American Missionary Kidnapped in Nigeria

LAGOS, Feb 24 - An American woman working as a Christian missionary in Nigeria was kidnapped overnight, the website of the Free Methodist Church and a security source said on Tuesday.

"Early this morning we received a report that Rev. Phyllis Sortor, our missionary in Nigeria, was abducted from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, Kogi State, Nigeria by several persons," the church said.

Nigeria is one of the world's worst country's for kidnapping, a major criminal enterprise that makes millions of dollars a year. Criminal gangs have kidnapped scores of expatriates in southern and central Nigeria over the years. Central Kogi state has also had low level activity by Islamist militants linked to insurgent group Boko Haram, security sources say.

A U.S. State Department official said authorities had heard the reports but could not make further comments in the interest of privacy.

 (Reuters)

Owners of Oil Blocks In Nigeria

It’s more news the North wants GEJ out of the way, so their licenses can be renewed cos most of them are expiring from 2016 upwards. Monumental injustice is being perpetrated to the people of Niger Delta on whose soil the oil was found.

These people constitutes the main opposition to President Goodluck Jonathan today. Please Read on:

(1) This oil block business is so lucrative that Danjuma’s Sapetro divested of its investment in Akpo condensate for $1billion dollars. This business is second to none in Nigeria. That is why any attempt to investigate the activities in this sector will always be futile. The money is so much that they give bribes in millions of dollars. A birthday gift or child naming gift from an oil block owner to a government official could be as paltry as $2million dollars, and if the official’s father died, the condolence gift could reach mere $3 million dollars. When they want to bribe legislators, it is in millions of dollars and any ongoing investigation ends within weeks. They are so confident that with excess money they can buy up Nigeria and they are succeeding

(2) OML 110 with high yield OBE oil fields was given Cavendish Petroleum owned by Alhaji Mai Daribe, the Borno Patriarch in 1996 by Sanni Abacha. OBE oil field has estimated over 500 million barrels of oil. In layman’s language and using average benchmark of $100 dollars per barrel, translates to $50 billion dollars worth of oil reserve. When you remove the taxes, royalties and sundry duties worth about 60% of the reserve payable over time you get about $20billion dollars worth of oil in the hands of a family.

(3) OPL 246 was awarded to SAPETRO, a company owned by General Theophilus Danjuma, by Sanni Abacha in 1998. Akpo condensate exports about 300,000 barrels of crude daily.

(4) NOML 112 and OML 117 were awarded to AMNI International Petroleum Development Company owned by Colonel Sanni Bello in 1999. Sanni Bello is an inlaw to Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Head of State of Nigeria.

(5) OML 115, OLDWOK Field and EBOK field was awarded to Alhaji Mohammed Indimi from Niger State. Indimi is an inlaw to former Military President Ibrahim Babangida.

(6) OML 215 is operated by Nor East Petroleum Limited owned by Alhaji Saleh Mohammed Gambo.

(7) OML 108 is operated by Express Petroleum Company Limited is owned by Alhaji Aminu Dantata.

(8) cool OML II3 allocated to Yinka Folawiyo Pet Ltd is owned by Alhaji W.I. folawiyo.

(9)ASUOKPU/UMUTU marginal oil fields is operated by Seplat Petroleum. Seplat is owned by Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero, cousin to the Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi. This oil field has the capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil daily. This translates to $30million dollars daily at average benchmark of $100 dollars per barrel. Deducting all sundry taxes, royalties etc , this field can yield $12billion dollars daily for the owners .

(10)Intel owned by Atiku, Yarádua and Ado Bayero has substantial stakes in Nigeria’s oil exploration industry both in Nigeria and Principe and Sao Tome.

(11) AMNI owns two oil blocks OML 112 and OML 117 which it runs Afren plc and Vitol has substantial stakes in oil blocks. Afren plc is operating EBOK oil fields in OML 67. Vitol lifts 300,000 barrels of Nigerian oil daily. Rilwanu Lukman, former OPEC Chairman has stakes in all these named three companies.

