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Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
Chairman Professor Attahiru Jega (Photo source: TechLoy)
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1.
2015: JEGA INSISTS ON ELECTIONS IN BORNO, YOBE, ADAMAWA
There
will be elections in the Northeast, Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) Chairman Professor Attahiru Jega, has said. The insurgency in
the area is not enough reason to stop the elections.
The Nation reports that Jega
specifically noted that if elections could hold in more volatile Afghanistan
and Iraq, they can hold in the troubled Northeast.
The
INEC boss spoke at a meeting with members of the Senate Committee on INEC on
creation of polling units in the Northeast.
He
noted that while it would be unreasonable to underestimate the security
situation in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, elections could still hold in the
three states.
Jega
insisted that there was nothing unusual about the increase in the number of
polling units.
The
increase, he said, was based on need.
His
word: “We are having displacement of people, with people leaving where they
live to live in camps; it is a serious challenge.
“Nobody
can underestimate it, but the hope of everybody in this country is that this is
a temporary problem and you cannot begin to plan long term based on a temporary
thing.
Jega
said elections were held in several unstable nations, “including countries
which are having problems like ours in terms of security; take Afghanistan,
take Iraq and so on.”
“We
hope and pray that states where emergency is will stabilise sufficiently for us
to be able to conduct elections that are relatively peaceful in those areas and
we must plan for that eventuality.”
INEC,
according to Jega, is obliged to prepare for elections in all parts of Nigeria,
even where there are displaced people, as long as there are registered voters.
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French President Francois Hollande speaks during
a press conference at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. Hollande
said he agreed to Iraq's request for air support at a meeting of his top
defense and security advisers earlier Thursday. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
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2.
FRENCH PRESIDENT: FIRST FRENCH AIRSTRIKE DESTROYS DEPOT OF ISLAMIC STATE GROUP
IN IRAQ
France
announced Friday it had conducted its first airstrike in Iraq and had destroyed
a logistics depot held by the Islamic State group.
The
office of President Francois Hollande said Rafale fighter jets struck the depot
in northeastern Iraq on Friday morning and the target was "entirely
destroyed."
"Other
operations will follow in the coming days," said Hollande's office in a
statement. It did not elaborate on the type of material at the depot or its
exact location.
At
a news conference a day earlier, Hollande said France had agreed to
"soon" conduct airstrikes requested by Iraq to bolster its fight
against IS fighters who have captured swaths of the country.
He
stressed that France wouldn't go beyond airstrikes in support of the Iraqi military
or Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and wouldn't attack targets in Syria, where IS has
also captured territory.
Meanwhile
Iraq's military spokesman says four French airstrikes killed dozens of fighters
from the Islamic State group in a contested area of northern Iraq.
French
President Francois Hollande announced the first airstrikes Friday morning,
saying Rafale fighter jets struck a logistics depot in northeastern Iraq, and
the target was "entirely destroyed." The U.S. has also carried out
airstrikes against the extremist group.
Qassim
al-Moussawi, spokesman for the Iraqi military, said four French airstrikes hit
the town of Zumar, killing dozens of extremist fighters. Zumar and surrounding
towns have remained heavily contested by Islamic State fighters, even though
Iraqi and Kurdish security forces have managed to make headway in nearby
regions with the support of US airstrikes.
3.
HORMONE LINK TO POOR MATHS SKILLS
Children
who are bad at maths could have trouble with numbers because of their mother's
hormone levels during pregnancy, a new study suggests.
Youngsters
born to mothers with low levels of thyroid hormones during pregnancy are almost
twice as likely to do badly in arithmetic tests, researchers found.
Those
whose mothers have low levels of thyroxine are 1.9 times as likely to have
trouble with these tests when they reach school age compared to those born to
healthy mothers, according to the study, which is being presented at European
Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Annual Meeting in Dublin.
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| Low hormone levels during pregnancy may be linked to a child's maths' skills, researchers believe |
Researchers
from the VU University Medical Centre in The Netherlands studied almost 1,200
children from birth to age five - when they assessed their test scores for
language and arithmetic.
They
also monitored the mothers' hormone levels when they were 12 weeks pregnant.
The
youngsters born to mothers with low levels of thyroxine were found to have
lower test scores in arithmetic but their language tests were not affected.
"Whether
these problems persist into adulthood remains to be seen," said lead
author Dr Martijn Finken.
"We
will continue to follow these children to answer this next big question."
4.
