GRAPHITTI NEWS : 2016-01-31

Saturday, February 06, 2016

11 Dead, Hundreds Rescued As Strong Quake Rattles Taiwan

Rescue workers search a collapsed building from an early morning earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A powerful, shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan before dawn Saturday. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

Rescuers raced to find additional survivors after a powerful, shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan before dawn Saturday and collapsed a high-rise residential building, killing at least 11 people and injuring hundreds.

Rescue workers remove a victim on a stretcher from a collapsed building after an earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. The powerful, shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan before dawn Saturday, collapsing a high-rise residential complex. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

Jose Mourinho, left, and Louis van Gaal, right, are former touchline rivals

Manchester United have declined to comment on reports that the club have held talks with representatives of Jose Mourinho.

Kenya’s Kipton Wins Lagos City Marathon

Kenyan long distance runner, Abraham Kipton, on Saturday won the inaugural edition of the Lagos City Marathon, edging out over 20,000 athletes from Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco, Uganda, India, Cameroon and other parts of the world.

Abraham Kipton crossed the finishing line in 2 hours, 16 minutes, 21 seconds.

Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa

Bahrain's Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa received a major boost in his bid to become the next FIFA president when he received an endorsement from the Confederation of African Football on Friday.

Obasanjo prostrates before Ooni

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday visited the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, at his palace to pay homage to the foremost traditional ruler in Yorubaland.

37 Dead In India As Bus Plunges Into River

At least 37 people were killed and seven injured when a speeding Mumbai-bound private bus plunged into the Jagbudi River in Ratnagiri district on Tuesday.

A packed passenger bus plunged off a bridge into a river in western India Friday killing at least 37 people, an official said, in one of the deadliest road accidents in recent years.

Wang Junxia, China's most famous long-distance runner, won the 5,000m race at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta (Image credits: AFP)

The body that governs world athletics has said it is investigating a letter alleging historic state-backed doping in the sport in China.

Pope Francis (L), Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. © Reuters / Sputnik

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is to meet his Roman Catholic counterpart, Pope Francis, during a historic visit to Latin America. The groundbreaking meeting is to happen in mid-February in Cuba.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, challenging the validity of his trial on charges of assets declaration preferred against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

President Muhammadu Buhari speaking at the Syria security conference in London (Image credits: TheCable)

President Muhammadu Buhari has begun a short vacation from Friday February 5 to Wednesday February 10, 2016.

John Odigie-Oyegun, APC National Chairman

The chairman of the governing All Progressives Congress, John Odigie-Oyegun, has denied demanding the investigation of Supreme Court judges for affirming the election victories of Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Abia State governors.

The unidentified woman, who just returned from Ebonyi State, has been taken to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu.

Reuters

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Friday declared a "state of disaster" in many rural areas hit by a severe drought, with more than a quarter of the population facing food shortages.

NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba addressing workers at the National Assembly premises during the “National Rally Against Corruption and for Good Governance” organized by NLC in alliance with civil society groups

Leadership newspaper reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), civil society allies and electricity consumers across the country have concluded plans to hold a nationwide protest on Monday to oppose the 45% increase in electricity tariff as announced by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC).

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Headquarters, Abuja

*Begs oil majors not to sack workers

The Presidency has directed an oil firm to remit to the account of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, unremitted funds amounting to ₦81.6 billion (US$408m).

An Italian woman has been sued by her husband for her “bad management of housework” – and could face up to six years in prison if found guilty – after a court accepted a lawsuit filed by the annoyed man, according to local media.

Jamie Vardy (right) has been renamed after Marco van Basten (left). The Leicester boss was still in awe of Vardy’s stunning strike against Liverpool

Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri has renamed his star striker Jamie van Vardy.

Prof. Itse Sagay

Eminent lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, and a Lagos-based legal practitioner, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, on Thursday, queried the recent judgments of the Supreme Court, which dismissed all the cases challenging the polls of some governors, including those that had earlier been overturned by two lower courts.

President Muhammadu Buhari (Image credits: AFP)

The Federal Government is concluding plans to probe no fewer than 23,306 federal civil servants, who have been accused by a panel of defrauding the government of millions of naira every month through an organized salary fraud.

United Lead Neymar Hunt After His Dad Reveals Son Could Quit Barcelona

Neymar has been sensational since he moved to Barcelona in 2013 EFE

Neymar has put Premier League suitors on red alert after his dad revealed he could quit Barcelona.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended the operation of the Bristow Helicopters Ltd’s Sikorsky S-76C++ model, till further notice, a day after a chopper operated by the company crashed.

The battle for the FIFA presidency has turned into a gruelling round-the-globe marathon for the five candidates but observers say they are avoiding the real problems facing the scandal-infected world football body.

Image credits: ANI News on Twitter

Members of militant Hindu group Bajrang Dal kidnapped and maimed a Christian man in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly converting Hindus to his own faith. The mob shaved off the man’s hair and eyebrows and paraded him through the town.

