Group wants increased government commitment in checking human trafficking
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he said that as the united nations had committed to working with civil society organisations as well as internally displaced persons victims of mostly sexual abuses and organ harvesting1

Breaking: Homosexuality legal says Supreme Court
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the position of the court then was that overturning the outdated law was the job of parliament which can decide on scrapping laws3 indias supreme court has legalised homosexuality and gay sex and decriminalised section 377 of the indian penal code holding out promise of a new dawn in personal liberty and sexual orientation3 chief justice misra observed that lgbt community has same rights like any ordinary citizen. respect for each others rights and others are supreme humanity. criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible3 no one can escape from their individualism. society is now better for individualism. in the present case our deliberations will be on various spectrums cji misra said3 sustenance of identity is the pyramid of life cji misra added3 no one can escape from their individualism. society is now better for individualism.indias chief justice3 indias supreme court had in 2013 restored section 377 a british-era law that bans gay sex. it had overturned a landmark judgement by the delhi high court in 2009 which had ruled that consenting intercourse between two adults was not illegal3 the five judge-bench headed by chief justice of india dipak misra delivered the much awaited verdict on thursday according to3 section 377 of the indian penal code bans carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man woman or animal3 gay sex is punishable by up to 10 years in jail under the 1861 law. prosecution under section 377 is however not common but activists complain that authorities use the law to harass or scare gay people3 after the 2013 verdict five high-profile petitioners bharatnatyam dancer navtej johar documentary filmmaker sunil mehra restaurateur ritu dalmia hotelier and historian aman nath and business executive ayesha kapur challenged it and became the human faces of this battle3 before their entry the battle was fought since the early nineties by ngos the naaz foundation being one of them3 while reserving the verdict on july 17 this year misra and justices r f nariman a m khanwilkar d y chandrachud and indu malhotra brushed aside as far-fetched the arguments from opponents of decriminalisation of section 377 that it could also legalise incest group sex and sodomy3 the top court had also said no one should have to live in fear because of their sexuality3 the five petitioners had argued that section 377 violates rights principles enshrined in the constitution like equality before law no discrimination based on religion race caste sex or place of birth and freedom of speech and expression3

Council inducts 45 foreign trained laboratory scientists
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by felicia imohimi11 she further appreciated their parents for investing in their academic pursuit in order for them to actualise their dreams and aspirations. nan2 mr tosan erhabor acting registrar of the council while inducting the professionals in abuja said the graduands were inducted having scaled through the seven months pre-qualification training and examination2 erhabor who described the induction as third in the series noted that no fewer than 179 foreign trained scientists have so far been inducted by the council since the commencement of the pre-qualification training programme and examination2 while congratulating the inductees for their success erhabor described them as the future of the profession2 he however urged them to brace up for the challenges ahead in order to move the profession to an enviable height2 in spite of how profound or robust your training or the pedigree of your training or sophistication of training apparatus mlscn still owed it a duty to ensure you went through the process of adaptation and integration as part of prerequisite for licensure2 act 11 2003 section 4a empowers the council to determine from time to time the standard of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become medical laboratory scientists medical laboratory technicians and medical laboratory assistants2 the medical laboratory science council of nigeria mlscn has inducted 45 foreign graduates of medical laboratory science2 erhabor tasked the inductees of ideal teamwork efficiency dedication due process among other elements that would ensure international best practices2 he reminded them that the council had zero tolerance to all forms of professional misconducts adding that such could bring disrepute to the profession and cherished families2 erhabor said the profession needs your services at every level of healthcare delivery and you must profitably harness your full potentials as young scientists2 it is expected of you to bring ideal teamwork efficiency dedication adherence to due process respect for self and others and other elements of international best practices as you have imbibed in the course of your training overseas2 if you are unable to make a difference through exemplary conduct you would be contributing to the sad narrative of those who failed to live up to their full potentials2 one of the inductees oyinloye olayemi who spoke on behalf of the inductees thanked the almighty god and the council for deeming them fit for the induction2 section 4 empowers it to assess evaluate and register foreign graduates of medical laboratory science erhabor noted2

