Breaking News! Kaduna state to Sart taxing residence for Borehole

Kwara gov swears in LG chairmen

The Kwara State governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed, yesterday swore-in 16 newly elected local government chairmen with a pledge to work harder and closer with them to find a sustainable solution to the salary crisis at the grassroots.

Speaking during the swearing-in at the council chamber of the government house, Ilorin, Governor Ahmed charged the chairmen to synergise with all relevant stakeholders to raise internally generated revenue to meet their statutory responsibilities.

The governor expressed concern over the plight of local government workers, pensioners, basic education workers and other workers experiencing salary and pension delays.

Buhari writes Senate for confirmation of 10 CCB nominees

President Muhammadu Buhari has written the Senate seeking confirmation of 10 nominees of the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, read the president’s letter on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.
The letter is seeking urgent confirmation of the president’s nominees.
The letter stated that in compliance with section 541 of the 1999 constitution as amended and in pursuant to sections 1(2) and 1(3) of the code of conduct bureau act LFN 2004, the president wrote to request the confirmation of the nominees.
“The curriculum vitae of the nominees are attached herewith. It is my hope that this Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will in their usual expeditious manner consider and confirm the nominees. Please accept Mr. Senate President, my assurances of my highest consideration,” the letter said.The nominees are:Muhammed Isa – Chairman Jigawa, North WestMurtala Kankia – member, Katsina North West Emmanuel Attah – member, Cross River, South South Danjuma Sado, member, Edo South,Obolo Opanachi, member, Kogi North Central
Ken Madaki Alkali, member Nasarawa, North Central S.F. Ogundare, member, Oyo, South West
Ganiyu Hamzat, member, Ogun South West Sahad Abubakar, member, Gombe North East
Vincent Nwanne, member, Ebonyi South East

Will Buhari deliver on new national minimum wage?

Last Monday, November 27, 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated a 30-member tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee for the negotiation of a new National Minimum Wage for Nigerian workers. The inauguration held inside the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, had in attendance governors and senior government officials. Some All Progressives Congress governors, Rochas Okorocha of Imo, Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi and Simon Lalong of Plateau as well as the Peoples Democratic Party’s Nyesom Wike of Rivers and Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe, are members of the committee.

The President said the inauguration of the committee followed the recommendation of a technical committee put in place after the increase in the price of petrol in 2016. He also said the current minimum wage being used in the country had already expired. (It was supposed to be reviewed every five years). After the completion of the work of the committee, an executive bill would be sent to the National Assembly “to undergo scrutiny before being passed into law”.

By its tripartite nature, the committee is made up of persons from the public sector, (federal and state governments) and the private sector made up of the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture and Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. The committee has a former Head of Service and Minister of Housing, Ama Pepple, as chairperson, while the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, will serve as deputy chairman. The Chairman, National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Richard Egbule, will serve as the secretary of the committee.

Other members of the committee are Udoma Udo-Udoma, Minister, Budget and National Planning; Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance; Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; and Roy Ugo, the Permanent Secretary, General Services, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The Director-General of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Asishana Okauru, will serve as an observer. On the trade union side are the President, Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, who leads a team comprising Peters Adeyemi, Kiri Mohammed, Amaechi Asugwuni and Peter Ozo-Eson. The Trade Union Congress is led by its President, Bobboi Kaigama, and other members including Sunday Salako and Alade Lawal. The President, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Igwe Achese, is also a member. On the employers’ side are Olusegun Oshinowo, Director General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, as well as Timothy Olawale and Chuma Nwankwo. The Director General, Federation of Construction Industry, Olubunmi Adekoje; Chairman, Kaduna East Branch, Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria, Ahmed Gobir; and Francis Oluwagbenro also from MAN are members.

It is important to understand how the issue of the national minimum wage came about.  Nigeria joined the league of International Labour Organisation member countries that set minimum wage for their workers in 1981. The last time a minimum wage was set before the current one being reviewed was in 2000 with effect from May 1, 2001. Then, the wage was set at a paltry N5,500. It took 10 years to have this benchmark reviewed through a collective bargaining mechanism. The NLC said the union made a demand for wage increase in 2009 after a thorough study of the salaries of political office holders’ pre-and post-consolidation, as well as a careful examination of the minimum annual wage levels in African countries. The study showed that Nigerian workers were among the least remunerated in the world. In the NLC’s estimated cost of meeting basic needs for a representative family done in February 2009, a sum total of N58,500 was arrived at. The NLC however decided to demand a new national minimum wage of N52,200 which the union considered approximate least Minimum Annual Wage levels in African countries, the minimum cost of providing basic needs for the worker and their immediate family and the cost of living data.

In order to negotiate this request from the NLC and the TUC, the Federal Government set up a tripartite committee made up of representatives from the government, labour and the organised private sector. On the part of the government were four cabinet ministers, three state governors and a representative of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission. Labour drew its representatives from the NLC and the TUC, while representatives of the organised private sector include NECA and those of NACCIMA. The committee was chaired by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Alfa Belgore (retd.).

Information has it that this committee met for over one year, discussing and negotiating with different stakeholders. It was reliably gathered that all the 36 state governors as well as the NGF were formally written to make input into the negotiation. While some of the governors were said to have recommended a minimum wage of about N20,000 and above, the committee decided to propose N18,000 in order to make it easy for all concerned employers of labour to implement. It was also proposed that the new wage will apply only to organisations with a minimum of 50 workers in their employment. It was after this consensual agreement that the proposal was drafted into a bill and presented to the National Assembly for passage. This bill was passed and signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan on March 23, 2011.

That was the update from the last exercise. Now, Nigerian workers are demanding N56, 000 new minimum wage. Is that realisable given the current comatose economy where the extant N18, 000 minimum wage is not paid as and when due? The last exercise took about two years to conclude. How long will the current effort take before a new minimum wage comes into force? Is there a genuine intention on the part of the current administration to upwardly review the workers’ minimum wage? If yes, why did it take the Federal Government almost two years after the astronomic increment in the pump price of petrol as well at the expiration of the last minimum wage before the new review committee was inaugurated? Is wage increase the solution to workers’ plight in Nigeria?

There is no gainsaying that with the astronomic rise in the cost of living, Nigerian workers are right to demand wage increase. However, this may ultimately be counterproductive. If not carefully handled, it will lead to spiral inflation and low purchasing power. Even without increase in workers’ pay, the cost of food, housing, education and other essential services are increasing. This will worsen with a publicised wage increase. Furthermore, with about two-thirds of states and most of the local governments not being able to pay the current N18,000 minimum wage, what assurances are there that they will honour a new wage increase agreement? In July 2011, the governors gave two preconditions for them to pay the new wage increase. These are: Review of the current revenue allocation formula in favour of the states and the removal of subsidy on petrol. Only one out of these two conditions was met. Even at that, since 2015, they have collected bailouts and Paris Club refunds in excess of N2tn, yet many of them are still unable to pay the N18,000 minimum wage.

