Residents of Sola Martins street,New Oko Area of Lagos State on Monday, staged a peaceful protest at the zonal office of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHNC) located along Olayiwola street of the community, demanding for equitable distribution of power to the consumers.
The residents ,led by the Chairman ,Landlords and Tenant Association ,Elder Jerry Okwuosa accused PHNC officials of deliberately denying the entire community of power supply in its rationing policy .
To buttress this allegation,the Community spokesman disclosed that residents enjoyed 89.75 hours or 53.4% of power supply during the last seven day strike embarked upon by the PHNC staff while the supply dropped to 26.25 hours or 15.6% within a week of resumption .
Elder Okwuosa also accused the officials of favouring some sections of the neighbouring communities ,especially where there are social joints and other commercial centres for reasons best known to them.
Responding ,the business manager of the district,Mr Sani Adeleke denied these allegations,saying that his main priority is to give power to his customers so that his section could make more money for the company.
He explained that the rationing of power supply was informed by congestion on the feeder for the Oko Oba community,adding that control centre is at Akowonjo which is beyond the control of his technical men.
He expressed the hope that the agitation for a stable power would soon be achieved when a new control room is completed for Abule Egba Area of the State.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
ENERGY MINISTER RESIGNS
Nigeria's power minister resigned on Tuesday, the presidency said, two months before preferred bidders were due to be announced in a privatization process meant to overhaul the country's ailing electricity sector.
There were reports in some Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday Barth Nnaji had an interest in a company involved in the bidding process for two state assets up for sale.
A spokesman for Nnaji confirmed the minister had a stake in such a company, but said there was no conflict of interest because regulators had been informed.
The spokesman declined to say why Nnaji resigned, and no reason was given in the announcement of the resignation by the presidency.
"He didn't like the totally wrongful accusations he had a conflict of interest in this process. These were planted by vested interests," spokesman told Reuters.
"He would rather go about his private business."
It is highly unusual for Nigerian politicians to resign over conflicts of interest in a country that still ranks low on the Transparency International corruption perceptions index.
Nigeria plans to sell off 11 distribution and six generation companies as part of plans to privatize a power sector rife with inefficiency and corruption.
Economists and investors say a lack of power is one of the biggest brakes on growth in Africa's second biggest economy. Chronic power shortages are also a major headache for Nigerians.
Preferred bidders for the 17 successor companies are due to be announced on October 23, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has said.
The privatization agency has said Nigeria's economy could be growing at over 10 percent, compared with around 6.5 percent now, if it solved its power crisis, but it would need $15-$20 billion of investment in the next three years.
Nigeria holds the world's seventh largest natural gas reserves but decades of governments have chosen to cash in on crude oil sales rather than investing for domestic power needs.
Nigeria only provides its 167 million inhabitants with around a quarter of the amount of electricity used by New York City, leaving those who can afford it to use expensive diesel generators and those who can't to live without any power.
President Jonathan has made reforming the power sector a priority and a significant upsurge in electricity output would bring him support from the Nigerians who have been disappointed with his progress since taking office last year.
source:Reuters
Thursday, August 23, 2012
N5,000 bill coming-CBN Governor
The Central Bank will launch a new N5, 000 bill, making it the highest single Naira bill in the Nigerian economy.
The new bill according to the apex bank’s Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, will feature the faces of three deceased prominent Nigerian female politicians and activists – Madam Margaret Ekpo (1914 – 2006); Hajia Gambo Sawaba (1933 – 2001) and Funmilayo Kuti (1900 -1978).
Sanusi in a briefing with Journalists also said N50, N100, N200, N500 and N1, 000 will be redesigned with better security features and markers to beat counterfeiters, while N5, N10 and N20 bills will reintroduced as coins.
NBC Lists Problems Be-deviling Digitization
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has listed problems hampering Nigeria's transition from analogue to digital broadcasting and urged government to provide incentives that will accelerate the country’s match to the new order touted as the next big thing.
With three years to the June 2015 deadline, the Commission said that the absence of policy to support local manufacture of digital receivers’ is a major limiting factor to digitization.
Yomi Bolarinwa, Director-General of NBC, waxed worriedly at a news conference in Abuja to mark the 20th anniversary of the commission.
"As of today the main ingredient needed for viewers to receive digital signals on their essentially analogue sets is not readily available and where it is available it’s not at a cost easily affordable for the average Nigerian," said Bolarinwa.
"All these are policy driven, and once you don't have the policy on ground, it will not work," he said.
He suggested strict laws to protect would-be makers and prevent import of substandard products.
For the transition to be considered a success, at least 95 per cent of Nigerians with access to television must also have access to the digital receivers.
Nigeria has already a June 2012 deadline it earlier set for herself.
The new date is now January 2015 few months short of the June 17 2015 deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for its members to move over the digital broadcasting.
Digital broadcasting will make better viewing pleasure; boost the telecommunication industry, as it would free much needed spectrum for broadband penetration.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Four kidnappers killed by Police
Nigerian police said on Tuesday they killed four kidnappers in southern Edo state following a car chase where the hostage escaped, in the latest abduction in a region home to Africa's biggest oil industry.
Criminal gangs kidnapping for ransom have blighted Africa's second largest economy for years, with the vast majority of people abducted Nigerians, although foreign oil workers have also been targets.
Violence and crime in the oil-producing Niger Delta pushes up the cost of doing business. Shell spent almost 40% of its global security budget in Nigeria between 2007-2009, according to an oil industry watchdog.
Senior civil servant Benson Ojoto was kidnapped earlier this month in Delta, one of the three states that make up the bulk of the Niger Delta. He was freed on Sunday, police said.
"Luckily, the man escaped while the gang headed to Edo with his car. We trailed them to Benin city where we engaged and gunned down four of them. One escaped with gunshot wounds," Delta state police spokesperson Charles Muka said.
Muka said they strongly suspected the gang was behind the kidnapping this month of Delta State Judge Marcel Okoh, who has since been released.
Although the majority of kidnappings in Nigeria are for financial gain, this year there have been a handful of abductions of foreigners by Islamists in the largely-Muslim north, far from the oil region.
A Briton and an Italian were killed during a raid in northeast Sokoto in March and a German died during another rescue attempt in Nigeria's second-largest city Kano in May.
Shell spends $383m on security in Nigeria in two years – Platform
Shell Oil Company has spent $383 million on security in Nigeria in two years, watchdog organisation Platform has said.
According to Platform, a London based non-profit, citing leaked financial data from Shell, the expenditure made between 2007 and 2009 is 40 per cent of Shell’s total expenditure on security globally which it says stood at $1 billion.
In a publication titled ‘Dirty Work’ detailing Shell’s global security expenditure between 2007 and 2009, which Platform says is based on internal financial data from Shell’s security department leaked to it, the data reveals for the first time how much Shell has spent on security, who benefitted and who bore the risks.
“In particular, the data shows the extent of Shell’s funding for government forces and other armed groups in Nigeria during a period of intense conflict in the oil producing Niger Delta,” it says.
Platform also says the $383 million Shell spent in Nigeria is an underestimate. “It does not include expenditure on the Shell operated Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Bonny. Nor does it include an estimated annual $200 million of ‘community development’ funds, which are frequently distributed to groups that threaten Shell’s operations, sparking serious violent conflicts. The leaked data covers all four Shell companies in Nigeria,” it says.
The Niger Delta in Nigeria where Shell and other oil companies operate has been plagued by tension and violence as local people demand a fair share of money made from exploiting oil from their land. The area is heavily polluted and the people are poor with very little or no infrastructure and jobs.