Buhari gets China support for Mambilla, signs $328m ICT agreement
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i was very pleased to hear about the positive experiences these hard working and law abiding citizens are having in their host communities. i also had the pleasure of meeting young chinese students learning three nigerian languages2 president muhammadu buhari wednesday in beijing won the crucial support of the chinese president xi jinping for the countrys aspiration to build the 3050 megawatts mambila hydroelectric power project2 four airport terminal projects as well as the abuja light rail project2 president buhari told his chinese counterpart that since his last visit to china in 2016 the brotherly relationship between both countries had continued to flourish2 according to the president in the past 24 months the chinese government has provided humanitarian aid to our conflict-affected areas scholarship to nigerian youth military training and security support to our personnel and agricultural modernization training2 president buhari noted that in the period under review china had provided concessionary loans to fund critical infrastructure projects in nigeria adding that these interventions have positively impacted millions of nigerians and will continue to do so for generations to come2 mr president as we celebrate these successes i would like to once again solicit your support for the mambilla hydropower project which remains a key priority for my government. our hope is to fund the project with concessionary loans from china as any alternative funding arrangement will adversely impact the projects viability2 we have been informed that our submission on this project is undergoing assessment by the relevant chinese agencies. we hope with your kind intervention this assessment will be expedited. your excellency mambilla is nigerias equivalent of the three gorges dam. my wish is that you join me for the groundbreaking ceremony of this project in the not too distant future president buhari said2 on lake chad basin the president thanked china for accepting to support the international efforts to recharge the lake2 the inclusion of this project in the focac action plan 2019 to 2021 will go a long way in supporting our efforts to rehabilitate and resettle the conflict-impacted north east region he said2 on people-to-people relations president buhari told his host that in the course of his visit he interacted with nigerian students and entrepreneurs living in different parts of china2 the two countries also signed the agreement of 328m for the information and communication technology infrastructure backbone phase ii nictib ii project2 we must continue to support such exchange programmes to enhance our people-to-people contacts he said2 similarly president buhari noted thateasy movement of citizens of both countries would complement the currency swap agreements recently signed by the central banks of both countries2 since our last meeting two years ago nigeria has relaxed its visa requirements to chinese citizens. today i am pleased to inform your excellency that chinese citizens receive nigerian visas in less than 48 hours2 another measure that will improve our trade volumes will be to introduce import duty waivers on nigerias commodity exports to china. today our commodities such as sesame seeds hibiscus and cassava amongst others attract import duty in china he said2 the nigerian leader also lauded chinas support for two permanent seats for africa at the united nations noting that the reform of the security council would ensure equitable representation for the continent2 in his remarks president xi who commended nigerias fight against terrorism and the progress that has been made so far promised chinas support in capacity building and intelligence sharing2 he also pledged 50 million chinese yuan support to nigerias military noting that buhari is as decisive in dealing with terrorism as china2 president xi said china would import more agricultural products from nigeria and expressed gratitude to president buhari on nigerias interest to participate in the forthcoming chinese import fair2 the relationship between nigeria and china is as best as ever especially given the deepening mutual trust. china will continue to stand with nigeria he said2 on mambilla the chinese leader told president buhari we understand how critical the project is to your country and we will take a serious look at it and ensure that it succeeds because of its social and economic benefits2 meanwhile at a separate meeting with chinese premier li keqiang president buhari reaffirmed nigerias commitment to expanding mutually beneficial cooperation with china2

