Border communities in Cross River appeal for electricity supply (Read full details)

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Electricity

Residents of some communities in Cross River bordering Cameroon, have appealed to the State Government to restore electricity to the areas to improve their lives and economic activities.

The people made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nfum, Etung Local Government Area of the state on Sunday.

Mr Augustine Agbor-Attah, the Clan Head of Nfum, told NAN that the community had not had electricity supply for the past three years.

Agbor-Attah expressed concern that the situation had adversely affected the peoples’ lives, adding that the community also lacked other social amenities and infrastructure.

He said that the people needed potable water, hospital and schools, due to the strategic position the community occupied.“In terms of infrastructure, we are lacking a lot. We don’t have water, electricity, good schools and hospitals.

“This is an international border town; we are supposed to have all the basic amenities, including hotels, but we are grossly lacking all these amenities.

“The officers manning the border post do not even have good accommodation to live in. The roads in this community need to be expanded because of the terrain,’’ he said.

Mr Emmanuel Ndum, the Youth Leader of Ajassor, a neighboring community, also told NAN that businesses had not thrived in the community due to lack of electricity.

Ndum said that since high tension cables were connected in Ajassor in 2014, nothing else had been done to provide electricity to the people.

“The people have been complaining about the non supply of power in this area. They want government to complete the project soonest to give them a sense of belonging.

“We have been using generators, day-in and day-out, and this is not healthy for the environment. Moreover, a litre of petrol here is N160, ’’ he said.

Another resident of Ajassor, Mrs Veronica Ntui, said the community needed warehouses for storage of goods to promote businesses in the border community.

“We also need warehouses in this town to store goods. This is a border community from where goods go out and come into the country daily,’’ she said.

A business woman in the area, Ms Patience Okoronkwo, told the agency that running a business in the border community without electricity was very expensive.

Okoronkwo said she recorded low profit from her sales because a good percentage of the profit went into buying of fuel to keep her generator running.

“It is very difficult to sell drinks without power supply, especially now that the weather is hot and every customer wants a cool drink.

“I am appealing to the state government to look into our plight and give us electricity because we paid our bills regularly before this indefinite blackout,’’ she pleaded.

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Jordan hangs 15 convicts at dawn, most in years

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Ten of those put to death had been convicted of terrorism offences and five of "heinous" crimes including rape, Mahmud al-Momani told the official Petra news agency.

Jordan hanged 15 death row prisoners at dawn on Saturday, its information minister said, in a further break with the moratorium on executions it had observed between 2006 and 2014.

Ten of those put to death had been convicted of terrorism offences and five of “heinous” crimes including rape, Mahmud al-Momani told the official Petra news agency. All were Jordanians and they were hanged in Suaga prison south of the capital Amman.

Among the terrorism offences were a 2006 attack on tourists at Amman’s Roman amphitheatre which killed a Briton and a June 2016 attack on an intelligence service base north of the capital that left five agents dead.

They also included the September 2016 murder of Christian writer Nahed Hattar as he stood trial for publishing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam.

King Abdullah II had said in 2005 that Jordan aimed to become the first Middle Eastern country to halt executions in line with most European nations.

Courts continued to hand down death sentences but they were not carried out.

However, public opinion blamed a rise in crime on the policy and in December 2014 Jordan hanged 11 men convicted of murder, drawing criticism from human rights groups.

Opinion hardened after the murder by the Islamic State group of captured Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh whose plane had crashed in a jihadist-held region of Syria in December 2014 while serving with a US-led coalition.

Grisly footage posted in February the following year of him being burnt alive in a cage outraged the public. Swiftly afterwards, Jordan hanged two people convicted of terrorism offences, one of them Sajida al-Rishawi.

She had taken part in a 2005 suicide attack on luxury hotels in Amman organised by IS’s forebear, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, but her explosives failed to detonate. According to judicial sources, 94 people remain on death row in Jordan, most of them convicted of murder or rape.

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Jordan hangs 15 convicts at dawn, most in years…Read full details

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Ten of those put to death had been convicted of terrorism offences and five of "heinous" crimes including rape, Mahmud al-Momani told the official Petra news agency.

Jordan hanged 15 death row prisoners at dawn on Saturday, its information minister said, in a further break with the moratorium on executions it had observed between 2006 and 2014.

Ten of those put to death had been convicted of terrorism offences and five of “heinous” crimes including rape, Mahmud al-Momani told the official Petra news agency. All were Jordanians and they were hanged in Suaga prison south of the capital Amman.

Among the terrorism offences were a 2006 attack on tourists at Amman’s Roman amphitheatre which killed a Briton and a June 2016 attack on an intelligence service base north of the capital that left five agents dead.

They also included the September 2016 murder of Christian writer Nahed Hattar as he stood trial for publishing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam.

King Abdullah II had said in 2005 that Jordan aimed to become the first Middle Eastern country to halt executions in line with most European nations.

Courts continued to hand down death sentences but they were not carried out.

However, public opinion blamed a rise in crime on the policy and in December 2014 Jordan hanged 11 men convicted of murder, drawing criticism from human rights groups.