Can the Federal Government initiate moves to review the revenue allocation formula in favour of states to enable them pay the proposed new minimum wage? If the government at all levels will fix the infrastructural gap through the provision of low cost housing, good road network, quality and affordable education and health services, agrarian revolution that will bring down the cost of foods, improved and affordable electricity supply and other essential social amenities, these will help reduce the cost of living and improve the standard of living of Nigerians generally and workers in particular. Thus, irrespective of their small wage, the purchasing power will be high and they will be able to live decent lives. Will Buhari deliver on the new minimum wage before 2019? That is doubtful, very unlikely!

Source: Punch news

Four pupils commit suicide after teacher scolded them

A school in India

Two teachers of a government school in Panapakkam in Vellore district were suspended on Saturday in connection with the suicide of four girl students of the school.
According to ZeeNews, tragedy struck the Panapakkam village last Friday when four girl students committed suicide by jumping into a well because their teacher scolded them and wanted them to bring their parents to the school.
All the four students were studying in Class XI and were identified as Deepa, Sankari, Revathi and Manisha.
Following the death of the students, the District Education Officer held an inquiry and suspended the school Principal and the students’ class teacher.
Offering his condolences to the families of the deceased girls, PMK Founder S. Ramadoss said education should be made enjoyable for school students with games and without burden. “Only then suicides by students can be put an end to.”

internet records 900% growth over a decade

Internet

• Society highlights promotion of facility in Nigeria, others The last 17 years have been very eventful for the Internet economy, growing nearly 900 per cent from 400 million in 2000 to 3.5 billion users as at today. As such, the Internet has had an unprecedented impact on the economy and societies around the globe.

The Internet Society, which gave this statistics, noted that the Internet is no longer just the home of email, static webpages and discussion boards; today’s Internet is so much more. It now a dynamic space for collaboration, commerce and expression.

According to it, video currently accounts for more than two-thirds of all Internet traffic in the world, and people accessing the Internet via a mobile device now outnumber those connecting from a computer. The Internet has changed political systems, revolutionised business, and reshaped communities worldwide.

In spite of all this dynamism, certain properties of the Internet persist. These properties, which are called invariants, have been the foundation for the Internet since its earliest days. At the same time, it is because of these invariants that the Internet has become such a dynamic resource. These technical properties are at the heart of the Internet’s success — they provide users with the ability to fully benefit from the Internet.

These invariants include global reach, general purpose, accessibility, interoperability, collaboration, supports for innovation without permission, among others.Internet penetration and usage varies widely across the world. For instance, in Africa, urban areas generally have higher penetration rates than rural areas do. As of 2017, 388 million of the continent’s 1.25 billion people are online, with 160 million holding Facebook accounts. Out of the 388 million users, Nigeria accounted for 91.5 million with Kenya following with 44 million people on the Internet. The African region is still adjudged as continent with the slowest growth.

However, For Africans to benefit from the opportunities the Internet has provided, the Internet Society believed that there was need for governments in the region to know what these opportunities are and ensure that they remove the hurdles that stop countries and citizens from benefiting from them.

According to the Internet Society, an American non-profit organisation founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education, access, and policy, there was need for African handlers to ensuring that broadband is available, affordable, and that there is sufficient bandwidth for new services. 
 
This requires several steps such as: Liberalisation of the sector to promote competition. The conditions of liberalisation are important, with licenses that offer flexibility, and that are reasonably priced, having transparent conditions; affordable taxation of mobile Internet devices and services, where they are not treated as luxury goods, and balance the need to increase usage. Also, promoting the Internet economy; spectrum policies that allow for sufficient allocations so that companies can use the spectrum in an efficient and flexible manner, at affordable costs, and supporting content infrastructure such as Data Centres. These can be of benefit from a number of factors such as access to affordable and reliable sources of power, lower import taxes, and favourable investment policies.
 
Africa Region Bureau Director for the Internet Society, Dawit Bekele, believes that with right policies the continent can benefit immensely from the Internet economy.Bekele said Africa needed a secure and reliable Internet infrastructure that users trust in order to bring large and small businesses online, along with governments and other social services.
 
He explained that the Internet Society in collaboration with the African Union (AU) recently introduced Internet Infrastructure Security Guidelines for Africa to help AU member states strengthen the security of their local Internet infrastructure through actions at a regional, national, ISP/operator and organisational level.

According to him, in Kenya, the Internet economy already represents 3.6 per cent of the country’s GDP and in other developing countries 1.3 per cent of GDP comes from the Internet economy. He said the McKinsey Global Institute predicted that in addition to contributions to GDP, the Internet will deliver productivity gains across Africa.

These productivity gains, according to him, are across six key sectors: financial services, education, health, retail, agriculture and government are projected to be valued at between $148billion and $318billion by 2025.However, he noted that a thriving Internet economy in Africa could be put at risk by the increasing number of Internet shutdowns in the region.

He revealed that in 2016 alone, there were at least 56 shutdowns of the Internet around the world. “These shutdowns affect individuals and organisations that depend on the Internet for their daily lives, and have negative effects on the economy.
  Source: Punch News

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KADUNA STATE SACKS ANOTHER 4,042 LG WORKER AFTER SACKING 21,000 TEACHERS

The Kaduna State Government on Tuesday sacked 4,042 workers spread across the 23 local government areas of the state.

 The state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Jafaru Sani, who confirmed the development, said the exercise was part of the restructuring of the third tier of government for greater efficiency.

 Sani, while briefing newsmen, said the restructuring was designed to strengthen the local government system to carry out developmental projects and programmes.

 He explained that 3,159 staff members among those disengaged had put in 10 years and were retired while the remaining 893 had their jobs terminated.

 He said the retired workers would be paid their November salary, including three months’ salaries in lieu of notice while their pension would be worked out by their pension administrators.

 He added that those whose appointments were terminated would equally be paid their November salary, one month salary in lieu of notice and gratuity according to the civil service rule.

 He said, “It is a known fact that the LGAs were overburdened by redundant and unproductive staff members who are contributing nothing to the development of the councils.

 “Because of the over-bloated workforce, the LGAs are doing nothing other than paying salaries and end up becoming more or less poverty alleviation centres, where people just go to collect money and go home.

 “To ensure development at the local levels therefore, we have to do what is right by downsizing the redundant staff members to free some funds that would be injected in developmental projects.”

 He said that with the disengagement, the supporting members of staff at the 23 LGAs fell to 6,732, excluding primary schoolteachers and primary health-care workers.

  Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party in the state has condemned the sacking of the workers.

 The state Chairman of the PDP and a former Minister of Aviation, Hassan Yet, said, “It is also condemnable the sacking of the local governments’ workers. The APC has succeeded in throwing thousands of breadwinners into the labour market. This is a serious hardship they are going to encounter.”