(12) OPL 245 was awarded to Malabu Oil& Gas Company by Sanni Abacha. Dan Etete, Abacha’s oil minister owns Malabu Oil. In 2000, Vice President Atiku Abubakar convinced Obasanjo to revoke OPL 245 given to Malabu Oil. Etete had earlier rejected Atiku’s demand for substantial stakes in the high yield OPL 245 and it attracted the venom of Ota Majesty who revoked the licence. However, in 2006, Obasanjo had mercy on Dan Etete and gave him back his oil block worth over $20 billion dollars.

(13) OPL 289 and OPL 233 was awarded during Obasanjo era to Peter Odili fronts, Cleanwater Consortium, consisting of Clenwater Refinery and RivGas Petroleum and Gas Company. Odili’s brother in law, Okey Ezenwa manages the consortium as Vice Chairman.

(14) OPL 286 is managed by Focus Energy in partnership with BG Group, a British oil concern. Andy Uba has stakes in Focus Energy and his modus operandi is such that you can never see his name in any listings yet he controls OPL and OML through proxies

(15)OPL 291 was awarded to Starcrest Energy Nigeria Limited, owned by Emeka Offor by Obasanjo . Immediately after the award, Starcrest sold the oil block to Addax Petroleum Development Company Limited (ADDAX) Addax paid Sir Emeka Offor a farming fee of $35million dollars and still paid the signature bonus to the government. Emeka Offor still retains stake in ADDAX operations in Nigeria.

(16) Mike Adenuga’s Conoil is the oldest indigenous oil exploration industry in Nigeria. Conoil has six oil blocks and exports above 200,000 barrels of crude daily.

(17)The oil block national cake sharing fiesta could take twists according to the mood of the Commander-in –Chief at the particular time. In 2006, Obasanjo revoked OPL 246 which Abacha gave to Danjuma because he refused to support the tenure elongation bid of the Ota Majesty. In 2000, Obasanjo had earlier revoked OPL 241 given to Dan Etete under the advice Atiku. However, when the Obasanjo-Atiku faceoff started, the Ota Majesty made a u-turn and handed back the oil block to Etete.

(18)During the time of Late President Yarádua , a panel headed by Olusegun Ogunjana was set up to investigate the level of transparency in the award of oil blocks. The panel recommended that 25 oil blocks awarded by the Obasanjo be revoked because the manner they were obtained failed to meet the best practices in the industry. Sadiq Mahmood, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum endorsed the report to then president with all its recommendations. As a result of the report Yarádua revoked eleven oil blocks.

(19) In April 2011 Mike Adenuga attempted to buy Shell’s OML 30 for $1.2 billion dollars. The Minister for Petroleum and Nigeria’s most powerful woman refused the sale of the OML30 to Adenuga citing national interest. This block was later sold to Heritage Oil for $800 million dollars eleven months later.

(20) In the name of competitive bidding, which Obasanjo introduced in 2005, Officials bring companies overnight and through processes best described as secretive and voodooist they award blocks to party faithful, fronts and phoney companies. They collect gratifications running into hundreds of millions of dollars which is paid into offshore account and the nation loses billions of dollars of revenue to private pockets.

During the third term agenda, Obasanjo was deceived that the allocation of oil block to party faithfuls is to fund the third term agenda. With the failure of the third term, the beneficiaries went home with their fortunes and thanked God or Allah for buttering their bread. Senator Andy Uba co ordinate the award of the last rounds of oil block by Obasanjo in 2005 and 2007. The then minister of petroleum, Edwin Daukoru was a mere errand boy who took instructions from the presidential aide

The process of sharing Nigeria’s oil block national cake is as fraudulent now as when Ibrahim Babangida started the process of discretionary allocation of oil blocks to indigenous firms. Discretionary allocation of oil blocks entails that a president can reward a mistress who performs wonderfully with an oil block with capacity for cumulative yield of over $20 billion dollars without recourse to any process outside of manhood attachments.

Babangida, Abacha, Abdulsalami and Obasanjo awarded discretionary oil blocks to friends, associates, family members, party chieftains, security chiefs and all categories of bootlickers, spokespersons and cult members without any laid down procedures. The recipients of such oil blocks will get funds from ever willing offshore financiers and partners to graciously settle the benefactors, the awarders, facilitators and the Commander-in-Chief through fronts. These settlements mostly paid into foreign accounts runs into hundreds of millions of dollars according to the potential yield of the block.