Opinion hardened after the murder by the Islamic State group of captured Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh whose plane had crashed in a jihadist-held region of Syria in December 2014 while serving with a US-led coalition.

Grisly footage posted in February the following year of him being burnt alive in a cage outraged the public. Swiftly afterwards, Jordan hanged two people convicted of terrorism offences, one of them Sajida al-Rishawi.

She had taken part in a 2005 suicide attack on luxury hotels in Amman organised by IS’s forebear, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, but her explosives failed to detonate. According to judicial sources, 94 people remain on death row in Jordan, most of them convicted of murder or rape.

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Bloody Islamic State video puts China in cross-hairs

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This photo taken on February 27, 2017 shows Chinese military police getting off a plane to attend an anti-terrorist oath-taking rally in Hetian, northwest China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Islamic State militants from China's Uighur ethnic minority have vowed to return home and "shed blood like rivers", according to a jihadist-tracking firm, in what experts said marked the first IS threat against Chinese targets. The threat came in a half-hour video released on February 27 by a division of the Islamic State in western Iraq and featuring militants from China's Uighur ethnic group, said the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which analysed the footage. / AFP PHOTO / STR / China OUT

Islamic State militants from China’s Uighur ethnic minority have vowed to return home and “shed blood like rivers”, according to a jihadist-tracking firm, in what experts said marked the first IS threat against Chinese targets.

The threat came in a half-hour video released Monday by a division of the Islamic State in western Iraq and featuring militants from China’s Uighur ethnic group, said the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which analysed the footage.

China has for years blamed exiled Uighur “separatists” for a series of violent attacks in its western Xinjiang region — the Uighur homeland — and warned of the potential for militants to link up with global jihadist groups.

In the video, a Uighur fighter issued the threat against China just before executing an alleged informant.

“Oh, you Chinese who do not understand what people say! We are the soldiers of the Caliphate, and we will come to you to clarify to you with the tongues of our weapons, to shed blood like rivers and avenging the oppressed,” according to SITE’s translation.

A traditionally Muslim group, many Uighurs complain of cultural and religious repression and discrimination by China.

It appears to be the Islamic State’s “first direct threat” against China, Dr. Michael Clarke, an expert on Xinjiang at the National Security College of Australian National University, told AFP.

“It is the first time that Uighur-speaking militants have claimed allegiance to IS,” he added.

The video showed China is now “very firmly a target of jihadist rhetoric,” Clarke said, marking a shift from years past when it rarely figured in statements by global jihadist groups.

But Clarke said it also could indicate a possible split among Uighur fighters, as it includes a warning to those fighting with the al Qaeda-aligned Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in Syria.

– Show of force –
China maintains tight security in Xinjiang but a drumbeat of deadly unrest has continued. A knife attack last month left eight dead, including three attackers, police said.

The video was released the same day that China held the latest in a series of mass rallies of military police in Xinjiang meant to indicate Chinese resolve in crushing security threats.

More than 10,000 officers gathered Monday in the region’s capital Urumqi — the fourth such rally this year in Xinjiang.

Chinese authorities have tightened controls in the region, beefing up police checkpoints.

In one violence-wracked corner of Xinjiang, authorities are offering rewards of up to 5 million yuan ($730,000) to those who expose terror plots or “struggle, kill, wound, or subdue” any attackers.

The Islamic State video showed fighters, including heavily armed children, giving speeches, praying, and killing other “informants”.

It also featured images of Chinese riot police guarding mosques, patrolling Uighur markets, and arresting men in what appears to be western China. The Chinese flag is pictured engulfed in flames.

Clarke said the hints of a Uighur split could “intensify the threat to China” as it indicates Uighur militants may be able to tap into the capabilities of both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

Overseas experts have up to now expressed doubts about the strength of Uighur militants, with some saying China exaggerates the threat to justify tough security measures.

A US think tank said in July that tough Chinese religious restrictions on Muslims may have driven more than 100 to join the Islamic State.

Authorities have banned or strictly controlled the observance of certain Muslim practices, such as growing beards, wearing headscarves, and fasting during Ramadan, saying they were symbols of “Islamic extremism”.

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China transfers hit new record despite crackdown

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Argentine striker Carlos Tevez makes his way through the arrivals halls at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai on January 19, 2017. Tevez arrived to a rousing welcome from hundreds of fans in Shanghai, where he will join local side Shenhua in a deal that reportedly makes him the world's top-earning footballer. / AFP PHOTO / STR / China OUT

Chinese clubs splashed a record 388 million euros ($411 million) on footballers in the January-February transfer window despite an official crackdown on spending, with Oscar’s heavyweight move to Shanghai SIPG leading the way.

In spite of moves to curb “irrational” expenditure, China’s top tier beat last year’s record of 345 million euros and outstripped the English Premier League’s winter spending (259 million euros) for the second year in a row, according to industry website transfermarkt.com.

Chelsea midfielder Oscar’s Asian-record, 60-million-euro move to Shanghai SIPG reportedly made him the world’s second highest paid player — behind Carlos Tevez, who joined city rivals Shanghai Shenhua.

