Buhari’s arrival: Nsukka residents express happiness (Read full details)

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Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari addresses members of his cabinet upon his arrival at the presidency in Abuja, on March 10, 2017. President Muhammadu Buhari arrived back in Nigeria on Friday after nearly two months in London receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment. / AFP PHOTO / SUNDAY AGHAEZE

Some residents of Nsukka near Enugu have expressed happiness on the arrival of President Mohammadu Buhari from a medical trip in the United Kingdom (UK).

Residents, in separate interviews with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nsukka on Saturday, said they thanked God who healed the president.

Mr Desmond Ugwu, a chieftain of All Progressive Congress (APC) thanked God for answering the prayers of Nigerians on Buhari.

“I am happy the president is back to continue his good work to Nigerians who massively voted for him.’’ he said.

Similarly, Mrs Nneka Ozioko, a lawyer and human right activist, said she was happy that the president came back early to continue good governance and the fight against bribery and corruption.

“Buhari’s administration has good plans for the country as his mission is to rid Nigeria of corruption and restore the dignity of the country in international community.

Ozioko also expressed appreciation to Vice-President Yemi Osibanjo who presided over the affairs of the country in acting-president capacity while Buhari was in UK.

Also, Mr Victor Ezema, a civil servant urged Nigerians to continue to pray for Buhari for speedy recovery.

Since God is the healer of every illness, Nigerians should continue to pray for him even as he has returned.

“We should always pray for our leaders as well as wish them well because leadership comes from God,’’ he said.

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DOWNLOAD VIDEO: Tory Lanez – DopeMan Go [Mp3 + Lyrics]

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Watch Tory Lanez’ stylish video for the “New Toronto 2” highlight.

“DopeMan Go” appeared on Tory Lanez’ The New Toronto 2, the rap-oriented half of his January 1st releases (the R&B-leaning half being Chixtape 4). Previously debuted on tour, “DopeMan Go” was an immediate fan favorite, and has now been given an official video. The clip finds Tory rapping from a rooftop, documented by some stylish aerial shots. Meanwhile, a plot featuring some armed women in Trump masks plays out.

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DOWNLOAD VIDEO: Joey Bada$$ – Land Of The Free [Mp3 + Lyrics]

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Watch Joey’s politically-charged video for the first single from his “ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$” album.

Last week, the full title of Joey Bada$$’ upcoming sophomore album was finally revealed to be ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$. Today, he’s shared the video for advance single “Land Of The Free,” which expands on the politically-charged concept suggested by the title. The powerful visual is a difficult watch, depicting young people of color gunned down by cops in the desert, the shooters later seen in white KKK hoods as they watch crosses burn. The violent imagery is contrasted with shots of Joey speaking and laughing with a group of young black children dressed in white, as well as carrying an American flag constructed of bandannas (which also serves as the cover of his album).

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Thousands of Turkish women rally in favour of Erdogan’s powers…Read full details

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Women wawe Turkish national flags on March 5, 2017 in Istanbul during a pro-government women meeting. Some 12,000 women filled on March 5 an Istanbul arena in support of a "Yes" vote in an April referendum whether to boost Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers.<br />OZAN KOSE / AFP

Thousands of pro-government women filled an Istanbul arena Sunday in support of a “Yes” vote in next month’s referendum on boosting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers.

Waving Turkish flags, women shouted “Of course, Yes!” ahead of the April 16 vote on constitutional changes that would give Turkey an executive presidency similar to political systems in France or in the United States, AFP correspondents at the scene said.

Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is running the “Yes” campaign, saying the changes would bring political stability. The vote is widely seen as a referendum on Erdogan himself because the proposed plan could see him stay in power until 2029.

Opponents however say the changes that would grant sweeping new powers to the head of state would make parliament dysfunctional and promote a one-man model.

Pro-govermment supporters gathered at the 12,500 capacity sports complex, known as Abdi Ipekci Arena, outside Istanbul’s ancient city walls, with the campaign theme: “Yes! If women are there, democracy is there.”