A study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released in 2011 made a call for the setting up of a $1 billion fund to clean-up the over 50 years of pollution of Ogoniland in the Niger Delta by the operations of oil companies.
According to UNEP however, full environmental restoration of Ogoniland may take up to 30 years.
UNEP, indicated that the assessment which has been unprecedented, was carried over a 14-month period and more than 200 locations were examined, 122 kilometres of pipeline rights of way were surveyed, more than 5,000 medical records were reviewed and over 23,000 people were engaged at local community meetings.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
LAGOS OCEAN SURGE: One Dead, Several People Displaced
An early morning ocean surge on Saturday sacked communities around Kuramo Beach in Lagos, leaving one person dead and 15 others missing.
General Manager of The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Mr Femi Oke-Osayintolu said.
He said the incident occurred at about 2 a.m. when residents were asleep, adding that those affected were mainly people occupying illegal shanties at the beach front.
“Yes, there was an ocean surge at Kuramo Beach very early this morning and we have some casualties.
“We have just recovered one body and we are still on a frantic search for about 15 people still missing.
“We have cordoned off the entire area and have asked residents to vacate immediately. It is a serious thing, but we are on top of the situation’’, he said.
The general manager said ocean surge was a problem in communities around beach fronts and had wreaked havoc in the past.
He urged residents living or doing business around other beach fronts in the state to leave immediately.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Segun Oniru, has ordered the immediate evacuation of the state’s waterfront communities.
In a release made available to journalists, Oniru explained that the move was necessary to avert disaster at the waterfronts.
He also said the move was necessitated by seven days of high waves accompanied by a strong ocean surge which hit the country’s coastline, including Lagos.
He identified places from which residents are expected to move as Badagry and Ojo Waterfront areas, Bar Beach, Kuramo Beach, Goshen Estate, Maiyegun and Alpha Beach.
According to him, the State emergency services had been mobilised to monitor the situation and respond accordingly.
It will be noted that coastal areas in the state, particularly communities surrounding Alpha Beach, have recently been sacked by ocean surges.
Residents have blamed the recent experiences on ship wrecks and abandoned vessels on the sea.
General Manager of The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Mr Femi Oke-Osayintolu said.
He said the incident occurred at about 2 a.m. when residents were asleep, adding that those affected were mainly people occupying illegal shanties at the beach front.
“Yes, there was an ocean surge at Kuramo Beach very early this morning and we have some casualties.
“We have just recovered one body and we are still on a frantic search for about 15 people still missing.
“We have cordoned off the entire area and have asked residents to vacate immediately. It is a serious thing, but we are on top of the situation’’, he said.
The general manager said ocean surge was a problem in communities around beach fronts and had wreaked havoc in the past.
He urged residents living or doing business around other beach fronts in the state to leave immediately.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Segun Oniru, has ordered the immediate evacuation of the state’s waterfront communities.
In a release made available to journalists, Oniru explained that the move was necessary to avert disaster at the waterfronts.
He also said the move was necessitated by seven days of high waves accompanied by a strong ocean surge which hit the country’s coastline, including Lagos.
He identified places from which residents are expected to move as Badagry and Ojo Waterfront areas, Bar Beach, Kuramo Beach, Goshen Estate, Maiyegun and Alpha Beach.
According to him, the State emergency services had been mobilised to monitor the situation and respond accordingly.
It will be noted that coastal areas in the state, particularly communities surrounding Alpha Beach, have recently been sacked by ocean surges.
Residents have blamed the recent experiences on ship wrecks and abandoned vessels on the sea.
Ramadan fasting dilemma when sun never sets
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Practising Muslims across the world have ended observing Ramadan. For one month, they fast between first light and sunset. But what do Muslims do in a town where the sun never really goes down?The town of Rovaniemi in Finland lies in a land of extremes.
At 66 degrees north it straddles the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland. During midwinter it is cloaked in total darkness. But in the summer it is bathed in daylight.
The long days pose a particular problem for fasting Muslims like Shah Jalal Miah Masud.
''It doesn't get dark. It always looks the same. The sun is always on the horizon”,said Shah Jalal Miah Masud
''It doesn't get dark. It always looks the same. The sun is always on the horizon”,said Shah Jalal Miah Masud
The 28-year-old moved to Rovaniemi - 830km (515 mile) north of the capital, Helsinki - from Bangladesh five years ago to study IT. He has not had any food or water for 21 hours. And he laughs.
"It doesn't get dark. It always looks like the same, the sun is always on the horizon and it's quite difficult to get what the time is actually right now," he says.
It is 11 o'clock in the evening and the sun has only just dipped below the horizon. The sky has turned a beautiful deep, rich blue. This is as dark as it will get, then the sun will rise again in five hours.
Masud says it is difficult to fast according to Finnish time and admits he is tired. But despite the hunger and fatigue, he says it is a pleasure to observe Ramadan during the long Finnish days.
There is another option which reduces the number of fasting hours - mark its duration by the rising and setting of the sun in countries far to the south of Finland. Dr Abdul Mannan - a local Imam and president of the Islam Society of Northern Finland - says there are two schools of thought.
"The Egyptian scholars say that if the days are long - more than 18 hours - then you can follow the Mecca time or Medina time, or the nearest Muslim country time," says Dr Mannan.
"The other (point of view) from the Saudi scholars says whatever the day is - long or short - you have to follow the local time."
Nafisa Yeasmin Nafisa Yeasmin follows the Mecca timetable.Dr Mannan says the majority of Muslims in northern Finland observe either Mecca's fasting hours or Turkish time because it is the nearest Muslim country to Finland.
Nafisa Yeasmin Nafisa Yeasmin follows the Mecca timetable.Dr Mannan says the majority of Muslims in northern Finland observe either Mecca's fasting hours or Turkish time because it is the nearest Muslim country to Finland.
For Nafisa Yeasmin, a researcher at the University of Lapland, choosing when to fast has not been an easy decision. She moved from Dhaka in Bangladesh six years ago with her husband and two children.
Her spacious Scandinavian-style kitchen - full of white cupboards and wooden work surfaces - smells of frying onions, turmeric, chilli and cumin.
As she prepares her traditional iftar meal, she recalls her first Ramadan in Rovaniemi when she decided to fast according to Finnish daylight hours, going without food for up to 20 hours a day.
"It was very difficult to follow because in Bangladesh we are used to 12 hours' daytime and 12 hours' night-time," she says.
Muslims abstain from food and drink while fasting during daylight hours.Ramadan is intended to increase self-control Muslims try to give up bad habits and pray more during the holy month.Families and friends often gather to break the fast after sunset with the iftar meal
Muslims abstain from food and drink while fasting during daylight hours.Ramadan is intended to increase self-control Muslims try to give up bad habits and pray more during the holy month.Families and friends often gather to break the fast after sunset with the iftar meal
"Then I thought, not any more. I have to follow Mecca's timetable. But I'm a little bit worried whether Allah will accept it or not."
Many Muslims come to Finland as refugees from all over the world, particularly Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2001, Finland has accepted 750 refugees a year. New arrivals are often sent to live in towns like Rovaniemi in the far north in a government resettlement programmes.
In Rovaniemi the long days are not the only obstacle that fasting Muslims face.
No shop in this town of 60,000 sells halal food, which is prepared according to Islamic law. The nearest town, Oulu, that does is 300km away. Another option is Lulea, across the border in Sweden.
Yeasmin opts for Lulea, which is a six-hour round trip journey by car, with a shopping list full of items, including black chickpeas, dates, rice crackers and lots of halal meat.