Rumoured moves for Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney failed to materialise but Axel Witsel and Alexandre Pato were among other big names to join the Chinese Super League, while Zhang Chengdong became China’s most expensive player.

One of the biggest surprises was out-of-favour Watford striker Odion Ighalo’s 23.3m euro move to Changchun Yatai, which made him the sixth biggest transfer in Super League history.

Oscar and Tevez moved before the Chinese Football Association announced a raft of cooling measures, including caps on transfer fees and wages and restricting match-day squads to three foreign players instead of four.

It seems to have stopped some mega-deals in their tracks, with Tianjin Quanjian’s chairman saying the club had dropped bids for Diego Costa, Edinson Cavani, Radamel Falcao and Raul Jimenez as a result.

However, the new curbs didn’t dry up spending completely with players continuing to cash in on China’s football boom.

– Rooney, Ronaldo rumours –
“We’re still going to see high levels of spending even with the change in regulations, and this will continue,” said Tom Elsden of the Mailman Group, a sports marketing company.

“China is and will still pull big names, purely because of the salary on offer,” he added.

Shanghai SIPG got the ball rolling in December when they broke the Asian transfer record by plucking Oscar from Chelsea, where he had been sidelined from the first team.

When Argentina’s ex-Manchester United forward Tevez joined Shanghai Shenhua on a reported world-record salary of 38 million euros a season, it sparked speculation that four-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo and record England goalscorer Rooney could follow.

The sums spent often seemed divorced from reality, with clubs’ big-business backers lavishing money seemingly in hopes of currying favour with President Xi Jinping, who has called for China to become one of the game’s superpowers.

But in early January Chinese regulators moved to rein in spending, urging teams to direct funds towards boosting domestic talent, with China’s national team languishing at 86th in the world rankings.

Reigning six-time champions Guangzhou Evergrande responded by announcing they would field a Chinese-only squad by 2020, a U-turn after years of success based on big foreign signings.

The surprise curbs left some teams with expensive transfer and wage bills for foreign players they now cannot fit into their match-day squads.

– European giants –
The decision “was hugely unfair on the teams that had already completed their business, and an unexpected bonus for the ones who had not,” according to Mark Dreyer of China Sports Insider.

But Elsden noted it would benefit Chinese players and therefore China’s national side. “This cap will mean that the domestic game stays protected whilst the league can still attract world-class players,” he said.

And the underlying dynamic still remains, illustrated by striker Ighalo’s expensive move to Changchun Yatai at the end of January.

Newly promoted Tianjin Quanjian, coached by Fabio Cannavaro, splurged 20 million euros on midfielder Witsel from Zenit St Petersburg and 18 million euros on former Brazil forward Pato from Villareal.

Clubs such as Hebei China Fortune went for home-grown talent, making winger Zhang China’s most expensive player — and the seventh priciest in the Super League — when he moved from Beijing Guoan for 20.4 million euros.

Hebei also spent 18 million euros on picking up midfielder Zhao Yuhao from Hangzhou Greentown.

China rocketed up to become the fifth biggest global spenders in football last year, according to a report last month from FIFA, up from 20th the year before.

Though only spending a third of the English Premier League’s 1.3 billion euros in 2016, it is now comfortably outstripping footballing superpowers such as France and current European champions Portugal.

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India puts record 104 satellites into orbit…Read full details

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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C37) is seen after launch at Sriharikota on Febuary 15, 2017. India successfully put a record 104 satellites from a single rocket into orbit on February 15 in the latest triumph for its famously frugal space agency. Scientists who were at the launch in the southern spaceport of Sriharikota burst into applause as the head of India's Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced all the satellites had been ejected. / AFP PHOTO / ARUN SANKAR

India successfully put a record 104 satellites from a single rocket into orbit on Wednesday in the latest triumph for its famously frugal space programme.

Celebrations erupted among scientists at the southern spaceport of Sriharikota as the head of India’s Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced all the satellites had been ejected as planned.

“My hearty congratulations to the ISRO team for this success,” the agency’s director Kiran Kumar told those gathered in an observatory to track the progress of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately congratulated the scientists for the successful launch which smashes a record previously held by Russia.

“This remarkable feat … is yet another proud moment for our space scientific community and the nation,” Modi wrote on Twitter.

The rocket took off at 9:28am (0358 GMT) and cruised at a speed of 27,000 kilometres (16,777 miles) per hour, ejecting all the 104 satellites into orbit in around 30 minutes, according to ISRO.

The rocket’s main cargo was a 714 kilogram (1,574 pounds) satellite for Earth observation but it was also loaded with 103 smaller “nano satellites”, weighing a combined 664 kilograms. The smallest weighed only 1.1 kilogram.

Nearly all of the nano satellites are from other countries, including Israel, Kazakhstan, Switzerland and 96 from the United States.

Around 90 of the satellites are from a San Francisco-based company, Planet Inc. each weighing around 4.5 kilograms that will send Earth images from space.

Only three satellites belonged to India.

– World record –
Scientists sat transfixed as they watched the progress of the rocket on monitors until the last payload was ejected, and then began punching the air in triumph and hugging each other.

This was PSLV’s 39th succesful mission, known as India’s space workhorse. In 2015, it carried 23 satellites to space.

