IS claims responsibility for Russian plane crash in Egypt

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the crash of a Russian plane on Saturday in Egypt’s Sinai, which killed more than 200 people on board, in a statement posted online.
The Sinai-based group “Sinai State” that had announced loyalty to the IS said in a statement posted on Twitter that its militants managed to target the Russian plane and killed all its passengers.
It said the attack was in revenge for Russia’s military operations in Syria.

A video released by the group showed that a plane was suddenly caught on fire and fell down, but the video cannot be verified for the moment.
Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry said that military planes have spotted the wreckage of the Russian plane in central Sinai with 224 passengers and crew members on board.

Nine Bag 42 Years Imprisonment Each for Illegal Oil Bunkering

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has convicted and sentenced seven illegal oil dealers, their vessel MT Good Success as well as their company Hepa Global Energy Limited to 42 years of imprisonment each.
Justice O.E Abang, at the ruling on Friday, convicted Adedamola Ogungbayi, Olaniran Olabode, Surajo Gasali, Moses Emmanuel, Wilson Bonsi, Okaparaodi Omaka Uche, Onyeogo Happy, MT Good Success and Hepa Global Energy Limited.
The convicts were first arraigned before Justice Saliu Saídu on June 16, 2014 but were later re-arraigned before Justice O.E Abang of the same court on 28th August, 2014 on five counts of illegal oil bunkering and dealing in petroleum products without lawful authority or licence.
According to the Head, Media & Publicity, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the convicts were arrested by officers of the Nigerian Navy on the February 19, 2014 along the Lagos waters.

Russian airliner with 224 aboard crashes in Egypt's Sinai, all killed

A Russian airliner carrying 224 passengers crashed into a mountainous area of Egypt's Sinai peninsula on Saturday shortly after losing radar contact near cruising altitude, killing all aboard.
A militant group affiliated to Islamic State in Egypt, Sinai Province, said in a statement it had brought down the plane "in response to Russian airstrikes that killed hundreds of Muslims on Syrian land", but Russia's Transport Minister told Interfax news agency the claim "can't be considered accurate".
The Airbus A321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia when it went down in central Sinai soon after daybreak, the aviation ministry said.
"I now see a tragic scene," an Egyptian security officer at the site told Reuters by telephone. "A lot of dead on the ground and many who died whilst strapped to their seats.

Sinai plane crash: 'No SOS call' before disaster

A Russian aircraft did not lodge an SOS call before crashing in Sinai, killing all 224 people on board, Egypt's civil aviation minister says.

Initial reports from Egypt said the pilot of the Kogalymavia airline had asked to make an emergency landing.
But minister Hossam Kamal said there had been no sign of any problems on board the flight.
Lufthansa and Air France-KLM said they would avoid the route while the cause of the crash was investigated.
A claim by a group allied to the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Sinai that it brought down the plane has been dismissed by Russia and Egypt.
The Airbus A-321 came down early on Saturday, shortly after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh for the Russian city of St Petersburg.

NIGERIA: Three ‘small banks’ in danger, says CBN after stress test

A liquidity stress test conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that capital position of ‘three small banks’ have fallen below regulatory capital requirement.
The test, contained in the CBN Financial Stability Report released yesterday, showed the Capital Adequacy Ratios (CARs) of the affected banks were below five per cent regulatory threshold.
The three banks are not among the domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs), it said.
The report, which measured the lenders’ positions as at June this year, showed that the number of banks with CAR less than five per cent also increased from zero to three from December 31, 2014 to June 30, 2015. The CAR is a ratio of a bank’s assets to its risks
According to CBN’s Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Kelvin Amugo, the liquidity stress test was conducted using the Implied Cash Flow Analysis (ICFA) and the Maturity Mismatch/Rollover Risk approaches to assess the resilience of the banking industry to liquidity and funding shocks.

Migrant Work Permit Sales Boost Moscow Budget

The Moscow city budget has earned 8.1 billion rubles ($127 million) from the sale of work permits to migrant workers and from income taxes paid by them so far this year, City Hall's economic policy department head Maxim Reshetnikov was quoted as saying Friday by the Interfax news agency.
That's already 2.5 times as much as in 2014, and the figure will reach 10 billion rubles ($156 million) by the end of the year, he said.

Romanian nightclub fire leaves 27 dead, scores injured

Hundreds of young people were packed into a music club in central Bucharest, Romania, jamming to the head-pounding heavy metal music filling their ears.

It was almost Halloween. The band, Goodbye to Gravity, was celebrating a new album with a free concert. For the young partygoers life was awesome.

But suddenly the 300 or 400 people were scrambling toward the one exit at Colectiv, a club built inside a Communist-era factory.

Witnesses say pyrotechnics sparked a fire that quickly became a widespread blaze with dark, blinding smoke. Authorities say the cause is something that needs to be figured out.

At least 27 people died and 162 were injured when the blaze broke out late Friday, authorities said.

A spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry, Monica Dajbog said many of the injured -- who were taken to 12 hospitals -- were in critical condition.

Nigeria crackdown on fake bank accounts

Nigeria has launched a major crackdown on fake bank-account holders in a bid to reduce fraud in the banking sector.

People were asked to enrol at their local banks to have their fingerprints taken, along with a photograph of their face by the end of Friday.
Nigeria's central bank said non-registered customers would lose electronic access to their accounts.
Huge sums are allegedly stolen from Nigerian banks as a result of forgery and illegal withdrawals.