The gathering was organised by the pro-government Women’s and Democracy Association (KADEM), whose deputy chair is Erdogan’s younger daughter Sumeyye Erdogan Bayraktar.

“For the survival of our country, it is a very important decision,” said AKP supporter Ayse Gurcan, who came to the event from Erzurum province in eastern Turkey.

“We must make our choice in a healthy way and I believe that everyone will say ‘Yes’,” she said

Another woman, Zehra Ferahtay, said the approval of constitutional changes would unify Turkey especially after the failed coup attempt in July to oust Erdogan’s government.

“Yes, I support the presidential system and especially after July 15, we must be more united and together for this country,” she said.

Saliha Mantar, wearing an Islamic headscarf, said women had been granted more rights since Erdogan came to power as prime minister in 2003 and as president in 2014.

“We, women, promise to be always behind our leader,” she said, referring to Erdogan.

Critics however argue if the plan is approved, Turkey would lurch toward authoritarianism, saying it would not be a system based on checks and balances.

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Plateau: Avian Influenza kills 42,000 birds in 12 farms (Read full details)

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poultry

Avian influenza killed 42,000 birds in 12 farms in Plateau, between January and February 2017, according to the local chapter of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN).

Its Chairman, Mr John Dasar, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Jos, that more birds were being depopulated in some farms to prevent further spread of the bird flu.

Dasar attributed the fast spread of the disease to the non-payment of compensation to farmers affected by the disease in 2015 and 2016.

“Such farmers, out of desperation and frustration, decided to sell their affected birds in the open markets.

“More than 130 poultry farmers were affected by the 0disease in 2015 and 2016; the birds were destroyed by the federal government, but compensations were not paid,” he said.

Dasar said that farmers in Plateau were going through “a very tough time” following the resurgence of the bird flu “especially in the last one week”.

The chairman regretted that most farmers do not report the outbreak of the disease in their farms.

“They prefer to sell their birds to marketers than wait for government compensation that will never come.

“Whenever we get wind of an outbreak, we alert government officials to take immediate action; that is the only option we have,” Dasar said.

The PAN boss revealed that the outbreak of the disease had affected the supply of eggs and other poultry products in the markets.

“The supply has gone down and that is affecting the prices because demand is now higher than supply,” he said.

The chairman, however, appealed to affected poultry farmers to be patient as modalities for compensations were being worked out.

He expressed optimism that the Federal Government would adequately compensate affected farmers “at the end of the day”.

“We met with the the Minister of Agriculture a month ago and he promised that something will be done in no distant time. He assured me that the compensations will soon be paid,” he said.

Dasar said that he personally met with PAN national officials three times last week, and was given the assurance that the monies would be paid.

“Two weeks ago, PAN officials also met with Vice President Yemi Osibanjo and he ordered that the payments be processed; so, it is just a matter of time,” he said.

The chairman appealed to farmers to adopt serious bio-security measures to prevent the flu, and also report any outbreak in their farms promptly.

“When farmers report promptly, we shall be able to avert further spread of the disease in the state.” he said.

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Apart From Raees & ADHM, This Film Also Suffered Due To The Ban On Pakistani Artistes In India…Read full details

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After the blanket ban on Pakistani artistes last year, a couple of Bollywood films were in a soup owing to their cross-border actors. There were far too many opinions on the major step taken by the government, and Karan Johar even publicly appealed to lift the ban off his film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Raees did not go through much trouble as it released a little later, but it did suffer as the female lead, Mahira Khan was absent from the promotions. Even though the ban has not been lifted, Mahesh Bhatt recently announced a project for which he will be reuniting Pakistani singers.

Sridevi‘s film, Mom, starring Pakistani actors Sajal Ali and Adnan Siddiqui was also in the pipeline when the ban was imposed. The film went on floors last year in March, and a song and an important scene scheduled to be shot in Delhi was pending.  However, the team has now changed the location to Bangkok to avoid any sort of controversy. Mom was reportedly nearing its completion when the attacks on Uri happened, which eventually led to the ban, thus causing an indefinite delay.