Radio Kwara workers insist on sack of Sole Administrator
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there has been no improvement since he came2 by olayinka owolewa2 the workers had embarked on the strike on wednesday over lack of operational equipment and poor staff welfare2 a correspondent of the news agency of nigeria nan who visited the radio station on thursday reports that the premises located on police road in ilorin metropolis were still under lock and key2 nan also reports that the workers used their vehicles to block the main entrance of the station completely preventing access to the premises2 the workers also denied the general manager of the station alhaji adedeji adebowale entrance into the premises as he remained inside his official vehicle when nan visited the radio station2 speaking with our correspondent the chairman of radio kwara chapel of radio television theatre and art workers union of nigeria rattawu rasaq aremu said the strike would continue as long as akorede remained in office2 our main agitation for now is for the sole administrator to be removed2 if he is removed right now as i speak with you we will resume and continue further deliberations with the government2 his removal will bring peace and sanity back to the station because he is running his administration all alone without consultation with our management and staff2 he knows little about broadcasting what is the point if we are not being carried along2 workers of kwara state broadcasting corporation radio kwara on thursday continued their strike insisting that government must sack their sole administrator dr muideen akorede2 anyone can just come and see our premises we want akorede to go aremu said2 he further said that the agitation was not about salary alone insisting that the workers were also protesting the lack of operational equipment in the media outfit2 aremu questioned the propriety of workers collecting salaries without justifying it due to no fault of theirs2 he urged the workers to remain resolute until akorede who is also the senior special assistant to the governor on media was removed2 but akorede had in a statement on wednesday confirmed the release of n5million as part of the subvention for the radio station2 he said that he had always engaged the management of the station and its union leaders on issues regarding their operational expenses2 akorede added that the delay in releasing funds to the station was due to the economic challenges the country was facing2 he said the monthly allocation to the state was received on monday while salaries and overheads of parastatal agencies including radio kwara were expected to be paid before the end of the week2 akorede stressed that like other parastatal agencies subventions to media houses were being paid regularly2 subvention he said was always released directly to the station and disbursed based on the budget and operational needs as approved2 he said the state government had prioritised payment of salaries as first line charge followed by operational expenses of parastatal agencies2

NFF presidential aspirant faults LMC over aborted NPFL
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by emmanuel afonne7 nan reports that election into the executive committee of the nff is scheduled to hold on sept. 20 according to the amended timetable of the sani katu-led electoral committee2 okoye the proprietor of bimo football club of lafiastated this this in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja while reeling out his six-point agenda ahead of the forthcoming nff board election2 nan recalls that an emergency joint consultative meeting of the 20 npfl clubs and the lmc met in abuja in august and declared the 20172018 league season concluded after 24 matches2 the meeting said that the decision was against the backdrop of the adverse circumstances in the administration of football in the country which resulted in the indefinite suspension league leading to huge fixture congestion for both league and cup competitions2 the decision meant that none of the 20 npfl clubs would be relegated to the lower league while four would be promoted from the nigeria national league nnl to bring the number of the npfl clubs for the 201819 season to 242 but okoye said that the termination of the npfl with 13 games still remaining while teams were separated from each other with just few points can best be described as match fixing2 this is the first time in the history of nigeria football where the league was concluded with 13 matches to go2 four people just sat down and decided to award lobi stars fc the npfl title2 we all know that we have a problem it is only in nigeria that you know the winner of the league from the beginning of the season. we have to stop this okoye said2 mr chinedu okoye presidential aspirant in the sept. 20 nigeria football federation nff electionhas faulted the decision of league management company lmc to end the nigeria professional football league npfl season with 13 matches left to play2 okoye said if elected president he would tell nigerians what the football secretariat got from sponsors annually2 there is sponsorship money from coca cola and other big companies you cannot run nff like a cabal or your fathers property because it has a mandate to develop football in nigeria2 nff collects 4.3 million dollars every year from fifa for the development of football in nigeria including the payment of state football associations as well as female football but unfortunately these monies get into individual pockets2 is that the way to grow no. we dont need nff president that will go and watch arsenal when his national team is playing a friendly game that is what we have currently in nigeria but it has to stop2 i am talking about transparency and accountability in the nff and i will be ready to answer anybody that will come to me to know how much comes into nff and how much goes out2 in this current administration you dare not ask because if you do you are pushed out the following day okoye added2 the nff presidential aspirant noted that the annual financial grant from fifa was basically meant for the development of football at the grassroots with fa chairmen taking the driving seats and not to be spent on frivolities2 he said there is no facility and there is no age grade competition in nigeria. children from age eight to 18 dont have any competition2 again the issue of doping in our games has to stop. if i become the nff president the people that dope will have no place in our sport2 according to okoye time has come when nigerians should find out how football especially the leagues are run in the country2