Culled from How Babangida, Abubakar, Abacha, Obasanjo Shared Nigeria’s Oil Blocks – Written by Obinna Akukwe

Nigeria Postpones Elections by Six Weeks

Nigeria's electoral commission will postpone Feb. 14 presidential and legislative elections for six weeks to give a new multinational force time to secure northeastern areas under the sway of Boko Haram, an official close to the commission told The Associated Press on Saturday. Millions could be disenfranchised if the voting went ahead while the Islamic extremists hold a large swath of the northeast and commit mayhem that has driven 1.5 million people from their homes.

The Nigerian official, who is knowledgeable of the discussions, said the Independent National Electoral Commission will announce the postponement later Saturday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Officials in President Goodluck Jonathan's administration have supported postponing the Feb. 14 vote. Any delay is opposed by an opposition coalition fielding former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari, though the opposition stands to take most votes in the northeast.

Supporters of both sides are threatening violence if their candidate does not win. Some 800 people were killed in riots in the mainly Muslim north after Buhari, a Muslim, lost 2011 elections to Jonathan, a Christian from the south. Analysts say the vote is too close to call, the most tightly contested election since decades of military dictatorship ended in 1999.

STATUS REPORT

*Over 45million PVCs collected *Non-guarantee of security *Training manual not ready *Presiding Officers yet to be trained

*700,000 ad hoc staff not recruited yet *PVCs still being printed abroad *RECs yet to print Voter Register *Printers for Register still in Abuja

*No full complement of ballot boxes *Fake printing ink sent to states from headquarters rejected *Many states yet to get balance of Card Readers

The presidential and National Assembly elections, earlier slated for Saturday, February 14, 2015, will now hold on Saturday, March 28, 2015.

The governorship and state legislative elections will hold on April 11, 2015.

This shift in dates was announced yesterday by Professor Attahiru Jega, National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

He made the announcement at a world press conference, invoking the provisions of the following in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended: Section 76(2), Section 116(2), Section 132(2) Section 178(2).

He also quoted Section 25 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

The Commission Chairman explained that INEC was prepared but the security challenge and the need not to deploy men and materials when the security agencies had issued an advisory.

Source:AP

Ugandan Clergy and family found murdered in Houston

A Houston priest, his wife and their young son were found dead in their apartment Monday, victims of a homicide that has shaken the city's Episcopal community as police search for the killer, and a motive. The Rev. Israel Ahimbisibwe, 52, a towering and highly educated clergyman from Uganda, served as a chaplain at the University of Houston and pastored part-time at a small church, where members said they grew worried after he didn't show up to lead their Sunday afternoon services. 

They went to his apartment, and when no one answered, they contacted the building's management, who called authorities. Ahimbisibwe's congregation, the Church of the Redeemer, confirmed that the he'd been killed, along with his wife, Dorcus, and 5-year-old son, Jay. Ahimbisibwe and his wife also had two adult sons, Emmanuel and Issac, who were not living at the apartment at the time. One reportedly attends boarding school in California and the other had recently announced he was joining the Marines.

In Houston's tight-knit Episcopal community, Ahimbisibwe was known as a soft-spoken but charismatic workhorse who often held several un-glamorous part-time jobs simultaneously. He was passionate and animated, but he spoke with an accent that was sometimes difficult for older parishioners to understand. That became an issue at the Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, where he led Sunday morning services and taught bible classes.

Source: NBCNEWS

ISIS burns captured Jordanian pilot alive

Militants fighting for the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq have released a video they claim shows Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh being burned alive while locked in a cage. The footage, which is titled 'Healing the Believers Chests' appears to show the captured airman wearing an orange jumpsuit as a trail of petrol leading up to the cage is seen being set alight. Flames are seen quickly spreading to the cage where they engulf the helpless pilot.

READ MORE

Teenage girl plans to marry Dad

A young girl who is planning her upcoming wedding may have some trouble getting her mother to attend the ceremony - as she is marrying her father. The unnamed 18-year-old is revealing all the details of her two year relationship with her father in an interview with Science of Us, from how they fell in love and the first time they had sex to what their plans are for the future. And one of those plans she is very certain of - the two will have children. READ MORE 

Breaking News: Another hostage situation in Paris

A gunman claiming to be armed with a Kalashnikov and grenades has taken two people hostage at post office in a Paris suburb.

