-
White House slams reporter over Trump
News & Trends •
were moving on sanders said before ryan claimed its not ridiculous1 in a bid to defend her master white house press secretary sarah sanders on tuesday slammed american urban radio reporter april ryan during press briefing for asking if president donald trump hasthought about stepping down1 sanders fired back no and i think thats an absolutely ridiculous question1 ryan was presumably referring to reports that trump has been especially upset since the fbi executed a search warrant on his lawyer michael cohen1 she tried to defend her question but sanders quickly moved on to the next reporter1 ryan asked with all of this turmoil particularly this last week has the president at any time thought about stepping down before or now1 ryan has emerged as one of the most combative members of the media when it comes to dealing with members of the trump administration1 she famously sparred with former press secretary sean spicer who once asked her to report the facts instead ofsticking to her agenda1 social media quickly erupted with takes on ryans question about trump stepping down1 conservative pundit wayne dupreetweeted that ryanpicked the wrong person to ask a question like this1 earlier in the dayryan tweeted oooh today today today what a newsy day1 -
US, allies mull military action in Syria
News & Trends •
macron has repeatedly said that the use of chemical weapons in syria is a red line that would trigger reprisals2 earlier a french government spokesman would not be drawn on a timeline for any possible response but said trump and macron had agreed to speak again within 48 hours1 the attempts to revive a probe that was disbanded last year come days after at least 43 people were killed in an attack on douma the last rebel-held suburb of the capital damascus1 russia accused the us france and britain of putting forward the text knowing moscow would not agree so they could use the veto as a pretext for military action1 russian ambassador to the un vassily nebenzia asked the us to refrain from the plans that youre currently developing for syria after the third failed vote1 nikki haley the us ambassador to the un said russias proposals were designed to give them veto power over the findings and staff of an independent investigation and thus protect syrian leader and russian ally bashar al assad1 us president donald trump cancelled his first trip to latin america to focus on his countrys response which he has warned would be imminent1 french president emmanuel macron said he was consulting with the us and britain and would announce a decision on a military response within days1 at the invitation of syria and russia investigators from the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons opcw were en route to douma on tuesday to collect evidence of whether there was a chemical attack1 the watchdog said it has been analyzing information since the first reports of the alleged use of chemical weapons in the april 7 attack1 it is only responsible for determining whether chemical weapons were used not who used them1 the syrian and russian moves to involve the opcw came hours after trump described saturdays attack in douma as atrocious and warned of some major decisions over the next 24 to 48 hours1 russias veto of a us-drafted attempt in the un security council to establish a new probe to assign blame for chemical attacks in syria was followed by two russian drafts both of which were voted down1 once again its once the facts are established benjamin griveaux said. i cannot tell you today if its a matter of hours or days1 the un failed three times on tuesday to take action over an alleged chemical weapons attack in syria as the us and its allies consider taking military steps1 british prime minister theresa may said she would be speaking to macron and trump on tuesday1 nato secretary general jens stoltenberg condemned the use of chemical weapons in the strongest terms1 this was a horrendous attack which killed dozens of people including many children1 it took place in an area where the syrian regime operates1 it is an area where syria and its allies russia and iran are denying access to international monitors stoltenberg added1 meanwhile pro-government forces were on alert across syria and had evacuated some of their posts in anticipation of possible foreign strikes according to the syrian observatory for human rights a war monitor1 syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons in a russian-brokered deal in 2013 after hundreds of people were killed in a poison gas attack on rebel-held damascus suburbs1 however there have been repeated allegations of government chemical attacks since then including the april 2017 sarin gas attack on the rebel-held town of khan sheikhoun1 days after that attack the us launched dozens of missiles on shayrat airbase in central syria in response1 russia at the time called for an opcw investigation but then rejected the report of the joint un-opcw panel that blamed the government and later used its veto to prevent the panels mandate being extended beyond november1 -
Nigerians now 198m: NPC boss
News & Trends •
