Sri Lanka rejects UN call for foreign judges in war probe…Read full details

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This handout photo released by the Sri Lankan president’s office shows President Maithripala Sirisena (2nd L) administering the oath of office for the newly appointed Chief Justice Priyasath Dep (R) at the president’s official residence in Colombo on March 2, 2017. Dep, the senior-most judge in the highest court of the country, was nominated by the newly established constitutional council, a bipartisan mechanism to ensure independence of the highest office.<br />SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT'S OFFICE / AFP

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has rejected a fresh appeal from the United Nations to allow international judges to investigate alleged war-era atrocities, vowing to not prosecute soldiers.

“I am not going to allow non-governmental organisations to dictate how to run my government. I will not listen to their calls to prosecute my troops,” the president said in remarks distributed by his office Sunday.

The UN on Friday criticised Sri Lanka’s “worryingly slow” progress in addressing its wartime past, urging the government to adopt laws allowing for special hybrid courts to try war criminals.

In his first remarks since the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva handed down a new report on Sri Lanka, Sirisena rebuffed calls for international judges to probe abuses committed during the island’s 37-year civil war.

At least 100,000 people were killed during the separatist war between government forces and rebels from the Tamil Tigers group, which officially ended in 2009.

Sirisena, a member of the majority Sinhalese community, received the support of the Tamil minority after promising accountability for excesses carried out by the largely Sinhalese military.

The president agreed in 2015 to a UN Human Rights Council resolution in October 2015 that called for special tribunals and reparations for victims.

But his comments marked a sharp shift in his policy towards accountability and reconciliation which had initially earned him the praise of international observers.

“A charge sheet is now brought against our forces with a demand to include foreign judges to try them,” he said in a speech to troops in the northern peninsula of Jaffna.

The UN report acknowledged that Colombo had made some positive advances on constitutional and legal reforms, limited land restitution and symbolic gestures towards reconciliation.

But it cautioned that the measures taken so far had been “inadequate, lacked coordination and a sense of urgency.”

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Unions suspend strike as new VC resumes (Read full details)

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Labour unions in Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH), on Saturday announced suspension of their six-week old strike as the new Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sunday Ogunduyile assumes duty.

The unions that directed their members to return to work are: the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the unions conveyed the suspension of the strike in a communiqué jointly signed by their leaders after a Joint Action Congress (JAC) meeting.

The communiqué was signed by Peter Akindehinde for NASU, Temola Temisan for SSANU and Bobola Bamigbola for NAAT.

In the communiqué, the unions directed all staff of the institution to resume duties on Monday.

“Sequel to the strike embarked upon by the unions on January 25 to press home our demands, we hereby suspend the strike as staff and students are directed to resume on Monday.

“This is because some of our demands were met and to honour the new governor, Rotimi Akeredolu and the new VC, Prof. Ogunduyile” the communiqué stated.

The unions began an indefinite strike to press for the resignation of the former Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adegoke Adegbite. The unions also demanded adequate funding, urgent facelift of the institution and appointment of a substantive vice chancellor.

Gov. Olusegun Mimiko appointed a substantive vice chancellor before leaving office on Feb. 24.

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The Biography Of Bindo Jibrilla [Age, Life Profile, History & Net Worth]

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Bindo Umaru Jibrilla (born June 16, 1963) is a Nigerian businessman and politician who became the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the 9 April 2011 Senatorial election for the Adamawa North district, and went on to be elected to the national senate. His candidature was unsuccessfully disputed by the incumbent Senator Mohammed Mana. He is now the governor of Adamawa after defeating Nuhu Ribadu and Markus Gundiri in the April governorship polls.

Bindo Umaru Jibrilla is described as a business tycoon, new to politics. He is an industrialist who has established three companies in Mubi, employing about four hundred people, and is a vibrant speaker.

He was reportedly called upon by several youth organisations to challenge Mana, who was said to have neglected his senate district. He is known for his philanthropy and for creating jobs, and as the youngest contender would have an advantage with the youth vote.

