Marin Cilic clinched for Croatia their second Davis Cup title by crushing Frances Lucas Pouille 7-6(3) 6-3 6-3 to give his side a decisive 3-1 lead and the trophy.

At Lilles Stade Pierre Mauroy on Sunday, the powerful world number seven was relentless as he snuffed out any hope of a famous French fightback.

He gave the 24-year-old Pouille little chance of extending the last final in the 118-year-old competitions current guise into a deciding fifth rubber.

Pouille did not have a single break point.

In spite of pushing Cilic hard in the first set, he lost the last four points of the tiebreak and never threatened a comeback.

Cilic wasted four set points when Pouille battled back from 0-40 down at 2-5 in the second set, but with his own serve rock-solid he calmly moved into a two-set lead.

The mainly French 22,000 crowd kept roaring their support for Pouille, but it was the Croatia contingent, decked out in their distinctive red and white, who would soon be celebrating.

Cilic broke for a 3-2 lead in the third set and then closed in for the kill when Pouille served at 3-5.

The Frenchman saved two match points from 0-40 but Cilic would not be denied and finished it off with a delightful lob.

Immediately, the 30-year-old former U.S. Open champion was swamped by a swarm of his team mates as Croatia could begin the party after emulating their triumph of 2005.

Croatias sports-mad President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic was among the fans at courtside to savour a landmark title.

It offered though a measure of consolation after France beat Croatia in this years football World Cup final.

Its not every day that you become a world champion, Cilic, draped in a Croatian flag, said on court.

For us its a dream come true, for this nation. You can see the fans are so passionate and they are here enjoying themselves. In Croatia, its going to be incredible too.

Whatever happens in the future, Croatias win will have a special place in the record books as this was the last `one on one final before the competition undergoes a major revamp.

The 16-team World Group, established in 1981, will be scrapped next year in favor of an 18-nation World Cup-style finals week that will take place in Madrid.

Hosts and defending champions France had begun the day holding out hope of becoming the first team to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the final since Australia beat the U.S. in 1939.

But there was to be no fairytale ending for French captain Yannick Noah in his last match in charge of Les Bleus.

Noah had surprisingly left Pouille, the highest-ranked player in his team, out of Fridays opening singles matches.

The gamble backfired as Jeremy Chardy was hammered by Borna Coric and Cilic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

After Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert won Saturdays doubles to keep the tie alive, Noah restored Pouille in a bid to take down Croatian talisman Cilic.

He hung on grimly in the first set, saving a break point at 4-4 with a beautiful dropshot.

Cilic twice held serve to stay in the opener and then struck in the tiebreak.

He opened a 5-3 lead then latched onto a Pouille serve to crush a forehand winner before converting his first set point with a dropshot of his own.

An animated Noah was up and down out of his seat, firing up his man and the crowd.

In contrast, his opposite number Zeljko Krajan sat back and let Cilic go calmly about his business.

Cilics weight of shot allowed him to break decisively in the fifth game of the second set.

He squandered a two-set lead in the fourth rubber of the final against Argentinas Juan Martin del Potro in 2016 a defeat that cost Croatia the title.

Yet he was never going to let Pouille off the hook.

And when he broke the Frenchmans serve at 2-2 in the third, any lingering belief Pouille had retained quickly ebbed away.

Source: NAN

Russia seized three Ukrainian naval ships off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea on Sunday after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors, a move that risks igniting a dangerous new crisis between the two countries.

Russias FSB security service said early on Monday its border patrol boats had seized the Ukrainian naval vessels in the Black Sea and used weapons to force them to stop, Russian news agencies reported.

The FSB said it had been forced to act because the ships two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tug boat. had illegally entered its territorial waters, attempted illegal actions, and ignored warnings to stop while maneuvering dangerously.

Weapons were used with the aim of forcibly stopping the Ukrainian warships, the FSB said in a statement circulated to Russian state media.

