Okowa calls for stiffer penalty against gas flaring
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okowa said that some of the oil companies displayed a nonchalant attitude to the effect of gas exploration activities on the environment1 gov. ifeanyi okowa of delta on monday called on the federal government to put stringent measures in place to end gas flaring in the country1 he said that stopping gas flaring in nigeria would not only curb environmental hazards but create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths and women1 if you go to where gas is flared which is still very common you will understand why we need to be more serious about taking decisions to stop the flaring1 stopping gas flaring will be so much better for our people because the flared gas has already destroyed the environment not just the natural habitat in terms of farming1 it has also polluted very badly the air that we breathe1 only god knows the level of damage that it has caused and we believe that the laws must be implemented in such a manner that gas flaring is not just tied up to fines1 this is because as long as gas flaring is tied to fines the oil companies begin to realise that it may be cheaper or easier to pay the fines than to stop the flaring of gas1 then we obviously are not discouraging them the governor said1 according to him though certain actions has been taken to address the menace in the past the law must be applied to ensure that gas flaring is not tied to payment of fines1 okowa made the call when course 41 of the armed forces command and staff college jaji led by major-gen. felix edafioghor in asaba came to his office on a courtesy visit1 i am aware that a lot has been done in the last few years but there is a lot more that can be done because the gas that we flare can generate a lot of income for the oil companies if only it can be properly utilised1 so we must stay on our laws and ensure that we do what is right and stop tying the issue of gas flaring to fines1 this is because continually tying gas flaring to fines is injurious to our people and our environment he said1 the governor decried the negative impacts of the oil economy on the environment saying that in the course of exploration the environment had been greatly damaged1 this has also been worsened by the regularity of illegal bunkering activities that takes place in the state in which a lot of damage is done to our environment1 the damage constitute both agricultural and health hazard to the people he said1 he commended the visiting team and said that its findings would be useful to the government and people of the state1 he said some of his administrations achievements were in the area of jobs creation health insurance scheme and infrastructure development1 earlier edafioghor had said that the team was in the state for an environmental study tour in part fulfilment of its training programme requirement1

Blackberry unveils new Android phone
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by florence onuegbu5 all our phones come with standard one-year warranty provided by mcdorsey services company ltd. he said2 the re-born icon blackberry brand is being sponsored by ngilex mobile ltd2 speaking during the unveiling in lagos the chief executive officer ngilex mr kingsley obaji said that with the blackberry key2 le the company was targeting 10 per cent market share in nigeria by end of 20192 obaji said that nigeria was 7th in the world in terms of cell phone usage hence the nigerian smartphone market had to be taken seriously2 he said that blackberry was ready for the competition in the market as it had the best product that would enable it become the leader in the smartphone market in a couple of years2 according to him ngilex mobile wants blackberry phones to be organic to be part of nigerian smartphone business hence is looking at what the market demands2 nigerian market demands the best. the market is large the nigerian users are smart and looking for better options2 we are looking at capturing some five per cent to 10 per cent market share within the next year and this requires a lot of efforts in marketing and outreach he said2 the ngilex boss said that the all-new blackberry smartphones brought together iconic blackberry features with new experience that included dual-sim dual-rear camera more intelligent keyboard extended battery life and improved privacy controls2 he said that the blackberry key2 le ran the latest android 8.1 oreo operating system and provided access to millions of applications in the google play store2 obaji said that nigeria was the first country in africa to receive and market the blackberry key2 le smartphone2 he said that the key2 le came at a time when the nigerian market was looking for a different smartphone option2 according to him the company brings values of productivity reliability and security to the next level2 blackberry mobile nigeria on monday unveiled blackberry key2 le an android version of blackberry smartphone in the nigerian market2 this includes support for dual personal accounts and business ready software that makes it easier to manage all aspects of your business and personal life2 the blackberry key2 le is the first blackberry with dual account management built in to enable you to separately manage both personal and professional social media profiles on apps like facebook and instagram2 all blackberry devices we are bringing into nigeria are dual sim enable and will support dual whatsapp and other apps that require unique numbers2 in nigeria most cell phone users are carrying multiple phones on multiple carriers. you can have these lines on a single device while avoiding carrying the power bank that most users are used to here in nigeria he said2 obaji said that the phone came with blackberry hub which brought all your messages into one consolidated place including emails texts and messages from almost any social media account including whatsapp2 he said that for reliability the phone had power to get one through the day with enhanced battery features2 the blackberry key2 le features a powerful and efficient qualcomm snapdragon processor and battery that can stay powered through a full day and often into a second day of use 22 hours of mixed usage2 with contextual battery reminder the blackberry key2 le will learn from your daily charging habits and calendar appointments to recommend when to charge2 this is to ensure you have the battery power to get through important meetings trips and events. never get caught out again with suddenly needing to charge before going flat2 qualcomm quick charge 3.0 enables up to 50 per cent charge in just 36 minutes. turbo charge your battery and get power fast to do more when you need it most2 the blackberry key2 le includes enhanced security and built-in privacy features right from the start he said2 the vice president ngilex mobile ltd. thomas larson said that the blackberry key2 le experience was different compared with many smartphone options in the market2 larson said that the phone combined the best of professional and personal use and the price could not be matched2 talking about productivity the blackberry key2 le has all the features you need to manage your work travel and personal life on the go2