The launch means India now holds the record for launching the most satellites in one go, surpassing Russia which launched 39 satellites in a single mission in June 2014.

And it is another feather in the cap for ISRO which sent an unmanned rocket to orbit Mars in 2013 at a cost of just $73 million, compared with NASA’s Maven Mars mission which had a $671 million price tag.

ISRO is also mulling the idea of missions to Jupiter and Venus.

The business of putting commercial satellites into space for a fee is growing as phone, Internet and other companies, as well as countries, seek greater and more high-tech communications.

India has carved out a reputation as a reliable low-cost option, relying in part on its famed skill of “jugaad” — creating a cheap alternative solution.

Experts say much of its credibility stems from India’s successful launch of the Mars orbiter, which gave it an edge over its rivals in the space race.

“India is proving to be a very viable option because of the cost and the reliability factor,” said Ajay Lele, a senior fellow at the Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

“India has been doing these launches successfully and has established itself as a very reliable player.”

Mathieu J Weiss, a liaison officer for France’s CNES national space agency who is currently in India, said ISRO had pulled off a major feat.

“It’s a great technical challenge to launch so many satellites at once into orbit on the right trajectory so that they don’t make contact with each other,” he told AFP.

Weiss said India had become a major player in the space race by making itself so competitive with its low costs and by working with private companies which are space specialists.

“India has become a space power in its own right in recent years,” he added.

Last June, India set a national record after it successfully launched a rocket carrying 20 satellites, including 13 from the US.

Modi has often hailed India’s budget space technology, quipping in 2014 that a rocket that launched four foreign satellites into orbit had cost less to make than Hollywood film “Gravity”.

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‘Catastrophic’ fire conditions scorch Australia

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This screen-grab from video footage taken from a New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service aircraft and released by the NSW Rural Fire Service on February 12, 2017 shows a bushfire near Leadville in New South Wales. Eastern Australia was bracing for severe "off the scale" fire conditions on February 12 as it baked in a heatwave that has broken temperature records and sparked dire warnings from authorities.<br />Handout / New South Wales Rural Fire Service / AFP

Eastern Australia endured severe “off the scale” fire conditions Sunday amid a record-breaking heatwave that sparked dire warnings from authorities.

While bushfires are common in Australia’s arid summer, climate change has pushed up land and sea temperatures and led to more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons.

“The conditions for Sunday are the worst possible conditions when it comes to fire danger ratings,” New South Wales (NSW) state Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters Friday.

“They are catastrophic, they are labelled catastrophic for a reason, they are rare, they are infrequent, and to put it simply, they are off the old conventional scale.

“It’s not another summer’s day. It’s not another bad fire weather day. This is as bad as it gets in these circumstances.” Fitzsimmons said Sunday afternoon several homes may have been lost in bushfires across the state.

Some 2,500 firefighters were battling more than 80 blazes in NSW, with 32 “not contained”, the Rural Fire Service said.

The organisation added that a person from a fire at Boggabri, a small town in northwestern NSW some 470 kilometres (292 miles) from Sydney, was flown to the harbour city after suffering burns.

Further north in Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology said Sunday numerous February temperature records were being broken across the state as the mercury soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Temperature records were also breached across NSW on Saturday, the weather bureau said. Cooler conditions were forecast to come through later Sunday.

Australia has warmed by approximately 1.0 C since 1910, according to the biannual State of the Climate report from the Bureau of Meteorology and national science body CSIRO released in October.

The number of days each year that post temperatures of more than 35C was increasing in recent decades except in northern Australia, the report said. Meanwhile, rainfall has reduced by 19 percent between May to July in southwestern Australia since 1970.

“Black Saturday”, the worst firestorm in recent years, devastated the southern state of Victoria in 2009, razing thousands of homes and killing 173 people.

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Juve march on as Allegri England rumours swirl

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The prospect of Massimiliano Allegri following Chelsea manager Antonio Conte to the Premier League appear on the increase as Juventus travel to Cagliari on Sunday looking to tighten their grip on Serie A.

Conte led the Turin giants to three consecutive league titles before Allegri took over the helm when former Juventus midfielder Conte took the helm of Italy for Euro 2016.

Juventus hold a seven-point lead on title rivals Roma with Napoli in third at nine points adrift and Allegri is well on his way to securing a record-setting sixth consecutive scudetto.

But already, rumours are swirling.

Allegri confirmed weeks ago he is learning English and when asked specifically about reported interest from Premier League clubs he said earlier this week: “I’m not confirming and I’m not denying.”

Reports suggesting Allegri could be the long-term replacement for Arsene Wenger at Arsenal might be premature, but they appeared the same day Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri denied having met Juventus officials. Sarri, who steered Napoli to second spot in his first season in charge last term when former club striker Gonzalo Higuain hit a new league record of 36 goals, has a new contract until 2020 waiting to be signed.

But he said: “I don’t have time to think about the (new) contract. All I can tell you is I’ve called my lawyer to find out whether to sue the person who wrote that I met with (officials from) Juventus.

“This is completely false.”

With or without the rumours, Juventus look unstoppable in Italy.