As a result, all three Ukrainian naval vessels were seized in the Russian Federations territorial waters in the Black Sea.

The FSB said three Ukrainian sailors had been wounded in the incident and were getting medical care. Their lives were not in danger, it said.

With relations still raw after Russias annexation of Crimea and its backing for a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine, the incident risks pushing the two countries towards a wider conflict.

Ukraine denied its ships had done anything wrong, accused Russia of military aggression, and for the international community to mobilise to punish Russia.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held a meeting with his top military and security chiefs amid talk of imposing martial law.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and then built a giant road bridge linking it to southern Russia which straddles the Kerch Strait a narrow stretch of water which links the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov which is home to two of Ukraines most important ports.

Russias control of Crimea, where its Black Sea Fleet is based, and of the bridge, mean it is able to control shipping flows.

The crisis began earlier on Sunday after Russia stopped the three Ukrainian ships from entering the Sea of Azov by placing a cargo ship beneath the bridge.

A Reuters witness said Russia backed its blockade with at least two Sukhoi Su-25 warplanes which screeched overhead. Russian state TV said Russian combat helicopters had been deployed in the area.

The Ukrainian navy said on social media that six Ukrainian sailors had been wounded in the subsequent seizure of its ships which appear to have been rammed and boarded and that the Russian attack on them had occurred after they had retreated and headed back towards Odessa, the Black Sea port from where they had begun their journey.

The European Union in a statement said it expected Russia to restore freedom of passage via the Kerch Strait and urged both sides to act with utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation. A NATO spokeswoman issued a similar appeal to both sides.

Source: NAN

Several U.S. Republican senators on Sunday rejected President Donald Trumps embrace of Saudi Arabia after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, with some lawmakers from his party saying Congress must take additional action.

Trump vowed last week to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia and said it was not clear whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman knew about the plan to kill Khashoggi last month at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The president cast doubt on the CIA assessment that Crown Prince Mohammed ordered Khashoggis killing, telling reporters that the agency had not formed a definitive conclusion.

I disagree with the presidents assessment. Its inconsistent with the intelligence Ive seen, which implicates the crown prince, Republican Senator Mike Lee said on NBCs Meet the Press.

He cited the Khashoggi killing as another reason why he has pushed against helping Saudi Arabias war effort in Yemen.

The United States on Nov. 15 imposed economic sanctions on 17 Saudi officials for their role in the killing of Khashoggi and senators from both major U.S. parties introduced legislation that would suspend weapon sales to Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi and for its role in Yemens civil war.

Democratic U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, who is in line to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee when Democrats regain control of the chamber in January, has promised investigations on the Khashoggi case as well as whether Trumps personal financial interests are dictating his Saudi policy.

Look, the president is not being honest with the country about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Schiff said on CNNs State of the Union program. Whats driving this?

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of the crown prince, was killed Oct. 2. Riyadh initially denied knowledge of Khashoggis disappearance, then offered contradictory explanations.

I do think we need to look into this further, Republican Senator Joni Ernst said on CNN.

Ernst acknowledged Saudi Arabias importance as a strategic partner.

However, we also are a very strong nation when it comes to human rights, when it comes to the rule of law, Ernst said.

And if there are indicators that the prince was involved in this murder then we need to absolutely consider further action.

Climate change to batter economy: U.S. report
Senator Ben Sasse, a frequent Trump critic, criticized Trumps stance on Khashoggis killing as weak.

Making the realist case is a different thing than being so weak that we failed to tell the truth, Sasse said on Fox News Sunday. Crown Prince Mohammed contributed to murdering somebody abroad and it is not strength to sort of mumble past that. Strength is telling the truth even when its hard.

Other Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul and Bob Corker, have been unsparing in their assessments of Saudi Arabias involvement in Khashoggis killing.

I never thought Id see the day a White House would moonlight as a public relations firm for the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on Twitter after Trumps comments on Tuesday.