NSE: GTB, Nigerian Breweries top losers table
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on the other hand cap led the gainers table growing by n2.75 to close at n31.95 per share1 by chinyere joel- nwokeoma1 nigerian breweries recorded the highest loss to lead the losers table dropping by n2.10 to close at n79.40 per share whileguaranty trust bank gtb trailed with a loss of 50k to close at n35.901 lafarge africa was also down by 25k to close at n13.75 per share1 may and baker shed 19k to n2.31 while united bank for africa depreciated by 15k to close at n7.65 per share1 meanwhile crucial indicators of the performance of the nse opened the week on monday with a loss of 0.31 per cent1 nan reports that the all-share index dipped 98.98 points or 0.31 per cent to close at 31579.72 compared with 31678.70 on friday1 in the same vein the market capitalisation which opened at n11.565 trillion shed n36 billion or 0.31 per cent to close at n11.529 trillion following losses by some highly capitalised stocks1 guaranty trust bank and the nigerian breweries on monday top the losers table at the nigerian stock exchange nse the news agency of nigeria nan reports 1 glaxosmithkline followed with a gain of n1.25 to close at n14.50 while pz cussons improved by n1.05 to close at n11.70 per share1 flour mills added 70k to close at n20.50 while julius berger increased by 50k to close at n21 per share1 the volume of shares traded closed lower dropping by 53.15 per cent1 investors bought and sold 104.87 million shares valued at n1.94 billion in 2911 deals1 this was in contrast with a turnover of 223.84 million shares worth n2.64 billion achieved in 2819 deals on friday1 unilever was the most active stock during the day exchanging 20.38 million shares valued at n804.95 million1 zenith bank followed with an account of 14.48 million shares worth n347.44 million while interlink sold 9.54 million shares valued at n34.34 million1 fcmb group traded 7.26 million shares worth n11.03 million while diamond bank sold 5.89 million shares valued at n5.13 million. nan1

Minimum wage: Labour urges Buhari to send bill to NASS
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the nigeria labour congress nlc wants president muhammadu buhari to take urgent steps to address the lingering issue onthe new national minimum wage by immediately forwarding an executive bill to the national assembly to legalise the recommendation of the tripartite committee1 president of congress comrade ayuba wabba said nigerian workers were running out of patience with the government over the delay and were getting more and more agitated1 the national minimum wage tripartite committee put in place by the president to review the current n18.000 minimum wage had two weeks ago presented its report to the president recommending n30000 as the national minimum wage but the nigeria governors forum has said they cant pay the figure presented by the committee1 speaking at the 2018 harmattan school of the congress in abuja comrade wabba said workers are running out of patience on the implementation of the new wage1 he described as unfortunate the position being taken by some governors who are saying they cant pay the n30.000 but are spending billions of dollars in the name of security votes which they cant account for1 the nlc president dismissed claims that the implementation of the new national minimum wage would lead to inflation in the country adding that when salaries of political office holders was increased by 800 percent in 2008 it did not cause inflation and wander why just n30.000 for workers can cause inflation1 we dont know why the president has not transmitted an executive bill the report of the tripartite committee to the national assembly for an enactment into law because workers patience is running out1 we have maintained that any governor that said he cant pay the n30.000 should go to his state gather workers and tell them they are spending billions of dollars in the name of security votes but once it comes to payment of n30.000 minimum wage they are saying workers are just 20 percent1 how can they say that because without workers which include health workers police army and others most politicians cant sleep. minimum wage is not a favour but a right of a worker because the law states that after 30 days a labourer is worthy of his wage1

