Suspected Female Kidnapper Lynched In Ilorin

A woman suspected to be a kidnapper has been lynched in Ilorin the capital city of Kwara State.

An eyewitness told Channels Television that the woman was caught at an Islamic School while trying to forcefully take away a set of twins earlier on Monday morning.

It was gathered that the timely arrival of their mother resulted in the rescue of the children after which a mob descended on the suspect and set her ablaze.

The spokesman of the state police command, Ajayi Okasanmi confirmed the incident. He said some persons have been arrested in connection with the killing.

“Before we got the information, the deed had been done and as we speak, policemen are already there making effort to arrest the culprit and I can assure you we are going to do just that because it is lawless for people to take life of another human no matter the offence and allegation.”

He said residents should allow the law to take its course and not indulge in jungle justice.

President Buhari ‘Overwhelmed’ By Kindness From Nigerians(Photos)

President Muhammadu Buhari says he is overwhelmed by the kindness Nigerians have shown him, especially concerning his health.

The President said this on Sunday at his official residence in the Presidential Villa in Abuja, as he clocks 75.

“Across the country, people who are praying – whether Muslims, or Christians, or whatever they are; I was overwhelmed by the kindness from Nigerians that they are really bothered about my health,” he said.

The President, who chose to have breakfast just as another Sunday morning, was stunned by his members of staff who were already on the ground to celebrate him on his birthday.

He was warmly welcomed at his living room by his Chief of Staff, Mr Abba Kyari, alongside other staff members who sang for him and also presented him with a birthday card.

President Buhari who could not hide his joy said: “It’s a wonderful experience and I am very pleased.

“My staff, families, and friends succeeded in surprising me today by bringing cards and coming into photographs with me; I wasn’t expecting it at all.”

The President received the governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, who also paid him a visit with a birthday gift

.

He also got a surprise visit from Nigeria’s service chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin.

General Olonisakin wished President Buhari long life and the grace to lead the country on the path of development and progress.

Why EFCC Cannot Probe How DSS Spends Money – Former DSS Boss

A former Director of the Department of State Security (DSS), Mr Mike Ejiofor has explained why the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cannot beam its anti-corruption searchlight on the financial details of the DSS.

He said this on Friday when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s programme, State of the Nation.

“You have no powers conferred on you to investigate the spending of the State Security Service. And if he (Magu) has a problem, he should have gone to the sitting DG (Daura) to say I have a problem with your former DG,” he said.

Ejiofor’s comments come hours after the Senate had quizzed EFCC’s Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu, and Director-General of SSS, Mr Lawal Daura.

Both men were invited to explain the roles played by their operatives when EFCC attempted to arrest a former DSS boss, Mr Ita Ekpenyong.

Prior to the commencement of the sitting, the senator had ordered journalists out of the room from coverage.

The development, according to Ejiofor, is a normal one as it borders on national security.

He said, “That is the proper thing to do. In such sittings you don’t expect the press or members of the public to begin to begin to listen to some issues that are capable of jeorpardising national security interest.

“You can agree with me that both the EFCC Chairman and the DG, SSS agreed that the sitting should be held in camera instead of allowing the press to witness it. 

“That is my worry, we are talking about security, funding of security form this whole episode. There are certain things that should come to the public domain.”

He, however, reiterated the need for an enhanced synergy between the relevant security agencies in fighting crimes rather than acrimony.

The panel, chaired by Senator Emmanuel Paulker, had conducted its investigative hearings behind closed doors but the House of Representatives conducted the same probe on a live broadcast.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Francis Alimikhena, after his opening remarks at the hearing on EFCC/DSS clash, asked if any of the heads of the agencies in attendance had any observations or questions.

Ekpeyong, who served as the head of the DSS from 2010 to 2015, had been invited by the EFCC for his alleged role in the arms scam involving a former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd.), and other service chiefs who have since been arraigned.

While admitting Magu’s view that nobody is above the law, Ejiofor stated that the anti-graft agency, however, ought to follow some ‘due process’ in its planned arrest.

He also advocated ‘special’ protection for both serving and former heads of the DSS owing to them being in possession of classified information.

“Don’t also forget that this man, the former DG and previous DGs, not this one, in particular, are custodians of very vital information and the need some protection, even out of office. 

“So I don’t see how the Chairman of EFCC or EFCC on its own can go and obtain a warrant. You cannot put something or nothing, that has been my position,” he said.

Buhari Shares Photos To Encourage Farmers

President Muhammadu Buhari has shared photos of his farm where he says he grows fruits, vegetables, and rears cattle.

The president who shared the photos on Sunday said he is currently at his home town in Katsina state, Duara, where he will be spending sometime before proceeding to France for the ‘One Planet Summit’.

He said the reason for sharing the pictures was to inspire someone to take up farming.

“I’m spending a few days at home in Daura before I travel to France for the One Planet Summit. Today I paid a visit to my farm. I grow fruits & vegetables and keep cattle. I hope this will inspire one more person to take up farming. My vision is for a country that grows what it eats,” he wrote.

The President is expected to travel to France on Monday and will be accompanied by the governors of Adamawa, Kano and Ondo States, as well as the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Environment.

I’m spending a few days at home in Daura before I travel to France for the One Planet Summit. Today I paid a visit to my farm. I grow fruits & vegetables,& keep cattle. I hope this will inspire one more person to take up farming. My vision is for a country that grows what it eats pic.twitter.com/gMZIpHOtYk

— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) December 10, 2017
Themed ‘Climate Change Financing’, the summit which will kick off on Tuesday, is jointly organised by the United Nations, the World Bank Group, and the French Government in partnership with non-governmental organisations concerned about reversing the negative effects of climate change.

Before heading for the Summit venue, the Nigerian leader will attend a lunch hosted by President Emmanuel Macron of France for Heads of State and Governments at the Elysee Palace.

2017 Future Awards Winners

Entertainer, Ayodeji Balogun popularly known as Wizkid and British-born professional boxer, Anthony Joshua, are among those who bagged awards at the 12th edition of The Future Awards 2017 which held December 9, 2017, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.

With the mandate to celebrate and accelerate innovation among young Nigerians aged 18 – 31, TFAA acknowledges inspiring young people making a difference through social enterprise, social good, and creativity.

The hosts for the night were Adekunle Gold and Mimi Onalaja and, the keynote speech was given by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

See the full list below:

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Olamide Bada (29)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR COMEDY
Otolorin Kehinde ‘Kenny Blaq’ Peter (25)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR ART & CULTURE
Ayobami Adebayo (29)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR EDUCATION; ENDOWED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX
Samson Abioye (late)/ Oluyemi Oluwaseun Imole / Akanji Abayomi Gideon (26/29/23)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR JOURNALISM
Winner: Eromo Egbejule (27)

THE EDWIN GEORGE PRIZE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
Winner: Yagazie Eguare (30)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR ADVOCACY
Winner: Ayodeji Osowobi (27)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR NEW MEDIA
Winner: Femi ‘Kraks’ Bakre (24)

FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR ACTING
Winner: Sambasa Nzeribe (29)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE IN PUBLIC SERVICE
Winner: Dada Olabisi Mary (29)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR TECHNOLOGY
Winner: Chris Kwekowe (24)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR AGRICULTURE
Winner: Adetola Adeleke (31)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR BEAUTY
Winner: Anita ‘Brows’ Adetoye (26)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR FASHION AND DESIGN
Winner: Bisola ‘Ladybiba’ Adeniyi (25)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR MEDIA ENTERPRISE
Winner: Timilehin Bello (25)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE IN SPORTS
Winner: Anthony Joshua (28)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR ON AIR PERSONALITY (VISUAL)
Winner: Nancy Isime (25)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR ON AIR PERSONALITY (AUDIO)
Winner: Tisan Jeremiah Bako (31)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR MUSIC
Winner: Davido (25)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR BUSINESS
Winner: Bisola Borha (31)

THE FUTURE AWARDS AFRICA PRIZE FOR YOUNG PERSON OF THE YEAR
Winner: Ayodeji ‘Wizkid’ Balogun (27)

Trump Decision On Jerusalem Could Hurt Peace Process – Guterres

President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital might hinder the US drive for an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday.

