Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Abuja from London after a 10 working day vacation in London.

The presidential plane conveying Buhari and few of his aides landed at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 6.38p.m.

Buhari was received at the airport by Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, Service Chiefs and the Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari.

Others at the airport to welcome the president included cabinet ministers, the acting chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and members of the presidential media team.

“President @MBuhari returns to Abuja from the UK, after a 10 working day vacation,” said Bashir Ahmad, Buhari’s new media aide, in a statement posted on Twitter.

The return of the president has put to rest the social media report that he had extended his vacation in London.

Buhari on Aug. 3 commenced the holiday and transmitted a letter to the President of the Senate and the Speaker, House of Representatives to that effect in compliance with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.

While the president was in London, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo acted on his behalf in line with the constitution.

“President @MBuhari returns to Abuja from the UK, after a 10 working day vacation,” said Bashir Ahmad, Buhari’s new media aide, in a statement posted on Twitter.

Marcos Alonso's late strike settled a chaotic classic in Chelsea's favour after Arsenal fought back from two goals down and threatened to earn a point at Stamford Bridge.

Maurizio Sarri's side built that advantage inside the first 20 minutes after Pedro turned in Alonso's cross and Alvaro Morata added another seconds after Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang blazed over from close range.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan wasted a similar opportunity before pulling one back with a low shot that Chelsea's new £71m keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga should have saved before Alex Iwobi put the Gunners on level terms.

Aubameyang and Iwobi missed further chances before half-time before Chelsea controlled the second half, Alonso sweeping in substitute Eden Hazard's cross nine minutes from time to make it successive wins for Sarri and two defeats for new Arsenal manager Unai Emery.

This was a heavyweight Premier League clash for the managerial newcomers Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery - and they were provided with plenty of food for thought after an engrossing 90 minutes.

Emery is perpetual motion in his technical area, pacing it constantly from almost the first minute, a blur of gesticulations and dramatic effect with cajoling and encouragement throughout.

The Spaniard is still trying to put his imprint on this Arsenal team after the end of Arsene Wenger's 22-year reign and he is very obviously a hands-on figure.

It is also clear from the manner in which Arsenal got back into the game - even though they ended defeated - that his new players are fighting for their manager.

Sarri, dressed casually in a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms, was far less animated than Emery but was still keen to get his message across and it is already clear he is determined to repeat the brand of attacking play that made his reputation as he makes his mark at Stamford Bridge.

These two experienced managers will add plenty of character and colour to the Premier League's A-list cast of managers - and both will have much to keep them occupied.

Source: BBC

Former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate Kofi Annan passed away at the age of 80 on Saturday, the Geneva-based Kofi Annan Foundation announced.

"It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate, passed away peacefully on Saturday 18th August after a short illness," the Foundation said in a statement issued Saturday.

A diplomat source said that Annan died in a Swiss hospital, and his wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina were by his side during his last days.

Born on April 9 of 1938 in Ghana, Kofi Annan served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. He and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela.

Xiaomi’s feet were only half of the size of an adult’s thumb when she was born at 24 weeks at Southwest Hospital in Chongqing on March 30, tipping the scale at just 585 grams.

Her chances of survival were very slim.

But after three months of treatment, the baby was finally discharged from the Intensive Care Unit to the normal ward this week, weighing nearly two kilograms, making her one of the smallest surviving babies in the world.

Her mother Chen Xia，31，and father Cao Lanwei，37，used Assisted Reproductive Technology at the same hospital. Chen’s water broke much earlier than expected. She was sent to the hospital and delivered the baby by herself.

“The baby was so tiny, as big as a medium-sized water bottle,” recalled Yan Ling, the pediatric head nurse.

“She couldn’t breathe by herself and her skin was transparent, as thin as a piece of paper.”

So the medical staff gave the baby a nickname: Xiaomi, which means “a grain of rice” in Chinese.

“I am so afraid of hurting her when taking care of my baby,” the mother said. “She is still so fragile.”

The father was confident his daughter can grow healthy after the early struggles.

The smallest surviving baby ever is believed to be Emilia Grabarczyk. She was born in Witten, Germany in 2015, weighing only 0.22 kg.

A recent online video from Weifang, East China's Shandong province, has attracted web users' attention. It shows a shocking scene of a man saving a boy falling from a fifth floor window by grabbing him in midair.

With no adult at home, the 2-year-old child crawled out of the window to the air conditioning unit and was seen by neighbors.

Hearing cries and shouts outside, Liu Yangming and his father ran out of their home and found the boy in immediate danger, dangling from the air conditioning unit beneath the fifth-floor window.

Yang rushed into the building and knocked the door of residents who live downstairs, hoping to break into one's flat to approach the kid at risk. Luckily, residents of one household on the first floor were home and let Yang and his father in.

