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    0_1536506272620_toddler survives.jpg

    A 22-month-old girl miraculously survived 88 hours in the wild without food and water before she was found on Friday in mountainous area in Yulin, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

    Nicknamed Xiaojiao, the girl went out to play together with her 6-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister while their father, Chen Qingran, was running an errand away from home in a village nestling in mountains in the afternoon on Aug 27.

    It did not occur to Chen that the youngest one of his six children had not come back home until he began serving dinner to his children that day.

    After searching for his daughter, Chen reported her as missing to police the next afternoon.

    The police, along with police dogs and drones, launched the search operation immediately.

    "We searched each and every corner of the village, even the cesspool," a police officer said. The rain made the operation harder.

    As the search continued into fourth day, a vital clue was provided to the police. Huang Guanglin, a villager, said he heard a faint sound of a child on a hillside.

    Chen and police rushed to the scene and found Xiaojiao lying on the grass, pale and weak with insect bites and stings on her feet. But fortunately, she was alive without any major injury.

    The girl was immediately sent to hospital. The doctors said the girl survived the ordeal by saving her energy by lying on the ground and drinking rainwater.

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    Naomi Osaka thrashes tearful Williams to clinch New York Crown
    Japanese Star Naomi Osaka trounced her idol, Serena Williams to lift her first Grand Slam in New York, winning 6-2 6-4.

    Her victory, the second over Williams, denied the American her dreamrecord-equalling 24th Grand Slam, that would have put her on the same pedestal with Australian Margaret Court.

    The match was marred by rantings by Serena after the umpire Carlos Ramos, warned her about a non verbal message passed to her by her French Coach Patrick Mouratoglou. He also warned her about her misbehaviour, smashing her racket.

    But Serena was unhinged thereafter, shouting expletives on the umpire, who imposed the sanction of awarding one game penalty to her opponent. This took Naomi 5-3 in the second set.

    The sanction brought out tearful emotions from Serena. US Open officials could not help her and after gathering herself, Serena held her game to reduce the score to 5-4.

    Thereafter, she sank on her seat crying during the short break before Naomi served for the match to win her firstrecord Grand Slam as a Japanese player.

    She also picked the $3.8 million winners cheque.

    Osaka and Williams had played against each other once before, at Miami in March, and it was the Japanese upstart who used her formidable power to topple her idol in straight sets.

    She repeated the same feat on Saturday night. But more important for her was that she had lived a dream.

    Even when I was a little kid, I always dreamed that I would play Serena in a final of a Grand Slam. Just the fact that its happening, Im very happy about it, Osaka said after her semi-final win over 2017 runner-up Madison Keys.

    Source: NAN

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    Jack Ma says not quitting yet only unveiling succession plan
    Alibaba co-founder and chairman Jack Ma will not step aside on Monday as widely reported, he will only unveil a succession plan, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday.

    The SCMP, which is owned by Alibaba, said Chinas most famous tech billionaire will unveil a succession strategy on Monday his 54th birthday but remain the companys executive chairman for the foreseeable future.

    The New York Times ran an article on Friday, based on an interview with Ma, saying the former teacher turned billionaire planned to use his birthday to announce his retirement as chairman of Alibaba to focus on philanthropy.

    The paper quoted Ma as saying the decision was the beginning of an era.

    But an Alibaba spokesman told the SCMP that the New York Times story was taken out of context, and factually wrong.

    An Alibaba spokesman said Ma remains the companys executive chairman and will provide transition plans over a significant period of time, the SCMP wrote.

    The paper added that the Monday succession strategy was part of a plan for grooming a generation of younger executives to take over the reins of the company.

    Eileen Murphy, a spokesperson for the New York Times, said the newspaper stood by its story.

    Ma was an English teacher before starting Alibaba in 1999 and built it into a multibillion-dollar internet colossus, becoming one of the worlds richest men and a revered figure in his homeland.

    His own worth has soared along with that of the company, which has added cloud computing, films and e-payments to its growing portfolio and was valued at $420.8 billion when the stock market closed on Friday.