His comments were in stark contrast to those of the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, who said it would “move the ball forward.”

The new US stance, criticized by Palestinians, Arab leaders and others as gravely damaging any prospects for peace, has given rise to swelling protests across the region in recent days.

Speaking on CNN, Guterres said he was pleased that Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner had been meeting with Israelis and Palestinians on a new peace plan after years of stalemate in the process.

“I am not saying that it will happen, but there was a hope that it would be possible to finally bring this horrible conflict between Israel and the Palestinians to an end,” Guterres said. 

“I think that the decision that was taken on Wednesday risks to compromise this effort,” he added.

But Haley suggested that fears of unrest over the Trump decision are overblown.

She told CNN that Trump was the first US president to have the “courage” to make a move that she said many Americans and others around the world supported.

– ‘To move the ball forward’ –

“When it comes to those people (who are) upset, we knew that was going to happen. But courage causes that… I strongly believe this is going to move the ball forward for the peace process.”

When a CNN interviewer asked repeatedly how the change would help the cause of peace, Haley suggested that it would simplify negotiations.

“Now they get to come together to decide what the borders look like, they get to decide the boundaries and they get to talk about how they want to see Jerusalem, going forward. 

“All we did was say, ‘this is not something we’re going to allow to happen in the middle of your negotiations.'”

Critics of the US shift say it will have the opposite effect: It has long been US policy that the critically sensitive status of Jerusalem — claimed as capital by both Israelis and Palestinians — must be saved for the end of peace negotiations, not taken off the table at the start.

Protests, sometimes violent, have flared across the region since Trump announced the new policy on Wednesday. Two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were killed in clashes on Friday, and two others died in Israeli air strikes in retaliation for rockets fired from the Palestinian enclave.

On Sunday, a Palestinian stabbed and seriously wounded an Israeli security guard in Jerusalem.

And in Beirut, Lebanese security forces fired tear gas and water cannon on Sunday at several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered near the US embassy.

AFP

Israel, Turkey Leaders Trade Insults Over US Jerusalem Decision

Relations between Israel and Turkey took a bitter turn Sunday as their leaders traded accusations of involvement in terrorism, days after the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would fight against the controversial declaration, describing Israel as a “terrorist state” that kills children, in a speech in Istanbul.

Hours later Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back, calling his counterpart a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers and supports terrorists, during an official visit to Paris.

The two countries had normalised relations in recent years, but Sunday’s flare-up came after Turkey was angered by US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Trump’s move has sparked protests in Muslim and Arab countries for four days.

“Palestine is an innocent victim… As for Israel, it is a terrorist state, yes, terrorist!” Erdogan said in a speech in the central Turkish city of Sivas. 

“We will not abandon Jerusalem to the mercy of a state that kills children.”

Erdogan earlier described the status of Jerusalem, whose eastern sector Palestinians see as the capital of their future state, as a “red line” for Muslims.

Netanyahu was quick to counter the assault when he spoke later during a press conference alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

“I am not used to receiving lectures about morality from a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers in his native Turkey, who jails journalists, who helps Iran go around international sanctions, and who helps terrorists, including in Gaza, kill innocent people,” he said. 

“That is not the man who is going to lecture us.” 

Erdogan has used his position as the current chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to call a summit of the pan-Islamic group on Wednesday. 

“We will show that applying the measure will not be as easy as that,” he added on Sunday, referring to the US recognition of Jerusalem.

He said it was “absurd” to deny the Jews’ “ancient connection” to Jerusalem.

During his speech, Erdogan held a picture of what he said was a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from Hebron, in the Occupied West Bank, being dragged away by Israeli soldiers.

Turkey and Israel had improved diplomatic ties in recent years but Erdogan has continued to defend the Palestinian cause and has regularly criticised Israeli policy.

AFP

Abducted Plateau PDP Chairman Regains Freedom

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State, Mr Damishi Sango, and four others, who were abducted on Thursday have regained their freedom.

According to the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, Mr John Akans, they regained their freedom on Sunday evening and are currently in a private residence in Abuja.

Sango, a former minister of sports, was abducted along with his son, a chieftain of the PDP Mr Emmanuel Mangnin, the driver and one other person in Jere while they were on their way to Abuja from Jos for the PDP’s National Convention.

Their abductors abandoned their vehicle by the roadside where it was discovered.

After their abduction, the Public Relations Officer of the Plateau State Police Command, Mr Tyopev Mathias, said the police were on the trail of the abductors and that they would soon be set free.

More to follow…

Israel Strike Kills 2 Palestinians – Gaza Officials

Palestinian protestors throw stones towards Israeli forces during clashes near an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on December 9, 2017, following the US president’s decision to recognize the city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

An Israeli air strike on a Gaza base of Hamas’s military wing killed two people on Saturday, health officials of the territory’s Palestinian Islamist rulers said.

The strike on a base in Nusseirat in the central Gaza Strip, one of several in the early hours, came amid protests across the Palestinian territories against US President Donald Trump’s deeply controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The Hamas health ministry in Gaza named the men as Abdullah al-Atal, 28 and Mohammed al-Safdi, 30.

It said that their bodies were only recovered several hours after the pre-dawn strike on a base of Hamas’s military wing in Nusseirat in the central Gaza Strip.

The militants did not say if the dead men were its members.

The strike followed three rocket attacks Friday night from Gaza into southern Israel.

“Today… in response to the rockets fired at southern Israeli communities throughout yesterday, Israel air force aircraft targeted four facilities belonging to the Hamas terror organisation in the Gaza Strip,” an English-language army statement said on Saturday. 

It said the targets were “two weapons manufacturing sites, a weapons warehouse and a military compound.” 

“In each target, several components were hit,” it added.

Israeli strikes on Hamas facilities on Friday night wounded 14 people, among them women and children, the Hamas medical services said.

They followed three rocket attacks during Friday’s Palestinian “day of rage” over Trump’s decision.

In one of them, a rocket hit the southern Israeli city of Sderot although Israeli public radio said it did not explode and did not cause any casualties.

The Israeli military said that its Iron Dome air defence system intercepted an earlier rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave.

It said it later detected a second missile launch, but had not found evidence that it had reached Israeli territory.

The military retaliated Friday with air strikes on what it said were two targets.

“In response to the projectiles fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip earlier today, Israel air force aircraft targeted a Hamas training compound and an ammunition warehouse in the Gaza Strip,” an English-language statement said.

Gaza security officials said that both targets were in the vicinity of Beit Lahiya, in the northern part of the strip, close to the border with Israel.

A previously unknown Salafist group calling itself the Salahedin Brigades claimed responsibility for one of the attacks.

But the Israeli army said it held Hamas responsible for all “hostile activity” originating from the territory under its control.

AFP

US Policeman Acquitted Of Killing Unarmed Man Who Begged For His Life

Officials in the southwestern US state of Arizona released a graphic video Friday showing an unarmed man sobbing and begging for his life moments before he was fatally shot by a police officer who was acquitted of murder.

It was the latest in a spate of killings that have prompted criminal charges against law enforcement officials.

Philip Brailsford, who shot and killed Daniel Shaver in the hallway of a hotel in January 2016, was acquitted of second-degree murder as well as reckless manslaughter by a jury on Thursday, according to USA Today.