U.S. to send special forces to Syria, truce sought after peace talks

The United States disclosed plans on Friday to station the first American boots on the ground in Syria in the war against Islamic State fighters, saying dozens of special forces troops would be sent as advisers to groups fighting against the jihadists.
Washington announced the small ground force shortly before 17 countries, the European Union and the United Nations called for a nationwide truce in Syria's civil war at talks in Vienna, attended for the first time since the conflict began in 2011 by President Bashar al-Assad's ally Iran.
The participants, including the United States and Russia, said "substantial differences remain" though they agreed it was "imperative to accelerate all diplomatic efforts to end the war" and the ministers will reconvene within two weeks.
In a rare hint of diplomatic progress, Tehran signaled it would back a six-month political transition period in Syria followed by elections to decide Assad's fate, although his foes rejected the proposal as a trick to keep the president in power.

China warns US it could spark war with 'provocative acts' in South China Sea

China has warned the US that its “dangerous and provocative acts” in the South China Sea could lead to “a minor incident that sparks war”.
China’s naval commander, Admiral Wu Shengli, issued the warning to his American counterpart Admiral John Richardson during video conference talks on Thursday aimed at defusing tension in the region, according to a Chinese naval statement.“If the United States continues with these kinds of dangerous, provocative acts, there could well be a seriously pressing situation between frontline forces from both sides on the sea and in the air, or even a minor incident that sparks war,” the statement paraphrased Wu as saying.

“I hope the US side cherishes the good situation between the Chinese and US navies that has not come easily and avoids these kinds of incidents from happening again,” Wu said.
The high-level talks followed mounting international alarm in the wake of the decision by

Tanzania poll: John Magufuli of CCM defeats Edward Lowassa

Tanzania's governing CCM party candidate John Magufuli has won the presidential election with 58% of the vote, the electoral commission says.

His main rival Edward Lowassa has rejected the official results that gave him 40% of the ballots cast.
The opposition Ukawa coalition candidate earlier claimed he had won with 62% of the vote.
The elections on Sunday were the most fierce the governing party faced after 54 years in power.

Pfizer, Allergan drug merger talks raise tax hackles in U.S.

Pfizer Inc, the No. 1 U.S. drugmaker, and Botox maker Allergan Plc said they were in friendly talks to create a pharmaceutical colossus but the prospect that the company would seek to avoid U.S. taxes sounded political alarm bells.
Both New York-based Pfizer and Dublin-based Allergan said no agreement has been reached and declined to discuss any terms of the deal, which would potentially set up Pfizer to take advantage of Ireland's lower tax rates.
Allergan shares rose 6 percent to $304.38 in U.S. trading, while Pfizer closed off 1.9 percent at $34.77.
Pfizer is already facing political pushback at home that is only likely to intensify with the U.S. presidential campaign underway, as candidates take aim at high prescription drug prices and companies looking to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

Ukrainian 'Vikings' Go on Trial Accused of Fighting in Chechen War

Ukrainian history teacher Stanislav Klykh told his mother he could be released in a few days during a phone call after his arrest on a trip to Russia in August last year. Then he disappeared.
“For 10 months we did not know where he was,” Tamara Klykha, 71, said by telephone from Kiev.
When a lawyer hired by his family finally located Klykh, 41, he was facing up to 20 years in prison on accusations that he fought with Chechen rebels against Russian soldiers in the 1990s during a bloody war for independence that convulsed the region after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Public sessions in Klykh's trial in the Chechen capital of Grozny began this week. He is in the defendant's box with Ukrainian nationalist Nikolai Karpyuk — who is accused of the same charges and whose family spent a similar amount of time trying to locate him in Russia's prison system.
Both men have said they were physically abused in pretrial detention and both have recently disavowed statements they said were extracted under torture.

Nigeria issues 'most-wanted' Boko Haram militant photos

Nigeria's army has published 100 photos of people whom it says are its most-wanted Boko Haram suspects.

The army urged the public to phone special hotlines if any of the suspects were spotted, as it steps up efforts to hunt down the Islamist militants.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office in May, has given the military a mid-November deadline to defeat them.
Boko Haram has lost most of its territory this year but increased suicide attacks and bombings since May.
It began its insurgency in 2009 in north-eastern Nigeria, but has since spread its activities to neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
Boko Haram is allied with the Islamic State (IS) group which is fighting for a global caliphate - a state governed in accordance with Islamic law.

Apple TV challenges developers to take apps to the big screen

Apple's loyal army of software developers is joining the tech giant in its bid to conquer the living room with a new version of Apple TV, creating apps for the big screen that they hope will attract users and unlock a rich source of revenue.
A long-awaited update to Apple TV, which launched in 2007, will start shipping in 80 countries on Friday.
Apple views apps as the future of television. An App Store is the centerpiece of the new device, and hundreds of apps will be ready at launch, including gaming, shopping and photography.
Although developers have already been able to make apps for smart TV rivals, Apple's vast base of developers will set the device apart, analysts say. And developers say they relish the opportunity to reach users in a more intimate setting.
“It’s a phenomenal opportunity to fit into people’s lives when they are comfortably sitting on their sofa,” said Madefire CEO Ben Wolstenholme, whose app features vivid digital books.
But in a year in which Apple has launched two very different platforms to build for – the Apple Watch’s tiny face and the big screen of Apple TV – developers are facing hard choices about where to devote their time and energy, said Tero Kuittinen, an independent consultant to app developers.
“I think the timing is unfortunate because you have these two nano-platforms, and in practice, they are competing for resources,” he said.

HURRAY!!!! RT HON. ROTIMI CHIBUIKE AMAECHI CONFIRMED MINISTER OF THE FEREDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

The Senate has today confirmed the former Governor of Rivers State Rt. Honorable Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi as a minister of the Federral Republic of Nigeria.

Details later.

