Taro Daniel wins first ATP title, Tiafoe loses in Estoril
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the 29-year-old sousa ranked 68th in the world needed to call upon his reserves to claim the opening set by saving three break points in the final game1 taro daniel secured his first career atp title with a 7-6 74 6-4 defeat of tunisias malek jaziri in istanbul on sunday.in portugal joao sousa became the first home player to win the estoril open with a 6-4 6-4 defeat of american frances tiafoe1 the thrill of taking that heavyweight scalp his first win over a top 20 player in the atp rankings soon dissipated as he lost four of his next five matches1 but the world number 114 regained his form in turkey this week advancing for the first time to the semi-finals and maintaining his composure to take the title1 i was feeling pretty nervous before the match daniel who was born in new york and trained in spain said1 i was nervous but i told myself im sure hes more nervous than me. so that helped. when i started not badly i started to calm down a bit more1 im obviously pretty surprised that i suddenly won an atp title. but i guess things like this happen1 his moment of glory was not without its anxious moments1 he let slip two match points at 5-3 on the tunisians serve then double faulted on his third match point but sealed the landmark success with a backhand winner down the line at the fourth opportunity to earn the title1 the win is expected to lift him up to number 82 in the latest atp rankings published monday1 in estoril portugal joao sousa had to battle at the end before becoming the first home player to win the estoril open with a 6-4 6-4 defeat of american frances tiafoe on sunday1 the 25-year-old daniel hit the tennis headlines when toppling 12-time grand slam champion novak djokovic at indian wells in march1 serving for victory at 5-2 in the second the portuguese was broken as tiafoe briefly delayed the festivities1 but the local hero came good two games later as he clinched a third career title a feat which quickly got the mainly portuguese crowd into the mood for a mass sing-along chorus of celebration1 this is fantastic its such a special win especially coming at home sousa said. im so proud to win here1 there are no words to describe this emotion the fans were fantastic all week. it was incredible it was a dream come true1 i always wanted to win here in portugal1 the previous portuguese high point at the event came in 2010 when frederico gil played the final losing to albert montanes of spain1 tiafoe realising how much the victory meant to his opponent crossed the net to speak with sousa and congratulate him1 sousa playing in his 10th final also won valencia in 2015 and at kuala lumpur five years ago1 tiafoe 20 was thwarted in his bid to collect a second career title after making his trophy breakthrough in february at delray beach florida1 the world number 64 fell short in the end as he failed to generate the momentum which had kept him in clay contention all week1

Ronaldo suffers ankle sprain in ill-tempered El Clasico
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piques last-ditch attempt had been robust enough to hurt the portugese who stayed down as barca attempted to kick off. ronaldo took treatment but was able temporarily to continue1 cristiano ronaldo suffered an ankle sprain in the ill-tempered el clasico match between real madrid and barcelona at camp nou sunday night1 now real will be hoping their star striker who scored his 450th goal for madrid on sunday can recover in time for the champions league final against liverpool on may 261 zidane meanwhile said the injury may not be a major one quoting ronaldo i dont know how long hell be out. he said it wasnt much but well see tomorrow well do some tests to see the extent of the damage done to his ankle. he was a little worried because it was a bit swollen but he said that its nothing serious1 the match with eight yellow cards and one red card had luis suarez volleying the first goal for barcelona in the 10th minute1 but ronaldo tapped in for madrids equaliser in the 14th minute.a turning point came in the extra-time of the first half when sergi roberto was sent off for appearing to slap real defender marcelo1 with barcelona reduced to 10 men in the second half lionel messi weaved his magic to keep barcelona ahead seven minutes on resumption1 the goal was a brilliant solo effort by messi. but he did not have the last word as gareth bale replied with a sublime sweetly struck equaliser in the 72nd minute1 the draw meant the catalans are now three matches away from becoming the first team ever to finish a 38-game la liga season unbeaten1 andres iniesta overcame or perhaps ignored a niggling calf problem to play his 38th and final clasico while philippe coutinho was picked to start his first. iniesta went off to a standing ovation in the second half1 barca exploded out of the blocks and they were ahead within 10 minutes. suarez swept the ball out to the right where sergi drove forward ignored messis run to the near post and returned the cross deep to suarez. he finished into the bottom corner1 the lead however lasted four minutes. just as suarez initiated his goal so did ronaldo a neat backheel freeing toni kroos who found karim benzema at the back post. the frenchman was cool enough to head back into the six-yard box where ronaldo bundled home1 he suffered the sprain following a challenge by barcelonas gerard pique while tapping in the equaliser for madrid in the first half. he still endured 31 minutes of play before reals coach zinedine zidane substituted him at half-time1 real dictated the rest of the half and ronaldo could twice have given them the lead. his first shot was saved by marc-andre ter stegen the second fired wide of the far post1 in between messi had played in jordi alba with a sumptuous ball over the top but even he lost his cool during five mad minutes at the end of the first period1 suarez felt he had been elbowed by sergio ramos prompting the first round of scuffles before messi was booked for flying into the defender on the touchline1 bale was then lucky not to be sent off for stabbing his studs into samuel umtitis calf and moments later sergi did see red as he threw an arm into the face of marcelo1 the home fans were raging as the half-time whistle blew but with marco asensio on for ronaldo they were celebrating eight minutes after the restart1 suarezs blatant kick on raphael varane went unpunished and from there it was all about messi. he skipped away first from ramos and then casemiro before firing into the bottom corner1 even zidane was smiling on the touchline1 iniesta went off just before the hour and messi could have put barca out of sight soon after. he sped away from varane but his shot was parried away by keylor navas1 real tried to make the most of their one-man advantage but in truth they had been far more assertive 11 against 111 instead their goal in the 72nd minute came out of the blue as bale raced onto asensios pass and whipped the ball first-time into the top corner. it was the welshmans 15th goal in 24 matches this year1 real should have had a late penalty when alba cleared out marcelo but referee alejandro jose hernandez hernandez somehow decided the challenge was clean. it was the final controversy of a surprisingly heated derby1