he said existing urbanisation trend coupled with internally displaced persons idps in cities pose critical challenges to securing sustainability of our cities including efforts to make them smart and responsive to human influx1 by prudence arobaninew york1 chairman of npc mr eze duruiheoma stated this in new york while delivering nigerias statement on sustainable cities human mobility and international migration at the 51st session of commission on population and development1 duruiheoma said nigeria remains the most populous in africa the seventh globally with an estimated population of over 198 million1 the recent world population prospects predicts that by 2050 nigeria will become the third most populated country in the world1 over the last 50 years the nigerias urban population has grown at an average annual growth rate of more than 6.5 per cent without commensurate increase in social amenities and infrastructure1 it grew substantially from 17.3 in 1967 to 49.4 per cent in 2017. in addition the 2014 world urbanisation prospects report predicts that by 2050 most of the population 70 per cent will be residing in cities1 the 2010 human mobility survey report revealed that 23 per cent of the sampled population were of more females than males1 he said the category of population mostly engaged in urbanisation and migration were young people of teenage and adolescents girls and boys women of child bearing age and the working age population1 the national population commission npc has put nigerias current population at 198 million people with urban population growing at an average annual growth rate of about 6.5 per cent1 the displacement tracking matrix round xxi of january 2018 identified estimated 1.7 million idps in over 321580 households across six states of north-east nigeria with 40 per cent residing in camp-like settings in urban areas plus 1.4 million returnees1 the number of idps represented 4.5 per cent increase compared to the 1702680 identified in round xx dec. 20171 duruiheoma said like in other developing countries nigerian cities hosted wide spread poverty under-employment and unemployment at an average of 18.4 per cent according to the national bureau of statistics 2017 report1 the npc boss bemoaned the insecurity and inadequate and inequitable health care services for adolescents and women of child bearing age1 nigeria continues to commit to solving the challenges of insurgents in the northeast which has induced a high number of internally displaced persons1 we acknowledge that women children and particularly the girl child are often the most vulnerable in these displacements and in this regard we remain focused on the wellbeing of these vulnerable parts of our population.we are committed to providing adequate health care services reducing maternal mortality rebuilding safe schools and empowering our women ensuring no one is left behind in terms of achieving sustainable development1 duruiheoma said these challenges adversely impacted on the quality of life and standards of living of the urban populace1 according to him nigeria stays committed to the twin goals of the habitat agenda adequate shelter for all and the development of sustainable human settlements in an urbanising world. nan1 -
Brazilian judge denies ex-president Lula privileges in prison
News & Trends •
a brazilian judge on tuesday denied former president luiz inacio lula da silva the right to receive a visit from nine regional governors and other politicians in the prison where he is staying in the southern city of curitiba the newspaper folha de sao paulo reported1 judge carolina lebbos pointed to an earlier order from judge sergio moro who issued an arrest warrant for the popular politician and said he could have no prison privileges other than a television set in his cell1 the prison regime allows visits only on wednesdays1 lula arrived at the prison on saturday capping two days of drama over whether or not he would submit to the arrest warrant1 the 72-year-old is to serve a 12-year sentence following his conviction on corruption charges last year1 lulas workers party meanwhile said he remained its candidate in the october 7 presidential elections and announced plans to move its leadership to curitiba1 lulas party comrade dilma rousseff who succeeded him as president from 2011 to 2016 said the party would mobilize lulas supporters to press for his freedom1 there is no plan b for the elections we maintain lulas candidacy rousseff said during a visit to the spanish capital madrid1 hundreds of people were camping outside the prison tuesday in a show of support for lula1 supporters regard the judicial proceedings as a plot to take lula out of the presidential race which he had been expected to easily win while opponents say jailing him boosted brazils fight against impunity.dpanan1 -
New compound that repairs cancer cells found
News & Trends •