READ MORE

Twelve people including cartoonists slaughtered in France

At least 100,000 people gathered across France tonight to back an anti-Islamist newspaper whose offices were devastated by a deadly terrorist attack. Suspected Al Qaeda militants massacred 12 people in Paris today - and among those slaughtered was a police officer as he begged for mercy.

Tonight, thousands of people went to Republique Square near the scene to honour the victims, 

holding signs reading 'Je suis Charlie' - 'I am Charlie'. 

It came as a massive manhunt was launched to find the masked attackers, who earlier burst into the Charlie Hebdo offices brandishing Kalashnikovs. Clad all in black with hoods and speaking French, the militants forced one of the cartoonists - at the office with her young daughter - to open the door. Witnesses said the gunmen shouted 'we are from the Al Qaeda in Yemen', and 'Allahu akbar!' - Arabic for 'God is great' - as they stalked the building.

READ MORE 

How Nigeria's Rich Spend Millions on Their Dream Wedding

Flowers imported from France, or an R&B superstar flown in from the United States. No request seems to be out of line to Nigeria’s rich when it comes to the most beautiful day of their life. And don’t even mention the b-word – budget, that is – ’cause whatever the bride wants, the bride gets.

Due to its oil reserves, gas, telecom and rising entertainment industry, Nigeria may consider itself Africa’s largest economy. But natural resources and Nollywood aside, there’s another million dollar business out there giving the national GPD a major boost: the wedding events business.

The West African nation may be home to the majority of Africa’s billionaires, but there’s no shortage of millionaires either. “Our core clientèle is mainly made up by millionaires. They will not hesitate to spend the money in order to get what they want. If they need to fly in an artist from America, or a decorator from Dubai or London, they will do so,” says Funke Bucknor, founder of Nigeria’s leading wedding and Events Company, Zapphaire events.

Bucknor is a brand. Apart from her wedding planning duties, she’s published a book titled The Essential Bridal Hand book, and in the first quarter of 2015 her very own TV show will start airing on a national TV network. She founded her wedding planning business twelve years ago and was amongst the first to do so. Today, her profession which seemed unnecessary to many locals over a decade ago has become an essential to the moneyed Nigerian bride that wants her wedding to be the talk of town. Or perhaps it is better to say her weddings. ‘Cause one wedding alone just doesn’t cut it. First there is the traditional wedding – the only wedding recognized by the family – followed by the white wedding, which is similar to that which we know in the West. 

As for the latter, the destination wedding is all the rage. “Dubai and London are the most popular destinations, followed by Cape Town, Seychelles and the Maldives. Florence in currently growing in popularity,” Bucknor adds.

In 2013 research company Euromint showed how Nigeria had world’s fastest growing rate of champagne consumption, second only to France, while ahead of other lucrative markets including the US and China. Lagos-based beauty-queen-turned-event-planner, Elohor Aisien, concurs. “Nigerians love champagne, so the most money will be spent on drinks as well as food. On Nigerian weddings there’s food from 2pm till midnight.” Given that the average Nigerian wedding will easily have around 1000 guests, whereas the bigger wedding will have between 2000 and 3000 guests, the choice of champagne is a crucial one. “Old money Nigerians may keep things more subtle, new money Nigerians are more concerned with letting people know that they’ve arrived. Magnums of Dom Pérignon will often be their drink of choice. 

In a way it’s become this competition amongst brides. They’ll ask me: ‘How many bottles did she have? I need more,’” 33-year-old Aisien says.

Her wedding and events planning company Privé Luxury – founded in 2012 – might be a newbie to the scene, but Elohor may already consider offspring of Nigerian royalty, and the country’s leading female recording artist amongst her clients. “I did the wedding of Reukayat Indimi, who comes from a royal Nigerian family, which hails from the north of the country. According to northern tradition, the bride can’t leave the house during the month leading up to the wedding. Since the bride didn’t have her wedding dress yet, I flew into London with a model who fitted several dresses for her. Elie Saab is a popular choice of wedding dress amongst Nigerians, whereas most grooms I work with want a Tom Ford total look. Vera Wang is also very much in demand, since it fits well on the Nigerian body type,” Elohor says, who may also tick the box that says “celebrity wedding”. 