Understandably, she has stocked up for the whole month of Ramadan. To make her point, she opens her huge white fridge - covered in her children's school photos - to reveal all seven trays crammed full of frozen halal meat.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Nigeria tightens security for Eid, US issues warning
* As US issues warning
The Federal Government has tightened security across Nigeria and the United States warned of the risk of attacks Friday ahead of this weekend's Eid festivities, which mark the end of the Muslim month of fasting.
The government which has been struggling with a deadly insurgency by Islamist militants Boko Haram, advised residents to be on alert and boosted patrols, while the US embassy in a statement recalled a suicide attack on the UN in Abuja a year ago and warned that "an anniversary security event could occur".
A centuries-old Eid festival in the major northern city of Kano, famed for its elaborate horse pageant, has been cancelled, officially due to the local emir's health, but residents suspected the worsening violence was to blame.
In the volatile central city of Jos, authorities declared off-limits two main prayer grounds that have been hit by violence in the past over security concerns, but said alternative locations were available.
The authorities' moves were an indication of how badly security has deteriorated in northern and central Nigeria, where Boko Haram has been blamed for more than 1,400 deaths since 2010.
Nigeria's national police chief urged the public to share tips with officers, something many people have been reluctant to do out of fear of both Boko Haram and the authorities, who have been accused of abuses.
The statement said the force had been directed "to take adequate measures to ensure the provision of water-tight security across the country before, during and after the celebration".
In a security message, the US embassy evoked the August 26, 2011 suicide bombing of UN headquarters in Abuja which killed at least 25 people and warned of possible fresh attacks.
"This year, extremists have attacked many locations in Nigeria, killing and injuring hundreds of people," the statement said.
This weekend's Muslim Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations, often called Sallah in Nigeria, mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Monday and Tuesday have also been declared public holidays.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer, is divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south, though most major cities are mixed.
Boko Haram's deadliest attack yet hit Kano in January when coordinated bombings and shootings killed at least 185 people, and authorities there said they had taken precautions.
"In Kano, we are on the streets... For these upcoming Muslim celebrations, JTF (military Joint Task Force) will do everything, security-wise, to ensure a hitch-free festivity," spokesman Lieutenant Iweha Ikedichi told AFP.
In Maiduguri, where Boko Haram has been based, the military was on high alert.
"We have put in place adequate security arrangements to ensure a crisis-free Sallah festivity," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa told AFP.
Boko Haram's targets have widened as the group has moved from assassinations to sophisticated bombings, including suicide attacks.
Members are believed to have sought training in northern Mali from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and Western nations have been monitoring closely for signs of further links.
While Muslims have often been its victims, the sect has recently specifically targeted churches, and President Goodluck Jonathan has accused the group of seeking to provoke a religious crisis in the country.
The group is believed to include a number of factions with varying goals, and many analysts say deep poverty and a lack of development in Nigeria's north have been key factors in fueling the insurgency.
In June, the United States labelled suspected Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and two other militants as "global terrorists", allowing any US assets they may have to be blocked.
F.G investigates 21 firms for fuel subsidy fraud
Nigeria's finance ministry said on Friday it would not pay subsidies to fuel importers it was investigating for fraud, listing 21 local firms and pledging not to back down despite union strike threats.
A presidential committee, led by Access Bank chief Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede, is verifying all fuel marketers' claims before the finance ministry pays them any subsidy, it said.
Nigeria is among the top 10 crude oil exporters in the world but due to decades of corruption and mismanagement it has to import most of its refined fuel needs.
A parliamentary probe in April uncovered a $6.8 billion scam in the fuel subsidy administration, one of the biggest corruption scandals in Nigeria's history.
It found that marketers were claiming subsidy for fuel they never delivered or that they sold to the country's neighbouring states.
Unions, which are largely controlled by the companies, threatened to strike unless payments were released.
There were fuel shortages in the capital Abuja this week, as some marketers withheld deliveries, and Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala condemned what she called "blackmail" in a news conference on Thursday.
"It is clear that those behind the strikes are marketers being investigated for possible fraud," a finance ministry statement said on Friday.
"These elements have now resorted to hiding behind the unions to unnecessarily antagonize government and create hardship for Nigerians ... No degree of blackmail will stop the government from doing its work."
Another investigation by a committee President Goodluck Jonathan set up found that fuel traders fraudulently collected 382 billion naira ($2.38 billion) last year in subsidy payments.
In January Jonathan tried to end the fuel subsidy, which economists say is wasteful and corrupt, but a week of strikes and protests over petrol prices forced him to partly reinstate it.
Sudan joins the International Council of Tourism Partners
The International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP) announced that the Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife has become the first destination member from the Sudan.
Sudan’s Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife performs its activities in integration with several units, consisting of a central ministry, wildlife preservation department, tourism police forces department, international Sudanese tourism company, and international Quasr Company.
The ministry set up tourism law and the regulation in order to organize tourism activity and work, and to confirm the authorization of the federal ministry in controlling and inspecting tourist institutions and establishments on federal and states levels, keeping standardization and specification in the hotels and in tourism establishments.
The Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife also works to protect wildlife, as well as administering national game reserve parks, with the view to preserving the environment and diverse resources of Sudan. The Ministry sees wildlife as a national resource of promotion to activate domestic and external tourism.
Additionally, efforts are ongoing to preserve national tourist destinations and establishments, as well as promoting tourism within the framework of a good atmosphere of social and cultural interaction with other people.
ICTP Chairman Juergen T. Steinmetz said: “Sudan’s Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife aims to keep Sudanese values and traditions in mind as it builds its tourism sector. The Ministry understands that tourism will help to boost the economy and provide job opportunities.”
Sudan has 6 national parks covering a total area of 60,370 sq.km. and19 game reserves with a total area of 35,500 sq.km. thus, a total area of around 100,000 sq. km. are designated for wildlife protection areas. Sudan enjoys a wide spectrum of climatic and environmental conditions that are manifested in the existence of a great wealth of animals and birds species.
Sudan’s Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife performs its activities in integration with several units, consisting of a central ministry, wildlife preservation department, tourism police forces department, international Sudanese tourism company, and international Quasr Company.
The ministry set up tourism law and the regulation in order to organize tourism activity and work, and to confirm the authorization of the federal ministry in controlling and inspecting tourist institutions and establishments on federal and states levels, keeping standardization and specification in the hotels and in tourism establishments.
The Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife also works to protect wildlife, as well as administering national game reserve parks, with the view to preserving the environment and diverse resources of Sudan. The Ministry sees wildlife as a national resource of promotion to activate domestic and external tourism.
Additionally, efforts are ongoing to preserve national tourist destinations and establishments, as well as promoting tourism within the framework of a good atmosphere of social and cultural interaction with other people.
ICTP Chairman Juergen T. Steinmetz said: “Sudan’s Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife aims to keep Sudanese values and traditions in mind as it builds its tourism sector. The Ministry understands that tourism will help to boost the economy and provide job opportunities.”
Sudan has 6 national parks covering a total area of 60,370 sq.km. and19 game reserves with a total area of 35,500 sq.km. thus, a total area of around 100,000 sq. km. are designated for wildlife protection areas. Sudan enjoys a wide spectrum of climatic and environmental conditions that are manifested in the existence of a great wealth of animals and birds species.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Pope's butler to stand trial
Pope Benedict's former butler has been ordered to stand trial by a Vatican magistrate on charges of aggravated theft for leaking documents alleging corruption.
In a 35-page document on the case, which has rocked the Holy See since Paolo Gabriele was arrested last May, a second man who worked in the Vatican is also accused of involvement.
The layman, named as Claudio Sciarpelletti, was also ordered to stand trial, although on lesser charges of aiding and abetting a crime.
