ECOWAS: 31 of 35 Nigerian MPs absent for their country report
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mao a. ohuabunwa1 only four out of 35 nigerian representatives to the ecowas parliament were on wednesday present at the presentation of the nigerian country report at the first session of the parliament1 during the ordinary sessions of the parliament the 15 ecowas member nations present reports on their countries. the report bothers on the political situation economic situation human rights situation and many more relating to their countries1 our correspondent reports that only two representatives hon. ibrahim sadiq who read the report and hon. mohammed shaaba lafiagi were sighted on the floor of the ecowas parliament1 however a member of parliament from ghana hon opare-ansah frederick who observed the embarrassing absence of nigerian representatives expressed displeasure that only four nigerians were present for the report1 fredrick particularly expressed displeasure at the absence of the nigerians especially on a day when the nigerian country report was being presented1 mr speaker on a day when nigeria is presenting her country report one would have expected that the representatives from nigeria would be well represented1 we see them here but on a day when we are taking their report only four of them are here. in fact i saw one of them leaving right after the report he said1 on the issue of community levy the ghanaian mp joined many other members to call on nigeria to play her big brother role and pay her community levy stressing that nigeria was the biggest economy on whose shoulders the success or failure of ecowas laid the most1 our correspondent reports that the issue of poor attendance by nigerian representatives has been a recurring decimal1 at the last session of the parliament in 2017 the speaker of the parliament moustapha cisse lo particularly frowned at the low attendance by the nigerian representatives1 our correspondent reports that rather than step up their attendance many nigerian representatives still shunned the parliament. some of them only come in sign the attendance and leave story1 a particular nigerian representative from the south-south has gained popularity for coming late and rather than sit and contribute to plenary goes about exchanging pleasantries with other members of parliament who are going about their businesses1 reacting to the interventions by other members of parliament nigeria representative hon. lafiagi apologized for the very low turn-out of nigerians1 he explained that the low turnout was almost unavoidable as the 2018 budget of nigeria was scheduled for passage in both chambers of the nations national assembly1 it is particularly very bad today because budget this year had been delayed the budget is being passed today in both houses. that is one reason why a lot of us are absent today1 another issue that causes this is because we are based here and the parliaments meet at the same time that is why many of us go to attend especially on a wednesday when it is on live tv1 saturdays attendance was poor because congresses were going on so members have to go to their constituencies to organize for the congresses1 i must also apologise for the absence of a lot of our colleagues. we will convey the message to let them know that their brothers are missing them he said1 speaking on the non-payment of the community levy lafiagi stressed that the delay in the passage of the nations budget had affected the payment1 he however assured that nigeria was committed to meeting up with its obligation with regards to the payment of its levies1 below is a list of nigerian federal lawmakers senators and members of the house of representatives who are members of the ecowas parliament1 sulaiman lasun yussuff1 mohammed ali ndume1 foster ogola1 ibrahim danbaba abdullahi1 gershom otu bassey1 princess stella adaeze oduah1 the absence of the 31 representatives is coming days after only 19 of 35 representatives were reported to have attended the opening session of the parliament1 yele omogunwa1 tijjani yahaya kaura1 mustapha bukar1 biodun christine olujimi1 ahmad moallahyidi abubakar1 isah misau hamma1 mohammed shaaba lafiagi1 joshua chibi dariye1 rilwan adesoji akanbi1 nelson asuquo efiong1 adamu dali usman kamale1 lynda chuba ikpeazu1 mani aminu ashiru1 dickson dominic tarkighir1 shehu garba sarkin-noma1 salisu garba koko1 gaza jonathan gbefwi1 sani mohammed aliyu rano1 sadiq ibrahim1 olatunbosun george oladele1 abdullahi balarabe salame1 magaji dau aliyu1 bassey eko ewa1 sulaiman romo aliyu1 abdullahi idris garba kontagora1 solomon ahwinahwi1 asabe vilita bashir1 emmanuel isaac ukoete1

Hotel cleaner lands in court for stealing customers phone
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shuaib stole an android phone belonging to the complainant a guest at the said hotel the prosecutor said1 an ikeja magistrates court on wednesday remanded a hotel cleaner abdulrahmon shuaib at the kirikiri prisons for allegedly stealing a customers cell phone worth n250001 the magistrate mrs y. o. aje-afunwa said that the accused should remain behind bars until the next adjourned date1 the prosecutor insp. peter nwangwu had told the court that the accused committed the offences on may 3 at wix hotel situated at no. 7 kujle akinosi st. oshodi lagos1 he said that the accused stole an xbo android phone valued at n25000 belonging to one ganikale hammed1 the prosecutor explained that the complainant on getting to his room after it was cleaned discovered that his cell phone was missing1 shuaib 22 of no fixed address had pleaded guilty to the charges of stealing and attempt to escape from the police custody1 he said that the cell phone was recovered from the accused1 nwangwu also said that the accused made attempt to escape from the police custody1 the accused on may 7 at 3.40a.m after he was apprehended and handed over to the police for questioning he made an attempt to escape by breaking the ceiling he said1 the offences contravened sections 106 and 287 of the criminal laws of lagos state 20151 the case was adjourned until may 25 for a review of facts and sentencing1