In 2013 Privé Luxury planned one of Nigeria’s most talked-about weddings, which ended up being broadcast on a local TV network. It was when Nigeria’s leading female recording artist Tiwa Savage, exchanged vows with husband Tee Billz. Their destination wedding was held at Dubai’s Armani Hotel, part of world’s tallest man-made structure, the Burj Khalifa.”I have a good relationship with the Armani Hotel in Dubai, they love Nigerian weddings,”Aisien concludes.

Some might argue that it is morally wrong for a country in which some have to live on a dollar a day, to add value to how many liters of DP are flowing at a wedding. Others however, claim that if it wasn’t for lavish Nigerian weddings, there would be no Nigerian economy. “I appreciate them spending this money, cause without these weddings I don’t know where the Nigerian economy would be,” says Weruche Majekodunmi, founder of Newton & David, a local company specialized in event design and décor. “The weddings keep our economy going. 

Normally the rich Nigerians will spend their money abroad, whenever they go shopping. Thanks to the wedding industry the money is being invested back into our economy. Jobs of caterers, tailors, carpenters and upholsterers are being sustained. Prior to these major weddings, the profession of make-up artist wasn’t even considered a full-time job,” she explains.

Weruche started working with flowers at church as a hobby, around 25 years ago. It was at a time in which Nigerians paid little to no attention, to the decoration of their wedding venue. “Up to fifteen years ago, some weddings wouldn’t even have a table cloth on the tables and they wouldn’t have any flowers except for the bridal bouquet. Nowadays Nigerian weddings will feature expensive flowers from France, silk table cloth and lots of crystal. A lot of the elite Nigerian kids have been educated abroad, so they’re used to the international standard when it comes to detail. They’ve become accustomed to a certain standard, so to import something isn’t unusual to them” the décor specialist slash wedding planner explains. Currently trending amongst the international kids is the flower wall, which surged in popularity after Kim Kardashian’s marriage to Kanye West.

Weruche goes on saying, “It has happened three times in the last five years that I’ve organized a wedding that cost over $2 million. They spent the most on food, Cristal champagne, entertainment and gifts to their guests. At one wedding all the invitees got their wedding outfit with their invitation. At another wedding they handed out microwave ovens, smart phones and rice cookers, to all of their guests. At some other weddings they’ll fly in their guests and arrange their accommodation in case they decide to get married overseas. You must understand that our reasoning is different from that in the West.”

Source: Forbes

App developer pays off parent’s mortgage as xmas gift

Joe Riquelme surprised his parents for Christmas by giving them envelope with bank documents and note saying their house had been paid off. Riquelme, a successful app developer from New York who goes by the YouTube user name joeytrombone, on Thursday shared a video showing his parents’ heartwarming reaction to his incredibly generous Christmas gift. Looking visibly nervous and struggling to keep his emotions in check, Riquelme tells his mom and dad that he has one more Christmas gift for them: a slightly dog-eared envelope folded in half. Inside, there are documents from Bank of America accompanied by a handwritten note that reads: 'Your house is paid off. Merry Xmas. - Joe.'

Teenage Female Bombers on the Prowl in Northern Nigeria

BAUCHI, Nigeria -Two teenage girls entered the busy marketplace separately Tuesday, their vests of explosives hidden beneath their full hijabs. The first detonated her bomb, killing three women. As rescuers rushed in, the second girl screamed and set off her explosives, killing dozens more, according to witnesses and authorities.

More than 40 people died in the double suicide bombing in Maiduguri, a provincial capital in northeastern Nigeria, according to Haruna Issa, a hospital volunteer in the city. Suspicion immediately fell on the insurgents from the Islamic militant group Boko Haram, which controls a large part of northeastern Nigeria and is blamed for the deaths this year of at least 1,500 people in Africa's most populous country.

In its campaign of violence, Boko Haram has used car bombs and men wearing vests of explosives. It also has begun using women who can cover the explosives with their hijabs, and the recruits appear to have gotten younger, with several instances of teenage attackers earlier this year. Source AP

Ferguson, Missouri on fire as grand jury reaches verdict

A Missouri grand jury has decided not to indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, a prosecutor announced late Monday. Hundreds of people gathered outside the Ferguson police station reacted with anger and dismay as word spread that there would be no indictment.