Handball federation disbands male national team
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speaking on the prudent energy league ocheho said it is a sign of better days to come for handball1 in a bid to return handball to winning ways the president handball federation of nigeria hfn samuel ocheho on sunday in abuja announced the disbandment of the senior male national team1 he said the team was disbanded to enable it start afresh1 what we did after the outing in gabon is to x-ray ourselves and tell ourselves the bitter truth1 from what we have seen in the national team we need to start using younger players we need to go back and start using fresh legs1 this game is very physical and if we need to regain the top stop in africa we must go back to the youths1 this is not to say that some players that went to gabon will not make the new team he added1 ocheho said that the disbandment of the team would also help the federation to instill discipline in the team1 ocheho made the announcement at the end of the first phase of the prudent energy handball league played at the abuja national stadium1 what we have seen here at the first phase of prudent energy handball league is the fact that we are moving forward. greater things are about to happen1 exciting times are there again for handball and from what i have seen with the players referees and coaches i think the future can only be bright1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the league featured 22 teams comprising 12 male and 10 female1 the first phase of the league which began on april 27 ended on sunday with niger united topping the standings with 19 points and a 111 goals difference1 kada stars of kaduna came second while safety shooters were third on the standings1 in the female category safety babes topped the standings with 16 points and a 93 goals difference1 seasiders babes and imo grasshoppers were in second and third positions respectively with 14 points each and 94 goals difference1 nan reports that the second phase of the league will hold in lagos in october1

2019: PDP will present credible presidential candidate Sen. Amori
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amori who spoke on the acceptability of pdp after its 2017 national convention said rebranded pdp still remain an acceptable and embraced party to the citizens2 it is not enough for you to say you will go and start something fresh. it is not easy to start a new party unless you just put the party for the fun of it2 pdp is national party. there is no ward village or unit in this country you will not find pdp meaning that it is a nigerian party2 unless you say you cannot find a credible candidate from across the entire country2 i can tell you that we have more than enough credible candidates or aspirants in pdp for the presidential race2 amori said it was already known that the all progressives congress apc had only one candidate which would be president muhammadu buhari2 pdp has so many aspirants and the best of the aspirants will defeat buhari in 20192 he however alleged that the apc-led government was now doing media trial of pdp aspirants while protecting its apc members who were fingered as corrupt2 apc is a party where only a person who has something to hide goes there and become a saint immediately2 if you look at all the people that left pdp because they were being hunted the moment they join the ruling party they become saints. once you join apc nobody can prosecute you2 amori in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja on sunday said that pdp had credible people that could defeat president muhammadu buhari2 there is no convention without it challenges. the good thing is that pdp was able to surmount all the challenges before during and even after the convention2 the senator said though few candidates in the convention were aggrieved the reconciliation committee chaired by gov. seriake dickson of bayelsa was able to resolve the issues2 apart from prof. tunde adeniran almost every other person that contested with prince uche secondus for chairmanship are back to the pdp. chief bode george gbenga daniel all of them are back to the party2 pdp is getting stronger. this is the beauty of democracy. people disagree and agree again2 amori expressed optimism that prof. jerry gana and adeniran who left the party would soon return2 i believe they should be allowed to exercise their right of association right to enter and to leave. but i believe with time they will come back because they are foundation and senior members of pdp2 he said that both adeniran and gana were senior members who had benefited from the pdp2 amori said it was not good that the duo left just because they could not realise their ambition this time out of so many opportunities they had enjoined in the pdp2 sen. ighoyota amori the political adviser to the peoples democratic party pdp national chairman says that the party has enough credible candidates for the contest of 2019 presidential election1