FCT APC adopts indirect primaries, warns against money politics
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also mr yamawo tanko director satellite town development department stdd said that the indirect primaries would be done by the party delegates2 by jessica dogo2 similarly the party adopted indirect primaries for its elections2 the chairman abuja municipal area council amac mr abdullahi candido said this at a meeting with stakeholders on thursday in abuja2 candido however described the act of using money for elections as unnecessary adding this usually leads to voting of wrong candidates into offices2 we have advised our party members especially our excos to approach this election with no thinking of unnecessary monetary incentives2 if they do our fear is that inducement by aspirants could lead to a party getting a wrong candidate for the election and therefore they should de-emphasise the issue collections of little stipends from party aspirants2 they should identify the best whether he has money or he doesnt have money he said2 candido further explained that the indirect primaries mode was healthier and would curb the excesses of hooliganism during elections2 the fct all progressives congress apc has warned political aspirants against monetary incentives to voters during the 2019 elections2 tanko said that the delegates include party excos from the ward local governments the states and some political office holders2 this will be the indirect primaries not the direct primaries where every card-carrying member of the party will queue up and elect a candidate2 it is going to be purely party excos. i believe it is going to be a hitch free primaries tanko said2 in his remarks abdulmalik usman chairman fct apc said that the constitution of the party allows direct and indirect primaries as well as consensus2 usman explained that the indirect primaries was adopted so as to maintain peace in the fct adding that it has always been like that in the previous elections2 we have been one family since the beginning of crises in apc we have never witnessed crisis in fct he said2 earlier sen. sidi ali who read the communiqu said that the executive and stakeholders unanimously approved the position of indirect primaries2 ali noted that the indirect primaries would help produce credible candidates for the 2019 general elections2

Jubilation at Utako market as Osinbajo inaugurates TraderMoni
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by chijioke okoronkwo9 tradermoni is a federal governments initiative aimed at providing two million petty traders across the country with collateral-free loans before the end of the year4 tradermoni which had lagos abia and kano as its pilots states would be inaugurated across the country2 the ecstatic traders cheered and hailed as the vice president went from stall to stall having one-on-one conversations with the sellers2 addressing the crowd osinbajo who spoke partly in pidgin english said that with tradermoni petty traders would be empowered2 there was jubilation at utako market abujaon thursday as the vice president prof. yemi osinbajo inaugurated the tradermoni scheme2 we give n10000 if pay back in six months then you get n15000 if you pay back you get n200002 we want to encourage petty traders so that they will have enough money to do their businesses we have done one before for the bigger traders that one is government enterprise and empowerment programmegeep n100000 to 1200002 if you do well with the n10000 n15000 n20000 then we can increase it everyone can benefit from this the president himself has said he wants to make sure that those who are selling in the marketselling pepper sugarcane tomato get the money2 so when you are given the money we urge you to make sure you pay back there is no interest you just take it and you pay back in six months i want all of us to make sure we register so that we can be given the money he said2 the small small traders no be big traders na small small traders we wan give money make them able to sell well have more money to sell2