biologists from st. petersburg have created a compound that causescancer cells to repair their dna or self-destruct after fatal genome damage occurs1 the efficacy of the new compound is much higher than that of the most powerful drugs developed in the u.s. and europe tass reported quoting alexander garabagiu professor of st. petersburg state technological institute.1 it could be a new step toward more effective and safer chemotherapy1 a large number of cancerous tumours are caused by the breakdown of the p53 gene which is responsible for dna repairand self-destruction in case of fatal genome damage1 this is often caused by the increased activity of a protein called mdm2 which neutralises the molecules of p531 scientists have been trying to create or find a molecule that will neutralise the protein and help cells fight against small mutations and larger breakdowns in dna.1 during their experiments the compound created by russian researchers was able to kill about 40 per cent of cancer cells.1 -
Pope puts caring for migrants, opposing abortion on equal footing
News & Trends •
some catholics consider it a secondary issue compared to the grave bioethical questions1 caring for migrants and the poor is as holy a pursuit as opposing abortion pope francis declared in a major document issued by the vatican on monday morning1 pope francis again cast himself and the mission of the roman catholic church in a more progressive light1 the other harmful ideological error is found in those who find suspect the social engagement of others seeing it as superficial worldly secular materialist communist or populist pope francis wrote in an apostolic exhortation on the subject of holiness1 our defense of the innocent unborn for example needs to be clear firm and passionate. equally sacred however are the lives of the poor those already born the destitute the abandoned1 the popes vision of holiness explicitly highlights migrants whose plight he has sought to elevate to global attention perhaps more than any other issue1 we often hear it said that with respect to relativism and the flaws of our present world the situation of migrants for example is a lesser issue he said1 pushing back against conservative critics within the church who argue that the 81-year-old popes focus on social issues has led him to lose sight of the true doctrine1 that a politician looking for votes might say such a thing is understandable but not a christian he continued adding that welcoming the stranger at the door was fundamental to the faith. this is not a notion invented by some pope or a momentary fad1 the popes 103-page document an apostolic exhortation titled gaudete et exsultate or rejoice and be glad is less authoritative than a papal encyclical but is nevertheless an important teaching pronouncement1 at its outset francis makes clear that it is not meant to be a treatise on holiness but to re-propose the call to holiness in a practical way for our own time1 as he put it elsewhere in the document seeing and acting with mercy that is holiness1 that statement is a distilled expression of francis vision of the church which is consistent with a view articulated by cardinal joseph l. bernardin the archbishop of chicago who died in 1996 and who called for a consistent ethic of life that1 read more athttpswww.nytimes.com20180409worldeuropepope-francis-migrants-abortion.html1 -
Mayor shot dead in Burkina Faso
News & Trends •
gunmen shot and killed the mayor of koutougou commune in burkina fasos northern province of soum on sunday evening local media reported on monday.1 the attackers fled the scene after killing hamidou koundaba outside his home reports said1 the president of burkina faso roch kabore condemned the cowardly and despicable act and offered his condolences to the family of the deceased. xinhuanan1 -
Catholic priest shot dead as unrest continues in Congo
News & Trends •
source63 a catholic priest has been found dead in the congo days after1 father etienne sengiyumvam 28 was found shot in the head hours after he had celebrated a wedding with his parishioners the head of his diocese said1 father etienne sengiyumva was killed sunday by the mai mai nyatura [militia] in kyahemba where he had just celebrated a mass including a baptism and a wedding father gonzague nzabanita head of the goma diocese where the incident occurred said according to1 the mai mai nyatura are an armed group operating in north kivu in eastern dr congo1 the congo has been torn apart by more than 20 years of war exacerbated by ethnic conflicts and land disputes in a bid to control the countrys rich mineral reserves1 last week parish priest of saint paul of karambi and are demanding 500000 for his release1 three other priests assumptionist fathers jean-pierre ndulani edmond kisughi and anselme wasukundi were abduced on october 19 2012 and two more jean-pierre akilimali and charles kipasa on july 17 2017. none of them has been heard from since1 -
NDLEA arrests 25, seizes 122kg of banned drugs
News & Trends •