2019: PDP has credible presidential aspirants Amori
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amori who spoke on the acceptability of pdp after its 2017 national convention said rebranded pdp still remain an acceptable and embraced party to the citizens2 it is not enough for you to say you will go and start something fresh. it is not easy to start a new party unless you just put the party for the fun of it2 pdp is national party. there is no ward village or unit in this country you will not find pdp meaning that it is a nigerian party2 unless you say you cannot find a credible candidate from across the entire country2 i can tell you that we have more than enough credible candidates or aspirants in pdp for the presidential race2 amori said it was already known that the all progressives congress apc had only one candidate which would be president muhammadu buhari2 pdp has so many aspirants and the best of the aspirants will defeat buhari in 20192 he however alleged that the apc-led government was now doing media trial of pdp aspirants while protecting its apc members who were fingered as corrupt2 apc is a party where only a person who has something to hide goes there and become a saint immediately2 if you look at all the people that left pdp because they were being hunted the moment they join the ruling party they become saints. once you join apc nobody can prosecute you2 amori in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja on sunday said that pdp had credible people that could defeat president muhammadu buhari2 there is no convention without it challenges. the good thing is that pdp was able to surmount all the challenges before during and even after the convention2 the senator said though few candidates in the convention were aggrieved the reconciliation committee chaired by gov. seriake dickson of bayelsa was able to resolve the issues2 apart from prof. tunde adeniran almost every other person that contested with prince uche secondus for chairmanship are back to the pdp. chief bode george gbenga daniel all of them are back to the party2 pdp is getting stronger. this is the beauty of democracy. people disagree and agree again2 amori expressed optimism that prof. jerry gana and adeniran who left the party would soon return2 i believe they should be allowed to exercise their right of association right to enter and to leave. but i believe with time they will come back because they are foundation and senior members of pdp2 he said that both adeniran and gana were senior members who had benefited from the pdp2 amori said it was not good that the duo left just because they could not realise their ambition this time out of so many opportunities they had enjoined in the pdp2 sen. ighoyota amori the political adviser to the peoples democratic party pdp national chairman has said that the party has enough credible members for the contest of 2019 presidential election1

I have no plans to dump APC Ortom
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the statement said the governor was appreciative of the efforts being made by president muhammadu buhari in ending the conflicts in the state1 gov. samuel ortom of benue has denied any plan to dump the all progressives congress apc1 it said that the media report on the governors purported plan to leave the apc was false misleading andhandiwork of detractors playing politics with the blood of the people1 we read a report in a national daily of today which named benue state governor samuel ortom as one of the all progressives congress apc leaders planning to defect to another political party1 the report which is obviously sponsored is not only false but also misleading. governor ortom has no intention to leave apc for another party and has not consulted anyone on the matter1 the statement stressed that ortomenjoys cordial working relationship with other leaders of the party both at the local state and national levels1 it said that the main focus of the governor was to deliver greater benefits of democracy to his people including tackling the security challenges confronting them1 there is no cause to warrant his defection to another party the statement stated1 it explained that ortoms stance of seeking justice over the invasion killing and wanton destruction of property by suspected herdsmen was what any good leader ought to do1 the denial is contained in a statement by his chief press secretary mr terver akase issued to newsmen in makurdi1 according to the statement the governor is fully aware that the killings in benue began during the past pdp-led administrations in the state1 it must be noted that the killings predate the apc as a party and the present administration. the governors focus is on solving the problem in collaboration with other stakeholders1 it added fortunately president buhari has responded positively by sending troops and other security operatives to chase away the armed militia from benue communities1 the statement further dismissed insinuations that ortom had fallen out of favour with other leaders of apc in benue including sen. george akume1 the report is aimed at creating acrimony between the governor and the senator1 governor ortom was popularly elected to lead benue state and he has demonstrated uncommon commitment and selflessness in justifying the confidence reposed in him1 he will therefore not be distracted by baseless reports and rumour of defection1 what is of greater concern to the governor now is how to stop the killings in the state and also tackle the humanitarian crisis that displaced nearly 500000 people1 it stated the government was collaborating with the federal government on the rehabilitation and resettlement of the displaced persons1