Bitcoin breaks $10,000 barrier

Gold plated souvenir Bitcoin coins are arranged for a photograph in London on November 20, 2017. AFP PHOTO / Justin TALLIS

Bitcoin broke through the $10,000 barrier for the first time on Wednesday as it extends a stratospheric rise that has delighted investors but sparked fears of a bubble.
The virtual currency hit a high of $10,903 in Asia, according to Bloomberg News, about 14 times its value at the start of the year.
The breakthrough is the latest in a spectacular run for the online money dubbed “digital gold” by its advocates, which began life in 2009 as a bit of encrypted software supposedly written by an unknown coder with a Japanese-sounding name.
Bitcoin, which was valued at just a few US cents when it was launched, has no legal exchange rate, no central bank backing it and is traded on specialist platforms.
What began as the preserve of computer nerds and financial experts has gained a following among a broader group seeking alternatives to traditional investments, while it has been used to pay for items from a pint in a London pub to a manicure.
The virtual currency has attracted as much anger as praise, however.
The boss of JP Morgan Chase labelled it a fraud, while China has closed down Bitcoin trading platforms and South Korea this week expressed concern it could lead young investors to become embroiled in fraud.
It got a big boost last month when exchange giant CME Group announced it would launch a futures marketplace for Bitcoin, which has not been listed on a major bourse before.
The announcement sparked a surge in its value — it has risen 50 percent since October alone. The current market value of Bitcoin is now around $180 billion, according to Coinmarketcap.com, which tracks the market capitalisations of cryptocurrencies. That puts it within touching distance of Coca-Cola, which is worth $195 billion.
But the spectacular rate of growth, which has seen it increase in value from a 2017 low of $752 in mid-January, has also triggered concerns, with critics noting the currency has suffered wild swings in the past.
“This is a bubble and there is a lot of froth. This is going to be the biggest bubble of our lifetimes,” warned hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz at a cryptocurrency conference Tuesday in New York.
‘Crazy numbers’ 
Stephen Innes, of forex broker Oanda in Singapore, warned of “crazy numbers” and added: “I’m a little bit fearful that retail traders are jumping in under the false guise of this will run on forever.
“We know things never go in a straight line.”
But other commentators were more positive, saying the unit’s surging popularity will attract cash from traditional investors, such as hedge funds and asset managers.
“I think the momentum is still very much to the upside,” Kay Van-Petersen, macro and crypto strategist with Saxo Bank in Singapore, told AFP.
He said it could still suffer pullbacks, but predicted it would be worth $50,000 to $100,000 in the next six to 18 months.
Transactions happen when heavily encrypted codes are passed across a computer network.
Bitcoin and other virtual currencies use blockchain, which records transactions that are updated in real time on an online ledger and maintained by a network of computers.
But it has not been without controversy.
In one of the most high-profile scandals, major Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange MtGox collapsed in 2014 after admitting that 850,000 coins — worth around $480 million at the time — had disappeared from its vaults.
Bitcoin’s use on the underground Silk Road website, where users could use it to buy drugs and guns, was also presented as proof it was a bad thing.
While analysts expect the currency to suffer falls, they are betting it will prosper in the long term and see the CME launch as the next big test.
“If it survives the CME, there is no reason why it won’t continue to rise higher,” Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, told AFP.
— Bloomberg News contributed to this report —
SOURCE: PUNCH NEWS PAPER

Police foil attack on Australia school

Two teenagers have been charged with planning an attack at a school in Australia using guns and explosives in an act police Wednesday alleged was designed to harm “a large number of people”.
The plot targeting the school in South Australia’s Riverland region came to the attention of authorities earlier this month with the two young men arrested soon after.
Detective Superintendent Des Bray said they were accused of planning “an attack at a school involving the use of firearms and explosives which could have led to multiple deaths”.
“Two teenage boys -– aged 16 and 18 -– are in custody. The younger has been charged with a count of solicit to murder, while the older teenager has been charged with aggravated counts of threatening to kill,” he said.
“There is no evidence to show that any other person was linked with this matter, nor did the two individuals have possession of firearms.”
The alleged plot was foiled a day after police in Melbourne arrested a 20-year-old man who they claimed was planning to buy a gun and kill as many revellers as possible on New Year’s Eve in the city.
Police said that man, Ali Ali, was an Islamic State sympathiser, but there was no mention of any extremist group link to the teenagers in South Australia.
Bray said it will be alleged the pair were involved in planning the attack between June 1 and November 7 this year.
The main towns of the fruit-producing Riverland region northeast of Adelaide include Renmark, Berri, and Loxton.

[BREAKING] Budget: Reps to suspend plenary on Thursday for three weeks

The House of Representatives has announced that it will suspend plenary from Thursday, November 30.
This is to allow members proceed on oversight assessment of the 2017 budget and hold defence sessions for the 2018 budget.
The suspension will last for three weeks.The Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Yussuff Lasun, who is presiding over proceedings today, made the announcement.

Lagos to shut down Oba Akran Avenue for street carnival

The Lagos State government on Sunday said plans have been concluded to stage this year’s edition of the Lagos street carnival scheduled to hold on December 3 on Oba Akran Avenue in Ikeja.

The Special Adviser to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Adebimpe Akinsola, in an interview with journalists, said the venue of the carnival would be shut down but adequate preparations have been made for alternative routes to mitigate the impact of the road closure on motorists and residents.

Dubbed, “Lagos Street Party’’ in its maiden edition last year, the event has grown into a carnival to mark the start of the ministry’s end of the year activities.

It is also designed to celebrate the multi-cultural nature of Lagosians and reposition the state as a formidable cultural destination.

Speaking on security arrangements already put in place, Akinsola said, “To this end, several adjoining roads would be closed on the day of the carnival while alternative routes could be accessed by road users. We like to assure Lagosians and visitors that efforts are in place to ensure that the venue and environs are safe and incident-free. We expect more visitors this year and a lot more will be coming. In terms of security and crowd control, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is not working alone. We are working with the police, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Fire service, LASAMBUS and the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA). All of them are onboard and people are not going to see Oba Akran on Monday in a dirty state,’’ Akinsola said.

Amnesty wants Shell probed over alleged complicity in murder, torture in Ogoniland

Amnesty International on Tuesday called for Shell to be prosecuted for allegedly helping Nigeria’s military to commit human rights abuses in the oil-rich south in the 1990s.
The London-based global rights watchdog said the oil giant should be tried in Nigeria, as well as Britain and Netherlands where it has its head office.
Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary strongly denied the charges, calling them “false and without merit”.
Audrey Gaughran, director of global issues and research at Amnesty, said it was “indisputable that Shell played a key role” in events in Ogoniland in the 1990s.
“But we now believe that there are grounds for a criminal investigation,” she added in a statement after publishing a cache of documents relating to the turbulent period.
A criminal file will be prepared and submitted to the authorities “with a view to prosecution”, she said.
Amnesty alleged that the oil major “repeatedly encouraged” Nigeria’s military to deal with community protests in Ogoniland, which is part of the Niger Delta region.
It claimed the company was aware that “would lead to unlawful killings, rape, torture, the burning of villages” and even provided transport for troops.
“That it has never answered for this is an outrage,” it added.
– ‘Murderous attacks’ –
Community unrest forced Shell to quit Ogoniland in 1993 but the company still maintains a network of pipelines in the area.
Amnesty said Shell and the Nigerian military government at the time operated as business partners and had regular meetings to discuss the protection of their interests.
“Internal memos and minutes from meetings show Shell lobbying senior government officials for military support, even after the security forces had carried out mass killings of protesters,” it said.
“They also show that on several occasions Shell provided logistical or financial assistance to military or police personnel when it was well aware that they had been involved in murderous attacks on defenceless villagers.”
On November 10, 1995, Ogoni activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his compatriots were executed on trumped-up murder charges.
That led to Nigeria’s expulsion from the Commonwealth. The nation was readmitted in 1999 after its return to civilian rule.
A spokesman for the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), said: “Amnesty International’s allegations concerning SPDC are false and without merit.
“SPDC did not collude with the authorities to suppress community unrest and in no way encouraged or advocated any act of violence in Nigeria.
“We believe that the evidence will show clearly that Shell was not responsible for these tragic events.”
Shell remains a major oil operator in Nigeria, accounting for much of the country’s daily output of some two million barrels per day.
source ; punch newspaper