Bodycam footage made public following the verdict showed Shaver, a married 26-year-old father of two, on his knees complying with the officers’ instructions over the course of several minutes and saying “Please don’t shoot me” and “Please don’t shoot.”

Shaver, who was inebriated, then appeared to reach to his back, possibly to pull up his shorts, before Brailsford fired five bullets at him with his AR-15 assault rifle.

Unlike several other high-profile cases in which African Americans were killed by police, both the police officer and Shaver were white.

A police report cited by local media said officers were responding to a report of a man seen holding a gun from his fifth floor hotel room.

Officers arrived at Shaver’s hotel room in the Mesa suburb of Phoenix and found him with a woman, whom his widow Laney Sweet later said was visiting with a male colleague who had stepped outside to call his wife.

Shaver was found to be unarmed at the time he was shot, but officers discovered a pellet gun in his room, which he used for his job as a pest-control worker. His hotel stay was also due to work travel.

The local police department defended Brailsford’s actions, saying he had acted in accordance with his training.

But Mark Geragos, Sweet’s lawyer, described the killing as an “execution,” according to local news outlet AZcentral. “The justice system miserably failed Daniel (Shaver) and his family,” Geragos said.

According to USA Today, the judge did not allow jurors to hear that Brailsford had etched the words “You’re Fucked” onto his service weapon because it could be prejudicial.

The verdict came the same day as former policeman Michael Slager was sentenced to 20 years for the killing of an unarmed black motorist Walter Scott — a rare conviction in a judicial system rights activists complain often allows police to operate with impunity.

AFP

LIVE UPDATE: PDP National Convention

Two years and nine months after it lost it’s 16-year grip on power at the Federal level, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is set to elect officials that will lead it in the quest to wrest power back from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It has been a long trouble-fraught road for the PDP to get to this point after the APC swept to victory in 2015.

After a wave of defections, legal battles to top officials battling corruption charges, the PDP believes it has a great chance of regaining power.

That process is meant to start in full force with today’s National Convention where eight candidates are racing to become the National Chairman. The Chairman of the Convention Planning Committee, is the Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa.

The number of cleared contestants stood at nine on Friday afternoon.

The aspirants are Uche Secondus, Gbenga Daniel, Jimi Agbaje, Rashidi Ladoja, Taoheed Adedoja, Tunde Adeniran, Raymond Dokpesi, Aderemi Olusegun and Chief Olabode George, who later withdrew from the race on Friday night.

George pulled out of the race on the eve of the race in protest. He claimed that the South West is already cheated with the entrants of aspirants from the South-South.

09.04am: Eagles Square Ready Amidst Tight Security

Its a quiet start to the commencement of the PDP Elective Convention as the venue of the convention, the Eagles Square is security tight. Delegates are seen strolling into the arena for the event of the day. Security operatives are standing right in front of the various voting boots strategically placed at the square awaiting the commencement of the event of the day.

10:20am: Delegates Trickle In As Makarfi Arrives

The National Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi arrives Eagle Square, venue of the 2017 Elective National Convention as other delegates gradually arrive the venue.

10:45am: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar Arrives

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar arrives Eagle Square, venue of the 2017 Elective National Convention. Abubakar, chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) recently resigned from the party and publicly announced his defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on December 3, 2017 in a live video broadcast.

'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom': Chris Pratt Tries To Save Dinos From Extinction In First Trailer(Video)

The sky is falling — but luckily for the dinosaurs of Jurassic World, Chris Pratt is around to save the day. Or get fried trying.

After a week of teases, the first trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdomarrived Thursday night, promising the most intense dinosaur action the Parkfranchise has ever seen.

Set four years after the first movie, we find former park administrator Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard, finally swapping her signature high heels for more practical footwear) attempting to recruit bitter ex-boyfriend and raptor whisperer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to lead a mission back to Isla Nubar to help rescue the reptilian residents, including his pal Blue, from the magma bombs of an erupting volcano.

As Owen puts it, “What could go wrong?”

So, so much.

Owen and baby Blue in a flashback scene. (Credit: Universal Pictures)More

Cue prehistoric creatures tooling around the remains of the amusement park. Then there’s Owen urging his team members to “run!” amid a cloud of smoke and rampaging dinosaurs. 

We get a killer Carnotaurus vs. T. rex confrontation. And finally our heroes’ gyrosphere careens toward an ocean-facing cliff amid a full-on stampede… and only one way down.

The T. rex takes down a Carnotaurus. (Credit: Universal Pictures)More

Also returning for more dino danger is Dr. Chaos himself, Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), who we see testifying at some kind of government hearing, telling the assembled politicos that “life will find a way.”

The dinosaurs face a new extinction event. (Credit: Universal Pictures)More

B.D. Wong is back as the scheming geneticist Dr. Henry Wu in the sequel to 2015’s blockbuster Jurassic World, while newcomers include James Cromwell, Geraldine Chaplin, Toby Jones, Ted Levine, and Justice Smith (from Netflix’s The Get Down), who looks like he’ll be sharing plenty of screen time with Pratt and Howard. J.A. Bayona directs.

Uganda Marburg Virus Outbreak Is Contained – WHO

Uganda has contained an outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus weeks after it emerged, the World Health Organization said Friday, praising improved response systems since the disastrous West African Ebola epidemic.

Three people died in the outbreak declared on October 17, which was the first in Uganda for three years.

Marburg virus is one of the most deadly known pathogens. Like Ebola, it is a haemorrhagic fever — it causes severe bleeding, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. It has a 21-day incubation period.

Uganda alerted WHO within 24 hours of the outbreak emerging, the UN health agency said in a statement.

A rapid response team was deployed to the eastern Kween district near the Kenyan border, while $623,000 (530,000 euros) of WHO funds were released immediately for the response led by Uganda and Kenya with international support on the ground.

“The response to the Marburg virus disease outbreak demonstrates how early alert and response, community engagement, strong surveillance and coordinated efforts can stop an outbreak in its tracks before it ravages communities,” WHO’s emergencies director Peter Salama said in a statement.

Breakdowns in WHO’s early alert system were massively criticised following the 2013 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that killed thousands.

Health experts said WHO’s failure to sound an early alarm intensified the Ebola crisis and raised doubt about the agency’s long-term credibility.

WHO has since made a strong push to intensify its rapid response to potentially significant outbreaks, notably in African countries with weaker public health infrastructure.


AFP

Palestinians, Israeli Forces Clash Over Trump’s Jerusalem Move

Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces on Friday after calls for a “day of rage” as US President Donald Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital sent shockwaves through the region for a second day.

Diplomatic fallout from the deeply controversial declaration also continued, with suggestions Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas could refuse to meet US Vice President Mike Pence on his visit to the region later this month.

The UN Security Council was to meet later Friday in an emergency session to discuss Trump’s move, which has drawn near universal condemnation, including from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Whether unrest would spread and spiral both in the Palestinian territories and elsewhere in the region was being closely watched.

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, was calling for a “day of rage” after its leader Ismail Haniya said a new intifada, or uprising, should be launched over Trump’s declaration.

Clashes and scuffles broke out in Jerusalem’s Old City as well as in other locations, including Hebron, Bethlehem and the Nablus area in the West Bank, after the main weekly Muslim prayers, but the unrest was limited so far.

Palestinians in some areas threw stones at Israeli forces, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

In Jerusalem’s Old City, about 50 police pushed back some 200 demonstrators while kicking and hitting them with their batons.

Protests were also held in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported one wounded from live fire and 21 from rubber bullets so far in the West Bank. Another 14 people were wounded in the Gaza Strip from a combination of tear gas and rubber bullets.