Ex Budget Officer in ICPC net over N5.5m gratification
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by harrison arubu5 the icpc image maker said however that the suspects would be arraigned as soon as investigations are completed2 icpcs spokesperson mrs rasheedat okoduwa identified the suspect as henry oyibo in a statement issued in abuja2 according to the statement oyibo formerly with the budget office of the federation is at the moment with the ministry of niger delta2 she said that preliminary investigation by the commission revealed that oyibo received the money to facilitate the release of funds budgeted for the federal medical centre lokoja between 2014 and 20152 okoduwa alleged that the inducement came from the director of finance and accounts mr sule otu and three other members of staff of the centre2 the independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission icpc on thursday said it had arrested a former federal budget officer for allegedly receiving gratification to the tune of n5.5 million2 the actions of the officials which border on corrupt offer and receipt of gratification by public officers are contrary to sections 8 9 16 and 19 of the corrupt practices and other related offences act 20002 further investigation also revealed that oyibo owns assets valued far beyond his legitimate earnings in breach of section 44 2 of the icpc law2 all the suspected staff of the federal medical centre who had been in custody before were granted bail and released by the commission2 oyibo who is now in custody will be released upon the fulfillment of his bail conditions she said2 according to her the suspect was at the time acting as the liaison officer between the budget office and the medical centre2

Nigeria records N6.57bn foreign trade in Q2 NBS
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by lucy nwachukwu4 this it explained was a 8.36 per cent increase from the figure in the first quarter n2.17 billion and against n471.48 billion in the first quarter of 20172 the bureau disclosed this in its foreign trade in goods statistics q2 2018 report released on thursday in abuja2 it said the figure was 8.9 per cent less than 7.21 billion recorded in the first quarter and represents a 14.56per cent growth from the n5.73billion recorded in the second quarter of 20172 according to the bureau the contraction of total trade in the quarter under review is mainly driven by the decline in both imports and exports2 the national bureau of statistics nbs said the country recorded foreign trade valued at n6.57billion in the second quarter2 this represents a -4.9 per cent contraction over the first quarter 4.70billion and a 43.8 per cent growth compared to second quarter of 20172 likewise the total import component in the second quarter 2.11billion also recorded a decline of -16.3 per cent2 this is lower than the first quarter 2.52billion and -19.9 per cent lower than the first quarter of 2017 the report said2 it said the trade balance in the second quarter was a surplus of n2.36 billion2 the total value of exports in the quarter under review is n4.46 billion2

How more than half Worlds population flew in 2017 IATA
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according to the document airlines in the asia-pacific region once again carried the largest number of passengers with 36.3 per cent market share 1.5 billion passengers2 by adekunle williams2 the figure is more than half of the worlds population currently put at 7.2 billion2 the information is contained in the 62nd edition of the world air transport statistics wats the yearbook of the airline industrys performance2 the news agency of nigeria nan in lagos obtained a copy of the document after it was released by iata from montreal canada2 nan observed that the document showed that the 2017 performance represented an additional 280 million trips 7.8 per cent increase by air compared to 20162 it said worldwide annual air passenger numbers exceeded four billion for the first time2 it is supported by a broad-based improvement in global economic conditions and lower average airfares2 at the same time airlines connected a record number of cities worldwide providing regular services to over 20000 city pairs in 2017 more than double the level of 19952 such increases in direct services improve the industrys efficiency by cutting costs and saving time for both travellers and shippers alike2 the international air transport association iata on thursday said that 4.1 billion passengers were transported in 2017 compared to the 3.8 billion passengers recorded in 20162 the documented also showed that europe recorded 26.3 per cent market share 1.1 billion passengers while north america recorded 23 per cent market share 941.8 million passengers2 it also indicated that latin america recorded 7 per cent market share 286.1 million passengers2 also middle east recorded 5.3 market share 216.1 million passengers while africa recorded 2.2 per cent market share 88.5 million passengers2 the document also showed that the top five airlines ranked by total scheduled passenger kilometers flown were american airlines 324 million and delta airlines 316.3 million2 others are the united airlines 311 million emirates airlines 289 million and southwest airlines 207.7 million2 it also stated that citizens of united states of america topped the travellers chart with 632 million passengers followed by the peoples republic of china with 555 million passengers2 also india had 161.5 million passengers the united kingdom recorded 147 million passengers and germany had 114.4 million passengers2 the director-general of iata mr alexandre de juniac commenting on the development said in 2000 the average citizen flew just once every 43 months. in 2017 the figure was once every 22 months2 flying has never been more accessible. and this is liberating people to explore more of our planet for work leisure and education. aviation is the business of freedom2