    The New York Times report surprised many in the global business community because of Mas comparative youth, especially in China where it is not unusual for tycoons to remain in place into their eighties.

    Alibaba did not return requests for comment on Saturday after the story ran.

    Ma gave up the title of Alibaba CEO in 2013 but remains a pivotal figure within the company as well as its most recognisable face.

    In an interview with Bloomberg TV released on Friday, Ma hinted at his retirement plans, saying he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, one of the worlds most prolific philanthropists.

    Theres a lot of things I can learn from Bill Gates. I can never be as rich, but one thing I can do better is to retire earlier, he said.

    The SCMP report ran quotes from Ma himself, but they did not address when exactly he would retire. Ma said he met with company executives 10 years ago to work out what Alibaba would do without me.

    Anybody who knows me knows I embrace the future. This is not about retiring, stepping away, or backing off. This is a systematic plan, the paper quoted Ma as saying.

    The SCMP said Ma would be in Russia next week for Alibaba business meetings as well as an upcoming trip to South Africa and a planned speech at the companys investor day in mid-September.

    Source: NAN

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    Atiku woos another presidential aspirant
    Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, one of the numerous presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken his campaign to another aspirant, Sen. Ahmad Makarki.

    Abubakar was Nigerias former Vice President on the platform of PDP from 1999-2007 and Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna state was also the immediate past National Chairman of PDP.

    Abubakar, on Saturday visited Makarfi, at his residence in Kaduna to seek blessings of the PDP chieftain ahead of the partys presidential primary for the 2019 general elections.

    Atiku said the visit was aimed at seeking the support of Makarfi, who is also a presidential aspirant, as the party struggles to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He described the APC government as a total failure and therefore, said the party must not be allowed to continue in office in 2019.

    Atiku said he was willing to support any other candidate of the party that emerged through a credible process, if he loses in the presidential primary.

    On his part, Makarfi said both himself and Atiku Abubakar were eminently qualified for the countrys number one seat, adding that his presidential ambition was not a do or die affair.

    In attendance at the meeting was the Director General of the Atiku Campaign Organization and former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, as well as close associates of Senator Makarfi. ()

    Other aspirants that Abubakar would have to contend with on the platform of PDP are the Senate President, Bukola Saraki; his predecessor, David Mark; Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal; Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo; a former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso; a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido.

    Others are a former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa; a former governor of Plateau State, David Jang; a former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki; a former Kaduna North senator, Datti Baba-Ahmed; and former senate President David Mark, the latest to join the race.

    Source: NAN

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    Mo Farah wins 5th consecutive Great North Run
    Mo Farah delivered a dominant performance to claim a record fifth victory in the Great North Run on Sunday in the latest step in his bid to win a major marathon.

    The British runner led from the front to cross the line in 59min 26sec, just four seconds short of the personal best he set in winning his second title in 2015.

    It was also his fifth consecutive win in the race.

    Farah shrugged off New Zealands Jake Robertson in the final section of the race in Newcastle as he set himself up in style for his attempt to win his first major marathon crown in Chicago next month.

    Trainings different now as Im not in the track season. Ive been doing a lot more long runs and in terms of endurance Im definitely fitter, four-time Olympic champion Farah told the BBC.

    Just coming into that headwind it was so tough, I wasnt going smooth, I was going up and down. I honestly thought I could beat my personal best today, but those last two miles really hurt.

    Favourite Vivian Cheruiyot saw off fellow Kenyan Brigid Kosgei to win her second womens title in 67:43.

    Source: NAN

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    Phone addition causes poor performance

    The addiction to mobile phone from early age could lead to poor academic performance, skiving of class, sleep disturbances and mental problems in more serious cases, a medical doctor in Kano State, Dr Tijjani Haruna, has said.

    Haruna, who is working with the Mohammed Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, Kano, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Sunday that the trend could make users prone to obesity, lack of concentration and other diseases.

    He said that schools and the family have an important role to play in checking the ugly trend by preventing children from using mobile phones from childhood, before they become addicted to it.

    Some parents in Kano have also expressed concern over the addiction of youths in the use of smart phones, describing the menace as disturbing and dangerous to their health.