Allegri’s men swept aside a battling Inter Milan to win 1-0 last week and moved further ahead with a 2-0 win at Crotone, postponed due to the Italian Super Cup final, in midweek.

Inter are still smarting and host Empoli hoping to get back to winning ways without the triple attacking threat of Mauro Icardi, Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic.

Croatia midfielder Perisic was shown a straight red card for insulting the referee and was banned for two games.

Icardi was handed the same sanction for launching a foul-mouthed tirade at the referee, as well as kicking the ball at him, without hitting him.

Inter have appealed the sanctions and are expected to have an answer before Sunday’s afternoon kick-off, when coach Stefano Pioli will also be without Brozovic after he suffered a broken toe in Turin.

City rivals AC Milan travel to Lazio on Monday buoyed by a precious 1-0 midweek win at Bologna, with nine men, which ended a run of three defeats.

“We’re very happy but we have to ask ourselves why we went down to nine men,” said midfielder Andrea Poli.

Milan were without Gabriel Paletta from the 37th minute and also lost Juraj Kucka to a second yellow card on the hour.

“There’s a good atmosphere, I can’t remember a game with so much adrenaline as that,” added Poli.

“On Monday we have to go to Rome an win.”

Lazio, however, are one of a few teams capable of troubling Roma and Napoli for one of the league’s three Champions League places. They sit fourth, 14 points behind leaders Juventus and five behind third-placed Napoli.

Striker Ciro Immobile has been criticised for a lack of goals against “big” sides, but said: “I’m under a little bit of pressure to score against a big side… it’s a very important game against Milan, they beat Bologna with nine men.”

Napoli host Genoa on Friday looking for a 13th consecutive league win, days before a Champions League last 16 clash at Real Madrid.

Despite the gap to Juve, club president Aurelio De Laurentiis said: “Even though Juventus are more clinical than us, I still believe in (finishing in) first place.

“Sarri’s football is unique in Europe. We should all recognise that we can go to Real Madrid believing in our chances.”

Fixtures (times GMT)

Friday

Napoli v Genoa (1945)

Saturday

Fiorentina v Udinese (1945) Sunday Crotone v Roma (1130), Inter Milan v Empoli, Palermo v Atalanta, Sassuolo v Chievo, Torino v Pescara (all 1400), Sampdoria v Bologna (1700), Cagliari v Juventus (1945)

Monday

Lazio v AC Milan

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PDP, AD, SDP form opposition forum

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Professor Jerry Gana

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party and several other political parties have agreed to constitute a broad based political opposition, known as United Forum of Democrats.

The group disclosed this in a resolution signed by Prof. Jerry Gana on Thursday in Abuja after its Wednesday’s meeting.

According to the resolution the forum is made up of of the leadership of PDP, People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Social Democratic Party (PDP), Alliance for Democracy (AD), Accord Party, among other political parties.

It stated that the forum would be effective, responsible and fearless watchdog, by mutual agreement to broaden the base of the opposition in the country.

Gana, who was a former Information Minister had on Wednesday while submitting the report of PDP Strategy Review and Inter-party Affairs in Abuja said that PDP was already meeting with some leaders of political parties.

He disclosed that the initial contacts had yielded positive responses from seven people-focused and social democratic parties which would meet in Abuja.

“This has nothing to do with the rumoured Mega Party, but a separate and highly principled initiative of the PDP.

“Our desire is to have all genuine democrats and friends of the people to flow together and provide a fresh and trustworthy leadership to promote and ensure people-friendly process of national development,’’Gana said

According to the resolution, the forum would henceforth ensure that the electoral and security Umpires in the country act strictly within the dictates and ethics of their profession.

“We have resolved that we shall stand united and steadfastly work together in the interest of the vast majority of our people who are now suffering and traumatized.

The forum also upheld the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference and was resolved to work earnestly for its full implementation.

“We equally resolved that we shall work together henceforth in all upcoming elections as we approach 2019.

“This is to ensure we enthrone genuine democracy, good governance, respect for the rule of law and put an end to the reign of civilian dictatorship.’’

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Klopp and Wenger in search of lost flow

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Liverpool's German manager Jurgen Klopp / AFP PHOTO / Paul ELLIS /

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp have their backs to the wall as their teams go in search of restorative victories in the Premier League this weekend.

Arsenal have fallen 12 points off the pace after successive losses against Watford and leaders Chelsea, while Liverpool are a point further back following a dismal sequence of five league games without victory.

Klopp’s men entertain second-place Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Saturday and Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum is hopeful they will rise to the occasion.

“To be fair, in the big games it’s been the best kind of football we’ve played this season, so I think it’s easier for everyone to perform in those kind of games,” he told the Liverpool website.

“Sometimes you’re in a flow and sometimes not. We’re in a situation where we’re not in a flow, but we must have confidence and faith we can change it.

“We showed it against Chelsea (in a 1-1 draw last month), but we have to show that against other teams we’re playing against.”

Liverpool, who have dropped out of the top four, lost 2-0 at third-bottom Hull City last weekend, following previous losses against Bournemouth, Burnley and Swansea City.