Breaking: Senate passes 2018 Budget of N9.12 trillion
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the senate had on several occasions accused ministries departments and agencies mdas of not keeping to appointments with the various standing committees to defend their budgets1 the senate has passed the 2018 budget of n9.21 trillion following the consideration and adoption of the budget report laid on the floor of the upper legislative chamber on tuesday1 the budget document passed on the floor of the senate is similar to what is being considered by the house of representatives and it shows and increase of n508 billion to take it to n9120 334988225 from the n8.6 trillion presented by buhari1 the senate and house of representatives had promised to pass the budget on april 24 but failed to do so1 there were equally assurances that the budget would be passed in the first week of may but it was not passed1 this is coming 6 months afterthe budget document was presented to a joint session of the national assembly in november1 subsequently the president of the senate dr bukola saraki on april 12 mandated the appropriation committee to tidy up reports on the budget latest by april 131 with this development thejanuary to decemberbudget cycle would not be obtainable with the 2018 budget1 buhari had on nov. 7 2017 presented a budget of n8.6 trillion before a joint session of the national assembly1 the president who announced the 2018 budget as budget of consolidation said the projected expenditure would drive rapid economic recovery1 he said at the session that with a benchmark of 45 dollars per barrel at an exchange rate of n305 to a dollar in 2018 the budget would consolidate on the achievements of previous budgets to aggressively steer the economy to the path of steady growth1

Germany set to flush out 30,000 Nigerian migrants
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germany has proposed a new process that will facilitate the smooth repatriation of over 301 000 illegal nigerian migrants back to the country1 minister of foreign affairs geoffrey onyeama said this when he received the security adviser to the president of germany1 dr jan hecker1 and his team in abuja. the new proposal1 according to onyeama1 is predicated on perceived failures and slow pace of the current system of repatriation. this1 he said1 involved both the participation of nigerian embassies and consulate and the german immigration office1

Osogbo and Ado-Ekiti to be linked by $6.68b rail , FG signs contract
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osogbo and ado-ekiti to be linked by 6.68b rail1 fg signs rail contract1 ado ekiti1 capital of ekiti state1 will be connected to lagos-kano rail line1 the minister of transportation1 rotimi amaechi said today as he signed a 6.68 billion dollars contract agreement for the ibadan-kaduna segment with china civil engineering construction corporation ccecc1

Sen. Omo-Agege absent from plenary.
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justice nnamdi dimgba of federal high court on may 10 held that while the national assembly had the power to discipline its erring members the premise on which omo-ageges suspension was anchored was illegal2 embattled sen. ovie omo-agege who vowed to attend tuesdays plenary of the senate in compliance with a court decision failed to turn up2 omo-agege however went to court to challenge his suspension and the court in its ruling declared the action unconstitutional saying that the senate could not suspend a member beyond 14 days2 the senate appealed the ruling but said in statement that while it was waiting for a stay of execution it would not stop the lawmaker from resuming plenary2 omo-ageges suspension which was expected to last for 90 legislative days followed a report of the senate committee on ethics privileges and public petitions2 chairman of the committee sen. sam anyanwu had said the committees probe followed a point-of-order raised by sen. dino melaye kogi-apc on the matter2 according to anyanwu melaye drew senates attention to a media briefing by omo agege faulting senates adoption of the conferences report on feb.142 he said that melaye further intimated the senate that the media briefing by omo agege indicated that the resolution of the senate was targeted at president muhammadu buhari2 his suspension was based on his comment that amendment to section 25 of the electoral act 2010 as amended bordering on reordering of elections sequence was targeted at president muhammadu buhari2 the senate on april 2 suspended omo-agege delta-apc over a dissenting comment on decision of the upper chamber on adoption of conference report on inec commission act 2010 amendment bill2 although the court refused to grant any of the seven prayers sought by the senator it held that the suspension could not hold on grounds of the violence it did to the constitution2 the judge noted that from the wording of the report of the senates ethics and privileges committee which recommended omo-ageges suspension he was punished for filing a suit against the senate after apologising to the legislative house over the allegation leveled against him2 access to court is a fundamental right in the constitution which cannot be taken away by force or intimidation from any organ the judge ruled2 the judge also added that the senates decision to punish omo-agege for filing a suit against the senate and for punishing him while his suit was pending constituted an affront on the judiciary2 he added that even if the senate had rightly suspended the senator it could only have suspended him for only a period of 14 days as prescribed in the senate rules2 he also ruled that the principle of natural justice was breached by the senates ethics and privileges committee by allowing senator dino melaye who was the complainant to participate in the committees sitting that considered the issue and also allowed him to sign the committees report2 the judge therefore nullified omo-ageges suspension with immediate effect2 he also ordered that the senator be paid all his allowances and salaries for the period he was illegally suspended. nan2

