic1 ibrahimovic came into saturdays game tied for second in mls scoring1 the 36-year-old ibrahimovic has always had a flair for the dramatic and he did just that in becoming the third active footballer to reach the milestone joining lionel messi and cristiano ronaldo1 ibrahimovic scored 62 of his goals for sweden with the rest coming while playing for malmo ff ajax juventus inter milan barcelona ac milan paris saint-germain manchester united and now the galaxy1 jonathan osorios 75th-minute go-ahead goal halted a three-goal galaxy comeback and helped give toronto some much needed points in their playoff push1 jay chapman added an insurance goal in stoppage time with a low shot to the corner1 it is an incredible achievement said galaxy coach dominic kinnear of ibrahimovics goal. the guy is a great goal scorer and it is a memorable one for him for many reasons1 asked if it was memorable one for the coach kinnear said in about 10 years from now1

Typhoon Mangkhut kills 25 in Philippines, moves to China
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the dead included many killed in landslides a girl who drowned and a security guard crushed by a falling wall. in addition to the 10 killed in the philippines a woman was swept out to sea in taiwan1 typhoon mangkhut killed at least 25 people in the philippines as it smashed homes and left behind torrents of floodwater and is now on course to plough into chinas coast1 because communications and electricity were knocked out across much of the region where about five million people were in the typhoons direct path officials are still assessing the human and material cost1 in the northern town of baggao the storm collapsed houses tore off roofs and downed power lines. some roads were cut off by landslides and many remained submerged1 farms across luzon which produces a large portion of the nations rice and corn were sitting under muddy floodwaters their crops ruined just a month before harvest1 were already poor and then this storm happened to us. we have lost hope 40-year-old mary anne baril whose corn and rice crops were spoiled in the storm told afp1 we have no other means to survive she said through tears1 more than 105000 people fled their homes in the largely rural region1 an average of 20 typhoons and storms lash the philippines each year killing hundreds of people and leaving millions in near-perpetual poverty1 the massive storm considered this years strongest left key agricultural areas on luzon island underwater as its fierce winds tore trees from the ground and rains unleashed dozens of landslides1 the countrys deadliest storm on record is super typhoon haiyan which left more than 7350 people dead or missing across the central philippines in november 20131 mangkhut has weakened since blasting into the philippine coast on saturday but was packing sustained winds of 175 kilometres per hour 110 miles per hour as it hurtled toward chinas heavily populated southern coast1 rain and strong winds lashed hong kong sunday morning as the storm approached1 the citys observatory warned that mangkhut would pass 100 kilometres south of hong kong at around midday 0400 gmt local time as it raised the storm alert to its highest level1 water levels in the famous victoria harbour and fishing villages could surge by up to four metres authorities said and hundreds of residents have been evacuated to storm shelters as the observatory forecast severe flooding for low-lying areas1 shop windows were taped up and the normally traffic-clogged streets were deserted as the storm drew nearer1 the government has warned people to stay indoors but some were strolling in the park or along the waterfront sunday morning1 i went running this morning. i love fresh air and theres no one on the streets no cars. on normal days we cant see this said hao chen 28 who lives in the neighbourhood of tin hau on hong kong island1 some residents reported their buildings were swaying in the wind and parks were already strewn with broken branches by the early morning1