by ibrahim kado1 the national drugs law enforcement agency ndlea has arrested 25 suspects and seized 122.78kg of banned drugs in gombe since january1 the state commandant of the ndlea mr aliyu adole made the disclosure in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in gombe on monday1 he said that the agency convicted 20 of the suspects and sentenced them to various prison terms while five were still in custody1 within this period we removed 122.78kg drugs from circulation1 in march alone we recovered 92.39kg compared with february when we had 543g he said1 adole called on all stakeholders to join in the fight against drug abuse1 he also called on parents and guardians to advise their children and wards to desist from forming gangs and joining thugs which he said encouraged drug abuse1 i am advising you to talk to your children. if you do not talk to them somebody outside the family will talk to them and it will be dangerous1 politicians have their children in high institutions of learning if you allow your children to follow bad politicians you will be the losers he said nan1 -
Buhari urges APC allow party execs contest at convention
News & Trends •
this the president said would give credence to the right to freedom of association guaranteed by the amended 1999 constitution1 president muhammadu buhari has asked the all progressives congress apc leadership to consider granting waivers to party executives at all levels that may want to contest in its planned elective convention1 buhari had at another nec meeting on march 27 opposed the one-year tenure extension decision beginning from june saying it was illegal and unconstitutional1 the news agency of nigeria nan recalls that the apc nec at its meeting of february 27 approved the extension of the tenure of the chief john odigie-oyegun-led national working committee and the partys other executives by one year starting from june1 he had explained that the decision was causing acrimony within the party with some members not comfortable with the matter dragging the party to court1 this consequently led the partys nwc to constitute a 10-member technical committee to advise its leadership on the issue and the way forward1 i also believe that the current executives should be free to run for elective position in the party if they so wish as permitted by our party constitution1 however considering the provision of article 30 section 1 and subsection 3 of our party constitution which requires any serving officer desirous seeking re-election to resign from office 30 days before the election1 im not sure of the practicality of the present serving officers ability to meet this condition1 accordingly the party may consider granting waivers to party executives at all levels so that they are not disenfranchised in participating in the elections provided this does not violate our rights or our rules he said1 he added that necessary waivers should also be extended to executives at the ward level whose tenures may have elapsed and to any other members wishing to contest1 the president while speaking at the partys national executive committee nec meeting on monday in abuja said this was necessary to forestall disenfranchising some executives1 he therefore directed the partys leadership to issue a statement on the suggested waivers to make room for more participation saying that the must not be ignorant of the task ahead of it1 he thanked members of the technical committee for a job well done within a limited time frame1 it shows the essence of commitment and the ideals of our party with a view to consolidating the party to continue to provide good governance in the overall interest of nigerians buhari said1 he added that in the general interest of the party and based on the technical committee report it is important to focus on how to move the party forward by avoiding actions that were detrimental to its interest1 he said that considering that politics was a game of numbers the party must not be a house divided against itself and must try to appreciate and accommodate differences as far as the law permits1 he maintained that having seen the committees report his position was to ensure that the party towed the part of unity legality cohesion and not that of division1 he stressed that the party must strengthen its internal democracy by organising congresses and convention where election of national executive committee members would be held1 this the president said would automatically end the cases filed by members seeking orders of court compiling the party to hold congresses1 just like our party symbols the broom we stand by strength in unity. let us try to be united in party victory is sure by the grace of god1 he added that the partys members must continue to sanitise nigerias political environment1 he expressed optimism members would conduct themselves without rancor and promote the highest interest of the party and the nation1 -
Buhari should be ruthless with looters Oshiomole
News & Trends •