PDP senators vow to withdraw support for Saraki if Amaechi is confirmed

ABUJA — Senators belonging to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and their All Progressives Congress, APC, were, yesterday, preparing for a showdown over different positions on the confirmation of two of 16 remaining ministerial nominees.
It was, however, learnt that Senate President Bukola Saraki was determined to weigh in on behalf of the former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi and the ministerial nominee from Cross River State, Usani Uguru. The duo had been caught up in a grudge war mounted by PDP senators.
Amaechi is held in contempt by the PDP Senate caucus for his role in the defeat of the former ruling party in the last round of elections. Uguru brought himself into the bad book of the PDP Senate

Roscosmos Sends 6 Russian Women on Fake Moon Flight

Russia's federal space agency on Wednesday sent six intrepid women on a simulated eight-day flight to the moon as part of a small-scale repeat of previous isolation experiments designed to shed light on how crews of astronauts will handle long flights into deep space.
Chosen from a candidate pool of 10 Russian scientists, the six women will pretend to be the crew of a moon-bound spacecraft known as Luna-2015 for over a week while scientists at the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems (IMBP) evaluate their physical and mental condition.
“The timing is not fictional,” the Roscosmos space agency wrote in a statement on its Facebook page Tuesday. Russia's largest space company, RSC Energia, “carried out all necessary [time] calculations,” it said.
Their mission will simulate several stages of a flight to the moon, from launch to lunar orbit to return to earth — a similar mission profile to the one used by NASA's Apollo moon landings during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

China adopts two-child policy

China will ease family planning restrictions to allow all couples to have two children after decades of a strict one-child policy, the ruling Communist Party said on Thursday, a move aimed at alleviating demographic strains on the economy.
The policy is a major liberalization of the country's family planning restrictions, already eased in late 2013 when Beijing said it would allow more families to have two children when the parents met certain conditions.
A growing number of scholars had urged the government to reform the rules, introduced in the late 1970s to prevent population growth spiraling out of control, but now regarded as outdated and responsible for shrinking China's labor pool.
For the first time in decades the working age population fell in 2012, and China, the world's most populous nation, could be the first country in the world to get old before it gets rich.
By around the middle of this century, one in every three Chinese is forecast to be over 60, with a dwindling proportion of working adults to support them.

Krasnodar Has Most Car Crash Deaths in Russia

The city of Krasnodar in southern Russia has topped a list of 10 regional capitals with the highest number of deaths in car crashes, according to a study published Wednesday by the All-Russia People's Front, a political movement.
Krasnodar had 7.1 deaths in car accidents per 100,000 people in the first nine months of this year, according to the research, which used data from the State Road Traffic Safety Inspectorate.
Krasnodar was followed in the ranking by Lipetsk, with 6.9 car-crash fatalities per 100,000 people, and Perm, which saw 6.8 deaths per 100,000 people.

Rubio, Cruz dominate rowdy Republican presidential debate

Republican presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz emerged as the strongest challengers on Wednesday to insurgent front-runners Donald Trump and Ben Carson, in a fiery debate that may have marked a new phase in the 2016 race.
With time running short until the first nominating contest in three months, the 10 Republicans in the evening's main debate were anxious to stand out. They frequently talked over each other and the moderators in a debate laced with personal attacks and clashes over tax policy.
In a dominating performance, Rubio, the U.S. senator from Florida, swatted away Jeb Bush when the former Florida governor attacked his attendance record in the Senate.
“Just resign and let someone else take the job,” Bush said, in response to a question about an editorial in a Florida newspaper that blasted Rubio for having missed about one-third of his Senate votes this year.

Narendra Modi: India pledges $600m to help Africa

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced $600m (£393m) in assistance for development projects in Africa at a major summit in Delhi.

More than 50 African leaders are attending the India-Africa Forum Summit, unprecedented in scale, in the Indian capital.
Although India's trade with Africa has more than doubled to $72bn since 2007, it is still comparatively small.
The meeting is being seen as an attempt by India to improve ties with Africa.
A record number of African leaders, including South Africa's Jacob Zuma, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, President Sisi of Egypt and Sudan's Omar al-Bashir are attending the summit - part of India's big push to increase its presence in Africa.

TB 'joins HIV as most deadly infection'

Tuberculosis now ranks alongside HIV as the world's most deadly infectious disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

Each accounted for between 1.1 million and 1.2 million deaths in 2014.
The WHO said the tuberculosis figures were unacceptable for a disease that could be cured.
Medecins Sans Frontieres said the statistics were "disheartening" and warned the world was "losing ground" on tackling resistant forms of TB.
The WHO's Global Tuberculosis Report 2015 shows the huge strides that have been made in tackling TB, with the death rate being nearly halved since 1990.
And the number of infections has been falling by 1.5% a year since 2000.
Deaths from HIV/Aids have also been falling rapidly because of improved access to anti-retroviral drugs.

Rape and cannibalism in South Sudan, African Union says

The African Union (AU) has accused government and rebel forces in South Sudan of extreme violence since the conflict erupted at the end of 2013.

A commission of inquiry found evidence of killings, torture, mutilations and rape, mostly against civilians, as well as episodes of forced cannibalism.
However, it specified that genocide had not been committed during the conflict.
Tensions remain, with a peace deal agreed between the government and rebels in August repeatedly broken.
Tens of thousands of people have died and another two million people have been forced from their homes since the civil war began nearly two years ago.

Nigerian army says it rescues more than 300 Boko Haram abductees

Nigeria's armed forces on Wednesday said it had rescued 338 people held captive by Boko Haram and raided a number of the Islamist militant group's camps on the edge of its stronghold in the northeast's Sambisa forest.
The army said troops carried out a successful raid on camps on Tuesday at the northeastern villages of Bulajilin and Manawashe, along Bita and Damboa road. Reuters was unable to independently verify the details of the military statement.
"The rescued persons which comprised eight males, 138 females and 192 children, have since been evacuated," said military spokesman Sani Usman, adding that 30 suspected militants had been killed.
Suspected members of the militant group, which has killed thousands and displaced 2.1 million people in the remote northeast of Africa's most populous nation, claimed the lives of at least 37 people and wounded 107 others last week in Adamawa and Borno states.