Bill to declare June 12 Democracy Day not political Rep
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left for president buhari maybe he thought it was okay to make that pronouncement but looking at it as a legislator we know that it needs a legislative backing1 by taiye agbaje1 the lawmaker who represents jos northjos east federal constituency of plateau made the clarification on monday in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja1 nan reports that a bill for an act to amend the public holidays act cap p40 lfn 2004 to delete item 5 of the schedule which declares may 29 as democracy day and substitute it with june 12 as democracy day on nov. 22 scaled second reading in the house of representatives1 president muhammadu buhari had on june 6 directed that the nations democracy day would henceforth hold on june 12 as against the current arrangement where the ceremony holds on may 291 pwajok who sponsored the bill said although president buhari made a pronouncement on making june 12 nigerias democracy day it must have legislative backing to take effect1 he dispelled the insinuations that it was politically motivated with the intent of buying votes ahead 2019 general elections1 according to him i am the sponsor of the bill i am not even going to contest any election in 20191 so which votes am i going to buy because i am the sponsor of the bill. it is not even president buhari that brought the bill1 rep edward pwajok chairman house committee on rules and business says the motive behind the bill to declare june 12 as democracy day instead of the current may 29 has no political coloration1 without legislation it cannot work. we have to amend the existing law to accommodate it1 even i that sponsored the bill i am not a yoruba man1 so i dont have any political benefit from sponsoring this bill. there are many other bills that i sponsored1 there is no pecuniary interest there is no political motive behind it. this one is just purely on a national interest he said1 pwajok who urged nigerians to look at issues beyond the primordial sentiment said it was disheartening that opposition parties would always read motives to issues1 so to me this country is in need of this declaration. look at how happy the members of family of late mko abiola were when they heard about that pronouncement1 i am not a member of abiola family1 so the question is when is the best time to declare june 12 as democracy day if you are afraid of insinuations he said. nan1

Police kill suspected kidnapper in Lagos
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by moses omorogieva2 he said that concerted effort was being made to arrest those on the run while the suspect already in police custody would be charged to court1 the lagos police spokesman csp chike oti confirmed the arrest in a statement stressing that the incident happened at agbowa area of ikorodu a suburb of lagos state1 oti said the two suspects belong to a kidnapping syndicate terrorising some parts of the state particularly ikorodu area1 he stated that two other suspects escaped with bullet wounds after exchange of gunfire with the police1 according to him the anti-kidnapping squad of the state command acted on the directive of the commands commissioner of police cp edgal imohimi on friday at about 11 a.m1 he said that the command received two separate reports on nov. 13 and nov. 16 from one suleiman eniola ajumobi and one veronica ewuru about the kidnapping of their daughter and husband respectively1 the lagos state police command said on sunday that its men killed a suspected kidnapper and arrested another during exchange of gunfire with the syndicate1 veronica ewuru stated that her husband one dsp patrick ewuru a police officer attached to force headquarters annex obalende was kidnapped from their house in the night when the victim came out to check on the power generating set that suddenly stopped working1 the kidnappers demanded for ransom of n25 million from mr suleiman and n10 million from the family of dsp patrick ewuru but later settled for n500 000 for both families1 at this point the cp directed operatives handling the matter to play along with the kidnappers in the interest of the victims who were still in captivity he said1 the spokesman said that as soon as the release of the two victims was secured the kidnappers hideout at agbowa was busted where one festus abama was killed and austin ebimiyenwei surrendered1 oti said that the arrested suspect confessed to the crime while the victim had identified them as those who kidnapped them1 while suleiman eniola ajumobi reported that his 7-year-old daughter was kidnapped from his house in his presence1

Bishop berates IPOBs call for elections boycott
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so it is our right and civic responsibility to vote and chose those that will govern us at the federal state and local government levels1 by sam oditah1 ugorji expressed his concern in his sermon on the occasion of the corpus christi the celebration of christ the king at the mater dei cathedral umuahia on sunday1 news agency of nigeria nan recalls that the proscribed independent people of biafra ipob has repeatedly issued statements calling on the people of the zone not to participate in the general elections1 the group said the boycott would underscore the demand for a referendum over its agitation for biafra and further press for the realisation of the republic of biafra1 but ugorji said that failure to vote during the 2019 polls would amount to abdication of ones right and civic responsibility1 he said i heard that some persons are discouraging people from going to vote during the general elections1 it is your right and civic responsibility to vote during elections. elections offer the citizenry the opportunity to elect good leaders who will provide good governance1 if you fail to vote you have failed to exercise your civic responsibility as responsible citizens thus paving the way for the emergence of bad and insensitive leaders1 presently we are still nigerians. we do not have another country we can call our own1 the bishop of the catholic diocese of umuahia the most rev. lucius ugorji has expressed concern over the call by ipob on the south-east to boycott the 2019 general elections1 the cleric said that the period of the electioneering provided an opportunity for the present administrations at all levels to give account of their stewardship based on their campaign promises to the electorate1 he recalled that the administration of president muhammadu buhari promised a three-point agenda that hinged on security job creation and fight against corruption1 this is the time for the federal government to give account of its performance on each of the agenda he said1 ugorji further charged the independent national electoral commission inec to ensure that votes would count in 2019 especially with its promise to use the card reader1 he also admonished the judiciary to resist financial inducement to subvert the wishes of the people adding that it should make integrity and uprightness its watchword1 he said that the catholic church was non-partisan but encouraged its faithful to exercise their civic responsibility toward the election of credible leaders1 on the corpus christi the cleric said that the event marked the end of the liturgical year in the catholic church and also helped to remind christians about the end of time1 it reminds us about when christ will come as king and incorruptible judge to judge the world and take his people to himself1 the bishop therefore urged christians to emulate jesus christ by bearing authentic witnesses in all they did in their homes and larger society1 nan reports that highlights of the celebration was a solemn procession of the faithful round the major streets of umuahia with parish priests in the diocese and bishop bearing jesus christ in the eucharist1