Buhari will win again without nPDP: El-Rufai
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the governor recommended the adoption of e-voting in future elections at both federal and state levels as a panacea to election frauds in the country1 governor nasir el-rufai of kaduna state has dismissed the fears that buharis electoral value would diminish if the aggrieved members of the npdp pull out of the ruling all progressives congress government1 i dont agree and i want to go back to 2003. what are we talking about who are these new pdp people that are threatening this is kwara kano sokoto adamawa rivers but i dont think amaechi is part of them1 so lets take these four states go back to 2003 and check. buhari then under anpp won in all these four states. go back to 2007 buhari won in these four states. even when shakarau was running as a presidential candidate in 2011 buhari defeated him in kano1 and i have no doubt in my mind that even if the people threatening to leave leave it will have absolutely no impact on the presidential elections the president will win sokoto kwara and adamawa easily1 kano is already in the bag i mean if you saw the crowd that welcome the president without the former governor kwankwaso kano has always been the presidents base1 to me that is not the issue the issue is that they have written they have expressed grievances some of the grievances are legitimate and should be looked into1 but to threaten to leave the party is neither here nor there. if they are honest with themselves they know that president buhari will win those states with or without them1 el-rufai visited the state house on tuesday to update president buhari on the outcome of last saturdays local government elections in his state and the use of electronic voting system during the exercise1 it was the first time a state adopted the use of electronic machines to conduct elections in nigeria1 el-rufai told journalists that he also used the opportunity to welcome the president from his recent trips to america and london1 in an interview with state house correspondents in abuja on tuesday el-rufai said president buhari would be re-elected with or without the threatening former pdp members1 he expressed the readiness of the kaduna state government to give out the machines on mutually acceptable terms to those state governments that were yet to conduct local government elections in their states1 absolutely i recommend it highly to everyone i have already offered to my colleagues state governors that are yet to conduct local government elections that they can come to kaduna and we can give them the machines on mutually acceptable terms1 all you will need is to change the software it will have the logo of the state and the number of parties active in the state they can use it. it is easy1 at federal level i will recommend it as well because with the card reader and the electronic voting machine the era of rigging elections is almost over and i think that is when people will have confidence in the process and will come out enmass to vote for their leaders1 having said that i know we have been working on this for about one year before we got to where we are. although it is possible for inec to do it it will be logistically difficult1 but nothing stops them from trying if the resources are available. because the machines have already been manufactured the designs are there you only need to place the orders to the chinese and im sure they will deliver them in no time1 el-rufai also dismissed the assertion that the use of e-voting was against the electoral act saying that i dont agree with that1 there is an amendment to the electoral act that president jonathan signed a few days before he left office which legitimizes the use of the card reader and other electronic systems for voting1 so in my view the current electoral act has provision for the electoral voting1 but that is not even what we used in kaduna. in kaduna we enacted our own electoral law that made provision for the electronic voting machine and card reader everything was totally legitimized and passed by our state house of assembly and i think every state can do the same he said1 he added that the current legal framework allowed the use of electronic voting machines1