The Vatican said it was not clear when the trial would take place, but it would not be before the end of September.
If found guilty Gabriele, who worked in the pope's private apartments, could face six years in jail under the laws of the papal state.
It has also been revealed a cheque made out to the pope for 100,000 euros, a gold nugget and a 16th century book were found in a search of Gabriele's home.
The documents leaked earlier this year alleged corruption in the Vatican's dealings with Italian companies, including the payment of inflated prices for services, and detailed rivalries between cardinals and clashes over the running of the Vatican bank.
source: Independent Television News
In a 35-page document on the case, which has rocked the Holy See since Paolo Gabriele was arrested last May, a second man who worked in the Vatican is also accused of involvement.
The layman, named as Claudio Sciarpelletti, was also ordered to stand trial, although on lesser charges of aiding and abetting a crime.
The Vatican said it was not clear when the trial would take place, but it would not be before the end of September.
If found guilty Gabriele, who worked in the pope's private apartments, could face six years in jail under the laws of the papal state.
It has also been revealed a cheque made out to the pope for 100,000 euros, a gold nugget and a 16th century book were found in a search of Gabriele's home.
The documents leaked earlier this year alleged corruption in the Vatican's dealings with Italian companies, including the payment of inflated prices for services, and detailed rivalries between cardinals and clashes over the running of the Vatican bank.
source: Independent Television News
EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT RESHUFFLES THE MILTARY TOP GENERALS
Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has retired two top military
officers amid power struggle between the
county’s leadership and the army.
The retirement of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s
defense minister, was part of a reshuffle of the top tier of the armed forces,
and effectively sidelined the man who had headed the military council that
ruled after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.
Lieutenant General Sami Enan was also
ordered from office. Both men were named as advisers to Mursi.
The decision is an “incredible
move, a very gutsy move,” Shadi Hamid, director of research at Brookings Doha
Center, said by telephone yesterday. “The best way to understand this is as
another chapter in the long struggle between Mursi and the Brotherhood and the
deep state.”
In addition to the shake-up, Mursi
canceled constitutional changes issued by the military before his inauguration
that had stripped his office of some of its authority.
Mursi said during a religious
ceremony that aired yesterday on Al Jazeera television that his decisions
weren’t meant to “marginalize anybody,” rather they were intended to open “new
horizons to new bloods and new wills.”
It wasn’t clear whether the military
acquiesced in the changes. Reuters quoted General Mohamed el-Assar, a member of
the military council, as saying the decision was made after consultation with
Tantawi, who had served as Mubarak’s long-time defense chief, and other
military leaders.
Civilian
Transition
“My gut is telling me that this is
accepted, which would be hugely positive for Egypt as it would mark transition
to proper civilian rule,” Emad Mostaque, a U.K-based analyst at Religare Noah,
wrote in an e-mailed note yesterday.
Mursi appointed judge Mahmoud
Mekki as vice president, in addition to removing the top defense aides, Mursi’s
spokesman, Yasser Ali, said in a televised address announcing the changes. The
Associated Press reported that Mekki had publicly spoken against election fraud
during Mubarak’s regime.
Crowds gathered in Alexandria and
in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where the uprising that toppled Mubarak began, to
support the move, according to Al Jazeera.
Mursi, who was nominated by the
Muslim Brotherhood for the country’s top office, has been locked in a power
struggle with the generals who handed over authority to him at the end of June.
Military
Decision
Their decision to issue the
constitutional change hours after polls closed in the final stage of the
presidential election was described as being tantamount to a coup by the
Brotherhood and the youth groups that played a key role in the January 2011
uprising against Mubarak.
Tantawi had also ordered the dissolution
of the Islamist- dominated parliament, implementing a ruling by the country’s
highest court that had critics claiming the military was trying to subvert
Egypt’s transition to democracy. Under the decree, the military gave themselves
temporary legislative rights.
Along with canceling the June 17
constitutional declaration, Mursi issued a new constitutional addendum of his
own giving himself the power to appoint a panel to draft the new constitution
if the current 100-member committee fails to fulfill its task, the state-run
Middle East News Agency reported, citing Ali. The military had given itself the
same right under the decree which he nullified.
“This isn’t game over, this isn’t
Mursi won,” Hamid, with Brookings Doha Center, said. “Maybe Mursi is winning
this particular period of the struggle, but we’ve learned from Egypt that the
situation seems fluid. One day, the military seems on top and other days Mursi
seems on top.”
Mursi previously forced the acting
head of the country’s general intelligence service into retirement and fired
other top officials after an attack by unidentified militants in Sinai that
left 16 soldiers dead.
As part of the shake-up, Mursi
promoted General Abdelfatah al-Seesi defense minister and Sedki Sobhi to armed
forces chief of staff, elevating him to the rank of general, Ali said.
/Bloomberg
Troops kill 20 suspected militants
Twenty suspected members of
the militant Islamic group, Boko Haram were reportedly killed by soldiers yesterday
in Maiduguri, an Army official confirmed.They had engaged the soldiers in a
shootout as soon as they spotted them moving along the street.
."The
Boko Haram gang, as soon as they saw the military arrive at the spot, they
opened fire and the soldiers went into action. All of them were killed because
they kept shooting and did not surrender or give up," he said.
One soldier was also killed in
the violence, which took place in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, said the
captain.
From its base in Muslim-dominated
northern Nigeria, Boko Haram has waged a violent campaign of bombings of
Christian churches in Nigeria that have killed hundreds and wounded many more.
The group is also blamed for an attack on a United Nations building in the
Nigerian capital of Abuja last year that killed at least 23 people.
The
group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden," has
referred to itself as the "Nigerian Taliban." It seeks to overthrow
the Nigerian government and replace it with a regime based on Islamic law.
U.S.
officials have expressed concerns that the group is beginning to cooperate with
al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the Northern Africa based affiliate of the
group, and another al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia, al Shabaab, to target
American interests in Africa.
The
United States in June designated as terrorists three senior members of Boko
Haram. The announcement drew criticism from some on Capitol Hill who felt the
State Department should have gone further by designating Boko Haram as a whole
a terrorist entity.
The
terrorist designation blocks all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of the
three individuals named, and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in
transactions with, or for the benefit of, the three.
Source:CNN
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Romney Picks Ryan as running mate in US Presidential race
WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney introduced Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate on Saturday morning at a boisterous rally in Norfolk, Va., a choice that elevates one of the party’s young conservative leaders to the Republican ticket and intensifies the debate over the size and role of government.
The selection of Mr. Ryan, the chief architect of the Republican Party’s tax-and-spending-cut plan and an advocate of reshaping the traditional Medicare program of health insurance for retirees, was an effort to reset the race with President Obama after months in which Mr. Romney has come under intense assault from Democrats.
The decision instantly made the campaign seemed bigger and more consequential, with the scale of the federal government squarely at the center of the debate, even as it shifted attention to some degree away from what had been Mr. Romney’s intense focus, the lack of steady and substantial job growth since Mr. Obama took office.
“There are a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with Paul Ryan,” Mr. Romney said in announcing his vice-presidential candidate. “I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t respect his character and judgment.”
When Mr. Ryan joined Mr. Romney on stage, standing against a backdrop of the battleship U.S.S. Wisconsin, the pair presented a Republican ticket that also represents a generational change, highlighting Mr. Romney’s business experience and Mr. Ryan’s deep knowledge of the nation’s budget. At 42, Mr. Ryan is the same age as Mr. Romney’s oldest son.
The announcement, which had been kept secret by Mr. Romney until the final hours, opened a weekend tour of key battleground states, with the two men traveling together to kick off the debut of their new partnership. They called themselves, “America’s Comeback Team.”