BREAKING: Uhuru Kenyatta sworn in as Kenyan president

Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday was sworn in for a second term as president of Kenya, after a bruising election process that has left the nation deeply divided.
Kenyatta, 56, took two oaths of office as his second five-year term was sealed by the signature of Chief Justice David Maraga. An election victory in August was overturned by the Supreme Court, forcing him to face a re-run that was boycotted by the opposition.
AFP

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Officially Engaged

After months of anticipation, Britain’s Prince Harry and former Suits star Meghan Markle announced their engagement.
Clarence House released a statement on the morning of Nov. 27, stating that Prince Harry had informed the Queen as well as other close family members, and that the wedding would take place in Spring 2018. “The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace,” it added.
Prince Harry, 33, and Los Angeles-born Markle, 36, have been dating for at least 15 months. The newly-engaged pair met for the first time in London in July 2016, when they were introduced by a mutual friend. The Prince and Markle made their first public appearance together at the Invictus Games last September, where they held hands at a wheelchair tennis event and spent time with Markle’s mother, Doria.
Markle, who is known for her role as paralegal Rachel Zane on the popular legal-drama series Suits, spoke openly about her relationship for the first time in a candid Vanity Fair interview in early September. “We’re a couple,” she said of her relationship with Harry, whom she referred to as her “boyfriend”. “We’re in love. I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us.”
 © Karwai Tang—WireImage Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hold hands on day 3 of the Invictus Games Toronto 2017 on September 25, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. As Prince Harry is in the line of succession to the throne (he’s currently fifth in line, but will become sixth after Prince William and Kate Middleton welcome their third baby in spring 2018), he must have obtained the approval of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, to get engaged and eventually wed Markle.
It’s not yet clear whether Harry and Markle will follow the example of Prince William and Kate Middleton by opting for a grand royal wedding ceremony with hundreds of guests at Westminster Abbey, or will instead choose to have a quieter, more intimate affair. Among the locations where the nuptials could take place is St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Harry’s father, Prince Charles, wed Camilla Parker Bowles and Harry’s uncle, Prince Edward, married Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
© Samir Hussein/WireImage Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend wheelchair tennis on day 3 of the Invictus Games Toronto 2017 on September 25, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. The wedding will be Markle’s second, as she married movie producer Trevor Engelson in a barefoot ceremony at the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, in 2011 — the same year Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot.
Markle and Engelson divorced two years after their marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Although it has previously been forbidden for a royal to marry a divorcee (King Edward VIII advocated the throne in late 1936 to marry divorced American Wallis Simpson), the family’s approach to divorce has softened over the years; Prince Charles has famously divorced and remarried.

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Hurricane victims are headed for homelessness

An affordable housing crisis is deepening in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Even before the storms, each community had severe shortages of affordable rental homes.
Houston and Orlando had fewer than 18 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 of the lowest income seniors, people with disabilities and families struggling to get by. In Puerto Rico 45 percent, and the Virgin Island 30 percent, of the population lived below the poverty level - far higher than the 15 percent national average.
The vast majority of the poorest families in each location were paying at least half of their limited incomes on rent, leaving few resources for their other basic needs, like food, healthcare, transportation, or for savings for when disasters hit.
Then Hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma roared in and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes. The lowest income residents with the fewest resources to fall back on have been the hardest hit.
In the months since the storms made landfall, not enough has been done to address the housing recovery needs of those impacted. More than 70,000 people - including thousands of children - are still living in hotels through FEMA's Transitional Shelter Assistance program. Thousands more remain in shelters.
Many families have found the shelter program unusable due to a lack of participating hotels or the participant's inability to cover the extra associated costs. Many have turned to sleeping on friends or families' couches, in cars or damaged, mold-infested homes, or in tents. In Puerto Rico, thousands of extremely low-income seniors and families are taking shelter in homes with damaged roofs and sleeping on wet and moldy mattresses.
© Provided by The Hill Hurricane victims are headed for homelessness Clearly, the magnitude of the destruction, spread across four states and territories, has made the recovery process difficult. But the federal government must act quickly or the calamity may spiral into long-term hopelessness and homelessness, especially for those with the lowest incomes. Unless we commit to rebuilding equitably and ensuring the housing needs of the most vulnerable are prioritized, the recovery efforts will cement in place the underlying crises that existed in these communities before the storms: severe housing poverty and homelessness.
The latest disaster spending request made by the Trump administration to Congress falls far short of the resources and policies needed, and the White House proposal to offset new disaster spending with further cuts to non-defense spending is a nonstarter.
Congress should instead look to the comprehensive set of recommendations of the Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition, endorsed by more than 500 organizations, for concrete steps they must take to ensure that recovery efforts are complete and equitable.
Such action starts with ensuring that housing solutions reach people with the greatest needs. The federal and state governments should take immediate steps to allow the Department of Housing and Urban Development to stand up its Disaster Housing Assistance Program, which was used effectively after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike and Sandy to provide low income, displaced families with safe, decent, and affordable rental homes and comprehensive case management to help them rebuild their lives.
This proven approach can directly address some of the gaps in FEMA's hotel-shelter program in Texas and Florida and can better meet the temporary housing needs of the more than 100,000 Puerto Ricans who have fled to the mainland.
Congress should also adopt innovative housing solutions to speed up the housing recovery process, like the RAPIDO program, created after Hurricane Dolly and modeled after Katrina Cottages. Under RAPIDO, displaced families can immediately move into a core, inexpensive and quick-to-build modular home where they can live during the recovery process, the home being gradually augmented to meet their longer-term needs over time. This temporary-to-permanent housing solution can work well in communities across Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Texas and Florida.
Over the long run, the federal government must at a minimum ensure that the recent hurricanes do not exacerbate the affordable housing crisis. Congress should require that all damaged and destroyed affordable rental homes are repaired or rebuilt and provide substantial funding for Community Development Block Grants - Disaster Recovery funds, prioritizing projects that serve the lowest income renters and their communities.
Additional funding for the national Housing Trust Fund - a federal program for building and rehabilitating homes for people with the greatest needs - is sorely needed in impacted communities, as is a special allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits targeted towards housing for people with the lowest incomes.
While this is not an exhaustive list, it is a starting point for any serious attempt to recover from the massive devastation in a way that also addresses long-standing issues of housing poverty and homelessness in impacted communities. The administration and Congress must act quickly to ensure a complete, fair and equitable housing recovery in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Texas and Florida.
SOURCE;MSN
 