Some protesters destroyed a police car, and one demonstrator was seen dousing another patrol car with lighter fluid. President Barack Obama echoed the words of Michael Brown's father, calling for the Brown's death to lead to "incredible change, positive change" and for people not to hurt others or destroy property.

It is an "understandable reaction" that some Americans will agree and others will be made angry by the decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson, Obama said Monday night.

"First and foremost, we are a nation built on the rule of law, so we need to accept this decision was the grand jury's to make," he said.

After an "exhaustive review," the jurors deliberated for two days, he said. The grand jurors are "the only ones who have heard all the evidence," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch told reporters.

"The physical and scientific evidence examined by the grand jury, combined with the witness statements, supported and substantiated by that physical evidence, tells the accurate and tragic story of what happened," he said. 

Source: CNN

Online Mall flirts mobile strength in Lagos

Nigeria’s largest online mall, Konga.com took the general public by surprise as its delivery unit – KExpress – embarked on an impressive tour across Lagos, with a convoy of about 200 KExpress vehicles of different types!

The tour went by iconic locations in Lagos such as the Oshodi Heritage Park, the Maryland Independence Tunnel, the Third Mainland bridge, the National Stadium in Surulere etc. This move demonstrated Konga.com’s readiness to satisfactorily fulfill the huge volume of orders expected this yuletide season.

To further drive entrepreneurship, Konga.com established an employee reward program for the KExpress drivers. Through the program, Konga.com donates delivery bikes to their long service drivers. The first beneficiaries received their bikes on the 9th of November 2014, after working with Konga.com for about 2 years.

Ebola: Still A Serious Crisis

In Mali, a nurse and a patient became the second and third people thought to have died from Ebola there. Malian authorities said that a nurse and the patient he was treating at a clinic in Bamako had died. The 25-year-old nurse worked at the Pasteur Clinic, which has now been placed in quarantine. The government said the nurse was confirmed to have had Ebola.

His patient, a traditional Muslim healer in his 50s, had recently arrived from Guinea. Officials believe the healer, who died from Ebola-like symptoms, passed the Ebola virus to the nurse. However, he was buried without being tested for Ebola. The latest deaths are unrelated to Mali's first Ebola case, when a two-year-old girl died from the disease in October.

The new cases in Mali follow the WHO's confirmation that 25 of the 100 people who were thought to have come into contact with the two-year-old girl were being released from quarantine. Nearly 5,000 people have been killed in the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a global health emergency.

The Bandajuma clinic is run by medical charity MSF, which said it would be forced to close the facility if the strike continued. The toddler's case alarmed the authorities in Mali after it was found she had displayed symptoms whilst travelling through the country by bus, including Bamako, on her return from neighbouring Guinea.

Meanwhile hundreds of health workers involved in treating Ebola patients have gone on strike at a clinic in Sierra Leone. The staff are protesting about the government's failure to pay an agreed weekly $100 (£63) "hazard payment". A few are still assisting at the clinic. The clinic, in Bandajuma near Bo, is the only Ebola treatment centre in southern Sierra Leone.

Source: BBC

Suicide bomber massacres high-school students in Northern Nigeria

Boko Haram were suspected of killing nearly 50 pupils Monday in a suicide bombing in northeast Nigeria, in one of the worst attacks against schools teaching a so-called Western curriculum.

The explosion at the all-boys school in Potiskum is the latest in a series of atrocities against schoolchildren in the state of Yobe, and the second suicide attack in the town in eight days.

The massacre came just a day after the release of a new Boko Haram video in which the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, again rejected Nigerian government claims of a ceasefire and peace talks.

Students at the Government Comprehensive Senior Science Secondary School in Potiskum were waiting to hear the principal’s daily address when the explosion happened at 7:50 am (0650 GMT).

China Becomes world's largest economy

China has toppled America to become the biggest economy in the world, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund. The US has been the global leader since it overtook Britain in 1872, but has now lost its status as top dog. The latest IMF figures show the Chinese economy is worth $17.61 trillion compared with $17.4 trillion for the U.S.