Russia Confirms Soldier's Death in Syria, But Says It Was Suicide

Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that a 19-year-old soldier had died in Syria, Russia's first confirmed casualty in the conflict, but said he had killed himself.
The death on Saturday of Vadim Kostenko, a contract soldier and air force technician, was the first bad news to face Russians since a deployment of about 2,000 personnel and 50 aircraft began bombing the Islamic State and other rebel groups in Syria on Sept. 30.
The news of his death was broken by Conflict Intelligence Team, an activist group founded by blogger Ruslan Leviyev. The group posted messages on social media and photos depicting a skinny teenager with a shaved head and toothy smile, and called for further investigation into his death.
They also cited a post on social media about nine other Russian military casualties in Syria, which they had not been able to confirm, and an unverified tweet from Syria about smoke billowing from Russia's airbase on Oct. 23, the day before Kostenko reportedly died.

Hilton to Open New Luxury Hotel in Moscow in 2018

The Hilton Worldwide hotel chain plans to expand on the Russian hotel market in 2018 with the opening of a luxury hotel on Moscow's central Tverskaya Ulitsa, according to a company statement released Monday.
Hilton executives have signed an agreement with Moscow-based construction firm Mospromstroi to renovate an old hotel built in the 1890s at 10 Tverskaya Ulitsa and turn it into a new hotel known as the Hilton Moscow Tverskaya Luxe, the statement said.

Processed meat can cause cancer – WHO

The World Health Organisation on Monday linked the consumption of red and processed meats to cancer.

While previous studies have warned that red and processed meats are high in saturated fat and capable of raising the blood cholesterol in the long term, this is the first time, the WHO will be making a pronouncement on the carcinogenicity of processed meat.

The report, published in the Lancet Oncology, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a department of the WHO, relied on evidence from many studies which associated processed meat to colon cancer.

Some 22 scientists who authored the WHO report declared that eating red meat, hot dogs, ham and other forms of processed meat is “carcinogenic to humans,” saying eating 50 grammes of processed meat each day could increase the risk of colon cancer by 18 per cent.

Ivory Coast election: Alassane Ouattara wins second term

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara has won a second five-year term with nearly 84% of the vote, electoral commission officials say.

Mr Ouattara won a total of 2,118,229 votes, or 83.66% of votes cast, the commission said. Turnout was 54.63%.
Several opposition candidates pulled out of the campaign, complaining that it was not free and fair.
The last vote in 2010 was bitterly contested and resulted in a civil war in which 3,000 people lost their lives.
Mr Ouattara required more than 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off. His closest opposition rival, Pascal Affi N'Guessan, got just 9%.

U.S. weighs special forces in Syria, helicopters in Iraq

The United States is considering sending a small number of special operations forces to Syria and attack helicopters to Iraq as it weighs options to build momentum in the battle against Islamic State, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
President Barack Obama, deeply averse to over-committing American troops to unpopular wars in the Middle East, could view some of the options as more viable than others as he approaches the final stretch of his presidency.
Still, Obama's administration is under pressure to ramp up America's effort, particularly after the fall of the Iraqi city of Ramadi to Islamic State in May and the failure of a U.S. military program to train and arm thousands of Syrian rebels.

China says it warned and tracked U.S. warship in South China Sea

Chinese ships and aircraft warned and tracked a U.S. Navy warship Tuesday as it came close to reefs claimed by China in contested waters in the South China Sea.

Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview that the U.S. operation is "a very serious provocation, politically and militarily" and the country's foreign ministry summoned Max Baucus, the U.S. ambassador to China, to express its "strong discontent" over the patrol.

Cui said it was a clear attempt by Washington to militarize the region.

"It is a very absurd and even hypocritical position to ask others not to militarize the region while one's self is sending military vessels there so frequently," he said.

Alleged N1tn diversion: FG orders EFCC to probe Larmode

The Federal Government through its Ministry of Justice has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the allegation that its chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, diverted about N1trn proceeds of corruption recovered by the anti-graft agency.

The ministry’s directive followed a September 18, 2015 petition to the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Abdullahi Yola.

The petitioner, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Panic Alert Security Systems, a security firm, George Uboh, had sent a reminder letter dated September 28, to Yola, threatening to sue the ministry if he failed to respond to his petition within seven days.

Uboh had, in his petition, asked the justice ministry “through which EFCC derives its power to prosecute to immediately rescind the fiat to prosecute criminal suspects from EFCC.”

MTN in Talks with NCC over N1.04tn Fine

Africa’s largest mobile phone operator, MTN Group in South Africa, confirmed monday that it had commenced discussions with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over the N1.04 trillion ($5.2 billion) fine imposed by the industry regulator on its Nigerian subsidiary, MTN Nigeria Limited, for failing to deactivate unregistered SIMs and incomplete SIM card details on its network.

This is just as the company’s shares fell more than 12 per cent, the biggest one-day decline since November 1998, on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) where MTN’s shares are listed, as the market reacted to news of the sanction. The share plunge effectively shaved off $2.76 billion of MTN’s market capitalisation.

ABUJA: FG Files Fresh Money Laundering Charges against Dasuki, Asks for Secret Trial

• Former NSA makes case for medical trip abroad Court fixes Wednesday for ruling

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The federal government has instituted fresh charges of money laundering against the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd), and has requested for his trial to be held secretly at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The prosecution counsel, Shuaib Labaran, at the resumed hearing yesterday, filed fresh charges against Dasuki and also prayed the court to among other things, grant its request for the masking of witnesses brought by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Labaran also accused the former NSA of possessing some cash which was found in his house, allegedly bordering on money laundering.