Death toll in Egypt north Sinai mosque attack rises to 235 killed

he death toll in a militant attack on a mosque in Egypt's north Sinai region has risen to 235, Egyptian state television reported, quoting the public prosecutor.
Earlier:
CAIRO - Militants killed 184 people at a mosque in Egypt's north Sinai region on Friday, detonating a bomb and shooting at fleeing worshippers and ambulances, state media and witnesses said.
It was one of the deadliest attacks in the region's Islamist insurgency. No group claimed immediate responsibility, but since 2014 Egyptian security forces have battled a stubborn Islamic State affiliate in the north of the mainly desert Sinai, where militants have killed hundreds of police and soldiers.
State media showed images of bloodied victims and bodies covered in blankets inside the Al Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, west of the city of El Arish.
State television and the official news agency MENA reported that 184 people had been killed. Another 125 were wounded, according to state media.
"They were shooting at people as they left the mosque," a local resident whose relatives were at the scene told Reuters. "They were shooting at the ambulances too."
Arabiya news channel and some local sources said some of the worshippers were sufis who hardliners such as Islamic State regard as apostates because they revere saints and shrines, which for Islamists is tantamount to idolatry.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a former armed forces commander who presents himself as a bulwark against Islamist militants, convened an emergency meeting with his defense and interior ministers and intelligence chief soon after the attack, the presidency's Facebook page and state television said.
The government also declared three days of mourning.
Militants have mostly targeted security forces in their attacks since bloodshed in the Sinai worsened after 2013 when Sisi, then an armed forces commander, led the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood.
But jihadists have also targeted local Sinai tribes that are working with the armed forces, branding them traitors for cooperating with the army and police.
In July this year, at least 23 soldiers were killed when suicide car bombs hit two military checkpoints in the Sinai, an attack claimed by Islamic State.
Militants have tried to expand beyond the largely barren, Sinai Peninsula into Egypt's heavily populated mainland, hitting Coptic Christian churches and pilgrims.
In May, gunmen attacked a Coptic group traveling to a monastery in southern Egypt, killing 29. (Additional reporting by Mohamed Abdellah; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
SOURCE;  MSN

Diabetes kills only careless people, says Obasanjo

Olusegun Obasanjo

Former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo says that diabetes only kills those who are careless about its treatment.
Obasanjo made the statement on Friday in Abeokuta when he led hundreds of people on a road walk to sensitise the populace on the disease and how to manage it.
The road walk was organised by the South West Zone of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN) in collaboration with the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), to mark the 2017 World Diabetes Day.
The two kilometre walk which began at the OOPL, passed through MKO Abiola Way with 15 minutes stop-over at the premises of Sunny Yinka Oil before terminating at the take-off point.
The former president was joined on the walk by the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, Commissioner for Health in Ogun, Dr Babatunde Ipaye and Chief Executive Officer of the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation, Dr Olalekan Makinde
According to Obasanjo, if a person with diabetes takes care of himself, he will discover that “diabetes is not a killer disease.”
Obasanjo lamented the fact that many youths in the country rarely exercised, saying that because of his lifestyle, in spite of his age, he was still agile and fit.
“Diabetes is not a disease that should kill. I was diagnosed to be diabetic more than 30 years ago but rather I am growing stronger.
“If you don’t believe I am growing strong and you didn’t witness this walk, come and see me at night, you will know I am growing strong.

“Come and see me in the morning, you will know I am growing strong, even in the afternoon; you will know I am growing strong.
“What is necessary is management of diabetes. Some people said some diseases are incurable but diabetes is manageable and compliant.
“My headmaster in primary school was diagnosed at the age of 50 and died at age 85; you will agree with me that he tried.”
He advised diabetics to be mindful of their health and eat healthy
“What to do is that if you’re diabetic don’t be non-chalant about it and don’t eat carelessly.
“Three things are important, the food you eat, regular exercise and prescribed medication, those are the three most important things.
“You can be diabetic and still lives till 100. I don’t know when I will die but I am above 80 and many of youths could not catch up with my pace during the exercise this morning. Many of them were running after me.
“This is my message. Whether you’re diabetic or you have a family or friend who is diabetic; diabetes is not a killer disease or it should not be a killer disease unless you are careless,” Obasanjo added.
In a speech, Akanbi said he was in Abeokuta to support Obasanjo in the awareness walk, advising people to always take their health issues serious.
SOURCE; GUARDIAN NEWS

Woman sends explosives to Obama

Former US president Barack Obama

A Texas woman has been charged with mailing explosive devices to President Barack Obama and Texas governor Greg Abbott that she made using a cigarette packet and a salad dressing cap.
Court documents show that 46-year-old Julia Poff could have caused severe burns or even killed Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbot if the package she mailed to him had been opened as intended.
Agents were able to trace the improvised explosive device back to Poff on the basis of a destroyed shipping label.
A Pall Mall cigarette packet and a salad dressing cap used to create the bomb were also found to have originated from Poff’s home.
Packaging for the cigarettes was found in her home in Sealy, Texas; as well as large quantities of fireworks. Black powder of the kind used in pyrotechnics formed the explosive component in the device.
Poff sent a similar device to the White House during the Obama presidency, the documents for the prosecution show. The F.B.I. determined hair found on the package had come from one of her cats.
It appears that Poff was motivated to send the letter bombs because of financial difficulties and grievances over government payouts.
When it came to Abbott, Poff was upset that when he was the Texas Attorney General, the state had not ruled in her favour in a dispute over support payments from her husband.
Her complaint with the federal government was more convoluted. Documents for the prosecution claim she blamed the Obama administration because her application for social security benefits had been denied. The investigating agent also stipulated that Poff did not like the president.
As well as being accused of attempting to kill or maim politicians, Poff is also charged with falsely declaring bankruptcy and peddling fake nutritional supplements.
Following Hurricane Harvey, Poff asked for funds for a widowed father and a young child. The state says she failed to pass on the donations made to her at the law firm where she worked.Poff, who has pleaded not guilty to the bombing charges, faces a prison sentence of more than 10 years if convicted. The case continues.
SOURCE;  PUCH NEWSPAPER

BREAKING NEWS! ATIKU DUMP APC

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will formerly collect his PDP membership card in his home state of Adamawa tomorrow, a development that will mark his final exit from the APC.

Multiple sources confirmed yesterday that Atiku had perfected plans to participate in the PDP’s national convention scheduled for December 9.

To this effect, the former VP would first collect his membership card in his Jada 1 polling ward in Adamawa even as several of his loyalists had already defected to pave the way for what they called “Atiku’s home coming.”

A member of Atiku’s political group in the state who spoke under anonymity ‎ disclosed that   thousands of supporters had been mobilised from the 21 local areas in the state.

‎”Twenty buses have been allocated to each local government area for the event; the buses will convey supporters to Yola,” he said.

Daily Trust learnt that the former APC presidential   aspirant is expected to arrive Yola tomorrow in preparation for his decamping to the PDP.

The state chairman of the PDP, Barrister Tahir Shehu neither confirmed nor denied the development.

‎”It could be true but I cannot make further comment. We have been courting the former VP to return to the party,” he  stated.

Alhaji Lawan Uba, the Director of Mobilization of Atiku Support Group, told our correspondent that it was true Atiku would leave the APC on Saturday.

He made reference to the recent ward, local government and state congresses of the PDP where Atiku’s loyalists won almost all the positions.

“We’ve cleared the terrain and Atiku will come to the PDP tomorrow; this is certain unless there is last minute change because already many people from Abuja and other places are in Yola ahead of the formal event even though the elaborate ceremony will come up later,” he said.

