These are just pictures but they tell stories that will either Educate, Entertain or Motivate you…
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2mzn6P4
Showing posts with label 2017 at 10:11AM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2017 at 10:11AM. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 March 2017
IS fighters ‘trapped’ in Mosul after last road cut…Read full details
Iraqi forces members prepare to fire artillery towards Islamic State (IS) jihadists positions in west Mosul on March 11, 2017 as the ongoing battle to retake the city from the group continues. PHOTO: ARIS MESSINIS / AFP
Iraqi forces battling to retake Mosul have cut the last road out of the city, trapping Islamic State group fighters inside, the US envoy to the anti-IS coalition said Sunday.
IS “is trapped. Just last night, the 9th Iraqi army division, up near Badush, just northwest of Mosul, cut off the last road out of Mosul,” Brett McGurk told journalists in Baghdad.
“Any of the fighters who are left in Mosul, they’re going to die there, because they’re trapped. So we are very committed to not just defeating them in Mosul, but making sure these guys cannot escape,” he said.
In practice, IS fighters may still be able to sneak in and out of the city in small numbers, but the lack of access to roads makes larger-scale movement and resupply more difficult if not impossible.
IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes and other support have since retaken 60 percent of the territory they lost, McGurk said.
And the jihadist group is now losing fighters faster than it can replace them, he said.
“That was not the case even a year ago,” said McGurk, putting the toll for IS leaders at 180 killed.
Iraqi forces launched a massive operation to retake Mosul in October, retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on the city’s smaller but more densely populated west.
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2mzpgOr
Saturday, 11 March 2017
King hat-trick gets Bournemouth off mark for 2017…See full details
Bournemouth's Norwegian striker Joshua King (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring his third goal to give Bournemouth a 3-2 win in the English Premier League football match between Bournemouth and West Ham United at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, southern England on March 11, 2017. Bournemouth won the game 3-2.<br />Adrian DENNIS / AFP
Joshua King scored a hat-trick as Bournemouth rallied from two missed penalties to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win over West Ham on Saturday.
Eddie Howe’s side ended their nine-match winless run in all competitions as they finally grabbed all three points in their first win of 2017. King blasted in the winner on 90 minutes at Dean Court after also scoring for the south coast side on 31 and 48 minutes.
The Norwegian international — who took his tally to eight goals in his past seven games — had however missed a penalty after eight minutes with Benik Afobe also fluffing a second penalty for the hosts in the first half.
Bournemouth’s Tyrone Mings watched from the stands as he started his five-match ban for stamping on Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
King had scored a penalty in last weekend’s draw at Manchester United, but the striker fired wide from the spot after eight minutes following Sofiane Feghouli’s foul on Charlie Daniels.
A minute later West Ham winger Michail Antonio marked his return from suspension with a cool finish after taking Feghouli’s pass and spinning away from his marker in the 10th minute.
King made amends in the 31st minute when the striker flicked the ball up in the penalty area before firing home.
Bournemouth missed another penalty, this one awarded for Jose Fonte’s foul on March Pugh late in the first half, as Afobe’s effort was saved by Darren Randolph.
West Ham attempted to extend their lead but Antonio and Manuel Lanzini fired wide and King then held off Fonte’s half-hearted challenge to tuck past Randolph.
Three minutes into the second half Bournemouth took the lead, King pouncing after Afobe flicked on Ryan Fraser’s free-kick amid offside protests.
The Hammers thought they had grabbed a point with seven minutes left when Sam Byram set up fellow substitute Andre Ayew. But King blasted in the winner at the death after Randolph had blocked Jack Wilshere’s shot.
The win moves Bournemouth six points clear of the relegation zone with West Ham missing the chance to move into the top half of the table.
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2lO5uBB
Friday, 10 March 2017
ISIS on trajectory to lasting defeat – U.S.
The terrorist ISIS group is on the verge of lasting defeat as its last strongholds are fast crumble, the U.S. Department of Defence has said.
“Despite a long road ahead for the U.S.-led coalition in its fight to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the enemy is being degraded by every measure and is on a trajectory to lasting defeat.
“In Iraq, with eastern Mosul liberated and the fight to retake western Mosul ongoing, liberating the city from ISIS’ control is an important step in defeating the enemy.
“Without Mosul from which to recruit, train and plan attacks, and from which to project atrocities into Europe and the U.S. homeland, the coalition has seen ISIS’ flow of foreign fighters and external support diminish significantly,” the Department said.
It said by denying the group unfettered access to Mosul, its population and Iraq’s natural gas and oil revenue, ISIS’s ability to raise money and sustain its forces has been systemically reduced.
“Retaking Mosul will also be a symbolic victory after ISIS announced the birth of its ‘phony’ caliphate from Mosul’s great mosque in 2014, it said, noting that without a power base in Iraq, ISIS’ claims of legitimacy as a credible, alternative state are being exposed as a fallacy.”
It said progress in Syria to liberate key cities from the enemy was evident, citing the recent liberation of Bab, which was the last major city ISIS held west of its proclaimed capital of Raqqa.
Bab lies at the intersection of four major Syrian cities, and its gain by Syrian Democratic Forces severed key ISIS logistical corridors and restricted the enemy’s ability to move fighters and essential equipment, it said.
The Department noted that ISIS also lost the ancient Roman city of Palmyra, which was the only territorial expansion ISIS had made since 2015.
Another threat to ISIS lies in the remnants of its caliphate that’s centered around the Euphrates River between Syria and Iraq, it said, noting that ISIS has limited ability to cross the river and has been driven to use ferry systems to move from one river bank to the other.