    Malam Ali Sadiq, a parent, lamented that most of the youths who are in the age bracket of 18 to 35 years are addicted to smart phones, while few of them who are outside of this age bracket are also in the habit of using mobile phones anywhere they find themselves.

    Sadiq appealed to parents and other stakeholders in the state to educate their children on the dangers associated with persistent use of cell phones.

    Another parent, Mrs Maimuna Bala, also expressed dismay over phone addition and cautioned that it caused serious distraction.

    Many parents are out of touch with the dangers faced by their children on tablets and smart phones, she said.

    Mr Gabriel Adekoya, another parent, also said: Our youths nowadays are always glued to their phones, tapping away on WhatsApp, posting selfies or scrolling YouTube for the latest videos, some of them hardly relate directly with real people around them because of addiction.

    Mr Abass Yusuf, an Electronics engineer in the city, said that one could hardly see young people without smart phones.

    The most annoying thing is people over concentrate by surfing through their smart phones while at places of work, eateries or places of worship, Yusuf said.

    However, Dr Arikawe Adeolu, a Medical Practitioner, Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, advised Nigerians to develop good phone hygiene as the device had the capacity to hold millions of micro-organism.

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    Air passengers hit 3.7m in 2Q

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that 3.65 million air passengers traveled through Nigerian airports in the second quarter of 2018 as against 3.84 million recorded in the first quarter.

    The NBS disclosed this in its Air Transport Data (Q1 and Q2 2018) report posted in its website.

    The bureau said the figure declined by 33.51 per cent year-on-year and increased by 15.24 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

    The report said there was a consequent 4.9 per cent decline in passengers for the second quarter when compared to the preceding quarter.

    The report said the total aircraft traffic declined year-on-year for both the first quarter (1.48per cent) and second quarter (10.17per cent) when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2017.

    In the first half of 2018, aircraft traffic totaled 96,659, a 5.9 per cent decline from total aircraft recorded in the same period last year, it stated.

    The bureau said there was a significant year-on-year decline in air cargo traffic via Lagos for both the first quarter (49.8 per cent) and second quarter (65.4 per cent).

    This, the NBS said led to an overall year-on-year decline of 37.8 per cent for the first half of the year.

    It said that a growth of 25.6 per cent was, however, recorded between the second quarter and the preceding quarter.

    According to the bureau, a 34.2 per cent increase in total mail traffic was recorded in the first half of the year when compared to the same period in 2017.

    Total mail traffic for the first half of 2018 increased from 14,779,558 KG in half year 2017, to 19,831,650 KG in half year 2018, a 34.2per cent growth between the stated periods.

    Total mail for first quarter was recorded at 8,313,112 KG and grew by 38.56 per cent to 11,518,538 KG in the second quarter.(NAN)

    Source: NAN

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    Speaker lampoons Niger Delta legislators

    The Speaker Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr Konbowei Benson, has lampooned legislators from Niger Delta and described them as ineffective.

    He said that the neglect of the Niger Delta region by successive administrations was due to the ineffective representation by legislators from the region.

    Benson, a two-term speaker in the state assembly, said on Sunday when he spoke with newsmen at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Yenagoa.

    The speaker had on Thursday picked a nomination form to vie for the House of Representatives seat for Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency.

    He noted that Southern Ijaw, despite being one of the top most local governments producing wealth for the country, has yet to have access road, electricity, hospital and other basic amenities.

    The speaker added that these were reasons he was aspiring to the National Assembly to attract Federal Government presence to the area.

    As at now, there are many things we are still lacking, despite our contributions to economic development of Nigeria.

    We have no road connecting Southern Ijaw to other places in the state; no power supply, we are not connected to the national grid; we have no good hospital.

    Nothing to write home about and those are the things that moved me to aspire to represent the area in the House of Representatives.

    So, I will use my experience in legislation which span more than 12 years to attract development to my area, he said.

    He decried the continued neglect of Southern Ijaw and other Niger Delta communities, which, he said, had nothing to show for producing most of the wealth for the nation.

    Benson said that with good representatives at the National Assembly, they can attract Federal Government presence to the area.