Source: NAN

US officials closed a border crossing in southern California on Sunday after hundreds of migrants tried to breach a fence from the Mexican city of Tijuana, US authorities announced.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office in San Diego, California, said on Twitter that it had closed both north and south access to vehicle traffic at the San Ysidro border post, before also suspending pedestrian crossings.

The incident took place only three days after US President Donald Trump threatened to close the whole border with Mexico if it gets to a level where were going to lose control or people are going to start getting hurt.

Video clips posted Sunday on Twitter showed large numbers of migrants dashing across a shallow concrete waterway toward the border. Several thousand migrants, mostly from Central America, have been gathering in Tijuana in hopes of entering the US.

At least 500 of them, including several women and children, had been taking part in a peaceful demonstration in Tijuana before dashing toward the border in an attempt to clamber over a first metal barrier there.

The migrants tried to protect themselves covering their faces, with mothers holding their children close. There were cries of pain, desperation and frustration as the crowd swirled over the border line and back.

Are we in the United States yet? some asked in desperate tones.

Several hundred made it over the first barrier and were trying to cross a second topped with spikes when US border officers began firing tear gas at the group, even as US Army helicopters flew low overhead, according to an AFP journalist on the scene.

The migrants tried to protect themselves covering their faces, with mothers holding their children close. There were cries of pain, desperation and frustration as the crowd swirled over the border line and back.

Some migrants shouted that they only wanted to make their way to a better life and find work in the US.

But amid the stinging gas, several migrants turned back, even as others tried to forge ahead.

Trump has repeatedly warned that the large group of migrants moving through Mexico toward the US included criminals and possibly terrorists, while providing no evidence to support that.

He has deployed some 9,000 US troops along the border in support of the CBP agents.

Approximately 5,000 reached Tijuana over the past week, after an exhausting trip of up to 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) covered in just over a month. Many were fleeing violence and poverty in Honduras in hopes of finding asylum in the US.

The San Ysidro border post is a busy one, with thousands of people passing through every day.

Source: NAN

French President Emmanuel Macron is to address his nation on Tuesday following persistent and sometimes violent protests over fuel taxes that are morphing into a movement against his business- and environment-friendly policies.

Paris saw clashes between police and demonstrators Saturday on the Champs-Elysees where barricades were set on fire, luxury shop windows smashed, and traffic lights uprooted. Some 30 people were injured and 101 arrested, police said.

The government blamed much of the violence on a small minority of ultra-right activists who shadowed the 8,000 demonstrators who were wearing the yellow, high-visibility vests that symbolise their week-long protests.

Bruno Le Maire, the economy minister, acknowledged Sunday that the current crisis goes far beyond just a question of fuel, adding that it was important that work be better paid to improve living standards.

It is time to listen to the French, he said on BFM television, suggesting that Macron would call for grassroot debates throughout the country on government policies.

The presidential palace said Macron would make a speech on Tuesday on ecological transition and was expected to address the protests.

Opposition leaders have been quick to note that the protests, mostly organised by grassroot protesters coordinating by way of social media rather than by traditional political parties or trade unions, have won wide popular support.

When a movement has the backing of three quarters of French people, you give them an answer, you dont just dismiss them as a gang of thugs, Olivier Faure, the opposition Socialist Party leader told Le Parisien newspaper.

Guillaume Peltier, a leader of conservative The Republicans party, told the daily it was all too easy to stigmatise the yellow vests and equate their movement with that of a few unacceptable acts.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen voiced her full support for the protesters, telling the LCI channel the unrest revealed grievances held by the immense majority of the French who were being ignored by a miniscule cast working only for itself.

Former investment banker Macron was elected on a pledge to put more money in workers pockets. But the effects of his pro-business reforms on unemployment and purchasing power have been limited so far.

He has seen his popularity slide to just 25 percent, according to one poll a week ago, and the protests reflect broader frustration with a leader critics label as aloof and a president of the rich.