Boko Haram: Buhari meets service chiefs
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in the coming days i am engaging the military and intelligence chiefs in extensive discussions on the next steps we shall be taking2 buhari in a statement issued by his senior special assistant on media and publicity malam garba shehu in abuja on saturday reiterated his administrations commitment to the security of military personnel and other citizens1 all the service chiefs ig of police and dg of dss were at the state house this morning. as president buhari said saturday yesterday in the coming days he will be engaging the military and intelligence chiefs in extensive discussions on the next steps we shall be taking ahmad said in the tweet1 president buhari had pledged on saturday to ensure that the loopholes which led to the fatalities are blocked once and for all1 on 18 november the al barnawi faction of boko haram attack the 157 task force battalion based at metele in northern part of borno state killing scores of nigerian troops1 the military authorities are yet to give the specific number of casualties1 confirming this development in a tweet in abuja on sunday the presidents aide on new media bashir ahmad said all the service chiefs the inspector-general of police idris ibrahim and the director-general of the department of state service dss yusuf bichi were part of the meeting1 no responsible commander-in-chief would rest on his oars or fold his hands to allow terrorists to endanger the lives of military personnel and other citizens shehu quoted the president as saying1 our loyal forces have proved their strength over the terrorists and we are ready to give them all the needed support in terms of equipment and manpower to succeed in ending the renewed threat1 president muhammadu buhari on sunday presided over a meeting of security chiefs at the presidential villa abuja as part of the ongoing efforts to engage military and intelligence community towards addressing boko haram insurgency1 the president noted that fighting terrorism had taken a global dimension which necessitated international collaboration among states facing similar security challenges1 he therefore reassured nigerians of his continued commitment to their security and of his efforts to sustain the momentum in the previous significant successes recorded against the terrorists1 the president however advised nigerians against making a political capital out of the national tragedy stressing that members of the armed forces are one family commonly committed to the security and safety of all nigerians1

2018 Ministry of Interior Games kick off in Kaduna
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Marin Cilic wins Davis Cup for Croatia, France loses
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the 16-team world group established in 1981 will be scrapped next year in favor of an 18-nation world cup-style finals week that will take place in madrid1 marin cilic clinched for croatia their second davis cup title by crushing frances lucas pouille 7-63 6-3 6-3 to give his side a decisive 3-1 lead and the trophy1 he gave the 24-year-old pouille little chance of extending the last final in the 118-year-old competitions current guise into a deciding fifth rubber1 pouille did not have a single break point1 in spite of pushing cilic hard in the first set he lost the last four points of the tiebreak and never threatened a comeback1 cilic wasted four set points when pouille battled back from 0-40 down at 2-5 in the second set but with his own serve rock-solid he calmly moved into a two-set lead1 the mainly french 22000 crowd kept roaring their support for pouille but it was the croatia contingent decked out in their distinctive red and white who would soon be celebrating1 cilic broke for a 3-2 lead in the third set and then closed in for the kill when pouille served at 3-51 the frenchman saved two match points from 0-40 but cilic would not be denied and finished it off with a delightful lob1 immediately the 30-year-old former u.s. open champion was swamped by a swarm of his team mates as croatia could begin the party after emulating their triumph of 20051 croatias sports-mad president kolinda grabar-kitarovic was among the fans at courtside to savour a landmark title1 it offered though a measure of consolation after france beat croatia in this years football world cup final1 its not every day that you become a world champion cilic draped in a croatian flag said on court1 for us its a dream come true for this nation. you can see the fans are so passionate and they are here enjoying themselves. in croatia its going to be incredible too1 whatever happens in the future croatias win will have a special place in the record books as this was the last one on one final before the competition undergoes a major revamp1 at lilles stade pierre mauroy on sunday the powerful world number seven was relentless as he snuffed out any hope of a famous french fightback1 hosts and defending champions france had begun the day holding out hope of becoming the first team to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the final since australia beat the u.s. in 19391 but there was to be no fairytale ending for french captain yannick noah in his last match in charge of les bleus1 noah had surprisingly left pouille the highest-ranked player in his team out of fridays opening singles matches1 the gamble backfired as jeremy chardy was hammered by borna coric and cilic beat jo-wilfried tsonga1 after nicolas mahut and pierre-hugues herbert won saturdays doubles to keep the tie alive noah restored pouille in a bid to take down croatian talisman cilic1 he hung on grimly in the first set saving a break point at 4-4 with a beautiful dropshot1 cilic twice held serve to stay in the opener and then struck in the tiebreak1 he opened a 5-3 lead then latched onto a pouille serve to crush a forehand winner before converting his first set point with a dropshot of his own1 an animated noah was up and down out of his seat firing up his man and the crowd1 in contrast his opposite number zeljko krajan sat back and let cilic go calmly about his business1 cilics weight of shot allowed him to break decisively in the fifth game of the second set1 he squandered a two-set lead in the fourth rubber of the final against argentinas juan martin del potro in 2016 a defeat that cost croatia the title1 yet he was never going to let pouille off the hook1 and when he broke the frenchmans serve at 2-2 in the third any lingering belief pouille had retained quickly ebbed away1