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Weapons Deal: Nigeria threatens South Africa with ‘MTN’

Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria on Wednesday accused South Africa of blocking a legal arms purchase and threatened retaliation against major South African companies, including telecom giant MTN, if the spat is not resolved. A top official in the office of Nigeria's National Security Advisor (NSA) told AFP that the country had an agreement to buy $5.7 million (4.5 million euros) worth of military hardware in a deal brokered by a South African firm. 

The official, who asked that his name be withheld, said Pretoria had frozen cash that had been wired to the South African firm's account. South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority made no immediate comment, but the asset freeze has been widely reported in both Nigerian and South African media. "The issue could affect bilateral relations between Nigeria and South Africa," the NSA official said.

He specifically mentioned MTN -- a South Africa-based mobile phone and Internet provider with tens of millions of subscribers in Nigeria -- as a company that could be targeted in tit-for-tat reprisals.

"You cannot be making so much money from Nigeria and then turn around and embarrass the people," the Nigerian official said.

Source: AFP

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U.S. Agents to Monitor Travelers for Ebola at 5 Airports

The government plans to begin taking the temperatures of travelers from West Africa arriving at five U.S. airports as part of a stepped-up response to the Ebola epidemic.

At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest said an additional layer of screening would begin at New York's JFK International and the international airports in Newark, Washington Dulles, Chicago and Atlanta. He said the new steps would include taking temperatures and would begin Saturday at JFK.

Earnest said the five airports cover the destinations of 94 percent of the people who travel to the U.S. from the three heavily hit countries in West Africa — Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. He estimated that about 150 people would be checked a day under the new procedures.

Boko Haram Beheads Nigerian Air force Pilot

Boko Haram, the extremist Islamic group in Nigeria, has released a video that shows the beheading of a man who identifies himself the pilot of a missing Nigerian Air Force jet. The video that emerged yesterday also allegedly features Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau - a terrorist who Nigeria's military claimed to have killed.

Officials announced last week that Shekau was dead and that a man who had been posing as the group's leader in the videos had been killed after fighting with troops in the far northeast.

Footage shows charred plane wreckage that appears to have Nigerian military markings, bolstering the group's claims that it shot down a fighter plane.

In the video, a man is seen kneeling in a camouflage vest with his right hand in a sling, with a fighter hovering over him with an axe, which is later used in his beheading.

Speaking in English, the victim identifies himself as a wing commander in the Nigerian Air Force and says he was undertaking a mission in Kauri area of northeast Borno state.

Source: Dailymail

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Timeline of how EBOLA arrived Dallas

September 19: The adult patient boards a flight to the U.S. in Liberia after being screened for Ebola symptoms

September 20: The patient arrives in the United States

September 24: Patient shows first symptoms of Ebola

September 26: Patient seeks initial medical care

September 28: Patient admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas

A Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital spokesman said the patient has been in isolation since he arrived on Sunday, and hospital officials had been "meeting for weeks in anticipation of such an event." He added that the facility has a "robust infection control system" in place.

Dr. Frieden said he believes "a handful" of people had contact with the patient between the September 24-28, including family members and "a couple" of community members. Those people are to be monitored by the CDC starting Tuesday.

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The virus is not contagious until symptoms are present. Early symptoms of Ebola include sudden fever, fatigue, and headache. Symptoms may appear anywhere from two to 21 days after exposure.

Statement by Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Zachary Thompson; “'This is not Africa. We have a great infrastructure to deal with an outbreak.'

What Are the Symptoms of Ebola?

Early on, Ebola can feel like the flu or other illnesses. Symptoms show up 2 to 21 days after infection and usually include:

-High fever

-Headache

-Joint and muscle aches

-Sore throat

-Weakness

-Stomach pain

-Lack of appetite

As the disease gets worse, it causes bleeding inside the body, as well as from the eyes, ears, and nose.  Some people will vomit or cough up blood, have bloody diarrhea, and get a rash.

Because the natural reservoir host of Ebola viruses has not yet been identified, the manner in which the virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak is unknown. However, researchers believe that the first patient becomes infected through contact with an infected animal.

Transmission

When an infection does occur in humans, the virus can be spread in several ways to others. 