LAGOS, Nigeria; Ooni of Ife: New Yoruba king named in Nigeria

A 40-year-old accountant has been named the new Ooni of Ife - a revered monarch in south-west Nigeria.

Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi is the new king, one of the most influential among the Yoruba people, Nigeria's second biggest ethnic group, who number about 35 million in West Africa.
He is a prince from one of the ruling houses in the Ife kingdom.
The previous Ooni of Ife, Oba Sijuwade, died in a London clinic in July aged 85.

China says it warned and tracked U.S. warship in South China Sea

China said it warned and tracked a U.S. Navy warship as it came very close to one of China's artificial islands in contested waters in the South China Sea on Tuesday, slamming the patrol as "illegal."

China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the vessel "illegally entered into the waters of China's Spratly Islands."

"The action taken by the U.S. warship has threatened China's sovereignty and security interest, and has put the safety of personnel on the reefs in danger," the ministry said.

A U.S. defense official told CNN that the destroyer USS Lassen "conducted a transit" within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands on Tuesday morning local time.

Russia to Exhume Alexander III as Romanov Probe Widens

Russian investigators said Monday that they will exhume the remains of Russian Tsar Alexander III to confirm the identity of two of his grandchildren, who were executed alongside their father, Tsar Nicholas II, by the Bolsheviks in 1918.
The bodies of Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra were disinterred from their resting places in St. Petersburg's Peter and Paul Fortress by Russia's Investigative Committee last month.
The probe into the identities of the two royal children, Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolayevna, was requested by the Russian Orthodox Church in the face of historical consensus — and the enquiries have been criticized by historians as unnecessary and disrespectful.

UNBELIEVABLE:NIGERIAN BANKS CHARGED N4.8BILLION FOR CONCEALING NNPC ACCOUNTS

In line with its threat to sanction commercial banks that failed to comply with the federal government’s directive on the remittance of government revenue to the treasury single account (TSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last Friday fined First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc the sum of N4.819 billion.

According to a circular obtained from banking industry sources, while the CBN imposed a penalty of N1,877,409,905.12 on FirstBank, UBA was fined N2,942,189,651.45 for its failure to comply with the federal government’s policy.

Nigeria fines telecom giant MTN $5bn

Nigeria's Communications Commission, the country's telecommunications regulator, has issued mobile phone firm MTN Nigeria, with a $5bn (£3.5bn) fine for failing to disconnect millions subscribers with unregistered Sim cards bought before January 2012.
From that date anyone buying a Sim card in Nigeria has had to register it under their name by law.
Phone companies were told to register their existing customers' Sim cards, which MTN Nigeria - the biggest telecommunications firm in Nigeria - has failed to do.
The fine is the largest in the history of telecom infringements in Nigeria and may redefine the relationships between telecommunications operators and the regulator.

Marijuana businesses voice fear of a Republican president

Since Colorado became the first state in the nation to allow sale of recreational marijuana, Tim Cullen has opened four dispensaries in the Denver area.
He employs almost 100 people. He has a three-year-old son. And he is all too aware that, unless Congress were to change federal law, the next president could take his livelihood and his freedom away.
“I go to work every day and violate federal law,” Cullen, 43, told the Guardian. “Worries about the next administration is always something in the back of my head.”
On Wednesday, several members of the Republican party who favor enforcing federal law against people like Cullen will make the case in his state that they should be the next president, during the GOP debate in nearby Boulder.

Deaths, damage reported in powerful Afghanistan quake

A magnitude-7.5 earthquake struck southern Asia on Monday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

"Reports coming of damage and injuries in north eastern Afghanistan," Abdullah Abdullah, chief executive of Afghanistan, said in a tweet. "Disasters authorities to meet within the hour and respond to the needs."

The USGS issued an orange alert on the quake. "Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response," the USGS said.

India hosts biggest Africa summit; plays catchup with China

India hosts its biggest-ever Africa summit this week as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to challenge China's dominance on a continent that is blessed with vast natural resources and has the world's fastest-growing population.
New Delhi wants to project its soft power and historical ties to Africa, in contrast to China's focus on resource extraction and capital investment that has sparked a backlash in some countries against Beijing's mercantilist expansion.
Of the 54 countries invited, the hosts expect more than 40 to be represented by their heads of state and government who, after a series of ministerial meetings, will hold a full summit on Thursday.
India's trading ties with Africa date back to antiquity and both found common cause in the struggle against colonial rule. Yet India's influence faded over the course of the Cold War as it withdrew into non-aligned isolation.

BREAKING: Tribunal Nolifies Rivers State Governorship Elections

The River State Electoral Tribunal sitting in Abuja has nollified Rivers State gubernotarial election. The tribunal orders for a new election.

Dangote Cement trains Block Moulders, Donates Work Tools

Dangote Cement last week in Asaba, Delta State, donated work tools, including wheel barrows, shovels, rainboots and hand gloves to block moulders in the state. The donation was part of a workshop designed to train block moulders in the state as well as empower them to adopt current best practices in the industry.

Coordinator, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Edo & Delta States, Mr. Ojo Akogu who delivered the keynote paper at the workshop commended Dangote Cement for its support and collaboration in training artisans and block moulders.
He stated that the efforts of the cement company in training block moulders would have a far reaching impact on participants.