SYNAGOGUE: 265 SOUTH AFRICAN SURVIVORS, 29 STILL IN HOSPITAL
South
Africa is counting its loss in the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN),
Lagos building collapse. SA High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Lulu Mnguni said
yesterday that 265 South Africans survived last Friday’s tragedy in which a
six-storey building collapsed.
“There
are 265 South African survivors. Initially, there were 96 injured South
Africans, but now there are only 29 still in hospital, including a
three-year-old,” Mr. Mnguni said in a telephone interview.
The
rest of the injured have been discharged. Most of them were women.
Seventeen
South Africans were still unaccounted for, he said.
Mnguni
confirmed President Jacob Zuma’s announcement that 67 South Africans died, but
he said a process was still underway to identify the deceased.
He
described a grim picture in Lagos where families were frantically scouring
hospitals and mortuaries, searching for loved ones.
“The
atmosphere is calm; there is no tension. But families don’t know where their
loved ones are. They are visiting morgues and hospitals,” he said.
Mnguni
and teams from South Africa and the media have visited mortuaries and
hospitals.
NEMA
has put the death toll at 80 with 131 survivors pulled from the rubble.
President
Jacob Zuma has raised an Inter- Ministerial Task team to help manage the
synagogue building collapse. Zuma spoke in Midrand, Johannesburg.
He
said “the task team will support families and do whatever is necessary to
manage the impact of this tragedy”.
The
South African president said the minister in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe, would
chair the task team which included the minister of cooperative Governance and
Traditional Affairs, minister of International Relations and Cooperation.
South
Africa sent an advance team of emergency personnel to Lagos to help the rescue
work.
“We
urge all South Africans to provide all possible support to the affected
families.
“Many
municipalities will be affected in a way by this disaster.
“We
urge Premiers and Mayors to also provide support to the families of the
deceased who come from their areas,’’ Zuma appealed.
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Prophet T. B. Joshua
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The
Synagogue Church yesterday sent condolences to the families of those killed.
“To
all those who lost family members and loved ones, please accept our heartfelt
commiserations. No one knows by the present sign or situation what the future
holds,” it said in an unsigned statement on its website.
“We
must therefore live each day as if it were our last and leave tomorrow’s
trouble for the one who bore our troubles on the cross. We thank God for the
martyrs and we pray for the family members and loved ones left behind.”
In
its statement, SCOAN said it was a sad time for all and quoted from the Bible:
“Emmanuel – God is with us.”
Verse
1.23 in the chapter of Matthew reads: “The virgin will conceive and give birth
to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means God is with us).”
SCOAN
said it felt the pain of the affected families.
“The
pain of one is the pain of all. It is indeed a sad and painful moment for the
families and friends who have lost loved ones,” it said.
“It
is equally so for us in SCOAN, under the leadership of Prophet TB Joshua.”
The
televangelist claims to have predicted the Malaysian Airlines MH17 plane crash
and the Boston marathon bombings. He apparently did not foresee the collapse of
his own church building.
SCOAN
said one of its buildings “unexpectedly” collapsed, resulting in death and
injury. It implied that a “strange aircraft” had something to do with the
disaster.
“This
incident was preceded by the appearance of a strange aircraft which flew very
low over the building, four times and then disappeared,” it said.
“The
church views this tragedy as part of an attack on SCOAN and in particular
Prophet TB Joshua. In due course God will reveal the perpetrators of this
unfortunate tragedy.”
The
church said it had co-operated with authorities from Nigeria, South Africa and
other nations and was working “hand-in-hand” with them.
“SCOAN…
have worked in collaboration with… authorities to ensure that survivors are
rescued, attended to with the best medical treatment, cared for in the most
humane and hospitable manner and reunited with their families, while those who
passed on – martyrs of the Kingdom of God – are retrieved, identified and
treated respectfully.”
SCOAN
was saddened by “inaccurate reports” that it was not co-operating with rescue
teams.
5.
MILLENNIA-OLD ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN IRAQ AND SYRIA FACE LOOTING, DESTRUCTION
UNDER MILITANTS
For
more than 5,000 years, numerous civilizations have left their mark on upper
Mesopotamia — from Assyrians and Akkadians to Babylonians and Romans. Their
ancient, buried cities, palaces and temples packed with monumental art are
scattered across what is now northern Iraq and eastern Syria.
Now
much of that archaeological wealth is under the control of extremists from the
Islamic State group. The militants have demolished some artifacts in their
zealotry to uproot what they see as heresy, but they are also profiting from
it, hacking relics off palace walls or digging them out to sell on the
international black market.
Antiquities
officials in Iraq and Syria warn of a disaster as the region's history is
erased.