Demonstrations were also held in other Middle Eastern or Muslim nations, including Egypt, Malaysia and Turkey.

On Thursday, some 22 Palestinians were wounded from rubber bullets or live fire in sporadic clashes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Several hundred additional police were deployed in and around east Jerusalem’s ancient Old City, the location of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third-holiest site in Islam and where thousands attended the main weekly prayers.

Israel’s military has also deployed hundreds of reinforcements to the West Bank amid uncertainty over the fallout.

“It’s empty talk,” said a 20-year-old man who only gave his name as Omar as he walked toward Al-Aqsa for prayers. 

“No matter what happens, we know Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine not of Israel. Israel is an occupier.”

– ‘God knows where’ –
Trump’s announcement on Wednesday has been met by a worldwide diplomatic backlash, though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lavished praise on the president and called the declaration “historic.”

For Jewish Israelis, the declaration is a simple recognition of reality and validation of their view that Jerusalem is their 3,000-year-old capital.

Trump said his defiant move — making good on a 2016 presidential campaign pledge — marks the start of a “new approach” to solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But many analysts question how a fair peace process could be possible by granting such a major Israeli demand while seeming to require nothing in return.

Israel has long claimed all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians see the eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state.

Its status is perhaps the most sensitive issue in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and international consensus has been that it must be negotiated between the two sides.

Trump’s declaration and intention to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem are moves that may help him domestically since they were long-sought by US evangelical Christian and right-wing Jewish voters — key parts of his electoral base and important financial donors.

But while the declaration may mean little immediate concrete change, it risks setting off another round of bloodshed in the turbulent Middle East.

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the decision could take the region “backwards to even darker times”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was “deeply concerned”, calling for the Palestinians and Israel to renew negotiations.

Muslim and Middle Eastern leaders, including key US allies, have expressed increasing alarm over Trump’s decision to break with decades of precedent with unpredictable consequences.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it would put the region in a “ring of fire”.

– ‘Not welcome’ –
Palestinian leaders have been so outraged that they have argued it disqualifies the United States from its traditional role as peace broker in the Middle East conflict.

Mohammad Shtayyeh, a senior Palestinian official who has been involved in past peace talks, questioned what was left to negotiate.

“If these are the signs of the ultimate deal, God knows what the deal is going to be,” he said, referring to Trump’s pledge to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. 

“Maybe the expulsion of the Palestinians God knows where.”

The declaration is sure to weigh heavily on Pence’s upcoming visit.

He is due to meet the Palestinian president in the second half of December on a regional tour, but a senior member of Abbas’s Fatah faction said it would not occur.

“The American vice president is not welcome in Palestine. And President Abbas will not welcome him,” said Jibril Rajoub.

Abbas himself has not made similar comments and the White House is likely to only consider the meeting cancelled if he does so himself.

A White House aide said Pence “still plans to meet with Abbas as scheduled” and “believes it would be counterproductive for him to pull out of the meeting.”

AFP

Another 164 Nigerians Return From Libya

Another set of 164 Nigerian returnees from Libya have been brought back into the country by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in the early hours Friday.

This is the third set of Nigerians returning from the North African country, following the arrival of 144 and 257 persons on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

The returnees were received at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos by the Southwest Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Suleiman Yakubu.

They comprise 155 male adults, 2 male children, 5 female adults, 1 female child and a female infant.

The returnees arrived via BURAQ airline 737 with registration number 5A-DMG at about 12:34 am at the cargo wing of the airport.

Mr Yakubu, who represented the Director General of the NEMA, thanked the IOM and the European Union for their humanitarianism on behalf of the Federal Government.

He also appealed to the returnees to learn from the bitter lessons they got in the course of their unpalatable sojourn and make better use of opportunities abound in Nigeria.

“There’s nowhere like home and Nigeria is a peculiar nation that God has endowed with bountiful resources that everyone can harness and prosper,” Yakubu said.

He further implored the returnees to make use of the available facilities which Federal and state governments are providing for self-empowerment.

One of the returnees Emmanuel Kessh from Delta State said he dropped out of university to embark on the ill-fated journey.

Having left Nigeria in August 2017, Kessh thanked the government and other key players who facilitated their repatriation from the North African country.

“I learned that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the evacuation of all Nigerians from Libya. I thank the President for this because the boys (Nigerians) in Libya are really suffering and lack human rights as they are being treated as animal. 

“The President’s directive is very important because of the coming election in Libya. Many Nigerians might be forced to be involved in the process as tools of the Libyans which can cause further disaffections against the stranded people amongst the various groups in Libya. 

“I don’t wish to hear that Nigerians are being used as human shield in any clash between the various groups in case of post-election violence over there. 

“My decision is never to aspire to travel outside Nigeria; this is a bitter experience that I will not pray for anyone else to suffer in life,” he narrated.

‘Incorruptible Judges’ Will Head Anti-Corruption Courts – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has reaffirmed his strong commitment to the proposed anti-corruption courts to support the fight against corruption across the country.

The President said this on Thursday during an interactive session with religious leaders in Kano while on a two-day working visit to the state.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, he said to strengthen judicial integrity and the rule of law, such courts must be manned by “incorruptible judges”.

President Buhari also assured the religious leaders that the war against corruption would be prosecuted with the highest regards to due process and respect for human rights.

He, however, asked Nigerians to be patient on the issue, saying that as an elected President he was bound to follow the constitution.

“When I came in uniform as military Head of State, we locked every suspect in Kirikiri Prisons until they proved that they were not guilty.

“Under the Constitution, everyone is innocent until proven guilty; that is the Constitution and we will abide by it,” he said.

The President was also concern about the increasing rate of drugs abuse in the country, especially among the younger generation.

He said he has instructed the law enforcement agencies to deal decisively with all those who import, distribute, and sell illicit drugs in Nigeria.

He also assured the religious leaders that his administration was determined to urgent steps to deal with the narcotics challenge facing the nation.

“The Customs is already doing a good job and I’m happy that I got someone who is efficient, strong and trusted to lead it in the person of Hameed Ali, a former governor of Kaduna State,” he said.

“I have charged them and other law enforcement agencies to go after those trafficking in illicit drugs that are causing much harm especially among young people.”

President Buhari further challenged leaders across the county at to rise to the challenge facing the growing youth population, saying: “Leaders at every level must pay attention to this.

“We must give everything we have including education, vocational skills and training for our large youth population so that they can grow to be responsible citizens.”

The President also restated that his administration would ensure increased investment in infrastructure across the country to stimulate the economy and job creation.

He commended the Chinese government for proving the funds for some ongoing projects in the country, including railways, roads and the Mambilla hydro-power project.

President Buhari also welcomed the suggestion from some of the religious leaders for the setting up of a religious advisory committee made up of Muslim and Christian leaders, to meet periodically to advise the government.

