Buhari Has Difficulty Drinking And Eating, But Cabal Won't Let Him Travel For Urgent Treatment

Three insiders in the Presidency have told SaharaReporters that President Muhammadu Buhari is being fed intravenously as he has had severe difficulty eating and drinking fluids for several days.

The sources also disclosed that, although President Buhari's health had held up for a while after his return from an extended medical vacation in the United Kingdom, his condition has deteriorated in the last several weeks. They pointed to Mr. Buhari's eating and drinking problems that have left him too frail to leave his official residence at Aso Rock Villa to attend any official functions. 

Dozens of Cows Starve to Death, Littering the Countryside of This Russian Village

Dozens of cows are dropping dead from starvation in the Russian village of Remezovo, not far outside the city of Irkutsk. Locals complain that the countryside is littered with bovine corpses, and stray dogs are dragging pieces of dead cattle all over town.

“When you find yourself at the edge of Remezovo, the first thing you feel is shock. All around, there are dozens of cow corpses. A cemetery naturally emerged here two weeks ago. And it’s still growing,” a reporter from Vesti Irkutsk wrote this Monday.

One eyewitness told Vesti that at least 40 cows have collapsed and died, so far. Every third dead cow is reportedly a calf.

ABUJA: Nigeria's President Buhari Is Recovering, Must Take It ‘Slowly’

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is recovering from an undisclosed ailment and there is no cause for concern about his health, the presidency said.
“As eager as he is to be up and about, the president’s doctors have advised on his taking things slowly, as he fully recovers from the long period of treatment in the United Kingdom some weeks ago,” presidency spokesman Garba Shehu said Thursday in an emailed statement.

The most important business stories of the day.

ABUJA: President Buhari Orders Suspension Of SGF Babachir Lawal And The DG Of NIA, Oke

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an investigation into the allegations of violations of law and due process made against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr David Babachir Lawal, in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE).

The President has also directed the suspension of the SGF from office pending the outcome of the investigations.

BREAKING: Abuja: Troops rescue 1,623 persons held captives by Boko Haram

ABUJA-TROOPS of 3 Battalion, 22 Brigade Nigerian Army on Operation LAFIYA DOLE, assisted by ten civilian JTF, rescued a total of 1,623 persons held captive by members of the Boko Haram terrorists group.

Whistleblower Narrates What Transpired In The Lagos Apartment Where EFCC Seized $50m

While Ayodele Oke, the Director-General of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) has claimed that the $43 million, N23.2 million and £27,800 (N13billion)  cash found in an apartment in Lagos last week belongs to his agency, information available to SaharaReporters suggests that the woman seen hauling the money into the apartment in Ghana-Must-Go bags may have been Folashade Oke, his wife.  

Our investigation has revealed that the owners of Apartment 7B gave Folashade Oke, with phone number +2348059833410, as their contact.  Sources at the NIA confirmed Folashade to be the spouse of their Director-General, Mr. Oke.

LAGOS: Pressure Mounts on EFCC to Speak out on Recovered N15bn

 

Olawale Olaleye in Lagos, Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt and Ogheneuvwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja

With the controversy trailing the recovered N15 billion from a flat in Ikoyi, Lagos last week, pressure is now mounting on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which carried out the raid, to speak out on the recovered funds.

Though, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) had said that it owned the money, which it claimed was for its covert operations, while responding to THISDAY enquiries off the record, the EFCC, which carried out the raid and announced the recovery,  has kept mum since controversy began to trail the ownership of the money.

U.S.'mother of all bombs' killed 36 Islamic State militants in Afghanistan

At a village about 3 miles (5 km) from the remote, mountainous area where the bomb was dropped, witnesses said the ground shook, but homes and shops appeared unaffected.
"Last night's bomb was really huge, when it dropped, everywhere, it was shaking," said a resident, Palstar Khan, adding that he believed no civilians were in the area hit.
Other residents said they saw militants climbing up and down the mountain every day, making occasional visits to the village.