Chinas ZTE begs US government
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chinese telecom giant zte on bended knees has asked the us government to lift a ban on sales to the company which threatens its survival and has added to trade tensions between washington and beijing1 the telecom equipment and handset maker said in a filing sunday that it has submitted a request to the us commerce department for a stay of the export ban along with supplemental information1 the ban prohibits us companies from selling crucial hardware and software components to the company with one chinese investment bank estimating zte had only one or two months supply of those items on hand1 trading in zte shares in hong kong and shenzhen has been halted since the us announcement last month1 the tough sanctions come as the battle over technology takes centre stage in a us spat with china over trade and industrial policy1 washingtons control of the companys fate has stirred ire and angst in china and reinforced for beijing the need to control all parts of the technological supply chain1 chinese officials asked a high-level us delegation to reconsider the ban during trade talks in beijing last week1 china made solemn representations with the us an official diplomatic protest during the negotiations and secured a pledge from the trade team to relay the concerns to us president donald trump chinas commerce ministry said in a statement friday1

Kenya ratifies African free trade agreement
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at the moment esipisu noted intra-africa trade is estimated to be around 12 per cent which is relatively low compared to other regions of the world1 kenya has ratified the african continental free trade area afcfta agreement and was making arrangements to submit to africa union commission1 state house spokesperson manoah esipisu expressed optimism that the continental trade pact will lead to an accelerated pathway to integration1 he expressed the hope that africa is better off increasing trade with itself1 as you know it was the presidents absolute delight to be in kigali not too long ago joining fellow heads of state in signing the afcfta1 the afcfta will create a single continental market for goods and services with free movement of people goods and services esipisu said1 rwanda and ghana have both already ratified the agreement and now the race is on which country is first to officially submit that ratification1 the instruments are expected to be lodged with the au commission chairperson moussa faki as a sign of kenyas commitment to the economic integration of all the 54 african states1 the countrys parliament ratified the agreement and the government is to submit the signed document to the chairperson of the african union commission in addis ababa ethiopia1 intra-european trade is estimated to be around 60 per cent while that of asia is around 40 per cent1 the establishment of the afcfta is expected to boost intra africa trade to 22 per cent by 2022. all this will provide substantial economic and social gains to kenya he said1 the afcfta will lead to the creation of a wider and expanded african market with a combined population of over 1.2 billion people and a growing middle class as well as a combined gross domestic product of more than us 3.4 trillion1 the african continental population is expected to reach 2 billion by 20501 esipisu pointed out that kenya attaches significant importance to the tripartite free trade area tfta and the afcfta because of the huge market and investment opportunities that they will present to kenya1 the tfta brings together member states of comesa eac and sadc. at the moment kenya exports to africa constitute 40 per cent of total exports the bulk of which are value-added products1 nigeria has yet to ratify the agreement1

Okorocha, Yari update Buhari on ward congresses
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the commands spokesman mr andrew aniamaka said mr jeremiah oghoveta was stabbed to death during the exercise at jeremi ward 3 okwagbe1 president muhammadu buhari on sunday in daura katsina state met behind closed doors with governors rochas okorocha of imo and abdul aziz yari of zamfara1 he posted president muhammadu buhari this evening received chairman of the progressives governorsforum pgf gov. rochas okorocha of imo1 okorocha who spoke to newsmen after the meeting said that he updated the president on the outcome of the ward congresses conducted by the ruling all progressives congress apc across the country1 he frowned at the way some members of the party in some states conducted themselves during the exercise saying the party would check such incidents in future1 okorocha said we expect internal democracy and internal democracy is the way to go. those kind of funny politics that were played must stop where people want to carry ballot boxes steal results looks so primitive1 i intimated mr president and we will make sure that such things must stop1 on the presidents response the governor said he spoke like the president and he will take the necessary steps to correct this in our party apc not just in imo but across the whole nation to make sure that there is respect for internal democracy1 however gov.yari who spoke on the outcome of the ward congresses said the exercise went well in the north west region1 he said you know in a democracy you cannot expect everything to work 100 per cent1 but in our region from the information available to us everything went well in katsina kebbi sokoto zamfara and kano where people expected that there may be a problem the exercise was successful1 but anybody that has complain there is a committee set up by the national executive of the party they should take their complains there so that they will be attended to. the news agency of nigeria nan observed that mixed reactions characterized the outcome of the apc ward congresses across the country.1 in delta the exercise was bloody as the police command in the state confirmed that a chairmanship candidate died in the apc ward congresses in ughelli south local government area lga of the state1 the presidents personal assistant on new media alhaji bashir ahmad confirmed this development on his twitter handle on sunday1 the ward congresses in adamawa and oyo states were conducted on may 6 as against may 5 following political misunderstandings among top apc members and stakeholders in the states1 in adamawa mixed reactions characterized the conduct of the ward congresses on sunday1 while the secretary to the government of the federation sgf mr boss mustafa said the exercise was smooth and hitch free mallam nuhu ribadu said the exercise was not conducted in his ward of bako in yola1 mustafa participated in the exercise in his ward at gwadabawa in jimeta area of yola1 nan also reported that a faction of the apc in kebbi state had staged a peaceful protest to the party secretariat in birnin kebbi against consensus arrangement during the saturday congress held across 225 wards in the state1 the protesters were seen carrying placards with different inscriptions like kebbi apc congress no consensus we need true party congress not consensuswe say no to injustice1 the leader of the aggrieved members adamu gulma told journalists at the apc secretariat that what happened in kebbi state is not congress but government and major apc stakeholders hijacked the event to their advantage1 however the all progressives congress apc ondo state chapter had commended the peaceful conduct of ward congress held across 203 wards of the state on saturday1 mr abayomi adesanya the spokesman of the party in the state told nan that the reports he got from various wards were good1 nan also observed that the ward congresses were successfully conducted in many states of the federation including lagos kaduna gombe ogun oyo nasarawa plateau taraba borno yobe and others1 meanwhile the party had on sunday called on its members that may have been aggrieved following the conduct of its saturday ward congress across the country to seek redress in its appeal panel1 malam bolaji abudulahi the partys national publicity secretary made the call in a statement in abuja1 he however congratulated all members of the party saying that the conduct of the congress was generally peaceful1