Buhari approves N10b for crisis victims
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the vice president also condoled with the catholic church for the attack on its priests and worshippers at saint ignatius parish mbalom where 18 people including two catholic priests were killed by suspected armed herdsmen1 president muhammadu buhari has approved n10 billion for the rebuilding communities and victims of crisis just as government has denied claims of agenda to eliminate people in benue1 osinbajo said during a stakeholders meeting at the benue peoples government house makurdi that the federal government was determined to prove insinuations wrong by rebuilding all damaged communities in the country1 he said the anger and disappointment expressed by the people at the meeting was right and justified but assured that government was committed to providing security for their protection1 he said there were several interventions that had been initiated to make life bearable to them1 the vice president assured that the government would dig deep into the root cause of the crises to find lasting solutions to it1 he also dismissed the religious colorations attached to the killings saying persecutions have always been with christians and it is the duty of christians to stop it1 the gospel of jesus cannot be killed by anybody it is not fragile or written on a piece of paper he explained1 he said the recent recruitments into the various arms of the security agencies was aimed at providing effective security protection to the people especially communities under frequent attacks1 president yemi osinbajo who is on a two-day visit to benue unveiled the plan rehabilitation and rebuilding of communities on tuesday1 earlier in his address governor samuel ortom of benue called on the federal government to fish out the killers of the two priests and their parishioners1 he also called for more humanitarian aid to the state to handle the displaced people who were living in inappropriate sanitary conditions1 also speaking at the meeting maj-gen lawrence onoja retd called for the establishment of middle belt reconstruction commission to tackle the most of the challenges the state faced especially in agriculture1 he also called on the federal government to arrest the killer- herdsmen and provide protection to farmers to enable them return to their farms1 the catholic bishop of gboko diocese most rev. williams avenya regretted the attacks on innocent citizens and called on the government to encourage the ranching of livestock as a panacea to the blood bath in the benue valley1 the speaker benue house of assembly mr terkimbi ikyange called on the government to encourage the adoption of the anti- open grazing law by all states to end the acrimonious relationship with herders in the country1 a former vice chancellor abu zaria prof daniel saror appealed to the federal government to chase out the herders who had taken over their farmlands and were occupying their houses1 for dr magdalyne dura a lecturer the n10 billion earmarked to rebuild damaged communities was inadequate considering the volume of damage done by the herders1 other speakers who also supported the adoption of the anti open grazing law included former attorney general and minister of justice mr mike aondoakaa brig-atom kpera prof tony ijohor and prof jerry agada.nan1

El-Zakzaky, wife arraigned in court
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the leader of the islamic movement of nigeria imn sheik ibrahim el-zakzaky has been arraigned before the kaduna high court1 the kaduna state government on tuesday arraigned the leader of shiites who has been in detention since 20151 the imn leader and his wife are being arraigned on eight counts of alleged culpable homicide unlawful assembly disturbance of public peace among other allegations1 they were brought to the court from abuja the nations capital in two black suvs amidst tight security1 at the commencement of the hearing the defence counsel mr. maxwell kyon made an oral application for the couple on grounds that they had been in detention for over two years without trial1 justice kurada however refused the oral application made by mr kyon and told him to rather file a written application which will be heard before or on the next adjourned date1 consequently he adjourned the case till june 21 20181 el-zakzaky and his wife have been held in prison without trial since his arrest by the nigerian government in december 20151 while his followers regularly take to the streets to protest his prolonged detention tuesdays arraignment sparked a fresh protest as the members blocked the popular ahmadu bello way and other major roads in the state capital to demand his release1

Anwar jailed Malaysian ex-PM freed
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seeing him walk free makes me emotional but the fight is not over said ridzuan ismail an anwar supporter at the hospital. now we need to see him become prime minister1 jailed malaysian reformist anwar ibrahim was granted a full pardon on wednesday and walked out of a hospital in kuala lumpur just a week after his alliance scored a shock victory in a general election1 he was greeted at the palace by new prime minister mahathir mohamad his ally-turned-foe-turned-ally with whom he joined forces to oust scandal-tainted najib razaks administration in last weeks election1 the king with the advice of the pardons board of the federal territories of kuala lumpur labuan and putrajaya has allowed a full pardon and given an immediate release for anwar bin ibrahim said a statement issued by the palace1 anwar 70 serving a five year-sentence for sodomy has been recovering from a shoulder injury in hospital under police guard1 the pardon allows anwar to re-enter active politics immediately but it was not clear what his role in government would be1 mahathir 92 had vowed to enable anwars release and eventually step aside for him to become the prime minister1 on tuesday mahathir said he expected to be prime minister for one or two more years setting off talk of differences between the two1 smiling and waving to supporters anwar dressed in a black suit and tie and his hair neatly swept back was surrounded by his family lawyers and prison guards before driving to the palace for an audience with king sultan muhammad v1 jack seng another supporter wearing a shirt with a logo of anwar behind bars said he thought mahathir and anwar would resolve any tensions between them1 i think we need to let mahathir do his work to save malaysia and to get back its system of government1 nurul izzah anwars daughter said her fathers release was a gift ahead of the holy islamic month of ramadan which begins on thursday in malaysia1 a pardon based on a miscarriage of justice a separation met with an eventual embrace she said in an instagram post. we have got much to do many more injustices to fight1 anwars freedom is expected to ease fears of a growing rift within the newly formed coalition government after differences erupted between supporters of mahathir and anwar over cabinet positions and anwars role in the party1 mahathir is the leader of the ruling alliance and anwars peoples justice party pkr won the majority of parliamentary seats in the group1 the volatile relationship between mahathir and anwar has dominated malaysias political landscape for over three decades and is central to the future of the alliance1