Atiku has no business in APC, he has been betrayed and he would definitely come to PDP and make the desired impact of changing the lives of Nigerians,” he also said.

SOURCE: DAILY TRUST

Mnangagwa sworn in as Zimbabwe’s new president

  Emmerson Mnangagwa vowed sweeping change as he was sworn as Zimbabwe's president Friday, seeking to reassure foreign investors and pledging to fight poverty and corruption after Robert Mugabe's shock resignation.In his inaugural address, the new president set out a programme of dramatic change that promised a stark reversal of many of Mugabe's signature policies.e pledged that his government would compensate white farmers whose land was seized by Mugabe, would protect international investments in the country and re-engage with foreign powers.Elections scheduled for 2018 would continue as planned, he said."I humbly appeal to all of us that we let bygones be bygones," he said at the ceremony in the 60,000-seat national stadium, which was packed to capacity."We must work together -- you, me, all of us who make this nation."After reciting the oath of office, he was given a ceremonial chain and sash of office flanked by his wife Auxilia, receiving salutes and pledges of allegiance from the country's military and security chiefs.Military aircraft and helicopters then staged a fly-past.'Mugabe's legacy of ruin' "We are excited and expecting a lot from Mnangagwa. We have been under a dictatorship for a very long time," said 23-year-old Sharon Mauyakufa.The 93-year-old former president, who ruled Zimbabwe with an iron rod for 37 years, was ousted after the military intervened over his sacking of Mnangagwa as vice president on November 6.Two days later, Mnangagwa fled the country, only returning on Wednesday when he said Zimbabwe was entering an era of "full democracy".But critics have warned Mnangaga -- whose ruthlessness won him the nickname "The Crocodile" and who has been accused of overseeing violence and ethnic massacres -- could prove just as authoritarian as his mentor.Friday's 21-gun salute marked Mnangagwa's transformation from a sacked enemy of the state to president of a nation of 16 million people."We thank you, our soldier," read one banner at the stadium."The people have spoken," said another."Mnangagwa came at the right time when the economy was showing signs of going back to 2008 when shops ran out of goods and people were starving," said Nozithelo Mhlanga, a 27-year-old accountant.

"Mugabe has left no legacy at all except that of ruin, poverty and corruption."Mugabe in frail health 
Mugabe, who is in increasingly frail health, had been positioning his wife Grace as his successor but the army chiefs stepped in to halt the plan.Police commissioner Augustine Chihuri, who is seen as a leading supporter of the faction that backed Grace, was loudly booed at the swearing in. Mugabe did not attend.In talks with Mugabe on Thursday, Mnangagwa "assured him and his family maximum security and welfare" for their future as private citizens, the website of the state-run Herald daily said.Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change received rapturous applause as he arrived at the packed stadium.'Africa's Gandhi' 
Also at the ceremony were Zambian President Edgar Lungu and Botswana's President Ian Khama, both of whom did a lap of honour to huge cheers.Zambian independence leader Kenneth Kaunda -- a 93-year-old who is known as "Africa's Gandhi" -- also received a large cheer.Britain, the former colonial power, said it had sent a junior minister to the ceremony.Jacob Zuma, president of regional heavyweight South Africa, did not attend as he was hosting a visit by Angola's new head of state.Protection for Mugabe? 
Mugabe had ruled Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980, exercising almost total authority to crush any sign of dissent.The majority of Zimbabweans have only known life under Mugabe whose reign was characterised by brutality, rigged elections and international isolation.Until his iron grip ended on Tuesday with a resignation letter read out in parliament where MPs had gathered to impeach him, he was the world's oldest head of state.Mugabe was last seen in public on Friday. Neither he nor his wife Grace has been seen since, though they are expected to be given protection by the government.In the week before Mugabe resigned, military vehicles rolled down Harare's streets and tens of thousands of Zimbabweans demonstrated against the veteran leader.Zimbabwe's once-promising economy collapsed under Mugabe's rule, and many hope Mnangagwa will push through reforms to bring in investment.Unemployment is over 90 percent, and in his first speech after being announced as the next president he promised "jobs, jobs, jobs!"

Nigeria leads in seeds production in W/Africa - NASC

Director General National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Mr Philip O. Ojo has disclosed that, seeds producers in Nigeria produces 75% of the total seeds being used in West Africa thereby making Nigeria a lead nation in seed production.

The director general made this known when he led the council’s delegation on a courtesy visit on Jigawa state governor Alhaji Badaru Abubakar.

"Nigeria produces 75% of the seeds used in West Africa which makes it a major exporter of seeds to other countries in the sub-region. This is one aspect that the country has excelled in, but we still need to do more. However, the contribution of some states in seed production must be commended and we hope that more states will see the advantage of such engagement and follow suit as well,” said the DG.

Mr Ojo added that the Seeds companies that were established in Jigawa were signs of sustainable agricultural development embarked by the state government.

In his address, Governor Badaru stated that with the availability of quality seeds, his state would do more than expected in terms of delivery in all sub-sectors of the agricultural sector, insisting that a good planting phenomena starts with having a good seeds and planting in good time.

