On raucous opening night, Democratic stars make a pitch for Clinton

Source: REUTERS 

The Democratic Party's deep divisions were on full display on a raucous first day of its convention on Monday, with Bernie Sanders portraying Hillary Clinton as a fellow soldier in his fight for economic equality while his supporters booed the mere mention of her name.On a night designed to showcase party unity, Sanders supporters repeatedly disrupted convention proceedings, chanting for him and jeering Clinton supporters.
But by the end of the night, Sanders, liberal favorite U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and first lady Michelle Obama offered stirring endorsements of Clinton as the party tried to push through the discord and find common ground.

NIGERIA: Again Niger Delta Avengers Blasts NNPC Gas Pipeline in Akwa Ibom

Source: THISDAY LIVE

Unrelenting Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) on Sunday night blasted another gas pipeline operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) apparently in reaction to its being labelled as a band of criminals by the Federal Government.

The militant group claiming responsibility for a series of bombings in the Niger Delta region, particularly in Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State, said on Monday that the attack was executed about 11.30p.m on Sunday.

Mogadishu attack: Seven killed in airport blasts

Source: BBC

At least seven people have been killed in two bomb attacks near the main entrance of the airport in Mogadishu, Somali police have said.

Thick smoke could be seen rising from the area, where there is also a base for African Union (AU) peacekeepers.
Local journalists said at least one of the blasts was detonated by a suicide attacker in a vehicle near a checkpoint.
Those killed were believe to include security guards at the checkpoint.

NIGERIA: Sokoto Seeks to Benefit from Kuwait’s $1b Devt Fund

July 24, 2016

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Source: THISDAY LIVE

As part of efforts to boost educational, cultural and business ties with the State of Kuwait, Sokoto government has said it is making concerted efforts to benefit from the Arab country’s $1 billion development fund set aside for intervention in critical social sectors in sub-Saharan Africa.

Making this known when he visited the Kuwait Embassy in Abuja, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said since setting aside the fund in 2013 to be expended within a five year circle, significant number of projects have been executed by the Kuwait government in Africa.

“We are making presentations to benefit from the fund and use the proceeds to intervene in sectors like health, education, water supply and women development. We are mindful of the fact that large chunk of it has been accessed by sister African countries, but we are determined to ensure our people are not left behind in this important intervention.

NIGERIA: Sokoto Seeks to Benefit from Kuwait’s $1b Devt Fund

July 24, 2016

0

623

Source: THISDAY LIVE

As part of efforts to boost educational, cultural and business ties with the State of Kuwait, Sokoto government has said it is making concerted efforts to benefit from the Arab country’s $1 billion development fund set aside for intervention in critical social sectors in sub-Saharan Africa.

Making this known when he visited the Kuwait Embassy in Abuja, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said since setting aside the fund in 2013 to be expended within a five year circle, significant number of projects have been executed by the Kuwait government in Africa.

“We are making presentations to benefit from the fund and use the proceeds to intervene in sectors like health, education, water supply and women development. We are mindful of the fact that large chunk of it has been accessed by sister African countries, but we are determined to ensure our people are not left behind in this important intervention.

Turkish president gains upper hand in power struggle

 Source: REUTERS

At the crossroads between a divided Europe and a convulsed Middle East, Turkey is caught in a power struggle between former Islamist allies which is shaking democratic institutions and raises questions about its future path.
Since a failed coup on July 15, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) founded by President Tayyip Erdogan has gained the upper hand in its battle with clandestine networks in the military, judiciary and bureaucracy loyal to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
This fight to the bitter end has alarmed the West and unsettled the country of 80 million, which borders the chaos in Iraq and Syria and is a Western ally against Islamic State.
Erdogan accuses Gulen of masterminding the attempted coup by a faction within the military and has rounded up more than 60,000 people in an operation which he hopes will cleanse Turkey of what he calls the Gulenist "virus".

Nigeria's Muslims applaud lifting of hijab ban in Lagos schools

Source: BBC

A leading Muslim group in Nigeria has welcomed a court ruling lifting the ban on girls wearing the headscarf in government schools in Lagos state.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MRC) said the Lagos Court of Appeal's ruling was a victory for the rule of law.
The judges said the ban violated the religious rights of Muslim girls, overturning a lower court's ruling.
Girls had been barred from wearing the headscarf, or hijab, because it was not part of school uniforms.
The state government has not yet commented on whether it intends to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court.

BREAKING: Rio Olympics 2016: Russia not given blanket ban by IOC

 Source: BBC

Russia will not receive a blanket ban from Rio 2016 following the country's doping scandal.