-Ebola is spread through direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with blood or body fluids (including but not limited to urine, saliva, feces, vomit, and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola.

-objects (like needles and syringes) that have been contaminated with the virus

infected animals.

-Ebola is not spread through the air or by water, or in general, food. However, in Africa, 

-Ebola may be spread as a result of handling bushmeat (wild animals hunted for food) and contact with infected bats.

-Healthcare providers caring for Ebola patients and the family and friends in close contact with Ebola patients are at the highest risk of getting sick because they may come in contact with infected blood or body fluids of sick patients.

Power Play in the Nigerian Power Sector: The Grand Bailout

Nigeria has headed off a threat to its banking industry by propping up struggling power companies with an intervention fund, said analysts including Pabina Yinkere of Vetiva Capital Management Ltd. The 213 billion-naira ($1.3 billion) fund announced by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration on Sept. 19 will be used to pay off gas-supply debts owed by power companies and to cover revenue shortfalls. It will also help them meet debt-service obligations to banks on loans of almost 500 billion naira, on which some were falling behind.

“The government is reacting to the risk affecting the power industry as a whole and the sustainability of the reform, which dovetails to the banks,” Yinkere said in a phone interview from the commercial capital, Lagos, on Sept. 24. “This intervention fund will ease the stress in the industry and in effect reduce the probability of loans going bad.” Nigeria dismantled its power monopoly and sold the hydro-and gas-powered plants it ran last year to try to bring in investment needed to expand electricity supply, with demand more than three times the current output of about 3,800 megawatts. Companies including Transnational Corp. of Nigeria Plc, Korea Electric Power Corp. (015760) and Forte Oil Plc (FO) paid more than $3 billion for controlling interests in 15 power generators and distributors.

Biggest Lender

UBA Plc (UBA), Nigeria’s fourth-biggest lender by market value, granted $700 million in loans to several investors, including Transnational, which got $215 million to buy Ughelli Power, the country’s second-biggest gas-fueled plant with capacity for 900 megawatts.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GUARANTY), the largest lender by market value, advanced $170 million to Mainstream Energy Solutions Ltd. for the concession of Jebba and Kainji hydropower plants. Zenith Bank Plc (ZENITHBA), the second-biggest lender, provided 40 billion naira for the acquisition of two electricity distribution companies in Lagos. 

Others such as Ecobank Transnational Inc., Diamond Bank Plc (DIAMONDB) and Skye Bank also provided loans to power investors.

Authorities in Africa’s largest economy are putting together new regulations to protect lenders, electricity consumers and other utilities in the event that the power companies fail, according to central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele and Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke.

While the bailout doesn’t address all the challenges, it is a step in the right direction, Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Lagos-based Financial Derivatives Co., a risk advisory firm, said by phone yesterday. “The signal is that the power investors will be supported,” he said. “Power is too important that the government cannot let it fail.”

Source: Bloomberg 

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Ekiti Burns as APC and PDP loyalists clash

The campaign office of Governor Kayode Fayemi and the All Progressives Congress (APC) secretariat in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti state capital, has been burnt by rampaging thugs on Friday.

The thugs believed to be loyalists of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) charged around Ado-Ekiti unleashing violence on residents and properties. According to PREMIUM TIMES, The spokesperson for the Ekiti State command of the police, Olu Babayemi, confirmed the incident, stating that the command had sent officers to the streets to contain the situation.

“There was a protest in town but the police have moved in. For now, we are trying to restore normalcy and ensure lives and property are secured.” Babayemi confirmed that the APC secretariat and Mr. Fayemi’s campaign office had been vandalised and torched. It would be recalled that the former chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Ekiti state, Mr. Omolafe Aderiye was shot dead on Thursday night. He was killed by unknown gunmen at Ijigbo area in Ado Ekiti.

--> Aderiye was on his way home when the gunmen numbering about four accosted and shot him at close range. Aderiye, a staunch supporter of governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose was part of the thugs that Fayose took to court to attack a state high court judge on Thursday morning.

The alleged thugs attacked Justice John Adeyeye, beating him up and ripping his clothes for being allegedly rude to Fayose. Fayose, first slapped the judge and then ordered his thugs to beat him further.

source: pmnews