Ballon d’Or 2017 Top 30 Nominees

The final rankings of the 30 nominees for the 2017 Ballon d’Or, which was won by Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (POR/Real Madrid)

2. Lionel Messi (ARG/Barcelona)

3. Neymar (BRA/Paris SG)

4. Gianluigi Buffon (ITA/Juventus)

5. Luka Modric (CRO/Real Madrid)

6. Sergio Ramos (ESP/Real Madrid)

7. Kylian Mbappe (FRA/Paris SG)

8. N’Golo Kante (FRA/Chelsea)

9. Robert Lewandowski (POL/Bayern Munich)

10. Harry Kane (ENG/Tottenham)

11. Edinson Cavani (URU/Paris SG)

12. Isco (ESP/Real Madrid)

13. Luis Suarez (URU/Barcelona)

14. Kevin De Bruyne (BEL/Manchester City)

15. Paulo Dybala (ARG/Juventus)

16. Marcelo (BRA/Real Madrid)

17. Toni Kroos (GER/Real Madrid)

18. Antoine Griezmann (FRA/Atletico Madrid)

19. Eden Hazard (BEL/Chelsea)

20. David De Gea (ESP/Manchester United)

21. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (GAB/Dortmund)

22. Leonardo Bonucci (ITA/Juventus, AC Milan)

23. Sadio Mane (SEN/Liverpool)

24. Radamel Falcao (COL/Monaco)

25. Karim Benzema (FRA/Real Madrid)

26. Jan Oblak (SLO/Atletico Madrid)

27. Mats Hummels (GER/Bayern Munich)

28. Edin Dzeko (BIH/Roma)

29. Philippe Coutinho (BRA/Liverpool)

30. Dries Mertens (BEL/Napoli)

Ralphie May's Cause of Death Revealed

The comedian died in October. He was 45.More

Ralphie May's cause of death has been revealed.

The stand-up comedian died from hypertensive cardiovascular disease, Nevada's Clark County Coroner's office tweeted on Wednesday. May died of natural causes.

Our Coroner/Medical Examiner has determined that Ralph May, 45, of Nashville, Tenn., died on Oct. 6, 2017, from Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease. The manner of his death was natural. We extend our sincere condolences to Mr. May’s family and friends. pic.twitter.com/pLsZmvP8Qw— Clark County Nevada (@ClarkCountyNV) December 6, 2017

May died in October from cardiac arrest after battling pneumonia. He was 45. 

"We are heartbroken to announce the untimely death of our friend, Ralphie May," the comedian's rep said in a statement to ET at the time. "Ralphie had been battling pneumonia and had canceled a handful of dates over the last month in an effort to recover."

May is survived by his wife, comedian Lahna Turner, and their children, April June and August James.

Guess What Jordan Fisher Says About His Dog, Sora (Video)

Broadway and TV actor Jordan Fisher is spreading the love.

Fisher, who is best known these days for starring in the Great White Way’s Hamilton and for winning the latest season of Dancing With the Stars, encourages people to treat their (adopted) pets like family in a new campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

He should know, because Fisher is super-close with his adopted dog, Sora. (Interestingly, Fisher himself is adopted.)

“Sora and I have a great relationship. I mean, he’s kind of a lot of things,” Fisher, 23, said in a new video for the project. “He’s my son. He’s my best friend. Everything in life can be pretty decent, but when we are together, everything is that much greater.” 

One thing they like to do: chat, although the conversation is obviously one-sided. 

“Sora hears me singing all the time. He hears me working all the time,” Fisher said. “I kind of talk through thought processes and things with him. He listens to me — bated breath, just big ol’ eyes.”

In fact, Sora is so important in Fisher’s life that he periodically shows up on Fisher’s Instagram account, right alongside someone else who’s very important to the actor, girlfriend Ellie Woods.

Fisher even cited Sora when he was asked in an August 2016 interview with Vibe about where he finds his inspiration each day. “My dog,” the former Liv and Maddie actor replied with a laugh. “I’ve gotten used to hauling him around all the time.”

Trump Is Doing A Lousy Job Selling Tax Cuts

Who will pay for the $1.5T added to the national debt?

Not everybody thinks taxes should be lower. But of all the things voters ought to favor, tax cuts are near the top of the list.

Yet President Trump and his fellow Republicans are failing to persuade the majority of Americans that the big package of tax cuts they’re poised to pass is good for the country. Their messaging is so lousy, in fact, that voters seem to think tax cuts will be more punishing than they’re likely to be.

The latest Quinnipiac poll, for instance, shows that 53% of Americans disapprove of the Republican tax plan, while just 29% approve. That’s a remarkably negative showing for something that ought to be marginally popular, at a minimum.

Here’s a more telling finding: Forty-one percent of respondents in the Quinnipiac poll think the GOP tax plan will raise their taxes, while just 20% think it will lower them. The rest anticipate no change or don’t know what will happen.

Source: Quinnipiac University poll released Dec. 5, 2017More

Most of those people who think their taxes will go up are wrong. Third-party analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows that, under the House tax-cut plan, 76% of taxpayers would get a tax cut averaging $1,900 the first year the plan goes into effect. About 7% of taxpayers would face a tax increase, averaging $2,100. For the other 17% there’s likely to be no major change.

Under the Senate plan, 75% of taxpayers would get a tax cut in the first year, averaging $2,000, according to the Tax Policy Center. Seven percent of taxpayers would face tax hikes, averaging $3,100. The other 18% would see no major change.

So, under the best independent estimates, roughly three-quarters of taxpayers would enjoy an immediate tax cut, and only 7% would see a tax hike. Yet the public has a completely different impression, according to the Quinnipiac poll. The portion of people who think their taxes will rise is six times larger than those who will actually see a tax hike. And less than one-third of people likely to see a tax cut think it will actually happen.

If the GOP tax-cut plan were an ordinary product marketers had to convince consumers to buy, it would be a total bomb. Imagine Apple selling a phone consumers thought would be unable to place phone calls. Or Coke selling a beverage people expected to taste terrible. This is how bad the GOP’s sales pitch is for a tax-cut plan they’ve been developing for years.

The problem obviously isn’t a lack of advertising. Trump repeatedly insists the tax cuts will work miracles for the U.S. economy. Top Republican legislators, such as Paul Ryan in the House and Mitch McConnell in the Senate, claim their tax cuts will help millions of middle-class families.

One suspects—gasp!—that most Americans simply don’t believe Trump, Ryan, McConnell, et. al. It’s true that mainstream media coverage of the tax plans has focused largely on the negatives, such as the outsized amount of tax relief that will accrue to businesses rather than middle-class families and the $1.5 trillion the package will add to the national debt during the next decade. But that’s not fake news. That’s what the GOP tax cuts will actually do.
Who benefits from Trump’s tax cuts? Trump

Perhaps Republicans should consider the possibility that their tax plan is a turkey that Americans are interpreting more or less correctly. One GOP mistake, at least in terms of messaging, is a Senate plan that makes tax cuts for businesses permanent but tax cuts for individuals temporary. That looks like a bait-and-switch scheme to a lot of people. Legislators are still negotiating a final bill, which could rectify that and make the individual cuts permanent. But you only get one chance to make a first impression—and the business-first, people-last approach will likely hang over this bill no matter what changes occur.

Trump claims the tax cuts would raise his own tax bill, costing him a “fortune.” Ahem. Politifact has documented more than 40 lies Trump has told publicly since taking office last January, not including many other exaggerations. The storied Trump base may not care, but many others do, and in reality, it appears the real-estate industry where Trump built his fortune will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the coming tax cuts. So the man who promised to drain the swamp appears, instead, to be lining his pockets through the one big legislative accomplishment he’ll probably be able to claim. Trump lacks credibility among people who aren’t part of his amen chorus and need persuading. They remain unpersuaded.

The Republicans are also playing with fire by threatening to eviscerate the deduction for state and local taxes, a popular tax break claimed by roughly one-third of taxpayers. Republicans seem gleeful to have found a tax break that benefits high-income taxpayers in Democratic states such as New York and California, assuming they can yank it away as if it will only harm the opposing party. But millions of taxpayers who don’t live in blue states claim state and local deductions as well, and they must surely wonder why Republicans are throwing them under the bus.

The Trump tax plan is likely to pass, which means voters will soon be able to judge the real effect it has on their family budgets, instead of guessing based on what they hear. But they’re starting out skeptical, and the burden is on Republicans to make them believers. Hint: Don’t mention that windfall for real-estate developers.