New regulation threatens N466b power sector loans

The nation’s banks could lose over N466 billion exposures to the power sector due to new policy by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Operators in the ailing sector say the regulation would impact negatively on their revenue and ability to pay back loans.
The industry, which had been bogged by challenges since it was privatised, may have been burdened further by the Eligible Customer and the Eligible Customer Regulations.
Already, the Distribution Companies (DisCos) have issued notice to declare force majeure, a term relating to the law of insurance and frequently used in construction contracts to protect parties when a segment of the contract cannot be performed due to emergencies, including natural disasters.
The Eligible Customer declaration permits electricity customers to buy power directly from the generation companies, in line with the provisions of Section 27 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 where eligible customers may buy power from a licensee other than electricity distribution companies.
The directive presents an opportunity for existing captive or off-grid power plants to supply power to single eligible customers, especially in the manufacturing sector and groups of customers who may be within commercial, residential or industrial clusters.
The DisCos however claimed that the new policy resulted in a change of law that prevents them from fulfilling their obligations under the Performance Agreement.
Though, the country’s transmission network has been upgraded to wheel over 7,000mw of electricity, the DisCos are rejecting load, due to their inability to build more distribution infrastructure.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the power and energy sector was given 2.97 per cent of a total of N15.71trillion worth of credit allocated by banks to the private sector in the second quarter of 2017.
At the start of privatisation three years ago, many DisCos and GenCos took loans from banks to purchase the firms. Some even went further and obtained more funds for rehabilitation of dilapidated infrastructure.
Few years later, operators of the electricity firms are yet to break even, blaming low-cost reflective tariff system, introduction of eligible customers by the Federal Government, and high cost of gas to power plants.
Operators put the tariff shortfall in the sector from January 2015 to December 2016 at N460 billion. They said there was a market shortfall accumulating at a rate of N20 to N25 billion monthly with a planned recovery of N701 billion.
For example, Abuja Disco has a tariff shortfall of N45 billion; Benin, N53 billion; Eko, N28 billion; Enugu, N45 billion; Ibadan, N59 billion, Ikeja, N38 billion, Jos, N27 billion; Kaduna, N48 billion; Kano, N40 billion; Port Harcourt, N48 billion; and Yola, N21 billion.
The operators noted that the introduction of Eligible Customers would flush the sector down the drain. “What the Minister has done is the violation of the statutory principle of contract. If the DisCos are undermined, investors will be skeptical about bringing investment into the country,” an investor told The Guardian in confidence.
The introduction of Eligible Customers at this time would not bring desired results, “rather it will distort the market, as the playing field is not level,” he said.
The source said: “The problem of the power sector is liquidity. A situation where you are buying energy at N68 per kWh and are compelled by law to sell the same for N31.58k will never solve the sector’s problem. Even if an angel runs the DisCos today, it can never be whole.”
Decrying the challenges in the sector, the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, said DisCos have continued to seek fund, in spite of the burdened balance sheet due to the Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Fund that went to legacy gas debt.
He said there had been calls from different quarters that the privatisation of the power sector should be cancelled. “Privatisation is not the issue but rather inconsistent regulatory framework. Cancelling of the privatisation would worsen the sector and show to foreign investors that Nigeria does not respect sanctity of contract and that we are not open for business,” he said.
He stressed that access to finance for capital investment, necessary to inject efficiency, was non-existent, and that ability to sell power at its cost would generate the cash flow projection critical for DisCos to access lender financing or equity investment.
“Inadequacy of the electricity tariff minimises the capital investment required to improve the retail experience. Gas pipeline disruptions adversely impact generation, reducing the base of recovery of costs. Transmission limitations create energy bottlenecks. Lack of investment by the DisCos, which promotes continued inefficiency and the aforementioned challenges, results in reduced revenues and resultant market shortfalls,” he said.
He noted that a policy framework that was consistent and promoted an enabling investment environment would attract investment to the sector.
Oduntan added that open, inclusive and transparent collaboration with the private sector was fundamental to the viability and sustainability of the sector.
“Performance agreements need to be effective, with all the pre-conditions addressed,” he said, calling for a special intervention fund with long tenure and single digit interest rate to fund long-term projects in the sector.
In a letter to the DisCos, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh, challenged the assertion that there had been a change in law and rejected the notice to declare force majeure.
Okoh said that pursuant to the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005, it was obvious that the Minister of Power, Works and Housing was empowered to issue policy directive specifying the class or classes of end-use customers.
He said: “As you are aware, this is the same Act which midwifed the process whereby the power assets were privatised to the core investors. Given that the declaration and the regulations were lawfully and validly issued by the Minister and NERC, and that there has been no change in the law giving rise to a political force majeure, we are unable to see the basis for the issuance of the notice.”
The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, pointed out that while the DisCos would be affected in terms of potential revenue impact, consumers would be affected with regards to how they possibly built distribution assets and how got compensated.
“Members of the public must therefore understand that whether it is tariff setting, whether it is Eligible Customer declaration, the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) works, first, by consultation before it makes decisions, so that all interests are carried as much as possible,” said Fashola.
He added: “I want to use this opportunity to say that whenever consultation notices and stakeholder notices are issued by NERC, members of the public should take them seriously.”
He described the regulation as “a very important rule”, adding: “It will help us to improve capacity for electricity distribution to consumers who need them and consumers also who are willing to make investments in providing distribution assets in a way that it helps them to recover their costs.
“But I will like members of the public to know that the process of making these rules did not come by sitting in the office. It came by consulting with as many people as possible who will be affected by the regulations and by the declaration that I have made. I know that DisCos will be affected in terms of potential revenue impact and I believe that this has been taken care of.”
In ‘Nigerian Power Sector Report, Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?’ a financial analyst with the United Capital Group, Kayode Tinuoye, said that in spite of numerous headwinds confronting the power sector today, the electricity market remained an attractive long-term investment opportunity.
Meanwhile, Nigerian banks have taken over 15 tanks, filling stations and properties used as collateral by some operators in the downstream sector.
The executive secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Obafemi Olawore, confirmed the development yesterday, saying the marketers were unable to offset their loans due to non-payment of a $2 billion outstanding subsidy by the Federal Government.
Olawore said the marketers consisting of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) were under intense pressure from banks to pay back loans obtained to import petroleum products during the subsidy era in the country.
He disclosed that the unpaid interest and foreign exchange differentials arising from the subsidy claims had led to insolvency and rendered the marketers financially handicapped to continue operations.
Speaking on bank’s exposure to the oil sector, Head of Energy, Ecobank Plc, Dolapo Oni, said the debt figure in the oil and gas sector was still very large, adding that measures were now being taken by banks to get some of the debtors to sell some of their assets.

SOURCE: GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

New Cold War? Iran Sends Warships to Gulf of Mexico

Iranian warships are set to leave the waters of the Persian Gulf to sail across the world and tour another gulf—the one that lies between the U.S. and Mexico.
At a time when Iran is looking to expand and modernize its military in the face of what is seen as a growing U.S. threat, its newly appointed navy commander, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, held his first press conference Wednesday, announcing that a fleet of Iranian ships would soon depart for the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico en route to visits to a number of South American countries, Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported. The move is reportedly part of a push to project Iran's military on a more global scale and establish international ties as President Donald Trump and his allies, including Israel and Saudi Arabia, seek to isolate the revolutionary Shiite Muslim power.

"Sailing in open waters between Europe and Americas should be the navy’s goal, which will be realized in the near future," Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, who served as navy chief for 10 years before being assigned by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to deputy coordinator of the army, said earlier this month at his successor's ceremony, according to the Tasnim News Agency and translated by Caspian News.
Khanzadi also pledged to introduce new vessels and submarines next year and announced other upcoming plans to bolster the country's naval power. He said the new Peykan-class missile-launching corvette Separ (shield) would join the country's Caspian Fleet next week. In addition to the planned reintroduction of refurbished and renovated vessels, a new navy airport was reportedly set to be launched in the southeastern port city of Jask, along the Makran coast.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution deposed West-installed Shah Mohammad Reva Pahlavi, the U.S. and Iran have had poor relations. The U.S. has also firmly backed its main Arab ally, ultraconservative Sunni Muslim kingdom Saudi Arabia, in a decades-long struggle to limit Iran's influence. That campaign has become increasingly hostile in recent years, with both sides backing opposing political and militant movements across the region. As Iran outmatched its foe in crucial arenas, Israel has offered to help Saudi Arabia constrain Iran's expanding foothold.
Trump, a staunch supporter of both Israel and Saudi Arabia, has decertified and threatened to scrap a 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama. The agreement, which hardline conservatives in both the U.S. and Iran opposed, freed billions of dollars of sanctioned Iranian assets in exchange for Tehran promising to curb its nuclear production. Despite deep criticism from U.S. allies and international bodies that have found Iran to be in compliance with the deal, Trump has left it up to Congress to decide whether to kill the treaty or renegotiate, something Iran said it was not willing to do.
© Provided by IBT Media Despite the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia's moves, Iran has found itself in a leading position in the Middle East, where it claimed allies in the capitals of Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. It has also built stronger ties with Russia, which was engaged in its own renewed Cold War with the U.S. and Western military alliance NATO in Europe, over the two countries' mutual support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This foreign support was crucial in helping Syria's armed forces overcome a long-running uprising by jihadis and insurgents, which had received backing from the U.S., Gulf Arab states and Turkey. With the opposition now largely decimated, Turkey has joined Iran and Russia in administering peace talks.
Iran's latest move toward the Western hemisphere isn't its first. In addition to receiving ongoing political support from friendly Latin American nations, some of which were alleged to host elements of the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, Iran said in 2014 it would send warships into the Gulf of Mexico to protest the U.S. Navy presence in the Persian Gulf, according to USA Today.
Prior to that, Iran offered to dispatch experts during the massive BP oil spill in 2010 to "curb the rig leakage in the Gulf of Mexico and prevent an ecological disaster in that part of the world," Reuters reported.