Pathologist denies stealing heart of corpse
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source63 kenyas former chief government pathologist dr. moses njue on accused of stealing the heart of a corpse at lee funeral home three years ago has denied the allegation1 they are accused of stealing the heart of timothy mwandi muumbo while performing an autopsy on june 25 20151 mureithi was not in court and chief magistrate francis andayi issued summons for him to appear in court and answer to the charges before the hearing date on july 31 dr njue denied a further count of destroying the heart to conceal evidence knowing that the autopsy report would be used as evidence in a case pending in court1 he denied a third count of illegally removing the heart1 the court had earlier rejected an application by dr njue to defer the plea arguing mr muumbos relatives had filed a petition before the high court seeking to compel him to release the body part. according to dr njue the trial will prejudice the high court case1 dr njue was charged at a nairobi court alongside his son lemuel anasha mureithi who was his assistant pathologist1 mr andayi agreed with ms mwaniki saying that there was nothing stopping the court from proceeding with the case1 after denying the charges the court ordered dr njue to deposit cash bail of sh300000 to secure his release1 another family in meru county complained that they buried their relative minus the heart after dr njue performed an autopsy to establish the cause of his death1 the dpp had recommended that dr njue who resigned from the government a few years ago to work at his own medical school be charged with theft of body parts belonging to benedict karau1 mr karau died mysteriously on march 2 2015 and dr njue was set to be charged with three counts including theft contrary to section 275 of the penal code wilful destruction of evidence and illegal removal of body parts contrary to the anatomy act1 but dr njue rushed to court and obtained orders obtained an anticipatory bail and filed a petition seeking to block the charges1 assistant director of public prosecutions catherine mwaniki objected the application saying dr njue was not the applicant in the petition and the trial court had not been served with orders stopping the proceedings1

Uganda imposes tax on Bibles, Koran
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read more18 uganda has imposed taxes on religious groups for sale of bibles koran prayer and hymn books1 the clerics are insisting that religious materials should be tax-exempt since they use them for spiritual nourishment of ugandans1 however the ura commissioner general ms doris akol disagreed saying the practice of not taxing the entities and materials was in the first place an anomaly1 we understand that value-added tax vat has in the past not been paid on the said bibles prayer books and hymn books. this was an anomaly she wrote in an april 19 letter1 ms akol was responding to a petition a month earlier by the church of uganda archbishop stanley ntagali1 the prelate had asked the tax man to release a consignment of 9120 prayer and hymn books imported from nairobi kenya without the church having to pay vat1 in his march 18 letter archbishop ntagali noted that items had been shipped in by centenary publishing house limited church of ugandas cou publishing arm which in his view should be tax-exempt1 it is from this point of view that we write to you appealing that the vat be waived since they books are used to educate the masses and christians by spreading the word of god as our nations motto affirms for god and my country he stated1 ms akol said she had no power to waive a tax not excluded under the law and as such ura released the consignment only after cou paid ush8.9 million 23951 the countrys revenue authority ura imposed the taxes prompting clerics across faith groups expressing consternation and disbelief1 if enforced it also means the government could raise substantial revenues from taxes on religious materials1 the religious institutions were unable to immediately provide the number of bibles korans and other worship materials sold in a year1 mr joshua kitakule the secretary general of the inter-religious council of uganda an umbrella body of different faiths on monday said whereas religions should not entirely be tax-exempt imposing 18 per cent vat on bibles korans and prayer books would be erroneous1 these items are not meant for profit so it is erroneous to tax them. prayer books are supposed to strengthen the spiritual nourishment of individuals he said1 the tax bodys break from tradition followed months of engagement with religious leaders who remained opposed to the proposal1 for instance mr ramathan mugalu the secretary general of the uganda muslim supreme council said president museveni had said all imported prayer materials that are not for sale should not be taxed1 this government has gone too far in its collection of taxes. how can you tax the word of god it should instead come in to assist in publishing these materials mr mugalu said1 canon joram kahenano a cou commissioner said ura should have referred its proposal for consideration by parliament before proceeding to implement it1 in a country where nine out of every 10 citizens are either christians or muslims the proposed tax that a church official said would result in increase of for instance a hymn books cost by ush3000 0.801

School closes down over fears of demons
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a school in kenya has closed down on monday over fears of demons in the school compound that has left a number of students hysterical. luani mixed day and boarding secondary school is an abc sponsored institution at the top of luani hills1 kaiti sub-county1 makueni1 according to the students1 in the last few days1 strange forces have been pelting them with stones at night. even more bizarre1 female students claim they have been sexually assaulted by demons. sources that sought anonymity claim students have been screaming incomprehensibly paralysing night preps. when the standard contacted the county education director1 ms. jane njogu1 she confirmed that the school had been shut down. “the school was closed but today we are going there to have a meeting f1