Trumps CIA nominee seeks withdrawal over torture allegations
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us president donald trumps choice to be the next head of the central intelligence agency cia has sought to withdraw her nomination it was reported late sunday1 gina haspel told the white house onfriday that she was interested in stepping aside from the nomination if it would damage her and the agencys reputations according to the washington post1 haspel was due to be confirmed to the role of director by the senate on wednesday but was called to the white house before the weekend over questions about her involvement in the cias controversial interrogation programme anonymous administration sources told the post1 the 61-year-old played a role in the alleged torture of suspected terrorist detainees as a clandestine cia officer following the september 11 2001 attacks1 fridays meeting was followed by another with haspel at cia headquarters where she reportedly met for several hours with senior white house staff including legislative affairs boss marc short and press secretary sarah huckabee sanders1 trump then phoned the staffers to push for haspel to remain as nominee the posts sources said. by saturday she had reportedly agreed to continue with the nomination1 in 2002 haspel ran a so-called cia black site or secret detention centre which allegedly tortured two suspected al-qaeda terrorists1 haspel became deputy director of the agency in 2017 and was named last tuesday as the replacement for mike pompeo who was made secretary of state1 her nomination has come in for criticism even from republicans with senator john mccain having said she needed to explain her involvement in one of the darkest chapters in american history.dpanan1

Don develops 2 anti-malaria drugs in ABU
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we would redouble our efforts to develop as many drugs as possible he said1 prof umar katsayel of the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences of the ahmadu bello university abu zaria has developed two anti-malaria drugs that can compete with other relevant drugs in the treatment of malaria. parasites1 he said that the drugs were developed from the roots of cissampelous mucronat plant and the stem-bark of plumeria rubra plant adding they are common herbs found around the vicinity1 he said the drugs were subjected to various laboratory examinations to determine their efficacy and toxicity before consumption1 we would soon make the drugs public after satisfying the obvious certification process with the relevant regulatory bodies the don said1 he said that the development of the drugs was a product of years of hard academic researches and investigations1 katsayel disclosed this in an interview with the news agency of nigeri nan in sandmu near daura on monday1 katsayel commended the management of the university for giving him the enabling environment to achieve the feat1 he urged fellow academics to intensify efforts on research so as to fast track the socio-economic development of the nation. 1 he said gone were the days when the nation would solely dependent on foreign countries especially for disease discovery and development of drugs1 he lauded the efforts of the federal government at promoting academic research and investigations1 katsayel is also a former member of the federal house of representatives who represented the sandamu maiadua and daura federal constituency1

Too early to impeach presidents in Nigeria Gowon
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gowon spoke against the backdrop of the submission of a report on motion for the impeachment of president muhammadu buhari over the purchase of 496 million tucano aircrafts without legislators approval1 it is too early to start impeaching presidents in nigeria former head of state gen. yakubu gowon retd has warned those plotting president muhamamadu buharis impeachment1 he told members of the northern leaders and stakeholders assembly nlsa who paid him a courtesy visit on thursday that disagreements are vital components of democracy1 there is no president that will not get impeached because of interest groups1 cautioning against the plot gowon explained that disagreements remained hallmarks of democracy and such be settled amicably1 impeachment is not necessary the option to disagreement 1 the plot to impeach president muhammadu buhari would not augur well for nigerias democracy he said1 he called on the different groups in the north to come together to project a common front adding that too many groups could send wrong signals to other parts of the country1 we need to come together as a people1 the arewa consultative forum northern elders forum and the northern leaders and stakeholders assembly should come together or we would end up polarising the north1 alhaji tanko yakassai the chairman of the forum and former presidential adviser in his remarks said the group was committed to sustainable peace and harmonious co-existence of all ethnic nationalities1 gowon is the former head of state of nigeria from 1966 to 1975. he took power after one military coup dtat and was overthrown in another coup1 he prosecuted the civil war from 1967 to 1970 and reunited nigeria1