We didnt take bribe to dump APC Kwara Lawmakers
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all 23 members of the 24-member house of assembly in kwara including the speaker have denied financial inducement for their recent defection to the peoples democratic party pdp1 the lawmakers are alleged to have each collected n15 million to defect from the all progressives congress apc to pdp on aug.11 but the 23 members at plenary on tuesday denied being induced with money for their decision to quit the apc1 each of the defected lawmakers in their defence described the allegation as unfounded and a calculated attempt to tarnish their names1 they said that no individual or group gave them n15 million as bribe prior to their aug. 1 defection to the pdp1 they accused the only apc lawmaker in the house saheed popoola as being responsible for the alleged rumour on social media1 the lawmakers claimed that their defection to pdp was purely on personal conviction devoid of any financial inducement1 however popoola apc olomu-balogun in his reaction said he did not speak with any media on the alleged n15 million bribe1 popoola refuted the claim by his colleagues of being the author of the alleged rumour and challenged them to produce evidence or testimonies against him1 concluding debate on the matter the speaker dr ali ahmad urged his fellow speakers in states houses of assembly to resist the temptation of declaring vacant seats of defectors in their states1

Shekarau dumps PDP, destination unknown
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you know he will not take decision without meeting the stakeholders which has always been his habit yau sule said1 former governor of kano state malam ibrahim shekarau has finally dumped the peoples democratic party pdp1 sule yau who did no give reasons for the decision however told nan that shekarau had already called for a stakeholders meeting to be held today tuesday1 he explained that during the meeting the former governor and the stakeholders would decide where he shekarau will go1 the former governor has left pdp and has called for a stakeholders meeting today tuesday from where he will decide where to go1 sule yau sule media aide to the former governor disclosed this in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in kano on tuesday1 nan reports that the pdp state executive committee was dissolved by the national working committee nwc of the party on friday in abuja1 the decision by the nwc to disregard the earlier court order irked the state leadership supporters and all stakeholders of the party in the state1 the state leadership on monday rejected in totality the purported dissolution of the state executive committee by the nwc of the party1 alhaji sarki labaran a chieftain of the party declared the stand of the party in the state while addressing hundreds of supporters who converged on the state headquarters of the party1 the nwc had yet to give reason as to why it took the action1

Man cheated in ransom sharing by gang after arranging his fathers kidnap, murder
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he said the police after interrogating the three suspects discovered that it was the son of the suspect that hired the others and the fugitive prime suspect to kidnap his father1 the osun police command on tuesday announced the arrest of a 27 year-old man isa adamu who allegedly conspired with others to kidnap and later murder his 55 year-old father after collecting ransom from his family1 mr olafimihan adeoye osun commissioner of police while parading suspects at the police command in osogbo told newsmen that on april 27 the senior adamu was kidnapped in his house in ede osun and driven away in his car by a gang of kidnappers1 he said when the case was reported to the police a prime suspect jola-anabi saheed was arrested and charged to court for the kidnapping1 he said the prime suspect later jumped bail 1 adeoye said the action of the prime suspect led to further investigation by the police which resulted in the arrest of three other suspects including the son of the kidnapped victim1 the murdered man was identified as ibrahim adamu1 he said it was also discovered that the suspects killed their victim after collecting n3 million ransom from his family1 he said the suspects confessed to have buried their victims body near a river and it is now believed that the corpse had been washed away by the river1 he said the son of the kidnapped victim confessed to the police that his accomplices promised to give him n500000 from the ransom collected from his family but only gave him n450001 adeoye said another four-man robbery gang terrorising owode ede osogbo and its environs was also arrested by the police and two vehicles electronics and other items were recovered from the gang1 he said a hummer bus that was stolen in osun in august was recovered in abeokuta ogun from the buyer. the recovery of the bus he said also led to the recovery of five other stolen vehicles through sars investigation1