Yobe Govt. creates dedicated account for N11bn cargo airport
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the yobe government says it has established a dedicated account to ensure the completion of the n11billion damaturu international cargo airport before the tenure expiration of the present administration1 gov. ibrahim gaidam made the disclosure on tuesday while inspecting work on the project in kalallawa village 17 kilometres from damaturu1 we have opened a dedicated account called the airport project account money is there waiting for payment at any time gaidam said1 the governor expressed satisfaction with the speed and quality of work at the airport1 gaidam said the contractors should complete the project on time because government has the money to execute the project1 he said the state government had paid n5.6 billion out of the n11.3 billion contractual fee1 according to the governor the project is cost effective compared to airports constructed at over n63 billion in other states1 gaidam said work has reached 51.5 per cent completion with impressive speed and quality1 the contract was awarded in september 2017 with 15 months completion period1

Zimbabwe legalises marijuana
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the minister has powers to audit the activities of the licensed producer with respect to cannabis2 zimbabwe has followed lesotho by legalisingthe production of marijuana for medicinal and scientific purposes making it the second african country to turn the drug into a source of revenue2 a government notice by the health and child care minister dr david parirenyatwa says individuals and corporations can apply for licenses to grow marijuana whose production and possession had brought up to 12 years in prison2 producers of mbanje must be licensed by the minister reported zimbabwe herald2 the notice was contained in a government gazette statutory instrument 62 of 2018 dangerous drugs production of cannabis for medicinal and scientific use regulations2 an application for the issue of a licence in terms of section 27 of the act shall be made to the minister in duplicate and shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee and three copies of a plan of the site proposed to be licensed which shall comply with the requirement specified in these regulations2 in case of an individual proof of citizenship or proof of being ordinarily resident in zimbabwe or proof of an exemption by the minister will be required reads the regulations2 in the case of a company proof of citizenship or proof of being ordinarily resident in zimbabwe of the majority of directors or proof of an exemption by the minister and proof of incorporation in zimbabwe of the company and a declaration signed and dated by the proposed authorised person in charge stating that the authorised person in charge the proposed responsible person in charge and if applicable the proposed alternate responsible person in charge are familiar with the provisions of the act2 the application for the licence must also provide a detailed description of the method that the applicant proposes to use for keeping records2 however recreational use of the drug known in the country as mbanje or dagga remains illegal2 the application shall also contain the following a if applicable the maximum quantity expressed as net weight in grammes of fresh cannabis dried cannabis cannabis oil to be produced by the applicant under the licence and the production period . . . and the maximum number of cannabis plants to be sold or provided by the applicant under the licence and the period in which that quantity is to be sold or provided read the regulations2 in case of an application for a licence to sell or provide fresh cannabis or cannabis oil under the applicant must provide the minister before commencing to sell or provide the substance with the dried cannabis equivalence factor determined under section 73 and the method that they used to determine it2 if an applicant intends to possess produce sell provide ship deliver transport or destroy cannabis at more than one site a separate application must be submitted for each proposed site2 a licensed producer designate one authorised person in charge to have overall responsibility for management of the activities conducted by the licensed producer under their licence at their site who may if appropriate be licensed producer2 the latest move on marijuana by zimbabwe is a marked shift from the traditionally tough stance in the largely conservative country2 the tiny nation of lesotho last year became the first african country to issue a license for medical marijuana2 countries including malawi and ghana are reportedly exploring ways to legalise the drug. nigerias national drug law and enforcement agency continues to arrest people in possession of marijuana2 a south african court last year ruled that private use of marijuana was legal but the government appealed2

Facebook launches dating service soon
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we need to make sure that never happens again zuckerberg told the audience2 facebook chief mark zuckerberg announced tuesday the worlds largest social network will soon include a new dating feature while vowing to make privacy protection its top priority in the wake of the cambridge analytica scandal2 this is going to be for building real long-term relationships not just hook-ups zuckerberg said in presenting the new feature noting that one in three marriages in the united states start online and that some 200 million facebook users identify as being single2 under the new feature users will be able to create a separate dating profile not visible to their network of friends with potential matches recommended based on dating preferences points in common and mutual acquaintances2 zuckerberg did not specify whether the feature would be free of charge in line with facebooks core offer but the announcement was enough to send shares in the online dating giant match.com tumbling by 17 percent2 the 33-year-old ceo also said the dating offer was built from the ground-up with privacy and safety in mind as he underscored the firms commitment to boosting privacy protections2 facebooks closely-watched developer conference comes as the giant faces intense global scrutiny over the mass harvesting of personal data by cambridge analytica a british political consultancy that worked for donald trumps 2016 election campaign2 facebook has admitted up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked in the scandal which saw zuckerberg grilled at length by the us congress last month2 zuckerberg unveiled the plans as he addressed facebooks annual developers conference in san jose california emphasizing that the focus would be on helping people find long-term partners2 clear history2 in a related move facebook tuesday announced an upcoming feature called clear history that will allow users to see which apps and websites send the network information delete the data from their account and prevent facebook from storing it2 the social network has already moved to limit the amount of data it shares with third-party applications and plans further steps to prevent a repeat of the cambridge analytica debacle zuckerberg said2 facebook is also reviewing applications overall as well as auditing those that accessed large amounts of data to make sure access isnt abused he said2 security isnt a problem than you ever fully solve zuckerberg said outlining the slew of efforts by facebook to battle election interference misinformation spam among other challenges2 this is an arms race we are going to be working to stay ahead of our adversaries forever2 message translation2 facebook separately announced tuesday that its popular messenger app would soon be able to translate missives in real time deploying artificial intelligence to enable text conversations between people using different languages2