Russian Bikers and War Veterans Given Grants for Patriotic Youth Centers

A jingoistic motorcycle club and a war veterans' group have received presidential grants to fund patriotic youth clubs across the country, including one in Crimea, the territory annexed from Ukraine last year, according to a list of awards to non-governmental organizations published Thursday.
In total, 900 million rubles ($14.5 million) was awarded to 389 projects. Among the recipients were some organizations that have been branded “foreign agents” by the government.
According to the list, the Night Wolves, a patriotic biker gang that champions President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, was given 12 million rubles ($190,000) to build a “Patriot” youth center in Sevastopol in Crimea.

Hurricane Patricia weakens, but still 'extremely dangerous'

Hurricane Patricia weakened slightly hours after it roared into southwestern Mexico, sending thousands fleeing as it hit luxury resorts and impoverished villages with equal ferocity.

The strongest hurricane ever recorded struck land Friday evening as a Category 5 storm, the fiercest, with sustained winds of 165 mph.

By later that night, it weakened to a Category 4 storm packing winds of 130 mph.

Despite the downgrade, the hurricane remained "extremely dangerous," the National Weather Service warned.

The hurricane barreled into an anxious nation, lashing the coast with whistling rain and winds, bending palm trees and turning debris into small projectiles.

As the night wore on, Mexican officials expressed cautious optimism as they waited for Saturday morning to get the full scale of the destruction.

Sanusi to Buhari: why fuel subsidy must go now

The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi 11 said yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari should remove the subsidy  on fuel  if the economy must be saved.
“This fuel subsidy has to go,” the former Central Bank governor declared at the All Africa Business Leaders Award West Africa held in Lagos.
Sanusi, who spoke extensively on the state of the economy, said the country can no longer afford the many leakages that have battered the economy over the years.
Quoting CBN figures,he said: “in the  first two quarters of this year, this country  spent over 500 billion naira on debt servicing. At end of this year, it will be over 1trillion  which is more than the amount of money budgeted for health, education and defence combined.

SA students: Zuma freezes tuition fees amid protests

South African President Jacob Zuma has ruled out any increases in university tuition fees for next year after more than a week of protests by students.

They have been the biggest student protests to hit the country since apartheid ended in 1994.
The students had rejected an earlier government offer to cap increases at 6%, down from the 10% to 12% proposed by the management of universities.
Mr Zuma announced the move as students gathered by his office in the capital.

Get NGN100 free betting money when you register and bet here http://www.wasere.com/freebet/07038016314

Yea its absolutely free.

Breaking News: Many feared dead in fresh Boko Haram attack on Yola mosque

Barely 11 hours after suspected members of the deadly Islamist sect, Boko Haram attacked a mosque in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, another bomb explosion has occured at a Jummat Mosque in Jimeta town, Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

Sources say the blast reportedly killed several worshippers.

Finally, Amaechi Passes Through Eye of the Needle

The immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi must have heaved a sigh of relief on Thursday, when his ministerial screening which has been the subject of controversy for three weeks eventually took place amid the protest staged by senators of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who boycotted the process.

Amaechi, who was ushered into the chamber at about 11.30 am, was accompanied by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie Oyegun, Senators Olorunnimbe Mamora, Victor Ndoma-Egba, Domingo Obende and Hon. Dakuku Peterside, among others.

Before the commencement of the screening, the Senate had dissolved into a closed-door session where it sought to secure a consensus on Amaechi's screening with a view to making it rancour-free.

Both the APC and PDP caucuses in the Senate had been polarised along party lines, with the APC senators calling for his screening without any hindrance while the PDP senators pushed for the adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition which had recommended the suspension of Amaechi’s screening in view of the suit in court over allegations of corruption.

Clinton deflects Republican criticism in marathon Benghazi hearing

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton passed a tough political test on Thursday, calmly deflecting harsh Republican criticism of her handling of the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, during a testy 11-hour hearing in Congress.
In testimony that stretched deep into the night, the former secretary of state rejected Republican accusations that she ignored requests for security upgrades in Libya and misinformed the public about the cause of the attack by suspected Islamist militants that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi.
Clinton, 67, stayed out of the political fray during several heated arguments between Republicans and her Democratic allies and remained composed under aggressive questioning from Republican lawmakers.
The long hearing uncovered no new revelations in a deadly incident that has been the subject of a half-dozen other congressional investigations and an independent inquiry.
Clinton said it was "personally painful" to be accused of ignoring security upgrades that could have saved the life of ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans at the diplomatic compound.

Nigeria Hires S’African Mercenaries Again to Battle Boko Haram

As the Nigerian military races to meet the December deadline given it by President Muhammadu Buhari to flush out Boko Haram insurgents, the country has again hired mercenaries to combat the terror group, senior military sources have revealed.

The mercenaries, estimated at around 250 personnel and hired from South Africa-based private contractor Specialised Tasks, Training, Equipment and Protection (STTEP), are being deployed along with fighter jets in Operation Fire Force, a source at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said on the condition of anonymity.

“The mercenaries have been re-engaged and their platforms are being deployed,” the source said. “By platforms, I mean fighter jets, helos (helicopters), coms (communication), surveillance, medics, etc.”

STTEP includes veterans from the South African apartheid era who will work with and train a Nigerian strike force, according to the source.

Halt of Russia-Ukraine Flights Creates Anger, Market Gap

Russia and Ukraine will close their airspace to each other's airlines on Sunday, ending direct flights between the two countries.
The restrictions will affect around a million passengers each year and annual ticket sales by Ukrainian and Russian airlines worth 7-8 billion rubles ($110 million-$125 million), Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said after they were announced last month.
They are the latest move in the confrontation that followed Russia's annexation of Crimea last year and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, where about 8,000 people have been killed since mid-2014.