i think the promise of democracy is that good or bad the people have the right to know and that is the starting point and particularly important1 the former governor of edo mr adams oshiomhole has called on president muhammadu buhari-led federal government to adopt a ruthless measure against alleged looters of the nations treasury1 the former governor noted that it was the right of nigerians to know the level of rot that transpired in former president goodluck jonathans government1 i think that if other nigerians dont understand the power of transparency the right to know the media should uphold that right and defend it1 what was stolen was not from private purse the house that was destroyed was not a private residence1 we are talking of resources which if it is distributed on basis of equality divide by 180 million people you will be a lot richer1 i think my only complaint is that the federal government should be more ruthless because there are lot of people who should be in court who are not there1 when i was still in the office and i said the kind of money they stole was huge in dollars they paid hired writers to ask how i knew1 i have interacted with power vertically and horizontally. i know that we cannot be lamenting today without understanding that the treasury was burgled yesterday1 oshiomhole who disclosed this on sunday in benin described as mindless the stealing by the then peoples democratic party pdp led federal government1 i think the people have the right to know and if any of them think that what has being said is not true they can go to court1 all of them who are involved and those who they are looking for they should put everything in public domain and that is the promise of democracy and it is about you1 just by virtue of being in a winning party they helped themselves so much1 one of the acting chairmen of pdp ahmed makarfi i used to respect him so much i heard him saying that the reason they did not indict diezani was that the money missing and everything that was done goodluck approved1 if president approved the money should it be stolen and not go into the federation account or used for the intended purpose1 jonathan may have immunity against prosecution but he doesnt have power to appropriate what the national assembly have not done1 right now they are now saying the national assembly should not approve the 1 billion the federal government is going to spend on security1 this is a party that spent well above that without going to the national assembly at all1 -
Trump blames Obama, Russia, Iran for Syrian chemical attack
News & Trends •
donald j. trump @realdonaldtrump2 in other tweets trump blamed russian president vladimir putin as well as iran for backing animal assad and allowing the disaster in syria to continue1 in a series of tweets on his twitter handle @realdonaldtrump he said that if former president obama had taken the right action the ongoing disaster in syria would have ended a long time ago1 if president obama had crossed his stated red line in the sand the syrian disaster would have ended long ago animal assad would have been history1 u.s. president donald trump has blamed former president barack obama for the continued crisis in syria and the middle east1 this is even as he has blasted russia and iran for backing syrian president bashar al-assad whom he refers to as an animal1 he wrote many dead including women and children in mindless chemical attack in syria1 area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by syrian army making it completely inaccessible to outside world1 president putin russia and iran are responsible for backing animal assad. big price to pay1 open area immediately for medical help and verification. another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. sick1 many dead including women and children in mindless chemical attack in syria. area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by syrian army making it completely inaccessible to outside world. president putin russia and iran are responsible for backing animal assad. big price1 -
NNPC says financial statemnet up to date
News & Trends •
however the important factor was not to look at the past. we saw an opportunity to challenge the problem and resolved to clear the arrears in the shortest possible time he said1 the nigerian national petroleum corporation nnpc said on sunday that it had updated its outstanding audit of the group financial statements from 2011 to 20161 he quoted mr isiaka abdulrazaq chief financial officergroup executive director finance and accounts nnpc as saying that the presentation of the audited financial statements would help foster better relationship between nnpc and stakeholders1 he said that the presentation would further promote transparency and accountability in the corporation1 ughamadu said that the management inherited a total of 65 unaudited financial statements for nnpc group corporate and its subsidiaries covering 2011 20141 there were undoubtedly challenges that led to the backlog which may have been beyond the control of the previous managements1 nnpc spokesman mr ndu ughamadu said in a statement in abuja that the audited backlog had since been approved by the board of the corporation in line with the laws governing its operations1 he said the corporation management constituted a project steering committee which met weekly with the auditors and relevant stakeholders to identify and isolate key challenges and give them priority attention1 with this approach management achieved the first step of concluding the audit of the 2011 2012 financial positions and presented same to the board in 20161 in recognition of that modest achievement the nnpc board further mandated management to clear the remaining outstanding reports for theperiod 2013 20161 the result today is the delivery and board approval of the audited group financial statements as at dec. 31 2016 he said1 ughamadu said that the managing director nigerian pipeline and storage company mr luke anele would embark on a comprehensive audit of the over 5000 kilometre petroleum products and crude oil pipelines under its watch1 he said the project which had already been approved by the nnpc management would be executed by the national engineering and technical company an upstream subsidiary of the nnpc1 -