Count us out of underage voting in Kano, says INEC boss
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by emmanuel oloniruha8 the logistics and arrangements for doing so cannot be accommodated before the 2019 general elections1 inec chairman prof. mahmood yakubu disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the commissions investigation committee report on the alleged participation of underage persons in the election1 inec on feb. 21 set up an investigation committee chaired by a national commissioner mr abubakar nahuche1 the committee was to look into the allegations that underage persons voting in the election using the register of voters given to the kano state independent electoral commission kansiec by inec as prescribed by law1 yakubu said though the commission did not receive any formal complaint on the matter the committee was set up to address concerns that could create doubt about voter register in preparations for 2019 general elections1 the chairman said that the committee had since submitted its report while inec carefully considered and accepted its finding and recommendations1 base on its terms and reference there are four key points in the findings and recommendations of the committee which may be summarised as follows1 kansiec requested for and received from inec the kano state register of voters for the elections1 the register was produced for use for the elections. however the register was only sighted in a few polling units. in other words the register was not used in most of the polling units1 in fact accreditation using the permanent voter cards pvcs largely did not take place1 given that the register was substantially not used to accredit voter before voting1 it is logical to conclude that if underage voting occurred in the election it was not due to any presence of underage registrants on the register of voters1 however after examining some of the images in circulation the committee found that they have been available long before the kano local government elections1 the few images and video clips from kano show no accreditation of voters or any relationship with the register of voters1 yakubu added that the committee also recommended that there was need and ample room for collaboration between inec and all stakeholders to continue to update and improve the national register of voters1 the independent national electoral commission inec on friday in abuja said its voter register was not substantially used for the feb. 10 kano state local government election where underaged voting allegedly occurred1 it also recommended that inec should work with the state independent electoral commissions siecs to ensure continuous improvements in the quality of all elections conducted in nigeria1 he said since 2011 general elections the commission had been updating the register in accordance with the law saying the current commission believed that it inherited a register that met a high standard of biometric registration1 let me reiterate that this commission is convinced that we now have a dependable register even if it is not perfect1 we believe that it is a huge national asset easily the largest database of nigerians in existence today containing over 70 million entries of names addresses photographs ten fingerprints telephone numbers etc1 yakubu implored all nigerians to see the register as national asset and work with the commission to continue to improve it considering that there were few if any perfect voters roll anywhere1 yakubu also listed some of the efforts by inec to continue to update the register and remove ineligible entries from it including presentation of the copies of the register to political parties1 only recently on feb. 28 we gave each of the 68 political parties a copy of the register containing names of the 3.9 million new voters registered in 20171 we urged them to use the register not only to reach out to voters but also to check whether there are ineligible persons on the list and draw the attention of the commission to them1 unfortunately since this commission was inaugurated in 2015 there has not been a single report from any political party of ineligible voters on the register1 yakubu noted that inec had also been working with the nigerian immigration service to eliminate aliens from the register by confiscating pvcs from aliens who were not entitled to vote1 he pledged that inec would continue to collaborate with the forum of state independent electoral commissions of nigeria forsiecon toward establishing robust pathways to improving the quality of all elections conducted in nigeria1 as we have consistently promised nigerians as a commission we shall continue to be open to criticisms accept shortcomings and take bold corrective steps whenever necessary1 fielding questions from newsmen yakubu said that the commission spent little over n100 million for the failed recall of sen. dino melaye representing kogi west senatorial district1 the substantial part of it went to the payment of ad-hoc staff and logistics. he also disclosed that the commission was not creating new polling units ahead of the 2019 general elections as there was no time to do so1 this according to him was important to eliminate all ineligible registrants from it including dead persons aliens and underage registrants1

Court orders Police return Melaye to National Hospital
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a kogi state high court lokoja has given an interim order that senator dino melaye representing kogi west senatorial district in the national assembly be moved to the national hospital abuja for further treatment1 justice nasir ajanah gave the order on friday after the senators lawyer mike ezekhome san sought for his bail1 on thursday police stretchered melaye before a senior magistrates court and charged him with supplying illegal arms to two suspectsto commit various crimes in the state1 in abuja on wednesday the embattled senator was charged with causing damage to government property attempted suicide and escape from lawful custody1 his lawyer argued by virtue of section 97 of the penal code the offence is bailable.but chief magistrate suleiman abdulahi denied the bail application and ruled that melaye would remain in police custody for the next 39 days1 the case was then adjourned until june 11 20181 police melaye had taken possession of melaye since he was recovered from a private hospital in abuja after he jumped out of a moving police vehicle on april 24 while being conveyed to lokoja kogi state for trial1 the police then moved him to the national hospital from where the police said he was discharged on wednesday for the first trial in abuja1