For Mr. Romney, the decision is one of the boldest of his presidential candidacy, which has been guided by a do-no-harm strategy over the last year. It promised to energize conservatives, who had been lobbying for Mr. Ryan and see his budget as the key to unlocking the economy’s growth potential.
The president’s re-election campaign and the Democratic Party quickly seized on the choice and began to define the Republican ticket in stark terms, as two men who would strip health coverage for retirees and favor the wealthy.
As Mr. Ryan addressed a crowd of more than 2,000 supporters, he said the nation was on an “unsustainable path” and said Republicans would not be deterred by Democratic scare tactics. It was the largest stage yet for Mr. Ryan, a native of Janesville, Wis., elected to Congress at age 28, who has spent his adult life working in the federal government of Washington that many conservatives deplore.
“The commitment Mitt Romney and I make to you is this,” Mr. Ryan said. “We won’t duck the tough issues, we will lead. We won’t blame others, we will take responsibility. And we won’t replace our founding principles, we will reapply them.”
In introducing Mr. Ryan, Mr. Romney mistakenly called him “the next president of the United States,” left the stage, then returned to correct himself as Mr. Mr. Ryan prepared to speak. Mr. Ryan called Mr. Romney “the right man to lead America back to prosperity and greatness” and said of the Obama administration’s leadership, “We’re in a different, and dangerous, moment. We’re running out of time — and we can’t afford four more years of this.”
The selection of Mr. Ryan means that this year will be the first time in 80 years that no candidate of either of the two major political parties will have served in uniform. Mr. Romney, a Mormon, and Mr. Ryan, a Catholic, also represent a rarity that neither of the two Republican candidates are of Protestant faith. In choosing his running mate, Mr. Romney was looking to elevate a presidential race that has often been marked by a small-bore debate and bitter fighting with the Obama campaign. He wanted the choice to make a clear statement, aides said, recognizing that running against Mr. Obama’s record even in difficult economic times was likely not enough to win in November.
But in making his choice, Mr. Romney took political ownership of a budget that even some Republicans worry could be a liability with voters in November. Mr. Ryan has proposed sweeping changes in entitlement programs like Medicaid and Medicare, which insure more than 100 million people and account for more than one-fifth of the federal budget.
The budget debate that has largely resided in Washington suddenly exploded into bigger view with Mr. Ryan’s selection. The president’s campaign manager, Jim Messina, on Saturday argued that the Republican ticket “would end Medicare as we know it,” a preview of messages that will play out in the most expensive presidential campaign in the nation’s history.
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, who has spent the last several weeks raising questions about Mr. Romney’s tax returns, signaled that Democrats would use Mr. Ryan’s approach to remaking Medicare in Congressional races as well as in the presidential race.
“By picking Representative Paul Ryan, Governor Romney has doubled down on his commitment to gut Social Security and end Medicare as we know it,” Mr. Reid said in a statement. “Romney’s choice demonstrates that catering to the Tea Party and the far right is more important to him that standing up for the middle class.”
The announcement concluded a four-month search, conducted in public and private, with Mr. Romney inviting governors and members of Congress to campaign at his side to gauge his comfort. While conservative leaders recently began loudly urging Mr. Romney to pick Mr. Ryan, most Republicans assumed Mr. Romney would go with someone seen as a safer choice.
But advisers said Saturday that Mr. Romney had called Mr. Ryan on Aug. 1, almost immediately upon arriving home from a foreign trip to Britain, Israel and Poland. The detail, which was confirmed by an associate close to Mr. Ryan, deflated speculation that Mr. Romney made his choice in reaction to an outcry that broke out this week, most notably on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, which argued forcefully on behalf of Mr. Ryan.
Mr. Romney called the other finalists for the position on Friday evening, aides said, and thanked them for their cooperation in the vetting process and their help with his campaign. He did not tell them whom he selected, but word began spreading overnight that Mr. Ryan had emerged as the lone contender.
Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota who was passed over four years ago by Senator John McCain, wished Mr. Ryan well on Saturday. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, who was also seen as a top prospect, hailed the decision as a “great choice.”
The selection was announced as Mr. Romney moves into a critical period leading to his nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., at the end of the month. His approval rating and standing in several battleground states has fallen over the summer, after an aggressive effort by the Obama campaign to define him, and Republicans hoped the vice-presidential announcement would start the race anew for the final three months.
But Mr. Ryan will face questions about his readiness to be president. With no foreign policy experience or significant time in the private sector, the Romney campaign is counting on his youthful charisma and intellect to sustain him through a bruising presidential campaign.
Even as of late last week, several prominent conservatives speculated that Mr. Romney would view Mr. Ryan as too risky of a choice, given what many have described as a risk-averse strategy by his campaign most of this year. Aides said the risks were somewhat illusory, considering that Mr. Romney was going to have to defend Mr. Ryan’s budget because he has endorsed most of it and it has become a central document of the Republican Party.
The choice heartened senior Republicans, some of whom worried that Mr. Romney’s campaign had become mired in the often small back-and-forth with the Obama campaign without asserting a positive vision for where Mr. Romney wants to take the country.
“He had two decisions to make: Governing or political and bold or comfortable,” Karl Rove, the Republican strategist, said Saturday. “And he decided to go governing and bold.”
Mr. Romney, who seemed to audition many of his potential running mates in highly public fashion on the campaign trail, seemed to have a comfortable rapport with Mr. Ryan that was on display again on Saturday as they locked arms after walking out to the soaring music of the “Air Force One” film soundtrack. Mr. Romney wore a tie without jacket and Mr. Ryan wore a jacket without a tie.
Mr. Romney, who is not known for routinely exhibiting physical warmth, patted Mr. Ryan on the back 10 times after his running mate bounded onto the stage. When Mr. Ryan finished his remarks, Mr. Romney whispered a word into his ear. “Perfect,” he said.
source:The New York Times
The selection of Mr. Ryan, the chief architect of the Republican Party’s tax-and-spending-cut plan and an advocate of reshaping the traditional Medicare program of health insurance for retirees, was an effort to reset the race with President Obama after months in which Mr. Romney has come under intense assault from Democrats.
The decision instantly made the campaign seemed bigger and more consequential, with the scale of the federal government squarely at the center of the debate, even as it shifted attention to some degree away from what had been Mr. Romney’s intense focus, the lack of steady and substantial job growth since Mr. Obama took office.
“There are a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with Paul Ryan,” Mr. Romney said in announcing his vice-presidential candidate. “I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t respect his character and judgment.”
When Mr. Ryan joined Mr. Romney on stage, standing against a backdrop of the battleship U.S.S. Wisconsin, the pair presented a Republican ticket that also represents a generational change, highlighting Mr. Romney’s business experience and Mr. Ryan’s deep knowledge of the nation’s budget. At 42, Mr. Ryan is the same age as Mr. Romney’s oldest son.
The announcement, which had been kept secret by Mr. Romney until the final hours, opened a weekend tour of key battleground states, with the two men traveling together to kick off the debut of their new partnership. They called themselves, “America’s Comeback Team.”
For Mr. Romney, the decision is one of the boldest of his presidential candidacy, which has been guided by a do-no-harm strategy over the last year. It promised to energize conservatives, who had been lobbying for Mr. Ryan and see his budget as the key to unlocking the economy’s growth potential.
The president’s re-election campaign and the Democratic Party quickly seized on the choice and began to define the Republican ticket in stark terms, as two men who would strip health coverage for retirees and favor the wealthy.