    How can we produce so much but have nothing to show? Its pathetic; a big oil producing local government like Southern Ijaw cannot boast of a road, even functional hospitals.

    Someone will spend four or five hours in the water before getting to Yenagoa; by the grace of God, when we get there, we will be able to argue our way out.

    Niger Delta and Southern Ijaw have to be carried along; our people have been neglected for long; that is why we need quality people at the National Assembly, people who will bring development to the deprived areas, the speaker said. (NAN)

    Source: NAN

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    The identity of late Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu to the Igbo people, has propelled the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), to endorse Mrs Bianca Ojukwus bid to contest the Anambra South Senatorial election in 2019.

    Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, Leader of MASSOB, made the endorsement when Bianca, wife of late Dim Ojukwu and Dr Godwin Maduka, billionaire US-based Nigerian surgeon, visited Ojukwu Memorial Library Owerri on Sunday.

    He said that he supports Bianca because her late husband meant everything to the identity of the Igbo people and was his bosom friend and mentor, who struggled for the emancipation of Ndigbo.

    Uwazuruike, who also doubles as the leader of Biafra Independence Movement, said that though he was not from Anambra Senatorial District, but that he would deplore tools available to him to ensure Bianca emerged victorious.

    Bianca already has the backing of more than 15 Igbo billionaires for her 2019 senatorial project, and I make bold to say that she has my full support and we call on Anambra people to look back on our history and support her, Uwazuruike appealed.

    Mrs Ojukwu had recently declared to vie for the senatorial seat on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), a party which her late husband founded in 2003.

    Mrs Ojukwu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that she commended Uwazuruikes zeal and interest in engraving the name of her husband and Ndigbo in the sands of time.

    When Uwazuruike started this Ojukwu Memorial Library project after the death of my husband, it was like a bourgeois dream, but the project today is almost completed, she said.

    Although Bianca said that her visit to the project site had no significance to her political ambition, she however, described her visit as home coming.

    NAN reports that the Ojukwu Memorial Library complex has 2,000 capacity auditorium and E-library which on completion would serve as meeting place for discussion on Igbo historical heritage and issues affecting them.

    Also, Maduka, who described the auditorium as magnificent, expressed delight on the thoughtfulness of Uwazuruike on the library and conference centre.

    I am indeed happy to see this kind of magnificent structure that could be likened to aesthetic buildings in the Netherlands, I will certainly identify with the initiator of this project in seeing to its completion.

    I must add that doing this is to demonstrate that I am a core Igbo man and I feel any privileged son or daughter of Igbo nation should show interest in this project that represents our history and unity, he said.

    Maduka, the Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of Las Vegas Pain Institute and Medical Centre, Nevada, U.S. criticised what he called the continued marginalisation of a section of the country in favour of others.

    He said that the beauty of Nigeria was the unity of all segments, and urged the leaders to kick against tribalism and nepotism to take the country to the next level.

    NAN also reports that Maduka, who recently commenced construction of police academy at his Umuchukwu country home had completed a 16-storey skyscraper Medical Research Centre at Umuchukwu community in Orumba South Local Government, Anambra State.

    He equally built and handed over High Court and Magistrates Court complex as well as involved in litany of developmental projects in a bid to turn his obscure community to a centre of medical destination in Nigeria and entire African continent.

    Source: NAN

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    Truck crushes motorcyclist to death in Ogun

    A motorcyclist was on Sunday morning crushed to death by a hit-and-run truck driver around Van Milk roundabout on Iloawela road in Ogun.

    Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, the Public Relations Officer, Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), disclosed this to newsmen in Abeokuta.

    Akinbiyi said that the accident occurred around 12:59 a.m. and that it involved an unidentified truck and a red Boxer Motorcycle with registration number ABG 973 QB.

    He said that the accident was caused by dangerous riding by the motorcyclist and also excessive speeding on the part of the truck driver.

    “The truck hit the motorcycle and in the process ,the rider died on the spot while two other passengers sustained injuries,” he said.

    The public relations officer said the injured persons were taken to Ifo General Hospital, while the deceased’s body was deposited at the mogue of the same hospital.

    Source: NAN

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