Crimea tension as Russia seizes 3 Ukrainian ships
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ukraine denied its ships had done anything wrong accused russia of military aggression and for the international community to mobilise to punish russia1 russia seized three ukrainian naval ships off the coast of russia-annexed crimea on sunday after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors a move that risks igniting a dangerous new crisis between the two countries1 the fsb said it had been forced to act because the ships two small ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tug boat. had illegally entered its territorial waters attempted illegal actions and ignored warnings to stop while maneuvering dangerously1 weapons were used with the aim of forcibly stopping the ukrainian warships the fsb said in a statement circulated to russian state media1 as a result all three ukrainian naval vessels were seized in the russian federations territorial waters in the black sea1 the fsb said three ukrainian sailors had been wounded in the incident and were getting medical care. their lives were not in danger it said1 with relations still raw after russias annexation of crimea and its backing for a pro-moscow insurgency in eastern ukraine the incident risks pushing the two countries towards a wider conflict1 russias fsb security service said early on monday its border patrol boats had seized the ukrainian naval vessels in the black sea and used weapons to force them to stop russian news agencies reported1 ukrainian president petro poroshenko held a meeting with his top military and security chiefs amid talk of imposing martial law1 russia annexed crimea in 2014 and then built a giant road bridge linking it to southern russia which straddles the kerch strait a narrow stretch of water which links the black sea to the sea of azov which is home to two of ukraines most important ports1 russias control of crimea where its black sea fleet is based and of the bridge mean it is able to control shipping flows1 the crisis began earlier on sunday after russia stopped the three ukrainian ships from entering the sea of azov by placing a cargo ship beneath the bridge1 a reuters witness said russia backed its blockade with at least two sukhoi su-25 warplanes which screeched overhead. russian state tv said russian combat helicopters had been deployed in the area1 the ukrainian navy said on social media that six ukrainian sailors had been wounded in the subsequent seizure of its ships which appear to have been rammed and boarded and that the russian attack on them had occurred after they had retreated and headed back towards odessa the black sea port from where they had begun their journey1 the european union in a statement said it expected russia to restore freedom of passage via the kerch strait and urged both sides to act with utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation. a nato spokeswoman issued a similar appeal to both sides1