Apart from Sridevi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna also star in the emotional drama being produced by Boney Kapoor.

The post Apart From Raees & ADHM, This Film Also Suffered Due To The Ban On Pakistani Artistes In India is copyright of MissMalini.

Source: Miss Malini

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Roadside bomb kills 12 Afghans including children, UN says…Read full details

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Afghan security personnel inspect a damaged vehicle after a roadside bomb explosion. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR

The UN has condemned the killing of 12 Afghans, including eight children returning from school, by a roadside bomb in the country’s volatile east, the latest in a growing number of civilian casualties.

The blast occurred in Paktika province on Friday when their vehicle hit a pressure-plate improvised explosive device planted on a public road, the UN said, adding that four others were wounded.

“Children are once again the main victims of these indiscriminate and illegal weapons,” said Pernille Karde, the UN’s deputy special representative in Afghanistan.

“There is a simple message to the perpetrators: stop using these weapons if you are serious about safeguarding Afghanistan’s civilians and the country’s future generation,” Kardel said in a statement late Saturday.

There was no immediate reaction from officials in Paktika.

The bombing comes just days after the UN voiced alarm over the killing of 25 civilians in the escalating conflict in southern Helmand province, most of them in US air strikes.

An American bombardment in Helmand’s Sangin district last week killed 18 people, nearly all women and children, the UN said.

Afghan civilian casualties in 2016 were the highest recorded by the UN, with nearly 11,500 non-combatants killed or wounded.

More than 3,500 children were among the victims, a “disproportionate” increase of 24 percent in one year, the UN said in a report earlier this month.

Afghanistan last year also saw the highest recorded civilian casualties caused by pressure-plate IEDs in a single year, the world body said.

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Syria opposition picks delegation for new peace talks

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(FILES) This file photo taken on September 7, 2014 shows Secretary-General of the Syrian National Coalition Nasr al-Hariri (C) leaving a meeting with veteran Syrian opposition figure and prominent Syrian human rights activist Haitham al-Maleh and the Arab League's Secretary-General, Nabil al-Arabi, on September 6, 2014 at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. Syria's opposition on Sunday announced its 21-member delegation, including 10 rebel representatives, for a new round of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva scheduled for February 20.<br />The delegation will be headed by Nasr al-Hariri, a member of the opposition National Coalition, replacing Assad al-Zoabi, who led the opposition at several previous rounds of talks in Geneva last year.<br />Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP

Syria’s opposition on Sunday announced its 21-member delegation, including 10 rebel representatives, for a new round of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva scheduled for February 20.

The delegation will be headed by Nasr al-Hariri, a member of the National Coalition, replacing Assad al-Zoabi, who led the opposition at several previous rounds of talks in Geneva last year.

The delegation’s chief negotiator was named as Mohamed Sabra, a lawyer who was part of the opposition’s technical team during negotiations in Geneva in 2014.

He replaces Mohamad Alloush, a rebel from the powerful Army of Islam faction.

Alloush served as negotiator during three rounds of peace talks in Geneva as well as negotiations in the Kazakh capital Astana in January organised by Turkey and Russia.

Neither Alloush nor the Army of Islam were listed as members of the delegation to Geneva, though it was unclear if the group was boycotting the talks or would be represented by other delegates.

No reason was given for the decision to replace either Zoabi or Alloush.

The delegation includes representatives from several rebel groups, including Faylaq al-Sham, an Islamist faction active around Damascus, and Liwa Sultan Murad, a battalion close to Turkey.

The umbrella High Negotiations Committee (HNC) opposition group said the delegation to the talks would for the first time include representatives from two additional opposition groupings, known informally as the Moscow group and the Cairo group.

But representatives from both groups denied they were included in the delegation.