Yang climbed over the window and stood on the narrow, short cement board protruding below it, ready to catch the boy. At the moment the boy fell, the father, leaning out the window, made a first attempt to grasp him but failed. Almost at the same time, Yang succeeded in stopping him from plunging to the ground by grabbing one of his legs and lifting him up. This happened in the span of a few seconds.

People nearby were shocked at the scene and concerned for the child. Once the boy was rescued, they gave a sigh of relief.

Yang's heroic action won praise from the neighborhood and thumb-ups from many netizens, as the rescue was recorded by one onlooker's phone and posted online.

Looking across Africa, I see leaders who are so fixated on gaining power and ravenously seeking to hold on to it without making much meaningful impact on the people or nation they are governing. Plus the elections that brought them into power are rarely free from various forms of electoral malpractices. That seems to be a sharp contrast to what we have on the other side of the divide, the West, where leaders keep making moves to ensure that their nations remain relevant among the comity of nations. Most of these states are under democratic rule as are the league of African nations.

Let’s spare these leaders for a moment: coming down to the basics [and bringing it to where it really started]; democracy without the people will surely cease to be what it has been set out to be. But what becomes when the people fail to play their part in a morally acceptable manner? That said, I will like to cast our mind back to the events that preceded last month’s gubernatorial election in Ekiti where the process was more of PVC auction – thanks to the top political parties represented in the election. All it took to sway PVC holders to cast their votes was between N3,000-N5,000 – talk about people mortgaging their future on ‘a platter of pottage’.

How did we get here?

Wrong question, you may say considering the fact that at no point had our electoral process been liberated from such malady. The Ekiti situation might have come in another dimension but it definitely served as a reminder of how votes have become ‘a piece of bread’ in the commodity market called polling station when elections are at hand. The medium of exchange could be different from time to time – money, 1kg of rice, recharge cards…you name it – but the M.O remains unchanged. However, should the power seekers lack the decorum to act right, ought not the electorates – the PVC merchants to be specific – subscribe to good conscience and allow sanctity prevail from their end?

The consequence

I wonder if it ever registered on the mind of the electorate [who are into auctioning their PVCs] that a vote sold is a right cheaply given away. Whenever right is traded, it becomes hard for the masses to hold public office holders accountable for their actions – especially when they fail to deliver. And the truth is that there seems to be an unwritten code/law guiding how things subsequently turn out in this kind of event. Will those who had been paid for their vote ever have the moral standing to speak against their elected leaders at the very moment things start going awry? - Maybe they would with a seared conscience. More so, a pay-to-vote stance goes to show that corruption is not only being fed by political dignitaries but also encouraged by citizens who end up getting the leaders they ‘deserve’.

Democracy ought to be sustained in fairness with elections devoid of manipulation and/or undue merchandise but with people continually engaging in morally derisive activities without being call to order for ethics to prevail, one will not be wrong to ask: is democracy under siege in our land? The question rings out even louder when one considers other government actions that infringe on the right of the people – a topic for another day, probably.

A leader of the Peoples Democratic Party and businessman, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu said he will retire from politics once Atiku Abubakar becomes Nigeria’s president.

Iwuanyanwu, who will be 76 on 4 September, declared his support for the presidential aspiration of former Vice President of Nigeria.

Chief Iwuanyanwu in company of other leaders of the PDP in Imo State received Atiku in Owerri during his visit to the state in continuation of his nationwide consultations with PDP stakeholders across the country.

“Atiku’s political journey has come a long way and he is particularly cut out for the demands of the time at this juncture in Nigeria’s political history. I will only retire finally after Atiku is installed. Atiku is an intelligent leader and he is the only one who can be fair to the Ibos,” Iwuanyanwu said.

Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and governorship aspirant in Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha said that Atiku will be the best president Nigeria will have in 2019.

Atiku, in company of a delegation led by the Director General of his presidential campaign organization and former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, visited Owerri for a meeting with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders in Imo State in continuation of his nationwide consultations.

While welcoming Atiku into the state, the former deputy Speaker noted that “Atiku is well prepared to be president of Nigeria and he remains the best president Nigeria will have in 2019.”

After a close door private meeting with Chief Iwuanyanwu, Atiku proceeded to the PDP secretariat in Owerri where he met with the State Executive Council led by the state’s party chairman, Barrister Charles Ezekwem.

In his remarks, Atiku commends the warm welcome he and his entourage received from supporters in Imo State.

He said that his aspiration to become president in 2019 is borne out of his belief that Nigeria deserves a more competent leadership.

“Today our country is at a critical condition. The economy is not working as expected and millions of jobs have been lost. There is so much division everywhere and we need a leadership that can unite the country.

“If I secure the ticket of our great party and subsequently elected president, I am ready to listen to and appreciate the feelings from every part of the country. These are the challenges we face today and I am very humbled by the endorsement from leading party members from this state to my aspirations and I am even more determined in this mission to restore the country to prosperity and unity,” Atiku said.