Khashoggi: Republican senators reject Trumps romance with Saudi Arabia
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khashoggi a washington post columnist and critic of the crown prince was killed oct. 2. riyadh initially denied knowledge of khashoggis disappearance then offered contradictory explanations1 several u.s. republican senators on sunday rejected president donald trumps embrace of saudi arabia after the murder of saudi journalist jamal khashoggi with some lawmakers from his party saying congress must take additional action1 the president cast doubt on the cia assessment that crown prince mohammed ordered khashoggis killing telling reporters that the agency had not formed a definitive conclusion1 i disagree with the presidents assessment. its inconsistent with the intelligence ive seen which implicates the crown prince republican senator mike lee said on nbcs meet the press1 he cited the khashoggi killing as another reason why he has pushed against helping saudi arabias war effort in yemen1 the united states on nov. 15 imposed economic sanctions on 17 saudi officials for their role in the killing of khashoggi and senators from both major u.s. parties introduced legislation that would suspend weapon sales to saudi arabia over khashoggi and for its role in yemens civil war1 democratic u.s. representative adam schiff who is in line to become chairman of the house intelligence committee when democrats regain control of the chamber in january has promised investigations on the khashoggi case as well as whether trumps personal financial interests are dictating his saudi policy1 look the president is not being honest with the country about the murder of jamal khashoggi schiff said on cnns state of the union program. whats driving this1 trump vowed last week to remain a steadfast partner of saudi arabia and said it was not clear whether saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman knew about the plan to kill khashoggi last month at the saudi consulate in istanbul1 i do think we need to look into this further republican senator joni ernst said on cnn1 ernst acknowledged saudi arabias importance as a strategic partner1 however we also are a very strong nation when it comes to human rights when it comes to the rule of law ernst said1 and if there are indicators that the prince was involved in this murder then we need to absolutely consider further action1 climate change to batter economy u.s. report senator ben sasse a frequent trump critic criticized trumps stance on khashoggis killing as weak.1 making the realist case is a different thing than being so weak that we failed to tell the truth sasse said on fox news sunday. crown prince mohammed contributed to murdering somebody abroad and it is not strength to sort of mumble past that. strength is telling the truth even when its hard1 other republican senators including lindsey graham rand paul and bob corker have been unsparing in their assessments of saudi arabias involvement in khashoggis killing1 i never thought id see the day a white house would moonlight as a public relations firm for the crown prince of saudi arabia corker chairman of the senate foreign relations committee wrote on twitter after trumps comments on tuesday1

US-Mexico border shut, migrant kids teargassed
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several hundred made it over the first barrier and were trying to cross a second topped with spikes when us border officers began firing tear gas at the group even as us army helicopters flew low overhead according to an afp journalist on the scene1 us officials closed a border crossing in southern california on sunday after hundreds of migrants tried to breach a fence from the mexican city of tijuana us authorities announced1 the incident took place only three days after us president donald trump threatened to close the whole border with mexico if it gets to a level where were going to lose control or people are going to start getting hurt1 video clips posted sunday on twitter showed large numbers of migrants dashing across a shallow concrete waterway toward the border. several thousand migrants mostly from central america have been gathering in tijuana in hopes of entering the us1 at least 500 of them including several women and children had been taking part in a peaceful demonstration in tijuana before dashing toward the border in an attempt to clamber over a first metal barrier there1 the migrants tried to protect themselves covering their faces with mothers holding their children close. there were cries of pain desperation and frustration as the crowd swirled over the border line and back1 are we in the united states yet some asked in desperate tones1 the us customs and border protection cbp office in san diego california said on twitter that it had closed both north and south access to vehicle traffic at the san ysidro border post before also suspending pedestrian crossings1 some migrants shouted that they only wanted to make their way to a better life and find work in the us1 but amid the stinging gas several migrants turned back even as others tried to forge ahead1 trump has repeatedly warned that the large group of migrants moving through mexico toward the us included criminals and possibly terrorists while providing no evidence to support that1 he has deployed some 9000 us troops along the border in support of the cbp agents1 approximately 5000 reached tijuana over the past week after an exhausting trip of up to 2500 miles 4000 kilometers covered in just over a month. many were fleeing violence and poverty in honduras in hopes of finding asylum in the us1 the san ysidro border post is a busy one with thousands of people passing through every day1