Twitter asks 300million users change passwords
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twitter shares ebbed about a percent to 30.36 in after-market trades that followed word of the password mishap2 twitter on thursday urged its more than 300 million users to change their passwords saying they had been unintentionally unmasked inside the company by a software bug2 twitter practice is to store passwords encrypted or hashed so they are masked to even people inside the company twitter chief technology officer parag agrawal explained in a blog post2 due to a bug passwords were written to an internal log before completing the hashing process he said2 we found this error ourselves removed the passwords and are implementing plans to prevent this bug from happening again2 the san francisco-based internet company did not specify how many passwords were exposed or how long the glitch made data vulnerable to snooping2 out of an abundance of caution we ask that you consider changing your password on all services where youve used this password agrawal told users2 we are very sorry this happened he said2 the stumble comes as the sector faces intense scrutiny over the protection of personal data online in the wake of the cambridge analytica scandal which saw information from tens of millions of facebook users hijacked and misused2 the social media site said it found no sign that hackers accessed the exposed data but advised users to change their passwords to be safe2 going public with a security slip and getting users to take precautions is preferable to remaining mum and hoping no data was taken according to independent technology industry analyst rob enderle2 when in doubt it is better to have people change passwords than to be wrong enderle said2 with security it is always better to err on the side of caution2 the analyst thought it unlikely people would abandon twitter simply for being asked to change passwords2 openly admitting our mistakes quickly learning and moving on twitter co-founder and chief executive jack dorsey said in a tweet that including a link to agrawals blog post2 i love my teammates2 twitter last week reported its second consecutive quarterly profit boosting the outlook for the platform after years in the red2 the social network earned 61 million in the first three months of the year helped by strong growth in advertising revenue and modest gains in users2 first quarter revenues rose 21 percent from a year ago to 665 million and the key metric of monthly active users increased by six million from late last year to 336 million2

Slavery comments: Media draw battle line with Kanye West
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west faced swift backlash following an interview withtmzon tuesday where he said when you hear about slavery for 400 years. for 400 years that sounds like a choice2 as reactions continue to trail the controversial comments made earlier this week by u.s. rapper kanye west that slaverywas a choice a detroit radio station has said it will ban his music2 kanye has gone too far with his latest comments they said. they wrote that they are refusing to give him a platform according tonew york post2 we dont want to hear kanyes music we dont want to play kanye on our show we dont want to talk about kanye anymore the post read2 so we are taking a stand and we arent playing his music anymore we just are refusing to give him a platform2 the ban will be for the entire hip-hop station and will include tracks that west produced or is featured in as well thedetroit free pressreported2 hosts shay shay and bigg of 105.1 the morning bounce made the announcement on facebook with the hashtag mute kanye2 the music mogul took to twitter shortly after to try and walk back his comments and compared himself to both nat turner and harriet tubman2 if this was 148 years ago i would have been more like harriet or nat west tweeted before clarifying the reason he brought up the 400 years point is because we cant be mentally imprisoned for another 400 years2 we need free thought now. even the statement was an example of free thoughtit was just an idea2 the two morning djs didnt announce how long the ban will last and left it open to a gut feeling2 thats what it is right now. we need a break shay shay told thepaper. i think its a gut feeling of when well be able to feel comfortable playing it again when well want to hear it again and more importantly when will our listeners want to hear it again2 west was banned from a hot 103.5 in sacramento in 2016 after he attacked radio stations and fellow artists during a concert for his saint pablo tour2