As Mr. Ryan addressed a crowd of more than 2,000 supporters, he said the nation was on an “unsustainable path” and said Republicans would not be deterred by Democratic scare tactics. It was the largest stage yet for Mr. Ryan, a native of Janesville, Wis., elected to Congress at age 28, who has spent his adult life working in the federal government of Washington that many conservatives deplore.
“The commitment Mitt Romney and I make to you is this,” Mr. Ryan said. “We won’t duck the tough issues, we will lead. We won’t blame others, we will take responsibility. And we won’t replace our founding principles, we will reapply them.”
In introducing Mr. Ryan, Mr. Romney mistakenly called him “the next president of the United States,” left the stage, then returned to correct himself as Mr. Mr. Ryan prepared to speak. Mr. Ryan called Mr. Romney “the right man to lead America back to prosperity and greatness” and said of the Obama administration’s leadership, “We’re in a different, and dangerous, moment. We’re running out of time — and we can’t afford four more years of this.”
The selection of Mr. Ryan means that this year will be the first time in 80 years that no candidate of either of the two major political parties will have served in uniform. Mr. Romney, a Mormon, and Mr. Ryan, a Catholic, also represent a rarity that neither of the two Republican candidates are of Protestant faith. In choosing his running mate, Mr. Romney was looking to elevate a presidential race that has often been marked by a small-bore debate and bitter fighting with the Obama campaign. He wanted the choice to make a clear statement, aides said, recognizing that running against Mr. Obama’s record even in difficult economic times was likely not enough to win in November.
But in making his choice, Mr. Romney took political ownership of a budget that even some Republicans worry could be a liability with voters in November. Mr. Ryan has proposed sweeping changes in entitlement programs like Medicaid and Medicare, which insure more than 100 million people and account for more than one-fifth of the federal budget.
The budget debate that has largely resided in Washington suddenly exploded into bigger view with Mr. Ryan’s selection. The president’s campaign manager, Jim Messina, on Saturday argued that the Republican ticket “would end Medicare as we know it,” a preview of messages that will play out in the most expensive presidential campaign in the nation’s history.
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, who has spent the last several weeks raising questions about Mr. Romney’s tax returns, signaled that Democrats would use Mr. Ryan’s approach to remaking Medicare in Congressional races as well as in the presidential race.
“By picking Representative Paul Ryan, Governor Romney has doubled down on his commitment to gut Social Security and end Medicare as we know it,” Mr. Reid said in a statement. “Romney’s choice demonstrates that catering to the Tea Party and the far right is more important to him that standing up for the middle class.”
The announcement concluded a four-month search, conducted in public and private, with Mr. Romney inviting governors and members of Congress to campaign at his side to gauge his comfort. While conservative leaders recently began loudly urging Mr. Romney to pick Mr. Ryan, most Republicans assumed Mr. Romney would go with someone seen as a safer choice.
But advisers said Saturday that Mr. Romney had called Mr. Ryan on Aug. 1, almost immediately upon arriving home from a foreign trip to Britain, Israel and Poland. The detail, which was confirmed by an associate close to Mr. Ryan, deflated speculation that Mr. Romney made his choice in reaction to an outcry that broke out this week, most notably on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, which argued forcefully on behalf of Mr. Ryan.
Mr. Romney called the other finalists for the position on Friday evening, aides said, and thanked them for their cooperation in the vetting process and their help with his campaign. He did not tell them whom he selected, but word began spreading overnight that Mr. Ryan had emerged as the lone contender.
Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota who was passed over four years ago by Senator John McCain, wished Mr. Ryan well on Saturday. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, who was also seen as a top prospect, hailed the decision as a “great choice.”
The selection was announced as Mr. Romney moves into a critical period leading to his nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., at the end of the month. His approval rating and standing in several battleground states has fallen over the summer, after an aggressive effort by the Obama campaign to define him, and Republicans hoped the vice-presidential announcement would start the race anew for the final three months.
But Mr. Ryan will face questions about his readiness to be president. With no foreign policy experience or significant time in the private sector, the Romney campaign is counting on his youthful charisma and intellect to sustain him through a bruising presidential campaign.
Even as of late last week, several prominent conservatives speculated that Mr. Romney would view Mr. Ryan as too risky of a choice, given what many have described as a risk-averse strategy by his campaign most of this year. Aides said the risks were somewhat illusory, considering that Mr. Romney was going to have to defend Mr. Ryan’s budget because he has endorsed most of it and it has become a central document of the Republican Party.
The choice heartened senior Republicans, some of whom worried that Mr. Romney’s campaign had become mired in the often small back-and-forth with the Obama campaign without asserting a positive vision for where Mr. Romney wants to take the country.
“He had two decisions to make: Governing or political and bold or comfortable,” Karl Rove, the Republican strategist, said Saturday. “And he decided to go governing and bold.”
Mr. Romney, who seemed to audition many of his potential running mates in highly public fashion on the campaign trail, seemed to have a comfortable rapport with Mr. Ryan that was on display again on Saturday as they locked arms after walking out to the soaring music of the “Air Force One” film soundtrack. Mr. Romney wore a tie without jacket and Mr. Ryan wore a jacket without a tie.
Mr. Romney, who is not known for routinely exhibiting physical warmth, patted Mr. Ryan on the back 10 times after his running mate bounded onto the stage. When Mr. Ryan finished his remarks, Mr. Romney whispered a word into his ear. “Perfect,” he said.
source:The New York Times
Friday, August 10, 2012
U.S. offers help to Nigeria to fight terror group
The Obama administration is renewing an offer to help Nigeria marshal military and intelligence resources against a growing extremist threat that U.S. officials fear could spread to neighboring nations, a U.S. official said yesterday.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s brief visit to Nigeria was focused largely on security concerns. U.S. officials have been frustrated by what many see as a slow and parochial response to the spread of a violent Islamist movement in the country’s north.
Clinton also lobbied President Goodluck Jonathan to help move stalled legislation affecting foreign oil companies, the senior State Department official said.
Neither Clinton nor Jonathan directly addressed the threat from the Taliban-like Boko Haram network in remarks after their meeting, but Clinton alluded to the nation’s huge security and corruption problems.
“We want to work with you, and we will be by your side as you make the reforms and take the tough decisions that are necessary,” Clinton said.
Jonathan thanked the U.S. government for its support.
Clinton had argued that the Boko Haram threat could be better managed with more sharing of information within Nigeria’s far-flung security apparatus, and offered U.S. help in setting up an “intelligence fusion cell,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because Clinton’s meetings were private.
“It is in our interests, as well, to see Nigeria get a handle on this problem,” the official said. U.S. assistance could include investigative help to identify Boko Haram militants and forensics services to track the origin of homemade bombs, officials said.
The proposed intelligence center would streamline the collection and analysis of information about the militants that is coming from several Nigerian intelligence and law enforcement agencies, two officials said.
The U.S. government has helped several nations establish such centers, which draw on lessons American officials learned from the intelligence and law enforcement failures surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
It was unclear whether any new U.S. offers to share intelligence were part of Thursday’s discussions.
“Nigeria faces serious threats from terrorism,” Clinton said during brief remarks to U.S. diplomats and others. She noted a terrorist threat against the U.S. Embassy here earlier this year.
The United States is worried that the Boko Haram threat could spread to Chad, Cameroon, Niger or beyond.
“We are concerned that this kind of radicalism could, in fact, go across borders and undermine the security of neighboring states,” the official said.
Boko Haram wants to create a strict Islamic state in Nigeria’s north. The group has attacked churches this year with bombs and guns, provoking reprisals against innocent Muslims. Hundreds of people have died.