Olumide Bakare (Image credits: The Punch)

Popular Yoruba movie actor, Olumide Bakare, has launched a desperate plea for “money and prayers”, as he continues his battle with cancer of the lungs, for which he is on admission at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

Bakare in hospital (Image credits: Facebook/TheCable)

President Muhammadu Buhari (Image credits: AFP)

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said his government would not rest until the over 200 schoolgirls, abducted from the Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State in April 2014, were rescued alive.

Ikpeazu and Emmanuel

The Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the elections of Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State.

Thousands of children seeking asylum in Britain are being denied access to schools across the country, organizations who work with refugees say.

Money Laundering: EFCC Recovers Looted US$2trn In 12 Years

Abubakar Malami, SAN, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice

*Says Abacha looted over US$2m in 1998 alone *Adds Buhari has vowed to recover every kobo

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, yesterday, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has so far recovered more than US$2 trillion (about ₦400trn at current exchange rate) looted from the national treasury.

President Muhammadu Buhari with the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari at the State House, Abuja

Workers attached to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, have been warned to desist from leaking contents of official letters and files or risk serious sanctions.

Dr Anne Schuchat, CDC Deputy Principal Director (Image source: BBC)

A rare case of the Zika virus being transmitted through sex, not a mosquito bite, has been reported in the US.

• To save US$1b from initiative

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said the crude-for-products exchange arrangement popularly referred to as crude swap will be replaced by a Direct-Sale–Direct-Purchase (DSDP) arrangement which would take off next month.

EFCC Searches Sambo’s Office

Former Vice President Namadi Sambo Getty Images

•Ex-VP may be invited over N20m monthly subvention from ONSA

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the weekend searched the office of former Vice President Namadi Sambo in Abuja.

Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) Image credits: saharareporters.com

No fewer than 30,000 bureaux de change (BDC) workers would be sacked within the first quarter of this year. About 200,000 workers are engaged in the sector.

India had 940 women for every 1,000 men, according to the last official census published in 2011, up from 933 in 2001 ©Narinder Nanu (AFP)

India's Children's Minister has called for mandatory tests to determine the sex of an unborn child in a bid to counter high levels of female foeticide, sparking fierce criticism Tuesday from women's activists.

Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka

The Catholic Church has clarified the controversy trailing the transfer of Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka. It said the priest was merely sent to where he would be more useful to the church.

NFF President, Pinnick and Super Eagles’ Coach, Oliseh

Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has declared that he won’t quit his position despite speculations that the former Nigeria was on his way out of the team.

A new study by professional services firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC has shown that Nigeria will lose 30 per cent of its GDP to corruption by 2030.

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz will win the Iowa Caucus, upsetting frontrunner Donald Trump. The Monday showdown featured a three-way contest between Cruz, Trump and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, and Dr. David L. Heymann, WHO assistant director-general, announce the global emergency during a news conference Monday in Geneva. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

The World Health Organization on Monday declared Zika Virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) Evang. Solomon Ogba (2 from left) at an event announcing the reviving of the full marathon in Lagos, with the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon. (Images credits: The Authority newspaper)

Nigeria has banned eight athletes for doping, four of them gold-medal winners and one a silver medalist at the All Africa Games last year.

How We Rigged Ekiti Poll For Fayose – Ex-PDP Secretary

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose

A former Secretary of the Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Temitope Aluko, has alleged that former President Goodluck Jonathan gave Governor Ayo Fayose ₦4.7bn cash to prosecute the June 21, 2014 governorship election in the state.

FCT residents, environs now pay ₦23.6 per hour from ₦14

Electricity consumers in the country will from today begin to pay increased tariff as announced by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) under the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) 2015.

Renato Sanches: Manchester United On The Verge Of Signing The New Ronaldinho?

Sanches has two goals in eight appearances for Benfica Getty Images

Manchester United have tabled a £31million bid for the man dubbed the new Ronaldinho. Louis van Gaal’s side are in advanced negotiations to bring the teenage sensation to Old Trafford from Benfica.

In this Wednesday March 11, 2015 file photo, relatives weep as they bury a loved one suspected of dying from the Ebola virus at a new graveyard on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)

International donors have failed to deliver US$1.9 billion in promised funds to help West African countries recover from the Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people and decimated already weak health care systems, the U.K.-based charity Oxfam said Sunday.

People walk past burnt out houses following an attack by Boko haram in Dalori village 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Maiduguri, Nigeria , Sunday Jan. 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola)

A survivor hidden in a tree says he watched Boko Haram extremists firebomb huts and heard the screams of children burning to death, among 86 people officials say died in the latest attack by Nigeria's homegrown Islamic extremists.

Having escaped abuse at the hands of Islamic State militants, Yazidi girls and women have been forced to undergo painful “virginity tests” to prove to Iraqi courts that they had been raped, Human Rights Watch has discovered.

•Israeli agent’s movement restricted
•Why serving military officers under probe still retain command positions

The federal government is not taking chances in the probe of arms deals under the last administration.

Germany has been giving “financial incentives” to the embassies of some African countries to accept asylum seekers from third states who have been rejected by Germany without the consent of the migrants, a refugee aid organization claims.

Saturday, February 06, 2016

Friday, February 05, 2016

Thursday, February 04, 2016

Wednesday, February 03, 2016

Tuesday, February 02, 2016

Monday, February 01, 2016

Sunday, January 31, 2016