Scientist Goodalls parting shots before suicide
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that law doesnt come into effect until mid-2019 and would not benefit goodall because he is not terminally ill or suffering from an incurable disease2 david goodall a 104-year-old australian scientist who committed assisted suicide in switzerland today left some parting shots saying choosing how and when to die should be a right2 everyone over middle age should have the right unquestioned to end their lives as and when they choose but we have quite a way to go in australia for that he said2 asked by reporters what would be his last meal the centenarian wryly noted that he is rather limited in his culinary enjoyments these days2 goodall said he had no doubts over his chosen course of action and was grateful for the opportunity to come to an end gracefully2 there are many things i would like to do but its too late.im content to leave them undone2 my abilities have been in decline over the past year or two my eyesight over the past six years.i no longer want to continue life. i am happy to have the chance tomorrow to end it he said2 goodall died today after taking a fatal sleeping drug and was surrounded by four family members and a close friend2 the renowned ecologist had flown to the clinic from his home in australia where euthanasia is illegal2 he was not terminally ill but said he had grown tired of living with deteriorating health2 dr goodall had arrived at the clinic just before 11am on thursday morning and enjoyed a final meal of fish and chips and cheesecake which was his favourite2 beethovens 9th symphony was played in the room at the suicide clinic in liestal near basel as he took the fatal overdose of the sleeping drug2 goodall arrived in switzerland on may 7 after visiting relatives in the french city of bordeaux2 he celebrated his 104th birthday on april 4. the scientist was granted a fast-track appointment at the life circle clinic in basel2 switzerland is one of the few countries in the world to allow assisted suicide in which a person is given a lethal drug to administer themselves2 assisted dying is illegal in australia. except for one state victoria which in november 2017 voted to legalize euthanasia in some cases2 speaking to reporters at a hotel near spalentor gate in basel on wednesday goodall stressed he was happy to have the chance to end his life in switzerland but would have preferred to do so back home2 born in london in 1914 he went to australia in 1948 to teach at the university of melbourne2 he married three times has four children and twelve grandchildren. the family is scattered around the world2 by his bedside thursday will be one of the scientists sons along with some grandchildren who came from the united states and france respectively2 goodall is a veteran member of exit international an end-of-life choices information and advocacy organisation2 he unsuccessfully tried to take his life earlier this year and had a fall at his home in perth2 the organization arranged his appointment at life circle and raised funds for the scientist to travel business class from australia to switzerland2 in the vanguard exit international director philip nitschke says there is a growing generation of older people who are living longer than ever before who are not ill and who are demanding end of life choices.2 professor david goodall is at the vanguard of this generational change in deciding when and how to die he said urging more countries to adopt laws similar to those of switzerland2 the scientist will take the drug nembutal a barbiturate intravenously. he will turn a knob that will allow a saline solution mixed with the drug to flow into his system2 he will go to sleep within a minute or two and be dead within the hour says dr. fiona stewart publisher and co-author of the the peaceful pill handbook2 hollywood icon marilyn monroe overdosed on barbiturates in 1962 in a death characterized as a probable suicide. american guitarist jimi hendrix died of a similar overdose in 19702 stewart says more than 30 australians have made the trip to switzerland since the 1998 foundation of dignitas in zurich. the number is at least ten times higher for britons2 the alpine nation has three assisted suicide organizations catering to foreigners dignitas basels life circle and ex international in bern no relation to exit international2 assisted suicide and euthanasia where the lethal drug is adminsitered by a doctor or medical staff is at the heart of heated ethical debates that touch on religious medical legal and ethical questions2 goodall a botanist and ecologist said he would quite like to be remembered as an instrument of freeing the elderly from the need to pursue their life irrespectively2

Nude paint sells for $157m at New York auction
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bidding was restrained lasting three to four minutes and opening at 125 million before auctioneer helena newman brought the hammer down at 139 million. the final price includes a buyers premium1 a stunning nude paint that is the largest produced by italian artist amedeo modigliani sold for 157.2 million in new york on monday night becoming the fourth most expensive work of art sold at auction1 modigliani follows leonardo da vinci and pablo picasso as the third highest-selling artist at auction. mondays sale failed to eclipse the 170.4 million paid for another modigliani nude at christies in 20151 nearly 58 inches 147 centimeters wide the picture was the cover star of a recent retrospective at the tate modern gallery in london1 modigliani reinvented the nude for the modern era and when his series of paintings were first exhibited in 1917 they were considered so shocking that police closed the show in paris1 painted a century ago modiglianis masterpiece nu couche sur le cote gauche fetched the highest price in sothebys history and was the star single lot in the may art auction season in new york1 the price chalks up a healthy profit for its seller who acquired the picture in 2003 for 26.9 million1 modigliani completed 22 reclining nudes and 13 seated nudes between 1916 and 1919. most of the former are found in museums such as the museum of modern art and the metropolitan museum of art in new york1 simon shaw co-head of impressionist and modern art at sothebys said the painting sold monday while rooted in tradition reflected the changing status of women during world war i1 this is a nude of a very self-possessed sexually confident woman who is not looking out from a distance. shes absolutely meeting our gaze he told afp prior to the sale1 modiglianis dealer leopold zborowski gave him a stipend of 15 francs a day and paid the models five francs to pose in a paris apartment1