Sex, homosexuality stall MTNs music festival
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source63 ugandas nyege nyege international music and arts festival sponsored by telecom giant mtn has been banned because of scheduled open sex noise homosexuality lgbti1 mtn nyege nyege will not be accepted it will not take place. i wanted nyege nyege cancelled last year but they escaped ugandas minister of ethics and integrity mr. simon lokodo warned1 the three-day festival slated to begin on thursday sept. 6 has been banned lokodo announced1 lokodo said the government had information that open sex noise homosexuality lgbti will be part of the nyege nyege1 this ugly thing called mtn nyege nyege is not taking place this year1 we have already evaluated how much losses will come. we shall save the image of this country but not allow this to take place for the two days and one night he said1 this years festival is sponsored by telecom firm mtn. last year bell lager the first ugandan brewed beer by uganda breweries limited sponsored the event1 let foreigners not come to uganda for sex. if you are coming for sexual reasons worse still homosexuality and lgbtq stay away1 there will be nudity and sexuality done at any time of the hour. there will be open sex1 the very name of the festival is provocative. it means sex sex or urge for sex. we have been informed its taking place near owen falls dam. this brings uncertainty and fear1 this is close to devil worshipping and not acceptable1 mr lokodo said he has written to the police to stop the event from taking place1 the festival had attracted over 300 artists from over 30 countries1 the venue was set on a six-acre forest on the banks of the river nile a kilometre away from the source of the river and jinja town1 the activity will be covered by alcohol and music. there will be drugs toxicants not accepted by this country1

Ceasefire agreement reached in Libya
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according to the un office of high commissioner for human rights ohchr a humanitarian worker trying to evacuate civilians trapped in a neighbourhood was reportedly shot while one of the armed groups involved was alleged to have confiscated three ambulances1 war lords have reached a ceasefire agreement to end years of hostilities protect civilians safeguard public and private property in war-torn north african country libya1 the un support mission in libya unsmil announce in a tweet posted on its official twitter account1 tripolis meitiga international airport which had been closed since violence flared up would also be opened under the deal1 the accord was signed by representatives of the government of national accord gna military commanders security apparatuses and armed groups present in and around tripoli1 scores of civilians had been killed and hundreds injured across residential areas of the libyan capital since fighting escalated last week1 spokesperson for un high commission for refugees unhcr charlie yaxley said that the use of heavy weapons and shelling in civilian neighbourhoods had caused death destruction and displacement and is of great concern1 we are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with the libyan directorate for combatting illegal migration and un agencies and advocating for all refugees and migrants to be relocated to a safer place yaxley said1 the agreement was reached under the auspices of ghassan salame the top united nations official in libya1 un agencies such as the world health organisation who and unhcr have stepped up their response with who delivering trauma medicines for 200 critical cases keeping another 2000 more units on standby and deploying 10 mobile emergency trauma teams to areas where fighting is ongoing1 similarly unhcr is dispatching emergency items to families seeking shelter at a local school the un said1 in a statement prior to the announcement of the ceasefire syed hussain head of who operations in libya said the agency was working with national health authorities and partners on the ground to respond to increasing health needs1 hussain however said roadblocks remain a major challenge to the delivery of health care especially ambulances that are unable to reach the injured1 with greater numbers of injured civilians expected it is imperative that doctors and other health staff be allowed to move freely so that they can save lives without delay and without risk to their own personal safety he added1 there were also reports that a migrant detention facility was hit causing great concern over the safety of migrants and refugees1 according to un reports there are about 8000 arbitrarily detained migrants trapped in detention centres in areas where fighting had been taking place without access to food or medical treatment1 the reports added that some migrants released from detention had subsequently been captured by armed groups and forced to work for them. nan1