US President Donald Trump, whose initial friendly ties with Macron have chilled under the French leaders criticisms, sought to place the French protests in his frequent grumbling over US-EU trade relations and NATO spending.

The large and violent French protests dont take into account how badly the United States has been treated on Trade by the European Union or on fair and reasonable payments for our GREAT military protection, Trump said on Twitter. Both of these topics must be remedied soon.

Macron himself had taken to Twitter on Saturday, to condemn the violence and cry shame on those who assaulted or intimidated policemen, journalists and other citizens.

Several media workers based in Frances southwestern city of Toulouse said Sunday they would boycott the yellow vests movement after five journalists were threatened or beaten by scores of demonstrators while covering protests in their region.

Faced with the public anger, many politicians suggested Macron often perceived as aloof or arrogant might use his speech to announce measures softening the impact of rising petrol and diesel taxes and restore dialogue with trade unions.

When you act like Louis XIV, you can expect revolts () The French back the yellow vests because Macron promised them a new world, and they see that his policies arent delivering, Bruno Retailleau, who heads the Republican opposition in the Senate.

The French see environmental matters as an alibi for fiscal belt-tightening, he told le Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

The yellow vests come overwhelmingly from non-urban areas of France. They feel overlooked and penalised by policies they see as being pushed through by elitist politicians in Paris.

Many of the often low-income yellow vest protesters are particularly incensed at Macrons decision to hike anti-pollution taxes on diesel, while scrapping a wealth tax on the rich.

Source: NAN

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has apologised for joining the groups who came together to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Atiku said the apology had become necessary because of the sufferings Nigerians had been subjected to in the last three and half years, from a party he played a role in bringing to power.

The former vice-president stated this while speaking at a town hall meeting with residents of Jimeta in Adamawa state.

He said, “I regretted being a part of the party which never deemed it fit to fulfil all of the promises it made to Nigerians.

“If I had known that the APC would be such a colossal failure and disgrace, I would never had joined the party.

“The APC has failed to fulfill even one of the promises it made to Nigerians. The APC is simply an assembly meant to defraud Nigerians.”

Source: Daily Post NG

The Kwara State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Bashir Bolarinwa, has raised an alarm accusing the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, of influencing and trying to persuade the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, to stop the inaguration of the Representative-elect of Ekiti/Irepodun/Isin/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency, Mr Raheem Olawuyi.

Remember, it was Mr Raheem Olawuyi of the ruling APC who won the Kwara just concluded bye-election into the Federal House of Representatives.

He, however, stated that he was confident that the alleged plot would fail because he believed that Dogora would not consent to such a plan.

Bolarinwa said this in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Saturday.

He said the allegations of malpractices and violence against the APC, security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party were unfounded.

Bolarinwa said, “One of the plans they are hatching is that the Senate President himself will ask the Speaker of the House of Representatives not to swear in our rep-elect. That is one of the plans which they have but we know they will fail.”

But when contacted, Saraki’s media aide, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the allegation of using Dogara to stop Olawuyi’s inauguration was illogical, adding that Dogara did not take instructions from Saraki.

“Has the newly elected person presented himself to the Speaker? Does the Speaker of the House of Representatives work under the Senate President?

Has Olawuyi presented himself to the Speaker of the House of Representatives to be sworn in and he was stopped?”

Olaniyonu said, “The Senate and the House of Representatives are two different chambers. Does Dogara dictate to us? Can he dictate to the Senate President? Call the Speaker’s aide whether he has got the instructions not to swear in anybody.

Capital can be defined as the resources or wealth made by man that are used for producing further wealth. Capital consists of machinery, tools, buildings, cash, raw materials etc.

Capital can take different forms since it is man-made. Also the use of capital in production increases efficiency and output. It is an artificial factor of production developed from land.

Features of Capital

• Capital is made by man

• It can change form

• The reward for capital is interest.

Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur is a factor of production which controls, manages, organize and coordinate all factors of production in order to achieve the objectives of the organization.

The entrepreneurial activity is sometimes regarded as a specialized form of labor but is separated as a distinct factor of production. He/she is responsible for the management of the firm. The entrepreneur is the decision maker, risk bearer and organizer of a commercial enterprise. He/she is responsible for determining what to produce, how to produce.

The reward for the entrepreneur is profit.

Functions of Entrepreneur

• Provision of Capital:- The entrepreneur provides capital for the formation and running of the business.

• Risk bearing:- He/she is the risk bearer as he gets the credit for success and the blame for the losses or failure.

• Decision making:- The entrepreneur takes vital decisions affecting the organization. Business decisions lie what to produce and for whom to produce are take by him/her.

• Management Activities:- He is responsible for the management of the firm in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.

• Coordinating other factors:- The entrepreneur has a responsibility to co-ordinate all other factors of production to achieve efficiency in the operation of the organization.

• Determines pricing policy:- The entrepreneur determines the pricing of the products.

• Organizing Research Activities:- He/She carries out research in order to increase the efficiency and productivity of the business.

• When you do all you can do for God, He will do what you cannot do for you.

• The more you speak Faith, the more you release Grace.

• Your relational capacity will determine your financial capacity.

• Stop living to impress people, live to impress God.

• If you can't stand people who are better than you, you will remain on the same spot.

• Grace becomes dormant where faithfulness is absent.

• If you are only willing to do the things that are easy, you may not find things easy.

Reading in it's entirety can be summarized under 2 processes namely:-

• Visual Aspect

• Mental Aspect

Purpose for Reading

The purpose for reading includes the following:-

• To acquire more knowledge

• To share from the knowledge of the writer

• To apply the knowledge acquired to one's real life.

• To seek some advice about the topic / course

• To respond to some questions (for exam purpose)

How to Build Good Reading Habit

To build a good reading habit the reader needs to:

• Create interest in the reading

• Read with full concentration

• Jot the important details

• Pay attention to the sound of words.

• Find the meaning of new words.

Reading Methods:

The reading methods are:

• Search

• Scanning

• Skimming

• Study

Scanning

Scanning is a speedy search for specific information on a discipline. To scan for information, the reader needs to glance at a text to fish out the needed information on a particular topic or subject matter.

Search

In the search method of reading, the reader does not have any particular information to search. The reader comes across or identifies what he is seeking for while doing search reading. While searching for information, the reader reads thoroughly with keen interest and full concentration in his reading.

Skimming

The skimming method of reading involves some concentrated attention to the chief points in the text. This needs more time than the scanning and search reading methods.

Study

Study reading involves intensive reading for the purpose of equipping oneself with the detailed knowledge of the text in question.

Factors that militate against reading habits are:-

• Word pointing

• Head movement

• Vocalization as regards inappropriate articulation of the sound of words

• Regression

Rules of Reading

• Read with a purpose. If there are questions appended to the passage, survey the questions to find answers to them easily.

• Dont let your mind wander when you're reading

• Don't whisper the words to yourself when reading, i.e. Don't pronounce words silently in your throat

• Allow your eyes, muscles to move and let your mind take in the meaning of the words.

• Move your eyes only focusing them on words.

• Focus on several words, or groups of words, at each eyes movement. Don't move our head to and fro when reading and don't focus on a single word

• Read consistently until you come to the end of a line or page. Don't read backwards or don't regress.

• Avoid distraction when you're reading. Don't stay near sources of distraction like video and television sets.

• Use contextual cues to deduce the meaning of new words. Also use the dictionary for those words whose meaning remain obscure.

• Take a break when you are tired and return to your reading with fresh vigour. Don't read when you're bored or fatigue.

• Don't attempt reading many things at a time.

• Time your reading so as to develop a high reading speed.