BREAKING: ABUJA, Nigeria: Senate clears Rotimi Amaechi as Minister

The Senate on Thursday October 22, 2015 asked former Rivers State governor; Rt Honorable Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi 'to take a bow' signifying his confirmation as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This came after series of question asked by APC Senators asn PDP Senators did not ask any question. In response to one the questions Amaechi said he has never taken bribe in his life.

At odds with Republicans, Hillary Clinton to testify on Benghazi

Whether it's a fact-finding mission as Republicans insist or the political witch hunt that Democrats anticipate, the congressional committee investigating the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Thursday will hear from Hillary Clinton, then the secretary of state and now the top candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Clinton and many of her fellow Democrats have seized on the comments in recent weeks by Republican lawmakers as evidence that the goal of the Benghazi committee in the U.S. House of Representatives was to hurt her front-runner status in the campaign for the November 2016 election.
Clinton's appearance follows months of unflattering reports about her use of a private home email server for her State Department work. The reports emerged in part because of the Benghazi committee's demand last year to see Clinton's official records.

Al-Shabab recruits return to Kenya after quitting group

Nearly 700 recruits have returned to Kenya after quitting militant groups, a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says.

The report warns that a failure to reintegrate returnees may lead to further radicalisation.
Somalia's Islamist al-Shabab militants are believed to be recruiting heavily in neighbouring north-eastern Kenya.
Kenya has seen a series of militant attacks with one at a university earlier this year killed 148 people.

Although the report does not mention where the returnees came from, Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) Hassan Ole Nadu has confirmed to the BBC that they were fighting for al-Shabab.

Forex: CBN Orders BDCs to Demand BVN from November 1

In continuation of efforts to stabilise the forex market, stem the rampant cases of forex leakages and illicit money transfers from Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all bureaux de change operators (BDCs) in the country to demand for customers'  bank verification number (BVN) for all forex transactions from November 1, 2015.

The central bank gave the directive in a circular posted on its website on Wednesday. The circular was signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation, CBN, Kevin Amogu. The banking sector regulator also stated that from November 1, 2015, it would discontinue the sale of forex to the BDCs that had not availed it the BVNs of all its directors.

Indian Manufacturer to Bring World's Cheapest Car to Russia

From next spring, Russian drivers will be able to buy the world's cheapest car — the Indian Bajaj Qute, the RBC news agency reported.
Sales of the Qute will begin in March or April next year, once the vehicle is tested on Russia's winter roads, the general director of East West Motors, Bajaj's distributer in Russia, Alexander Alexeyev, told the agency.
Prices for the car, made by Indian motorcycle manufacturer Bajaj, will start at 250,000 rubles ($4,000), he said. The cheapest car currently available in Russia is China's Lifan Smily, which costs 320,000 rubles ($5,000), according to RBC.

BREAKING: Scores Trapped as Building Collapse in Lagos

The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has adjourned the 13-count charge false assets declaration case against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, allegedly committed when he was governor of Kwara state between 2003-2011.

The Chairman of CCT, Justice Danladi Umar, after listening to the request by the counsel to Saraki at the resumed trial on Wednesday, adjourned the trial to November 5 and 6.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, led other Senators numbering over 20, to accompany Saraki to the tribunal.

Breaking: UYO, Nigeria: Tribunal orders re-run in Akwa Ibom gov. election

The Akwa Ibom State  governorship tribunal has ordered for a rerun of the governorship election in the state.
The Tribunal ordered Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct re-run election in 18 local government areas of the state. There are 31 LGs in Akwa Ibom.
Giving its verdict on Wednesday, the Tribunal said it was satisfied that there were discrepancies during the governorship election held on April 11.

South African students clash with police near parliament

South African students who were marching to parliament in a protest over a rise in student fees have clashed with police. Police fired stun grenades as the protesters were trying to force their way into the parliamentary complex. Proposed tuition fee hikes of between 10% and 12% have sparked protests at universities across the country. Students have complained that higher fees may exclude poorer black students.

Inside parliament in Cape Town a budget speech by Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene was temporarily halted as members of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters chanted "Fees must fall" - a slogan borrowed from the students.

Senate’s crisis over Amaechi deepens

Rather than abate, the crisis over the screening of ministerial nominee Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi is deepening at the Senate.
Yesterday, his name was removed from the Order Paper after being listed among the eight nominees for screening.
The number was pruned to three – Adebayo Shittu (Oyo), Hajia Khadija Abba-Ibrahim (Yobe) and Claudius Daramola (Ondo), who was not on the first Order Paper.
Only Shittu and Hajia Abba-Ibrahim were, however, screened.

On the first Order Paper before Amaechi’s name was removed are Shittu, Hajia Abba Ibrahim, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa), Bawa Bwari (Niger), James Ocholi (Kogi), Mansur Muhammed (Zamfara) and Zainab Ahmed (Kaduna).
Amaechi, who is on the first list of 21 nominees sent to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari on September 30, has not been screened because of the petition filed against him by the self-styled The Integrity Group.

West Has Lost the Right to Lecture Putin (Op-Ed)

While at home, President Vladimir Putin is the world-bestriding colossus, wise tsar and benevolent father of the nation, abroad he is once again facing a familiar vilification, as warmonger, kleptocrat and tyrant. Yes, corruption is deeply embedded in Russia's economic and political systems, and the Kremlin regards military force as an instrument of national interest. But the West needs to avoid simple and misleading stereotypes if it is to construct effective policies to deal with Russia, especially when it comes to its Syrian gambit.
Of course, Russia's involvement in Syria embarrassed above all Washington. So far Russia's air strikes have established Moscow's claims to be taken seriously as a global power, and done so in a way demonstrating not just military power but also ruthless will.
But Western complaints about Russian actions — above all Putin's — also reveal a dangerous hypocrisy.