Nigeria to Restore Oil Output Even as OPEC Weighs Extending Cuts

Nigeria will revive oil production this summer as it completes maintenance and repairs, and expects fellow OPEC members to continue to cut their output in the second half of the year, Oil Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu said.
Africa’s second-biggest producer will finish repairs on the Forcados pipeline by June and complete maintenance at the Bonga oilfield the following month, Kachikwu said in a Bloomberg Television interview. The country’s output slumped to 1.27 million barrels a day last month, the lowest in decades, according to data provided by the nation. It aims to reach 2.2 million barrels a day.

Millions of dollars-worth of cash uncovered in Nigeria

 Nigeria's security authorities have uncovered more than $40m (£32m) in cash in local and foreign currencies following a raid on a property in Lagos.
EFCC said it got the "neatly arranged US dollars, pound sterling and some naira notes in sealed wrappers" in two rooms of a four-bedroom apartment.
It says that the investigators forced entry into the property and found $43.4m, £27,800 and N23.2m in cash.

BREAKING NEWS: Beslan school siege: Russia 'failed to prevent' massacre

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia failed to take measures to prevent the school siege in the city of Beslan in 2004, in which more than 330 people died.

The court has also criticised Moscow for its investigation of the case.

North Korea Hacking Nigerian Banks, Financial Institutions of 17 Other Countries

North Korea’s hacking operations are growing and getting bolder and increasingly targeting financial institutions worldwide.

North Korea is now being linked to attacks on banks in 18 countries, including Nigeria, according to a new report from Russian cyber security firm Kaspersky.

 

According to a news report by the Cable News Network (CNN), two international security experts believe that the stolen money is likely being spent advancing North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons.

Banks and security researchers have previously identified four similar cyber-heists attempted on financial institutions in Bangladesh, Ecuador, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Anti-Zuma protests take place across South Africa

Protesters have marched in cities across South Africa including Cape Town, Durban, and the capital, Pretoria calling for the removal of President Jacob Zuma.

The demonstrations came after Mr Zuma's sacking of a respected finance minister, which led to the country's credit rating being cut to junk status.

The move added pressure to South Africa's already embattled economy.

But supporters of Mr Zuma also turned out to defend the president.

SINGAPORE: 'Artists are not criminals': Haresh Sharma reflects on 30 years as a playwright

SINGAPORE: Veteran playwright and Cultural Medallion recipient Haresh Sharma’s name will take centre stage in the arts scene this year as The Necessary Stage (TNS) celebrates its 30th Anniversary.
As TNS’s resident playwright, he and founder and artistic director Alvin Tan have made their mark with socially-conscious theater. This year, many of his past plays will be re-staged and even re-interpreted.

Sharma went On the Record with Bharati Jagdish about the need for critical thinking in Singapore society, state funding and censorship.

U.S. Launches Missile Strike on Syria After Gas Attack

The U.S. launched a cruise missile attack against Syria after accusing Bashar al-Assad’s regime of using poison gas to kill scores of civilians, an act that drew international condemnation and that President Donald Trump called “an affront to humanity.”

“Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched,” Trump told reporters Thursday night at his Florida club, where he hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier in the evening. It is in the “vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons conventions.”

Kuwait Is Best Off, Nigeria Worst in Fitch's 2017 Oil Break-Even

 Kuwait’s in the best position of major oil exporting nations in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Europe to have a balanced government budget this year with oil forecast to average $52.50 a barrel, according to Fitch Ratings Ltd.
Nigeria is worst off, needing an oil price of $139 a barrel to balance its budget, Fitch said in a April 5 report on 14 major oil exporting nations in the Middle East, Africa and emerging Europe. Even after cuts in government subsidies and currency devaluations, 11 of them won’t have balanced government budgets this year, including Saudi Arabia, it said.

Thai king signs constitution, paving way for election

BANGKOK: Thailand's king signed a new constitution in a ceremony on Thursday, an essential step towards holding an election that the military government has promised to restore democracy after a 2014 coup.
In a nationwide broadcast, King Maha Vajiralongkorn was seen signing the document, giving it royal endorsement and setting in motion a process for Thailand's next general election, expected late next year.
"The constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is promulgated," an officer with the Royal Scribes Bureau said at the ceremony, on behalf of the King.