Hand washing: Toyin Saraki partners WHO to take campaign to schools
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pregnant women and newborns are thereby placed in huge danger and at risk of sepsis which is a leading cause of death in hospitals1 in a bid to curb the transmission of preventable diseases the wellbeing foundation africa is to partner the world health organisation who to take hand washing campaigns across nigeria and africa1 saraki the devex global health champion was received by dr wondi alemu whos representative and head of mission in nigeria1 the launch of wbfas campaign follows the un secretary generals call to action on wash in healthcare facilities in march and coincides with the whos save lives clean your hands campaign day which takes place on 5th may each year1 the 5th of may is also international day of the midwife with the theme this year being midwives leading the way with quality care1 speaking at the event she said that her foundation had recognized that many diseases could be prevented if people take to hand washing1 she insisted that the amount of time and resources spent on curing diseases could rather be used for advocacy for hand washing so that the diseases are prevented before they occur1 she disclosed that her foundation is gong to commission a team of young hand washing advocates that will take the campaign to schools across nigeria1 we will be inaugurating a team of young nigerians as hand washing advocates so that they can go to schools to sensitise many on the importance of hand washing1 our midwives will also take the same campaign to hospitals and primary health centres to educate mother on the importance of hand washing1 in the next one year we can measure the impact of the campaign. washing your hand with clean water prevents diseases1 here in nigeria the who found that 29 per cent of healthcare facilities do not have access to safe water and toilets whilst a wateraid survey revealed that half of primary health facilities do not have hand washing facilities in delivery rooms1 mrs toyin saraki founder-president of the foundation disclosed this when she led a team on a courtesy visit the abuja office of the who mission in nigeria1 as the founder-president of the wbfa i work with our midwives to ensure that mother and baby are safe from birth through to age1 without adequate wash facilities however midwives all over the world are unable to safely carry out their crucial work and to lead the way with quality care1 our target is for the 198 million nigerians to be saying wash she said1 is his remark the who country representative wondi alemu said that the who was really impressed by the many interventions by the wellbeing foundation1 he said that the activities if the foundation going beyond just health care and hygiene to general wellbeing adding that he is particularly impressed by the foundation1 he commended the foundation for the new campaign saying that with good strategies the impact of hand washing could be tremendous1 this is a very impressive foundation i am impressed the way you have expressed it and also eager to implement it1 the choice of the target is good and we believe that if we manage to reduce the infection transmission we will definitely bring down the way infections are acquired1 i will like to assure you that who not only the country office but the whole who is supporting this mission1 personally i have interacted with director of who whom you are one of her advisers and i can assure you that the who will be supporting your foundation1 we have all reasons to back you up personally i commit myself to this foundation to make sure that i and my colleagues support you in the areas where you want us to engage he said1

Plot to kill UK PM May: Man pleads not guilty
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a man accused of plotting to kill british prime minister theresa may pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges in a london court on friday1 naaimur rahman is accused of planning to detonate an explosive device at the gates of downing street to gain access to mays office and kill her in the ensuing chaos1 he appeared by video link at londons old bailey central criminal court ahead of his trial which is due to start in june1 rahman has been accused of conducting reconnaissance on downing street and planning to use a bag fitted with an explosive device in preparations for committing attacks against persons in the united kingdom according to a charge sheet1 rahman who was arrested in november is also accused of helping another man mohammad imran to join the islamic state militant group by recording and sending him a sponsorship video1 imran pleaded not guilty on friday to a charge of planning to travel to libya to join islamic state possessing the video made by rahman conducting research into travel options and having terrorist publications1 rahman from north london has said he is british-bangladeshi while imran has said he is british1

N5m bounty on 4 Offa robbery suspects (Photos)
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the nigerian police today declared wanted four of the gangsters who participated in the bloody bank robbery incidents in offa on 4 april releasing simultaneously their photographs while in action1 the images provided were the clearest since the incident exactly a month ago1 the police said the kwara state government has also promised a n5 million bounty for information about the suspects and they listed the hotlines to be contacted as 08062080913 081262852680803236512207056792065080884501521 it was the latest update provided by the police following the arrest of 20 principal suspects earlier and the recovery of two beretta pistols bullets phones and sim cards of some of the victims1 all the suspects are cooperating with the police in the investigation into the incident. currently some of the other gang leaders and principal suspects at large are being identified and their pictures obtained for further investigation assistant commissioner of police moshood jimoh said1 police asked for public help to apprehend the gangsters still at large and said they have also been placed on interpol watch list and red alert1 other sister security and safety agencies are equally implored to arrest them and hand over to the nearest police station or formation across the country or avail the police with any information they may have or come across about these suspects moshood said1