In the past, the HNC has opposed including the two rival opposition groupings in its delegation, accusing members of the coalitions of being too flexible with regard to the Syrian government.

The Moscow grouping includes former minister Qadri Jamil, and is close to the Russian leadership, while the Cairo grouping includes former foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi.

Invitations to the talks in Geneva have yet to go out, having been delayed in part to allow the opposition to decide on the composition of their delegation.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura warned last week that he would pick the opposition delegates to the talks if they could not decide on time.

But he later appeared to backtrack and said he would delay dispatching invites.

Ahead of the talks, Kazakhstan has invited Syrian rebels and government officials back to Astana on February 15-16, but neither party has said officially yet if they will attend.

De Mistura will not attend the Astana meeting, but will send a “technical team,” his spokeswoman said.

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370 football clubs to participate in 2017 Gombe Governors’ Cup Competition

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Gombe – A record 370 clubs are billed to participate in Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo Football competition, tagged ‘;Talba Cup 2017’.

Alhaji Bello Suleiman, Executive Chairman, Gombe State Sports Commission disclosed this on Friday while briefing newsmen.
Suleiman, who was represented by Alhaji Abubakar Ibrahim, Permanent Commissioner, Gombe State Sport Commission, said the competition would commence on Feb. 14, at the Pantami Township stadium, Gombe.

Ibrahim said that when the competition was first organised in 2014, only clubs from Gombe Local Government Area participated, but added that this year, clubs from all the 11 Local Government Areas of the state were involved .

He said the commission was impressed with the level of interest generated by the competition, judging by the number of participating clubs.

He therefore advised the clubs to put in their best whenever the tournament commeced, adding that apart from the trophies at stake, there are other consolation prizes like the best player, highest goal scorer, among others. (NAN)

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UN Central Emergency Response Funds allocates $22m to Nigeria

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Abuja – The UN Central Emergency Response Fund says Nigeria has received the largest allocation of 22 million dollars from the 100 million dollars so far released for January.

The agency’s spokesman, Mr Abiodun Banire, made this known in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) monthly brief.

Banire said that the fund was part of the efforts to cover for funding shortfalls impacting response activities across nine most neglected crises globally.

He said that the humanitarian partners would priorities food and nutrition, health, shelter, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) assistance to people hit by crisis in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

“A team from UNOCHA’s Funding Coordination Section arrived in Nigeria mid-January to commence groundwork for setting up a Nigeria-based pool fund.

“Once established, Nigeria Humanitarian fund will afford humanitarian partners an additional funding window to respond to urgent needs of the affected populations in North-East region of Nigeria.

“Six donor agencies have already expressed interest in contributing to the pool fund which is expected to come on stream around April 2017,’’ he said.

Banire also said that no fewer than one million people were assisted with food last month in the North-East.

He said that about 5.1 million dollars has been projected to face emergency and crisis levels of food insecurity in March.

Banire said, “In January, the Food Security Sector provided cash or in-kind food assistance to more than one million new and pre-existing people-in-need.

“The assistance provided included 1.1 million people in Borno and Yobe who received assistance through in-kind transfers like food distribution and through cash-based transfers.

“Also, 51,171 people received agricultural inputs through the distribution of seeds, tools, fertilizer, poultry and restocking with small ruminants, as well as assistance for alternative livelihoods through small-scale enterprises and other cash generating activities.’’

He said that 3.4 million people, children aged six to 59 months, pregnant and lactating women required nutrition assistance in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

According to him, about 450,000 children aged six to 59 months of the number would suffer from severe acute malnutrition.

He said that 2,731 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in the month under review.

The agency spokesman said that 70 per cent of them recovered, while 14 per cent dropped out of treatment and five per cent died.

He advocated for international support and resources to scale up life-saving assistance to people affected by conflict in the North-East.

Banire assured of donors commitment toward addressing the issues of extreme poverty and underdevelopment fuelling conflict in the region.

“We will adopt a resilience-building approach to link humanitarian and development assistance and ensure humanitarian needs are met in the short-term.