Egyptian Nufal begins bike trip to Russia World Cup
News & Trends •
reuters9 a 24 year-old egyptian mohamed ibn nufal nufal has set off from cairos tahrir square for the world cup in russia on a bicycle1 after about 5000 km 3000 miles and 65 days on the road nufal hopes to reach moscow to see egypt make its first appearance in the world cup for 28 years1 nufal plans to get there via jordan bulgaria romania moldova and ukraine. he will fly over syria due to the civil war there and will also give iraq a miss for security reasons1 on his bike nufal has packed spare parts an extra phone batteries and camping gear. in addition to his tent nufal will put up in hostels where he can find them as well as relying on the kindness of strangers for a bed for the night1 it is about the road more than the arrival he told reuters television. if it were just about the world cup i would take a plane. it is a great chance for me to see new things1 a group of cyclists and friends escorted nufal as he started his trip on saturday and he hopes many more will offer him help along the way1 after clinching its world cup spot in october egypt will compete on footballs ultimate stage for the first time since 19901 -
Just In: Buhari leaves for London tomorrow
News & Trends •
president muhammadu buhari will leave abuja tomorrow for an official visit to britain ahead of the opening of the commonwealth heads of government meetings on 18 april1 malam garba shehu senior special assistant on media said president buhari will hold discussions on nigeria british relations with prime minister mrs theresa may1 the president will also meet the chief executive officer of royal dutch plc mr. ben van beurden in connection with shell and other partners plan to invest 15b in nigerias oil industry1 these investment ventures will lay the foundation for the next 20 years in production and domestic gas supply bringing with it all the attendant benefits both to the economy and the wider society1 president buhari during the visit is due to renew discussions with the archbishop of canterbury the most rev. and rt. hon. justin welby a good friend of the president on inter-religious harmony in nigeria and world-wide1 further meetings have also been scheduled for the president to see some prominent british and nigerians residing in britain1 the commonwealth heads of government meetings will begin on 18april and end20thapril 20181 president buhari on sunday returned from daura his home town after a three-day visit. during the time he also paid a condolence visit to the family of the senator mustapha bukar who died last week1 -
Mustapha Bukar: Senators pay condolence visit to Buhari
News & Trends •
president muhammadu buhari saturday in daura thanked senators for their support and solidarity with the people of katsina north senatorial district following the death of senator mustapha bukar who represented the zone1 receiving a delegation led by senator abdullahi adamu in his country home the president commended the legislators for identifying with the government and people of katsina state the daura emirate council and the bukar family in their period of grief1 the president said it was noteworthy that senator bukars colleagues have paid glowing tribute to him as a detribalized leader whose contributions may not beeasily forgotten1 the president prayed that almighty allah will grant the soul of the departed late madaki of daura eternal rest and continue to comfort all who mourn1 the senators who paid a condolence visit to the president were sen. ovie omo-agege sen. ali ndume sen. babajide omoworaresen. adamu abubakar sen. yusuf yusuf sen.hassan adamu sen. abu ibrahim and sen. umaru kurfi1 -
Japanese dad cages son for over 20 years
News & Trends •
a japanese dad who allegedly confined his mentally ill son in a small cage for more than two decades was arrested on saturday in western japan police and news reports said1 police arrested 73-year-old yoshitane yamasaki on suspicion of imprisoning his son now aged 42 at their house in the city of sanda in hyogo prefecture a local police spokesman told afp1 further details of the case were not available as the investigation is still underway the spokesman said1 according to local media reports the son was forced to live inside a wooden cage one metre 3.3 feet high and 1.8 metre wide built in a prefabricated hut next to the main house1 the suspect has reportedly admitted the allegations1 i made my son live in a cage for more than 20 years because he has mental problems and acted up the father earlier told city officials according to public broadcaster nhk1 the father said he fed his son and let him bathe every other day1 the son whose name has been withheld is in a stable condition but is suffering from a bent back nhk said adding that he was sent to a welfare facility1