In the January 2011 PDP primaries for the Adamawa North Senatorial race, Jibrilla Bindo got 626 votes, Mohammed Mana was second with 474 votes, Zira Maigadi secured 162 votes, while Terry Vahyla got 21. Another incumbent Senator, Grace Bent of Adamawa South, was also defeated. On 7 February 2011, well after the deadline for the parties to change their candidate lists had passed, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) published a list showing Jibrilla as PDP candidate for Adamawa North.

Mana and Bent independently filed appeals against the primary results.

Newspapers reported that there would be a re-run of the primaries, which the (INEC) said it would not recognise. The PDP state chairman, Alhaji Minjinyawa Kugama, also denied knowledge of the re-run, saying he had heard nothing about it from the party leadership, and saying that the primary election had been free and fair.

On 15 March 2011 both Governor Murtala Nyako and the state chairman of the party, Mijinyawa Umaru Kugama, said that they would not support Mana and Bent in their appeals. Later in March 2011 a Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the appeal as lacking in merit. Mana appealed this ruling. Justice Kafarati affirmed the election of Jibrilla as PDP Candidate for Adamawa North Senatorial district. A PDP leader in the state, Malam Rabiu Rara, advised the two to obey the court orders.

In the 9 April 2011 election, Jibrilla polled 75,112 votes, while the runner-up Boni Haruna of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), a former governor of the state, polled 70,890. This result was confirmed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as of 16 April.

* An Uzomedia Biography

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Unions suspend strike as new VC resumes

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Labour unions in Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH), on Saturday announced suspension of their six-week old strike as the new Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sunday Ogunduyile assumes duty.

The unions that directed their members to return to work are: the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the unions conveyed the suspension of the strike in a communiqué jointly signed by their leaders after a Joint Action Congress (JAC) meeting.

The communiqué was signed by Peter Akindehinde for NASU, Temola Temisan for SSANU and Bobola Bamigbola for NAAT.

In the communiqué, the unions directed all staff of the institution to resume duties on Monday.

“Sequel to the strike embarked upon by the unions on January 25 to press home our demands, we hereby suspend the strike as staff and students are directed to resume on Monday.

“This is because some of our demands were met and to honour the new governor, Rotimi Akeredolu and the new VC, Prof. Ogunduyile” the communiqué stated.

The unions began an indefinite strike to press for the resignation of the former Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adegoke Adegbite. The unions also demanded adequate funding, urgent facelift of the institution and appointment of a substantive vice chancellor.

Gov. Olusegun Mimiko appointed a substantive vice chancellor before leaving office on Feb. 24.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mD9SDu

Remedy StLyricqx – Oluwa Blezz Me Nana Ft Buju & Nas T [Mp3 + Lyrics]

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Remedy StLyricqx is one of the fast rising artist in south south who over the years having been dishing out good music to his growing fans, Remedy StLyricqx is signed to Ghetto Life Music and he is here with his first official single for the year titled “Oluwa Blezz Me NaNA” featuring top south south energetic artist “Buju & Nas T”, Remedy StLyricqx has also promised to drop the video soonest, so watch out for Remedy StLyricqx

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Nigerians head to church to find love (Read full details)

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A man raises his hands during a prayer at the “singles summit” held at Prayer City on February 18, 2017.<br />The “singles summit” is one of a number of events offered by popular Pentecostal churches across Nigeria to prepare singles for relationships in a country where marriage still plays a major role in society. / AFP PHOTO / STEFAN HEUNIS

Thousands of people began to arrive at the Nigerian megachurch just after dawn on a cool morning, looking for love and hot tips on how to avoid “dating devils”.

The “singles summit” is one of several offered by hugely popular Pentecostal churches in the west African nation, where marriage is a cornerstone of society to which most people aspire.

With the relentless hustle and bustle of city life, and challenging economic conditions in a period of recession, there’s often little time to seek out love.

But the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries aims to change all that at its vast Prayer City complex, opposite an amusement park off the Lagos to Ibadan expressway.