SOURCE: msn

Net neutrality repeal means your internet may never be the same

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants the US government to stop "micromanaging the internet."
On Tuesday he introduced a proposal to repeal the controversial 2015 net neutrality rules that prevented broadband companies from blocking or slowing down access to websites or services.
While many people agree with the basic principles of net neutrality, these specific rules have been a lightning rod for controversy.  That's because in order to get the rules to hold up in court, the FCC reclassified broadband networks so that they fell under the same strict regulations that govern telephone networks.
Pai has called the Obama-era rules "heavy-handed" and "a mistake," and he argues that they've deterred innovation and depressed investment in building and expanding broadband networks. To set things right, he says, he's taking the FCC back a "light touch" approach to regulation.
A draft copy of Pai's repeal proposal (PDF) was released to the public on Wednesday. Don't feel like you have to plow through all the bureaucratic and technical complexities to get a handle on the situation. We've assembled this FAQ to put everything in plain English.

What is net neutrality again?

Net neutrality is the principle that all traffic on the internet should be treated equally, regardless of whether you're checking Facebook, posting pictures to Instagram or streaming movies from Netflix or Amazon. It also means that companies like AT&T, which is trying to buy Time Warner, or Comcast, which owns NBC Universal, can't favor their own content over a competitor's content.

So what just happened?

Pai, who became FCC chairman after President Trump took office, on Tuesday published a proposal to eliminate the current net neutrality regulations, which prohibit broadband providers from blocking or slowing down traffic and ban them from offering so-called fast lanes to companies willing to pay extra to reach consumers more quickly than competitors.
But the proposal's most significant change is to strip the FCC of its authority to regulate broadband and instead shift that responsibility to the Federal Trade Commission. Under the 2015 rules, the FCC reclassified broadband as a utility, which gave it the authority to regulate broadband infrastructure much as it did the old telephone network. The proposal would strip away that classification.

Does this mean no one will be policing the internet?

Pai hopes internet service providers will publicly commit to putting "no blocking" and "no throttling" commitments in their terms of service. That would make these actions enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission, which can take action against companies that violate contracts with consumers or that participate in anticompetitive and fraudulent activity.

Is the FTC equipped to make sure broadband companies don't harm consumers?

Yes and no. The FTC already oversees consumer protection and competition for the whole economy. But this also means the agency is swamped. And because the FTC isn't focused exclusively on the telecommunications sector, it's unlikely the agency can deliver the same kind of scrutiny that the FCC would.
More importantly, the FTC also lacks the FCC's rulemaking authority. This means FTC enforcement extends only to companies' voluntary public commitments or violations of antitrust law. Unless broadband and wireless carriers commit in writing to basic net neutrality principles, the FTC can only enforce antitrust issues, which must meet a high legal standard.

What about internet fast lanes? Will the FCC ask companies to voluntarily commit to not offering paid prioritization?

No, the FCC proposal removes the ban that keeps a service provider from charging an internet service, like Netflix or YouTube, a fee for delivering its service faster to customers than competitors can. Net neutrality supporters argue that this especially hurts startups, which can't afford such fees. 
But Pai believes the current rules are too restrictive. He wants to make sure broadband companies can experiment with different business models, such as offering more zero-rated deals, which allow companies to give away content for free without it counting against a customer's monthly data cap. Another potential business model would allow a broadband provider to give priority to a medical application or to services like those enabling self-driving cars.

Does the proposal leave any of the old rules in place?

The one rule that was spared is the so-called "transparency rule," which requires broadband providers to disclose how they manage their networks. The new proposal will try to expand this requirement. The FCC wants internet service providers to commit to disclosing when and under what circumstances they block or slow traffic and to disclose if and when they offer paid priority services.

What's it all mean for me?

This is a huge change in policy at the FCC and it could affect how you experience the internet. Whether that experience is changed for the better or for the worse depends on whom you believe.
Pai and many other Republicans say freeing up broadband providers from onerous and outdated regulation will let them invest more in their networks. They're hopeful this will lead to more expansion in rural and hard-to-service areas of the country, as well as faster speed service throughout the US. The agency's argument for repealing the rules is that investment started to decline in 2015 after the rules were adopted.
But Democrats like Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, consumer advocacy groups, civil rights organizations and technology companies like Google and Mozilla say that repealing the 2015 rules and stripping the FCC of its authority will lead to broadband companies controlling more of your internet experience.
As companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast acquire more online content like video, they could give their own services priority on their networks, squeezing out competitors and limiting what you could access. This might mean fewer startups get a shot at becoming the next Facebook, Netflix or YouTube. Ultimately, it could lead to your internet experience looking more like cable TV, where all the content is curated by your provider.
Some critics also fear this control could lead to higher prices. And groups such as the ACLU say it could affect your First Amendment right to free speech as big companies control more of what you experience online.
"Internet rights are civil rights," said Jay Stanley, an ACLU senior policy analyst. "Gutting net neutrality will have a devastating effect on free speech online. Without it, gateway corporations like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T will have too much power to mess with the free flow of information."

What's next?

The FCC is scheduled to vote on the proposal at its Dec. 14  meeting. And since Republicans lead the agency with 3 votes to 2, it will easily pass.
But that's not the end of the fight. Net neutrality supporters have vowed to file lawsuits in defense of net neutrality. Once the order to repeal the rules is published in the federal registry, the lawsuits will likely be filed. Supporters say they feel good about their chances in court, given that a federal appeals court last year upheld the 2015 rules. But as with any legal fight, the outcome is never certain until the judges make their ruling.

Will Congress take action?

Even though internet service providers may be dancing a jig now over their good fortune to have the FCC rules repealed, if a Democrat is elected to the White House in 2020, the rules could flip back the other way and be reinstated.
Obviously, this ping-ponging is not good for anyone. For this reason, people on both sides of the issue have called for Congress to take action and amend the Communications Act to codify net neutrality protections. Republicans have offered proposals, but Democrats have balked because they say the legislation would further strip the FCC of authority.
That said, Schatz is working to introduce legislation to protect net neutrality. So stay tuned.

Is there anything I can do?

At this point, the repeal is going to happen. But net neutrality supporters say it's important to reach out to your elected officials to tell them you're concerned and to urge them to pass bipartisan legislation. Schatz also said that anybody who cares about this issue, including the thousands of people who filed comments to the FCC urging protection for the net neutrality rules, need to turn that concern into action. Midterm elections for Congress are coming up in 2018, and Schatz wants to see tech-savvy young people making the internet a campaign issue. 
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SOURCE:  MSN NEWS