Federal High Court Judge, Ademola Retires

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court has voluntarily retired.

He tendered his resignation letter to the National Judicial Council (NJC) on Thursday morning.

Earlier in the year, he was discharged and acquitted by an FCT high court on charges of money laundering and abuse of office.

This followed a raid on the homes of some judges by the Department Of State Services (DSS), which termed the operation a sting operation.

In January, an official of the DSS had testified that the sum of 38 million Naira, two pump action rifles and some foreign currencies were recovered from his house during their search at his residence in October.

Justice Ademola, his wife and Mr Joe Agi, a senior lawyer subsequently faced trial on allegations of bribery and illegal possession of firearms.

The FCT high court, however, ruled that the DSS could not prove beyond reasonable doubt it’s allegation against the Federal High Court judge.

He was subsequently recalled by the National Judicial Council (NJC) after which he resumed sitting on June 7.

Justice Ademola did not give reasons for his retirement.

Buhari Reaction while in Central Prison Kano.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said prisoners across the country are doomed without getting continuous training to help improve their lives.

The President said this at a ceremony in Kurmawa Central Prison, Kano, where 500 inmates were either pardoned or set free upon the payment of fines by the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.

“If we have people of 18 and 19 years in the prison, and there is no continuous training, then their lives will be completely destroyed. We will invest more in education and vocational training,” he said in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu.

President Buhari reaffirmed that prison reforms and decongestion would continue to receive prompt attention and be pursued with greater vigour by his administration.

He lamented that some of the freed inmates were young and charged prison authorities to make every effort to make better citizens of prisoners.

He also emphasised the need for prisoners to receive proper care, support and rehabilitation to make them better citizens after serving their prisons terms.

“I am pleased with this visit and I have learnt a bit more about the conditions of the prisons and inmates. This building in front of us was built since 1910. 

“Rehabilitation of prisoners and training of inmates is very important to us and we would continue to invest more on this. I asked one of the inmates (released) how old he was and he told me he is only 19 years old,” he said.

The 500 inmates granted pardon, including men and women, were drawn from various prisons in Kano State, including Kurmawa prisons which has 1,398 inmates as opposed to 750, the established capacity.

The President, who arrived Kano to a tumultuous welcome by the government and people of the state at the start of a two-day state visit, had earlier paid homage to the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.

At the Emir’s place, he recounted his fond memories of Kano, as a symbol of peace, trade, commerce and industry in Nigeria.

He said: “If there is a problem here, the whole country has a problem. I remember the industry and employment people get in Kano. 

“Before the problem in the North East, I remember the number of articulated vehicles that leave this city to Maiduguri and the Cameroons; and the number of vehicles that come in from Chad and Niger, providing millions of jobs to Nigerians. 

“A lot of people in Nigeria didn’t realise how much the instability in the North East have cost the people and the industry here.”

To this end, President Buhari assured all Nigerians that the fight against Boko Haram terrorists would be sustained, in addition to the positive trends in the economy and the fight against corruption.

“The three things we said in our campaign on security, economy and fighting corruption; nobody will be able to successfully disabuse the minds of Nigerians on our clear intentions for our country and our people,” he said.

Guess IBB Reacts To Atiku’s Defection, To PDP In A Convension

Nigeria’s former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), has reacted to the defection of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The reaction comes three days after the former vice president announced that he was returning to the PDP, following his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC) last month.

IBB, as fondly called, said Atiku’s case was not the first in the country and that he had the right to associate himself with any political party of his choice.

“He (Atiku) is a Nigerian; he is allowed to go to any party and our constitution allows it. So, it is not new and there is nothing wrong for politicians to move from one party to another,” he said on Wednesday.

The elder statesman was speaking when he received members of the PDP Convention Planning Committee led by their Chairman and Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, at his residence in Minna, the Niger State capital.

He was also confident that the committee would conduct a hitch-free and widely accepted national convention on Saturday, December 9 in Abuja.

“I am glad they (committee members) are working hard and I have seen that they want to make sure that the convention of the PDP is rancour-free, transparent, and everybody will be given a level playing ground. 

“PDP will see one of the best conventions like never before. The ability of any party to go through the problems of party formation – challenges of going through the ups and downs and come together again after learning lessons from what happened and agree to move forward – is good for democracy,” he said.

On his part, Governor Okowa said the visit was in line with the tradition of the party to PDP elders and leaders for the right decisions to be taken, especially as the convention draws closer.

He also assured the former Head of State that adequate measures were being put in place to ensure a successful convention aimed at spurring more former members to reunite with the party.

Okowa said: “A lot has been put on the ground for a successful convention to be held. We thank the Caretaker Committee of our party because they have done a lot ahead of the inauguration on Monday, and since then, we have held several meetings.”

“The various sub-committees are really working very hard. As at today, we are confident that we are on course, in terms of trying to provide all that has to be done on Saturday. 

“We are going to have an exciting convention, there is no doubt about that; everything concerning the electoral process has been put in place, the accreditation team by today will get the last list of the statutory delegates from Osun and Anambra states,” he added.

The governor, however, said the convention be restricted as not all members would be granted access to the venue in the interest of the party.

He also informed the PDP chieftain that he was aware of the allegations that some governors were trying to hijack the process, saying it was speculative and wrong.

“The governors did not take a decision on that and we have 25 states that are not controlled by the PDP governors; we believe more persons will come into our party and we are ready to receive them,” he said.

On his part, Chairman of the PDP Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said Anambra and Osun states would make use of statutory delegates for the convention due to the conflicts that have bedevilled the party in both states recently.

He said: “The success story, so far, is a confirmation of series of interaction with leaders and founding members of the party. As it concerns Anambra and Osun participating in the convention, we will basically have to make use of statutory delegates.

“It is not the first time we find states making use of statutory delegates to avoid conflicts that have to do with the legitimacy of elected delegates. 

“it’s barely three days to the d day, a convention many have assumed will either mar or make the strongest opposition party in the nations democratic process. 

What many Nigerians, especially members of the PDP will be looking forward is a transparent and fair convention as promised by the leaders of the party,” he said.

VIDEO: Maina Demands 5% Of N1.6trn Recovered Pension Fund

Embattled former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, is back in the news in an apparent bid to stir up more controversy.

Speaking in an exclusive interview obtained by Channels Television, Maina is asking the Federal Government to pay him five per cent of the N1.6 trillion pension fund he and his team recovered for the government.

According to him, the demand is based on an agreement he had with the Head of Service before taking up the job.

The former pension boss also insisted that his reinstatement into the Federal Civil Service was based on the approval of the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, the Federal Civil Service, and the Attorney General of the Federation.

Watch the video below:

FG Directs Kachikwu To End Fuel Scarcity Before Weekend

The Federal Government has directed the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, to end the fuel queues in the country by the end of this week.

The directive was issued on Wednesday during the Federal Executive Council which held inside the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, briefed State House correspondents after the meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari who was on a working visit to Kano State.

He said Dr Kachikwu who was meant to give a brief on the outcomes of the meeting was attending another crucial meeting to end the long fuel queues witnessed across the country

The minister said that government was never planning to increase the pump price of petrol at any time and would never support any such move.

“The government has no intention at all to increase the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS),” Mr Mohammed said. 

“He (Kachikwu) has assured us and I think the Council gave him a marching order, that this thing should not last beyond this weekend and they are going to work very hard to ensure that it is contained,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, informed reporters that the Council has approved six new private universities in some parts of the country.

He said: “The Ministry of Education presented a memorandum to the Federal Executive Council on the establishment of six new private universities, and it has been approved. 

“The issue of quality assurance, issue of standard, and the issue of accreditation will be looked into very seriously.”