In
Iraq, black market dealers are coming into areas controlled by the Islamic
State group or in safe regions nearby to snap up items, said Qais Hussein
Rashid, head of the state-run Museums Department, citing reports from local
antiquities officials still in the area.
When
the militants overran the northern city of Mosul and surrounding Ninevah
province in June, they captured a region were nearly 1,800 of Iraq's 12,000
registered archaeological sites are located. They snapped up even more as they
pushed south toward Baghdad.
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6.‘HISTORIC
HIGH’: AFGHAN DRUG CRIME TO FURTHER DETERIORATE AFTER US WITHDRAWAL, SAYS
RUSSIA
The
drug production in Afghanistan is already at a “historic high,” but the
situation is likely to deteriorate even more when international troops leave
the country, Russia’s chief anti-narcotics official said.
“The
beginning of the withdrawal of the International Security Assistance Forces
from Afghanistan, political instability in the country and a number of other
factors make it possible to judge that the situation may drastically
deteriorate in the future,” Viktor Ivanov, head of Russia’s Federal Drug
Control Service, stressed.
He
was speaking in Russia’s southern Volga River city of Astrakhan where the heads
of the anti-drug agencies from Caspian states, including Azerbaijan, Iran,
Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan were holding a meeting.
According
to the Russian official, drug production in Afghanistan has now reached “a
historic high.”
“This
year, over 250,000 hectares are allocated for opium poppy cultivation and
another 150,000 hectares for the cultivation of cannabis,” he said, adding that
4 million Afghans are involved in the illegal drugs industry in the country.
Ivanov
has labeled Afghanistan “a direct threat to international peace and security”
as the country has recently become “a truly planetary center for drug
production.”
There
are around 8 million drug addicts in Russia and over 1.5 million of them use
Afghan heroin, he added.
Ivanov
also expressed his regret that the sanctions imposed on Russia by the US over
the events in Ukraine have shattered anti-drug cooperation between the two
states.
"The
political leadership of the US has sanctioned me and banned me from entering
the country, thus putting an end to the Russian-American working group on
drugs, which actively operated for over five years and of which I was a
co-chair from the Russian side,” he said.
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Over
the years, the anti-drug cooperation between Russia and the US brought good
results, Ivanov stressed.
“I
don’t know what was their motivation was, but it clearly wasn’t the interests
of the American people, as Russia and the US conducted large-scale joint
operations to prevent shipments of cocaine from South America to the US,” he
said.
The
turmoil in Ukraine has facilitated drug transit through this country, Ivanov
said, with methadone already flowing into Russia.
“During
the last eight years, so-called methadone substitute therapy has been used in
Ukraine. Ninety percent of methadone purchased with state funds goes to the
criminal market. The price of methadone is almost equal to the price of the
Afghan heroin,” the anti-drug chief said.
“And
now we see that methadone is making its way from Ukraine to Russia,” he added.
Ivanov
also proposed a project that would make the Caspian Sea region free of drugs,
which “offers a detailed action plan” in police co-operation and information
exchange for the region’s states.
He
referred to the use of surveillance drones, operative work at seaports, divers
to search for and confiscate sunken drugs and a joint diplomatic effort.
The
Russian anti-drug chief also stressed the need to create a Caspian network of
rehabilitation centers for drug addicts as "the fewer drug addicts, the
lower the demand for drugs, and the safer our regions."
During
the Astrakhan meeting, the results of a joint special drug-fighting operation
were summed up, which saw around 500 drug-related crimes curbed and some 1,500
criminal were brought to justice.
7.
INDIAN STATE TV SACKS ANCHOR OVER CHINA BLUNDER
A
news anchor for India's state TV channel has been fired after she referred to
Chinese President Xi Jinping as "Eleven" Jingping — apparently
mistaking his name for a Roman numeral, a top official at the station said
Friday.
Xi
left for China on Friday after a three-day visit to India, where he signed more
than a dozen agreements to push trade and investment between the two Asian
giants.
The
anchor for the Doordarshan news channel made the gaffe on Wednesday night while
she read a late night news bulletin. She was dismissed after the blunder was
discovered, the TV station official said.
The
anchor was a "casual" employee, working temporarily, and not a
regular staffer, he said.
He
asked that his name not be used because he did not want to comment publicly on
the matter.
8.
GAMBLER REWARDED FOR US$1.5 MILLION BET ON SCOTTISH "NO"
A
London-based gambler enjoyed winnings of almost 200,000 pounds (US$327,000) on
Friday after making a record political bet on Scotland rejecting independence
in a referendum.