PDP takes step to rescue Kano chapter
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fearing more defections of aggrieved members peoples democratic party pdp has resolved to expand the kano state caretaker committee to accommodate all interest groups1 the national working committee nwc of the party took the action in line with its adherence to the principles of all-inclusiveness1 the national publicity secretary of the party mr. kola ologbondiyan on tuesday in abuja said the party was also open to opinions and suggestions from stakeholders1 this according to ologbondiyan is to allow ensure reconciliation and accommodation for all interests within its fold in the state so as to ensure good governance to the people of the state1 ologbondiyan said no stone would be left unturned in the overall quest to bring good governance to kano state while putting in place machinery to hedge the infiltration of fifth columnists into the partys fold in the state1 the party leadership further assures of its preparedness to engage with all stakeholders in kano provided all matters in court against the party are withdrawn as all members work together to build a united pdp that can confront and send out apc governance in kano state and nigeria at large1 furthermore the nwc urges all stakeholders to always emulate our members in benue state in the way and manner they united to resolve all issues concerning party structures of their state1 reports say that the state chapter of the party had been torn apart by intrigues and power struggle1 it was reported on tuesday that a notable member of the party in the state was a former governor and minister has dumped the party because of power struggle with a member who recently joined the party. nan1

Angry dog mauls owner to death in U.S.
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a 64-year-old woman in maryland u.s. has been mauled to death by her newly adopted pit bull police has said1 officers reported to the victims home monday night after receiving a call about a female robin conway of columbia getting mauled to death by a pit bull she had adopted only two weeks earlier howard county police department said in a facebook news release1 police said a relative found a wounded conway in the yard with the dog standing over her and called 9111 the individual managed to restrain the animal by tying the animal to the fence police said1 officers found robin conway 64 deceased in her back yard with significant injuries1 the dog still attached to the post was barking and lunging on the leash and had to be subdued by animal control officers and ultimately euthanized police said1 an autopsy will be conducted to determine the womans official cause of death1 a necropsy of the dog will help determine if it had rabies or other medical concerns police said1 details surrounding the dogs adoption were unavailable police said though they said it did come from another state1

Trump warns Assad, allies over planned Idlib attack
News & Trends •
the war songs between president donald trump and syrias bashar al-assad has intensified with the u.s. number one citizen warned the syrian president and his allies in the region not to attack rebels in the countrys idlib province1 trump warned in a tweet that hundreds of thousands could be killed if the attack is allowed to go on1 the tweet came shortly after irans foreign minister said terrorists must be purged from idlib the last opposition stronghold in the country1 mohammad javad zarifs comments in damascus came as syrian forces and their allies are preparing for an assault1 syrias territorial integrity should be safeguarded and all tribes and groups as one society should start the reconstruction process and the refugees should return to their homes zarif said according to irans fars news agency1 reports say assad is planning a huge offensive in idlibreportedly with three million live1 syria has been fighting in a seven-year civil war and russia and iran have backed assad1 u.n. officials believe an offensive on idlib would trigger a wave of displacement that could uproot an estimated 800000 people and discourage refugees from returning home1 the u.s. and france have warned an idlib offensive would trigger a humanitarian crisis and warned that a chemical attack in idlib would prompt a western retaliation1 all eyes on the actions of assad russia and iran in idlib nochemicalweapons nikki haley the u.s. ambassador to the united nations posted on twitter1

Donald Duke dumps PDP
News & Trends •
mr. donald duke former cross river state governor has dumped the peoples democratic party pdp for the social democratic party sdp1 he made the announcement on tuesday at the national secretariat of the sdp where he revealed that he will be running for the office of the president come 20191 duke was received by the partys national secretary mr. shehu gabam and other officials of the party1 the former governor had earlier showed interest in running for presidency under the peoples democratic party pdp1 details later 1