Nigerian military forces are taking the lead against the group, but Jonathan’s government faces internal criticism that the effort is poorly managed. A heavy-handed military response has produced a backlash of resentment.
On Thursday, the Nigerian military swept through Kogi state in search of gunmen behind a massacre Monday in which the attackers blocked exits to a church and fired at trapped worshipers, killing 19.
Nigeria has been cool to earlier offers of help, and relations between the United States and its fourth-largest oil supplier have grown increasingly tense.
The U.S. government was hoping for a more receptive audience from Nigeria’s new national security chief, with whom Clinton met for the first time. A second senior U.S. official said the Nigerian officials that Clinton saw Thursday were interested in further talks.
Clinton also urged action on an oil law that has been stalled in parliament for more than five years. The law would affect foreign firms’ exploration and production activities, and uncertainty over whether there will be new restrictions is hampering business growth.
source: The Washington Post
Monday, August 6, 2012
BREAKING NEWS: Syrian Prime Minister defects
Syria's Prime Minister defected and fled to neighboring Jordan, early today(Monday)
This is a clear evidence that the cracks in President Bashar's Assad's regime have reached the highest echelons of government.
Ahmad Kassim, a senior official with the Free Syrian Army, said Prime Minister Riad Hijab defected to Jordan along with three other ministers.
A Jordanian government official confirmed Hijab defected with his family but did not comment on the three other ministers.
The Jordanian government official spoke on condition of anonymity, saying he was not allowed to make any public statements on the defection.
Hijab is the highest-level government official to defect since the uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule began 17 months ago. The other ministers' identities were not immediately known.
"Don't be scared. Defect from this criminal regime," said Mohammad Otari, who identified himself as a spokesman for Hijab. He spoke on Al-Jazeera TV, urging other Syrians to join the defecting ministers.
Otari said Hijab is now a "soldier" of the revolution and added that his defection was planned for more than two months.
He said the minister was now in a safe place, adding that Hijab took the job two months ago because the regime gave him a choice: Be killed or accept the post.
Earlier Monday, Syrian state-run TV reported Hijab was fired from his post. A former agriculture minister, Hijab took office less than two months ago and was considered a loyalist in Assad's ruling Baath party.
Otari said Hijab is from eastern province of Deir el-Zour from the Sikhni tribe.
He said Hijab defected along with 10 families who are his relatives, adding that some of them held government posts including in various ministries.
source:AP
JONATHAN TO BOKO-HARAM: ''I Will Not Resign''
President Goodluck Jonathan has ruled out any possibility of resigning from the nation’s highest office despite blackmail and intimidation by leaders of the Boko Haram Islamist sect, saying it would amount to abdicating his responsibilities and the mandate given to him by the people of Nigeria.
Jonathan was reacting on Sunday to threats by the sect, mandating him to either embrace the Islamic faith and become its ardent member or resign from office.
Speaking through his special adviser on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, he said he would not be brow-beaten by the sect to forfeit his mandate by resigning because such an action would negate the confidence of Nigerians in him, as evident in the 2011 presidential poll, which was globally acclaimed as free and fair.“When Nigerians voted overwhelmingly for President Jonathan in the 2011 general election, they knew they were voting for a Christian.
He continues to enjoy the goodwill and support of the good people of Nigeria. As president, Dr. Jonathan is the leader of both Muslims and Christians. In fact, he is the leader of persons of all faiths,” said Abati, who laughed off the sect’s threats.
“So, it amounts to sheer blackmail for any individual or group to ask the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to convert to Islam. The President cannot be intimidated by any group or individual. The President will never resign. He has the mandate of Nigerians to serve his fatherland and nobody should imagine that he will succumb to blackmail.”
Abubakar Shekau, a leader of Boko Haram, speaking in a video against his designation as a terrorist by the United States of America (USA) in June, had issued the resignation warning to Jonathan, saying, “I call on you Jonathan, you should abandon this ungodly power; you should repent and forsake Christianity, including Obama, who said I have business interests in the United States….”
Suicide bomb attack on Nigeria checkpoint kills eight
A suicide car bomber attacked a military checkpoint in Nigeria's northeastern city of Damaturu on Sunday, killing six soldiers and two civilians, police said.
Suspicion is likely to fall on Islamist sect Boko Haram, which is waging a bloody insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan's government across the north.
The sect is seeking to carve out an Islamic state in Africa's top energy producer and most populous country, which is split roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims.
"The lone suicide bomber detonated the bomb before the car he was in could be stopped, killing the six soldiers and one civilian," Patrick Egbuniwe, the police commissioner for Yobe State, told Reuters by telephone.
"Another civilian died of his wounds in hospital shortly after," he added, saying that nine soldiers were in hospital receiving treatment for their wounds.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Damaturu's Shagari housing estate.
Labeled a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, Boko Haram has been behind almost daily shootings and bombings in the volatile northeast.
Witness Abdullahi Sabo said the whole neighborhood shook when the Damaturu bomb exploded.
"The car blew up outside the front of my shop, the explosion was deadly," he said. "After the dust settled, many security operatives were rushed to the hospital."
In a separate incident, police said suspected sect members had shot dead a former commissioner for the environment in neighbouring Borno state, the epicenter of the Boko Haram insurgency, in the early hours of Saturday.
The sect has not been as active as it was at the start of the year, when it was often inflicting heavy casualties on the security forces and civilians, but has still been carrying out attacks.
President Jonathan has been criticized for failing to get to grips with the insurgency, though his supporters say a military crackdown in the north has weakened the sect dramatically.
Last Sunday, suspected members of Boko Haram killed five people in a series of gun battles in Kano, Nigeria's second largest city. Four sect fighters were also killed. The following day, gunmen attacked Vice President Namadi Sambo's house in his home state, though he was not in the building.
Boko Haram has shown an increasing appetite for bombing churches this year in what looks like an attempt to foment sectarian strife.
The government says it is open to dialogue with the sect's members, although an attempt to initiate contact with the main faction leader Abubakar Shekau earlier this year went nowhere.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Tanzania National Parks join International Council of Tourism Partners
The International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP) announced that Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) has joined the alliance as a destination member.
Tanzania National Parks works to sustainably conserve and manage park resources and their aesthetic value, for the benefit of present and future generations of mankind, as well as to efficiently provide high-class tourism products and services.
Its ultimate aim is to be the highest globally-rated institution in sustainable conservation and provision of exceptional tourism services.
The primary role of TANAPA is conservation. The 15 national parks, many of which form the core of a much larger protected ecosystem, have been set aside to preserve the country’s rich natural heritage, and to provide secure breeding grounds where its fauna and flora can thrive, safe from the conflicting interests of a growing human population.
The existing park system protects a number of internationally-recognized bastions of biodiversity and World Heritage sites, thereby redressing the balance for those areas of the country affected by deforestation, agriculture, and urbanization.
The gazetting of Saadani and Kitulo National Parks in 2002 expanded this network to include coastal and montane habitats formerly accorded a lower level of protection.
The gazetting of Saadani and Kitulo National Parks in 2002 expanded this network to include coastal and montane habitats formerly accorded a lower level of protection.
TANAPA is also currently acquiring further land to expand certain parks, and to raise the status of traditional migration corridors connecting protected areas.
In spite of population pressures, Tanzania has dedicated more than 46,348.9 square kilometers to national parks. Including other reserves, conservation areas and marine parks, Tanzania has accorded some form of formal protection to more than one-third of its territory – a far higher proportion than most of the world's wealthier nations.
Tourism provides valuable revenue used to support the conservation work of the national parks, as well as wildlife research, and the education and livelihood of local communities.