The
high roller was rewarded after staking a total of 900,000 pounds on a
"No" vote in four big wagers placed since June at a betting shop in
southwest London, bookmaker William Hill said.
Bookmakers
are keen to promote political betting as a useful sideline to their sporting
staples of gambling on horse racing and soccer.
William
Hill, Britain's largest bookmaker, said it took around £3 million of bets on
the referendum.
The
figure was triple the sum staked with the company on the last British general
election in 2010 and roughly equivalent to the amount of betting it expects for
a big soccer match in the English Premier League.
The
odds offered by bookmakers had indicated that they believed that Scots would
spurn independence in the historic referendum.
Online
gambling company Betfair even paid out early to some customers who had backed a
"No" vote, declaring the outcome a certainty 48 hours before polling
day.
Opinion
polls had suggested the decision could be very close but in the event unionists
took 55 percent of the vote while separatists won 45 per cent.
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According to the paper,
this is the first UN population report to use modern statistics, known as
Bayesian statistics that combine all available information to produce better
predictions. Photo: HT
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9.
WORLD POPULATION TO CROSS 11 BILLION BY 2100: UN STUDY
There
is an 80% probability that the world’s population will increase to between 9.6
and 12.3 billion in 2100, led by a steep rise in Africa, says study.
According
to the paper, this is the first UN population report to use modern statistics,
known as Bayesian statistics that combine all available information to produce
better predictions. Photo: HT
New
Delhi: The number of people on earth is likely to reach 11 billion by 2100,
about 2 billion higher than widely cited previous estimates, reveals a study
led by University of Washington and United Nations published in Science journal
on Thursday.
Published
ahead of the United Nations general assembly meeting in New York, the study
reveals using new statistical tools that there is an 80% probability that the
world’s population, which stands at 7.2 billion today, will increase to between
9.6 and 12.3 billion in 2100, led by a steep rise in Africa.
“The
consensus over the past 20 years or so was that world population, which is currently
around 7 billion, would go up to 9 billion and level off or probably decline,”
said corresponding author Adrian Raftery, a professor of statistics and of
sociology at University of Washington. “We found there’s a 70% probability the
world population will not stabilize this century. Population, which had sort of
fallen off the world’s agenda, remains a very important issue.”
According
to the paper, this is the first UN population report to use modern statistics,
known as Bayesian statistics that combine all available information to produce
better predictions.
World
population projections are based mostly on future life expectancy and fertility
rates, and expert opinions, while the new method uses a combination of
government data and expert forecasts for such phenomena as mortality rates,
fertility rates and international migration.
Most
of the projected growth is in Africa, where the population is expected to
increase four times from around 1 billion today to 4 billion by the end of the
century. The primary reason attributed for this expected jump in population is
higher fertility and a recent slowdown in the pace of fertility decline.
The
study said that there is an 80% chance that the population in Africa at the end
of the century will be between 3.5 billion and 5.1 billion. Asia, where the
population is 4.4 billion, will peak at around 5 billion people in 2050 and
then begin to decline. Populations in North America, Europe and Latin America
and the Caribbean are projected to stay below 1 billion each.
“Rising
population could exacerbate world problems such as climate change, infectious
disease and poverty,” said Raftery. “Studies show that the two things that
decrease fertility rates are more access to contraceptives and education of
girls and women, Africa could benefit greatly by acting now to lower its
fertility rate.”
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Dr Kelechi Emenuo, widow of Port Harcourt
doctor, Dr Ikechukwu Enemuo, (First left), Dr Ibeawuchi Morris (second left), Dr Fadipe Akinniyi (third left),
Mr. Dennis Akagha, late Nurse Justina Ejelonu's fiance (second right) and Dr Adaora Igonoh (first right).
Gov Fashola (third right) with survivors of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) during
their visit to Government House in Ikeja…yesterday. Photo credit: NAN
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10.
OUR ORDEAL, BY EBOLA SURVIVORS
FOR
about 30 minutes yesterday in Lagos, five of the nine survivors of the deadly
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) took turns to recount their battle with the
ailment.
They
were guests of Governor Babatunde Fashola at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja.
They
could hardly contain their emotions. Some fought back tears. Others sobbed. But
in unison, the survivors were grateful to God for a second chance to live.
They
were mostly doctors with First Consultant Hospital in Lagos, where the index
case was first recorded.
The
doctors explained that they thought they were dealing with just another patient
when the Liberia- American Patrick Sawyer was wheeled into the hospital on July
20.
ut
to their chagrin, as the days rolled by after Sawyer’s demise, they discovered
they had the deadly EVD to contend with as many of them were already infected
with the virus.