But they have a strong record against other sides in the top six, having taken 13 points from a possible 21 in matches against the other teams in the Champions League mix.

Following a disappointing 0-0 draw at strugglers Sunderland, Tottenham reasserted their title credentials with a narrow 1-0 home win over Middlesbrough last weekend.

Spurs went through a slump of their own in October and November, winning just once in 10 outings in all competitions, but have won 11 of their 14 matches since.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, like Klopp, favours a high-energy, high-pressing style of football and he has backed the German to come through his team’s current slump.

“I cannot speak for another coach, but Klopp with his experience, he is clever like other managers to provide good balance,” Pochettino said.

“If you win, you are a genius; if you don’t win, you are criticised. You need to be natural, spontaneous and believe in the way you play, use your methods.

“It’s an easy answer: only work in the way you believe you can achieve big things.”

– Arsenal ‘in a fight’ –
Arsenal’s title hopes appeared to be ended for another season by last weekend’s 3-1 defeat at Chelsea, which left Wenger’s side below Spurs and Manchester City in fourth place.

Amid mounting dissent within Arsenal’s fanbase, Wenger has urged everyone associated with the club to rally behind his team ahead of Saturday’s home game against Marco Silva’s revitalised Hull.

“You cannot be a fan until last Tuesday (when Arsenal lost 2-1 at home to Watford) and not be a fan any more and not be behind the team this Saturday. It doesn’t make sense,” Wenger said.

“All the other clubs, everywhere we fight with Man United, Man City, Liverpool, they have big expectations as well and big histories.

“We are in a fight there. We absolutely have to be united or we have no chance to do it.”

With Chelsea not tackling Burnley at Turf Moor until Sunday, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs all have opportunities to eat into their advantage.

But with 16 wins from their last 18 league games, there appears to be no stopping the leaders and head coach Antonio Conte has urged his side to maintain their current momentum.

“Now we are on top of the table, but this league is very tough,” Conte told BBC Sport.

“For me now it’s important to continue to push and to exploit this momentum. If you send the right signal for us and not for the other opponents, it’s very important.”

Manchester United will be hoping for slip-ups from their rivals ahead of their home game with Watford, having closed to within two points of the top four by winning 3-0 at Leicester City last weekend.

Buoyed by a timely FA Cup win over Derby County in mid-week, ailing champions Leicester face a crunch clash at Swansea, with both teams a solitary point above the relegation zone.

Fixtures

Saturday (1500 GMT unless otherwise stated):

Arsenal v Hull (1230 GMT), Liverpool v Tottenham (1730 GMT), Middlesbrough v Everton, Manchester United v Watford, Stoke v Crystal Palace, Sunderland v Southampton, West Ham v West Brom

Sunday:

Burnley v Chelsea (1330 GMT), Swansea v Leicester (1600 GMT)

Monday (2000 GMT):

Bournemouth v Manchester City

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2ktBWEH

Why FG delays payment of accrued pension benefits to retirees

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Pensioners

The Federal Government is currently unable to meet its obligation to its retirees because it cannot cash back the Federal Government Retirement Benefits Bonds currently sitting at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Findings by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) show that the Federal Government is currently owing its former workers accrued rights from January 2016
till date.

Accrued pension rights is the term used to describe what the Federal Government owes its workers who have been in service before the commencement of the Pension Reform Act, 2004.

All Federal Government workers were “retired” and then reemployed to join the service and their pension funded monthly according to the Pension Reform Act, 2004.

The money the Federal Government now owes its workers before the commencement of the act is recognised in form of an amount acknowledged through the issuance of Federal Government Retirement Benefits Bonds.

Upon retirement of an employee, the bonds are to be liquidated and added to the balance of the retirement savings account of an employee to get the total amount he or she is entitled to.

To ensure that government settles backlog of accrued rights, PFAs are not allowed to give access to their retirement savings until the Federal Government releases the accrued rights component.

This means that a retiree cannot access his or her Retirement Savings Account (RSA) through the Pension Funds Administrators without the accrued pension rights component.

So for Public Service Workers who migrated to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in 2004, shortly before they retired, they were entitled to two components of retirement benefits. That is the contributions accumulated in their RSA and their accrued right from the time they joined the service to the time they migrated to CPS.

A source at the office of the Accountant General of the Federation that due to the present economic challenges, the government was finding it difficult to cash back the bonds.

It said that the setback was in the liquidation of the bonds issued by the DMO and domiciled at CBN. “Even from the budgetary stage, what is budgeted for Pension is not enough to meet the needs even if it’s cash backed 100 per cent, so it’s a problem.

“Budget Office has to make provisions for it then we at AGF can pay. But I can tell you that N7 billion was paid to PENCOM at the end of December,” the source said.

Also, a source at PENCOM told NAN that a lot of retirees blamed the commission because they did not understand that the funds were not managed by the
commission, thus its not its fault. He clarified that only people that worked for the Fedaral Government before 2004 had such set back, thus it did not affect the private sector retirees.

“Whenever we get the money, we compile our list and give the names and money to the PFAs. “The simple truth is that it is the Federal Government that is delaying the payment of accrued rights of retirees.