Source: NAN

Amb. James Barka, former Acting Governor of Adamawa has denied the recent reports of his defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Barka, who is also a serving member of the Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI), made this clarification while briefing newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.
Barka said that he did not defect from the APC and he was not contemplating doing so as he blamed some media organisations and social media for the “Fake News’’ and misinformation.

He said that he remained committed to working under the APC-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in his change agenda.

“I am staying in APC because I believe in the transformation agenda of President Buhari and for me to contemplate to leave APC, I must be an insane person.

“Some members of the PDP led by the Adamawa State Chairman paid me a courtesy call to seek my return to my former party, the PDP.

“ I categorically told them that I was a bonafide member of the APC and I am not contemplating leaving the APC.

“ I have gone across to my followers, sent them text messages and on social media that I am still a member of the APC and as such all my followers should remain.

“The President has done excellent and I cannot see why I should defect to a party that showed so much impunity to me and my followers in 2014.

“I am committed to APC and I will remain in APC,’’ Barka said.

Barka, however, noted that his decision to remain in the APC was not because he was currently serving as a member of the PCNI.

He said that in 2014, he resigned his appointment as an Ambassador because he was leaving the PDP and so, he was not remaining in the APC for fear of dismissal.

Barka reiterated that he was still a member of the APC because he believes in the change agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari, which has built infrastructure and provided the basic amenities for Nigerians.

He said that the present administration has recorded a lot of dividends of democracy and Nigerians would continue to see more dividends of democracy under the present government.

Tragedy has struck in Arizona U.S. after a father decided to take care of a situation his own way by killing a man who attempted to enter a bathroom stall where his daughter was.

Police say Melvin Harris III faces a second-degree murder charge in the beating death of Leon Leevon Armstrong, AZFamily.com reports.

Harris was taken into custody earlier this month after the deadly encounter at a QuikTrip convenience store in Phoenix involving his 16-year-old daughter.

The 40-year-old was waiting in the parking lot to pick up his daughter and two friends when Armstrong approached him asking for money. Harris gave him some change and Armstrong went into the store.

Harris daughter came out of the store and told her father that a man tried to enter her bathroom stall by violently shaking the door, police said. She said she told the employees who alerted the security guard.

She then identified Armstrong as the alleged harasser when she spotted him walking out of the store.

Possibly thinking not enough was being done, Harris approached the security guard and told him to take care of the situation, or he would do it himself. The guard said the incident was being handled.

The protective father, however, confronted Armstrong about the incident and then attacked him, authorities said.

Witnesses told police Harris repeatedly stomped, punched and kicked the man.

Harris fled the scene. Armstrong was taken to the hospital where he later died. He suffered brain swelling, a nasal fracture and loss of oxygen.

Harris was arrested at his home. He later admitted he struck Armstrong in the face, but claims he didnt throw the first punch, the report stated.

He also denied hitting Armstrong when he was on the ground.

Harris fiancee, Diana Jackson, told AZFamily.com that Harris was protecting his daughter.

Im not mad at him. I dont feel like he did anything wrong. I love him. He did what he was supposed to do for our kid.

You cannot tell someone theyre wrong for protecting their children.

I would have done the same thing. I dont feel bad at all for his actions. I feel bad that the man ended up dying in the process. I do, Jackson told the station.

Jackson said its unfair her fianc is being treated as a criminal for protecting his child.

Armstrong reportedly also had a criminal history that included shoplifting, trespassing and obstructing justice.

Source: NAN

The troops of 1 Division Nigerian Army Kaduna on Thursday said it had eliminated five bandit and recover arms in Birnin Gawri local Government areas in Kaduna State.

The Deputy Director Army Public Relations 1 divisions Nigerian Army, Col. Muhammad Dole, made the disclosure in a press statement in Kaduna.

Dole said the troops of the Division, under Operation WHIRL PUNCH, responded to a distress call about an armed robbery along Birnin GwariFuntua road.

While on pursuit of the armed robbers, they were ambushed by suspected bandits. However, they fought their way and overpowered the bandits, who hastily withdrew into Kwuyambana forest in Zamfara State.

He said during the pursuit of the bandits in the forest, the bodies of five bandits were found.

Among the eliminated bandits was a notorious bandit from Zamfara identified as Sani Danbuzuwa.

Regrettably, we lost one soldier and two were injured. The wounded soldiers were evacuated and they are responding to treatment at the military hospital in Kaduna.

After thorough searched of the ambush area, the following items were recovered: 1 x AK47 rifle, 3 magazines, 87 rounds of 7.62mm (special) 1 G3 rifle, 4 magazines, 61 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO).

He also disclosed that a wanted kidnapper and expert in negotiations for ransom, called Yinusa Suleiman, from Sambuwa village was apprehended by troops on Aug. 14.

He is currently assisting the security operatives in further investigations, he said.

Dole restated the troops commitment to ensuring security and safe passage to all commuters along highways of KadunaAbuja and KadunaBirnin Gwari roads as well as the adjoining towns and villages.

Source: NAN