Macron addresses French nation tomorrow amidst protests
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former investment banker macron was elected on a pledge to put more money in workers pockets. but the effects of his pro-business reforms on unemployment and purchasing power have been limited so far1 french president emmanuel macron is to address his nation on tuesday following persistent and sometimes violent protests over fuel taxes that are morphing into a movement against his business- and environment-friendly policies1 the government blamed much of the violence on a small minority of ultra-right activists who shadowed the 8000 demonstrators who were wearing the yellow high-visibility vests that symbolise their week-long protests1 bruno le maire the economy minister acknowledged sunday that the current crisis goes far beyond just a question of fuel adding that it was important that work be better paid to improve living standards1 it is time to listen to the french he said on bfm television suggesting that macron would call for grassroot debates throughout the country on government policies1 the presidential palace said macron would make a speech on tuesday on ecological transition and was expected to address the protests1 opposition leaders have been quick to note that the protests mostly organised by grassroot protesters coordinating by way of social media rather than by traditional political parties or trade unions have won wide popular support1 when a movement has the backing of three quarters of french people you give them an answer you dont just dismiss them as a gang of thugs olivier faure the opposition socialist party leader told le parisien newspaper1 guillaume peltier a leader of conservative the republicans party told the daily it was all too easy to stigmatise the yellow vests and equate their movement with that of a few unacceptable acts1 far-right leader marine le pen voiced her full support for the protesters telling the lci channel the unrest revealed grievances held by the immense majority of the french who were being ignored by a miniscule cast working only for itself1 paris saw clashes between police and demonstrators saturday on the champs-elysees where barricades were set on fire luxury shop windows smashed and traffic lights uprooted. some 30 people were injured and 101 arrested police said1 he has seen his popularity slide to just 25 percent according to one poll a week ago and the protests reflect broader frustration with a leader critics label as aloof and a president of the rich1 us president donald trump whose initial friendly ties with macron have chilled under the french leaders criticisms sought to place the french protests in his frequent grumbling over us-eu trade relations and nato spending1 the large and violent french protests dont take into account how badly the united states has been treated on trade by the european union or on fair and reasonable payments for our great military protection trump said on twitter. both of these topics must be remedied soon1 macron himself had taken to twitter on saturday to condemn the violence and cry shame on those who assaulted or intimidated policemen journalists and other citizens1 several media workers based in frances southwestern city of toulouse said sunday they would boycott the yellow vests movement after five journalists were threatened or beaten by scores of demonstrators while covering protests in their region1 faced with the public anger many politicians suggested macron often perceived as aloof or arrogant might use his speech to announce measures softening the impact of rising petrol and diesel taxes and restore dialogue with trade unions1 when you act like louis xiv you can expect revolts the french back the yellow vests because macron promised them a new world and they see that his policies arent delivering bruno retailleau who heads the republican opposition in the senate1 the french see environmental matters as an alibi for fiscal belt-tightening he told le journal du dimanche newspaper1 the yellow vests come overwhelmingly from non-urban areas of france. they feel overlooked and penalised by policies they see as being pushed through by elitist politicians in paris1 many of the often low-income yellow vest protesters are particularly incensed at macrons decision to hike anti-pollution taxes on diesel while scrapping a wealth tax on the rich1

Atiku Abubakar reveals why he regrets joining APC
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Saraki plotting to stop Rep from Kwara Inauguration
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saraki plotting to stop rep from kwara inauguration1

Madrid mauled at Eibar, new coach Solari in trouble
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karim benzema went close his finish cleared off the line by jose cote but after surviving the early pressure eibar grew in confidence1 santiago solari proved the perfect caretaker but his debut as permanent coach of real madrid on saturday ended in a disastrous 3-0 defeat at eibar1 the defeat also brought into focus the mindset of madrids players after their captain sergio ramos faced allegations of an anti-doping violation on friday night from german magazine der spiegel. the club denied any breach1 eibar were stronger more aggressive and worryingly for solari appeared clearer about the plan they wanted to carry out. marc cucurella brilliant down the left teed up all three goals scored by gonzalo escalante sergi enrich and kike garcia1 reals loss halts their revival under solari and cost them a golden opportunity to make up ground on barcelona and atletico madrid before the pair face each other at the wanda metropolitano later on saturday1 eibar shoot up to seventh a reward for their first ever victory over real madrid at the 11th attempt1 ramos was not noticeably below par at ipurua but perhaps allegations that he failed to list the correct medication after the champions league final in 2017 proved enough of a distraction for his teammates1 solari meanwhile must now reset his team ahead of tuesdays champions league game against roma which is likely to decide the winner of group g1 real started well enough and gareth bale looked in the mood when he swivelled and sent a stunning shot into the top corner from 25 yards only to be ruled offside1 four wins while in temporary charge earned solari a contract until 2021 over the international break only for real to revert to the kind of chaotic display that cost his predecessor julen lopetegui his job1 kike made the woodwork shake with a drive from 25 yards with replays showing the dipping shot had been diverted by an excellent finger-tip save from thibaut courtois1 madrids goalkeeper came to their rescue again in the 16th minute denying enrich from cucurellas cross but this time escalante was on hand to bundle in the rebound ahead of the stumbling dani ceballos1 referee juan martinez consulted the video assistant referee but the delay only earned a repeat of home fans cheers1 bales free-kick was pushed wide and then he was booked for dissent as madrid looked to be running out of ideas. solari gave his first half-time team talk with his team behind but their situation deteriorated in the second half1 toni kroos misjudged and misdirected crossfield pass exposed the unfortunate recipient alvaro odriozola. cucurella pounced pushing odriozola off the ball and delivering for enrich to score1 odriozola was forced off injured1 five minutes later it was three this time raphael varane was at fault allowing kike to nip in and convert another whipped cucurella cross1 madrid had more than half an hour to respond but it was eibar who looked more likely. fabian orellana nutmegged ceballos and drew a smart save from courtois before charles dias flicked an audacious volley again blocked by the belgian. by the end madrid were thankful it was only three1