Before
the meeting began, few of the survivors felt intimidated by the cameras and
walked out of the room to escape the prying eyes of reporters. But those who
stayed back buried their heads in reflective moods.
But
their confidence seemed to have been buoyed when at about 5:40p.m, Fashola
walked in.
With
a brief introduction, Commissioner for Health Dr. Jide Idris said the essence
of bringing the survivors to share their experience was to help eradicate
stigmatisation, which they were contending with.
11.
SOUTH AFRICAN COURT OKAYS SEIZURE OF NIGERIA’S US$9.3M
South
Africa has seized the US$9.3 million Nigerian cash flown aboard a private jet
into its capital, Johannesburg, from Abuja early this month.
Two
Nigerians and an Israeli were travelling with the plane’s crew at the time the
cash, which was not declared, was found on the plane.
South
African security and Nigeria have launched an investigation into what
transpired.
The
explanation from Nigeria that the money was meant for arms purchase for the
Nigeria intelligence agencies, has been rejected by South Africa’s Asset
Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The
NPA, in a statement, according to online publication Premium Times, said
the manner in which the money was brought into the country breached the laws
that deal with the transfer of foreign exchange of such proportion. “The money
was initially detained by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) as it was
not disclosed or declared at customs, and was above the prescribed legal limit
for the amount of cash that may be brought into the country,” it said in a
statement.
The
NPA, according to the medium, said its investigation showed that Tier One
Services Group, the firm the Nigerian government claimed it wanted to procure
the arms from, is not authorised to sell or rent military hardware.
“In
court papers, the NPA submitted evidence that Tier One is not registered with
the National Conventional Arms Control Committee and is thus not authorised to
enter into any agreements regarding the sale and/or rental of military
equipment,” the statement read.
Tier
One has apparently issued an invoice to a Cyprus based company, ESD
International Group Ltd, ESD, in respect of the procurement of armaments and
helicopters to be delivered to Nigeria.
However,
South African investigators said the time when the invoice was prepared and the
time the money was brought in threw up some serious issues of its true intent.
The
money was ferried to South Africa less than a week from the date the invoice
was prepared (September 8, 2014). The involvement of a Cyprus based company
also heightens the suspicion that this may be a case of classical money
laundering. Cyprus is known for its secretive banking system.
The
NPA added that the transaction did not follow normal procedure in the
procurement of the kind of equipment it was alleged to have been meant for.
The
Senate yesterday summoned National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki
(rtd), Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh and Chief of Army
Staff Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah over the smuggled US$9.3 million cash.
Chairman,
Senate Committee on Defence, Senator George Sekibo, said those invited to
appear before his committee on Tuesday would brief members on the incident.
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SA President Jacob Zuma
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12.
LESOTHO POLICE, MILITARY IN EARLY MORNING SHOOTOUT
Police
and military exchanged gunfire in Lesotho`s capital Maseru in the early hours
of Friday, the latest spasm of violence to rock Africa`s tiny mountain kingdom.
Maseru
Police District Commissioner Mofokeng Kolo told a news agency that the
shooting occurred at 3:00 am local time when soldiers suspiciously drove past
the home of a police force commander, Khothatso Tsooana.
"If
they were planning something, I`m not sure... Soldiers came close, and the
police on guard followed them" for about two kilometres (1.2 miles).
"I
don`t know yet who fired first," he said, adding that there were no
injuries as a result of the shootout.
On
August 30, the tiny nation surrounded by South Africa was rocked by a coup
attempt that saw the prime minister flee to its larger neighbour and the
military attack several police stations, killing one officer and forcibly
disarming police.
Police
are seen as loyal to Prime Minister Tom Thabane while sections of the military
are allied to his political foes.
The
August violence was blamed on "renegade" Lesotho Defence Force
commander Tlali Kamoli, who has refused to step down and has been blamed for a
series of attacks on police and political rivals.
Kamoli
-- who is reportedly surrounded by a group of armed loyalists -- faces
accusations of mutiny and treason, but remains free.
Tensions
heightened on Thursday with the funeral of Sub-Inspector Mokheseng Ramahloko,
the police officer killed on August 30, who was reportedly guarding the police
armoury that army soldiers then raided.
Some
2,000 police attended the emotional memorial service.
Southern
Africa states have pressed Lesotho`s leaders to solve the crisis, but they
remain deadlocked with Thabane saying he cannot meet demands to reopen
parliament until Kamoli is brought under control.
Regional
bloc SADC has called for early elections to be called and send South African
police to the country to protect Thabane and his allies.
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