Its Gen218 programme — named after the Bible verse in Genesis where God says “It is not good that the man should be alone” before making Eve — promises to teach participants tricks for picking the right partner and avoiding pitfalls.

The lucky ones may actually find a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Michelle Michaels, a 37-year-old public servant in a brown striped dress, was among the crowds at the summit one Saturday in February.

“Obviously I’m a single, not married, searching and all that,” she told AFP.

“But it’s more about getting it right,” she added, turning serious.

“Marriage can be a disaster. The rate of divorce is very high nowadays and I don’t want to be part of it.”

With an astonishing maximum capacity of more than 200,000 people, Prayer City bills itself as a “24 hours a day, 7 days a week, non-stop” venue facilitating “aggressive prayer”.

By 8:30 am the singles summit was well under way, with a dapper singer in a suit and red tie belting out majestic soft rock ballads that were more Coldplay than Kumbaya.

Half an hour later, there was dancing in the aisles. By 10:00 am, many were crying. Some were sprawled motionless and face down on the floor in apparent rapture.

The summit appeared to be reaching a climax but in fact hadn’t even started: superstar pastor Daniel Kolawole Olukoya’s appearance was still four hours away.

A range of churches offer singles summits but the substance is more or less the same.

It includes frank advice about the realities of married life, while divine guidelines are prescribed such as abstaining from sex until marriage, and there’s a lot of praise.

Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo of the Kingsway International Christian Centre held his own event earlier last month, teaching from his bestselling book “Don’t Date Devils”.

On a different note, husband and wife team Bisi and Yomi Adewale, from the Family Booster Ministry, host singles events on the theme “12 Relationships You Must Avoid At All Cost”.

“The singles are not only going there to hook future sanctified partners but also to acquire the spiritual endowments and secular skills on how to become future rich husbands and wives,” said Nimi Wariboko, a professor at Boston University’s theology school who studies Pentecostalism.

“The summits are also places of pleasure, spaces where one can intensely party in the name of worship and experience huge emotional release without guilt.

“It’s a bundled service package directed at a segment of Nigerians eager to cross over from one stage of life into another.”

While the church may appear conservative in some ways, specifying that women must cover their hair on religious premises, for example, it’s liberal in others.

The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries condemns forced marriage, child marriage, polygamy and inherited marriages, which see a widow passed on to another family member and are still common in Nigeria.

In this way, the church helps guide young professionals as they adapt their traditional customs to modern life.

“There has been an evolution from arranged marriage to marrying for love, and of course a shared love of Jesus Christ is a way of legitimising a choice of who to marry,” said Daniel J. Smith, an anthropology professor at Brown University in the United States.

That said, Olukoya still emphasises patience, since hasty vows can result in an unhappy marriage to what he calls a “baby husband” — someone who “loves his mother more than the wife” — or an “acidic wife” — a woman whom, “when she talks, you feel like committing suicide”.

“Being a single isn’t a bad thing,” said Oluboyede Oluwatosin, a thoughtful 31-year-old technician attending his first singles summit.

“It’s good to be married but you don’t just jump into marriage, there is some training you need. If you jump into marriage, you will surely jump out.”

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Rely Ma – Another One (Nicki Minaj Diss) [Mp3 + Lyrics]

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Remy Ma aint done folks. Just days after hitting us her “SHether” diss aimed at Nicki Minaj, Remy decides to take a page out of Drizzy’s book and hit us with “Another One” before Nicki could even respond.Premiered moments ago by Flex on Hot 97, Remy does her things once again, and takes shots at Nicki for taking too long to respond, even mimicking Drake’s flow & lyrics from “Back 2 Back” in the process. “Waited 4 days ma, where y’all at?” Remy spits. In addition to that, Remy also opens the track with vocals from Nicki’s other foe Mariah Carey, brags about crushing Nicki with her last diss, comparing it to that of Holly Holm knocking out Ronda Rousey in 2015, and whole lot more

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Trey Songz – Song Goes Off [Mp3 + Lyrics]

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Trey Songz is planning on rolling out a new single & accompanying video every Thursday night in its support, and so far so good. Following up “Nobody Else But You” & last week’s “Playboy” releases, Trigga returns to the scene tonight with his latest offering “Song Goes Off,” which arrives in visual form again.Check out the provocative new visual and let us know what you think. Tremaine, which arrives 3/24, is available for pre-order now on iTunes. (Included below is the episode 3 of his on-going “web series” Tremaine: The Playboy.