Tourism provides valuable revenue used to support the conservation work of the national parks, as well as wildlife research, and the education and livelihood of local communities.
In addition, tourism helps to generate international awareness of conservation issues, while the physical presence of tourists can help deter illegal poaching activity, assisting the park rangers with their game management work.
ICTP Chairman Juergen T. Steinmetz said: “We firmly believe in the work TANAPA is doing and the fact that this organization has resisted the temptation to cash in on the short-term gains of mass tourism. Instead, it is committed to low impact, sustainable visitation to protect the environment from irreversible damage while creating a first-class ecotourism destination.
This fits in perfectly with the mission of ICTP to promote quality green tourism growth.”
ICTP Chairman Juergen T. Steinmetz said: “We firmly believe in the work TANAPA is doing and the fact that this organization has resisted the temptation to cash in on the short-term gains of mass tourism. Instead, it is committed to low impact, sustainable visitation to protect the environment from irreversible damage while creating a first-class ecotourism destination.
This fits in perfectly with the mission of ICTP to promote quality green tourism growth.”
Pirates kidnap 4 foreigners,kill two Naval Officers off-shore
Pirates attacked two ships off the coast of Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta early yesterday(Saturday), killing two navy sailors protecting the vessels and kidnapping four foreign workers before fleeing into the darkness, officials said.
The attack happened about 35 nautical miles off the coast of the Niger Delta, a region once beset by militant and criminal attacks and kidnappings that has seen relative calm since a government-sponsored amnesty deal a few years ago.
The gunmen opened fire on the sailors, wounding two others in the attack, said Commodore Kabir Aliyu, a spokesman for Nigeria's navy.
Those abducted by the gunmen included an Indonesian, an Iranian, a Malaysian and a worker from Thailand, Aliyu said.
No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, nor did anyone issue a ransom demand, the commodore said.
The ships belonged to Sea Trucks Group, an oil and gas contractor with offices in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Company spokeswoman Corrie van Kessel told Associated Press yesterday that the two wounded sailors were receiving treatment at a hospital in Port Harcourt.
"Sea Trucks are making every effort to ascertain the whereabouts of the kidnapped personnel," van Kessel said. She declined to identify the nationalities of those kidnapped, nor the company Sea Trucks was working for in the delta. Sea Trucks previously did work for U.S.-based Chevron Corp., though a Chevron spokesman said none of its employees or contractors were involved in Saturday's attack.
Nigeria's navy sent a helicopter and another ship into the area to help the attacked ships and search for the people who carried out the attack, Aliyu said.
Foreign oil companies have pumped oil out of the delta for more than 50 years. Despite the billions of dollars flowing into Nigeria's government, many in the delta remain desperately poor, living in polluted waters without access to proper medical care, education or work. That sparked an uprising by militants and opportunistic criminals in 2006 who blew up oil pipelines and kidnapped foreign workers.
That violence ebbed in 2009 with a government-sponsored amnesty program promising ex-fighters monthly payments and job training. However, few in the delta have seen the promised benefits and scattered kidnappings and attacks continue. The last major kidnapping happened in November, when gunmen attacked a ship supplying a Chevron Corp. offshore oil field, kidnapping three workers. The three later were released in December.
While kidnappings in the delta routinely involve violence, most hostages are released a few weeks later unharmed after their employers pay a ransom.
The attack happened about 35 nautical miles off the coast of the Niger Delta, a region once beset by militant and criminal attacks and kidnappings that has seen relative calm since a government-sponsored amnesty deal a few years ago.
The gunmen opened fire on the sailors, wounding two others in the attack, said Commodore Kabir Aliyu, a spokesman for Nigeria's navy.
Those abducted by the gunmen included an Indonesian, an Iranian, a Malaysian and a worker from Thailand, Aliyu said.
No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, nor did anyone issue a ransom demand, the commodore said.
The ships belonged to Sea Trucks Group, an oil and gas contractor with offices in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Company spokeswoman Corrie van Kessel told Associated Press yesterday that the two wounded sailors were receiving treatment at a hospital in Port Harcourt.
"Sea Trucks are making every effort to ascertain the whereabouts of the kidnapped personnel," van Kessel said. She declined to identify the nationalities of those kidnapped, nor the company Sea Trucks was working for in the delta. Sea Trucks previously did work for U.S.-based Chevron Corp., though a Chevron spokesman said none of its employees or contractors were involved in Saturday's attack.
Nigeria's navy sent a helicopter and another ship into the area to help the attacked ships and search for the people who carried out the attack, Aliyu said.
Foreign oil companies have pumped oil out of the delta for more than 50 years. Despite the billions of dollars flowing into Nigeria's government, many in the delta remain desperately poor, living in polluted waters without access to proper medical care, education or work. That sparked an uprising by militants and opportunistic criminals in 2006 who blew up oil pipelines and kidnapped foreign workers.
That violence ebbed in 2009 with a government-sponsored amnesty program promising ex-fighters monthly payments and job training. However, few in the delta have seen the promised benefits and scattered kidnappings and attacks continue. The last major kidnapping happened in November, when gunmen attacked a ship supplying a Chevron Corp. offshore oil field, kidnapping three workers. The three later were released in December.
While kidnappings in the delta routinely involve violence, most hostages are released a few weeks later unharmed after their employers pay a ransom.
Criminal network robbing Nigeria of oil wealth
Nigeria's substantial oil wealth has been severely compromised by a sophisticated criminal network that steals petroleum to sell to international traders. "Crime scenes" where massive amounts of oil have been unlawfully purloined has left rivers of oil contaminating water supplies. It's estimated that Nigerian oil companies are losing as much as $1 billion a month.
Nigeria's Bayelsa State has been hard hit by clandestine oil smuggling. Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company's Nigerian subsidiary has reported that between 150,000 and 180,000 barrels of oil are stolen from its pipelines and wells.
International traders then provide the stolen oil at discounted prices to refineries in other parts of the world.
Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Adow has reported what he called "effectively a crime scene" and "rivers covered by thick films of oil" while on a helicopter tour of the region. "Vegetation in this once heavily forested region is also devastated by frequent spills and explosions," Adow said.
The men responsible for the rampant oil theft say they will cease their actions only if the government offers support to the people of the oil-rich region of western Africa.
"It's stealing, we know, but if the federal government can help us then we will leave this [work] entirely," self-proclaimed oil thief Ibegi Alakoroa in Bayelsa State says.
Amnesty International said investigations into Shell Oil spills have been fruitless, and alleges that the company repeatedly blamed sabotage in an effort to avoid responsibility.
"No matter what evidence is presented to Shell about oil spills, they constantly hide behind the 'sabotage' excuse and dodge their responsibility for massive pollution that is due to their failure to properly maintain their infrastructure," Director of Global Issues at Amnesty Audrey Gaughran said in a statement.
"The investigation process into oil spills in the Niger Delta is a fiasco," Gaughran said, referring to the region that is home to Africa's largest crude industry.
Furthermore, the London-based rights group accused the Anglo-Dutch oil giant of ignoring evidence that the latest spill in the Delta's Bodo Creek area, discovered in June, was caused by pipeline corrosion.
An official from Shell's Nigerian subsidiary has thus far declined to comment on the allegations.
In the statement, Amnesty said it hired the U.S. Company Accufacts to examine pictures of the Bodo Creek pipeline over the June spill.
Amnesty said it noticed a "layered loss of metal on the outside of the pipe," which is "a very familiar pattern" consistent with corrosion.
"Shell [has] said locally that the spill looks like sabotage, and they completely ignore the evidence of corrosion," Stevyn Obodoekwe of the Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development said.
source: Catholic online
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