“Efforts are being made to stimulate early recovery and long-term growth for the affected populations and communities,’’ he said.

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Tight security in Yenagoa as Osinbajo visits Bayelsa (Read full details)

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo

Security has been beefed up in Yenagoa, as the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, visits Bayelsa on Friday in continuation of his fact-finding tour of the Niger Delta region.

Armed soldiers, policemen and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps personnel deployed for duties were visible on the streets and strategic parts of the Yenagoa, the state capital.

Traffic was diverted from the roads leading to Bayelsa Government House, Ovom area, where Prof. Osinbajo is expected to hold an interactive session with stakeholders on the ongoing peace process in the region.

Pedestrians were, however, allowed to pass through the road after screening by security operatives.

The Bayelsa Police Command`s Spokesman, DSP Asinim Butswat, told NAN on Friday that the command was adequately prepared to make the visit hitch-free and warned miscreants to keep away from venue of the interactive session.

“Attendance is strictly on invitation.

‘‘The Command therefore advises all law abiding citizens to go about their lawful and legitimate businesses.

“The gathering of people not invited for the programme at any point within the state will not be tolerated, as adequate security measures have been put in place to curtail activities of miscreants,” Butswat said.

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Security beefed up as Ag President Osinbajo visits Bayelsa

Court remands man over alleged bombing of TAO FM Station in Kogi

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Lokoja – A Lokoja Chief Magistrate’s Court on Friday ordered the remand of a middle-aged man, Hayatudeen Amoto, in prison for allegedly bombing TAO 109 FM Station, Kuroko, Okene in April, 2015.

The Chief Magistrate, Alhassan Husaini said the 2015 bombing of the FM Station in which four staff of the organisation lost their lives was heinous.

He said: “I find in the originating process upon which cognisance of this case is taken that one of the alleged offences is culpable homicide, contrary to Section 221 of the Penal Code Law.

“This offence is by no means a heinous crime which attracts upon conviction, the highest punishment known in criminal adjudication. For this singular reason including those I had earlier mentioned, I am not convinced that he would spring up for his trial.

“In consequence, it is hereby ordered that the accused be remanded at the Federal Prisons, Koton-Karfe. Meanwhile, the case is adjourned to Feb. 22, for further mention”, he said.

Earlier, the prosecuting counsel, Mohammed Abaji, said the accused and one Yusuf Abdulqudus, who is currently at large masterminded the bombing.

Abaji said that the duo had planned to bomb the FM Station again and sent a text message to the station during a call-in programme through the station’s phone number.

“We are coming to bomb the office by 4:00p.m.”

The prosecution said that the threat through the text message from the Amoto’s phone number 09068487387 was promptly reported to the State Security Service who traced the number and subsequently arrested him.

The prosecution said the case was particularly heinous as the April 27, 2015 bombing of the station claimed the lives of Sadiq Salami, Abdullahi Suleiman, Sufiyan Abu and Idris Onivehu Salawu.

He prayed the court to take cognisance of the offences of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide and attempted culpable homicide, contrary to Sections 97(1), 221 and 229 of the Penal Code.

Counsel to the accused, Habib Abbas, had earlier made oral application for the bail of the accused, but the court refused the oral application.

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Graham wants regular competitions for swimmers

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An Africa Games swimmer, Tebasan Graham has urged the Nigeria Acquatics Federation to intensify its effort at engaging athletes regularly in competitions at the grassroots.

Graham, who represented Nigeria at the 2007 Africa Games in Algeria, made the appeal while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the swimming event of the ongoing 11th Nigeria Navy Games at Teslim Balogun Stadium.

Graham, who a naval personnel, said the country had budding talents who were capable of representing the country credibly in international competitions, if adequately groomed.

“We have talents in swimming but the only factor militating against their progress is lack of regular competitions.

“If regular competitions are organised by the federation or the state associations, athletes will be engaged regularly and budding talents will be identified.”

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