The newly-approved universities include Admiralty University, Ibusa, Delta State; Spiritan University, Nneochi, Abia State; and Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Others are Pamo University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, Rivers State; Atiba University, Oyo State; and Eko University of Medical and Health Sciences, Lagos.

BREAKING: Buhari Arrives Kano On Working Visit

President Muhammadu Buhari is currently in Kano State on a two-day working visit.

The President arrived the VIP Wing of the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport on Wednesday morning to commence the working visit.

He was received by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State and the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.

Others who received the President include Aliko Dangote, Alhaji Aminu Dantata, President of Azman Air, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Sarina.

The president is expected to visit the Emir’s palace and the Central prison to grant Amnesty to some inmates.

The commissioning of the ultra-modern Giginyu specialist hospital named after President Buhari is also expected to be carried out by the President, among other projects.

More details shortly…

BREAKING: Guess What Atiku Said When He Visits PDP Headquarters Today

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has arrived the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja.

He is accompanied by a large crowd of supporters, PDP leaders from Adamawa State, and the governor of Niger State, Babangida Muaza.

He was received by the spokesman for the party, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.

Atiku is currently meeting members of the National Caretaker Committee of the party led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

More details soon…

Bollywood Bids Farewell To Indian Film Legend Shashi

Bollywood stars paid their last respects to screen legend Shashi Kapoor at his funeral Tuesday as tributes poured in for the multiple award-winning actor who died after a long illness.

Veteran Indian cinema icon Amitabh Bachchan, who starred alongside Kapoor in several hit Hindi films of the 1970s, and actor Shah Rukh Khan were among mourners at the ceremony in Mumbai, the home of Bollywood.

Kapoor appeared in more than 150 films and was a member of Indian cinema’s most famous acting dynasty. He died on Monday aged 79 after a years-long battle with kidney disease.

Actors and directors from across the Hindi movie industry paid tribute to Kapoor who was one of the first Indian actors to work abroad, appearing in several Merchant Ivory films.

He often played the role of romantic action hero and was known for his suave good looks.

In a blog post Tuesday Bachchan described Kapoor as an “incredibly handsome man” with a “devastating smile complementing the twinkle in his eyes”. 

Shashi was the youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor, a pioneer of Hindi film and theatre. His eldest brother Raj Kapoor, who died in 1988, was also a famous Hindi movie star.
Shashi’s most memorable roles were in such films as “Jab Jab Phool Khile” (Whenever The Flowers Bloom, 1965), “Kabhi Kabhie” (Sometimes, 1976), and “Kalyug” (Age of Downfall, 1981).

He was also adored for his role opposite Bachchan in the hit movie “Deewaar” (The Wall, 1975) in which he delivered one of Hindi cinema’s most famous lines — ‘Mere paas maa hai’ (I have a mother).

Shashi appeared in the Merchant Ivory films “The Householder” (1963), “Heat and Dust” (1983) and “Shakespeare Wallah” (1965).

In 1972 he starred alongside actress Simi Garewal in the American film “Siddhartha”.

Garewal said she was “deeply saddened” by Kapoor’s death.

“The last of that generation of Kapoors is gone. A gentleman and friend is gone. All that remain are his memories,” read a post on her Twitter page.

Acclaimed director Karan Johar described Kapoor as “the most charming and enigmatic actor ever… a gentleman movie star!”

“His legacy in film and theatre is exceptional…thoughts and prayers with the family….his work will always live on…” Johar wrote on Twitter. 

“Innumerable Bollywood dreams came to life watching your iconic dialogue, ‘Mere paas maa hai’,” tweeted actor Akshay Kumar, adding: “Your tremendous contribution to cinema will always be remembered. RIP #ShashiKapoor ji”.

Shashi Kapoor was married to English actress Jennifer Kendal for 26 years until her death in 1984.

He won numerous acting prizes and in 2011 was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian awards.

Shashi’s nephew Rishi Kapoor and Rishi’s son, Ranbir, both also famous actors, attended Tuesday’s funeral held in unseasonal rain brought by Cyclone Ockhi off India’s west coast.

AFP

Switzerland To Return $321million Abacha’s Loot

Switzerland announced on Monday that around $321 million public funds looted by former Nigerian military ruler, Sani Abacha will be returned to Nigeria.

The money, originally deposited in Luxembourg, was confiscated by a Swiss court in late 2014 and in March last year, the two states signed an agreement on its repatriation.

“In accordance with the policy on repayment of national assets taken illegally, Switzerland has agreed with Nigeria and the World Bank to return nearly US$321 million for the benefit of the Nigerian people,” the Swiss government said in a statement.

Military ruler Abacha, in power from 1993 until his death in 1998, is suspected to have embezzled $2.2 billion from Nigeria’s central bank in what the United States has called “brazen acts of kleptocracy.”

The Swiss statement said these funds were frozen in a legal procedure by Geneva’s public prosecutor against Abba Abacha, Sani Abacha’s son.

It said the return of the funds would be supported and supervised by the World Bank, adding that the move should “strengthen social security for the poorest Nigerians”.

When the agreement was announced, Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter had said the fight against corruption was “one of Switzerland’s priorities”.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has led a purge of corruption since taking office in 2015, vowing to recover what he said were “mind-boggling” sums of money stolen over decades.

AFP

Someone With Ulterior Motive Started #EndSARS – Police PRO

The Police Public Relation officer, Jimoh Moshood has told Nigerians to be wary of their use of social media saying the #EndSARS was started by someone with an ulterior motive.

The Police spokesperson said this on Tuesday, when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television Breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily.

He said the social media is very porous and Nigerian users should be cautious in joining in an outcry.

“Somebody who has an ulterior motive put up the hashtag and said End SARS now. Nigerians should be mindful because the social media is very porous. What is the cause of the outcry in the first place? 

“This was why the IGP was concerned about the cause of the outcry. People should be mindful of the intention of the person that put up the hashtag that people are falling into it,” he said.

Moshood also said the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) has been in operation for over 40 years and those calling for a scrap of the squad should disabuse their minds as they are performing their duties well.

He said, “The Special Anti-robbery Squad of the Nigerian Police Force no doubt are doing very well. The rate of robbery across the country has gone down.

“We want people to disabuse their minds that SARS should be ended because this outfit is a department of the Nigerian police and it has been there for over 40 years and they have been doing their best since those years.”

Speaking concerning the complaints and allegations by some social media users of being brutalised by SARS, the Police spokesperson said Nigerians should report complains about the operations of not only SARS but other police personnel saying there is infraction everywhere.

“We are not saying there is no infraction. If there are infraction not only in SARS personnel, even other conventional policemen that carry out other responsibility, people should report to us and it will be addressed. 

“When you have complaints, report to us and it will be addressed. For many of those who have been pushing their remarks on social media, most of them are not correct because when you have complaints of such, you will report to the nearest police station.”

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris according to the spokesperson is concerned by all these allegations and this is why he has directed that those allegations be investigated.

Idris in a statement on Monday directed immediate re-organisation of SARS operation nationwide and this according to Moshood is already been implemented.

Rivers State Government Releases 16 SUVs To Lawmakers

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has released 16 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) to elected members of the National Assembly from Rivers State to aid them in the discharge of their duties.

Three of the Vehicles are for Senators representing the State, while 13 are for members of the House of Representatives from the state.

Making the presentation at the Government House Port Harcourt on Monday, Governor Wike said that the vehicles were acquired to aid the Federal Lawmakers in the discharge of their official functions.

He said the vehicles are for all members of the National Assembly irrespective of their party affiliation.

“Defend the interest of the state wherever you are. This is from the Government of Rivers State which you are part of. This is to aid you to carry out your official functions in Abuja,” Wike told the lawmakers during the presentation of the vehicles.