New PM Trudeau to Obama: Canada's Islamic State combat mission to end

Canada's Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau, who came from behind to trounce his Conservative rivals and snatch a majority mandate, now has to deliver on pledges from tackling climate change to legalizing marijuana.
Trudeau, who had also promised to withdraw Canada from combat in the coalition fight against Islamic State, said he told U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday that Canada will pull out of the bombing mission but maintain humanitarian aid and training.
The White House had earlier said it hopes the new Canadian government will continue to support the efforts of the U.S.-led coalition to fight Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.
"He understands the commitment I've made around ending the combat mission," Trudeau told reporters.
Trudeau, who campaigned on a promise of change, toppled Stephen Harper's Conservatives on Monday, giving him the freedom to start implementing his campaign pledges largely unimpeded.
He struck a chord with Canadians weary of nine years of Conservative rule. Harper resigned as party leader after the defeat.

Third Russian air strike on Syrian rebel group kills leader

Russian air strikes in Syria's Latakia province killed a rebel commander and four other fighters from a group armed by President Bashar al-Assad's foreign enemies, a spokesman for the group said on Tuesday.
The attack on Monday evening marked the third time Russian war planes have targeted the First Coastal Division group since Moscow began its air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad on Sept. 30, the group's spokesman Fadi Ahmad said.
He said a further 15 civilians had been killed in the air strike in Jabal Akrad, a rural, mountainous area in the province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights earlier put the death toll at 45 rebels and civilians.

BREAKING: PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria: Youths Protest Arrest of Biafra Radio Broadcaster

STELODY GLOBAL NEWS: Youths numbering over one thousand were seen demonstrating along Ikwerre Road - Diobu Axis on Monday afternoon carrying the defunct Biafran flags and chanting war songs.

Private sector to drive Nigeria’s $10b broadband investment target

THE private sector is expected to drive the projected $10 billion investment target needed to grow the country’s broadband sub-sector of the economy in the next five years, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.
Director, Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis at NCC, Ms. Josephine Amuwa, disclosed this in an interview at the weekend, at the just concluded International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecoms World 2015 conference held in Budapest, Hungary.
Though the country has successfully, in the last 13 years, grew the voice segment of the telecommunications sector to the tune of over 150 million active telephone lines and has attained 107 per cent teledensity with 93 million Internet users, the country is doing poorly in the broadband segment with just 10 per cent penetration‎.

Mermaid school seeks students to create Singapore's first pod

"We're all weird here," Syrena says, as she sits on the pool step flipping her tail in the water as her students bob beneath the surface practicing their breathing.

The founder of Singapore's first Mermaid School is on a mission to create the city-state's first pod.

"I wanted to create a community where people who shared the same interests could come together," Syrena says, who's also a mermaid performer otherwise known as Cara Nicole Neo.

The fascination with mermaids dates back to "time immemorial," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which issued a statement denying their existence in 2013.

"Magical female figures first appear in cave paintings in the late Paleolithic (Stone Age) period some 30,000 years ago, when modern humans gained dominion over the land and, presumably, began to sail the seas," the NOAA said.

Oscar Pistorius released from prison under house arrest

South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been released under house arrest nearly one year after he was jailed for killing his girlfriend, prison officials say.

He is expected to spend the remainder of a five-year prison sentence at his uncle's home in Pretoria.
He shot Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door in 2013 but said he thought she was an intruder.
Ms Steenkamp's relatives say they think Pistorius is "getting off lightly".
Oscar Pistorius, 28, was found guilty of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, of his 29-year-old girlfriend at a trial in October last year.

Czech Airlines Plans More Flights to Russia

Czech Airlines plans to fly more routes to Russia, the Interfax news agency reported Monday, even as other international airlines cut services to the country due to a slump in demand.
The Czech national carrier will add one additional weekly flight from Prague to the Russian cities of St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don and Samara starting this winter, the company said in a statement cited by Interfax.
The decision to increase the frequency of the flights was driven by the improving demand for travels between Russia and the Czech Republic, Czech Airlines commercial director Yan Tot said in the statement.

Canada's Trudeau topples PM Harper in shock election win

Canada's Liberal leader Justin Trudeau rode a late surge to a stunning majority election victory on Monday, toppling Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives with a promise of change and returning a touch of glamor, youth and charisma to Ottawa.
Harper conceded defeat and the Conservative party announced his resignation, ending a nine-year run in power and the 56-year-old's brand of fiscal and cultural conservatism that voters appeared to sour on.

ABUJA, Nigeria: APC Senators Resolve to Back Amaechi During Screening

The Senate caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) rose from its meeting last night and resolved to back the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, when he appears before the Senate for his screening and confirmation as a minister.

Senators on the platform of the APC met at 7.40 pm in the National Assembly, where it was unanimously agreed to back Amaechi’s ministerial nomination and use their slim majority to outvote their colleagues from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the event of a division in the Senate.

Speaking on the outcome of the caucus meeting, an APC senator who preferred anonymity, said: “We are determined not to allow the PDP stop the confirmation of Amaechi. We are determined to ensure that he is confirmed because there is no reason for him not to be confirmed.

“Ameachi contributed a lot to the evolution of APC. He suffered a lot in the hands of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Wike wants to continue and we will not allow it.

China GDP: Economists think the numbers might be fake

China has reported excellent results in its third-quarter school report, beating GDP growth expectations by 0.1 per cent to clock third quarter growth of 6.9 per cent.
Or did it? Economists have become increasingly sceptical about Chinese growth figures, which have, against all odds, kept pace with expectations despite other data showing the so-called China ‘slowdown’ in full force.
On BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, Danny Gabay, director of Fathom financial consulting, said he thought China’s growth rate was half the official figures.