Yahaya Bello now CP of Nasarawa State
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by isaac ukpoju2 mr yahaya bello the new commissioner of police in nasarawa state assumed office on friday according to the commands police relations officer mr kennedy idirisu1 idirisu told newsmen on friday in lafia that the new commissioner who replaced mr bello ahmed was commissioner in charge of election planning and monitoring at the force headquarters abuja before his deployment1 he said that bellos predecessor bello ahmed had been deployed to the ekiti state command1 idirisu said that the police boss joined the force in 1984 and had previously served as acp criminal intelligence and investigation department ciid in edo kaduna and panti lagos states respectively1

NAPTIP bursts human trafficking gang in Gwagwalada, FCT
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one of the victims who gave her name as rokibat 22 from oyo state told nan that her aunt in saudi arabia told her mother to bring her to saudi through abdulsalam to be engaged in housemaid job1 by mustapha sumaila1 naptips assistant director of intelligence investigation and monitoring ms tina ugwu told nan after the operation that abdulsalam had been on naptips watch list and that he usually brought girls from various states to abuja before sending them to saudi arabia1 ugwu said that the hotel used by the syndicateamazonia guest house at dagri in gwagwalada fct had been sealed up while the manager of the lodge was nabbed1 from our findings abdulsalam is a major recruiter of young girls to saudi arabia and dubai because he has been on our osun states office watch list1 the investigation is still ongoing we will study all the things we recovered from the hotel and then charge the suspects to court she said1 the national agency for the prohibition of trafficking in persons naptip on friday arrested one hafeez abdulsalam a suspected trafficker in the south-west who specialises in trafficking young girls to saudi arabia1 she explained that she met with abdulsalam in osogbo who took her to a hospital for medical checkup in preparation for the journey before she was brought to abuja1 another victim rodiya 23 from lagos state told nan that abdulsalam who is a family friend allegedly promised to take her to saudi arabia to earn a living since she was not doing anything1 rodiya explained that abdulsalam took her to a hospital in osogbo for medical test and then brought her to abuja to process her international passport for the journey to the kingdom of saudi arabia1 another victim from kwara told nan that her older sister introduced her to abdulsalam1 the arrested suspect abdulsalam who also spoke to nan claimed that the company he worked for known as western royal manpower solution was legal and registered company known to federal government1 the suspected trafficker declined further comments as 13 women suspected to be victims of human trafficking were rescued1

How air pollution causes 7m deaths annually WHO
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other diseases are chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and respiratory infections including pneumonia1 the world health organisation who says an estimated seven million people worldwide die every year from outdoor and household air pollution1 it said that ambient air pollution alone caused 4.2 million deaths in 2016 while household air pollution from cooking with polluting fuels and technologies caused an estimated 3.8 million deaths the same year1 7 million people die every year from both outdoor and household1 who @who1 who said that new data from the organisation showed that air pollution levels remained dangerously high in many parts of the world as nine out of 10 people still breath air containing high levels of pollutant1 it said that the poorest and most marginalised people bore the brunt of this burden1 it said that this was because air pollution-related deaths occurred in low and middle income countries in asia africa and middle income countries of the eastern mediterranean region europe and americas1 new who data 9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air1 who estimates that around seven million people die every year from exposure to fine particles in polluted air that penetrates deep into the lungs and cardiovascular system causing diseases such as stroke heart disease and lung cancer1 the organisation revealed on its twitter handle @who on thursday1 around three billion people more than 40 per cent of the worlds population still do not have access to clean cooking fuels and technologies in their homes which is the main source of household air pollution1 who has been monitoring household air pollution for more than a decade and while the rates of access to clean fuels and technologies is increasing everywhere improvements are not keeping pace with population growth in many parts of the world particularly in sub-saharan africa who said1 it quoted who director-general dr tedros ghebreyesus as saying it is unacceptable that over three billion people more of whom are women and children are still breathing deadly smoke every day from using polluting stoves and fuels in their homes1 if we do not take action on air pollution we will never come close to achieving sustainable development1 the organisation said it recognised that air pollution was a critical risk factor for non-communicable diseases ncds which caused an estimated 24 per cent of all adult deaths from heart disease 25 per cent stroke 43 per cent chronic pulmonary disease and 29 per cent lung cancer1 who said that more than 4300 cities in 108 countries were now included in its ambient air quality database which collects annual mean concentrations of fine particulate matter pm such as sulfate nitrates and black carbon1 it said that these pollutants posed the greatest risk to human health and called on countries to reduce their air pollution to annual mean values of 20 ugm3 for pm10 and 10 ugm3 for pm251 more countries are measuring and taking action to reduce than ever before. we need to work together to improve air quality1 who also called on countries to work together on solutions for sustainable transport more efficient and renewable energy production and use and waste management1