Responding, Leader of the Rivers Caucus at the House of Representatives, Mrs Betty Apiafi thanked the Rivers State Governor for providing the support for members of the National Assembly to carry out their duties.

Also, the Deputy Leader of the Rivers Caucus of the House of Representatives, Mr Bari Mpigi commended the Rivers State Governor for reaching out to all Rivers lawmakers.

LIVE UPDATES: House Investigative Committee Commences Hearing On Maina’s Case

The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee set up to investigate the disappearance, return and reinstatement of the embattled former Minister of chairman of the Presidential Pension Task Force Team, Abdulrasheed Maina has commenced hearing.

Among those being quizzed are the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Interior Abubakar Magaji and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Oyo–Ita Winifred Ekanem, Acting Chairman of the EFCC Ibrahim Magu, Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service Mohammed Babandede, Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun, Director General of the DSS among others.

Stay tuned for updates.

Abubakar Magaji is questioned first. He says he was not in office when the process of Maina’s reinstatement began.

Abubakar Magaji says from records available to him, the ministry conducted a senior staff committee meeting for Maina’s reinstatement after receiving a letter from the office of the Head of Service to reconsider the earlier position taken by the ministry in dismissing Maina for reinstatement.

Abubakar Magaji says a meeting was held in the presence of the representative of the Head of the Civil Service and the Federal Civil Service Commissioner.

Abubakar Magaji says in the meeting, the decision to reinstate Maina was made.

Abubakar Magaji says a copy of the minutes of the meeting, was sent to the office of the Head of the Civil Service for further necessary action.

Abubakar Magaji insists the Head Of Service endorsed the letter for Maina’s return.

Winifred Oyo-ita insists she was not part of the reinstatement of Maina.

Mohammed Babandede says Maina has not been passing through the borders.

Kemi Adeosun says Maina is not getting salaries from the Federal Government.

Ibrahim Magu says the EFCC has no record of any collaboration between it and the Maina-led pension reform.

Ibrahim Magu says Maina did not hand over any assets to the EFCC

Lawal Musa Daura says Maina’s name was not placed on the dss list so he could not be arrested.

Abubakar Malami explains how letter reinstating Maina emanated from his office but stands by his earlier submission that he did not sign it.

Chairman of the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee, Mr Aliyu Madaki challenges Malami on this position, making reference to letters signed by him.

Another House committee member quizzes the Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service and the AGF, asks Malami why he failed to take immediate action on the letters allegedly signed by him, which he claims he did not consent to.

Abubakar Malami defends that he did not take immediate action on the said letter because there were certain issues revolving around it which he needed time to review.

Abubakar Malami says he had reservations about the case and therefore needed time to investigate it to allow him time to take the appropriate steps.

Abubakar Magaji says the constitution of Nigeria gave the mandate of appointing, promoting and giving discipline only to the Federal Civil Service Commission, “so if anybody is carrying a letter that he is being appointed by a ministry or whoever, that letter is null and void – It is only a letter issued by the Federal Civil Service Commission that is valid for any appointment, reinstatement, and promotion”.

Abubakar Magaji says a copy of the reinstatement letter was sent to him and he acted on it immediately.

Winifred Oyo-Ita says all along, the Attorney General of the Federation never wrote directly to the office of the Head of Service as he only communicated with the office of the Federal Civil Service Commission concerning the reinstatement of Maina.

Winifred Oyo-Ita says there was no posting instruction for Mr Maina to report to the Ministry of Interior from the office of the Head of Service.

Winifred Oyo-Ita says an officer who is being reinstated or employed afresh into any ministry, ought to report to the office of the Head of Service before he is given a posting to whichever MDA.

Winifred Oyo-Ita says Mr Maina was never issued a posting instruction to the Ministry of Interior.

Mohammed Babandede says every Nigerian by birth, has the right to acquire another nationality and that is why Maina at a time had three passports and they were all valid.

Mohammed Babandede says when Maina was about to travel in 2013, he wasn’t seen at any of the borders. Says if he was found to have travelled by evading immigration officers, it is an offence by law.

Trump Pilloried For Retweeting Anti-Muslim Videos

President Donald Trump drew fierce condemnation Wednesday after he retweeted three anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy head of a British far-right group who has been convicted of a hate crime.

Trump’s actions drew criticism from many quarters, including the British government at 10 Downing Street, which said Trump was “wrong” to promote the group’s “hateful narratives.”

The White House scrambled to limit the fallout, saying even if the anti-Muslim videos were misleading, Trump was pointing out a real problem.

“The threat is real, and that’s what the president is talking about,” said Trump’s spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.

One of the videos claims to show a Muslim beating up a Dutch boy on crutches. Another is described as showing an Islamist mob pushing a teenager of a rooftop. The veracity of both is in doubt.

The third allegedly depicts a Muslim throwing down and smashing a statue of the Virgin Mary.

The footage was originally posted by Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the far-right group Britain First, which hailed Trump for his support.

“THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN’S TWITTER VIDEOS!” the group tweeted in triumph.
“DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

Fransen was found guilty last year of a hate crime after hurling abuse at a Muslim woman wearing a hijab.

Britain First, which was formed in 2011 and is known for picketing outside mosques, has run and lost in several British and European parliament elections.

Brendan Cox, widower of MP Jo Cox who was murdered by a right-wing extremist last year, said: “Trump has legitimized the far right in his own country, now he’s trying to do it in ours. 

“Spreading hatred has conseque

“US Can Defend Itself Against N. Korea Missiles”

The US military remains confident it can — at least for the moment — protect against any North Korean missile threat, a US official said Wednesday after Pyongyang tested a new rocket type.

North Korea earlier launched a previously unseen intercontinental ballistic missile, which it called a Hwasong 15, that was capable of carrying a “super-large heavy warhead” to any target in the continental United States.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said the missile flew higher than any other from North Korea, and warned that Pyongyang could soon threaten “everywhere in the world.”

The US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that America has not changed its assessment that its various missile defense systems can stop a North Korean missile attack, though the guarantee cannot be ensured indefinitely.

“I don’t think they could successfully nuke the US at this time,” the official said.
“There is a general sense we can stop whatever North Korea has right now. For the future, I don’t know.”

The United States has spent decades and billions of dollars developing technologies to stop an incoming ballistic missile, and Congress is throwing billions more dollars at the Pentagon to step up its efforts.

To protect against an ICBM, the military has the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD)system, which is designed to fire an interceptor missile into space and use kinetic energy to destroy the incoming target.

America has 44 interceptors in place at Fort Greely, Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

It was put to the test in May, when the military successfully launched a GMD interceptor from the California base.

– Checkered record –
The missile blasted outside Earth’s atmosphere and smashed into a dummy ICBM target, destroying it in a direct collision.

But the GMD system has had a checkered record in previous tests — failing in earlier launches against slower-moving targets.

The official said the GMD system can shield the entire continental United States and its territories, so it is not yet necessary to install the system on the East Coast.

The GMD can stop a small number of missiles from a rogue nation but would be overwhelmed by an all-out strike from a nuclear superpower like Russia.

Such a move would likely trigger retaliatory action in what is known as Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).

Some questions remain over the North’s mastery of the technology required to guarantee any warhead would survive atmospheric re-entry — the key element it has not yet demonstrated.

The official said that the angle of re-entry demonstrated in Wednesday’s test, in which the missile went very steeply up and down, did not prove that a re-entry vehicle could survive a flight along a lower arc.

That is because the heat and friction generated by an angled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere are far greater.

The US military and its allies have other missile defense systems available, including the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system capable of destroying short, medium and intermediate-range missiles in their final phase of flight.