The International Olympic Committee will leave it up to individual sport's governing bodies to decide if Russian competitors are clean and should be allowed to take part.
The decision follows a report in which Canadian law professor Richard McLaren said Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme from 2011 to 2015.
The Rio Games start on 5 August.

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Poll: Nigerians Rating of Buhari Nose-dives to 39%

Source: THISDAY LIVE

The latest poll conducted by NOIPolls, has revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval rating for the month of June has nose-dived to 39 percent from the 48 percent he got in May.

The rating which was made available to the media, in Abuja, represents the lowest approval rating started 13 months ago. His rating was highest in October, peaking at 80 percent.

The investigators said: “This latest score represents a 9-point decline when compared to the rating in May which stood at 48 percent.”

First date: UK's May to meet Germany's Merkel to talk Brexit

Source: CNBC

The U.K.'s new Prime Minister Theresa May is heading to Berlin on Wednesday afternoon for a working dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the unpalatable issue of Brexit expected to be the dish of the day.
It will be May's first overseas trip since becoming prime minister last week after a tumultuous chain of events following the U.K. decision in June to leave the European Union (EU). She is also due to travel to Paris on Thursday for talks with French President Francois Hollande.

 May's election was applauded as she is widely seen as a "safe pair of hands" and, like Merkel, she is known for her cool demeanor and pragmatic approach to government. She has certainly wasted no time in putting her mark on the U.K's government, strategically appointing a number of "remain" and "leave" politicians to prominent positions in the cabinet.

Zambia police tear gas opposition leader Mwamba's home

Source: BBC

Zambian police have fired tear gas and made 28 arrests during a raid on the home of opposition vice-presidential candidate Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba.

Officers were looking for people they allege had vandalised election posters and fled to the property.
A police spokesman said petrol bombs were also found, but Mr Mwamba's party has said they were planted.

Trump could seek new law to purge government of Obama appointees

Source: REUTERS

If he wins the presidency, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would seek to purge the federal government of officials appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and could ask Congress to pass legislation making it easier to fire public workers, Trump ally, Chris Christie, said on Tuesday.
Christie, who is governor of New Jersey and leads Trump's White House transition team, said the campaign was drawing up a list of federal government employees to fire if Trump defeats Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 presidential election.
“As you know from his other career, Donald likes to fire people,” Christie told a closed-door meeting with dozens of donors at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, according to an audio recording obtained by Reuters and two participants in the meeting.
Christie was referring to Trump's starring role in the long-running television show "The Apprentice," where his catch-phrase was "You're fired!"

Nigerian Surgeon Discovers Possible Cure for Malaria

Source: THISDAY LIVE

The adult human facial sebum (oil) contains potent mosquito repellent properties, says a Nigerian facial surgeon, Dr. Bayo Aluko-Olokun.
Aluko-Olokun, a facial surgeon at the Department of Facial Surgery, National Hospital, Abuja, made this known yesterday in Abuja.

The expert said he made the discovery after conducting studies at the National Post Graduate Medical College of Nigeria, Lagos, in 2015, by testing the reaction of life mosquitoes to sebum-coated paper, P.M. News reported yesterday.
According to him, he applied the sebum to a piece of paper and placed it beside another with no substance applied in a transparent 70ml glass bottle.

“Evidence of mosquito bite is often seen on the face of children in the third world. This is rarely seen in adults as adults produce copious facial skin sebum in contradistinction to children.
“Five live mosquitoes were introduced into the bottle and the highest number of mosquitoes standing on each piece of paper at any point in time was noted over 50 minutes.

IEA warns that oil demand is ebbing while supply remains at ‘elevated levels’

Source: CNBC

There are warning signs that global oil demand is ebbing while oil stocks remain at "elevated levels," threatening a rebalancing act in oil markets, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Wednesday.
With oil prices rising since the lows seen at the start of the year, hopes have risen that a "balancing act" between supply and demand in oil markets was finally taking place after two years of declining prices due to a supply glut.
But the IEA warned in its latest report that there were warning signs that demand momentum could be ebbing while oil stocks remain high.

Moscow Imam's Arrest Risks Possible Protests

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

The July 12 arrest of Moscow imam Makhmut Velitov on charges of publicly justifying terrorism marked a new first for Russian authorities.
While indicting Islamic clerics for supporting terrorism and inciting ethnic hatred is common practice in the North Caucasus and Volga republics, Velitov's arrest was the first time that an imam from one of Moscow’s largest mosques — the Yardyam mosque in the north of the city — has been detained by police.
Velitov was charged with supporting the actions of a member of the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization. The Russian Supreme Court classified Hizb-ut-Tahrir as a terrorist organization in September 2003 and banned its activities in the country.

Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari sends task force to Zamfara

Source: BBC

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a special military task force to combat cattle rustlers in the north-western state of Zamfara.

The armed gangs are based in a forest, from where they raid nearby villages.
Defence Minister Mansur Dan Ali told the BBC that about 1,000 troops would be deployed immediately, with more would joining later.

Cleveland keeping low police profile for Republican convention

Source: REUTERS

As dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters chanted: "No justice, no peace!" in central Cleveland on Monday, they faced down a wall of police - on bicycles, dressed in polo shirts and shorts.
It was the kind of police presence the organizers of next week's Republican National Convention in Cleveland have long had in mind - respectful of free speech, and orderly. No arrests were made.
Elsewhere in the United States, tensions are high since last week's deadly attack on police in Dallas, creating scenes like the one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where police in riot gear confronted a woman standing calmly in a flowing dress, an image captured in a photograph that has attracted worldwide attention.
But in Cleveland, where the four-day Republican convention begins on Monday, police are committed to a low profile, avoiding the militarized presence that has become common in recent years since police across the country received free war surplus equipment from the Pentagon.

Poroshenko Says Ukraine Has Fulfilled Minsk Agreements

Source: THE MOSCOWTIMES

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced on Monday that Kiev has fully implemented the Minsk agreements, the RBC news agency reported.
The Ukrainian side has fulfilled 95 percent of the political obligations and 100 percent of the security requirements in the agreements, Poroshenko was quoted as saying by Interfax Ukraine during a news conference which followed his talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Sanctions against Russia were prolonged this month by EU leaders until January 2017 as Moscow is considered guilty of failing to comply with the terms of the agreements.
The Russian authorities claim that Ukraine is violating the agreements.

South Sudan ceasefire declared by Kiir and Machar holding

 

Source: BBC

A ceasefire appears to be holding in South Sudan's capital, Juba, after four days of heavy fighting between rival forces left hundreds dead.

The city is quiet, with no reports of helicopter gunships in the sky or tanks on the streets.
President Salva Kiir and his rival, Vice-President Riek Machar, announced a ceasefire which came into force on Monday at 15:00 GMT.
Clashes between troops loyal to the two men threatened a recent peace deal.
South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011 but its short history has been marred by years of civil war.

Buhari Offers Justice to N’Delta, Says Nigeria’s Unity Not Negotiable

Source: THISDAY LIVE

President Muhammadu Buhari has again pleaded with militants in the Niger Delta to change their minds and has promised them justice, even as he has made it abundantly clear that the nation’s unity is not negotiable.

Buhari, who spoke yesterday while receiving a cross section of Nigerians, mostly Muslims, who paid him Sallah homage at his residence within the precinct of the Presidential Villa, recalled the famous quote of former military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, stating that the task of keeping Nigeria as one indivisible entity was a task that must be done.
The president said the slogan in the 1960s “Go on With One Nigeria (GOWON)” was very apt now, as keeping Nigeria one was a task that must be done.

Oscar Pistorius: Six years for Reeva Steenkamp murder

 

Source: BBC

South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

He was initially given a five-year term for manslaughter, but was found guilty of murder on appeal last December.
He was taken immediately to jail. Both the prosecution and defence can appeal, but his lawyers say they will not.
Pistorius, 29, shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door in February 2013.
He admitted shooting her, but said he had mistaken Ms Steenkamp for an intruder and acted out of fear.

U.S. attorney general closes Clinton email case, says no charges

Source: REUTERS

The investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of private email while secretary of state is over, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Wednesday, removing a legal cloud that threatened the presumptive Democratic nominee's presidential bid.

Lynch said she accepted the Federal Bureau of Investigation's recommendations that no charges be brought in the probe, as Republicans made clear they would not let Clinton's email headaches fade away easily.

"I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation," Lynch said in a statement.

Will Russia Be First to Build Elon Musk's Hyperloop?

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

In mid June, Shervin Pishevar, co-founder of Hyperloop One, sat under the high, decorated ceiling of a palace in St. Petersburg.
Men in suits lined the large, rectangular table. “Eighteen heads of sovereign [wealth] funds and President [Vladimir] Putin. $10 trillion in the room,” Pishevar wrote alongside a photo posted on Facebook. “Then Putin called on me.”
So Pishevar, a burly, bearded Silicon Valley entrepreneur, began to speak. He talked about the Hyperloop trains his company plans to build: Transportation pods levitated by magnets inside an airless tube that could travel at speeds 300 kilometers per hour faster than a passenger aircraft, thanks to the low air resistance. Pods that could whisk goods through Russia from China to Europe in the space of hours, or turn St. Petersburg into a suburb of Moscow.
Putin listened attentively. Then, according to Pishevar, he said, “Hyperloop will fundamentally change the global economy.”