“Initially we were owing from October 2016, but some funds were released recently and two weeks ago we were able to pay workers that retired from November to December 2016,” the source said.

The source revealed that the biggest challenge right now was not just having the bonds cash backed, but rather, how to calculate the accrued pension a retiree was owed.

He said that a worker was “retired” at the level he or she was as at 2004 and that whatever was determined to be the person’s accrued pension rights was then converted to bonds which was expected to mature when a worker retired.

The source said the bonds were supposed to yield interest and boost the expected amount, yet no significant interest was reflected in the amount remitted for each retiree. The source said each retiree was paid exactly or a little more than what was determined to be his accrued rights as at June 2004.

Mr Mohammed Julde, who worked with the Ministry of Education from 1984 to 2016, called on the Federal Government to heed the cry of its former workers. He said it was not fair for them to suffer this after judiciously serving in the public service.

He urged public servants still in service in key departments to assist in resolving the issue as it affected every government worker that had been in the employment of the Federal Government before 2004.

Vía The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kDw2As

Shabaab attacks Kenya army base in Somalia

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Shabaab

Islamist Shabaab fighters attacked a Kenyan military base in southern Somalia on Friday in their latest assault on foreign and national army outposts.

The attack on the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) base at Kolbiyow, close to the Kenyan border in Somalia’s Lower Juba region, began with suicide truck bombers blasting their way into the camp, followed by militants attacking from different directions.

Shabaab claimed in a statement to have overrun the base, captured military vehicles and equipment and to have killed scores of Kenyan soldiers.

“Fighters have taken control of the base and the overall Kolbiyow area after massacring the Kenyan infidels,” the statement said.

KDF spokesman Paul Njuguna denied the base had been overrun, but gave no casualty figures.

“We are engaging the enemy and we have actually repulsed them, but it is ongoing,” Njuguna said.

Shabaab frequently overstates the death toll from its attacks while Kenya commonly underplays its losses.

In January last year a Kenyan base at El-Adde was attacked and overrun by Shabaab fighters who claimed to have killed over 100 Kenyan soldiers. The government never gave its own toll.

The Shabaab, which once controlled much of Somalia, is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu.

It launches regular attacks on government, military and civilian targets and has carried out a series of deadly assaults against foreign soldiers deployed in Somalia as part of an African Union force.

On Tuesday at least 28 people were killed when Shabaab bombers and fighters attacked a hotel in the capital.

Vía The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kA9LYo

Trump expected to block refugees, restrict Muslim visitors (Read full details)

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A waxwork model of US President Donald Trump is pictured during a photocall to promote its unveiling at Madame Tussaud's in central London on January 18, 2017. / Isabel INFANTES / AFP

President Donald Trump is on Thursday poised to suspend the US refugee program for four months and to halt visas for travellers from seven Muslim countries, according to US media.

A draft executive order published in the Washington Post said refugees from war-torn Syria will be indefinitely banned, while the broader US refugee admissions program will be suspended for 120 days as officials draw up a list of low risk countries.

Meanwhile, all visa applications from countries deemed a terrorist threat — Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen — will be halted for 30 days.

Alongside this, the Pentagon will be given 90 days to draw up a plan to set up “safe zones” in or near Syria where refugees from its civil war can shelter.

It is unclear whether the published draft is the final version, or when Trump will sign it, but it would make good on his campaign promises.

Trump told ABC News late Wednesday that his plan to limit the entry of people from Muslim countries was necessary because the world is “a total mess.”

“No it’s not the Muslim ban, but it’s countries that have tremendous terror,” Trump said. “And it’s countries that people are going to come in and cause us tremendous problems.”

Trump refused to say which countries were on the list, but he did say he believed that Europe “made a tremendous mistake by allowing these millions of people to go into Germany and various other countries,” describing it as “a disaster.”

Trump was asked if he worried that the limits would anger Muslims around the world.

“Anger? There’s plenty of anger right now. How can you have more?” he said.

“The world is a mess. The world is as angry as it gets. What, you think this is going to cause a little more anger? The world is an angry place. … We went into Iraq. We shouldn’t have gone into Iraq. We shouldn’t have gotten out the way we got out. The world is a total mess.”

– Playing into IS hands? –
Trump’s hardline attitude towards what he calls “radical Islamic terrorism” was one of the most controversial themes of his election campaign.

Rights groups have accused him of stigmatizing a global faith, and some experts warn that offending America’s Muslim allies will hurt the fight against extremism.

“Turning our back on vulnerable refugees doesn’t protect the United States,” said Michael Olsen, former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center.

“In fact, it plays into ISIS’s false narrative that we are at war with all Muslims instead of terrorist organizations,” he told watchdog Human Rights First.

Trump also vowed to “eradicate ISIS from the face of the earth”, which proved popular with US voters.

Ryan Crocker, former US ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, told the group that the executive order would threaten refugees who risked their lives to help US troops.

“Banning the admission of Syrian refugees contradicts American values, undermines American leadership and threatens American security by making the ISIS case that we are at war with Islam,” he argued.

– No ‘major negative’ in Trump refugee plan –
Other former officials, however, were not worried by the pending order — suggesting that while it has little use as a security measure, anger would blow over.