Victoria Beckham takes fashion label to London
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that came a step closer in 2017 with the formation of her victoria beckham limited vbl company thanks to a 30 million 39 million 34 million euros injection from private equity firm neo investment partners1 a decade after she launched her fashion labe in new york victoria beckham will exhibit at london fashion week for the first time on sunday1 the ex-spice girls singer oversees an empire comprising four clothing lines more than 400 retail outlets in over 50 countries and offices in london and new york1 at the outset beckham a longtime fashionista faced a daunting challenge convincing a competitive and demanding industry that she could make a lasting impression on fickle fashion fans1 many saw her as just another example of a celebrity wanting to have a fashion range with no formal fashion training andrew groves a professor of fashion design at the university of westminster told afp1 through hard work and determination she has proved those early critics wrong1 in the space of a decade beckham 44 has ventured into accessories expanded sales internationally and online and multiplied collaborations with the likes of reebok target and estee lauder1 her style has also evolved from the chic classicism that marked her first steps into haute couture to the more daring cuts and vibrant colours neon orange mint green lilac of more recent offerings1 its been an incredible journey even when things can be challenging. ive had to learn incredibly quickly she told the daily telegraph newspaper recently1 she claims the secret of her success is a tireless work ethic and the support of her family football superstar husband david and their four children1 beckham was blunt about the ambition for her brand to get bigger and bigger in a 2013 interview with the new york times magazine1 it will be a triumphant homecoming of sorts for a now widely-respected designer and entrepreneur1 it valued the brand at 100 million according to business of fashion magazine1 however vbl will look to reduce its losses which reached 8.5 million at the end of 2016 nearly double the previous year according to its most recent financial results1 running deficits of that volume is not unique in this industry and not necessarily a sign that she is any the less credible naomi braithwaite a fashion marketing and branding lecturer at nottingham trent university told afp1 it takes a time to build a brand and she is competing with labels that have a very long established history1 fashion professor andrew groves says beckham has what it takes to last for many years as a medium-sized brand1 groves added that beckham has all the right elements to last for many years as a medium-sized designer brand1 he noted her stated desire to build an empire hints at the overriding desire to continue to defy the early doubters1 as for the spice girls the most famous girlband in history has reformed for a 13-date tour in 2019 but without posh spice who has drawn a line under her first life as a pop star according to british media1 british vogue magazine featured beckham surrounded by her children on its october cover under the headline fashion gets real1 thats what im doing now she told the magazine1

WADA panel member quits over lifting of RUSADA ban
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today wada has unequivocally told the world the type of organization it is one that supports the desires of a handful of sports administrators over the rights of millions of clean athletes1 olympic champion beckie scott resigned from the world anti-doping agencywada committee which recommended ending russias drug suspension on saturday as the global watchdog defended its handling of the case1 wadas disclosure of the committees decision on friday drew criticism from athletes and other testing bodies who claim russian authorities have not met set benchmarks necessary for readmission1 the wada decision also came after a leaked document earlier this week which showed that the committee had initially recommended leaving the ban in place at next weeks meeting1 scotts resignation which was reported by the canadian broadcasting corporation and the bbc appears to highlight tensions within wada over the decision1 scott will retain her role as the head of wadas athletes committee reports said1 the rusada has been suspended by wada since 2015 when the global agency revealed a vast russian state-supported doping scandal to cheat at the 2014 winter olympics and for years beforehand1 wadas apparent u-turn on friday was condemned by us anti-doping agency chief travis tygart1 frankly it stinks to high heaven tygart said demanding wada release all relevant correspondence regarding the issue1 scott one of six members of wadas compliance review committee stepped down a day after it emerged the panel had given a green light for the sanction against the russian anti-doping agency rusada to be lifted at a board meeting in the seychelles on september 201 wada on friday said its compliance committee was recommending lifting the suspension after reviewing a letter from the russian ministry of sport1 this letter sufficiently acknowledged the issues identified in russia therefore fulfilling the first of the two outstanding criteria of rusadas roadmap to compliance wada said1 it said russia had also agreed to provide access to data and samples in its moscow laboratory to wada via an independent expert1 however in a separate statement issued on saturday wada suggested lifting of the sanction next week was not a foregone conclusion1 it said russia still needed to provide data from the drug-tainted moscow laboratory at the centre of the scandal within a set time frame1 if the crcs recommendation is approved by the wada exco on 20 september rusada will be declared compliant wada said1 however for the avoidance of doubt the second condition demands that wada receives a copy of the former moscow laboratorys database and the raw data via an independent expert within a strict time limit to be determined by the exco1 if this is not met in full then the crc will recommend to the exco that rusada is once again declared non-compliant1