It added that ISIS cannot transit the river unimpeded, saying ISIS has lost a ‘host’ of high-level leaders after many were killed and the remaining fled.
“And as mid-level operational commanders are killed, they are being replaced by inexperienced fighters who are not able, in many cases, to marshal ISIS’ dwindling forces. ISIS has also been observed turning on itself.”
It said U.S. officials have seen reports of Iraqi fighters killing foreign fighters and rejecting the preferential treatment they were sometimes given.
“There are also indications of intensified hunts for spies within the organisation when ISIS suspects one of its own is providing targeting information to coalition forces.
“The enemy is not a unified force; ISIS is being beaten back in the face of increasing pressure and is struggling to maintain power with higher taxes, sagging morale, increasing recruitment of children and the elderly, and increased executions.
“Those are all indications of a desperate organisation falling under sustained pressure,” the statement said
The post ISIS on trajectory to lasting defeat – U.S. appeared first on Vanguard News.
Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2mrQ1nS
Centre blames Nigeria`s insecurity on ineffective political leadership
The Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development has said that ineffective political leadership at all levels of governance is a challenge to development, stability and security in the country.
The centre stated this in a communique at the end of the second edition of its four-series Policy Monitoring Dialogue on Leadership, Governance and Security Challenges in Nigeria in Abuja on Friday.
It said that majority of the nation`s leaders lacked national vision and ideology due to their ethnic, religious or regional cleavages.
It said that Nigerians expected their governments to ensure their welfare and security which could be met through the judicious and accountable management of the nation’s resources.
According to the centre, it is therefore in the best interest of the political elite to deliver to the people the dividends they justifiably deserve.
It explained that effective leadership and good governance depended on the quality and effectiveness of the political parties in a country.
This, it said, required that political parties reinvented and re-positioned themselves for the important role through the development of appropriate content in their manifestos.
The group added that this could be achieved through a determination to attain high standards of education, character and competence for political office holders.
The communique said that it was unfortunate that most political parties in the country were funded by the wealthy who manipulated their affairs for selfish gains.
“The Nigerian political elite use religion and ethnicity negatively to advance their own selfish interests.
“Religion and ethnicity have gradually and unduly crept into politics and public affairs contrary to the spirit and letter of secularity as enshrined in the Constitution,’’ it said.
It, therefore, recommended that curriculum of schools and other manpower training institutions should be designed to include appropriate content for discovering and grooming future leaders for the country from childhood.
It also recommended that political parties should develop and publicise clear procedures and standards for choosing those that should stand for public offices.
It further recommended that a crowd funding or public funding mechanism be prescribed for political parties to improve their internal democracy and encourage ownership by all members.
“Clear limits of financial and material contributions should be set for political parties, while anti-corruption and other accountability institutions should be strengthened to give more impetus to the fight against corruption,’’ the communique said.
It added that the National Assembly should fast-track the passage of the Whistle-Blower Bill to promote the quick recovery of stolen public funds.
“Public institutions responsible for monitoring, evaluation and accountability should be strengthened through adequate funding and capacity building for efficiency and reliability,’’ it said.
It said that security threats facing the country included insurgency, terrorism, violent extremism, ethno-religious conflict and vandalism, economic sabotage and unemployment among others.
All this, it added, could be attributed to the prolonged failure of government in delivering on its duty to guarantee the welfare and security of the people.
The centre charged civil authorities to summon the political will to hold the military and other security agencies accountable
for the use of excessive force or the abuse of their discretionary powers in handling civil insurrections.
According to it, the government should ensure the improvement of the capacity of the Nigeria Police to reduce the apparent over-reliance on the military to quell civil insurrections.
It said that the Office of the National Security Adviser should be reviewed with the aim of separating its roles of advising the president of the country, and coordinating security agencies.
It said that to effectively check open rivalry and overlapping roles between and among security agencies, government should clearly define their roles and create a suitable platform for the sharing of intelligence.
The group also advised that an effective cyber defence strategy should be developed and embodied in the reassessed National Security architecture to check cyber security threats.
The post Centre blames Nigeria`s insecurity on ineffective political leadership appeared first on Vanguard News.
Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2lLnFbl
Wednesday, 22 February 2017
Ministers weep as Osinbajo chairs valedictory session for Mohammed
Minister of Environment, Hajia Amina Mohammed
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday presided over a valedictory session conducted in honour of out-going Minister of Environment Amina Mohammed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a cross section of the cabinet ministers could not control their emotion as they wept openly at the event.
In his remarks, Osinbajo, who described the out-going minister as a role model to millions of youths across the country, lauded her contributions to the government and the society at large.
He announced that a special valedictory dinner would be held in her honour on Thursday.
“We have always been very fascinated by her incredible understanding of so many different things.
“It’s actually quite amazing that we have one person who seems to know so much, who is competent in practically everything; finance, planning, environment and even law sometimes,’’ he said.
In his contribution, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, noted that Amina Mohammed had made the nation proud, saying the only consolation is that she is leaving to assume high responsibilities.
According to him, Nigerians are confident that she is going to succeed in her new assignment at the UN.
Others that spoke at the valedictory session included the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika; Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Aisha Alhassan; Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, and the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi.
Amina Mohammed, 56, had served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning.
She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
Before joining the UN, Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals.
She provided advice on various issues, including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, as well as coordinating poverty reduction interventions.
She is an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, serves on numerous international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda.
Others include the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, and the Global Development Programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
She is also a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Global Sustainability Panel, the African Women’s Millennium Initiative, Girl Effect and the ActionAid International Right to Education Project.
Amina Mohammed will assume duty as new Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations on March 7, in New York.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kMQzHn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)