The Ad War: Clinton Outspends Trump by More Than $40 Million

Source: NBC NEWS

Hillary Clinton and her allies are outspending Donald Trump and the groups supporting him over the airwaves by a whopping 15-to-1 margin, according to ad-spending data from SMG Delta.
Team Clinton has spent $45 million on ads so far in the general election, with $19 million coming from the campaign and another $26 million from the pro-Clinton Super PAC Priorities USA.
That's compared with nearly $3 million for Team Trump -- with $1.5 million coming from the National Rifle Association and $1.3 million from the Super PAC Rebuilding America Now.

BREAKING: Lionel Messi handed jail term in Spain for tax fraud

Source: BBC

Argentina and Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax fraud.

His father, Jorge Messi, was also given a jail term for defrauding Spain of €4.1m (£3.5m; $4.5m) between 2007 and 2009.
They also face millions of euros in fines for using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay to conceal earnings from image rights.
However, neither man is expected to serve time in jail.
Under the Spanish system, prison terms of under two years can be served under probation.

US Raises the Alarm over Starvation in the North East, Buhari Sends Food, Drugs

Source: THISDAY LIVE

The outgoing United States’ Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle on Thursday expressed strong reservations about the humanitarian crisis in the North-east triggered by the ongoing war against Boko Haram, saying that Nigerians are dying of starvation in their country, and called for urgent action from all stakeholders. Apparently reacting to the humanitarian crisis, President Muhammadu Buhari has dispatched food and drugs to the camp of Internally Displaced Persons in Bama,Borno State. Entwistle, who spoke in Lagos at the celebration of the 240th anniversary of the US independence, declared: “Nigerians are dying of starvation in Nigeria. How can that be?

The Ambassador said: “As you fight Boko Haram and secure and rebuild the Northeast, and as you strive for harmony in the Niger Delta and across the land, we will continue to help in every appropriate way. Indeed, let us all redouble our efforts on the humanitarian front in the Northeast.”

Intrigue and betrayal stalk UK’s corridors of power

Source: CNBC

This week, the eyes of the world turned to Britain, hoping to glimpse at least the skeleton of a plan for a future outside the EU.
Instead, they saw both the government and the opposition descend into a Jacobean revenge tragedy, with intrigue, betrayals and political assassinations at every turn.
"What angers me the most is that [they] have turned what was initially an inner-party conflict into a full-blown state and government crisis," said Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the exasperated German foreign minister.

Turkey Offers House to Family of Deceased Russian Pilot

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

Turkish officials have offered to give a house in the country's seaside resort of Kemer to the family of a Russian fighter pilot downed by Turkish air forces, the TASS news agency reported Friday.
Russian Consul General Alexander Tolstopyatenko said that the offer was made by a visiting delegation from Kemer City Hall.
The family of the Su-24 pilot Oleg Peshkov, however, turned down the offer.
The pilot's brother Pavel told the Govorit Moskva radio station Friday that the family is not going to ask Turkey for any compensation and will not accept it if it is offered.
“This is not just humiliating, it's awful,” he said.

BREAKING: Twenty killed in Bangladesh siege

Source: BBC

Bangladesh government says 20 hostages were killed in Dhaka cafe siege, as well as six militants.

The militant group Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out the attack.
"It was an extremely heinous act," Sheikh Hasina said in a televised statement. "What kind of Muslims are these people? They don't have any religion.
"My government is determined to root out terrorism and militancy from Bangladesh."
Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said one Japanese citizen was shot and wounded in the attack, and that seven others were in the cafe. Japan's government has not yet been able to contact them, he said.

Clinton's lead over Trump narrows to 9 points

Source: REUTERS

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's lead over Republican Donald Trump has dipped into the single digits among likely U.S. voters for the first time in nearly two weeks, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday.

The June 27-July 1 poll showed a 9.4 percentage point lead for the former secretary of state over the New York businessman, down slightly from an 11.2 point lead in a previous five-day poll that ended on June 28.

Sierra Leonean diplomat kidnapped in Kaduna, Nigeria

Source: BBC

The former head of Sierra Leone's army, Major-General Nelson Williams, has been kidnapped in Nigeria, reportedly in the northern Kaduna state.

Maj-Gen Williams, Sierra Leone's Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, was believed to have been travelling there for a ceremony at a military base.
Police say it is unclear where he was kidnapped and taken or if he was travelling in convoy.
Kidnapping for ransom is common in some parts of the country.