No preference for any ethnic, religious group Buhari
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condemning the orchestrated attacks in benue as ungodly the president assured the benue apc leaders that efforts were being made to bring the perpetrators to justice and appealed for patience while the progress is on1 president muhammadu buhari has told a delegation of apc that he had no preferred ethnic or religion group and would deal with leaders and public officials who embezzle public funds and deny workers their benefits1 therefore if anybody tries to create any impression that i prefer any group across ethnicity or religion let him dare me by being caught red-handed stealing public funds. i will deal with him president buhari said1 he said that the federal executive council fec had been monitoring the plight of workers across the country and utilisation of the bailout and paris club funds by some states1 according to him the federal governments bailout to states and the payment of paris club refunds to them were basically to alleviate the sufferings of the people1 despite the bailout several states still owe workers and pensioners a development the president is unhappy about1 i honestly dont know how people sleep when workers have not been paid. the workers have to pay rent buy food send their children to school and they have healthcare to take care of he lamented describing misappropriation of the funds as unjust and unfair to workers1 apart from the issues of workers welfare and corruption president buhari informed the delegation that the federal government had made significant progress in diversifying the economy1 this he explained was achieved through investment in agriculture and the encouragement of more individuals and entrepreneurs to go into farming1 he is optimistic that nigeria would soon become self-sufficient in feeding its citizenry as a result of the investment in agriculture1 we are proud of what we have achieved with resources at our disposal he said listing ongoing road rail seaport airport and power projects as hallmarks of his administrations commitment to improving lives1 i assure you that my main interest is all nigerians in all parts of the country president buhari told the delegation of all progressives congress apcfrom benue state led by senator george akume1 we know about herders. the ones we knew carried sticks and sometimes cutlasses to cut foliage for their cattle. we now have people who carry ak 47s and pretend they are herdsmen1 we are working hard to secure our borders. we are going to see how the old cattle routes can be opened. we will control movement. please beg our people to be patient1 the president pointed out that security personnel were already uncovering the network of the killers and arresting them1 the leader of the apc delegation and former benue state governor akume said the apc stakeholders had faith in the president1 mr president we know your commitment to nigeria. we know how much you love the country and will be ready to die for the good cause senator akume said1 he assured the president that apc members had started sensitisation and mobilisation of voters for the 2019 elections noting that more had accepted the party and its manifesto in the state1 senator akume also praised president buhari for the flag-off of the dualisation of the abuja-keffi-lafia-makurdi road1 he however called for more attention for the makurdi-otukpo road and the water projects in gboko and otukpo1 you have worked hard to stop herdsmen and farmers clashes in benue. it is important to note that many people used religion and ethnicity to score cheap points. religion was used in benue for sinister purposes he added1 the senator also praised the president for the war on corruption insisting that his administration has made a significant difference by tackling perpetrators1

APC sues INEC over Zamfara
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the all progressives congress apc has sued the independent national electoral commission inec seeking an order to allow its candidates to participate in the forthcoming general elections in zamfara state1 in the suit filed at the federal high court in abuja the party further applied for an order of perpetual injunction to restrain inec from giving effect to the content of a letter with reg. no. lnecsec6541330 and dated october 9 which foreclosed it from presenting candidates in zamfara for failing to conduct its primaries within the stipulated time1 the court has fixed december 11 to commence hearing on the matter1 justice ijeoma ojukwu okayed the case for hearing on friday after she joined the governorship aspirant of apc in the state senator garba marafa and a senatorial aspirant alhaji siraju as well as seven other chieftains of the party as defendants in the suit1 apc in the suit marked fhcabjcs12792018 prayed the court to declare that inecs letter purporting to exclude the party from presenting and submitting the list of its candidates for the forthcoming election in zamfara state scheduled for 2019 is null void ultra vires and of no effect having regards to the provisions of sections 311 and 862 3 and 4 of the electoral act 2010 as amended1 a declaration that by virtue of section 361 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria as amended and section 311 of the electoral act as amended the defendant lacks the power to refuse to collect the name of the plaintiffs candidates for zamfara state presented and to be submitted to it not later than 60 days before the election scheduled for february 20191 reported by vanguard1

American model Blac Chyna in Nigeria to launch a whitening cream she does not use
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but first she seems to like nigerias jollof rice1 the former stripper was ushered into lagos at the murtala mohammed international airport with maximum security1 nigerian jollof is so bomb1 the company described the cream as the key to less discolouration and unevenness while spf protection minimises future damage1 the cream is supposedly said to go for a whopping 250 dollars per jar that is about n90750 a bottle1 however the model who is also an entrepreneur is partnering with whitenicious by dencia to roll out the beauty product1 that same month chyna launched her own brand of adhesive eyelashes called lashed by blac chyna1