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Lorde – Green Light [Mp3 + Lyrics]

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New Zealand’s finest Lorde has gotten back on the court, dropping her first new single since her 2013blockbuster LP Pure Heroine. The single is called “Green Light.”This is what Lorde told Rolling Stone about her four-year hiatus”For me it was kind of about processing what I want to say next and I knew it just couldn’t be any old thing … It had to be really special and really singular and it couldn’t sound the same as the old stuff and there was a lot of discovery that went on

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Dave East – Rubberband [Mp3 + Lyrics]

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Ethika’s RGB, a promo mixtape for the luxury underwear brand, featuring Meek Mill’s “King.” Today we’d like to bring attention to Dave East’s cut on the project, the thematically perfectly titled “Rubberband.“On this cut, the New York MC chops his flows through the ebbs of the beat, demonstrating how effortlessly he can make the streets wave to and fro. He keeps it as real as he can, and that can be tough.Give Dave East’s “Rubberband” a listen, and let us know your thoughts in the comments. Are you one step closer to buying a pair of Ethika undies

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MTN posts first ever loss in 22 years

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By Emmanuel Elebeke with agency report
Telecoms giant, MTN said it made a $200 million loss in 2016, the company’s first after suffering a huge fine in Nigeria and currency challenges in key markets.

A statement by the MTN Group on Thursday, indicated that its financial results for 2016 reflect the most challenging year in the company’s 22-year history.

According to the MTN Group, the company reported profits of 20.2 billion rand ($1.6 billion) before tax for 2015.

It further explained that overall performance of the company was hindered by lower than expected growth in both South Africa and Nigeria as well as the depreciation of the rand against the dollar and the continued impact of a $1 billion (950 million euros) fine by Nigerian authorities.

Nigerian authorities had in October 2015 fined MTN for failing to disconnect unregistered mobile accounts in the country originally ordering it to pay $1,000 for each improperly registered SIM card.

The Nigerian authorities had ordered the purge for security reasons, as the country battles Boko Haram Islamists as well as criminality especially kidnapping for ransom.
The original Nigerian Communications Commission penalty was equal to roughly a quarter of the country’s annual federal budget.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is MTN’s largest market, where it now has 62 million subscribers out of a total of 233 million, a 1.2 percent increase on 2015.
The Group said its operations in South Africa were hit by technical issues and customer service problems during the year, which also hurt the bottom line, the company said.

“Towards the end of 2016 our two largest operations (South Africa and Nigeria)… began to show signs of a turnaround following an extended period of underperformance.”
Revenue was fractionally up for the year at 146.9 billion rand ($11.3 billion, 10.7 billion euros), the company said.

It was also revealed that the MTN share price on the Johannesburg stock exchange rose five percent after the announcement of the company results compared to the close on Wednesday.

The post MTN posts first ever loss in 22 years appeared first on Vanguard News.

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Metuh’s trial adjourned again, now fixed for May 3

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The trial of Olisa Metuh, a former spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was stalled again on Thursday in an FCT High Court, Maitama, due to another adjournment.

The trial was adjourned again till May 3, for the defence to open its case; the adjournment was at the instance of the court.

Metuh was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on a two-count charge, bordering on destruction of evidence.

The judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, on Oct. 10, 2016 adjourned till Nov. 22, 2016 for the defence to open its case; it again adjourned till Jan. 24, 2017, and then again till March 2.

Mr Sylvanus Tahir, the prosecuting counsel had earlier called three witnesses to testify.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, both counsel and Metuh were in court.

The next adjourned date was fixed with the consent of all the parties in the matter.

The post Metuh’s trial adjourned again, now fixed for May 3 appeared first on Vanguard News.

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