James Jeffrey, who was deputy national security adviser under former president George W. Bush, said: “I don’t think there’ll be much of a change in anything.”

Jeffrey argued that even under former president Barack Obama, the United States had allowed in very few Syrian refugees — only 18,000 since the war began in 2011.

Meanwhile, allies in the Sunni Muslim world are far more concerned by the immediate threats posed by Iran and the Islamic State group than by US visa law.

“So I don’t see a major negative in foreign affairs from this,” said Jeffrey, now a fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“We had a bad reputation no matter what we did even when we were being at our very very tippy-toe best with Barack Obama. It doesn’t matter,” he told AFP.

“In populations there is a great deal of skepticism about the United States. It’s hard-wired, regardless of the president, no matter what we do.”

The possible draft signing on Thursday would be the latest in a daily series of executive orders rolled out by Trump’s administration since he took office on Friday — touching on national security, immigration, and health care.

Also Thursday, Trump is to speak before Republican lawmakers at their winter retreat in Philadelphia — an opportunity for him to reassure some of his party faithful about the actions of his provocative first week at the White House.

Trump expected to block refugees, restrict Muslim visitors

Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2j7s2Mq

Trump expected to block refugees, restrict Muslim visitors

http://ift.tt/2jNlCPk

A waxwork model of US President Donald Trump is pictured during a photocall to promote its unveiling at Madame Tussaud's in central London on January 18, 2017. / Isabel INFANTES / AFP

President Donald Trump is on Thursday poised to suspend the US refugee program for four months and to halt visas for travellers from seven Muslim countries, according to US media.

A draft executive order published in the Washington Post said refugees from war-torn Syria will be indefinitely banned, while the broader US refugee admissions program will be suspended for 120 days as officials draw up a list of low risk countries.

Meanwhile, all visa applications from countries deemed a terrorist threat — Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen — will be halted for 30 days.

Alongside this, the Pentagon will be given 90 days to draw up a plan to set up “safe zones” in or near Syria where refugees from its civil war can shelter.

It is unclear whether the published draft is the final version, or when Trump will sign it, but it would make good on his campaign promises.

Trump told ABC News late Wednesday that his plan to limit the entry of people from Muslim countries was necessary because the world is “a total mess.”

“No it’s not the Muslim ban, but it’s countries that have tremendous terror,” Trump said. “And it’s countries that people are going to come in and cause us tremendous problems.”

Trump refused to say which countries were on the list, but he did say he believed that Europe “made a tremendous mistake by allowing these millions of people to go into Germany and various other countries,” describing it as “a disaster.”

Trump was asked if he worried that the limits would anger Muslims around the world.

“Anger? There’s plenty of anger right now. How can you have more?” he said.

“The world is a mess. The world is as angry as it gets. What, you think this is going to cause a little more anger? The world is an angry place. … We went into Iraq. We shouldn’t have gone into Iraq. We shouldn’t have gotten out the way we got out. The world is a total mess.”

– Playing into IS hands? –
Trump’s hardline attitude towards what he calls “radical Islamic terrorism” was one of the most controversial themes of his election campaign.

Rights groups have accused him of stigmatizing a global faith, and some experts warn that offending America’s Muslim allies will hurt the fight against extremism.

“Turning our back on vulnerable refugees doesn’t protect the United States,” said Michael Olsen, former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center.

“In fact, it plays into ISIS’s false narrative that we are at war with all Muslims instead of terrorist organizations,” he told watchdog Human Rights First.

Trump also vowed to “eradicate ISIS from the face of the earth”, which proved popular with US voters.

Ryan Crocker, former US ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, told the group that the executive order would threaten refugees who risked their lives to help US troops.

“Banning the admission of Syrian refugees contradicts American values, undermines American leadership and threatens American security by making the ISIS case that we are at war with Islam,” he argued.

– No ‘major negative’ in Trump refugee plan –
Other former officials, however, were not worried by the pending order — suggesting that while it has little use as a security measure, anger would blow over.

James Jeffrey, who was deputy national security adviser under former president George W. Bush, said: “I don’t think there’ll be much of a change in anything.”

Jeffrey argued that even under former president Barack Obama, the United States had allowed in very few Syrian refugees — only 18,000 since the war began in 2011.

Meanwhile, allies in the Sunni Muslim world are far more concerned by the immediate threats posed by Iran and the Islamic State group than by US visa law.

“So I don’t see a major negative in foreign affairs from this,” said Jeffrey, now a fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“We had a bad reputation no matter what we did even when we were being at our very very tippy-toe best with Barack Obama. It doesn’t matter,” he told AFP.

“In populations there is a great deal of skepticism about the United States. It’s hard-wired, regardless of the president, no matter what we do.”

The possible draft signing on Thursday would be the latest in a daily series of executive orders rolled out by Trump’s administration since he took office on Friday — touching on national security, immigration, and health care.

Also Thursday, Trump is to speak before Republican lawmakers at their winter retreat in Philadelphia — an opportunity for him to reassure some of his party faithful about the actions of his provocative first week at the White House.

Vía The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2ji57cr